how to a control dog in a potential aggressive situation

woofwoof · 12-25-2005

Hi ,

I don't own a dog yet but I might in the future .However my question is this:
I am a rather small guy and like jogging around the block of my residence.

One day I came face to face with my new neighbor's dog on the sidewalk , a huge german shephard.

I slowed down and a started walking aside trying to avoid the confrontation if I had taken the same path ,as the dog was behaving as if it was trying to protect his territory.

It then approached and tried to smell me and then walked away (holy cow, I was scared to death ....as I didn't know what to do ,really)

So nothing really bad happened but I guess it could be just luck.But I am wondering what could have happened if a small kid on his way back home had to face the same situation. It could have been tragic !

1.So is there any technique to control the situation with this kinda face to face encounter ?
2.Is there any such place , or website , or book that can trained people to prepare for this ?

I know not all dogs/owners are bad but I 've read lots of stories of serious dog's attacks (even though owner and dogs are good).Animals are just more unpredictable than humans and I guess it's a fact.
I myself have experienced being bitten when I was a kid by a small dog,fortunately.
I would like to own a dog myself and have my own kids soon.So I just want to be a more educated and responsible dad by preparing myself and kids for a such situation.

Experts ,please help.

thx,Kenny

petshopgirl · 12-27-2005

I had a very strange thing happen to me. One day I was at work at a restaraunt and this pesty customer came in. He was always talking trashy and flirting with me and bragging. SO one day he was bragging to me about how to stop a vicious dog from attacking. He told me to yell at it. I was like "whatever". I had heard people say don't make eye contact with the dog and walk away. I am sure sometimes that works if the dog is not threatening.

It SO happened that the next day I was taking a bike ride alone by myself and I came to an intersection where a big shephard mix was standing in the middle of the street. I saw it and peddled by it. It saw me and started chasing my bike barking angrily. I got scared and started to peddle faster, but the dog started running faster as if I was fleeing prey. He was right at my back wheels and I was at my wits end when I remembered what that guy had said and I screamed loudly "GO AWAY!" The dog immediatly braced legs and stopped. He looked confused as if he had done something horribly wrong and he was going to get scolded by his owner.

It is very scarey. People need to be very concerned about the whereabouts of their dog and although the dog might be good natured at home, their instincts are to protect even if it means hurting some poor person on the street.

Just recently I had called the dog warden on a dog which did have its collar and license, but he has repeatedly been wandering the street. He was standing by my car. I walked out and saw him looking back at me. I just quietly walked back in the house. I don't know if he's friendly. The owner may have been letting him out to go potty and he wanders off, which is probably typical. Once I would consider an accident but several days in a row, something needs to be done.

woofwoof · 12-28-2005

I don't think that one can ever assume that all dog owners will behave responsibly.

There will always be ignorant or irresponsible dog owners .It's a fact that we have to deal with nomatter how tight the laws are .

And that's why I want to stress on the subject of this thread:
We all need to learn how to train for this kinda prevention before any tragic accident can happen that will ultimately lead to the destruction of the dog, most likely 100% of time.

woofwoof · 12-28-2005

I don't think that one can ever assume that all dog owners will behave responsibly.

There will always be ignorant or irresponsible dog owners .It's a fact that we have to deal with nomatter how tight the laws are .

And that's why I want to stress on the subject of this thread:
We all need to learn how to train for this kinda prevention before any tragic accident can happen that will ultimately lead to the destruction of the dog, most likely 100% of time.

petshopgirl · 12-31-2005

I agree. Another thing to think of is carry pepper spray (I started doing that when going places alone. I realize that it isn't legal in some countries. I also realize that it coul make some dogs angrier).

Where i am working we have a dog who has an aggressive streak. It started with the growling and the puppy biting. We knew he would be a handful so the owner won't sell him to just anyone. Meanwhile we train him so he knows that he isn't the boss. He learns tricks very easily and he loves positive reinforcement. All I need to do is raise my voice and he usually backs off of the rough play. Myself, I would hate to have to sell a dog that we've gotten to know and find out that it's been placed in the pound, so I think the least I can do is start training him.

kitten2469 · 01-31-2006

There are many things you can do to avoid an attack. I don't know about the yelling at a dog, although some will say thats not good, b/c you might sound more like prey. You should never try to run away from a dog. If possible, stay perfectly still. Never look a dog in the eyes, (they take that as a sign of challenge). Never smile at a dog, some breeds will take that as you bearing your teeth (again a sign of challenge). Keep your head angled face down (which makes sense if your not looking the dog in the eye).

If a dog charges you, your best bet would be to drop to the ground and get into the fettle position. Dogs typically loose interest with prey that doesn't move. Try not to scream- again the prey response. If a dog does make contact, don't tug at the dog. Your tugging will make the dog latch on tighter and pull harder. If you are standing and the dog latches on, you should try to pry something into the dogs mouth to pry open his mouth, or to try and gag him. If the dog gets gagged, he should let go of what he is bitting.

The unfortunite thing, is that nothing is full proof. The Lady on the bike could have easily been taken down. She got lucky that the dog had an owner that taught him some things. And he knew a loud voice meant he'd dont something wrong. But most cases, if you scream of raise your voice, they are going to take it as a challenge. There are many websites and book that you can purchase to help teach you and others how to deal with strange dogs.

I hope this helps just a little.

doggie_luv · 02-12-2006

Well it is a good idea never to make eye contact with a strange dog that you don't know, but it's NOT a good idea to turn your back on it once you look at them (trust me, bad experience!!!) Some dog owners crack me up with how they take care of their dogs and sometimes I want to smack them across the head.

kitten2469 · 02-13-2006

I can agree about the frustration with other dog owners. I'll admit I'm not a perfect dog owner, I have an Akita) but at least I try to do the best by him and my family. I keep him on his toes and make sure he knows that my husband and I are boss. I think that some people just get dogs as lawn ornaments and then wonder why they attack or just play rough with the families kids. You have to teach a dog good behavior, NO DOG, knows these things on its own. But what can you do.

I'm just making it a point to teach my neices and nephews and hopefully one day my own kids responsible animal behavior. Its the best I can do. But every little bit helps.