A scary thing happened the other night!

[FlipFlop]

The other night Flip and I were on our pre-dinner walk- around 5:30 p.m. and it was already dark. We were close to my house when we came around the corner and saw one of my neighbor's dogs standing on their doorstep attached to a tie out.

My neighbors have two dogs- both boxers or some kind of boxer mix's. Neither of them are very social dogs and Flip has never been closer than 30 or 40 feet of them. I know from what the owners have told me that their male is somewhat well behaved and is generally okay around other dogs, and their famale is very, very aggressive- as I have seen from her growling, barking, snapping, and lunging at us when she is on a leash and sees us walking by.

Back to the story- I see the dog on the doorstep and am fairly certain that it's the male. He see us, starts barking and running straight towards us. He gets to the end of the tie out and it pulls him backwards. He takes another run at it and it snaps- and is now running full force at us and barking. THANK GOD that Flip is not dog-reactive and remained calm. The boxer ran straight us and got a little aggressive- growling a bit and trying to jump up but not biting. Flip was playful with him and I think the boxer didn't see him as a threat and nothing bad happened. I walked up to the neighbors house and the boxer followed, owner came out and got him, and all was okay. The owner even said that we were all really lucky that the male was outside and not the female. Hopefully he learned his lesson and will no longer be leaving his dogs on a tie out.

Here's my question- what if it were the female that was outside and broke the tie out? I have no doubt that she would have seriously attacked Flip. This whole thing made me realize that I wouldn't really know how to handle the situation if a truly aggressive dog were to attack us. What would I do? Has something like this ever happened to you? What would you do in the situation?

Sorry this is so long! But thanks for any advice!

[Schlussdibusti]

I always carry pepper spray. I already had to used twice when a loose dog came charging at us. It gives you enough time to get away and to safety. But I would only recommend it to fend off another dog. If they are already in a toss up, you might spray your own dog and not the offender.

[leih merigian]

If you don't have the pepper spray, then kick the s*** out of the dog before it gets to yours. I'd do (and have done) anything I can to keep another dog from getting to mine, especially one you know ahead of time is aggressive. ( With some dogs, you can carry a pocket full of biscuits and distract them by tossing them to the side or behind the dog, but if a dog is charging yours, there's not a lot of time to mess around.)

You can also carry a stout stick and be ready to use it. Or a colapsable (sp) baton.

[Dutchringgirl]

thats a good idea Eva, I have heard of that before but never spoke to any one who ever used it.

I am sorry that happened and its a good thing it wasnt the female. I hope they do learn, they should have been careful prior though, knowing that there dogs are aggressive. I would have been scared knowing the dogs were aggressive though, you know you dont want to get in there and take them apart. They are looking for trouble though leaving them tied out front where other people in the neighborhood walk dogs.

[CaroleBoaz]

I tried to buy a collapsible baton from an online store a couple of years ago. They would not sell to me because I was not law enforcement. Any tips on who to buy from?

[FlipFlop]

Thanks for all of the tips!

Right after this happened I was mostly just relieved that nothing really bad happened- but now the more I think about it the more upset I am getting about the situation- It could have been really bad. I really hope they don't ever leave the female out there and seriously reconsider leaving the male out there as well!

[Schlussdibusti]

I wouldn't count on people's common sense. Perfect example: my neighbor lets his 10 year old girl walk the Wolf Hybrid. She has no control over it whatsoever and gets dragged all over the place wherever the dog/wolf wants to go.........

[felixone123]

I don't know if this would help, but maybe carry a strong squirt water bottle and aim it at the dogs face. It can help to break their focus, especially if they don't know it's coming and then you just keep squirting dog in face. I had to use squirt bottle on my dog when she went after another dog aggressively off leash and it worked and then another time on a dog that went after Dakota off leash - and let me tell you I was scared shxxless - i just keep squirting and saying NOOO!! Dog finally relented, but my heart was pounding.

[Dutchringgirl]

Dont know about a baton, what if you hurt the other dog? I know that is not the first thing you think of, Id rather kick the daylights out of the dog. Im just thinking alot of people are sue happy. If they know the dog is aggressive then she is looking for a negligence suit.

[Choochi]

I tried to buy a collapsible baton from an online store a couple of years ago. They would not sell to me because I was not law enforcement. Any tips on who to buy from?

LOL I've seen this on tv so I can comment! A collapsible baton can be considered a concealed weapon and you could be arrested and charged with weapons charges for this, so check your local state laws before trying to get one and carry it with you.

I've had some thing similar happen at our sch club. There was a dog aggressive GSD that busted out of his crate and came running at me and Ripp while I had her out for a potty break on leash. My reaction, purely on instinct was to do my best at staying between the two dogs. As soon as the GSD was close enough I started to kick it while at the same time I pretty much would swing Ripp around away from him by her leash (because she just stood there, didn't try to attack him or get away from him!). I managed to get a few kicks in before the dog managed to get to her (which is good because it bought us more time before help eventually arrived), I think I gave him another good kick in the ribs and at the point realized he wasn't really reacting. So I dropped her leash (which was rather short) so she could get away (now that she was actually getting bitten and it has occurred to her that it might be a good idea) and grabbed the other dog by his flanks from behind and was totally prepared to deal with him (totally expected I was likely about to get bitten). Good thing is he let go and didn't think about coming back at me but was still focused on my dog and right at that time a few people who were close enough came running and helped me grab both dogs.

I'm glad that was this easy. I've had to break up fights before that did not go so smoothly including one where after trying a few things I literally had to hit the attacking dog with a hammer over her head a few times while choking her off before she let go. My advice, if you can't prevent the attack in the first place, and you're faced with the dog actually rushing at you, first of all do every thing you can to prevent that dog from reaching and latching on to your dog, that's half your battle. If it means picking up any rocks or sticks that are near by, what ever you can think of. I would not be hesitating at using what ever weapon you can make handy at the moment especially if you are alone in the middle of the street. If there are any barriers you can use such as garbage cans or lids, maybe a fence or thick shrub..

For sure talk to the neighbour about this and make sure they are taking appropriate steps to prevent this from happening again. I have a 120lb reactive corso, I've had my share of similar equipment malfunction (any thing from leather collars to broken chains and crates). Especially when you're dealing with a powerful large dog this stuff can happen when you're not fully aware of just how much torque and force they are capable of, so I get it. If I ever tie him up now, his equipment is tripple checked and to some people might look like over kill but I don't think you can be too careful. Can't they tie the dogs out in the back yard at least? Leaving them out in the front is just asking for trouble and is likely only encouraging them to be the way they are. Hellooo... agitation training!

[Sugars Mom]

I'm sorry to hear about your close call. Pretty scary, I know. It has happened to people I know too, with some injuries to their dog, and I sympathize with you.

The closest thing that happened to me to that is at the beach walking Sugar and another dog charged at her, growling, its owner calling it in vain. As it got close I stepped in between it and Sugar and kinda kneed it away thinking I hope it doesn't come after me, but adrenaline kicked in and I got all protective. Luckily, the other dog was not interested in me at all, and finally listened to its owner and left us alone. He apologized, but geezz, keep your dog on a leash if it is not friendly! Really!

But having said that, even a dog on a leash or other can still escape and that is really unfortunate.

Wishing everyone a safe walk!!

[GSDNanny]

The key is to distract and prevent the ontruder from even approaching you or your dog. You stand a likely chance of ending up in the ER as I did once (still have the scars) breaking up a dog fight. And you certainly dont want your own dog harmed. I tried the mace thing but my aim sucks, and definitely dont get that stuff on your hands and in your eyes! Then I started carrying an 15" piece of steel rebar in my back pocket mostly on the Schutzhund field (long story). But on neighborhood walks, I resolved to carrying my herding stock stick that has a small flag on the end. Swinging that and popping the flag towards another dog advancing has worked for me. Of course, hubby says just carrying my Glock.

[ZodiacT]

We had a close call recently with a seriously aggressive dog on a tie-out charging at us so hard he broke the snap on his collar and chased Zodiac and I all the way to my back door. THANKFULLY he was fat and somewhat slow, we were able to get to our house before he reached us. After checking to make sure he hadn't bitten Zodiac (he was very close behind us) I went out the front door and walked over to the owner's house and confronted them about the improper tying of an aggressive dog when they KNOW there's a sidewalk running behind their house. They seemed willing to learn from the incident and stop tying their dog out, but the incident prompted me to start carrying the same kind of pepper spray that the postal service uses to deter dogs.

[Marjolein]

jeez, I wouldn't carry any sort of "weapon" on me for this I have had this happen a few times. lucky for me. all those attackers were impressed by my "don't you DARE touch my dog" attitude, for one I have used my bike as a shield, because the owner of the 2 dogs decided to run off with the youngest (6 months) dog to save it and leave me with mister Kill and Attack... (mine were on leash, biking, hers were off leash) When I noticed she was abandoning the situation I solved it by standing tall, using my bike as a shield, he was aiming for Dingo, who actually did as I told him, stay behind me. Ivil was all bark and ready to engage in the fight. I told her NO and that was pretty clear I guess, she waited along with Dingo. When the dog wouldn't leave I dropped my bike, which shook him a bit, and walked towards him sending him back with my arm...and he did sort of leave, after peeing on a tree... Sucker...
The owner later suggested we should do a "doggy-meeting" where they would all see they could be good friends ehm, no, thanks...

Anyway, defending seemed the only option to me, but I also know that if you have a seriously agressive dog, you can end up in the ER... but I think it was just instinct, and I will do it again I'm afraid. What else can you do? Carrying pepperspray is prohibited overhere.

[Schlussdibusti]

Carrying pepperspray is prohibited overhere.

How about a little spray bottle with 4711 or Tosca?

[alspyce]

Full strength ammonia in a spray bottle.

[Choochi]

I would not count on any thing in a spray bottle. First of all the dog would have to be pretty damn close to be affected (if at all) by a spray bottle which totally defeats the purpose of trying to keep the day away from you. What will you do when you have to wait for the dog to get that close to you before you can use your "weapon" and find out that it has no effect on the dog? About all you have left is to throw the bottle at the dog, that's about all it's useful for. There isn't much of a threat value to a spray bottle regardless of what's in it that the average dog will understand from far away. Plus if it's a windy day and your spray bottle does not have a powerful jet nozzle, chances are the wind will just dissipate what ever you spray, which could potentially mean getting it on your own dog or possibly on yourself or in your face if the adrenaline is rushing and you don't consider wind direction before "firing".

[alspyce]

Maybe one of those "super soaker" squirt guns the kids all love to play with.
Personally I think if someones dog got to mine, I would have to kill it.

[Dutchringgirl]

a semi- auto would do the job just fine

[kchristy]

a semi- auto would do the job just fine

yes, it would