what should I do with an unleashed dog in community (Raleigh: insurance, law)
Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, CaryThe Triangle Area
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I have started carrying a walking stick with me when I walk my 104# rottweilor with his flat collar AND "business" collar (a prong correction collar) on a leash. One smack and the uncontrolled animals leave us alone and I dare any owner to confront me. Has nothing to do with my fear of dogs and everything to do with being a good neighbor.
I have started carrying a walking stick with me when I walk my 104# rottweilor with his flat collar AND "business" collar (a prong correction collar) on a leash. One smack and the uncontrolled animals leave us alone and I dare any owner to confront me. Has nothing to do with my fear of dogs and everything to do with being a good neighbor.
Sounds like you're a responsible pet owner, too.
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No person should have to walk down a public street or sidewalk and be fearful of any animal, including dogs.
Pepper spray, a baseball bat, whatever works to protect yourself then call animal control and let them sort it out.
It's not your responsibility to analyze the dog's behavior or to stick your nose two feet from its face to try and read the info on the collar.
I think the OP is afraid of dogs, though. We have no evidence that this dog was actually aggressive at all. What she said was:
Quote:
An unleashed black dog was running to us. I was totally scared, I screamed and cried when it was running to us. It looked like not in control. It tried to approach my baby and its mouth was opened abnormal.
Before it rushed to us, I noticed that it had same issue with another man with his white dog which is leashed. At that time, that unleashed black dog didn't show calmly. The guy was asking whose dog is this and tried to leave this dog, as this black dog barked to his own dog.
I really don't know what to do. That's the reason I came her to seek help. I have never met such an unleashed dog.
I think since she has "never met such an unleashed dog" that this is a one-off occurrence and not likely to happen again. What it sounds like to me, is a neighbor's dog got out and was going for a joy-ride and the OP, who is clearly afraid of dogs, freaked out. I hope the other neighbors were able to get his tag info and return him to his owner. If one of my dogs got out I surely hope that someone would try to contact me before hitting it with a baseball bat, stun gun, pepper spray, or shooting it.
I don't really know, but to me from her description it sounds like she is afraid of dogs, or at least unleashed dogs, and doesn't know how to deal with them. She should educate herself on dog language (see the links I posted earlier) and she will be less afraid. No one should be scared of heights or flying, either, but some people are. That doesn't give them the right to bean anyone or any animal with a baseball bat.
It is really rare that a dog would be aggressive to a person with a baby in a stroller. Some dogs will chase runners or bikes or sometimes cars. Some dogs will be aggressive toward other dogs. Some dogs will defend their territory (their yard), but it would be rare for a dog to aggressively approach someone without a dog who is just walking down the sidewalk not in the dog's territory. Reading the original post I think a likely scenario is that the dog was super excited to have escaped his yard or house and was joyously running around and barking and approaching other dogs, etc. If she was near another dog it might have seemed like the loose dog was running toward her when he was really running toward the other dog. Or, maybe the dog was super excited to see some people and wanted to jump on them for some lovin'.
RTP2008, if a dog does approach in an aggressive manner you should not run. Running will cause the dog's prey drive to kick in and he will give chase. You should hold your ground. Make yourself look big. You can spread your arms out to the side and loom a little. Speak in a loud, deep voice, not a shrill shriek, and tell it "NO!" and to "GO HOME". You can try "DOWN", "OFF", or "LEAVE IT" which are all common dog commands. You may turn your back or turn to the side and walk away, but do not run. Don't approach it if it's truly aggressive. If it should try to jump up on you, raise your knee and knee it in the chest. Continue to tell it "NO" in a commanding, strong voice. Running, shrieking, cowering, fluttering your hands, and jumping will all excite the dog and encourage it to jump on you. Standing tall and looking big and speaking in a loud commanding voice will encourage the dog to back down.
If you habitually encounter the same dog(s) loose and you are unable to find out whose they are, call animal control. Be prepared to give a good description of the dog(s) and let them handle it.
Regarding the pepper spray, baseball bat, stun gun suggestions — think about it this way. If your someone in your neighborhood was doing something else obnoxious like having a late night party, smoking a really stinky cigar in a no smoking playground, playing loud music, parking their car in front of your driveway, mowing their lawn at 4 am, etc, etc, would you pepper spray first, or bash the car's windshield in with the baseball bat? If you're a rational person, probably not. Either approach the owner of the car or house where the party is directly or just call the police and let them sort out the noise disturbances, etc.
A dog running up to you with his mouth open and barking ≠ a dog attacking. Most dogs have their mouths open when they run. Many dogs bark when they're happy. Should the dog be loose? No way. It's scary for people who don't like dogs, scary for other dogs on leashes (many dogs have leash aggression when they're on the leash and can't deal freely w/ another dog), and unsafe for the dog. Should you hit a loose dog with a baseball bat? No way. You're opening yourself up to potential lawsuits and it's just cruel. Just approach the owner and ask them to keep their dog under control (just like you might ask the owner of the car blocking your driveway to move it) or just call animal control.
Regarding the pepper spray, baseball bat, stun gun suggestions — think about it this way. If your someone in your neighborhood was doing something else obnoxious like having a late night party, smoking a really stinky cigar in a no smoking playground, playing loud music, parking their car in front of your driveway, mowing their lawn at 4 am, etc, etc, would you pepper spray first, or bash the car's windshield in with the baseball bat?
No offense but that's a poor analogy. A person can understand every word you are saying - what's more, they KNOW what they are doing is wrong - and either don't care, or are spoiling for a fight. A dog only understands what it has been taught, and isn't looking for a fight (although it may seem that way).
A dog that charges people, chases things with wheels and barks at the mailman every day is a poorly trained dog and all of those behaviors can be corrected but most owners can't be bothered. As I noted before, these things are not the DOG'S fault, they are the owner's. That doesn't change the fact that the animal is the one who is going to be dealt with.
I'm really impressed with all the people on this forum who have the unique skill of knowing what a strange dog is thinking. I had no idea there were so many "dog whisperers" on this forum!
I had a neighbor who didn't keep their dog on a leash. It would always charge strangers and bark and circle their dog as they walked their dogs past the house. Once I heard one of these strangers rebuke the roaming dog's owner about not keeping their dog on a leash and they got the old response "he is friendly... Wouln't hurt anybody..blah...blah...blah.." A few weeks later I watched in horror as the same dog charged a couple and attacked (bit several times) the little dog they were walking before they could get him away. My neighbor ended up paying over a grand in vet bills. This irresponsible neighbor has since moved and I am happier for it.
All I'm saying is talk to the owner or Animal Control before you hit a loose dog with a baseball bat. The dog should NOT be loose but, I don't think what the original poster described sounds like it was necessarily aggressive behavior. Barking is not indicative of aggression, IME. Barking can indicate excitement. Running is not necessarily aggressive. The OP said she had never seen this dog before so it's not a dog that is habitually let loose to roam the neighborhood like NRG's former neighbor's. (Animal Control should definitely have been called in that situation.)
This dog in the original post DID NOT ATTACK anyone. No need to attack the dog.
Check the links I posted for tips to learn how to read dog body language and what to do if you encounter a stray dog.
I'm really impressed with all the people on this forum who have the unique skill of knowing what a strange dog is thinking. I had no idea there were so many "dog whisperers" on this forum!
I had a neighbor who didn't keep their dog on a leash. It would always charge strangers and bark and circle their dog as they walked their dogs past the house. Once I heard one of these strangers rebuke the roaming dog's owner about not keeping their dog on a leash and they got the old response "he is friendly... Wouln't hurt anybody..blah...blah...blah.." A few weeks later I watched in horror as the same dog charged a couple and attacked (bit several times) the little dog they were walking before they could get him away. My neighbor ended up paying over a grand in vet bills. This irresponsible neighbor has since moved and I am happier for it.
I can't rep you again, but yeah. This is exactly my take on it.
Better safe than sorry. The only person whose duty it is to subdue an aggressive dog is its owner.
I don't think anyone here has advocated clubbing puppies over the head for fun. But, a large dog charging at me at night, if it looked (to me) to be aggressive and had no owner nearby? Yeah. Not gonna attempt to do anything but make it go away.
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