Street Walks

[corvus]

We don't walk our dogs on leash on the streets much. Yesterday I thought maybe I'd walk the dogs to the dog park instead of driving them. It's about a 2km walk. Halfway there all three of us had the crap scared out of us when a dog errupted from behind a low brick wall and launched through the front gate, looking every inch like it was going to take us apart. Thank heavens whoever the bright soul was who left the dog out there with no supervision other than a bunch of kids had the presence of mind to at least tether the dog. It hit the end of the long rope it was on and then repeatedly threw itself in our direction, getting itself so worked up it was frothing at the mouth. The boys reacted quite strongly to this display, as I would if a raving lunatic came bursting out from behind a bush brandishing a knife and screaming obsceneties. I didn't trust the rope and quickly tried to get my dogs across the road, almost stepping out in front of a car. Took a deep breath, stood on the curb waiting for the car to pass, which had slowed down having apparently seen that I was possibly going to leap out in front of them, talked the dogs down from bouncing at the end of the leash to standing next to me and barking, then got them across the road, and took a few moments behind the safety of a motorhome to get Erik's head screwed back on and let my heart stop pounding.

I remembered that's why I don't usually do street walks. There is no dog on earth I fear more than the territorial one that appears out of nowhere, barking and lunging hysterically. I'm not sure how people cope. I go to the dog park everyday and I could count the number of times my heart rate has increased on one hand. I had two more minor scares before I got home. How do you cope with dogs that spring out from behind barriers, barking and lunging at you as if they want to tear you into little pieces? I've been charged by a few like that. Scares the bejesus out of me. At least at the dog park you can see them coming and often get out of their critical distance before they get a chance to explode.

[mita]

I remembered that's why I don't usually do street walks. There is no dog on earth I fear more than the territorial one that appears out of nowhere, barking and lunging hysterically. I'm not sure how people cope.

It's happened to me, walking our 2 shelties. Open gate & out came a blue heeler streaking towards my shelties. I had nowhere to go in the split seconds..

I put my arm protectively in front of the shelties & the BH literally ran into my arm, teeth & all. So I got a bite. To be fair, the BH hadn't intended to bite me....& actually seemed stunned it'd bitten a person. I stamped my foot & said, 'Get out!'.

By then, the owner had appeared & I told her that her dog had bitten me. Blood running down my arm! The woman just turned & walked back inside, BH followed her. Without a word.

Went to doctor, got bite treated, then rang Council dog management inspector who was great. He, too, was angry that someone with a territorial dog would leave a gate wide open & would totally ignore the situation when someone was bitten.

I emphasised the BH was after my dogs, it hadn't intended to attack a human.

He was really amused. He said I was the first person reporting a dog bite that had stuck up for the biter. Anyway, he was then off to pay the woman a visit. His emphasis was going to be that her dog was allowed into public space, to attack. He phoned me later, to say he'd really read the riot act & applied suitable penalty. Turned out the BH was quite senior, 7 yrs old, & didn't test out as aggressive towards people, just as I'd said.

Edited April 8, 2011 by mita

[Aidan3]

I walk with Ghandi and Cthulhu, so we don't really have a problem.

[wuffles]

Front fences aren't allowed around here, so that makes it a bit easier. I know where all the neighbourhood dogs live now, so avoid any houses that I know will be trouble.

[Bundyburger]

We've been chased down the street more than once, and the owners just laugh when you yell at them to get their dog.. So lucky mine is friendly!! Now I'll drive 5 mins to a massive park and let him run offlead down there instead!

[dandybrush]

every time i leave home i worry if im gonna come across a stray/loose dog, we have come face to face with one, that was scary, i kept walking and he walked off, and we have been run at and attacked by a dog got out of his yard, lucky raz was little then and OH grabbed him and picked him up :/ dunno what i would do now, i always walk with a ball launcher, i guess if i have to ill wack the dog with it

[trojka]

It seems I'm not even safe walking down the street without my dog anymore. In the last week I have been rushed at by two separate dogs, one a Rottweiler and the other a large Boxer who is very territorial and I worry every time I walk past that house that he will jump the fence. I love both those breeds, especially rotties, but being rushed at by such a large, unknown dog is not a nice feeling, and the next one will be reported. It has happened when walking my dog before as well, and certainly hasn't helped with his reactivity towards strange dogs.

[Miranda]

It's pretty good around here, I very seldom come across a loose dog in this neighbourhood.

[W Sibs]

It's pretty good around here, I very seldom come across a loose dog in this neighbourhood.

Same here.

[corvus]

It's happened to me, walking our 2 shelties. Open gate & out came a blue heeler streaking towards my shelties. I had nowhere to go in the split seconds..

I automatically put my arm protectively in front of the shelties & the BH literally ran into my arm, teeth & all. So I got a bite. To be fair (believe it or not!), the BH hadn't intended to bite me....& actually seemed stunned it'd bitten a person. I stamped my foot & said, 'Get out!'.

That happened to my mother. They live on a battleaxe block and the owner of the house at the top of the block had a heeler mix that started out nice enough, but soon grew into a frenzied monster whenever we walked the dogs up our driveway past the dog's backyard. He was usually tied up, but not always. There was no fence, so if he was loose he would just cannon straight for my little corgi. Couldn't stop him. We tried several methods. Eventually we picked the corgi up and carried her past him, but that didn't stop him either and he ended up biting my mother's arm because it was holding my dog. On the plus side, the owners had a 10ft steel fence up by the end of the week. On the downside, it took my dog quite some time to recover psychologically. She would get frantic every time we walked past the fence for the rest of her life. Later, those people moved out and some others moved in who also have a dog. It throws itself at the fence and scares the current dogs even more than the loose dog that charged them did! My mother has been bitten by her own dog who was so terrified by the unknown monster crashing on the other side of the fence that she spun around and bit the nearest thing, which was mum's leg. The unknown monster sends Kivi out of his mind as well. Whenever I visit I drive my dogs up the driveway when I walk them so we don't have to deal with the monster.

Aidan, I thought I had Ghandi and Cthulhu! My Ghandi doesn't understand dogs that shout at him for walking by, and my Cthulhu is kind of undersized and slightly hysterical. My wee little corgi Penny once put the fear into a GSD that lived across the road from us and used to shout at her from behind the gate. She ran up to it and smartly bit its nose between the bars of the gate. It bolted and that was the last time we ever saw it. It would bark at us from behind the house. I have this theory I call the kamikaze effect. When a small and seemingly over-matched animal suddenly runs at a much larger animal, the larger animal interprets this excessively brash move as an indication that the small animal has a secret weapon they should fear and thus they run away. This theory came about after my cat was looking inside a bag and when I opened it a mouse leapt out at his face, then turned and ran directly for me. We both ran away. All tongue in cheek of course.

[freundhund]

Try walking on lead a nice well behaved, well mannered GSD bitch, non aggressive, and out of the house dive 2 TOY poodles who promptly snap at both my girl and myself. I have now twice asked the people to control their dogs, next time I am going to contact the council ranger as is not funny and I am really frustrated with these peoples. Note I am on the opposite side of the road.

[Leelaa17]

Freudhund - do you mind if I ask what state you live in?

Corvus - I am sorry to hear that you are worried to walk your dogs at all - that is not a nice feeling to have!!

I was wondering though - has something specifically happened to your or your babies when walking? Like have you or them actually been attacked or is it just that you live in an area where there are dogs out the front that charge towards the fence?

I am just curious thats all because (and I am sure you have done this) - but have you tried walking a different route? If that is at all possible?

And remember, your dogs would feel what you are feeling -

Took a deep breath, stood on the curb waiting for the car to pass, ................ talked the dogs down from bouncing at the end of the leash to standing next to me and barking, then got them across the road -(I couldnt work out how to quote it ) I honestly believe the dogs stopped barking and calmed down becaause YOU did.

I was at dog training the other night and my GSD girl was going absolutely INSANE because these two dogs kept looking her straight in the eyes. I started getting so frustrated and my blood was boiling... I realised that this probably wasnt helping Jenna and I took a huge deep breath and just stood there for a few seconds to calm myself down - believe it or not (I couldnt believe it myself at the time) but she immediately calmed down and started paying attention to me when I calmed down.

Next time you try going for a walk - or even the dog park, try to stay calm (as much as you possibly can) and try not to get too anxious. because your dogs AND other dogs will feel that energy.

Edited April 8, 2011 by Leelaa17

[Pretty Miss Emma]

We have a few dogs that bark at us from behind fences (some that are alongside the path), there are a couple who I think are a major concern as they look like they are about to break through the fence - everytime we go past they are able to puch their heads through the palings. So now that I know where they are I just cross the road. But still have to deal with my young one who is quite reactive back at them - so lots of distraction training (treats under her nose the whole time we walk past!!! But she is MUCH less reactive than she used to be!).

If I see a dog out on the street I cross the road, if it crosses then we just trun around and find any other way to go. Only once have I not been able to do this and it was a SWF that came running out of it's house - no person, no tether - and pretty much tried to have a go at my beautiful old BC Em (who just tried to get away), in the end I had to give the dog a much bigger kick than I wanted to and quickly walk Em away (she's not really up to running any more). If it were a bigger dog I have no idea what I would have done.

[lappiemum]

I have less problems walking my lot along the street than in dog parks. I know where all the neighbourhood dogs are, and it doesn't worry me if there are dogs barking behind a fence - I use it as an opportunity for training my lot to ignore the distraction.

Offlead and aggressive dogs rushing me and my dogs in the dog park - while their dopey owner looks on and thinks its funny - is another matter. I don't do parks for that very reason.

[ridgiemum]

I live in Sydney & I only drive to the park & walk the dog around there, I am sick of off leash dogs just walking the streets around here.

[skip]

My small girl woud like to walk in the middle of the tarred road just in case a dog comes out at us from a house. I struggle to convince her otherwise!

2 scarey experiences for eg;

Walked past a house in a unfamiliar area where they had a dog tied to a large treestump to keep it contained. Sadly the dog was so excited as I walked past with 2 little ones, it jumped a fence dragging the wood along. Surprising how fast it could drag that lump of wood. Luckily I could carry one chihuahua and drag one kelpie x faster than it could drag that treestump! But I was running for about half the street before I could lose that bloody dog! Talk about heart rate!

Offered to walk my invalid friends DA boxer. Walking past the back of a house as I have done dozens of times with my little dogs for about the third day in a row. There is a lovely looking brown and tan bully type dog on the back stairs as always. Except this time the owner is in the yard and the dog bolts down to the back 6ft fence. You cannot beleive how shocked I was to see 2 claws, then 2 paws, next a nose, a head, and then the whole bloody dog slip over that fence. I nearly died. If it had of been my 2 small dogs I would have been a mess. I was very calm with somebody elses dog. Slack, I know. Luckily the dog had better recall than most dogs I know and without a fight, slipped back over the fence when the owner screamed at it. Decided to give that walking option a miss for a while till that dog gets older and fatter.

Seems everywhere can be dangerous to walk your dogs these days. As I consider dog no. 3 , I am thinking about getting a larger dog as I cannot protect 3 small dogs at once. My chi x would be dead so easily if attacked by any mid sized dog or larger.

Edited April 8, 2011 by skip

[corvus]

Corvus - I am sorry to hear that you are worried to walk your dogs at all - that is not a nice feeling to have!!

Oh, they get walked plenty. We just don't usually do it on the streets. To be honest I'm pretty comfortable with dog parks. I have my eye in and can usually predict trouble before it finds us. What I find difficult about the street is not having that opportunity. Often I can't see the dogs and the first indication I get that they are there is if one of my dogs' ears go forward.

I was wondering though - has something specifically happened to your or your babies when walking? Like have you or them actually been attacked or is it just that you live in an area where there are dogs out the front that charge towards the fence?

I am just curious thats all because (and I am sure you have done this) - but have you tried walking a different route? If that is at all possible?

Naw, just don't like being surprised. Especially given we're talking about territorial aggression. To me it is a whole different ball game to stroppy dogs in parks or dogs trying to pick a fight for no real reason. My dogs can generally deal with that kind of thing very effectively and won't be drawn into conflicts.

Next time you try going for a walk - or even the dog park, try to stay calm (as much as you possibly can) and try not to get too anxious. because your dogs AND other dogs will feel that energy.

Haha, usually I am cool as a cucumber. I've snatched my dog right out of a scuffle, calmly headed off unwanted attention, and held other people's dogs for them to prevent brewing trouble. In normal circumstances me and the dogs shrug off aggressive behaviour and move on. But a dog appearing 5 metres away already in an aggressive frenzy is not a normal circumstance for us. It's not fearing what might happen, it's being startled by what is happening.

[poochmad]

Most of the people who walk their dogs in Goulburn use a lead. It's the dogs that are allowed to roam free that are a problem. Three doors up from us is an extremly aggressive stumpy tailed cattle bitch who will charge at our dogs. Luckily hubby has been with us. However, sometimes he travels (like Sunday) and I will have to walk the dogs on my own which I hate due to that dog.

It irks me so much that people have no consideration of others.

[freundhund]

Hi Leelaa17

I live in Sydney.