[Sophiemydog]

Hi dog lovers,

I need help with a situation, I have found myself in. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I have a mixed shepard/lab, that I walk just around my block. She was a rescue and I have had her now 9 years. She is not good with other dogs, but I have full control of her and I keep her away from other dogs entirely.

Lately, this woman has been walking this very large mastiff, around my neighborhood. My first run in with her was a few months ago. She was walking the dog, and the dog broke loose from her grip and went running up to my dog. The mastiff then began to intimidate my dog (my dog's name is Sophie), and Sophie started to cry out, and then I fell on my butt because I lost my equilibrium in this mess. I kept saying "my dog's not friendly" but the woman ignored me entirely. Eventually she grabbed the dogs leash and walked away. I figured since I never saw this woman before, I wouldnt likely have to deal with her again. I was wrong.

So this woman now routinely walks this dog by my house and around my neighborhood. She has little control over this dog and when walking my dog if I should see her, the dog literally pulls her in the direction of my dog, all the while this dog is snarling and being threatening. It's making it very uncomfortable for me to just take a simple walk with my dog. I've been very cordial with her so far and I really thought that this woman would at least have some consideration for the fact that both me and my dog are scared of her dog, but she continues to walk this dog (its not her dog, but her friends) by my house.

Today I just about had it. I was coming home for a little walk with Sophie and was just about three houses away from my house, when this women was walking toward me with the mastiff, I would have turned around but my house was just yards away, and the woman continues to walk toward me with the dog, so I went up onto a neighbors property, so as to let her walk by. Despite me giving her plenty of room to walk by, the dog is still pulling her and snarling at Sophie.

I need advise on how to handle this. What do I do? What should I say to this woman?

Thanks in advance.

 

[myrottenones]

but she continues to walk this dog (its not her dog, but her friends) by my house.

I have 2 Rottweilers myself and I am acutely aware of only having 25 lbs on each of them so even with them walking wonderfully (one at a time obviously), I am always prepared for them pulling (knock on wood).

I am wondering if the owner of this dog knows that this woman has little control over him?

Hypothetically, if I were to have another person walk my dogs, I would want to know immediately if that person had lost control of them or was constantly on the verge of it. Ultimately, the owner would be the one paying for any medical bills or fines that came about by his dog (I think).

If at all possible, I would talk to the owner first, just based on the fact that you say this woman ignored you in a situation she should be apologizing for.

 

[Sophiemydog]

Thanks for your reply. Unfortunately, I don't know who this dog belongs to. I just know that this woman is a friend who has agreed to walk their dog during the day. I had ran into her a few times on my daily walks with my neighbor and being that my neighbor is super friendly, we ended talking with the woman.

 

[kelly528]

Yikes. That's a tough situation because people can so easily absolve themselves of responsibility and say "it's not my fault, I'm not the one who trained him and I'm being nice enough just by walking him!"

What I would do is get a can of Spray Shield and put it on a lanyard around your neck. It's not harmful to dogs at all (though it apparently is fairly effective for breaking up scuffles) BUT she doesn't know that. It's amazing how fast people can get control of their dogs when asked if you are holding a tiny aerosol canister.

 

[Sophiemydog]

Thanks Kelly, I'm gonna look into purchasing this.

Thanks again!

 

[Sophiemydog]

Can anyone advise me as to what to do if this dog gets loose and goes after me and my dog. Should I carry muzzle spray? Does that even work?

 

[myrottenones]

I carry an umbrella with me when I know I'm walking in a area with loose dogs (by my house).
But, I did practice with each of my dogs in another environment to heel if I bring it out in front of me and when I open it.
If you don't practice this first, you might freak your own dog out.

I don't know what a muzzle spray is but I know you can get citronella sprays (I think that's what Kelly named).
You want to avoid causing harm if at all possible, you just need to scare the dog away.
Some people carry sticks too, sometimes it's enough to wave it in front of the other dog to keep him away.

But you can try to meet up with her without your dog and talk to her, see if there is a certain time of day she takes her walks and see if you can make her understand that after that first time when he got loose, you are scared to walk your own dog, on the off chance that you meet her and the mastiff.
Plus, you can explain your own situation with your dog and how far she has come but you are afraid that she'll regress if this keeps happening.

This to me is not unreasonable. A neighbor of mine has a very reactive dog and she knocked on our door asking if we could make up a somewhat of a schedule.

If she becomes defensive about it, despite you being nice, I would tell her that the only options left is to find out who the owner is and talk to the owner and if that doesn't work, I would tell her point blank that you will start taking precautions and that you will defend your dog if necessary.

These situations always suck.

 

[Sophiemydog]

Thanks so much for your help! When I see her I am gonna see about coordinating our walking times so as to avoid each other. I loathe doing this because I'm shy and dont really enjoy having to be assertive here, but anything for Sophie. She has had a traumatic puppyhood, it kills me to even envision her getting hurt again.

Ya gotta do what ya gotta do. It does suck.

Thanks again!