Have the dogs always charged at you? Is it the same walking route you always take?

Never had that happen.....yet.

How's was your pups reaction?

 

Depends on the dog. Sorry this happened to you and your dog. How did your dog react?

 

Loose dogs running up to you? I body block (actually I pick her up, but that probably wouldn't be a good idea for you ) and yell "go home!" until they go. In that instance, my concern is getting the dog away from mine and not any setbacks that may come from the experience. One the dog leaves we play LAT from several yards away and then move on.

 

Thanks for the replies! Here's what happened (best I can recall and describe):

encounter 1 - yellow lab, we've had previous incidents, and he's a frequent, unwelcome visitor in our yard: We got to the end of our drive, lab saw us and began to bark. Katie was alert, but relatively calm. As we walked away from his house, he continued to bark and follow us, and eventually walked up our drive. Katie remained alert, stopping several times to look behind us. I don't think she barked.

encounter 2 - tiny grey dog (maybe small terrier mix?), have not seen previously: He ran down his drive and into the street, ran up to Katie. He had a high pitched bark / yip. Katie was alert, but didn't really bark. We walked away when the owner retrieved his dog. I'll note that he was the only owner who intervened and he was the dog I was least worried about.

Between encounters 2 and 3, we passed several barking dogs contained behind physical fences. Katie was more alert to them than normal, but she didn't bark back.

encounter 3 - border collie or Aussie and chow, we've seen them in their yard and on walks: Both dogs ran into the street, barking. Katie jumped around a bit and barked back. We were able to continue and I got her attention back on me quickly.

encounter 4 - same yellow lab as encounter 1: This time we had to pass his house. I kept Katie's attention on me as long as I could. The lab barked and ran into the street towards us. At this point, Katie was barking back and wasn't so much interested in focusing on me. I yelled at the dog to go home. He did turn around and walk down the street in the opposite direction.

I should say that in the recent past, we have had dogs run up to us and Katie hasn't really reacted beyond being interested/alert. However, they've been one-encounter walks, not loose and/or barking dogs at every turn.

Katie is generally very friendly and likes to play with other dogs (on her terms). That said, I don't think she'd be one to back down from a fight. In our training class last week, our instructor called her "tough as nails."

Harleyboysmom, ironically, we started taking this route because there have been fewer dogs! When there's more light in the evening, we walk in local parks where all dogs are on-leash. Unfortunately, we don't have enough time for an after-work park trip this time of year.

 

We have similar things happen all the time Since Koda is dog-agressive but only shows signs of discomfort when they come near, shouting 'go away' isn't normally good enough. I ended up growling at a dog the other day, then shouting in a non-angry voice to go back to it's owner and it did! Owner then put said dog on leash and we were able to get by without any problems.

Other times they just don't back off and we have a bad encounter where Koda goes NUTS on another dog (lunging, snapping but rather close to the dog's neck even if she doesn't actually touch, mostly), with the owner out of sight or FAR away. Once the owner realizes what's happening, which is typically after their dog has been scared enough to back off and I have Koda focused back on me, they start screaming. Very useful.

I got another good tip which doesn't normally stop dogs from running up but at least slows them-I pretend to throw a ball way far away or at them (by at them I mean near them not aiming to maim). It gives their owner a few extra seconds to catch up if they're not far behind but were lagging before-because now they're worried about what you 'threw' at their dog, too..

 

That also sounds like a LOT of dogs being reactive in a small area!! We normally turn around and go back if there's too many or if one of us is in a 'mood'-and play fetch in my hallway for 3 hours instead of an hour walk. It takes way more time but is way safer.

 

Thanks! I considered turning around, but I'm not sure it would have helped. I didn't notice the border collie and chow until we were halfway past their house and they were running towards us. The lab lives 3 houses away and is able to see us approaching from either direction and isn't shy about following us into our yard.

I should say, too, I don't think it was my shouting that made the lab turn away; I suspect it was Katie's deeper barks.

How long until Spring? I miss our walks in the park.

 

Cookie, thank goodness we've only had one dog (knock on wood) run up after Champ and I on a walk. It was a small dog, and I think I threw some treats at it and then booked it out of there while trying to stuff treats in Champ's mouth. Her owners were calling her, and eventually she stopped following us. I felt like it was a poor response on my part (ie I wasn't exactly calm/collected), but I was worried about what Champ would do if she got close enough. We would both be an emotional wreck if we were in your shoes during that walk from Hell!

 

I'd strongly consider finding someother way to exercise during the winter. For me and Quest it wouldn't be worth the setbacks. Once you are out in the world, you have little to no control of the situations. We've been using the flirt pole in our back yard, playing hind and seek in the house, fetch up the stairs, etc.

If time wasn't such an issue, I'd recommend driving somewhere else to walk.

 

Thanks for the advice and support. Yesterday was very much an anomaly; if most days were like that, we wouldn't walk in the neighborhood at all. I'll admit to being a little selfish, too. Part of the reason for the walk is so that I can get some exercise. Katie running around in the yard does nothing for my butt.

Today was much, much better. We did see one of the dogs from yesterday, but he was leashed and on a walk with his owner. She seems very understanding. We've passed them before with Katie acting like a goof. She's always gracious, and today stopped so that we could turn around and get far enough away that Katie was no longer looking over her shoulder.

Semi-related question: Would it be creepy to write her a thank you note?

 

No it's not creepy to write her a thank you note!!