Want to walk with my dog, but I'm scared.

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LHSHokie
LHSHokie Posts: 18
in Fitness and Exercise
I live in a neighborhood that has quite a few "sketchy" dogs. I used to walk my black lab every day close to our house, but she has been attacked twice (once by a pit and once by a mastiff) ... thankfully, neither time was too damaging. I am absolutely terrified of walking her now. Any ideas?
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Replies

  • zbareket
    zbareket Posts: 3 Member
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    Two words: "Pepper spray."
    (e.g., http://www.amazon.com/Mace-Brand-Muzzle-Repellent-Pepper/dp/B000VYJFII)
  • HappyElizabeth
    HappyElizabeth Posts: 231 Member
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    Bump! I'm interested in this too. I can't walk my dogs at the park near my house for the exact same reason.
  • 2fit4fat
    2fit4fat Posts: 559 Member
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    Pepper spray and phone to call animal control.
  • lilRicki
    lilRicki Posts: 4,555 Member
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    what about driving her to a walking location or off leash park?
  • ZyheeMoongazer
    ZyheeMoongazer Posts: 343 Member
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    Most cities have laws about owners keeping their dogs under control. If these "sketchy" dogs are causing harm to your dog when you try to walk him/her, then I would report the owners.

    It is the owners responsibility to provide proper training for their animals. All dogs (including Pitbulls) are good at heart, its the owners that screw them up at no fault of the animal.
  • Zelinna
    Zelinna Posts: 207 Member
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    Two words: "Pepper spray."
    (e.g., http://www.amazon.com/Mace-Brand-Muzzle-Repellent-Pepper/dp/B000VYJFII)

    I used to walk in a similar neighborhood and would carry pepper spray with me when I walked alone. I never had to use it because I managed to get the dogs to back off before it escalated too much.

    When I saw them approaching I would yell at them before they got too close and make it look like I was not worth the fight. I always had the spray at the ready though just in case. This worked on the big dogs quite easily but never seemed to work on the little Karin Terrier that was never on a leash and constantly attacked my dog. At least that dog was small enough my husband or I could give it a little kick to get it to back off my dog. We had a number of yelling matches with the owner who was always outside when the dog attacked, but completely unable to control it.

    My dog is only about 35 lbs so an attack by one of the big dogs would not have ended well for her. I was really glad when we moved out of that neighborhood.
  • Bennyflippy
    Bennyflippy Posts: 19 Member
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    That poor pup. I have two dogs both 100 pounds and they are not aggressive but can be curious around other dogs. I would carry pepper spray or go to a dog park.
    I hate when people can't control their dogs.
    Good luck
  • LHSHokie
    LHSHokie Posts: 18
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    You guys are so great! Thank you so much for all of your replies. It actually makes me feel better knowing that I'm not the only one dealing with this. I wish that our county had an off-leash park ... that would be absolutely perfect. I have been keeping my eyes open for other areas we could drive to and walk, but I will definitely look into a good pepper spray. Does anyone have any recommendations for a type that works well with larger dogs?
  • Cr01502
    Cr01502 Posts: 3,614 Member
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    I live in London so I usually just carry a knife.
  • piezoeyjune
    piezoeyjune Posts: 186 Member
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    Yeah... RAID.

    That'll stop them...

    Anything wanting to harm my dogs will suffer permanent damage...

    Anyway.

    Have the police been called? We had 2 vicious dogs here and they attacked other pets in the area repeatedly. The police were called and the dogs were first quarantined and then after that they were threatened with euthanasia.

    Both owners have since moved.
    Apparently they think they'll be better somewhere else...

    Good luck.
  • wcso911mn
    wcso911mn Posts: 68 Member
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    I've just started walking my dog (a beagle named Jude) walking 2 miles w/a friend. So far, we've only had one instance where a dog bolted out of its garage & appeared to want to play. But Jude was having none of it. However, when we go on walks, Jude "tracks" and will get on the scent of another dog and bark/howl the whole time. It's embarassing! Short of putting a muzzle on him when we walk, I just let him bark. I know it's how he is (barking when on a track), but EVERYONE walks their dog(s) on the same path I walk, so there are a million dog scents out there. Why can't he just walk and ignore them?! :smile:
  • LFDBabs
    LFDBabs Posts: 297 Member
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    I will sometimes hop in the car and drive to a different location (business/professional area, park, trail, etc) to get away from people and animals. My dog loves the change of scenery too. New places have his nose on overdrive!
  • wcso911mn
    wcso911mn Posts: 68 Member
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    I live in London so I usually just carry a knife.

    This. Is. Awesome.
  • yankee_grl
    yankee_grl Posts: 27
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    Perhaps you can load him up in the car and take him someplace where you feel more comfortable walking him. Like a local greenway or a park. I agree with the others. Pepper spray isn't a bad idea to carry regardless of where we are walking. With or without our dogs.
  • iWaffle
    iWaffle Posts: 2,208 Member
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    I live in a neighborhood that has quite a few "sketchy" dogs. I used to walk my black lab every day close to our house, but she has been attacked twice (once by a pit and once by a mastiff) ... thankfully, neither time was too damaging. I am absolutely terrified of walking her now. Any ideas?

    Find a cat and take it along for the walk too. When the sketchy dogs come out they're bound to go for the cat leaving you and your dog free to carry on.

    You could try wasp killer too. That stuff stops just about anything.
  • thisismeraw
    thisismeraw Posts: 1,264 Member
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    Can you get dog spray? I carry dog spray when I am out walking my dogs as they are all pretty small and there are quite a few bigger dogs around here (there are a few pit bulls down the street who are never on a leash and I have seen them fighting and showing agression... there are also a few very sweet pit bulls around me as well).

    Is there somewhere else you can walk your dog that might be a little better?
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
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    Dogs are funny...now this may not work in all cases, but if you act big enough and tough enough and you literally bark at the dog and growl they sometimes back down. I've been able to scare down a charging boxer and border collie a couple of time. I still carry a knife though.
  • Joreanasaurous
    Joreanasaurous Posts: 1,384 Member
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    I would be careful of using raid or wasp killer. In today's world you are likely to get sued.

    As for the aggressive dogs, call animal control and the police. In the meantime either walk at a different location or carry pepperspray or a fog horn. Startled the heck out of the dog and got more than a few people including the dogs owner outside where I could give them a piece of my mind
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 33,962 Member
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    Your dog will pick up on your fear, too. That will make him more likely to react badly to any dog that approaches. You have to be able to stand up to those dogs without fear, and a weapon of some sort will help you with that. Even a walking stick is enough to fend off a dog that is coming at you. YOU have to be able to back the dog off before it gets to you. Be willing to hurt it if necessary to protect your dog and yourself.

    Usually a sharp "NO" and banging the stick on the ground is all it takes. If that doesn't work you can resort to other methods, but pepper spray is going to get on you and your dog. Don't back away from the dog, if anything move toward it in an aggressive manner.
  • ejwme
    ejwme Posts: 318
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    One word of caution - if you use pepper spray, it will affect everybody with eyes and nose an mouth - including you an your dog. So if you use it, make darn sure you know which direction it's pointed in an be prepared to be similarly incapacitated. But if carrying it gives you the confidence to control the situation, that's likely all the bully dog will need to back off.

    My dogs and I have had encounters with other dogs that, for one reason or another that I will never understand, were off leash and came at us. I put myself between the dogs and in no uncertain terms informed the loose dog that it had left its territory and was on my turf without my permission and would pay for its transgression if it came near (face the dog, show teeth, keep an aggressive posture, arms out to appear bigger, yell angry "GO HOME" etc). MY dogs responded by staying behind me and barking but knew I had it under control and thankfully didn't try to "protect" me. Sometimes I've carried a decent sized stick to back up my stance, but with two leashes and two 60# dogs, it's a lot of hassle. I'm petrified of pepper spraying myself in the face (more scared of pepper spray than fighting off a large dog, yes!).

    In my experience, if you commit yourself to physically protecting your dogs, this sends a message to all the dogs involved that you 1) really do have the right to use the territory you're on an 2) are able and willing to defend your pack. But dogs can sense fear, and they know if you're serious or not. And your dog may sense your fear and try to "help" by fighting off the scary dog.

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