What would you do?

[punka274]

Im torn between something right now!

here's the situation.....I walk my dog 3-4 times a week and i go the same route around my neighborhood. Well, For the past,oh i don't know....month i would say,there is this one dog that REALLY gets on my nerves! If she is out she will come charging,barking,circling us and showing her teeth and follows me down the road ! My dog is pulling me(and she is strong) and trying to get at her! (Once she almost bit me if it wasn't for my dog snapping at her) She's a smaller dog and i can tell she is nursing puppies. One time the owners were on the porch and never said anything to their dog? This morning i saw the owners open the door to see what their dog was barking at and then agian,never said a word, they just closed the door

I got there address and im considering calling animal control and complaining! This is the third time this has happened and it seems to be getting worse with every encounter! I really don't want to start anything with my neighbors though,(not next door neighbors,they live on the next street over) not sure what to do? My DH is walking the dog tommorrow and he's not nice like me,LOL!

What would you do?

 

[SRP]

Can you change your route? You really do need to consider your safety, and your dog's. But I would also directly approach the owners of that dog - nicely, of course. Does your city have leash laws? If so, then the police department might need to be involved. Otherwise, if the owners don't restrain their dog, then yeah, maybe you should call animal control. Sad, but true.

 

[LauraMax]

I think changing your route is the best bet. I work for local govmt & believe me, neighborhood disputes can get super-ugly. We get sucked into them all the time, & often end up in court.

Obviously they're not the nicest people in the world, & it might not be a great idea to be on their bad side.

 

[PhyllisG]

I had this same problem with my neighbor's dog. They live just across a small lane from us. I spoke to them and they were apologetic and put in an electric fence. Tho now the dog doesn't leave her yard she still charges to the edge and then yelps and runs back--just enough to get your adrenaline racing. My dog is ready to kill the silly b----.

 

[punka274]

Thanks everybody for your replies! I guess i will just change my route. I don't really want to approach them,i mean they watched there dog charge me so that kinda tells me what kind of people they are....

My DH told me to bring a water gun next time,LOL

ETA-I forgot to mention that my dog is LIMPING this morning...not sure if its related or not to the encounter yesterday?

 

[LaughingWater]

I carry pepper spray when walking my dog.

 

[fit44]

My neighbor's dog attacked mine when we walked past. The neighbor was outside and had to pull his dog off mine. I thought....great he won't make that mistake again(leaving his dog out off leash).
I was wrong, the dog attacked mine on another walk. It was so scary. I was screaming and crying watching my poor baby get mauled. The neighbor(jerk) told me that I was over reacting.
I called animal control and even though there is a leash law, they could only send him a warning in the form of a letter. AC only has time for dog bites(people). They are so over worked and under staffed.

The water gun sounds great, but some dogs are not afraid of water. Some actually enjoy it.

I changed my route. It's a shame. I couldn't get my girl to walk that way again anyway. She was so frightened. So was I.
A police officer told me to carry pepper spray but I panic. I would worry I would spray myself and my poor girl.

 

[RunninTeach]

Amelia,

IA the simplest thing is to just change your route. They obviously aren't too concerned about the safety of their own dog.

But if you do happen to run into them again, I might bring it up in a non-confrontational way that mentions your concern for both dogs' safety. Then put the ball in their court by asking what "we" can do to make sure nothing happens.

 

[LaughingWater]

Why people don't watch their dogs better is a mystery to me. My neighbor doesn't leash his dog either, and I can't help but wonder if he's not smart enough to realize that he's putting his own dog at risk too.

My dog isn't great with other dogs (or little kids, for that matter), so I'm very careful with him. The pepper spray is really for our protection, but I'm not against spraying my own dog if he gets away from me and charges another.

I also go out of my way to make sure my dog doesn't aggravate other dog walkers. I'll either cross the street or make him sit in the grass, eyes on me, until the other dog passes. A couple walking a Chihuahua even thanked me once, and you just know some idiot with a much bigger dog must have allowed his Roofus to take a swipe at that little guy.

I try not to be negative, but the selfishness of people sometimes really gets to me. I'm so sorry you guys have had to deal with this.