Lady kicked my dog :(

StudioBeau

I agree she over reacted but you should not let your dogs go over and sniff other on lead dogs without asking the owner first.

My dog is incredibly scared of german shepherds, huskies, anything with a fluffy, wide head basically as he was attacked by a german shepherd a few years back. If someone let their german shepherd sniff my dog I would tell them not to, if they let their GSD sniff my dog again, I would kick the dog. I have kicked dogs in the face (only dogs offlead running up to my onlead dog to be fair) and I will kick more dogs in the face if their owners can't keep them under control. I believe she reacted too quickly but I would do the same thing after the second sniff to be honest.

My dog is so scared he freezes, loses all control of his bowels and can not walk properly after one of these dogs approaches him, not snaps, growls, barks, etc, just approaches and gets within 6 inches of him, he is so wobbly and scared, this lasts hours before he calms down. I do avoid small paths, etc because of this and he is walked at stupid o'clock in the morning most days (like today, he got walked at 6:20am) because of this, but obviously occasionally someone will be out at a random time and there is nothing I can do.

You need to not only think about the temperament of YOUR dog but the temperament of the other dog. My dog has never even growled at another dog, so you would have no way of knowing what would happen to him unless you asked, which as soon as you saw the other dog you should have called ahead to ask if the dog was okay with large dogs, if it was friendly and is it okay if they meet face to face.

And yes, if your dog often goes to sniff other dogs and you have to walk on small paths, use a head collar to control your dogs head. There are ways to control your dog fully and if you have to walk down those small paths you need to find better ways to do so.

krlyr

StudioBeau wrote: »

and there is nothing I can do.

Open your mouth and speak? I have a dog with issues (ironically, a GSD scared of other dogs :rotfl:) and I have learnt that the best way to avoid a problem is to speak. Ask nicely, shout, whatever you need to do, but people certainly respond in a much more helpful way if you actually verbalise what you wish them to do rather than expecting them to be pyschic. Most people are more than happy to stand still for a minute, tuck themselves down a side road/path, call their dog back and put it on lead, etc. if you ask.

StudioBeau

krlyr wrote: »

Open your mouth and speak? I have a dog with issues (ironically, a GSD scared of other dogs :rotfl:) and I have learnt that the best way to avoid a problem is to speak. Ask nicely, shout, whatever you need to do, but people certainly respond in a much more helpful way if you actually verbalise what you wish them to do rather than expecting them to be pyschic. Most people are more than happy to stand still for a minute, tuck themselves down a side road/path, call their dog back and put it on lead, etc. if you ask.

I am always the first person to shout ahead, every single time! Unfortunately, the amount of times I hear 'Don't worry, he/she is nice', 'he just wants to play' and they let their dog come forward quickly on a loose lead or off lead anyway is sickening. You'd be surprised how little of the people with dogs around here are happy to control their dogs in anyway because they have nice dogs and they think because their dog is nice, they don't have to.

As I said to the OP, call ahead, I do that every single time also. Unfortunately, there are times when a dog pops round a corner, comes out of a front door, etc and there is no warning, those are the situations where I can do nothing.

Wellyboots6

krlyr wrote: »

Most people are more than happy to stand still for a minute, tuck themselves down a side road/path, call their dog back and put it on lead, etc. if you ask.

Totally agree. If this lady had said something I would have moved pooch out the way, but she didn't.

Why ask, when you can just kick

annie_d

i am terrified of dogs. All dogs. I have never been bitten but my fear resides in another aspect of dogs. In my experience, people who own dogs do not understand this and try to placate people such as myself with comments such as, "He's only a a baby". " He has never hurt anyone." "He is just being friendly" etc. The point is.....i DO NOT want your dog near to me so please do not let it come near to me.

Wellyboots6

annie_d wrote: »

The point is.....i DO NOT want your dog near to me so please do not let it come near to me.

I have a couple of friends who are terrified of dogs. When they come round pooch gets shut outside. It wouldn't be fair on my friends to try and make them do something they aren't comfortable with, and also wouldn't be fair on him as I couldn't guarantee they would stay calm around him. If they flinched or raised their arms quickly he could take that as a signal to play, and I wouldn't want to have to tell him off.

There are people round here I see regularly when out walking who are scared of dogs and usually they cross the road when they see us. I do shout over though if I am about to cross so that they don't need to.

I think it is the responsibility of both parties to communicate their wishes, not just the dog owner

gettingready

StudioBeau wrote: »

If someone let their german shepherd sniff my dog I would tell them not to, if they let their GSD sniff my dog again, I would kick the dog.

Why the dog? Why not the owner? You told the owner to stop his/her dog sniffing yours and the owner did not respond in a way you want to so why kick the dog?

StudioBeau wrote: »

I have kicked dogs in the face (only dogs offlead running up to my onlead dog to be fair) and I will kick more dogs in the face if their owners can't keep them under control. I believe she reacted too quickly but I would do the same thing after the second sniff to be honest.

oh dear.....

StudioBeau

gettingready wrote: »

Why the dog? Why not the owner? You told the owner to stop his/her dog sniffing yours and the owner did not respond in a way you want to so why kick the dog?

Because the thing I want to happen is the dog to move away from my dog, me kicking the owner would not get the outcome I want. Me kicking the dog gets the situation I want.

If I go and punch the owner, the most likely thing is they will drop the lead and my dog will be worse off.

It is amazing how quickly people pull their dogs away once you kick them, for some unknown reason, they can't do that 30 seconds earlier when asked nicely usually 2 or 3 times.

StudioBeau

Although, out of choice, if I knew my dog would not be worse of, I would much rather punch the owner!

Wellyboots6

Does it not worry you though that by kicking the dog it may bite you?

I don't think I would ever dare kick a dog in case it bit me!