Dog Repellent?

supermezzo

Daleswalker - words fail me except to say that I genuinaly hope that I never meet you.

OP - You will still find assistance dogs on buses and whilst they are extremely trained and well-behaved, they do tend to be somewhat in the way as very often there simply is not room for them to completely be under the seats. Also, pups in training will be on buses/trains/trams etc from as early as six weeks old. I really think that maybe learning, as someone has already suggested, how to get a dog to think you really are the most boring thing in the world would be better for you than trying to get dogs irradicated from everywhere you go.

WolfSong2000

I'm with supermezzo - Daleswalker does not sound like the sort of person I'd get on with .

As for the dog on the bus, when it "bit" you, did it break the skin? I suspect what it did was just a natural reaction and a warning - the dog was not intending to hurt you. It's the doggy equivalent of "oi, watch out!" and is meant as a warning, not a vicious attack. Our Jack Russell used to do the same when she was accidentally sat on (which happened quite a lot as she'd burrow under blankets on chairs).

One of my friends has a phobia of dogs, but was brave enough to deal with my parents dogs when they came to visit, and has since become a lot better, so maybe seek some help for the phobia?

I've dealt with 100's of dogs over the years and find their body language a lot clearer and easier to interpret than that of humans, but as someone else on this thread said, I am still amazed at the number of dog owners who aren't able to correctly read their dog's body language. A "wagging tail" isn't always a good thing!

perplexed.com

It's probably a bit too late for you forthcoming holiday but a course of cognitive-behavioural therapy for your phobia would be worth trying. Depending on services in your area you can ask your GP to refer you to a suitably qualified therapist. It could take a few months but usually works well if you are prepared to work at it.

In addition as others have said, get a few good books on dog behaviour and how to "read" their body language etc as this should help you feel more in control and avoid doing anything, even unwittingly, to provoke them.

elsien

I would definitely go for the avoiding eye contact suggestion, from personal experience.
I have a very nervous scary looking dog with a nasty habit of taking flying leaps at things that frighten her.
So we get into a catch-22 situation where people who are scared of her are (understandably) giving her funny looks because they are trying to work out if it is safe to walk past, and she is getting more and more agitated by these strange people giving her funny looks and she's trying to work out if they are going to hurt her, then she's off and confirming all their phobias and prejudices.
Whereas if people completely ignore her, she doesn't give them a second glance and strolls past quite happily.

I know if you're petrified it's really difficult to do, but trying not to show you're scared and acting as if the dog isn't there can make a big difference to how they react to you.

WolfSong2000

elsien made a very good point about human body language and the way it can be interpreted by dogs. Dogs actually have a really tough time of it when it comes to understanding our body language, because it's the complete opposite of what they're used to naturally. To us, making eye contact is a good thing - shows you're confident and paying attention. To a dog, the natural concept of direct eye contact is one of agression - it's basically a threat or a challenge.

Smiling is another one...when dogs bare their teeth at one another it can either be a sign of submission or agression, but because people tend to smile *and* make eye contact at the same time, to a dog this would naturally be interpreted as a sign of agression, so depending on the dog's personality, it would either back down, or would take the person up on the "supposed" challenge.

Of course realistically dogs learn to interpret our body language as it's meant. If I look at my dogs and smile for instance, they usually know that this means they're likely to get some sort of treat.

Things that they're not used to, however, can interest them...so a person exhibiting unusual (in this case fearful if the person is phobic) body language will interest the dog and they'll want to investigate. I've seen the same thing with dogs and sheep. Dogs chase sheep, because they find them interesting and want to investigate, but when they approach the sheep run, at which point the dogs natural hunting instincts can kick in and they'll chase the sheep.
My family have some pet sheep who are totally unafraid of dogs, and we used to invite people who had dogs that chased sheep to bring them to ours and let them loose. Just about every time, once the dogs had gone up to the sheep, had a sniff and investigated, they were fine and never chased sheep again. I do pity the one sheepdog that was let loose on our sheep. Its owner had to call it off as it was in her words "having a nervous breakdown" as our sheep wouldn't respond. lol.

But yeah...in theory if you're meeting a dog you don't know, don't make eye contact initially, don't stand facing it square on, if you smile don't show your teeth and try and keep your body as relaxed as possible. That way you're letting the dog know that you're not posing any kind of threat to it or its owner .

Raksha

At the same time, dog owners can do them selves a huge favour be desensitising a dog to the human stare. This can then evolve into a 'watch me' command which rewards the dog for holding eye contact with the owner - great for potentially scarey situations where the dog may 'fight' because it can't 'flight'.

patwa_2

Hi,

I have to agree somewhat with #11, and for those that know me they'll be surprised as usually I try not to be discriminatory by nature. I'm usually just happy for people to get on with whatever they want to do, and as long as it's not affecting or upsetting the rest of us well meaning citizens, it's fine.

But having just had a fellow severely partially sighted friend and his completely blind wife almost attacked by a dog, and the wife requiring hospital attention due to the shock and terror caused, I'm not feeling quite so charitable right now. Their crime? Innocently walking along the street with their white canes, minding their own business and completely accidentally stepping on a blanket belonging to a beggar lying in the street with their dog. the dog went crazy. And the beggar was not in the least sympathetic to the occasion, even having the gaul to snarl that if it happened again he'd perfectly well let the dog rip a chunk out of both of their legs. The wife is now terrified to leave her house as she had only a few years ago mastered her own fear of dogs (by necessity as the husband's and her own relatives have guide dogs and visit often even if she herself doesn't).

I know that dogs, just like humans, have instincts. If you do something that it thinks is aggressive, it'll react, naturally. We'd do the same as humans, whether in defence or offence. But I do agree with #11 that it's the owners that are usually to blame for their dogs, so blinded to the fact that their dogs can very easily turn from dosile pets to raging attackers, that they don't realise the effect they have on other people. and often it's due to, as the situation above illustrates, situations which can't be avoided and where people don't even realise they've done anything wrong in the dog's eyes.

In case you're interested, the case above was reported to the police who are now investigating. The beggar is a regular, and we've (I have taken an interest in this out of curiosity and as I'm apparently quite good at writing letters and negotiating etc in a helping capacity) been told the dog will be put down soon. Incidentally, there's also a round up of similar individuals with dogs which loiter on the streets going on, and I have to say with all honesty I'm not sad in the least.

As another example, a poster mentioned above that dogs will often approach and lick people in what they see as a friendly greeting. Often the owner is nearby or even directly in contact with the dog and so presumably able to control it. But often the owner will completely disregard the state of the other person who may be unable to express that they are uncomfortable with the dog, and could you please keep it away from me. I'm like that - I just freeze up completely whenever I even hear a dog close to me and as I can't see well at all, often I won't even realise if a dog has quietly come up next to me or if one is say, next to me on a bus. Thankfully, many of the dog owners in the street where I live know of me, and they'll either call out to me as I approach, or they'll conciously keep the dog away from me if we're talking. Even if they don't know I'm partially sighted, they've sense enough to see I'm uncomfortable and they'll usually twig as to the reason why. I respect the effort they go to to do that, even more so as they have no obligation to do that as long as the dog doesn't attack me, but I wish all people showed such courtesy.

By all means, enjoy your pets, love them and cherish them (although I'd hope you'd at least hold your fellow humans in the same regard) but respect the rest of humankind just as we'll try to respect you.

Raksha

It sounds as if the dog your friends came across was either under socialised (uncommon in street dogs who've been raised on the streets as they've 'been there done that' most of the time) or been mis treated