Dog attacks - am I being irrational here?

[Bemyclementine]

I'll start by saying I'm a dog lover, I've had dogs all my life until a few years ago. I do t have a dog now as I work, single parent, etc
Although I miss having dogs.

Obviously there's a lot in the press about dog attacks causing severe injuries and death. Not just to children, but adults too. It's such a distressing thing to think about.

We live rurally, and see a lot of dogs around being walked. Never a problem.

But, a few hundred yards down the road (single track country road, we often cycle down) someone has moved into a house, fenced off a small enclosure in the paddock next door, and there is a large dog in it. A gingery mastiff type.

I can't help but be nervous of it getting out . Worry about walking/cycling past. What on earth would I do if it got out, when I'm there with my dc aged 6 and 7?

I feel like I'm being ridiculous, but you never know. And yes, I do suffer with anxiety a bit.

Wwyd? I don't want to stop walking/cycling. Is there anything at ALL I could have with me that might help?

I think this is your anxiety talking.

All I can see here is

• a big dog who hasn't done anything to make you think it's a threat, apart from existing and being chunky.
• owners who have done the responsible thing by fencing to keep it on their property.

Mastiffs tend to look a lot fiercer than they really are.

If you ever do feel threatened by a dog, the best thing to do is to

• stop cycling (your children will never outpace it, and for most it's just the thrill of the chase so they lose interest the second you stop moving)
• stand with your back to the dog, turning if necessary to keep facing away from it, and avoiding eye contact. This diffuses most situations, from overfriendly dogs jumping for attention to dogs that feel threatened and have erred on the side of fight.

The fencing doesn't look at all adequate to me, it's decent enough but about 3ft high. No the dog itself hasn't done a thing. I suppose it's the issue with IF it does, the consequences are worse . An old neighbour had a similar dog but a blue grey colour, that attacked and killed their other dog after 2 years of living together. (Other dog was an old English sheepdog).

I have no advice, but totally understand your concern OP and following with interest as I would also like to know what course of action to take if confronted by an aggressive dog. I was out walking recently with my tiny baby in his carrier and a large, off-lead dog ran at us and cornered us, barking, snarling and growling. It took about 5 minutes for its owner to catch up with it - the longest, most terrifying 5 minutes of my life. All I could do was stand still and try not to look at it, but wondering if I should have turned away/walked away/or shouted at it?

All I could do was stand still and try not to look at it, but wondering if I should have turned away/walked away/or shouted at it?

Still and not looking at it is a really good move. I'd also turn away though, for added de-escalation.

There's little point in walking away if the dog starts following - they'll always outpace you and some enjoy the chase element. If you are cornered as described in this scenario then you cannot walk away, you can only walk towards the dog, which will escalate things.

Shouting at it would be a bad idea - it's only going to ramp things up.

Aggressive dogs are invariably scared, on some level - they perceive you as a threat. They therefore try to make themselves look as big and scary as possible in the hope that the 'threat' will go away. Making yourself look as unthreatening as possible - from the dog's perspective - is the best way to deal with it. Dogs usually only bite as a last resort; if it's any comfort then the dog you had a scary encounter with could have bitten, but (like 99% of dogs) chose not to.

My own idiot dog finds one very specific breed of dog scary. We avoid them like the plague now, but if given a chance, he will run up to them, stand about a metre away and bark as ferociously as a small dog can. He's never bitten. It's not a logical move from a human's point of view, but it's something some dogs will do.

@OnTheHamsterWheelOfDoom Thank you so much for this advice - it’s really helpful to understand what the dog may have been thinking or feeling. Definitely an incident that will stay with me for a very long time. @Bemyclementine sorry for hijacking your thread.