To have shouted at dog?

[RubiMurray]

I went for a walk along the riverbank yesterday. It’s quite isolated and peaceful, just farms etc - rarely see anyone. Suddenly a Dobermann comes running out of nowhere, no owner in sight. It spots me and stops dead just staring at me. I stop in my tracks hoping an owner is around. Then it bolts towards me barking. I shit myself and start move backwards knowing full well I’m not going to be able to outrun the bloody thing. It reaches me and stands in front of me barking and growling at which point I start shouting “help!” The dog gets more hyped and and is jumping around all heckles raised barking and air snapping. Finally a woman comes running shouting at me to stop shouting (!!??), she’s calling the dog who isn’t taking a blind bit of notice. She finally reaches us, puts a lead on the dog and starts to drag it away (it’s still barking at me) and as she turns to walk off she says “shouting at a dog will only wind it up!” I reply “well I’m sorry but having a big fuck off Dobermann barking and growling at you is rather frightening! Why isn’t it on a lead??” She replied “did he bite you? No so what’s your problem? Stop being dramatic” !!!

WIBU to panic and shout??

@echt so what? who whole point of the post is that the woman says this:

"Finally a woman comes running shouting at me to stop shouting (!!??)... and as she turns to walk off she says “shouting at a dog will only wind it up!”

shouting at any dog you are worried is going to attack you will of course wind it up and put you in danger , so whilst the dog SHOULD have been on a lead an not able to do this, the OP has done the wrong thing for her own safety in the situation she found herself in.
by all means shout at the owner once the dog is under control , but to shout at the dog as the OPs thread title suggests will clearly have got her nowhere and if anything she's lucky it didn't escalate the problem.

What do we do? So many dog owners just seem to think they own the world. That every member of the public should put up with anything from their beloved pooch.

I am afraid it induces fury in me. How dare they be so arrogant?

I have a disability + osteoporosis + a balance problem. If a dog jumps up at me I am likely to fall over - and if I do I am bound to break a bone. What should I do? - stay at home?

I have a dog and love dogs and that would have freaked me out!

The OP clearly says *It reaches me and stands in front of me barking and growling at which point I start shouting “help!”

She was calling for assistance.

Fuck what the dog thought.

@echt OK you're just being an idiot now. if your aim is to get bitten then yes fuck what the dog thought ...

The dog owner was a twat.

BUT if this ever happens to you again it's worth knowing that the best way to deescalate the situation is to turn away from the dog, keep your hands in (hug yourself) and be quiet. Basically, do your best impression of a tree. The dog is much less likely to perceive you as a threat and therefore is less likely to bite.

While I can understand why you shouted, it's going to escalate the situation as the dog will perceive you as more of a threat. Running is going to trigger a chasing instinct in the dog and will be futile anyway as the dog can run faster.

Do you have a camera phone? If it’s possible, go with a friend for the next few walks. If you see this woman and her dog again, photograph and report to dog warden, detailing your previous interaction. She needs a talking to and the dog needs training.

Hope you’re ok, what a horrible experience.

Not U to shout at it, but if a dog ever lunges like that again (barking, growling, air snapping) you’d be better off standing your ground yelling aggressively and angrily at it, rather than screaming and showing fear.

I had to learn fast how to deal with aggressive dogs as my own large dog is dog-reactive (great with people and always on a lead). But other dog-reactive dogs off lead sometimes try to attack him. He can deal with one dog but not a pair of dogs attacking him.

As soon as I see an aggressive dog(s) approaching I start yelling ‘Stop! Get back! Leave it!’ If I’ve got my dog with me he starts barking and growling back, so I shout a warning to the owner to get her dog or I’ll let mine off to defend himself.

If I’m alone and an aggressive dog approaches (very rare but it’s happened a handful of times) I do the same firm ‘no, leave it’ stance and shout to the owner to get her dog before it gets hurt. Funny how they come running when they think their dog is in danger!

I’ve recently taken to carrying an old hunting whip with a lash, as cracking a whip in the air deters most dogs and will stop 2 dogs fighting as they look up to see what the bang was. I’ve never had to use the whip on a dog but I would if one was trying to bite me!

by all means shout at the owner once the dog is under control , but to shout at the dog as the OPs thread title suggests will clearly have got her nowhere and if anything she's lucky it didn't escalate the problem

Many dogs will back down and run off if you shout and act like you’re a threat not prey or a plaything to terrorise.

Your are certainly not being unreasonable.

In any similar situation (to be fair, I've never experienced a big Doberman), I point out that if they can't control their dogs, the dog should not be off the lead .

And am Astonished by just how many dogs are let off the lead without reliable recall.

One of my walking friends is terrified of dogs. I can see that this would completely put them off walking.

Shouting around an already defensive/ready to attack dog may well cause the dog to get worse. So in the interests of the dog not attacking in that situation, shouting may encourage an attack.
However, OP should not have been in that situation to start with because the dog should have been under control, no one should be in that situation, because all dogs should be under control, and the owner caused the situation because the dog wasn't under control.
The dog, nor the OP were unreasonable, the owner was, and further so by the way she reacted to OP following the situation.
The sad fact is that people are put into these situations because of others lack of responsibility, and in those cases knowing how to respond to hopefully avoid the situation escalating is important, because it's not going to ease the pain and fear of being bitten to know that you shouldn't have to know what to do, because the situation should never have arisen in the first place.

@Mischance

What do we do? So many dog owners just seem to think they own the world. That every member of the public should put up with anything from their beloved pooch.

I am afraid it induces fury in me. How dare they be so arrogant?

I have a disability + osteoporosis + a balance problem. If a dog jumps up at me I am likely to fall over - and if I do I am bound to break a bone. What should I do? - stay at home?

You are right that so many dog owners are terrible (evidenced by a few of the idiotic responses on here too)

It is my responsibility and mine alone to ensure my dog does not approach people, jump up on people or cause any person to be scared.

It should be no-one’s responsibility to “learn”the correct response to an aggressive dog - it is the owner’s responsibility to control the dog.

You are right to be furious. I am furious too (as my son was also terrified of dogs due to idiotic dog owners thinking that their “friendly” dog jumping all over him was the best way for him to realise that dogs are just fine)

@FateHasRedesignedMost that would be a big risk to take with a doberman and disasterous if it backfired. but in any case shouting "help" is unlikely to have been the firm voice a dog would need.

Situations like this are my nightmare.

I was chased by an aggressive dog as a child and I am scared by even friendly dogs jumping at me now let alone being growled at by an angry doberman! People need to keep their uncontrolled dogs on leads

@CollieDug your comments are as ridiculous as suggesting for example that people shouldn't learn basic self defence , as no 1 else in the world should ever attack them.. its completely idealistic and of no help when something actually goes wrong.

[quote Cheesepuff1]@CollieDug your comments are as ridiculous as suggesting for example that people shouldn't learn basic self defence , as no 1 else in the world should ever attack them.. its completely idealistic and of no help when something actually goes wrong.[/quote]
Doubling down on the victim blaming I see.

Yes you have made me see I was an idiot for freezing when I was sexually assaulted and not putting into practice my brown-belt in ju jutsu (which I have, I’m not being rhetorical).

1. No we shouldn’t live in a society where are blamed for not have learnt the optimal way to response to aggression

1. Fight or flight - how we respond is not alway within our conscious control even if we have a theoretical understanding of what we should do.

I find your views despicable.

that would be a big risk to take with a doberman and disasterous if it backfired. but in any case shouting "help" is unlikely to have been the firm voice a dog would need

I agree it could be disastrous if it backfired, but the dog was already jumping and air snapping at her so it sounds past the point of de-escalation.

I guess I’ve developed a firm no-nonsense ‘dog’ voice from training my own large breed, so other dogs hear the authority in it.

OP another technique in that situation (where a bite is imminent) us to put something between yourself and the dog (your handbag, jacket, umbrella, anything that will protect you if it does lunge for a bite).

Next time get your phone out and film the dog and owner ..hand over to police / dog warden.

@CollieDug . trying to make this about sexual violence is dispicable and YOU should be ashamed of yourself

Also ,walking sticks ,for actual walking ,my dh has some for hills .
Take them with you on all walks ,you can use them to keep some distance between yourself and a dog ,or hit the dog if it goes for you ..I say that as an owner of 3 dogs ..one of mine won’t come back ,so he doesn’t get let off unless we are in the enclosed area alone

@CollieDug and you've actually argued against yourself with your comment. if you froze when u were assaulted then u went quiet and still to limit to effects and damage u thought someone was going to do to you. exactly what someone dealing with an aggressive dog would be advised to do.

This terrifies me as a reactive dog owner. If he would have approached us while out walking my dog albeit muzzled would have gone for the kill. And ultimately one or both would have had to be put down.
I take no prisoners now with people that have their dog off lead with no recall. Their one fucking job is to ensure their dog comes back when called if they are let off lead. I do and have regularly kicked their dog to get it away from mine.

The dobermans owner one day will realise this when their dog approaches a reactive dog and gets its face torn off.

People should have licenses to have dogs and i think there widely needs to be the law that dogs remain on lead unless in a designated dog park.

[quote Cheesepuff1]@CollieDug . trying to make this about sexual violence is dispicable and YOU should be ashamed of yourself[/quote]
You clearly don’t understand the point I’m making but I’m going to put it down to ignorance rather than malice.

YANBU at all. Her dog was totally out of control and she could actually be reported under the Dangerous Dogs Act.

The law changed a few years ago, and it now states that a dog no longer needs to bite to be considered a danger - if you feel threatened by a dogs' behaviour (growling, jumping at you, snarling, snapping) then you can report the dog and owner.

I hope you're okay

This has been recommended, not sure if on here or on FB

I've shouted at dogs who run at me and my dog, generally shouting AWAY! It's instinct to do so I think. The owner was unreasonable letting their dog just wander around especially if it's known to bark at people like that.

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