Threatened by a Dobermann

[OzzysWhiteHorse]

I was walking around a field yesterday (trying to get my steps in) and out of nowhere a big fuck off dobermann comes flying around the corner and stands there barking and growling at me. No owner in sight. It never actually touched me but was edging forward the entire time - heckles raised - teeth showing. It clearly wasn’t “playing”.

I was terrified, my instinct was to run but thankfully logic (or fear response?) kicked in and I just froze. Good job as I’m hardly going to outrun a dobermann am I.

I honestly thought I was going to be killed. Eventually an owner appeared from around the corner, grabbed the dog and apologised but said “she wouldn’t have bitten you, she’s all mouth” !!!! I was too shook up to respond.

I have since found out where it lives - although DH thinks I am being unreasonable to report it as it never bit me and “dobies don’t bite anyway, they were bred to act intimidating but they rarely actually bite”.

he’s a dog breed nerd.

I have no idea if this is true but AIBU to report anyway? I’m pretty sure if I’d have ran or made any wrong move the bloody thing would have flown at me

It didn't actually do anything - who are you going to report it to and what do you think will be the outcome?

A friend of mine had their arm savaged by a stanger's off lead staffy while on a walk and the police took months to decide to do nothing. They're not going to do anything because a dog scared you.

It was barking and growling directly at me. It’s not like it was walking past and I got scared - it directly threatened me

But nothing actually happened, so reporting it will get you absolutely nowhere.

Owner had aggressive dog off lead - surely they would at least be told to keep it on a lead? I’m not after the dog being pts or anything like that, I just want the owners to be responsible

I think I would write a letter to the owner and put it through their door, explaining in detail how the incident made you feel.

I disagree with the other posters report it because it could be a pattern of behaviour and let's face it the owner was nowhere to be seen

Dobermans are intimidating. My friend had one and it was good as gold but I could never feel totally relaxed around him. So I can see how it must have been scary but there is zero to report here. Nothing happened, the dog didn't attack you and made no attempt to attack you either. If it was a poodle doing the same, you probably wouldn't give it a second thought. Dobies are just scary looking dogs in general which amplifies the effect of their behaviour.

I think if I was brave enough I'd knock on their door and tell them how you felt, and that you were too shocked to say anything at the time.
Dog owners seem to have no concept of how their animals can affect people. Teeth-baring dobermans are as terrifying to adults as the jumping-up-to-face-level smaller dogs are to young children. Plus of course dobermans are protective dogs that do attack when they sense a threat.
I'd have been rigid with fear, OP.

That sounds frightening but I have a dog who is very suspicious of people who "freeze" when we're out on a walk. If people just carry on walking he doesn't have any issues but if they're standing still and making themselves invisible he notices them more and it makes him anxious and a bit worried about what they're doing.

My general advice to anyone who's a bit scared of a dog's sudden appearance would be to try and calmly walk away, rather than freezing in place; obviously it depends on each situation, but in my experience the "freeze" will put the dog on higher alert.

I agree that you should report it.

Many years ago when I walked my DS to nursery we had to go past a scrap yard which had 2 doberman guard dogs. One morning they had escaped and as we approached the bit of the road near the yard they ran toward us growling aggressively. We were terrified and stood rooted to the spot. Luckily there were some workman near by and they shouted at the dogs and the dogs ran off. But I still remember how terrified we were. So I really sympathise OP. I didn't report it. But I know in retrospect I should have.

Legally they don't have to harm someone to be classed as dangerous dog. Fear of harm is enough.

I would consider reporting, even if nothing is done it may help if later something happens to show the dog has historically also been out of control and it isn't a one off.

Out of control
Your dog is considered dangerously out of control ifit:

• injures someone
• makes someone worried that it might injure them

A court could also decide that your dog is dangerously out of control if either of the following apply:

• it attacks someone's animal
• the owner of an animal thinks they could be injured if they tried to stop your dog attacking their animal

Copied from the dangerous dogs act. The dog doesn’t have to ‘do anything’ for the owner to be in breech of the act

As I a Doberman owner, I probably would report. Mainly because the owner should have been out of sight of the dog. Your dog has to be under control. If it’s out of sight and off lead, it’s not under control. If you really feel you need to report them do. There could be other reports as well.

Honestly, nothing will really be done except a word with the owner. It didn’t attack you. It’s not on the dangerous dogs list. There’s nothing that can be done and they may not even have a word.

They can be intimidating dogs just from their looks, association from what we see in the media, their size and they are loud when they bark. Very loud. Whilst they very rarely attack people, that doesn’t really matter. It’s still intimidating. As an owner of one we are extremely careful with him, for that reason. I don’t want anyone feeling intimidated by dog.

Years ago I had a similar encounter with a dog (not a Doberman, not sure what it was but it was but a similar type of dog and scary looking). I was sitting on the grass in the middle of a field and it appeared out of a wooded area. It started barking and growling at me with a stiff tail, bearing its teeth and kept flexing like it was going to lunge. I wanted to run but I didn’t think it would be a good idea, so I stayed frozen on the spot. After what felt like forever, but was probably about 2 minutes, the owner came out of the woods and it ran off. It was a horrible experience so I sympathise.

I’ve also had a Doberman run up to me and start jumping up and down. It had bright blue eyes and looked like something that would guard the gates of hell. This one was just excited and playful fortunately but it was still disconcerting. I knew somebody who had one she rescued and she said people would cross the road when she was out walking it. I actually think they’re beautiful dogs but it’s intimidating when a strange one approaches you.

I wouldn’t report it, the police won’t care.

That's fine but OP didn't freeze because it appeared, she froze because of this
but was edging forward the entire time - heckles raised - teeth showing.

And I don't blame her for that. OP, I would report too.

I see what you're saying and logically it makes sense. The problem I have is that I'm really, really scared of dogs. I had a bad experience with an xl bully type when I was running. Now when I see a large uncontrolled dog coming towards me off lead with mo owner on site, I freeze, it's just instinct.

I'd really like dog owners to keep their dogs in sight if they are off lead. Until I see an owner who can demonstrate the dog has some recall, I can relax. Until then I physically can't move.

It is actually against the law to have a dog that's dangerously out of control or instilling fear so you would be within your rights to report. However whether anything would be done is questionable.

Report to the local dog warden @OzzysWhiteHorse My partner got bitten while out jogging and the dog warden was great. Partner has managed to get the owner's registration number. He also didn't want dog PTS but someone to speak to the owner (who had been thoroughly obnoxious to him when their dogs went for him).

Dog warden was great, went round, showed pictures of the bite wound to the owner and read them the riot act about dogs being under control etc

Absolutely report this.
What so many dog owners don’t realise (foolishly) a dog being threatening to another person- by way of growling, barking off lead can actually land you in court and have the dog taken or destroyed.
It can be extremely serious. I know because a good friend of mine is going through this process in court right now when her dog escaped from her house and barked / threatened someone passing by walking in the road.
There are laws around this and if that dog was showing threatening behaviour it’s absolutely not ok- he will do it again to someone else.

Whilst I completely agree this is terrible behaviour, I doubt reporting it would do anything. I am a dog lover, I have a German shepherd - a large breed which commonly people misinterpret as being aggressive. I’m experienced with dogs.

however we had a horrible incident where a Rhodesian ridgeback lunged at my 3 yo DD, knocked her to the floor and pinned her down trying to bite her face. THIS WAS IN A PUB PLAYGROUND!! Luckily it was muzzled so didn’t actually bite her but tried its best! The whole experience was absolutely terrifying and if the dog hadn’t been muzzled she probably would have been horrifically mauled. The owners also clearly knew the dog was a problem to muzzle it.

POLICE DID NOTHING. As there was no CCTV proof. I was beyond stunned having had big dogs all my life I just never envisaged this sort of thing happening. Especially not in a high end pub play area!!

@gymbummy and @LittleGreenDragons
I totally agree that owners should always have their dogs in sight and be able to recall them. If this had been the case here then the OP wouldn't have been put in this scary situation.

However, I thought that it would be interesting for others reading this thread to know that standing still can look a bit "suspicious" to some dogs, so if you're a bit nervous of dogs then walking on might be the best thing to do in lots of situations.

That's how your dog behaves. A great many other dogs won't behave in any similar way. And it's really difficult for strangers to discern your dogs intentions. Therefore, the sensible scenario is to keep control of your dog and ensure it's not a menace to anyone and certainly not frightening people.

I'm an owner of 3. A great number of dogs have very unhealthy behaviours and do not communicate properly with body language as they are supposed to do.

This kind of shit happening is not OK. Nobody has the right for their dog to be behaving 'suspiciously' of any person minding their own business in the public. This is not normal.

It's not hard to just not be a cunty dog owner, generally speaking.

I sympathise OP. Had an off lead Belgian Malinois creep behind us in the woods at 5am walking our two foster dogs (on lead) and launch itself at us, in front of us (from behind IFYSWIM). None of us heard it coming - it was almost predatory seeming. I went absolutely apeshit at the woman who tried to scarper. Eventually caught her, and she told me she knows the dog is funny, which is why she walks him at 5am when its quiet.

If your dog can't behave towards people, it needs to never be off lead in public. Take it to a secure dog field. I'm not scared of dogs at all, but the way it creeped up and launched at us, I was absolutely terrified. I feel for non dog people who have to endure this utter shit.

it directly threatened me...
Thank you, made my day

To be clear, I love dogs, I'm firm but fair with them, and most dogs I 'know' realise that I'm a soft touch for treats, food and attention!

However, even I am getting a bit fed up of irresponsible owners, and this starts with their over-use of long leads, especially on pavements.

Some of this is pure laziness - let's face it, it's harder to use your mobile phone and not watch your dog when on a short lead.

Some of this is machismo, and some misplaced parenting, i.e. 'He needs freedom'. No he doesn't, he's a dog! You are the boss.

Sadly, and I really wish this wasn't the opinion I am forming, but I do think we need to consider making muzzles mandatory in public.

I'd personally hate to muzzle a dog, but I really don't see any other defense against the minority of irresponsible, lazy owners.

Also, where is the enforcement of bad dog owners?

Compared to other costs, employing (say) two dog wardens for an area would not be a huge amount of taxpayer money, ? 70K/p.a.

You should definitely report it. The dog was not in her control and was behaving in a threatening manner so the law was broken.

For the dogs sake, if not humans, she should keep it on a lead.