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

hackles
heckles is something a person does to a comedian!

Sorry, @LittleGreenDragons , I meant to respond to OP, as you were just quoting

Nothing will be done if I'm honest. Police or a dog warden may visit the address and say we have a complaint about an off leash out of control dog on x date, we would like to remind you to be in control of your animal at all times. And that is literally it.
Your partner is correct- interesting that you call him a dog nerd but then put down the dog fact he provided and ran to mumsnet to fact check him/insinuate hes talking shit. My ex used to do that every time I spoke - ran to google to see if I was "wrong" made me think gosh, what is wrong with you every time he did it. In saying that it's not "impossible" the dog won't bite just highly highly unlikely.

I hate off leash and uncontrolled dogs. It's a disgrace but realistically nothing happened so even if they did visit it would be an off record friendly chat. Action is only taken if injury occurs and even then not all the time. Dog ownership needs heavy legislation and licencing. I have a small Chinese crested, so hardly terrifyin, but she's leashed in public - even ramble walks. She gets free run in private land/rented dog parks or fields. Any child coming near she is firmly under MY control at ALL times. Anyone acts scared of dogs she is removed for their peace of mind. My want to have a dog does not negate your right to not have a dog near you.

Perhaps you shouldn't take your anxious dog out of it can't cope with something as terrifying as "people standing still".

Dog owners are the absolute worst. Kids are dying, pavements awash with shit, and we have to kowtow to the anxiety attacks of snowflake dogs like yours.

Why did we let this become normalised?!

Was the field public or private property? If private did you have permission to walk there? Did the dog owner?
While it may have been a frightening experience for you the dog didn't attack you. It will be your word against the dog owner's in the event of any report being made.

Report it to the dog warden. It's out of control and off lead.

My friend's mum was bitten in the face by our neighbour's doberman. She was well known to the dog, frequently in and out of the house, and the neighbour always had them shut in the kitchen using baby gates when visitors were round. Friend's mum leant slightly over the gate to pet them as she always did, and one of them lunged for her face. Fortunately it was nothing more than scratches, but the neighbour (God bless her) had the dog destroyed the next day. Dobermans do bite and you must report before something worse happens.

I agree the police won't do anything, however it is against the law to have your dog dangerously out of control. This includes "making someone worried that it may injure them".

www.gov.uk/control-dog-public

I don't think the police would care anyway, but not because the dog owner wasn't in the wrong.

I would encourage you to report this to the Police. I was attacked by a dog a couple of years ago and it was a terrifying experience. I was waking on a road past a house (I live rurally) and a guard dog had escaped and came for me. The Police did act (though it took a couple of months) and the dog was moved. As the PC I dealt with said, it but you on the thigh that could have been head height for a child. I am a dog lover, but I really do not at all buy this idea that dogs are taught to be aggressive and not to harm humans. I simply do not think that a dog understands such a nuance.

I agree its awful, no different to a knife threat

My son is terrified of dogs, we are trying very hard to manage this, his first instinct is to run. Christ knows what would have happened if this had happened to him. Doberman’s are beautiful dogs but they are big, scary and should be on a leash if the owner is too stupid to have any idea of the risk they could represent. Most large dog breed owners are generally great at understanding their dogs and are incredibly responsible, this owner obviously isn’t. Contact a dog charity or a Doberman club for advice on what they would do. Or log it with your local police force but I doubt they will do anything. Sorry this happened to you.

Dfriend had a much loved and well trained Doberman. It was gorgeous. One day, it turned around and looked at her funny. DF had the dog put down the next day and later heard that a litter mate had done much the same thing and had also been put down.

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.

Do you have your dog off lead?

If you are ever bitten by a dog, go to see a doctor. The doctor is obliged to report and the police are obliged to act.

If you have an encounter like OP did, report to the dog warden or police. If you have a dog warden locally they are much faster. They speak to the police and repeat offenders and alleged bites are investigated and visited.

Blimey, don't make it sound like it's OP's fault. She froze because the dog was already behaving in a threatening way.

There's way too many irresponsible dog owners and dog 'apologists'!

I think Id have to question the 'much loved and well trained' comment if she had it PTS for looking at her funny!

Def report to police though. Chances are they wont do anything for 1 random report but they would be more likely to take it seriously if they get multiple reports.
If you cant control your dog it should not be off lead where it can bother other people or animals. Mine are never off lead anymore, even though they are ankle height. One has behaviourial issues and has never been walked off lead because I dont trust him...the other 2 are v old and deaf/have dementia and probably wouldnt come back anymore!LOL😅

Although there was somebody near me who used to have 6 Dobermans they walked together. The were honestly the most well trained and perfectly behaved dogs Id ever seen. Even my tiny chihuahuas were happy to wander in amongest them (and they have very finely tuned dog radars due to being bullied so much by other dogs).
So once again its 99% down to the owners, not the breed.

A dog barked at you.

Nothing happened.

Breathe.

If you ring up and report that an animal did not attack you, you're not going to be taken seriously.

No harm I reporting it so its on record in case of future incidents. You need to report to your local dog warden though, not the police. They will only direct you there anyway.

The dog was very aggressive. It was not on a lead. A large dog can cause much damage. OP is right be concerned and frankly the rest of us deserve not be caused alarm or anxiety by an unrestrained dog.

Report it! Stupid owner.

The dog was 'out of control' which is an offence. Report it to the dog warden.
Yes- nothing happened this time, but the next person might not be so lucky.

Definitely report it to the dog warden.

Yes report. It is an offence and I would expect the police to advise the owner which they should and probably will.

Let the council dog warden know. The owner might be letting it scare other people. If enough people report it then they might be able to investigate and have a word with the owner.

What offense? Op saw a dog she didn't like? Don't be fucking silly.

I had a doberman before my current dog. He was a big European type. People thought he was a Dane most of the time. Some people just hated him because of how he looks. He made a runner cry once she took one look at him (he was just walking on the tow path) and she burst into tears. He was the sanest dog I've ever met. He was good judgement he could tell if a situation was off and knew when to stand down when to step in etc. he died last year.
The police won't do anything, there's also people who make malicious allegations eg their dog was growling at me when it isn't true. I highly doubt you have any evidence at all.

I encountered a Labrador yesterday that jumped up at me heckles raised all the way down it's back. I stood with arms folded until the divvy old man that owned it came and retrieved it. It would have certainly bitten if I'd moved. Worked with enough dogs to know. Ugly fucking thing. Didn't report it because it didn't actually bite me.