Are you scared to walk your dog in case your dog gets attacked by other dogs?

[Kahid87445]

Are you ever worried when walking your dog that a stray dog or a dog off the leash may come and attack your dog?

I'm sure everyone has heard of the story of someone saying 'my dog is alright' and then the next moment it is attacking another dog. I think it's really irresponsible for someone to allow his/her dog off the leash all of the time without any consideration for people who have dogs who may have problems or just generally do not like being approached by other dogs.

It's even worse when someone has an aggressive dog and he/she still allows the dog off the leash.

There seems to be a massive misconception that socialisation means your dog has to be friendly towards every dog he/she meets and that you must allow your dog to greet every other dog in sight.

Although my dogs are properly socialised and are very friendly towards people, dogs and other animals, I prefer to go out very early in the morning and later in the evening to places where there are not a lot of other dogs (I have always avoided 'dog parks') and my dogs prefer to do their own things and play with each other. My dogs don't bother with other dogs.

Does anyone else do the same?

I think in this day and age it's good to be more aware of your surroundings and more cautious if a strange dog approaches you or your dog.

My friends dog was killed by a greyhound. Nothing like a Staffie with their (mythical) ‘locking jaws’

I've never had the experience you describe.
I live in a built up area too, constantly walking past other dogs and in situations where my dog is on and off lead, and other dogs are on and offlead.
I also, although this may be just sentimental twaddle, try to give off good vibes and positive praise or smile to other dog owner, and I hope this feeds back to both my dog and theirs.
Dogs pick up their emotions from their owners.

No. I’m not worried. As mine are bloody fast and can outrun any attacker.
(Though they tend to use me as a human shield so I would end up having to deal with the aggressor. Lucky I’m fierce! )

I get scared.
Mine has quite a few bad experiences and she is wary as a result and can be reactive.
I have to say OP, you talk about ‘aggressive breeds’ but honestly, the worst dogs I have come across have not been remotely ‘hard’ breeds.

I was fearless, as my dog is friendly, non aggressive, submissive with scary dogs, and as a greyhound-cross can outrun any dog

That did not do much for her when a lab jumped out of the boot of a car next to us, and immediately took a chunk out of her leg

She almost died, it was so shocking and it happened so fast. She had so much skin ripped off you could see the torn muscle

Amazingly, she recovered

The vet said it’s often labs who do this (much more than for example bull breeds)

So that tough me

I think you are sensible OP, I like quiet walks too

This is something I’ve come to worry about more since Covid. Me and my dog (chi) have access to a really dog friendly walk right on our doorstep. Since last March, the route is absolutely inundated with people and dogs. You can’t walk a more than 100 yards without coming across another walker with a dog.

My dog has been attacked three times since then, all because of people who haven’t had their dogs on their leads when they should have been. I now don’t feel safe at all taking him down there as he is nervous when approached by another dog if he doesn’t know it. Obviously, I’m not allowed to drive a distance to another less local beauty spot, so I’m resigned to pounding the pavements on the main road.

No. I wouldn’t say I’m afraid that my dog would get attacked. We do actually choose places to walk him where there is a lot of dog action

With that said, not all dogs get along together

We know the telltale signs of our dog if he’s getting frightened - say a group of dogs surround him, we know he’s going to start barking, so we call him away

He’s also frightened of very large dogs, and will bark, so we give them wide berth when our walking

He does live a particular size and colour of dog and will actively go towards these dogs with his tail wagging so much his little bottom is shimmying away.

So my personal view is to be aware of your own dog’s signs and let them mingle where you’re comfortable and you can see the dog is comfortable

We’re also conscious to avoid dogs on tight leads or muzzled because I think they may be reactive or nervous and I don’t want my dog causing them any grief.

No. One of mine is reactive to other males so I'm used to dealing with scuffles. There's always one idiot or another letting their dog run up to him even when warned that he isn't friendly. He's fine with females but you can't always tell from a distance so I just put a jacket on him that says I DON'T LIKE OTHER DOGS. There's still always one though.

I've think I've just developed a voice that dogs obey now. Even strange dogs. Just shout stay in your loudest and firmest voice and point at them and 90% of them stop where they are whether they know the command or not.

Course by that point mine is going batshit anyway and luckily my older dog is the golden girl and butter wouldn't melt because I often have to either walk her offlead or drop her lead to overpower DDog2 as he is large and strong and I can't manage him with one hand.

It's one reason why I won't get a dog.

In about 20 years of frequent dog walks, we've had 3 really bad experiences, one a dobe X, the other two bull breeds.

Consequently, I'm wary of guarding breeds and bull breeds, unless I know them, but generally I'm pretty chill. I know a lot of the dogs where we walk (less so during lockdown). I know which dogs are all mouth and no do (there's an untrained spaniel who barks and rushes in, but doesn't follow through).

She's a puppy just now, but has had a dog go up to her and snapped, she naturally got a fright. It happened without warning. But as she grows, in general, not too worried about walking her as she is a Saint so will be huge compared to other breeds. I think it's all about common sense, and being situationally aware of your surroundings.

Mine have been attacked multiple times over the years by a range of different dogs.

The concern for me is mine retaliating. They never have and I’ve never seen aggression from any of them, in fact they are the most gentle of giants you could meet...but if they did defend themselves I wouldn’t like to have to deal with the consequences.

But as she grows, in general, not too worried about walking her as she is a Saint so will be huge compared to other breeds
I don’t like to say this, but imo, as a bigger breed she may be more at risk as a lot of dogs will find her intimidating due to her size.

@MrsAntiSocial

But as she grows, in general, not too worried about walking her as she is a Saint so will be huge compared to other breeds I don’t like to say this, but imo, as a bigger breed she may be more at risk as a lot of dogs will find her intimidating due to her size.

Yes, I was going to say the same.

I walk a rottweiler who is soft as butter - excellent with other dogs and not an aggressive bone in her body, but lots of dogs are terrified of her because of her size.

Many of my friends with Giant Breeds say they've encountered similar issues with theirs. The sheer size of their dogs just freaks other dogs out!

Yes!! I would love a dog but I get so worried about this. I was walking with my friends dog and a dog come outta no where and attacked friends dog was awful, I get so panicy about dogs meeting 😞

My dog is off lead the majority of the time. He doesn't go near other people or dogs and doesn't appreciate other dogs trying to 'play' with him. If we need to pass someone with an on lead dog I put him on. If someone comes near with small children or a bike I call him to heel and make him sit until we pass. He is a really good dog though.

"don’t like to say this, but imo, as a bigger breed she may be more at risk as a lot of dogs will find her intimidating due to her size."

There's a chance of it happening, but there are risks with all sizes of dogs I suppose,MrsAntiSocial. As a dog walker though, I would ultimately feel safer with a giant breed. Have been growled at by small breeds. DPup very laid back and takes it all in her stride.

I don't buy the 'small dogs are scared of big dogs' thing because how on earth would a small dog know that they're small in comparison to another dog? That seems like higher order thinking to me. This is the sort of thing that pops into my mind when I walk my (medium size) dog.

But anyway OP. I think there's an element of 'you do you' - you make the decisions that you feel are best for you and your dog. But you do seem a little bit overly anxious. I think a pp's advice about projecting positivity is good because otherwise I think your enjoyment of your dog is going to be compromised if you let this anxiety build up.

Do remember too that while as owners we should work hard to prevent wee huffs and 'back off' growls, they do happen and they're not 'attacks'. I was very nervy around this behaviour when I first got a dog and it took some coaching from an experienced owner to calm down. Before anyone jumps on me, I agree that we want to avoid our dog telling another dog off, but otoh it's natural behaviour that shouldn't stress us out too much.

I don't buy the 'small dogs are scared of big dogs' thing because how on earth would a small dog know that they're small in comparison to another dog?

I don't understand this. Surely a chihuahua understands it's smaller than a labrador or a Great Dane?

@HoldontoOneMoreDay I don’t know the science but I can assure you it is correct that giants experience more aggressive behaviour directed to them than normal sized dogs.

I have giants. I would say almost half of dogs we meet are aggressive to them, the rest are wary and nervous until they realise mine are not a threat
If I had £1 for every owner who said their dog was normally friendly but was scared/nervous/aggressive to mine I would be a very rich woman. My dogs are very placid and show no aggression whatsoever but are very large, the size of small ponies and have a lot of fur which makes them look bigger.

This dogs not happen when I walk my normal sized dog by herself.
I’ve also had many small dogs, again not noticed the level of aggression that my giants put up with.

I have giants too. Get down to Jack Russell height and you can understand why some dogs are wary.
TBH the most we really get is dogs giving them a warning to be respectful. And they are so we don’t have a problem.

@sunflowersandbuttercups

I don't buy the 'small dogs are scared of big dogs' thing because how on earth would a small dog know that they're small in comparison to another dog?

I don't understand this. Surely a chihuahua understands it's smaller than a labrador or a Great Dane?

I really am only musing and don't wish to derail, but how would a JRT understand a concept like 'smaller'? It's a mathematical concept isn't it, to be bigger or smaller than something else, to take up more space than another thing. How can a dog understand that? If bigger = more danger then perhaps it makes more sense...

I really am only musing and don't wish to derail, but how would a JRT understand a concept like 'smaller'? It's a mathematical concept isn't it, to be bigger or smaller than something else, to take up more space than another thing. How can a dog understand that? If bigger = more danger then perhaps it makes more sense...

I think you're overthinking it a tad!

A Jack Russell only needs to look at a Great Dane or Labrador to realise that the other dog is bigger. When your head only reaches halfway up the knee of another dog, you're going to be a bit scared!

I've only had my boy since last June and he's been attacked by three dogs so far.

I'm gaining a reputation as the OTT dog owner as I'm now VERY firm with other people and their dogs (I've picked up a small dog and frogmarched it back to its owner at arm's length after they just laughed at it repeatedly jumping up at his face), but I'm not risking it again.

(I don't live in the UK, and people think very differently about animals here)

I have the opposite worry. I have a anxious reactive dog, that I walk on a lead with a jacket asking for space. I worry about the "friendly" off lead dogs that come too close, too fast and then I have to try to ensure mine doesn't react. Lockdown walks have been quite stressful.