Wwyd if you saw a huge dog running straight

[Girliefriendlikespuppies]

for your small on lead dog?

Had this happen yesterday and interested to know how other people would have handled it?

The big dog had zero recall, owners were far away and it was running straight towards my (already nervous) dog with its head down.

we did this once and unfortunately the dog chased ours for well over 2km and eventually out of the field, into the next field and back over a main road. Our dog actually ran home, the other dog returned to its owners about 20 mins later. Took us 20-30 mins to find our dog and realise he had returned home

This is exactly what you would hope to happen tbh. Your dog running home and other dog going to their owner is the best outcome in this scenario.

@Cindersrellie

The safest thing to do is to release the small dog.

Not true.

Like a PP said, this can cause prey drive to kick in and can in fact be incredibly dangerous. The safest thing is probably to pick your small dog up and out of the way, and use your feet or knees to push the larger dog away from you.

@UhtredRagnarson

we did this once and unfortunately the dog chased ours for well over 2km and eventually out of the field, into the next field and back over a main road. Our dog actually ran home, the other dog returned to its owners about 20 mins later. Took us 20-30 mins to find our dog and realise he had returned home

This is exactly what you would hope to happen tbh. Your dog running home and other dog going to their owner is the best outcome in this scenario.

I wouldn't my dog to be so scared that it bolted home across a main road.

It's not what you want to happen at all as the dog could easily get run over and killed by a car.

I wouldn't my dog to be so scared that it bolted home across a main road. It's not what you want to happen at all as the dog could easily get run over and killed by a car.

Nobody would want it. But if faced with having to let your dog go, it going home is the best possible outcome as opposed to being run over or attacked or getting lost.

I’d recommend reading up on dog body language. I did this when I got my dog and it’s been really useful.

We had issues with our Labrador sized dog wanting to run to every dog he saw when he was going through adolescence. He’s a very active and energetic breed so he needed to run off the lead and we were torn about the best way to handle it. Retractable leads were out after seeing injuries sustained by them at puppy training class (dog and person).

We used to have him on a long line trailing so we could grab or stamp on it if needed. Inevitably there was the odd occasion where we missed the line and he would charge over to another dog as you describe. It was embarrassing as there was no point whistling or shouting him - once he was in that mindset he just went deaf. Unfortunately a lot of adolescent dogs go through this and even though they look fully grown they are still like puppies. It took us about 10 months of consistent training before ours was perfect again with his recall but I do now sympathise if I see owners that look like they’re trying with a young dog!

I often think smaller dogs get away with lack of training as people don’t panic when they see a little dog racing towards them.

@UhtredRagnarson

I wouldn't my dog to be so scared that it bolted home across a main road. It's not what you want to happen at all as the dog could easily get run over and killed by a car.

Nobody would want it. But if faced with having to let your dog go, it going home is the best possible outcome as opposed to being run over or attacked or getting lost.

Oh absolutely it's the best outcome, but I think most dogs would panic and get themselves lost or injured, which is why letting off to fend for themselves would be my absolute last resort.

@Lightningrain

I’d recommend reading up on dog body language. I did this when I got my dog and it’s been really useful.

We had issues with our Labrador sized dog wanting to run to every dog he saw when he was going through adolescence. He’s a very active and energetic breed so he needed to run off the lead and we were torn about the best way to handle it. Retractable leads were out after seeing injuries sustained by them at puppy training class (dog and person).

We used to have him on a long line trailing so we could grab or stamp on it if needed. Inevitably there was the odd occasion where we missed the line and he would charge over to another dog as you describe. It was embarrassing as there was no point whistling or shouting him - once he was in that mindset he just went deaf. Unfortunately a lot of adolescent dogs go through this and even though they look fully grown they are still like puppies. It took us about 10 months of consistent training before ours was perfect again with his recall but I do now sympathise if I see owners that look like they’re trying with a young dog!

I often think smaller dogs get away with lack of training as people don’t panic when they see a little dog racing towards them.

You talk about small dogs getting away with a lack of training and yet talk about your lab size dog jumping on other dogs ... dogs like yours are the reason why my dog can no longer be off lead without a 360 clear view so I can scan constantly and keep him safe. He is very well trained but scared because large dogs have hurt him and will now shout/possibly attack rather than wait to see if they’re polite. All dogs are active and energetic but unless they’re trained they should be under control and that means a short lead not a “oops we missed” long line

I agree with you. I was just saying that for that poster who was complaining that she let we dog off lead and it ran home- well I’d have laid down and kissed the ground if that had been my dog. It really is the best you could hope to happen definitely not something to complain about in that scenario. To me it’s the equivalent of complaining about having a bruise from your seatbelt after being in bad car accident. No-one wants to be in an accident, and no-one wants to have a seatbelt bruise but it’s absolutely the best outcome in that situation.

That was to @sunflowersandbuttercups btw

I carry a riding crop in my welly . Would have twatted it

On the occasions this has happened to me , with aggressive dogs , my dog was already offlead but I still ended up picking him up . He doesn’t run , he is a terrier so he fights back but inevitably is going to come out worse against a larger dog . I’d rather risk being injured myself than have my dog severely damaged , and because of his nature that is what happens . I also would not let go of a lead if I had a dog that would run on the off chance that it ran in front of a car but I am a horse owner of the old school theory that when you fall off you keep hold of your horse .

Okay so general consensus is I should have picked him up, looked big and shouted at the other dog?

My dog is nervous of big dogs anyway and definitely can react in a way to escalate a situation and I see what people mean about letting the lead go could end up in a chase/prey situation.

I'm still pissed off at the other owners lack of control though.

I'm under no illusion small dogs are saints we've worked really hard at training my dog (he's still young at 20 months) and socialising him well. We've misjudged the odd situation ourselves and not put him on lead quick enough however at the end of the day my dog is 7kgs and really not much of a threat to anyone.

@stevalnamechanger

I carry a riding crop in my welly . Would have twatted it

🤣 this made me smile, thank you.

I honestly don't know.

I have big dogs, one of them is terrified of small ones.

A terrrier can do more damage than many big breeds.

We've misjudged the odd situation ourselves and not put him on lead quick enough however at the end of the day my dog is 7kgs and really not much of a threat to anyone.

I'm sorry OP, but it really bugs me when owners of small dogs say things like this.

A dog that size put me in hospital as it bit my finger so badly you could see the bone. Please don't underestimate the amount of damage a small dog can do - either do another dog or a person.

Similarly it was a pair of tiny Jack Russell terriers who pinned my beagle puppy to the floor and bit him on the neck at seventeen weeks of age.

Small dogs can and do do serious damage to other dogs and people. I'm not saying your dog is aggressive by any means but please don't underestimate him just because he's small.

Our old dog was a giant breed. Always on a lead for walks so he wouldn't bother or frighten other dogs. However there was one dog, a large fast thing that would appear from nowhere and always try to mount him. It was infuriating. The owner would just walk away and we'd be dragging this horrible thing off our dog, who was most offended and horrified. The bloody thing would go round the park mounting any dog he saw

Always have a walking stick & don't hesitate to use it. Make as much noise as possible to try to distract the dog. If there are others with you, get them to film it if they have a mobile or camera.
Many moons ago, Mum & I were at the bus stop waiting for the school bus. Our golden retriever was on a lead.
An off-lead jack russell, belonging to a neighbour, ran up to us & started to have a go at our dog. Neither we or its owners could get it off. It got to the point that it was underneath our dog, biting their stomach.
It was sports afternoon & I had my hockey stick which my Mum used to hit the terrier so it let go of our dog.
Both dogs had to go to the vet. Ours for dog bites, theirs for where my Mum had hit it with the stick.
We passed our invoice onto the neighbour as it was their fault. Their dog was known for being snappy but they'd allowed it out in their un-fenced front garden. It had run halfway up the road to get at us. We had been nowhere near its territory.
As other neighbours had seen what happened & the dog already had a reputation, the dog's owner had no choice but to pay up. They didn't even suggest that we paid for their dog's treatment....

I wouldn’t drop the lead. If there’s a running attack you’ll struggle to keep up, especially if they’re circling, they’re just too fast.

I’d pick up and be prepared to kick the bigger dog.

Most dogs are pretty good at sorting things out between themselves, even if it can be a bit noisy

A lab once started running full pelt toward my small dog. My dog turned tail and ran, as fast as he could. Blind panic fight or flight, nothing I could do to stop him. Owner couldn’t recall the lab, i couldn’t keep up.

We were extremely lucky that a) he ran straight home, and b) he made it across the road- a road which is an access road for HGV’s.

There's an aggressive "inclined to wander" and aggressive dog in the village and walkers have taken to carrying a stick to beat it off. Owner doesn't give a shit.

@sunflowersandbuttercups

We've misjudged the odd situation ourselves and not put him on lead quick enough however at the end of the day my dog is 7kgs and really not much of a threat to anyone.

I'm sorry OP, but it really bugs me when owners of small dogs say things like this.

A dog that size put me in hospital as it bit my finger so badly you could see the bone. Please don't underestimate the amount of damage a small dog can do - either do another dog or a person.

Similarly it was a pair of tiny Jack Russell terriers who pinned my beagle puppy to the floor and bit him on the neck at seventeen weeks of age.

Small dogs can and do do serious damage to other dogs and people. I'm not saying your dog is aggressive by any means but please don't underestimate him just because he's small.

Totally agree, our border terrier has accidentally caught my fingers once and it bloody hurt, he might be little but he can still pack a punch. Now he is unpredictable around other dogs he isn’t off lead unless I can see everywhere so basically only when we’re up the Moor! His recall is still fab mind you

I have a rescue GSD who was attacked twice by neighbours small dogs the week we got her. She threw herself on the ground crying as she was terrified.
We had one huge lab come running at us across the grass and I was scared, but his owner called him and he stopped instantly. Now when we see each other in the distance he puts his lead on. I do have a baton that I’ve bought in case a big dog does attack her, but as she’s grown more confident I’d say she’d bite back now.

Our large breed dog has become very shouty (through fear) after being attacked on lead by a small breed, with the owner having bugger all recall.

I’ve also had a previous yorkie that (again, on lead) was attacked by a much larger bull breed. Thank fuck the bull was muzzled as I have no doubt it would have killed our dog. I’m thankful I was using a crutch that day to hoof the bastard death hound away whilst trying to pick my dog up. *

My take home? Keep your dog on a lead in public places. It’s not a big or small dog problem, it’s a stupid owner problem.

*not against bull breeds (my sister rescues ex bait bulls & they’re lovely, just twatty owners).

I shout wait loudly, that can sometimes alert ignorant owners and dogs, then i spray them from afar with dog safe spray if they persist, works. Treat and has a 5mtr range. Dogs really don’t like the spray.

I’m so sorry this happened you shouldn’t have had to do anything, because it shouldn’t have happened.

This is not your fault, the other owner is BU. It doesn’t matter if a dog is friendly or not. A dog is an extension of their owner. That person decided to get in your personal space, gave you no choice in the matter, and then was an asshole to you. You can’t reason with this situation (as Judge Judy says... you can’t argue with stupid).

I hope you have a lovely weekend and you can find something to distract you from replaying the sorry situation over.