Attacked by A Loose Dog
Going for a walk with the dog always can be associated with certain safety risks and even can become dangerous. One of them is the presence of a dog running towards us, without a leash, which the owner is not able to recall, or simply a dog running alone (maybe a stray or runaway).
Many of you have certainly been faced with this situation, as you went out for a walk with your dog, wanting to allow him to explore the area and provide a relaxing time for both of you. Unfortunately, a nice stroll turned into a dangerous situation, a possible risk of health and life. From a distance, you notice a dog running towards you, that won’t listen to their owner calls, or without the owner visible on the horizon.
What can we do? How to react without making things worse?
First of all, the most important is understanding, what intentions both dogs have. It is worth noting the difference in the behavior because our reaction should change drastically if an aggressive dog runs towards us, or when he is friendly. It is equally important how our dog behaves, whether it is aggressive or not. Unfortunately, there is no one correct method that works in every situation. Many different techniques will be described below, understanding and choosing the right response can be crucial. Nothing works 100% of the time. What works once can turn against you in a different situation and become dangerous.
Remember!
- NEVER run away from an aggressive dog. You can only activate his drive to chase the victim.
- Also, avoid eye contact in such situations. Dog’s body language describes staring into the eyes as a signal that starts the attack. Of course, we are talking here about a tense atmosphere, because working on your dog’s focus has a completely different meaning and the reaction of the organism, but maybe I will write about it another time.
- Do not turn your back to the loose dog. Walk away backward or sideways, always checking the situation out with the corner of your eye.
- Try to show some calming signals (lick lips, start yawning, turn your head in the opposite direction, still watching the dog).
- Do not panic, do not shout, do not add oil to the fire. For some dogs, this behavior may be the cause of an attack. Try to remain calm, even in such a stressful situation as a threat to your dog’s life.
- Remove tension on your dog’s leash if contact occurs. Dogs are great at avoiding conflicts. Sometimes abandoning the leash can be a signal for both dogs to start playing.
Often the dog that runs up is afraid of us, wanting to attack our dog only. In this situation (which happened to me more than once), I recommend putting your dog into sit-stay behind our backs and using body block as a physical wall in front of the running dog. You can also use some objects to separate you from the dog, e.g. bushes, bench. Calm (though firmly) say ‘stay, leave it’ and then start backing away from the dog. If you notice that the dog is afraid of you, but is looking for access to your dog, you can use other techniques, such as stomping feet, making weird loud noises, clapping hands.
Dog owners who carry treats on their walks can use an emergency stop for an attacker, by throwing a handful of treats in their fac [1]. But what if you don’t have any food with you? Nothing lost, pick up a stick or stone from the ground and encourage the stray dog to run after these items.
If the loose dog is aggressive towards both your dog and you, it is very likely that the only solution in this situation will be to use pepper spray. Often it can be the effect of entering its territory, being close to his property. Therefore leaving the area may result in saving your butts.
In case your own dog is struggling with reactivity or is aggressive towards other dogs if there is time, walk away from the place focusing your dog’s attention on you, at the same time calmly telling the owner to call his dog. If the other dog is still running towards you, you will definitely lose contact with your dog, so in this situation, it is best to start withdrawing from this environment. If you succeed, you will avoid unpleasant consequences. Sometimes you can try with throwing treats in this situation, toy, rock, stick, may need to use pepper spray (watch out for the wind’s direction, you can gas yourself and your dog). If you have a small dog, you can pick it up at your own risk. Why wouldn’t it be safe? There is a risk that because of frustration you will be bitten by your own dog, or the stray will jump on you to reach your dog, bite and even knock you over.
Sometimes the only way out, described in the dog literature [2], maybe to catch your dog under the arms, lift it up (so that it stands on its hind legs), hold their muzzle shut in your hand and put its weight on your body (muzzle lying on the shoulder). In this position, a running dog can smell our aggressive dog, even if we do not have a muzzle (a tool that is often used with aggressive dogs to gain protection from bites) and we will avoid unnecessary high vet bills for treatment, possible prosecutions, and lawsuits. You also gain the time for the owner to appear, while your dog is sniffed he will be able to catch his own and quickly leave. The introduction and use of the muzzle is a separate topic, very controversial for some people, nevertheless, we should always consult it with a specialist and choose wisely.
Another way, also often described in various resources [1, 2, 3, 4], is to use an umbrella as a barrier between you and the pushing dog. Dog owners from Great Britain probably know very well how often they take an umbrella for a walk (weather-wise). It is also a great defense tool. A quick opening (pop open) of the automatic umbrella can be enough to scare the dog away! Just be careful with your own and spend some time getting our own dog used to such sound and sight, otherwise, we will frighten both the strange dog and ours.
At a time when everything failed: the owner did not show up on time, you did not manage to leave quickly, attempts to scare didn’t work, you do not have pepper spray/umbrella, both dogs are ready to attack, and none of the dogs have muzzle…
Get ready for a lot of noise. Dogs usually make a lot of sounds and fuss about nothing. The problem is when there is an attack and you can’t hear a thing. Unfortunately, such cases are usually fatal.
It is an extremely difficult task to try to separate two fighting dogs by one person… First of all, NEVER put your hands in the middle of the fight trying to grab collars, harnesses. It’s like buying a ticket for a bite. The best way to split the fight is to grab the hind legs, right at their toes, and pull them out. But this method works with two people.
Be aware and prepared, because we don’t know the time of day it may happen.
Resources:
- https://www.patriciamcconnell.com
- Book: Aggression in dogs – Brenda Aloff
- https://www.okawvetclinic.com
- https://dogsinneedofspace.com
Dog Behavior Specialist
Ewa Hemmy is behaviorist and dog trainer who is also a writer on top of that. She has College Degree in Animal Behavior earned in Poland, where she comes from. She still consistently study, participate in online courses, webinars and reads through most recent research. Ewa has been writing articles for few years now and loves to educate dog owners on providing better care and understanding of their pet. She believes you can solve unwanted behavior, because your DOG is ABLE to be TRAINED! She can be contacted at ewa.hemmy@gmail.com or call at (785) 822 7409.
