Since we were literally in the wilderness and I was by myself, I didn’t want to say anything. But I got their license plate number. I googled it and a Jeep came up, so I know I remembered the correct number. A friend who lives in the area is going to contact the forest ranger. I’m definitely a little rattled. I’ve always felt safe up there.
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When my son was 8 or so he was riding bikes at a friend’s house. Someone had a muzzled dog (obviously not friendly) and took the muzzle off him before going inside the house and closing the door. Dog bolted and bit my son on the leg while he was riding the bike. I don’t know why people own dogs like that.
I now bring pepper spray with me. I don’t like dogs, period. I don’t want them off-leash when there are leash laws. I don’t care if they are “friendly.”
I am so sorry that your young son was attacked by that unmuzzled dog allowed to run wild.
There are stories about unleashed aggressive dogs on my NextDoor. More than one person said they would just shoot the dog if it threatened them or their own leashed dog.
Too many stories just confirming why many folks are justifiably afraid of dogs.
I’ve largely gotten over my fear of dogs, but still feel uncomfortable around certain breeds (and certain owners). And sorry, but I’m not reassured by the typical “Oh, don’t worry, she’s friendly! She’d never hurt anyone!” I used to get that from a local tiny woman walking her pit bull, almost as big as she was and tugging at the leash. Um, no thanks, you really can’t guarantee your dog would never bite, I’ve no guarantee you can control your dog, and I don’t want to be the one who makes you a liar.
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Knowledge is power for sure. I loved taking care of son’s dog but it’s because I know THAT dog. Would I sign up for any dog? NO.
Before I signed up to take care of him I did a few trial runs during visits–took him for walks etc. with son. I bought him a harness that made it very easy for me to control him so he wouldn’t pull me. Worked great. Even during rabbit and squirrel sightings.
I’ve since done some research into dog body language and see where I could’ve done even better. Can’t wait to have him back!
I love dogs, but like most others here, I have a strong dislike for the owners of unleashed dogs. One of our dogs was bitten by a loose dog and it definitely scarred our other, so much so that she is very fearful of other dogs and will react defensively even just passing a leashed one on the street. There are a few she has come to accept. Our daughter was badly bitten when she was in high school at a friend’s house - and their reaction was one I’ll never forget. Somehow it was our daughter’s fault and they were angry it was reported to animal control, as required by law. D had multiple stitches in her lip after the dog jumped up and bit her. Two of our neighbors recently adopted shelter dogs from the same litter. These are small women with large, powerful pit mixes. I saw one of them last night and wanted to introduce myself, but the dog was very skittish and not friendly. There’s no way she could control the dog if there was a problem, even with the prong collar she’s using.
Most people who come to my house accept that “the girls” are part of my family and love dogs as much as I do. But I’d never want to make anyone uncomfortable and dogs can sense when someone is nervous. They’re happier in their own space if someone is anxious around them.
You have a large dog that jumps on your sister, who tells you it scares her, she hates it, and you aren’t sure whether to keep the dog away during a meal? It sounds like you don’t like your sister very much. Why would you think it’s okay for your large dog to jump on anyone, especially someone who had expressed fear? If you can’t control your dog, you should keep it away from people or keep it on a leash while they’re near. Nobody likes to be jumped in by a large dog, why do you think that’s acceptable?
Edit to add, I didn’t read your follow on post saying this had happened to your family, not that this was your dog jumping on people. I would say this to the dog owner, who obviously doesn’t care much about her sister! No wonder you guys are angry.
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True story.
So Friend A had Friend B take care of her fairly large dog for a weekend. Told her no walks needed etc., just feed and pet him and just let dog out in yard and don’t worry about anything else. Dog would be fine.
Well it WAS fine until Friend B ignored instructions and took dog for a walk. She ended up on the ground and couldn’t get up when he pulled her over (she accepted full blame).
But then the poor dog wasn’t sure what to do about it and after some hesitation about leaving her went to a nearby house to alert them to the situation who thankfully figured it out and got her.
Good dog!
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Yes, we’ve been talking about people’s fears, but some dogs can also be a danger to other dogs, and cats or other pets.
A few years ago one of my cats was viciously mauled by a neighborhood dog, an untrained Shepherd mix with an irresponsible owner. The dog escaped its leash, ran up into my yard, and attacked my cat. Four surgeries, 12 weeks confined to a cage, and $$$$$ later, the cat is fine, but it was traumatic and she very nearly died.
FWIW, I prefer to keep my cats indoors for reasons like the above. But when I adopted her this girl was a teenage mother who had been living outside in a trailer park. There was no way she was happy inside and would paw at the front door meowing to get out.
Was Friend B injured by the fall (couldn’t get up) and in need of an ambulance?
I assume you haven’t read the entire thread…OP clarified it was a relative who refused to confine their dog, not his own, that was the problem.
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@busdriver11 You may not have read the entire thread but the OP’s spouse is actually the one uncomfortable around dogs and had a family member refuse to put the dog away.
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I love dogs. 95% of dogs are great and I’m not scared of the other 5%, more wary of them. I grew up with dogs and really relationships with dogs are some of the best I’ve ever had. They are so loving and so much less complicated than so many people.
That said, people come first, and you put your dog away if someone is scared.
But if someone is scared it is great if you can help them get over their fear, too. I’m not talking about letting your unleashed dog jump up on them and scratch or bite them, but I am talking about getting your well trained dog to sit and stay and let the scared person pet the friendly dog if they want to. It’s really tragic when a kid grows up afraid of dogs. Sometimes they have that fear for good reason, having been bitten, but it’s still tragic. A truly friendly gentle dog can go a long way to helping overcome that fear.
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I think she needed help to get up and home from twisted ankle or similar banging up but don’t think an ambulance was actually called.
We had a neighbor who had about 10 dogs in a fenced yard (big wooden high fence so nobody really knew the number). They could get out though – guess they dug holes under the fence.
Believe me animal control got called more than once.
What we ended up with is 3 of them would get out and had formed a pack. No pits or otherwise “dangerous” breeds. They all appeared “friendly”. Trotted around the neighborhood–looked like three friendly family pets out on a jaunt.
They broke through a screened porch and killed the neighbor’s cat. Awful. Finally animal control took control.
I asked my vet about it-- all these dogs appeared friendly individually. He said that once the pack mentality took over and that the dogs had actually killed something that it was basically over. The dogs needed to be put down and you could not trust them.
Interesting…I grew up afraid of dogs, and I hardly consider it “tragic.”
Maybe tragic is too strong? Are you still afraid of dogs? I think any untreated phobia can be very limiting and potentially compromising.
A lot of times it means kids miss out on playdates at other people’s houses and they shriek and hide when they see a dog outside and can’t walk around their neighborhood block without being afraid or beg to go home if they see a dog at the park. It can really affect their quality of life depending on how phobic they are.
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I usually crate my dog whenever we have guests over. Otherwise, he is likely to get at dropped food, etc…, which does not agree with him. After dinner I usually let him out. When the kids were younger and in the pool with guests, I had to crate him because he would get excited and want to jump in. As long as I walked him first, he was fine in his crate.
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I’m going to say I’m wary-bordering-of-afraid of dogs, especially big ones (and pitbull types). As I wrote earlier, I had some experiences when I was young which caused this. I don’t remember not going to certain houses or anything like that. Perhaps most people just controlled their dogs better then?
I’ve experienced tragedy, and it involved a lot more than a fear of something.
It’s interesting to me how many homes have crates for their dogs. We are only on our second dog - so clearly are not lifer dog owners but neither has had a crate. Both were rescues and younger but not puppies. So a crate would not be an option at our house. We have moved them to a room with a door we can close if needed.