Quote:
Originally Posted by codmaster
A couple of things you might want to think about:
I would be really upset if my dog had gotten off his leash accidentally and he came up to you and your dog in a friendly manner and you kicked him. that would definetly lead to a problem real fast.
Second, if you tried that to the wrong dog YOU could quickly get into a real bad situation. Many people do not realize that not all dogs are afraid of people and will not back down if you physically challenge them like that. Some dogs will take that as an attack and fight back very seriously. Are you willing and able to fight a big angry determined unafraid dog?
By getting between the dogs you stand a real good chance of getting yourself bit - by the other dog or even by your own dog in the excitement of the moment.
Just a couple of thoughts for you to consider.
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if your dog accidentally got off his leash and was hit by a car, would you blame the driver?? it's the same idea. If a dog gets loose, even by accident, there is a chance that bad things will happen to him. If your dog was extremely aggressive and got loose accidentally would you feel the same?
What about if my leashed dog was extremely aggressive. Would you rather I kick your dog to keep him away or should I just let the fight begin?
sadly, when a dog is loose, rather it's an accident or because the owner doesn't care that he roams, people have no way of knowing that. and there is a good chance that something could happen to him.
As for the second point, I'd resort to kicking only if there was no other option. I carry an ASP or at least a big stick. Even dogs who aren't afraid of people generally recognize that if someone smacks you with something it's going to hurt. So, yeah, I'm willing to take on an aggressive dog. I had one jump at my face before. It's been the only time that Rayden broke his stay when I placed myself between him and the dog. Of course, the owner was standing on his porch yelling that he was going to call the cops because we hurt his "baby" I never heard anything else about it, but I know that there had to have been a vet visit as the dobe's shoulder had a huge bleeding gash when she fled back to the house. This is actually the incident that started me carrying a weapon with me.
Other than this one time, there has never been any excitement of the moment because I have been prepared. That time, I jerked back and almost fell. That is when my dog felt he needed to protect me. Otherwise, he has ALWAYS been calm in these situations. If I am bitten by a loose dog, you can guarantee that there will be cops involved.
Will I feel sorry if it was a case of a friendly dog that accidentally slipped his lead? Not really, because friendly dogs that "accidentally" get free don't attack people. If it was my dog, I would be blaming no one buy myself. After all, his protection is my responsibility. So if, even accidentally, I let him into a situation where he did something wrong, there is no one to blame buy myself.
I don't go around swinging clubs either. When a loose dog approaches, Rayden automatically sits and I step between them. (He always sits automatically as soon as I stop walking) I will yell at the dog to "get" which stops most of them. An authoritative voice and demeanor is usually all it takes and the dog goes elsewhere. Very rarely do they come closer, but for the few that do, if I take a step towards them, they take off. The only dog that I have ever hit (since the dobe) is a beagle. The guy thinks it incredibly amusing to let his dog attack all the other dogs. He walks the dog on a flexi, stands back and encourages it to attack. I stopped and had Rayden in a sit. guy started mocking me, "what you're afraid that he's going to hurt you're dog" The dog was within 2-3 feet when I whacked the snot out of it. Growling, hackling and snarling the entire way up to us with his owner urging him on. Do I regret it? nope. Coz know what? The dog runs back to his owner's side when he sees us coming.
ETA: and I have been on the other side. I have dropped the leash before and Rayden has started to go running off to greet whoever was approaching. I simply called him and told him "COME" and he was back at my side. Rarely do the loose dogs I encounter have anyone with them. If they do, it's someone running frantically behind saying "here boy. here. come. hey. hey.. here. here." Then yelling "Don't worry, he's friendly!" because they know that the dog isn't going to listen to them.