A question for owners of aggressive dogs (Read 1445 times)

I would have leashed my dog and apologized to you! That guy sounds crazy and his dog as though he needs some training. Especially if it's the law in your city to have them trained and tagged as you described. He doesn't have a leg to stand on. I've been on both sides of the fence - I've been almost jumped on by a snarling dog as I ran by him and his owner but luckily he was leashed and I got by fast enough for no contact to be made. The owner was already tugging and scolding the dog as I looked back, so no worries. But I also own a pit-bull who scares the crap out of more people than not (they cross to the other side of the street, pick their dogs up and carry them off the sidewalk, etc). He is not, however, aggressive in the least bit with people or dogs. He's a big, blubbering lap dog. Because of his breed and the laws in Boston I need to keep him leashed (and supposedly muzzled - I could never put a muzzle on my dog unless he was actually a known biting threat) at all times, and so I do. That guy needs to follow the laws, legally and morally. Although I would have felt quite bad kicking any dog, as I'm quite an animal lover, it sounds as though it was the most reasonable and safest, if not only, option for you in the heat of the moment. It would turn out much worse for you - and the dog and his owner - if he had actually bitten you and the city found out. That guy should consider himself spared.

Just please don't blame the dog

Agreed, it is not the dog's fault his owner is an A$$. Here in Oklerhomer (Oklahoma) the aggressive dogs are usually the ones owned by the beer guzzling rednecks that don't have a collared shirt in their trailer

Fortunately this occured on a back country road with no one in site. I was having a great run, flying down a hill lost in thought when this little mongrel of a dog scares the SHIT out of by bursting out of the woods with his teeth bared just as I was going by. I nearly fell on my face because he ran right in front of me. This was like the third time he's done this so I stopped and just started screaming and charging at him. A lot of f-bombs too. I think I ended up scaring him more than he did me. I actually sprinted after him till he went back home. I don't think I would have done this if it had been a big dog. This little turd was only mid size and didn't look scary. Just a shit head. Arg. I hate dogs.

I don't hate dogs- I hate DEER - opps- that's the other thread.... I do have right now down the road three dogs at one house that want to eat me. They are there for me each time. However, I AM the ALPHA- I tell them what to do in an aggressive mode- stay-stop, etc and they stop dead on their tracks. Usually 2 of them are tied up and only one at a time is allow to roam/ protect the property. I have to deal with them on the way out and on the way back. I should take a pic of it- cuz he comes flying down his hill to eat me, I yell stay and he locks up all four legs and comes to a screeching halt. If they ever change their mind, I will fight them to THEIR death. That is my mind set. No such thing as a fair fight. Again- it's the owners- not the dogs

So, my question for dog owners who may be reading this: what would you have done if you were the owner of the dog in this story, and why?

This is an impossible question to answer because no responsible dog owner would put themselves or their dog in that situation.

In all fairness, my non-scientific estimate is that for every hundred loose dogs only one or two are really aggressive and wanting to deliberatly attack a person.

Deliberately attacking a person? MUCH lower than one or two in a hundred! Aggressive behaviour presents due to many causes, but not 'deliberately' in that they think people look tasty or because of a bad case of canine PMS. I just meant that it was sad to see that in the small sample of the population which frequent the site, the incidence of dog attacks seems fairly high.

In my 15 years of running I have been bitten once, and charged countless times. Many of the times I was charged, I was pushing a jogging stroller. Talk about scary. I've had an owner say, as I'm screaming,"no," and turning the stroller around: "Oh. He won't hurt you.". No, he won't hurt YOU, because you feed him. Irresponsible owners HATE to be reminded of my town's leash law. Needless to say, I have had occasion to research what to do when a dog charges. I suggest everyone do the same. I also know what to do when a moose charges...but that's another story. BTW...my dog is big, black, behind a fence or on a leash. But he would never hurt anybody...

Deliberately attacking a person? MUCH lower than one or two in a hundred! Aggressive behaviour presents due to many causes, but not 'deliberately' in that they think people look tasty or because of a bad case of canine PMS. I just meant that it was sad to see that in the small sample of the population which frequent the site, the incidence of dog attacks seems fairly high.

You are insinuating that these runners provoked the incidents, no?

Actually, I provoked the incident in which I was bitten...I was running on the street by the dog's house. He went apesh!?, and his stupid owner let him out. Neither the dog nor I were at fault. I was doing as runners do and he was doing as dogs do.