What to do if confronted by aggressive dog?

Question

I want to take walks with my child to get in shape. However I have had a fear of large dogs for most of my life. There is a doberman in our neighborhood that barks and jumps up (you see his head above the fence) when I walk by. I need to get over this fear. What is a person supposed to do if an aggressive dog comes up to my child and me? I was thinking of getting a baseball bat or pepper spray.

of course I wouldn't use a bat or pepper spray if the dog is on it's property! I'm talking about if the dog runs up to my child or me on the street.

I find it so funny that most people are concerned with the dog not being hurt but hardly anyone brought up my child's safety. I am a dog lover, I've had many and considered them a part of my family. I am talking about a situation that could become dangerous, we all know those occur sometimes. It's really scary how overboard people can go sometimes, to the point where they're not even caring about the humans' safety!

Answer 1

get pepper spray. the thing that will make a dog attack if it is a vishous dog, is it can smell fear on u. try to be calm when the dog comes near u. also walk the other direction, if it does come after u and ur child spray it with pepper spray and run. a lot of dogs r nice, their barks r usually worse than their bite. be careful when walking that way or even try to find a new rout to take during ur walks. u can also go c a theripist for this problem, they can help u get over ur fear. they helped me with my fear of spiders. it does actually work if u give them the chance to help u. i really hope this helps. just remember the number one thing is ur childs safety, so u may want to find a new rout to go on walks, that way u know u and ur child r safe. best of luck to u and ur child. also have a MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i did state about ur child's safety. u must have not read mine. as i stated, that is the number one thing about ur child being safe. i really don't know y i answer questions, because i answer them and then people say no one talks about a certain thing and i do, but no one ever c's that.

Answer 2

i believe there is some spray that you can get that you can spray at dogs that won't hurt them. not sure pepper spray is a good idea. Otherwise, dogs can sense fear. sad but true. I don't care how scared you are, you need to pretend your not. Walk tall, head up and just keep going. don't speed up, don't jump. for your kids sake and for your own. Pretend you don't even hear it, just keep walking. Aggressive dogs should be on a leash or behind a fence. So you should have no worries about them getting you. Please don't pass on your fears to your children. A barking dog does not mean its an aggressive dog. Its just a dog that senses fear. Plus it depends what kind of bark it is. I know big dogs have a big bark and its scary, but i bet if you met them, they would be so excited to meet you and just love up on you. so just be calm, assertive and relaxed even though your terrified on the inside.

Answer 3

Neither is truly necessary. First off, try controlling your fear a bit. Remember when walking and confronted by the gated dobe that you need to remain calm. Your fear and agitation can agitate the dog. Remaining calm and balanced is the way to go. Don't make eye contact with the dog, or walk on the other side of the street if necessary. Remember that barking isn't necessisarily indicitive of agression. If you want a deterrent in case you ARE confronted with an agressive off-leash dog, get some citronella spray. It won't hurt the animal ( smashing the dog with a baseball bat might get you sued, depending on circumstance) but it will startle and disorient him. Don't run from the dog but back away slowly, lest you be seen as pray. Just remember to breathe and be calm.

Answer 4

pepper spray is good if you are in danger of your life. If you are just scared a baseball bat is over the top.

If for some reason her gets out of the fence, and you are in fear for your life, meaning the dog really wants to kill you, then you should talk quietly, get the pepper spray ready, and back away slowly. Never turn your back and run. Humans are some of the slowest mobile animals on the planet. You will lose.

Answer 5

Yeah, I'd say pepper spray is better then the bat idea! I think your neighbors may get suspicious if you walk around with a bat.

Like humans, dogs are all different. However, from my experiences dogs are just very protective over their property. If you're just walking by and the dog is barking and jumping, he's probably just letting you know not to get any closer. It sounds like he could jump the fence if he really wanted to. So, I wouldn't be too concerned.

Answer 6

if the dog is jumping up on the fence in his or her own yard they are not trying to attack you they are letting you know not to come into their yard. No do not use a bat or pepper spray on the dog, that would not prevent the dog from biting you and you may really hurt yourself rather than the dog. If you are that fearful of the dogs then maybe you should try a neighborhood park.

Answer 7

There are a number of things you can do. If the dog is behind a fence, and barks at you. Do not make eye contact do not talk to the dog.....and if you can sit down on the grass or the curb with your back to the barking dog. You will be surprised how fast he will shut up. And eventually he will not even pay attention when you go past.

It it is a loose dog. Stand tall and look big and throw your chest out, do not make eye contact (in dog language that is a challenge) DO NOT BACK AWAY. When the dog backs down, take a step forward. Look as confident as you can. Usually the dog will back down. When he shows that he is deferring to you you can they walk on. BUT YOU HAVE TO CHALLENGE his aggression.

Call the local ASPCA or shelter about the loose dog.

Answer 8

If the dog is loose, our first instinct is to run (if you’re not running already) but don’t do it. If you are running or jogging, slow way down and stop if the dog doesn’t back off. Don’t engage in eye contact with the dog and don’t make any sudden movements that may be seen by him as aggression on your part. Try being friendly using your best happy doggie voice. Turn your hands palm side up and start telling him or her that it’s such a lovely and sweet dog. Do your very best not to show how scared you actually are. With luck, the dog will believe you and want to be friends. Spend another minute interacting and then turn slowly and walk away. It may sound cruel but if you know you are likely to have an experience such as this you may want to start carrying pepper spray with you. Use it only as a last resort, but you do have a right to protect yourself. Once you are safe, report the problem to your local animal control so they can investigate why the dog is running loose.

If the dog is behind a fence I would take a walk whereas you do not have to pass this dog.

Answer 9

A dog in a fenced yard is going to bark. That's just the way it is.

If you encounter a dog running around free, I would walk calmly the other way. Don't make eye contact with it and don't run or make a lot of noise. Try to stay calm, because the dog will sense fear and come towards you. And don't run - it will cause the dog to chase you.

For the most part, my dogs ignore people. But the only people they go to are people who are afraid of dogs (and my dogs are small). And then the people get bent out of shape and start making noise, which makes my dogs think they want to play, and things can get a little out of hand.

I was walking my dogs one day in the woods and we saw this teenager coming over the hill. As soon as I saw him, I sense he had a problem with dogs and suddenly my dogs ran over to him.

Very few dogs are aggressive to people unless the person is in their yard.

Answer 10

We had this happen once, when we were all playing in the back yard. A neighbor's dog came flying across a field, my wife scooped up our daughter and ran towards the house.

I just jumped in between and stood there, keeping the dog focused on me, hardly moving hands, and talking in a calm voice to him.

He just stood there barking and growling, and it freaked me out to the point of goosebumps, as I have seen many a bad dog bite on a human, and hearing about pitbulls attacking and killing kids.

I wish I had my pistol on my hip that day. I would have drawn it on that crazy @$$ dog, and shot it if the owner hadn't had come flying through the field to wrangle it up.

Schewww!! SCARY!!!

Pepper spray can be dangerous to you and your child in crosswinds, a telescoping metal baton might be easier to carry and wield than a baseball bat.