unleashed dogs

[10x]

Yesterday evening, again, some idiot won't leash his three big dogs while walking. From across the street they charge my little cocker and scare the heck out of her. yipping and crying while I try to grab the big dogs and get them away. That didn't work at all.

I chewed out the owner but that doesn't make me feel any better.
They dogs weren't attacking just surrounding us and no injuries so it was not a shooting situation.

Can anyone recommend a small stun gun, cell phone size, that I could carry?

[Graves]

Buy a real dog and quit yer bitchin' It was a joke; seriously though, get a real dog

[SuperiorDG]

so it was not a shooting situation

I think the dogs just wanted to say hi to your dogs and you and your dog over-reacted. Don't be such a xenophobe. Relax and have a home brew.

[bobbyfairbanks]

I think the dogs just wanted to say hi to your dogs and you and your dog over-reacted. Don't be such a xenophobe. Relax and have a home brew.

+1 Thats what dogs do. Chill out or get rid of your dog

[10x]

I must say I am surprised at the above responses. And no I won't do anything to appease irresponsible dog owners.

I would agree that the big dogs wanted to say hi. I didn't know that when they charged over, nor did my dog. This is the third time this has happened with different large dogs.

If people cannot be responsible enough to leash their dogs and control them, I am not putting up with the potential attacks or scaring my dog. I am getting a stun gun.

[Byte Stryke]

I Agree that Dogs will be dogs, But I Also see the point that the dogs should be leashed.

I just wish the dog owners around here were more responsible with the baggy...

[Lex_Luthor]

I just dealt with the same exact thing this week. My fiance was at the park with our 4 dogs (one pit and 3 small dogs) and some guy was walking the perimeter of the park for a few minutes. The pit Brutus, decided to go say hi, along with the medium sized dog Larry. This guy saw a charging pitbull, and FREAKED out. Was on the phone immediately with police, even though my dog stopped 5 feet away from him and then ran back to my fiance. No bark, no bite, no nothing. She went home after trying to apologize to the guy and less than 5 minutes later there were 5 officers surrounding the house. One even threatened to shoot the dog, after they asked her to go get him. Then they told her they said to "secure him" so they could come in. She didn't let them in 1. because their feet were muddy and she had just cleaned and 2. because she was home alone and told them to get a female officer if they wanted to come in. Most the officers left and one stayed behind while we all waited for animal control to come "evaluate" the dogs. (I had to suddenly leave work to get home and deal with this.) So they evaluated the dogs and could see that they are harmless. They didn't issue us an off-leash ticket, but 2 tickets for "unlicensed dog". Apparently in Adams Country (we live in unincorporated area) the dogs must be licensed. All we had to do was show proof of rabies and that they are spayed/neutered, and the licensing was free. So all we did was update their rabies for $10 each. They voided the tickets.

[BigBear]

I have a dog I don't leash in the traditional sense. However, he does have a shock collar and he knows that if he wanders further away from me than 10 feet or so (or doesn't come when I call), he's going to get a nasty shock. That being said, I haven't had to shock him in a LONG time as he responds very quickly to the vibration function. My dog is big and scary looking (or so people have told me) but he is just a butterball (until I give the magic word, hehe).

But dogs are dogs and they just usually want to sniff each others crotches and say hi and all that jazz. I do understand that it's "scary" to see loose dogs running up to you and your smaller animal. However, be a little more observant to the dogs stances, etc and you can tell when a running dog is just having fun or being predatorial.

I do agree with Byte though, humans do not pick up their pets waste very well, even in my neighborhood... It's disgusting.

[hatidua]

Dogs sniff other dogs. It's what they do. I have two fairly small dogs (under 15#s each) and large dogs often run up on them for the snif-a-thon. In over ten years of having these two small dogs, and encountering large dogs on walks frequently (every single day), there has never been any harm in allowing typical dog behavior.

I am not a fan of leashes even though my two dogs can't be off-leash as they will find a squirrel more appealing that returning to me when called. For those who walk their dogs off-leash, I'm quite happy for them and support them.

[hatidua]

I am not putting up with the potential attacks or scaring my dog. I am getting a stun gun.

Here's to hoping you accurately predict how the owner of the stunned dog reacts