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Dealing with stray dogs....

5K views 18 replies 10 participants last post by  taem 
#1 ·
Do you carry anything to deal with stray dogs when you're walking?

I mentioned in the walking the dog thread that I have neighbors who insist on keeping their dogs off leash. For the most part, while an annoying nuisance I don't worry much about these dogs attacking...though I don't appreciate getting rushed by even friendly dogs and wrapped up in a leash with dogs swirling around me.

The unknown stray dogs concern me though - particularly as more often than not them seem to be pit mixes or full pit bulls. Fortunately I don't see many in my neighborhood but do run across them on occasion if I take Cosmo to a park to walk him and work on socialization.

This afternoon I took him over to a park very near my house that we go to often. Typically I walk there but we were out running errands so I stopped on my way home. The park is actually a water retention basin and sunk down below street level. I was walking Cosmo up at street level working on attention training with the traffic passing when I saw a stray pit down in the bowl of the park. I wasn't far from my car so just walked back to the car and brought him home. The other dog did see us and followed a bit from the distance but never approached. Fortunately Cosmo looked away when I asked him to and was far enough away to not get overly interested.

I wondered to myself what I would have done if the dog had come rushing up. I have a couple friends who's dogs have been attached by stray pits while out walking here in the Phoenix area. In one case, both the dog and my girlfriend ended up needing surgery as a result. These incidents make me really nervous when I see unknown off leash dogs.

Anyway - do you carry anything (stick, spray, etc) when you walk? Do you have to worry about this much where you live?
 
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#2 ·
I'm not sure I have an answer for you either, but am interested in the responses. Up until two years ago I never worried about this sort of thing, I just would holler at the dog to go home, and never had an issue. Then my daughter was yanked off her bike as we all rode past a yard(that we had gone past many times before)by an american bulldog. Owners had left their gate just barely open. Thankfully she was not terribly injured-the dog barely broke the skin but left a terrible bruise and you can still to this day see where he bit her. Since this incident I am much more wary about where I walk with or without Biscuit. I have been known to pick up a rock ready to chuck if a dog won't back off, never have had to though.

We had a dear family friend, very eccentric man, who walked all the time everywhere. Never once saw him in a car. He carried a very thick, long walking stick to ward off the strays and off leash dogs.

So other than yelling, a rock. or a big stick any more humane/effective methods?
 
#3 ·
When I used to walk my baby in a stroller I carried a big stick in the basket. This was after being rushed by a Collie, of all things, and the owner running after in a laughing tone saying "Don't eat the baby!" I was not amused and armed with only a full water bottle ready to throw it at the dog if he made a false move. Then I saw an off-leash pitt at my local park, so that was it, I bought a small escrima stick. I've lost it somewhere, but have thought about getting another for walks again. Though it seems my dog is the most ill-behaved, and one of the largest, in this area so I'm not too worried (and she is on-leash!). I almost never see pitt bulls here.
 
#4 ·
It has so far not been a problem for us - we don't live in an area where status dogs are popular, and the one or two dubious ones are usually kept leashed. One trick I have seen recommended is to fling a handful of treats at the oncoming dog, and walk away while it is hunting for them. Probably wouldn't stop a dog in full on attack mode, but would be enough to distract most others.
 
#5 ·
So glad you brought this up. I wonder if I could use this...

Cattle Prod with Batteries ~ Prods ~ Prods & Accessories
It's a cattle prod...used to move livestock along.

I've thought about it before...even looked at one at our local cattle and feed store. It says not for dogs...but I've seen idiots on utube shocking themselves with it for fun and it didn't look too bad. I don't want to do permanent damage to a dog but I worry about this too. Wonder if they make one with less current for this purpose?
 
#6 ·
Cattle Prod with Batteries ~ Prods ~ Prods & Accessories
It's a cattle prod...used to move livestock along.

I've thought about it before...even looked at one at our local cattle and feed store. It says not for dogs...but I've seen idiots on utube shocking themselves with it for fun and it didn't look too bad. I don't want to do permanent damage to a dog but I worry about this too. Wonder if they make one with less current for this purpose?
I am very certain you would be prosecuted for using one on a dog in the UK.
 
#7 ·
What is an "escrima" stick?

I don't carry anything at all, but I also don't go to free-range dog parks, either.

Just this a.m., we had both our dogs out on the street, in front of our house, returning from a walk. My husband had just unleashed them to let them run up our front stairs. A neighbor was also walking her small dog, had just stooped over to pick up his poop, and accidentally dropped his leash.

Her dog, Teddy, immediately charged at Casey, who started running wildly around our lawn and driveway and ran madly into the street for a second, before returning when we called. Finally both dogs stopped and sniffed at each other, and our neighbor grabbed her dog's leash.

I was more worried about Casey being scared into running into the street than about dog-on-dog issues. Once he starts running, he goes FAST. Thankfully the whole incident was over in about a minute.
 
#10 ·
I don't carry anything at all, but I also don't go to free-range dog parks, either.
I don't take my dogs to dog parks either. Cosmo actually goes to (expensive) private outdoor daycare facility to get his time to romp and play as my greyhound won't play with him.

Those of you that don't need to worry about strays(especially stray pits) are fortunate. I live in one of the higher end suburbs of Phoenix but even here I see stray dogs regularly and there are too many stories of dogs being attacked by loose, stray dogs. My girlfriend that ended up in the hospital for two weeks was walking her greyhound in an upper middle class part of town when someone was getting out of the car with their pit off a leash..the pit took off down the street and went straight for her greyhound. My girlfriend was badly hurt trying to get the pit off and both of them were rescued by three people walking down the street that beat the dog off them.

The park I was at yesterday is a quiet neighborhood park with a remote control airfield in it...not a place where I typically worry about walking with my dogs(or running by myself when I used to run daily). I walk there with Cosmo several days a week actually. Fortunately this was the first time I'd seen a stray dog there...hopefully it was someone's pet from the horse properties across the street and friendly but I didn't want to take a chance of finding out it wasn't so decided to leave...

I feel like here I just never know when I might come across a loose dog and don't feel like I know how to handle it if it charges aggressively.
 
#11 ·
An escrima stick is designed for martial arts, it's just basically a strong short stick. They may come in lengths but I think mine was about two feet long...I had to have it fit in a stroller basket. ;) I didn't have any tree trimming sticks to use so I bought that. Now that I think about it, I do have some good branches from a tree trim that I could use now.

In my case, I just wanted something to keep a between me, my child, and the dog. I hadn't figured on beating a dog with it, just intimidating and causing a distance between us while I could call 911, an owner, cause a scene, something.

The throwing of the treats also seems like a good idea on the lesser aggressive breeds.

I hadn't thought about requiring something like this at a dog park since the owners are present, my thoughts were also for walking and coming across strays or loose aggressive dogs.
 
#12 ·
I am an avid cyclist and often ride in rural areas. Strays or just unsecured dogs chasing us are a common issue (if the dog puts a paw in the front wheel it can cause a really bad accident for both of us). Most dogs that chase us are playful and yelling sit at them will normally stop them. Squirting water at them from the bottle will usually stop the rest. Some cyclists carry Halt or bear repellent pepper spray though I find that overkill.
 
#15 ·
I had a pit charge and attack my spoo on a walk. She came out of the owner's damaged gate. She had a hold of Lenny by the hip, only let go when I started kicking and screaming. I actually called the police about it, the pit didn't break the skin, and Lenny seemed ok, but the neighbors wouldn't answer their phone and I was worried that it would attack a kid or something. The officer said that, here in MI at least, we can use pepper spray, any kind of legal weapon really, if we need to protect ourselves or our property (our dog). This neighbor still hasn't fixed his fence, so I will be emailing the officer to see if there is any recourse, ticketing etc. I don't consider pitbulls just any other breed. They have a lockjaw. They are aggressive. I don't think pepper spray is overkill, and I have a great big bottle that I will carry with me.
 
#16 · (Edited)
It'd be nice if you can report that irresponsible pit owner to his homeowners insurance. Some states have a law that if you have a dog that attacks someone you are required to purchase $200K worth of liability insurance.

In the meantime if nothing else I would send the neighbor by certified letter a notice that if that pit bull attacks you or your dog you will be suing.

Almost all jurisdictions have ordinances concerning dangerous animals, its just a matter of checking the penal code and getting the authorities off their lazy butts. If they fail to enforce the law they are also liable and can be sued.

I have very little sympathy for irresponsible people with vicious dogs.
 
#19 ·
In the meantime if nothing else I would send the neighbor by certified letter a notice that if that pit bull attacks you or your dog you will be suing.
Honestly though, pit owner, pit is untrained, his gate is just left broken, I don't know that I want to start anything with that guy. Not to be unfair to the dude, it might be a shelter dog who just needs time to adjust or something, but if it's a guy who went out of his way to buy the biggest male pit puppy he could find and then didn't train it and then just leaves it in the yard? If you want to alert anyone, do it anonymously, don't let that guy know your name. Every day in the paper you read about folks who got shot because they said something to the guy who took their parking space. Just not worth it, just let the irresponsible people on their way and remember to avoid them in the future to the maximum extent possible.

I remember when Latrell Sprewell's pit bit off his daughter's ear, and Spree was pissed that the city of Oakland wanted to put his dog down, he just didn't get it. World did not make sense to Spree right then.
 
#17 ·
Honestly I think that a shock from a cattle prod would be much more humane than kicking a dog....which is what I imagine I would do if Stella were attacked by a dog on a walk. And it would be much safer for me too to have such a device. I can see a potential for abuse as some people might use it for "training" ugh..
But I cant believe if a dog was attacking me or my dog that anyone would win a case against me if i used any type of force needed to save me and my dog. I have no idea if the cattle prods are legal or not..I just know that when I read the package it said not to be used on dogs..so I didnt get one. But I do wonder if there is something (like the shock a dog gets from an invisable fence) that would be safe for the stray dog and for us to use. I have had loose dogs charge me with my previous dog..a doberman..three times, I put him in a sit stay behind me and it turned out fine..all three were just wanting to say Hi and there owners didnt have good control. I had a dog loose run up to Stella and all it took was me yelling GO HOME and waving my arms up in the air. The owner was walking his dog "off leash" I said you should have your dog on a leash..he said I have control of my dog so I dont need a leash...ya right!! and we do have leash laws here!! There is one pit bull down the road that attacked my friends newfie..no harm done, and the owner of the newfie kicked the dog off...but a newfie is very different than a poodle in a HCC..lots of hair to deter the biting.
I just cant believe how irresponsible owners can be :-(
 
#18 ·
I do most of my walking in a little town (pop maybe 250) and there are quite a few dogs here that can leave their yards if they choose. So far just yelling at them works. My dogs are off leash (traffic is not an issue) so they can run if they choose, but they get to know who to avoid and who to greet. Our bigger problem is deer attacking! They can be vicious. Any chance I can get a cattle prod for a sling shot? Cause when their hooves are flying, you don't want to get close! And they will chase a dog, big or small!
 
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