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People Who Are Scared Of Dogs


huski
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And if someone is that concerned for their wellbeing should they be afraid of a dog, they can always walk accross the street. Huski and Daisy has as much right to their personal space as everyone else - regardless on what obscure peice of legislation you think is supporting your argument. I can tell you that were this to go to court, the judge would be much more interested in why a woman is walking around brandishing a weapon with the intent of causing grevious bodily harm to pedestrians and dog's under effective control.

Assuming of course Nic that the woman isn't suffering from some form of mental disability, which I'd argue is more than a possibility.

Legal rights are wonderful things.. but they don't repair broken dogs or pay the vet bill. As dog owners I suggest we rely on ourselves to protect our dogs, rather than the law. :banghead:

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Other people have the right to walk their dogs on public streets without being threatened with a pole.

EXACKERY! :banghead:

but...there are plenty of people on DOL who walk with big stick and poles to protect their dogs if they get attacked. Is that not okay?

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And if someone is that concerned for their wellbeing should they be afraid of a dog, they can always walk accross the street. Huski and Daisy has as much right to their personal space as everyone else - regardless on what obscure peice of legislation you think is supporting your argument. I can tell you that were this to go to court, the judge would be much more interested in why a woman is walking around brandishing a weapon with the intent of causing grevious bodily harm to pedestrians and dog's under effective control.

Assuming of course Nic that the woman isn't suffering from some form of mental disability, which I'd argue is more than a possibility.

Legal rights are wonderful things.. but they don't repair broken dogs or pay the vet bill. As dog owners I suggest we rely on ourselves to protect our dogs, rather than the law. :mad

Oh absolutely, i completely agree, stuff who's right and who's wrong if my baby girl in in danger. I just get peeved when people rattle off their interpration of "the law" to justify their arguments. At the end of the day commonsense must prevail, and yeah - rather than arguing in court, lets just look after our fur-kids, and rise in unison with a song of solidarity along the lines of "if you don't like dogs, you're strange.............."

Now i'm going to have someone posting that thier long lost step uncle didn't particularly like dogs and for me to say he was strange is illegal..... :banghead:

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Other people have the right to walk their dogs on public streets without being threatened with a pole.

EXACKERY! :banghead:

but...there are plenty of people on DOL who walk with big stick and poles to protect their dogs if they get attacked. Is that not okay?

But are they lifting and flailing that stick at every single thing that they walk past 'just in case'? I'd think not - and that they use it to protect their dogs and themselves in an ACTUAL dog attack. And if they are waving it around at everything, then no that's not okay. This lady has every right to carry a stick or pole, no issues there... however, there is no need to wave it, lift it or use it to threaten when there is no apparent danger (other than those she is imagining).

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Put Daisy in a heel and have her focus on you everytime you walk past this woman? Don't give Daisy the opportunity to be put in a position that *might* be seen as threatening.

I have Caber do this every time we walk past someone on the street (unless it's someone we know or who obviously wants to meet him). We have lots of people around here who are clearly uncomfortable with dogs and it seems to work well. Some who we see on a regular basis (well, when I actually get Caber out to walk... scary neighbourhood so most exercise is done in the yard or driven somewhere), are impressed and over time their discomfort has become visibly less when they see he is under full control.

Ziva however who has NO obedience skills whatsoever is usually picked up or taken across the street... I am aware of her behaviour (no way nasty or even enthusiastic like Caber is when greeting- she is actually VERY soft and submissive but she pulls like a steam engine) and although she is tiny, I understand that people still find her threatening and they have the right to their personal space.

ETA I also find that talking to the dog in a happy voice, ie: "No, Cabes... they don't want to speak to you today" and things like that seems to put people at ease. Make it *obvious* that you care and are being a good owner...

Edited by SpikesPuppy
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there is a woman that we pass on walks sometimes that is terrified of dogs and is a bit unbalanced, when we cannot avoid walking past her, I move to the side of the road say " she is under control, and can't harm you" then get my dog to sit and focus on me. I did try telling her that my dog was friendly and would not harm her, then got my dog to sit but this seemed to scare her more, I think it made her feel like I did not think my dog was a concern when she certainly did.

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Other people have the right to walk their dogs on public streets without being threatened with a pole.

EXACKERY! :)

but...there are plenty of people on DOL who walk with big stick and poles to protect their dogs if they get attacked. Is that not okay?

Well I personally don't take a big stick with me when I walk my dog. If other people are going out in public instending to use and big stick as a weapon then no, it's not ok, it's illegal. If someone has a big stick that they use as a walking stick and someone/something attacks them and they use it in self defense thats a different situation entirely.

The difference with the woman that Huski has been encountering is that she has demonstrated on a number of occasions that the pole is meant as a weapon and she uses it to intimidate regardless of provocation.

NicGSDlover, I'm a law student in WA so my information might not be as accurate as what you have access to, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong here...

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wow what is with all these weapon wielding psychos prowling around our neighbourhoods?

it would not even occur to me to take a pole/plank of wood/machette/army canon etc on a dog walk

what is the world coming to

Ever been attacked by a dog B&S? Or had your dog attacked by one?

fortuntely no and no.

i can understand possibly carrying a stick for protection but large poles and planks of wood? that get waved around at every opportunity? its madness

it's not madness to the person with the phobia

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Other people have the right to walk their dogs on public streets without being threatened with a pole.

EXACKERY! :)

but...there are plenty of people on DOL who walk with big stick and poles to protect their dogs if they get attacked. Is that not okay?

Well I personally don't take a big stick with me when I walk my dog. If other people are going out in public instending to use and big stick as a weapon then no, it's not ok, it's illegal. If someone has a big stick that they use as a walking stick and someone/something attacks them and they use it in self defense thats a different situation entirely.

The difference with the woman that Huski has been encountering is that she has demonstrated on a number of occasions that the pole is meant as a weapon and she uses it to intimidate regardless of provocation.

NicGSDlover, I'm a law student in WA so my information might not be as accurate as what you have access to, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong here...

Haha - no arguments here - i've found that usually the law agrees with common sense, which in this case is don't attempt to make a doggy shish-kebab out of innocent pooches!

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This lady sounds like she may actually need some serious help ;) I would be so angry if someone brandished a metal pole at me and Atlas :) But surely she realises this is an extreme and inappropriate action? She must have had a really bad experience with dogs or been told a horror story or something. I am pretty sure my dog would get quite upset (and therefore look threatening) if someone brandished even a stick at him when he was just minding his own business sniffin' things and walking politely.

I have friends who are scared of dogs but they aren't anywhere near that, usually they just ask that I come and escort them inside the gate or I put Atlas on a leash for one of the very fearful ones, until At has had a sniff of his hand then wanders off. As soon as they're in the gate and "okayed" by us he couldn't care less.

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This lady sounds like she may actually need some serious help :)

Thats what I first though too, she sounds like she either has some sort of mental condition or her phobia is so extreme that she can't see that what she's doing is very wrong and could get her into a lot of trouble and could be arrested for it.

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that reaction is going to get her bitten faster then anything.

My thoughts exactly, she wants to be grateful she doesn't walk past my young dog with a pole cause that would have my

girl on alert bigtime!

It must be something that's happened in her past to make her that way, is there any way you can find out the reason for carry a pole. If she s that scared I,m surprised she walks the street at all. Very sad to be that fearful of animals......

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wow what is with all these weapon wielding psychos prowling around our neighbourhoods?

it would not even occur to me to take a pole/plank of wood/machette/army canon etc on a dog walk

what is the world coming to

Ever been attacked by a dog B&S? Or had your dog attacked by one?

fortuntely no and no.

i can understand possibly carrying a stick for protection but large poles and planks of wood? that get waved around at every opportunity? its madness

it's not madness to the person with the phobia

well the person threatening me and my dog with a plank of wood certainly didnt have a dog phobia, considering she had 2 of her own.

sometimes its not about phobias or fears (in this case i cant say what the cause is, none of us can except the lady in question) its about humans who think everyone else should stay out of their way (or their dog's way) because the world belongs to them. i will get howled down for this, but often this is the case

as i have said, in this instance none of us really know what is going on except the lady.

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I'd be crossing the road and avoiding her. her reaction was way over the top . Who carry's a metal pole ? weird ..... even if i didn't know that this person was scared of dogs I'd still cross the road for the reason shes carrying a metal pole . :laugh:

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If I were Huski, I'd put Daisy into a sit - and put myself between her and the woman, and keep turning to face her so I was between her and the dog as she passed. I would frown and shake my head if she waved her stick.

I think Molasseslass' suggestion about giving her a notice is a good one too, and I would add "the dog will not hurt you".

If she is genuinely terrified, if the dog is still, she may be less frightened. If she is a straight nutter, it wont matter.

It is very difficult to people who are terrified of dogs, I do feel for them.

I just had a terrible vision of me walking my boxer loony - very well behaved, but I think if someone waved a big stick at her, she would see it as a new game, jump up and grab it and she can jump higher than my head from a standstill. Oh, the vision - how horrible.

Be pleased you don't have a boxer, Huski :laugh:

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I did the sit/stay thing last time Jed and I think it made her more scared.

I do feel for her and I can only imagine how terrifying it must feel being that afraid of something.

I will definitely be trying to avoid her at all costs, but if I have to pass her in the future, I will try putting myself between her and Daisy whilst putting Daisy in a down stay - a beagle lying on the ground should hopefully not look terribly threatening!

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If it were me, I'd pop my dog in a 'sit' (giving as much distance as possible) and stand in front of (and facing) my dog .... just holding the collar firmly but gently (in your case, bending down to Daisy because of her size). My body between the lady and my dog.

I would try to empathise with the fear this lady has of dogs - even if to us it is 'over the top' and try to act in such a way as to teach the lady to trust me, even if she can't trust dogs. If she comes to know that you will do this, the trust she builds in you might just have a carry over effect to your dog. If the opportunity was right, I might say something (as she nears) that it's ok, the dog is harmless, but that you want her (the lady) to feel as comfortable passing as possible.

ETA: Sorry - I just now see that Jed wrote similar. Huski - you said the "sit" made the lady more scared. Were you facing Daisy (and I mean, being right up and close to Daisy - not holding just the lead, but taking her by the collar), and were you really close up to Daisy?

Edited by Erny
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