trinabean Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 I had a scary confrontation this morning. While walking my 8 month old boxer I was bailed up by an entire (and uncollared) male Amstaff. There was a lot of dominant posturing and growling at me and my dog. I couldn't move forwards or backwards down my street. Things started to escalate, my dog was cowering submissively and we were getting tangled in the lead as he tried to get away from the other dog. It happened so fast I couldn't unclip my dog's lead, and we were near a busy road. I tried to remain calm and yelled at the loose dog but he growled at me and seemed determined to get to my dog. It looked to me like an all-out fight was about to happen so I did all I could think of, which was to yell for help. It seemed like ages (but probably wasn't) before any neighbours came out. I was able to secure my dog in one neighbours yard and when I came back outside the loose dog had disappeared. A few people were outside, including the owners of the other dog. At first the owners denied that it was their dog, until someone pointed out that it had run back into their backyard through an open gate. The owners then asked "Did he actually DO anything?" When I explained what had happened they were only slightly apologetic. Grrrrr! Amstaff owners I'm not having a go at your breed. Breed wouldn't have mattered, any large powerful breed belonging to these owners would be a worry. Any large powerful breed is capable of doing harm when owned by idiots. If I cry "Ban the breed" I will also be condemning countless breeds (including my own). Dogs that would otherwise be fine with a secure yard and responsible owners who take the time to socialize, train and exercise their dogs. I'm now considering getting my pup desexed earlier than was planned, in the hope of deflecting the attention of intact, off-lead dogs. Incidentally, my boxer is on the Limited Register. I therefore wasn't keeping him entire for showing, just for growth until about 12 months old as his breeder recommended. I've had no problems with him being entire until this incident. Feedback on this dilemma is welcome... There. Essay/ rant over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melzawelza Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 I'm sorry to gear this happened to you Take down the house number and report them to Council. They can't stop it happening if they don't know about it. Desexing your dog may change the attitude of other dogs towards him, but If he was cowering and submissive and te dog was continuing I doubt whether he had balls or not would have made any difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr.mister Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 That would be terrifying! If I were you I would report the owners. It might be a frail little old lady with a swf next time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trinabean Posted August 20, 2011 Author Share Posted August 20, 2011 I'm sorry to gear this happened to you Take down the house number and report them to Council. They can't stop it happening if they don't know about it. Desexing your dog may change the attitude of other dogs towards him, but If he was cowering and submissive and te dog was continuing I doubt whether he had balls or not would have made any difference. Thanks Melzawelza, Yes, I wondered if it would have made a scrap of difference in this situation. My dog was hyper-aware for the rest of our walk, I'd hate him to become fear-aggressive because of this... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HazyWal Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 That would be terrifying! If I were you I would report the owners. It might be a frail little old lady with a swf next time. Agree you need to report it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebelsquest Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 If I were you I would report the owners. It might be a frail little old lady with a swf next time. So sorry this happened to you! I agree with reporting the owner to the council, as previously said, the council can't take any action if they are not aware. Hope you and your boy are feeling a bit better now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moosepup Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 (edited) That's so scary. We had a lady run up into our carport with her golden after she got bailed up by a dog in the street (very stocky bull breed looking thing). We went out there but couldn't get rid of it so I ended up driving her and her dog home. It was only 100m away but none of us were game enough to walk and there's no way we were letting her go on her own. ETA: we did report it but seeing as we didn't know where it lived (we suspect across the road) I don't know if council did anything about it. Edited August 20, 2011 by moosepup Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trinabean Posted August 20, 2011 Author Share Posted August 20, 2011 That would be terrifying! If I were you I would report the owners. It might be a frail little old lady with a swf next time. Thanks Mr.mister, Good point about frail people facing this same situation. I'm a reasonable force to reckon with and I was intimidated and shaken up by this incident. I tried to defuse things by continuing on our walk but I wasn't prepared to come home via that end of my street! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trinabean Posted August 20, 2011 Author Share Posted August 20, 2011 So I've talked to a couple of neighbours and apparently the family that owns this dog just moved in yesterday. They had no idea of why/ how the gate came to be left open this morning and have said that they'll be buying a padlock for it today. It will be obvious that I'm the person who reported their dog, even if I do it anonymously. Making things even more awkward, I recognized the woman as one of the mothers from school. I'll have to face her on a regular basis. Oh well. Still, their dog's over the top behaviour worries me enough to report it. Be nice if it could be straight forward and anonymous though.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trinabean Posted August 20, 2011 Author Share Posted August 20, 2011 That's so scary. We had a lady run up into our carport with her golden after she got bailed up by a dog in the street (very stocky bull breed looking thing). We went out there but couldn't get rid of it so I ended up driving her and her dog home. It was only 100m away but none of us were game enough to walk and there's no way we were letting her go on her own. ETA: we did report it but seeing as we didn't know where it lived (we suspect across the road) I don't know if council did anything about it. Good on you for getting her and her dog safely home. She would have been shaken up. I was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capanash Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 I would report it to the council. A few years ago,we had a small dog in our street that was forever getting out and chasing people. I gave the owners a warning after it chased me when I was riding my bike, they assured me the fence would be fixed and pleaded not to report the incident. A week later, same thing, except this time I was bitten on the ankle. Trip to Emergency Dept, lots of time off work. The owners were fined and the dog dissappeared. The next victim could easily have been a child, the dog lived across the road from a large school. I will always report such things to the council, just so the owners get a warning from the Animal ranger and keep their dogs secure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juice Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 If they only moved in yesterday, and are doing something about it straight away, why go any further.? The dog growled at you, yes scary, but if he had wanted to attack you or your dog he would have. Perhaps dropping by to express your concerns would be better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skye GSD Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 I have had this happen to me as well - on several occasions - and enough to make me terribly nervous when I see a bully breed running loose. As I have a reactive GSD, this would not bode well for any of us. Everyone should be able to walk their dogs on lead anywhere without the fear of running in to loose dogs. Unfortunately I cannot see any great improvement unless councils are prepared to put more manpower in to governing this area and raising the fines for non-compliance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mita Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 Trinabean, I think you did well in a really scary situation. A similar thing once happened to me when I was walking our 2 gentle shelties on a leash. An unleashed dog walking along with a woman, went into that same intimidation/attack behaviour. And, yes, I finished up totally tangled in leads around my legs. No way the woman could call her dog away. But I got lucky & 2 blokes in a passing truck stopped & came to the rescue. I'm with those who say you should report it. You have witnesses to the address where the offending dog went. And what an owner....who couldn't face up to their responsibilities for their dog. And I'm mighty glad that both you & your dog came away uninjured. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stolzseinrotts Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 (edited) I have had this happen to me as well - on several occasions - and enough to make me terribly nervous when I see a bully breed running loose. As I have a reactive GSD, this would not bode well for any of us. Everyone should be able to walk their dogs on lead anywhere without the fear of running in to loose dogs. Unfortunately I cannot see any great improvement unless councils are prepared to put more manpower in to governing this area and raising the fines for non-compliance. I totally agree!!!! You need to report the incident to the council. I no longer walk our dogs around our area because I am sick of feral dogs rushing / charging and or attacking us as they come off their property. I live in a semi rural area.......I moved here to get away from suburbia and all the loose dogs. Seems it happens everywhere!!!!! Edited August 20, 2011 by Stolzseinrotts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atanquin Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 Yer I would report it to the council Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murve Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 I got bailed up at my front door by a Staffy X type dog the other morning , when I went to take my 4 guys out to put them in the wagon. My guys stood their ground going off tap, thank god the wire door was still shut. When I rang my counsel, they politely told me to catch the dog & tie it & up till they can get round to pick it up like Bloody NOT, I am not doing their dirty work for them & the risk of being bitten. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trinabean Posted August 20, 2011 Author Share Posted August 20, 2011 If they only moved in yesterday, and are doing something about it straight away, why go any further.? The dog growled at you, yes scary, but if he had wanted to attack you or your dog he would have. Perhaps dropping by to express your concerns would be better. Juice, I take your point that maybe I should give the owners the chance to do something about the gate. That thought occured to me too. I'm not looking to cause trouble. Plenty of others have given good reasons as to why I should consider reporting this incident to the council though. As for dropping by to express my concerns, well I did speak directly to them this morning and explain what happened. I was not accusing or confrontational, I was polite. I'm not sure what else I could say to them about it? I think my concern about their dog was pretty clear this morning. As for reporting the dog to the council, well, I have the weekend to think it over. Unlike some of us, the council doesn't work on the weekend. I'm not sure exactly what I'll do. Does anyone think desexing my pup soon would help prevent this sort of incident? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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