Grr we got charged by a staffyX dog at the park. I saw the guy with two off lead dogs, so I stuck to the path with a fence between us, but there was a stretch of about 50m that had no fence. I thought it would be ok to chance it because his dogs hadn't shown interest yet. I have no problem with off lead dogs as long as they are under control.
If I didnt hear him whistle at his dog, I wouldn't have seen it coming. Flew up so fast from behind us.
Luckily I had practised this situation cos my dog has been threatened before, so she jumped into my arms and I turned and told the bigger dog to bugger off. It sorta took a flying jump past us as I yelled at it to get lost. While the owner sat on his ass 300m away, whistling at it.
My dog has only recently stopped being reactive, so I am SO proud of how well she handled that. She was calm and smart about it. But when I put her down she started to get really stressed. We sat under a tree and waited for the other guy to get his dog and put it on a lead and leave the park. I've seen these dogs free roaming before, but thats the first time they've charged like that, with intent. At least I know enough yelling scares them off for next time I see them.
One of my neighbours doesnt need a walking stick to walk her dog, but she says she takes one now to smack away the other dogs. Her dog has become so reactive now when it used to be the sweetest thing. Its sad that we're not alone in that.
