Community Chat

[RedTop]

My family has always had large breed dogs; we have never owned a mean or aggressive dog.   Our dogs grow to be very protective of our property, and our family; any stranger who sets foot on this property can immediately see our dogs are not happy to have them here.   The neighbors cats learned real quick not to cross this property, as both dogs absolutely HATE cats---they have killed birds, possums, rats, and chickens, so I know no cat is safe here.   Our dogs bark and growl, but we have never owned a dog that has bitten anyone.   

The OP reminds me of my friend who is beyond scared of big dogs.  She firmly believes my dogs are mean and aggressive because they bark at her; she doesn't comprehend their territorial instinct, or understand they see her as an intruder in their space.   I have tried repeatedly to get her to walk over to the dogs with me, so they can smell her and see it's okay for her to be here because she's with me, but she won't do it.   

In this situation, I do not see any reason for you to report anything.  Regardless of whether you like the neighbor or the dog, the man has controlled his dog to this point, and absolutely nothing has happened to give you a reason to do anything.   I personally see the dog has being curious of you and protective of his owner, and you as being a bit fearful of both of them.   When you see the neighbor walking the dog, go in the house.   

[Moonchilde]

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@Lipstickdiva wrote:

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@AnikaBrodie wrote:

I would suggest the owner enroll his "vicious" dog in an obedience course.  Obviously, at this time he is not able to control him. 

If you feel unsafe, you can call animal control about the situation.  It can be an anonymous call.  If you feel unsafe most likely other homeowners feel the same.

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How is the owner not controlling the dog?  The dog has done nothing physical.

I enrolled my dog in obedience school. She was perfect.  She walks perfectly on a leash while in class.  Doesn't pull, bark or go after anyone else or other dogs.  But as soon as I get her on a leash at home and take her out, she's a lunatic.  I suspect at this point, I'm the one that needs the training.  I think I must be giving off a vibe of some sort that she's reacting to.

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You might well be, but it's also the vibes of others they react to. 

The conventional thought is that however they manage it, owners need to be the "pack leader" of their dog, so that the dog *listens* to them as being the boss. Easier said than done, I'm sure!

[jaxs mom]

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@HappyDaze wrote:

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@jaxs mom wrote:

I guess my dog is a "killer" too. Although she walks well on a leash, she didn't used to. And some people are automatically afraid of German shepherds. She does bark a lot when people get too close, and she senses fear. Other strangers will walk right up to her and get no reaction at all. It's all in the vibes each person gives off. 

I've been out walking her and had other peoples dogs freak out barking. It doesn't scare me. One of us chooses to move to the other side of the road. My dog has never bit anyone. But someone who is inherantly fearful would probably wrongfully assume she "wants to kill them".

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Speaking of German Shepherds, my neighbors run by our house all the time and they have a German Shepherd. Because we live in the country, many people don't keep their dogs on a leash and they did't either. That dog seemed so nice but one day, it ran over to my dog in our driveway and bit my dog on the butt and then ran off back to running with their owner! Just like it was nothing! I couldn't believe it and wouldn't if I didn't see it with my own eyes! Needless to say, they now leash their dog out when the run. I also was stalked and cornered by a doberman on  my own property (again, neighbors don't fence in their dogs much out in the country either). I had to call them and have them come out and call their dog back. From then on, I make sure I always take some form of protection with me (gun, tazer, pepper spray).

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I wasn't there so I can't say for sure, but nipping on the back end is typical behaviour of herding dogs. My German shepherd absolutely loves all cats but she will try and herd our cats occasionally, but never with nipping. She just gets behind them and tries to round them up lol. When she was a puppy there was a lot of inside leash training and "leave it" commands until she learned how to interact with the cats. Now some of my cats actually snuggle up and sleep next to her. 

Funny story, when she was younger my husband took her into the vet just to get weighed. It was the closest one to our house, but she'd never been there as we go elsewhere. Anyway, they were fostering a bunch of kittens in a huge crate in the lobby. He said her eyes went huge and she was so happy to see all these kitties lol. It was funny. 

[CrazyDaisy]

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@Lipstickdiva wrote:

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@AnikaBrodie wrote:

I would suggest the owner enroll his "vicious" dog in an obedience course.  Obviously, at this time he is not able to control him. 

If you feel unsafe, you can call animal control about the situation.  It can be an anonymous call.  If you feel unsafe most likely other homeowners feel the same.

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How is the owner not controlling the dog?  The dog has done nothing physical.

I enrolled my dog in obedience school. She was perfect.  She walks perfectly on a leash while in class.  Doesn't pull, bark or go after anyone else or other dogs.  But as soon as I get her on a leash at home and take her out, she's a lunatic.  I suspect at this point, I'm the one that needs the training.  I think I must be giving off a vibe of some sort that she's reacting to.

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Mine is often the same way when put into situations that are scary for her.  Most of the time I can distract or control the situation, however there are times when you just have to shake your head and move on.  She will be 9 this summer and I still hold out hope she will understand that I do not take her to places she needs to be scared.

[jaxs mom]

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@Nightowlz wrote:

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@KarenQVC wrote:

I notice PetSafe has a fake birdhouse for $55.  It claims to control barking for 50 feet.

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How does a fake birdhouse keep dogs from barking? Never heard of such a thing but I will check it out. Thx.

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It gives off a high pitched noise that annoys dogs. For some dogs it actually causes them to bark more in annoyance. 

[Marp]

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@MaggieMack wrote:

What I would do is be prepared with a dog treat next time. Say something like, "Nice puppy! Here's a treat for you" as sweetly as possible. And drop it near him. In time, he will see you as friendly, not a threat.

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With all due respect if someone tried to give my dog a "treat" without my express permission there would be heck to pay.  Also, dropping it near him could be interpreted by the dog as teasing.

A better approach would be to ask the owner if it is okay to give the dog a treat and at least for the first few times give the treat to the owner to give to the dog--at least until the dog was happy to see her rather than agitated by her presence.

[Karnerblue]

@fortune you said you posted about this a while back.  What advice were you given?  Did you take any of the suggestions?  If so, what was the outcome?

[jubilant]

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@fortune wrote:

I posted a thread about this a while back.  My next door neighbor has a big vicious dog.  He walks her right by my house every day.  If I'm outside, the dog growls, hisses, pulls on the leash, and tries to get to me.  The owner holds onto the leash and just lets the dog struggle to get free.  He doesn't let the dog know that trying to kill someone isn't acceptable.

I don't know what to do.  I want to say to him that the next time his dog attempts to attack me I will call the police.  Or, I could call the police and just report the dog.  It's my next door neighbor and if I take action, he will be my worst nightmare.  The guy is not a nice person.  This is the third vicious dog he's owned.

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I have to say, I am rather shocked how many people here sided against you.  I have trained dogs.  I have been around them all my life. 

If a dog is lunging at you, growling, showing it's teeth, etc. ......this is a dog to leave alone.  When I see someone walking their dog and allowing it to act like this....it tells me one thing.....the dog is in control and the handler doesn't know diddly squat about training a dog.  Dogs like this don't belong anywhere in public.  One can train them not to act this way in the privacy of their home or in their own yard. 

I feel sorry for the dog.  It's the owner that is stupid.....not the dog.   I wrote this taking you at your word.   No dog should be allowed to do this to you.  You are right to blame the owner. 

If the owner trys to stop him and the dog still persists in lunging and growling  at you, then you must always assume, for your own safety, that he doesn't have control over that dog and that his dog doesn't respect his master enough to obey him. 

The scariest thing to me is, if I read this right, the owner doesn't even try to issue a "stop it" command to his dog or reprimand him in any way.

  People who don't take time to train their dogs just shouldn't have one.  Part of the reason so many dogs are given over to a humane society and euthanized is due to dumb dog  owners who never even tried to aquire any knowledge about that poor dog.  This guy has no business with this dog.

[HappyDaze]

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@jubilant wrote:

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@fortune wrote:

I posted a thread about this a while back.  My next door neighbor has a big vicious dog.  He walks her right by my house every day.  If I'm outside, the dog growls, hisses, pulls on the leash, and tries to get to me.  The owner holds onto the leash and just lets the dog struggle to get free.  He doesn't let the dog know that trying to kill someone isn't acceptable.

I don't know what to do.  I want to say to him that the next time his dog attempts to attack me I will call the police.  Or, I could call the police and just report the dog.  It's my next door neighbor and if I take action, he will be my worst nightmare.  The guy is not a nice person.  This is the third vicious dog he's owned.

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I have to say, I am rather shocked how many people here sided against you.  I have trained dogs.  I have been around them all my life. 

If a dog is lunging at you, growling, showing it's teeth, etc. ......this is a dog to leave alone.  When I see someone walking their dog and allowing it to act like this....it tells me one thing.....the dog is in control and the handler doesn't know diddly squat about training a dog.  Dogs like this don't belong anywhere in public.  One can train them not to act this way in the privacy of their home or in their own yard. 

I feel sorry for the dog.  It's the owner that is stupid.....not the dog.   I wrote this taking you at your word.   No dog should be allowed to do this to you.  You are right to blame the owner. 

If the owner trys to stop him and the dog still persists in lunging and growling  at you, then you must always assume, for your own safety, that he doesn't have control over that dog and that his dog doesn't respect his master enough to obey him. 

The scariest thing to me is, if I read this right, the owner doesn't even try to issue a "stop it" command to his dog or reprimand him in any way.

  People who don't take time to train their dogs just shouldn't have one.  Part of the reason so many dogs are given over to a humane society and euthanized is due to dumb dog  owners who never even tried to aquire any knowledge about that poor dog.  This guy has no business with this dog.

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You are only getting one side of the story though so you are making huge assumptions about the dog and its' owner based one person's interpretation of what is happening.

[fortune]

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@CardinalGirl wrote:

What breed is the dog?  Some cities have muzzle laws for certain breeds of dogs.  Maybe you can check into your city's ordinances.  If it should be muzzled and is not, take a picture next time and turn him in.

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It's a mutt.  She is large and when she's angry (always) the hair down the center of her back stands up and makes a ridge.