dog snapped at me

mayobumblebee

its a bit of a long story but the basic stuff is a house near where i live had a bitch dog that is not sniped dont care about that thats his choice but she has become alot more agressive in the past year.
i have to pass this house in order to get to town and the house has no gate. the dog has come out barking at me before and i just ignore her. one day i was talking to her owner dog by her side and i went to pet her and she snapped now i just pulled back and though stupid me she probably wasnt in the mood what ever.
anyway i become nervous of her after that and now when she comes out i just put head down and walk but she is right by my side barking and growling

is there anything i can do to easy the tension between me and this dog as i cant avoid her when i want to go home and i have even begun trying to figure ways i could travel through nearby fields to avoid her but that doent solve the problem.

msg11

mayobumblebee wrote: »

its a bit of a long story but the basic stuff is a house near where i live had a bitch dog that is not sniped dont care about that thats his choice but she has become alot more agressive in the past year.
i have to pass this house in order to get to town and the house has no gate. the dog has come out barking at me before and i just ignore her. one day i was talking to her owner dog by her side and i went to pet her and she snapped now i just pulled back and though stupid me she probably wasnt in the mood what ever.
anyway i become nervous of her after that and now when she comes out i just put head down and walk but she is right by my side barking and growling

is there anything i can do to easy the tension between me and this dog as i cant avoid her when i want to go home and i have even begun trying to figure ways i could travel through nearby fields to avoid her but that doent solve the problem.

Just be dominant over the dog, walk by the dog don't run and keep your head up. If it barks look it in the eye and then keep walking.

Also have a word with the owner, that the dog is becoming a nuisance and that you think it may attack someone.

On a side note, I hate this when walking my pup, loose cannons of dogs coming over scaring the **** out of him. These people need to learn to keep there dogs under control and in the house. The streets is no place for an uncontrolled dog.

complain to the authorities anonymously to request a gate. Its not acceptable if the dog is not under control. You might be friendly with the neighbour but if some child gets bitten by this dog, you will regret it forever.

DBB

Don't worry about being dominant over the dog... She won't understand what you're doing and you'll just look silly.
Indeed, if an aggressive dog is already revved up, looking it direct in the eye is often the spark point that results in a bite. Walking past is risky as most people are bitten on the "retreat", when they turn their back on the dog.
Try some reverse psychology OP. Bring a handful of tasty things with you each time you're passing the house. Calmly throw these towards and around her as you approach. Within a few days you should see the dog softening her attitude towards you.
You do need to talk to the owner though, he shouldn't be allowing her out beyond his property.

Zapperzy

The dog is just protecting it's territory, the way she see's it is she barks you walk away, sometimes people even walk away faster when she barks so that's her reward right there! Throwing a handful of treats as you pass everytime may help so that she learns when she see's you coming she gets food, but you shouldn't have to do this. By law dogs should not be out roaming unsupervised. You could try talking to the owner yourself first and just asking them do they know that their dog barks and follows people passing and explain that your nervous of dogs and could they keep her confined, but unless you bump into the owner somewhere else I can see how it might be difficult for you to walk up to their house and into a barking dog's territory! Alternatively just contact the dog warden and ask him to have a word with the owner.

Was the original post changed? I'm sure it read differently when I clicked reply. So the owner witnessed his dog snap at you? What did they say? Definitely don't reach out to pet this dog anyways, a lot of dogs see a hand coming over their head as a threat especially hand shy dogs.

mayobumblebee

hi everyone thanks for the reply's yes i changed original post it was very long and all over the place.
the owner knows the dog is out and also knows the dog is barking at me he has come and shouted at it anytime he has seen it while this is happening the dog does not have good recall so he shouts at her a good few times. he was present when the dog snapped at me and he is very on edge around me he is probably afraid il report the dog.

thanks for all the tips i think i will try the treats option i don't think il try looking it in the eye/stand my ground i would worry it would send her over the edge and she would feel no option but to bite he has kids and she is fine with them and i wonder how she is with other passers by but i can only know my experience and i wonder if its something im doing that is setting her off.

mayobumblebee

oh and i try to maintain a calm frame of mind and i walk at the same pace so as not to show her any body signs of fear im sure she knows im sh*ting though.
i have tried just firmly telling her to go home but in fairness she is home she is outside her own front gate.

Zapperzy

mayobumblebee wrote: »

hi everyone thanks for the reply's yes i changed original post it was very long and all over the place.
the owner knows the dog is out and also knows the dog is barking at me he has come and shouted at it anytime he has seen it while this is happening the dog does not have good recall so he shouts at her a good few times. he was present when the dog snapped at me and he is very on edge around me he is probably afraid il report the dog.

thanks for all the tips i think i will try the treats option i don't think il try looking it in the eye/stand my ground i would worry it would send her over the edge and she would feel no option but to bite he has kids and she is fine with them and i wonder how she is with other passers by but i can only know my experience and i wonder if its something im doing that is setting her off.

I think you just need to report him to the dog warden, if he knows his dog is outside barking at people and making people nervous and all he does is shout at her that's no use. For the dog's own sake, your safety and other people's safety that dog needs to be confined behind a gate. As far as I know if you contact the dog warden you don't need to give your name, or at least the warden won't pass on your name to your neighbour so it could have been anyone who reported it, even a stranger driving by.

ppink

msg11 wrote: »

Just be dominant over the dog, walk by the dog don't run and keep your head up. If it barks look it in the eye and then keep walking.

.

I would always be careful not to do this. One of the first things my sister warned me about with her dog was staring him in the eyes as he takes it as a challenge!
my own dog is similar.....look her in the eyes and she will straight over to you!
tell the owner you are afraid and to keep the dog under control ie behind a gate.

westies4ever

Its not acceptable and people like that get responsible dog owners a bad name - the dog should most certainly be confined and not able to run out like OP says it is.

If your getting nowhere with the owner, you should contact the dog warden - its not fair on OP having that stress everytime they have to go out!

Oh and BTW - the eye contact thing can be seen as a sign of aggression to a dog and could end up in you getting attacked - be careful!

Wibbs

DBB wrote: »

Don't worry about being dominant over the dog... She won't understand what you're doing and you'll just look silly.
Indeed, if an aggressive dog is already revved up, looking it direct in the eye is often the spark point that results in a bite. Walking past is risky as most people are bitten on the "retreat", when they turn their back on the dog.
Try some reverse psychology OP. Bring a handful of tasty things with you each time you're passing the house. Calmly throw these towards and around her as you approach. Within a few days you should see the dog softening her attitude towards you.
You do need to talk to the owner though, he shouldn't be allowing her out beyond his property.

+1. Being dominant is all very well and would work if you're actually dominant. If you're bricking it internally they'll likely spot the mini signals you're giving off. That's their "job" in the wild and it's how they spot weaknesses in each other and prey animals. Plus if the dog is this unruly in his or her territory they're likely the dominant one in the family anyway* and as DBB said could see this as a direct threat from a stranger. The treats are a great idea to chill it out, but keep up the pressure on the owner cos IMHO outside of really inbred dogs with behavioral problems that's where 99% of the fault lies.









*as far too many dogs are IMHO. I'd nearly say its a majority of dogs out there. If your dog sits on and claims furniture it sees you as down the pecking order. If it goes apeshít at callers to your house it's dominant. If it is aggressive with other dogs when walking it's dominant. If it's constantly pulling at the lead when walking it's dominant. If it snaps at people that approach you, it's not "protecting you" it's dominant. If it proactively reacts to a challenge by you it's dominant. If it growls at you if you approach when it's eating it's dominant(though the latter can vary). All this is a PITA with a small dog, with a large dog with a high energy/prey drive it can be bloody dangerous.

DBB

Wibbs wrote: »

I'd nearly say its a majority of dogs out there. If your dog sits on and claims furniture it sees you as down the pecking order. If it goes apeshít at callers to your house it's dominant. If it is aggressive with other dogs when walking it's dominant. If it's constantly pulling at the lead when walking it's dominant. If it snaps at people that approach you, it's not "protecting you" it's dominant. If it proactively reacts to a challenge by you it's dominant. If it growls at you if you approach when it's eating it's dominant(though the latter can vary). All this is a PITA with a small dog, with a large dog with a high energy/prey drive it can be bloody dangerous.

Really? Just checking that you're being serious in describing all of these behaviours as being caused by dominance!

Wibbs

DBB wrote: »

Really? Just checking that you're being serious in describing all of these behaviours as being caused by dominance!

In most cases yep I am. Though this "dominance" stuff, which I've railed against often enough, is overdone and badly named, but basically lack of control in and respect for the owner. Claiming furniture. Check. House caller aggression? Check. Dog-dog aggression. Check. Certainly there's added fear, lack of confidence etc, but IMHO that also comes down to the owner not establishing control over the dog. Dog goes apeshít at someone you invite into your house and you can't as the dog owner control that, the dog simply isn't under owner control. And why is this? Why is it not listening? I'm not suggesting all that body roll guff, but dogs do have a pack order and IMHO too many dogs think they're at or near the top of that order.

Sigma Force

Whatever the reason the owner doesn't have full control over the dog if the dog can wander out the gate, she could go for a child walking by so I'd inform the owner you can be polite you should be able to walk down the road without risk of being bitten.
Yes she's protecting her territory lots of dogs do but usually (sadly not always) dogs that are protective over their garden etc. are fenced in properly.

The owner should have a gate if she has a dog, all else fails lie and say you say the dog nearly get hit by a car and that they should get a gate up but really it's best to be honest.

mayobumblebee

dont know why but last message didnt post right i think i was not logged in properly

this is in the middle of country im not sure that a gate will fix the problem as there is no real confinement area just a very low wall which any dog with a mind to could clear.

his only option would be get huge fences or one of those electric dog fences and i cant blame him for not wanting to do eather.
now there is a new pup which seems to have settled matters by fact that the pup has a pen area and the large dog stays in this area with pup.
so its fixed mostly for now anyway larger dog is gone almost all day now with owner or playing with pup so all is good for time being.

i cant really complain about whats no longer there.

thanks for all the tips and if it comes up as a problem again i will try treats as sugested as i think even if i throw it she will see that its food and be more interested with that.