Dog barked at someone who was afraid of dogs

NatashaB16

Hi all,

This is a strange situation but I just wanted to see what the thoughts are regarding what I should or could have done, and whether this woman is correct in saying that my dog attacked her.

I brought my dog on a walk today, he's a medium sized mongrel and has a great temperament, but something strange happened. Dog was off his lead as usual, just slowly walking beside me, sniffing trees and basically had his nose glued to the ground.

We had passed one or two people with no problem as usual, but then this woman was in front of us and she started moving very erratically and kind of shouted "I'm terrified of dogs!". I immediately went to put my dog onto his lead but he was sniffing a tree a bit ahead of me and he started barking at her, which was the weirdest thing as he has only ever barked at people on bikes when he was a puppy, years ago.

So I say, "I am so sorry! This never usually happens, he never barks at people, I'm so sorry", to which she replies kind of aggressively, "oh, so it's my fault? I'm entitled to feel safe in my own area", which I took to be her still freaked out from my dog's barking and so I just repeated what I had said before, "not at all, I was just telling you that it's weird because he never does this and I just wanted to apologise."

So my dog's on his lead now, I'm crouching down making sure he's alright, he's grand again, giving me his paw and his attention, not acting strangely anymore. She shouts a few things at me from a distance, my back was turned so I couldn't make it all out but what I could hear is the phrase "your dog attacked me!" and so I turn and I see her standing across the road staring at me with a man who was across the road trying to comfort her or say something to her I assume. I said "excuse me?" in a fairly shocked tone and then I just walked away after she didn't answer, and the man walked over to me and said something that I can't really remember, he didn't seem to be saying anything negative but his English was poor so I didn't really understand him.

What could I have done better? I put him back on the lead straight away of course; but the reason he was unleashed is because for the 6 years that we've had him, he's never barked at a stranger and his recall is really good, and even this time when he barked he was wagging his tail and more confused than anything. I'd say about 70% of dog owners in my area have their dogs off lead so it's not an uncommon thing here, and I've yet to come across an aggressive dog, which is obviously not indicative of others' experiences, but it's generally a good area to have a dog.

I'm just a bit shaken over her reaction, I was afraid that she'd call someone or report me or something because she was quite aggressive and she'd stated that my dog had attacked her. Has anyone had any experiences like this? I probably sound madly dramatic but I'm still worried that she might live around my area and I could bump into her again. Dog's staying on his lead until we get to the park/field now but still, I'm fairly freaked out.

irishlady29

Your dog may have picked up on her bring nervous so reacted the way he did. Going forward i would keep dog on the lead. Limit your interaction with this person. Also, i would make sure licence is up to date just in case she makes a complaint.
Sounds like she over reacted. Bottom line, your dog didnt touch her so i cant see what she can do.

slavetothegrind

Dog just reacted to her freaking out and not too negatively, merely barked.

She has obviously got issues. Don't worry you did nothing wrong and she can't prove her accusations.

Nothing will come of it.

CeilingFly

She's a nutter and those who know her will know she's a nutter.

Forget it.

NatashaB16

irishlady29 wrote: »

Your dog may have picked up on her bring nervous so reacted the way he did. Going forward i would keep dog on the lead. Limit your interaction with this person. Also, i would make sure licence is up to date just in case she makes a complaint.
Sounds like she over reacted. Bottom line, your dog didnt touch her so i cant see what she can do.

Yeah, I was thinking that might have been it. Definitely keeping my dog on the lead from now, all of his paperwork is up to date (licence, insurance, vaccinations etc) too so I suppose all I can do is keep walking him and to keep an eye out.

irishlady29

NatashaB16 wrote:

Yeah, I was thinking that might have been it. Definitely keeping my dog on the lead from now, all of his paperwork is up to date (licence, insurance, vaccinations etc) too so I suppose all I can do is keep walking him and to keep an eye out.

Thats all you can do. Try not let this put you off getting out and about. She sounds like a bit of a head case. If you see her again, avoid her, any more accusations, just play dumb. No need to feed into this nonsense.

digzy

I’d an issue before with a lunatic and my pups.
She was roaring ‘devil dogs’ at me ....
Law is that they should be under your control and Specific breeds must be muzzled.

I’d no dog licenses and the bitch called the warden. He was sound and I just got licenses then.

NatashaB16

irishlady29 wrote: »

Thats all you can do. Try not let this put you off getting out and about. She sounds like a bit of a head case. If you see her again, avoid her, any more accusations, just play dumb. No need to feed into this nonsense.

Thanks irishlady29, good advice! I have sympathy for her being so afraid of dogs but the other side of it is that her behaviour, especially if it's erratic like she was here, isn't going to help her nerves when she encounters any other dogs. People are a bit mad

NatashaB16

digzy wrote: »

I’d an issue before with a lunatic and my pups.
She was roaring ‘devil dogs’ at me ....
Law is that they should be under your control and Specific breeds must be muzzled.

I’d no dog licenses and the bitch called the warden. He was sound and I just got licenses then.

That's mad. I can't understand people who go out of their way to do things like this, and some wardens are horrible too, I'm glad you were sorted!

porsche boy

Her behaviour spooked your dog perhaps. Wouldnt be worried about it.

mojesius

My dog used to bark at certain people off leash - such as people with a walking stick or older men walking slowly. I worked on his recall and used distraction with treats, to ensure he'd come straight over to me rather than focus on the person. He hasn't done it in over a year. If he's at all hyper though, I won't take a chance and will leash him if I see any potential barking victims.

If you have access to areas where you can let your dog off leash and you have clear views (beaches, open grasslands/pitches in parks), it's a good place to try training them on distraction.

I wouldn't be great around strange dogs but imo you couldn't have done anything more here

rosmoke

You never know what's in someone else's mind or what he/she has been through.
Her kid could've been killed by a dog, or maybe she had a traumatic experience with a dog years ago.
I'm not saying that she could be a lunatic but we are all afraid of something and sometimes we over overreact.

You've done nothing wrong as far as I can see and well done on keeping your temper and doing the right thing to apologise.

NatashaB16 wrote: »

Thanks irishlady29, good advice! I have sympathy for her being so afraid of dogs but the other side of it is that her behaviour, especially if it's erratic like she was here, isn't going to help her nerves when she encounters any other dogs. People are a bit mad

Rubberchikken

Silly behaviour from her. You did all the right things and your dog did nothing tbh.
Her behaviour is likely to draw anyones attention to her including a dogs.

I had the experience lately of a woman catching her childres hands and reassuring them that they were safe from my dog. With a absolutely no justification in fact.
The kids hadnt even been looking my direction when she started and that type of behaviour only causes kids to be fearful.

NatashaB16

I just want to thank everyone for the reassurance, it was a weird situation and I hope she's ok. Dogs are a pretty polarising subject but I'm glad that ye have been so supportive, and thanks as well for the tips and advice

NatashaB16

Rubberchikken wrote: »

Silly behaviour from her. You did all the right things and your dog did nothing tbh.
Her behaviour is likely to draw anyones attention to her including a dogs.

I had the experience lately of a woman catching her childres hands and reassuring them that they were safe from my dog. With a absolutely no justification in fact.
The kids hadnt even been looking my direction when she started and that type of behaviour only causes kids to be fearful.

That's the worst kind of behaviour to show as a parent! I know people like this, they dislike dogs themselves and think that this is a good way to reassure a kid but you're dead right, it makes the child more afraid of dogs or even creates fear in an otherwise calm child

tk123

Don't beat yourself up - it happens. And there isn't really anything you could do to prevent it unless you're a mind reader and can pick out the people who are afraid of dogs or who are going through whatever it is that makes alarm bells ring for the dogs.
Bailey would be the same and his response would be to bark and tell whatever is scaring him (it could be a crisp packet lol) to go away... Lucy on the other hand would bolt.
People training their kids to be afraid of dogs have my heart broken with Lucy because it freaks her out when they're screaming at her. I actually tore strips off somebody a while back telling their kid that Lucy was dangerous and would bite her, kid burst into tears and flipped out and poor Lucy was frightened because of it! :mad: I do my best to distance her from crazy kids and it's great when we meet a normal polite child who asks to pet her to get more positive experiences.

kylith

I've noticed kids doing this too. The amount of kids whinging that Finn would eat them over the last few weeks was unreal. Himself pointed out that the parents may be trying to keep the kids from approaching strange dogs by saying that they might bite, but it's awful to see Finn ambling along minding his own business while a kid 20 ft away is yelling that the dog is going to bite him.

I tell my own niblings to ignore dogs they don't know, and stand still if a dog is running toward them.

Bells21

I really wish that there was some program brought into primary schools that really teaches children about dogs. Most people would come into contact with dogs every day so I think it's hugely important. Children should know the basics of dog body language and what to do if a dog is approaching them and also how to interact safely with dogs. I think it needs to be done in a formal way as many of their parents probably don't understand themselves. I've often heard parents say not to touch that dog because it will bite when in actual fact that's most likely not the case. It's the same as parents telling them to behave or if not the guards will take them away!!
If people just had the basic understanding of dogs and their body language then the OP most likely wouldn't have been put in this situation.

tk123

kylith wrote: »

I've noticed kids doing this too. The amount of kids whinging that Finn would eat them over the last few weeks was unreal. Himself pointed out that the parents may be trying to keep the kids from approaching strange dogs by saying that they might bite,

Thats what the two muppets said to me last time it happened. They were trying to get him not to run up to dogs by terrifying him. I suggested them to have him ask if he can pet them instead of freaking him and the dogs out - just saw red that time as they were shouting and basically telling a crowd of people my dogs were dangerous and upsetting my poor Lucy girl!:( We go to the market in the park every week and the dogs are well behaved and aren't interested in anyone so I didn't like them being labelled as 'dangerous'.

FAILSAFE 00

I have one brother who is terrified of dogs. He can't walk certain places like the beach or parks for fear that he will come across some off their leads.

The woman obviously got quite a shock. I've seen my brothers reaction to just happy dogs running up and wagging their tail. I can only imagine if a dog was barking at him off the lead.
I'd cut her some slack. It's a hell of a fright to someone that is frightened of dogs.

tk123

FAILSAFE 00 wrote: »

I have one brother who is terrified of dogs. He can't walk certain places like the beach or parks for fear that he will come across some off their leads.

The woman obviously got quite a shock. I've seen my brothers reaction to just happy dogs running up and wagging their tail. I can only imagine if a dog was barking at him off the lead.
I'd cut her some slack. It's a hell of a fright to someone that is frightened of dogs.

True BUT... She went guns blazing at the OP and caused the dog to react so the OP or her dog are not at fault here.

FAILSAFE 00

tk123 wrote: »

True BUT... She went guns blazing at the OP and caused the dog to react so the OP or her dog are not at fault here.

When you are in a terrified state you are likely to say and do things that are irrational.

tk123

FAILSAFE 00 wrote: »

When you are in a terrified state you are likely to say and do things that are irrational.

Again that's not the OP's fault. The dog was under control doing nothing and the woman freaked out for her own reasons.

We can't all be held accountable for everyone else's fears and issues in life.

DickSwiveller

I don't understand why people don't keep their darling muts on a lead. I've lost count of the amount of times I've been out walking and some dog - without a lead- has started barking at me.

FAILSAFE 00

tk123 wrote: »

Again that's not the OP's fault. The dog was under control doing nothing and the woman freaked out for her own reasons.

We can't all be held accountable for everyone else's fears and issues in life.

According to the OP the dog was not on a lead in public while walking.

DickSwiveller

tk123 wrote: »

Again that's not the OP's fault. The dog was under control doing nothing and the woman freaked out for her own reasons.

We can't all be held accountable for everyone else's fears and issues in life.

Maybe she wouldn't have been scared if the dog was on a lead. It is the OP's fault.

eviltwin

FAILSAFE 00 wrote: »

I have one brother who is terrified of dogs. He can't walk certain places like the beach or parks for fear that he will come across some off their leads.

The woman obviously got quite a shock. I've seen my brothers reaction to just happy dogs running up and wagging their tail. I can only imagine if a dog was barking at him off the lead.
I'd cut her some slack. It's a hell of a fright to someone that is frightened of dogs.

I'm inclined to agree. I have a big dog, he's a gentle giant and doesn't bark but visually he could be quite intimidating. Where I walk him is popular with joggers, walkers etc so I always keep him on the lead just in case he gives someone a fright. I'd love nothing more than to let my boy run free but if there are other people around they take precedence.

tk123

DickSwiveller wrote: »

Maybe she wouldn't have been scared if the dog was on a lead. It is the OP's fault.

Dogs are allowed off lead in many parks and beaches at set times. If I started screaming and shouting at you and you told me to F-off it would be your fault by your logic then?

kylith

DickSwiveller wrote: »

Maybe she wouldn't have been scared if the dog was on a lead. It is the OP's fault.

It's not the OP's fault that she is afraid of dogs. And it is perfectly legal for dogs to be off lead as long as they are under control, which the OP's dog was.

I would suggest that if someone is so afraid of dogs that it affects them going about their daily life then they should look into getting therapy to desensitise them. 99.99999% of dogs are of absolutely no danger to anyone when out in public, whether on or off lead.

DickSwiveller

tk123 wrote: »

Dogs are allowed off lead in many parks and beaches at set times. If I started screaming and shouting at you and you told me to F-off it would be your fault by your logic then?

If i had a dog - I don't - and it started barking at someone aggressively then I would take responsibility for it. I don't blame her for shouting at him/her.