How to react when dogs attack

Loraseal

Loraseal

Location
The Hague, The Netherlands
Twice in one week I have come across a lady with 3 dogs who have attacked or try to attack Hunter. The dogs looks like a Pod crossed with a greyhound. Born hunters. All 3 have a pack mentality when together (on and off lead) and attack/defend any dog, They have taken a big dislike to Hunter and he was nipped on the cheek last week. They just tried to attack again today.
I was on the other side(leash on) of a quiet road and they ran up the canal bank and charged across the quiet road. Luckily no car.
Their behaviour was less frightening/aggressive today but I just wanted to get the hell out of the way.
The 3 unleashed dogs were showing teeth/barking/growling/jumping/lunging at both Hunter and myself. She shouted to stop moving so she could control them.
She has no control and they were way too stimulated to listen to her

Question: Should I have stayed still (whilst they tried to circle us) which meant Hunter would get more protective and stimulated or walked away?
I actually walked away a meter or so to get Hunter's attention on me and then stopped.
The dogs were still on the road (luckily no cars) and finally ran back down to the canal but not to the owner.
I think they are rescue dogs and all 3 together just seem to want to protect themselves.
So how should I handle them next time when I come across them running towards us?
Walk or stay?

Any tips/advice are much appreciated X
 
Ashley

Ashley

First of all, I would have had some choice words for this lady. I would do a u-turn, my dog focusing on me and walk in the opposite direction. I don't like the idea of standing there, but I'm no expert.

I learned from a trainer recently to carry dog "correction" spray. It makes a loud noise and should scare the attacking dogs enough to stop and you have the chance to leave. I used to carry dog spray but honestly don't know if I would really use it, so I'm getting the correction spray to carry with me now.
 
Ashley

Ashley

Loraseal said:
The annoying thing is that she was blaming me for her dogs running off onto the road and told me to stop walking.
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That's ridiculous!!

I'm constantly changing up my walking routes/times as I add to the list of people/dogs I hate coming across. Right now, it's the guy with male/female bully mixes (that look to have recently had puppies) on a flexi lead and coupler. They go crazy (in a bad way) even when they see us at a distance. No thanks,.
 
Jelinga

Jelinga

Location
Malvern Worcestershire
Rourke was attacked by a very large Pyrenean Mountain Dog who raced some distance from away across the road, Rourke was on the lead and we were on a neighbour's drive. My instinct was to protect my dog, so I got in front of Rourke and yelled at the dog to go away. The owner came and was most distressed, unbeknown to him, his gate across the lane had been left open. I told him not to worry as he was so upset. Rourke had lots of wet marks on him (and he didn't take being attacked lying down, retaliated) but there were no bite marks thankfully. So I would always stand between my dog and the other dog and tell it to get off!
 
Anne123

Anne123

Location
Vlaardingen, the Netherlands
Are they allowed to walk off leash? If so, there is an unspoken courtesy that when you encounter a dog on leash you put the dogs on leash straight away. You never know why a dog is on leash…..

I know there are a lot of people with dogs who should not have a dog….That doesn’t answer your question. What I would do when I see them coming/walking towards me walk the opposite way, so a u turn. Sometimes you don’t see them coming and you and hunter are taken by surprise. I would stop, get my dog sitting beside me and try to stay calm. And have a strong word with the owner. If she doesnt listen, and you know where she lives have a word with handhaving. Perhaps more people have the same issues as you have.
 
snowbunny

snowbunny

Location
Andorra and Spain
If your dog is on leash, U-turn, walk away in a very clear, brisk, "we have no interest in you or your nonsense" sort of way. They may follow you for a bit, but most dogs won't attack if you're actively moving away from them.

If you see them coming, you can try to stand in front of Hunter and give a policeman "stop hand" with a firm, growly "no". I've used that successfully a few times with incoming dogs. I actually used it at the weekend, the dog stopped, then went back to its owner.
 
Atemas

Atemas

UK Tour Guide
Location
North Cambridgeshire
Loraseal said:
The annoying thing is that she was blaming me for her dogs running off onto the road and told me to stop walking.
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How outrageous. You do exactly what your instincts tell you (I’d walk away - wouldn’t give them another chance to nip my dog). It’s not your responsibility and as much as I wouldn’t want any dog to get hurt in anyway; I wouldn’t be told what to do
 
M

M.F.

The policemen “stop” hand and stick are both effective. Also stepping/lurching forward and saying “Go away” very assertively with the stop hand or poking the stick towards the dog make a dog stop coming nearer. Well, in my experience. I’ve also stopped one of my walks due to Snowie being attacked by the regulars. I saw them a few days ago and a nasty Beagle called Roger was very insistent, and he was followed by a pitbull who I was afraid would get triggered by Roger who himself I think is too small to inflict much damage. I got very loud and very assertive and picked up a big stick (I was on the mountain under trees) and he didn’t dare come near us.

But being encircled is another thing. Also happened to us with two dogs. Very shocking when the one dog bit Snowie over his neck. I tried to hit it but it was too quick and nimble and kept circling. He was with a walker who couldn’t care less. But the next time I saw him with his owner I said very loudly, “That dog has attacked my dog.” Well, the owner very quickly got him on a lead and left. I really don’t have advice for what to do when they circle.

Sorry this happened to you. xxx
 
Lisa

Lisa

Moderator
Location
Alberta, Canada
That sounds really scary! I would definitely turn around and walk away. The policeman stop works very well with a single dog coming at you but three is another story. That would freak me out, tbh.
 
Shamas mom

Shamas mom

Location
Canada
Those dogs should NOT be off leash.!

This is the exact behavior that shamas displayed when faced with strange dogs approaching and it led to him attacking when he got out of the yard!

If she doesn't have control of her dogs by voice, she shouldn't have them out without some form of control to keep others safe. When Shamas was this bad, I used a dual ended leash attached at two points on his body so that I could safely turn him away from other dogs.


Having said my piece on the responsibility of the owner.......

with dogs like that, approaching is likely to trigger them to (attack to ) defend their mistress. Don't approach, it may be seen as threatening by dogs like that.

U-turn Hunter and make space.

shamas would not react to dogs moving away....only dogs approaching. And once I got him moving away he settled right down . I hated it when I tried to make space and owners of normal dogs kept walking towards us.....he had a meltdown every time and I'd end up pulling him away while he lunged at the oncoming dog.

He ended up with a reputation as "that vicious dog" until I got him trained enough to ignore dogs passing on the other side of the street.

Unfortunately, training only holds when the owner can offer guidance. Which is why dogs like this should Never be off leash. That's how dog attacks happen.
 
Loraseal

Loraseal

Location
The Hague, The Netherlands
I also heard yesterday they got too rough with a puppy spaniel the other week. Apparently she has good intentions on rescuing dogs but zero knowledge on training. No excuse and the owner of the puppy told her off and to leash the dogs and get help with their behaviour. Not seen her myself but we have been practicing u turns when out and about.
 
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Shamas mom

Shamas mom

Location
Canada
Good intentions are wonderful. But lack of knowledge....that's where behavioral therapist comes in.

Good intentions and ignorance together is a dangerous combination....a good trainer goes a long way
 
Emily_Babbelhund

Emily_Babbelhund

Mama Red HOT Pepper
Location
Regensburg, Germany
snowbunny said:
If your dog is on leash, U-turn, walk away in a very clear, brisk, "we have no interest in you or your nonsense" sort of way. They may follow you for a bit, but most dogs won't attack if you're actively moving away from them.

If you see them coming, you can try to stand in front of Hunter and give a policeman "stop hand" with a firm, growly "no". I've used that successfully a few times with incoming dogs. I actually used it at the weekend, the dog stopped, then went back to its owner.
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I like this and used it with Brogan many times with success. I used to be afraid of street dogs, but even the ones who are very loud and scary-sounding usually just want you to go away. Dogs that are hunting in a pack (like your situation @Loraseal ) are a lot tougher because it's not 'go away' but rather 'we're coming for you'.

My similar experience : even though the dogs were 'cute' little things (a French bulldog and a scruffy small terrier mix), I believed they would have taken Brogan out (he was very old at the time). I kept him behind me, ,kept yelling at the dogs to go back and slowly inched back towards our gate with Brogan behind me until I could get Brogan into the gate. I was really terrified for him and bought bear spray to carry with me after that. I don't want to cause pain to any dogs because their owners are stupid, but I wasn't going to have Brogan be potentially critical injured. My feeling was that the bear spray wouldn't cause permanent damage, but it would stop/slow them down. Never got the chance to use it thankfully, mainly because I knew where the two dogs lived and didn't walk Brogan in our neighbourhood again (would take him in and out by car and walk in a different location).
 
Shamas mom

Shamas mom

Location
Canada
We had a mastiff come at us one day. Shamas wouldn't turn his back on it, so I issued the command " back up" repeatedly whilst taking steps backwards

Both dogs stopped once we had sufficient distance from each other that they didn't need to fight over their owners.

It was loud, and scary but I kept in my head that most dogs that yell do so because they don't really want to fight....
 
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