And now I am scared of dogs...

[MiloMorai]

The last guy in your post sounds like a good candidate for a tasing.

[Bardmaiden]

Our second dog was the sweetest, goofiest little puppy-dog on the planet (cock-a-poo), but she nailed the vet pretty good the first time we took her. But what do you expect from a scared little puppy?

Our dog (poodle) sweet, thoughful would lick you to death rather than bite gave the vet a good chomp when he was in there once but then he had to have his dislocated leg put back into place and he let the vet know how unhappy he was about that.

My sister was saying the other day about a dog that lives in the set of flats my dad lives in. It was the first time she had been scared of a dog in years and I've seen the dog (A GSD, met some lovely ones but this one....) on a heavy duty lease and muzzled and now I think it is for a very good reason as it is really aggressive and not well controlled.

[Pixilated]

I sympathize and agree you should report the owner. The fact he was making NO attempt to control or restrain his dog is reprehensible.

Years ago I was just meandering down a street when a dog suddenly lunged at me and started barking. It made no attempt to actually attack but it made me jump. The owner, who was sitting on his porch, snickered. After that I used to walk with a small baggie in my pocket containing a good dose of pepper. Never saw the dog again but if it had tried the same thing, it would've gotten a lesson it wouldn't have forgotten in a hurry. (I realize that the owner is actually the one at fault, but unfortunately it was the dog who was making the threatening gestures.)

The last dog we had was a German shepherd/Arctic wolf cross who was the most spectacular dog I have ever seen. She was extremely bright and extremely well-trained, and yes, we did walk her without a leash. But if she was roaming in a field, and we called to her (or even hand-signaled) she would return to us immediately. And we always called her back if we saw other people wandering in her direction. Other dogs were a different story — she usually didn't wait to be called

[Clover]

Any dog, no matter how well trained, should be on a leash in public. Bar none. My dog is a fat, elderly shih tzu with no teeth, half-blind and who can't walk very far at all, much less run, without wearing himself out. He's as harmless as it is possible to be. And you know what? When I take him somewhere, he's on a leash. He's well trained and stays right at my ankles leash or no, but I keep him on one anyway. No dog should be allowed to run loose, especially large boisterous ones. I don't care how well you know your animal, keep it on a lead, not only for their safety, but for yours and everyone else's as well. If your dog is loose and bites someone, whether in play or not, then you're responsible for that and can be sued for a lot of money, not to mention getting your dog put down as an aggressive beast. Is it really worth it to let them roam loose?

[Pagan]

ugh, i'm sorry to hear that unleashed dogs make me nervous,

Me, too. And mainly it's because I'm afraid for the dog.

Some neighbors a few years ago had the most adorable dachshund puppy. Never on a leash outside. The apartment they were in was at the front of the property. I was walking back from the store one day, crossing the road, and here comes the little sweetheart running out into the street to see me. Believe you me, I yelled at them about that!

Our street isn't that busy, but she was a very little puppy dog and very low to the ground. Somebody driving down the road wouldn't have had a chance to see her until it was too late.

Not to mention that it's not a good idea here to let your dog roam. We have plague and rabies. And let's not forget the coyotes and mountain lions.

[aniwahya]

If pepper spray is legal (or bear spray pref) in your area you might want to carry some and/or get a walking stick.

With a stick you have the option of keeping the dog at bay (most dogs aren't aggressive enough to take on a human waving a stick in their face, unless they are part of a pack). If they are the type to continue to come at you even if you confront them with a stick, then you at least have something to either fight back with or wedge in their jaws to keep from being mauled.

I have these problems a lot and my dogs are not friendly when dogs run up on them uncontrolled (they behave much better if a dog walks up and is respectful as opposed to a blitz greeting) so I have to employ aggressively defensive tactics all the time.
When I have enough time I even have a slingshot loaded with paint balls.
The other reason for having a walking stick is it keeps owners from being aggressive too. Sadly his angry response is VERY common in my experience; many owners would rather threaten and bully you than admit that they are in the wrong or their precious poochy-kins is a slathering ill-mannered cujo.

Oh, if you have park police or animal control it couldn't hurt to talk to them, especially about repeat offenders. I went to my local police and explained some of the worst offenders (including people who were upset at being asked to leash their dog who blocked my car in to yell at me). I also am now in the habit of taking discreet pictures when I can do it and not get caught (and really piss them off).

I hope some of this helps, and I really empathize with you. It truly sucks.

[Kristev]

Agreed. I find a walking stick is quite useful in my neighborhood. People around here refuse to accept that dogs are supposed to be on leashes.

And dogs terrify me. I'm strictly a feline fan.

[Eisa]

What a raging asshole. -hugs and cookies for Rabbit-

Unleashed dogs make me nervous, too. I remember when I was a kid, our neighbor had two small dogs and one time we were going down the street, looked out the window, and one of them was trotting down the center! We stopped and got the dog to go back home.

I'm afraid of dogs because in sixth grade, I was bitten by one. It was a nasty little black-and-brown dog. I was walking home with my sister, her friend, and my friend. It tried to bite ALL of us, but it only got me 'cause my pants weren't loose enough (it just bit fabric on the other 3). This was in front of its house. Its owners were both sitting on the porch, just staring at the dog. Didn't say a word. It took a neighbor coming down the sidewalk to yell and get the dog away from me, and then she yelled at the owners for a while. That part was awesome lol. Couldn't see the bite by rolling my jeans up, but when I got home, I had some very nasty bruises for bite marks, and I had to go to the doctor and take giant pills for a month, I think.

The dog was supposed to be quarantined, but I don't think it was. A week or so later (I think, I'm not sure how long), my sister and I were going down the alley behind that block, and the fucking dog ran out AGAIN. My sister had really bad asthma, so couldn't run away. So I got the dog to follow me, and I was stopping and starting at odd times, and throwing gravel at it, and yelling at it, and doing anything I could to get it to leave me alone. It kept barking and growling at me. I finally got home and I was like "Mom, it's that damn dog again!" Had to call Animal Control again, and my sister got home like an hour later--she'd run to the playground and climbed up on the equipment, and even saw the dog searching the streets or something. She went several streets over to get home, she was so scared.

Walking home one time from college (at night), I also had a dog spring at me out of nowhere. Its paw almost got tangled in my purse. And it was barking. I don't know if it meant to hurt me, but I went to the other side of the street ASAP after yelling at it, and ended up going another street over to get home.

Yeah, I'm not fond at all of unleashed dogs. And when its owner isn't even pretending to be a good owner, that just makes it all the worse.

[Quillsilver]

I walk a specific route to and from work each day, and there are a ton of dogs in that neighborhood. Most of them are leashed or fenced (like the tiny chihuahua that threatens to eat my toes every afternoon), but one will occasionally slip out behind the owner's back. On three separate occasions, I've had small dogs start to follow me down the road, each time with their owners trucking after them. I head back toward the owner so the dog will follow me, and the owner usually thanks me profusely and apologizes. Which is, of course, REASONABLE behavior...too bad few human beings seem to employ that these days.

Thank you for understanding that the owners are at fault more than the dogs. As the "mom" of 3 occasionally obnoxious pugs, I try to keep my furry kids under control and I expect others to do the same.

[Kristev]

My Maggie doesn't leave the house. But then, she's a cat.

[Emerald Knight]

I played fetch with my lab in a park all the time, fortunately, he grew up with children and was one of the biggest saps I knew.

But I digress.

One thing to know about dogs is that they interpret eye contact as a threat or intend of showing domination. Tempting though it is, break eye contact, and if you can, walk away. If they're not actively having a go at you, they do lose interest if you do this. There was a dog in my old neighbourhood who was the 'attack-or-be-attacked' mentality because of an abused background before going to her current owner. I turned my back on the dog when she got a little too out of hand and talk to her owner over my shoulder, and she would shut up. She didn't mind because she knew I was doing it for her dog.

[Primer]

ALL dogs CAN bite. During the fires here in September, we took the pack and stayed in Austin with my mother. My namesake is the sweetest Rat Terrier you could imagine, BUT...

My brother, who that dog has met and knows, was over working on his cars in the back yard. He opened the back door, and proceeded to walk in backwards. Both my mom and I were in the room. Primer pounced and bit my brother on the back of the calf. She did not break the denim, or the skin, but she did give him a good bruise! He later asked me, "What can we do so this does not happen again?" I told him, "Well, first off, don't back into the house. Come in forward, talk to her and make eye contact. If she can see and hear you, she'll be able to recognize you. She was just trying to protect Mom and me from somebody she did not recognize." I did NOT punish her for just doing her job.

So yeah, ANY dog can bite!

[Kyree]

I work with dogs as two of my jobs, and I'M afraid of unleashed dogs! Most of the ones I've met have tried to attack myself or the dog I'm walking. One of my earliest memories of off leash dogs is from when a golden retriever went after a friend of mine (we were about 9 or 10, playing in a back yard). I grabbed it to get it off of my friend, and it turned and took a chunk from my arm.

People in my neighborhood don't seem to believe in leashing their dogs, and it angers me to no end. My block alone has 3 dogs that will run right out of the yard at anyone walking by. I've been gone after by 3 labs, a wiener dog, a couple poodles, a shih-tzu...the list continues to grow. I gave up walking my dogs at normal people hours, thanks to the neighborhood. I walk them at midnight now, to make sure no one is outside.

OP, you did everything right. The only other thing I would have done was call the police. Which, if you see them again, I strongly encourage you to do. Take pictures or a video as evidence as well. AC usually can't do anything unless they see it happen, but a video of the dog running at you may be enough.

[Zellie Crescent]

Saddly all it takes is just 1 bad experience with a dog to make you scared, but I have more than that. Time number 1 was when I was 3 my parents and I were over aunt Verta's and aunt Jannet's dog jumped up and barked at me. Time number 2 I was just starting to let go of my fear at 16 when were over aunt Marie's for Christmas I was holding something I think it was a card or some wraping paper, her dog moved forward and went for my hand so I yanked my hand away and backed up. She asked what happened even though almost everyone there was in the same room with me, so I told her and she "corrected" me and said no you scared him by flailing your hand and backing up quickly. She told uncle Jhon to put him in Sean's room so I don't scare him any more. Times 3 and 4 happened within 2 hours of each other 4 years ago I was out riding my bike and I used a trail by my house and the houses by the trail don't have fences while I'm riding this dog comes running at me from one of the back yards and I know I can't go faster than it so I get off my bike and hold it between me and the dog, and the dogs owner who was apparently just watching all this calls the dog over like he didn't see me. So once I'm off the trail I stick to really busy roads thinking I'm safe. By the time I get done and go home I'm on main st. and someone's dog got loose and since I'm on the part of main st. that slopes downward I think I have a chance at going faster than it. I zoom down the street yelling help a dogs chasing me over and over again, and I get my ass home as fast as I can and stay inside for the rest of the week except for work. Those are my shitty experiences with dogs.

[scruff]

And today I saw the old man again. The hellhound was on a harness this time

And I bet you the dog was finally on a harness and the bloke was annoyed because he got a talking to when he got home after meeting you the first time.

So you've done a good thing, got him into trouble with the missus and got the dog under control so he won't scare other people.