I know there have been a ton of threads on this subject. But this is as much about my kinda sorta freaking out and asking what one should do in this situation, as about this issue generally.
Bailey and I were just walking down the street when what I believe was an APBT started following us.
Background:
-- We were on a nice, well-populated street, but close to less nice areas
-- Stray Dog: unneutered adult male (who was doing lots of marking, lol), very excited about Bailey, some scars on his face (though of course that could happen in any dog, I noticed it), had tags though unfortunately no number or address
-- Bailey: just under 18 mos., mixed breed, about 40 lbs., super submissive. The only other time he's been "attacked," he was tackled by a couple of larger dogs, and he basically laid on the ground. The dogs were quickly pulled off of him by their owner (while I grabbed Bailey), and B was not bitten. I don't know how well he'd defend himself if he were involved in a real dog fight, but I have my doubts!
The stray dog did not act aggressively, really, but he was very, very interested in my dog. He kept following us. I yelled at him to go away and kind of kicked out my leg in his direction (not aggressively, but a blocking maneuver). The other dog was okay with that -- he stayed away -- but he was not about to stop following us. He was starting to get excited/frustrated that I wouldn't let him near my dog and kept running up to sniff him until I managed to get him back away again.
Thankfully for me, a homeowner on the street who was mowing his lawn stopped and helped me, and a neighbor of his stopped by as well. I managed to calm the stray dog down a bit (he was frustrated/barking because he wanted to "visit" with my dog and we were keeping them separated) and he finally let me check his tags. I don't know if he was just nervous around people or had had some bad experiences, but he wasn't excited about me coming closer until he calmed down. Anyway, we couldn't get a number from his tags, and couldn't get animal control or any of the other usual suspects to answer.
I ended up leaving because (a) there wasn't much more I could do and (b) the dog kept trying to get close to mine. As we walked away, he got upset and started barking.
Okay, if you've read to the end, my thanks. And now my question: what should I have done? The dog was very excited, but I really don't know what his "intentions" were once he got to my guy. Whenever he got near, he pretty much sniffed, and that was it before I was able to separate them again. I wouldn't have wanted to get him any more hopped up by acting too aggressively to get him away from us. I did my best to remain calm but firm. Bailey, I believe, was clueless the whole time and wanted to play with the stray dog.
Bailey and I were just walking down the street when what I believe was an APBT started following us.
Background:
-- We were on a nice, well-populated street, but close to less nice areas
-- Stray Dog: unneutered adult male (who was doing lots of marking, lol), very excited about Bailey, some scars on his face (though of course that could happen in any dog, I noticed it), had tags though unfortunately no number or address
-- Bailey: just under 18 mos., mixed breed, about 40 lbs., super submissive. The only other time he's been "attacked," he was tackled by a couple of larger dogs, and he basically laid on the ground. The dogs were quickly pulled off of him by their owner (while I grabbed Bailey), and B was not bitten. I don't know how well he'd defend himself if he were involved in a real dog fight, but I have my doubts!
The stray dog did not act aggressively, really, but he was very, very interested in my dog. He kept following us. I yelled at him to go away and kind of kicked out my leg in his direction (not aggressively, but a blocking maneuver). The other dog was okay with that -- he stayed away -- but he was not about to stop following us. He was starting to get excited/frustrated that I wouldn't let him near my dog and kept running up to sniff him until I managed to get him back away again.
Thankfully for me, a homeowner on the street who was mowing his lawn stopped and helped me, and a neighbor of his stopped by as well. I managed to calm the stray dog down a bit (he was frustrated/barking because he wanted to "visit" with my dog and we were keeping them separated) and he finally let me check his tags. I don't know if he was just nervous around people or had had some bad experiences, but he wasn't excited about me coming closer until he calmed down. Anyway, we couldn't get a number from his tags, and couldn't get animal control or any of the other usual suspects to answer.
I ended up leaving because (a) there wasn't much more I could do and (b) the dog kept trying to get close to mine. As we walked away, he got upset and started barking.
Okay, if you've read to the end, my thanks. And now my question: what should I have done? The dog was very excited, but I really don't know what his "intentions" were once he got to my guy. Whenever he got near, he pretty much sniffed, and that was it before I was able to separate them again. I wouldn't have wanted to get him any more hopped up by acting too aggressively to get him away from us. I did my best to remain calm but firm. Bailey, I believe, was clueless the whole time and wanted to play with the stray dog.