Was walking on a main path through a small, public park last night at about 7:15. It's Vancouver, so it was bright enough to be wearing sunglasses. Inside the park is a special, fenced-off area for dogs. There is also a fenced-off elementary school. It was long after school had let out for the day. However, it is a family-friendly park and there is an open area with playground equipment for young children not far from where I was walking.

I was wearing a baseball cap and the already-mentioned sunglasses. (I mention this because I've noticed some dogs do not like sunglasses—and maybe others react badly to baseball caps.)

A fairly small dog—would have come up a bit higher than my knees—left its man-and-woman couple and began running towards me in an aggressive manner while growling and barking. I stopped and faced it, loudly yelling, "Hey, get off the couch!"

The dog stopped and began to retreat back to its owners. I proceeded my walk down the path, and the dog charged at me again. (This was now close to a classic, attack-from-the-side angle.) I had to stop and turn once more to face the dog and loudly yelled, "Hey!" This was loud enough that people from far away were turning their heads.

After a couple of seconds, the dog again retreated back to its owners. I then walked home in peace (without walking out of my way to reprimand the owners for not controlling an off-leash dog with so many children around).

I'm wondering if I should have spoken to the couple.

thanks, Todd's key-nine board

I love that... "Get off the Couch !".... Dog and humans are confused....

You handled it perfectly. Humans were being dumb, and now publicly know it. Unless they are deaf.

“ Control your dog!! “

I've yelled at a barking dog coming up to me: "What the hell is wrong with you, get your @ss back home!"

The dog retreated. It's not what you say, it's how you say it.

---

San Antonio, TX (in the old city)


"All that is required for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing." - Edmund Burke
“Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented." - Eli Weisel

"To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public." - Theodore Roosevelt (1918)

"I don’t want to see religious bigotry in any form. It would disturb me if there was a wedding between the religious fundamentalists and the political right. The hard right has no interest in religion except to manipulate it." - Billy Graham 1981

"Politics and governing demand compromise. But these Christians believe they are acting in the name of God, so they can't and won't compromise" - Barry Goldwater

Glad you're OK.

It's been two decades since I've been in Canada (Toronto, ONT) but, back then, dog owners were VERY responsible re: their pets, ESPECIALLY when off leash. Granted it WAS a long time ago and, at the other end of the country. That said, I would have tried to speak with the owners (if in fact the people you saw were the pet's owners). Otherwise, they may claim that they were unaware of their pet's aggressive behavior when off leash. You also might have been able to warn others re: said dog.

PS: is there a "Park Authority" that you can notify? Lastly, did you have time to snap a picture or video of said aggressive behavior? If so, it would be hard for owners to refute that there dog was 1: off leash and 2: acting aggressively when it was NOT provoked.

This is why a lot of people I know carry golf clubs with them. Sneak attacks from behind aren't cool..

Wasting your time with the owners...

Save your breath and carry a whistle. Not a dog whistle. A regular whistle so everyone hears it just as loud as the barking. Hopefully the loud sound will startle and snap the dog out of it. And also call attention to the idiot owners of the uncontrolled animal.

---

I’ve found that a solid kick to the muzzle keeps them from any second attempt and it works for dogs of all sizes.

---

Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.

WTH are people thinking letting their dog off leash in a public park, especially with kids around.
Glad you are OK and your tactics worked.

---

Roswell, GA (Atlanta suburb)

I carry pepper gel for animal encounters. While I have not had to deploy it, pulling it from my pocket has warded of a smaller dog and an usually aggressive fox. Animal control caught a rabid fox in the area near the same time frame in the same area.

---

Ways to improve web conference image and sound quality. [forums.macresource.com]

Quote
pRICE cUBE
I carry pepper gel for animal encounters. While I have not had to deploy it, pulling it from my pocket has warded of a smaller dog and an usually aggressive fox. Animal control caught a rabid fox in the area near the same time frame in the same area.

I have carried pepper spray on every walk ever since my small dog and i were attacked by a pit a few years ago in our neighborhood. fortunately the owner was nearby.

---

"Success isn't about how much money you make. It is about the difference you make in people's lives."--Michelle Obama

An area that I bike past has 2 dogs that are quick to come out on the road and aggressively chase me while on my bike. The first time (4 years ago) it caused me to lose my balance and I wiped out on the road. Just went on the same route last week and the same two dogs chased me again, but I was able to speed up and get away. I need to get some pepper gel or something so I have a tool for dealing with them if I go that way again.

Based on where they're at, I get the sense that they are probably not well cared for (rural location, property doesn't seem very well cared for) and the owners (who I've never seen) obviously aren't too concerned about their behavior.

Quote
clay
An area that I bike past has 2 dogs that are quick to come out on the road and aggressively chase me while on my bike. The first time (4 years ago) it caused me to lose my balance and I wiped out on the road. Just went on the same route last week and the same two dogs chased me again, but I was able to speed up and get away. I need to get some pepper gel or something so I have a tool for dealing with them if I go that way again.

Based on where they're at, I get the sense that they are probably not well cared for (rural location, property doesn't seem very well cared for) and the owners (who I've never seen) obviously aren't too concerned about their behavior.

Remember that pepper gel is not as fast as the fogging spray. One needs to hit the threat in the eyes and mouth areas. The upside is you are much less likely to spray yourself or suffer blowback contamination.

---

Ways to improve web conference image and sound quality. [forums.macresource.com]

Quote
pRICE cUBE

Quote
clay
An area that I bike past has 2 dogs that are quick to come out on the road and aggressively chase me while on my bike. The first time (4 years ago) it caused me to lose my balance and I wiped out on the road. Just went on the same route last week and the same two dogs chased me again, but I was able to speed up and get away. I need to get some pepper gel or something so I have a tool for dealing with them if I go that way again.

Based on where they're at, I get the sense that they are probably not well cared for (rural location, property doesn't seem very well cared for) and the owners (who I've never seen) obviously aren't too concerned about their behavior.

Remember that pepper gel is not as fast as the fogging spray. One needs to hit the threat in the eyes and mouth areas. The upside is you are much less likely to spray yourself or suffer blowback contamination.

Thanks. Wondering what my best option is while riding bike. Both in terms of my procedure, and also what product would be best.

I think OC/pepper spray is a good compromise.

In a park, an owner who's dumb enough to let an undisciplined dog run free may take umbrage to someone striking their animal anything.

Striking the owner could be problematic, using OC (justifiably) probably less so.

I also like the idea of a mini-airhorn.

What ticks me off about rob's situation, is that the owner's were nearby, and the dog retreated to them, but advanced a second time, and they didn't intercede.

Were they clueless?

That is a case of me OCing the dog on the second run, and letting the owner's deal with the overspray.

---

I am that Masked Man.

Your boos mean nothing to me, I've seen what you cheer for.

Insisting on your rights without acknowledging your responsibilities isn’t freedom, it’s adolescence.

I've been to the edge of the map, and there be monsters.

We are a government of laws, not men.

Everybody counts or nobody counts.

When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.

You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.

There is no safety for honest men except
by believing all possible evil of evil men.

We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive

An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.

You make me pull, I'll put you down.

I *love* SIGs. It's Glocks I hate.

It's always the little ones!

But seriously. Is everyone deathly afraid of a little dog? Big dogs, typically aggressive breeds, I understand the need for a good defense and even offense. But yappy dogs?

Quote
clay

Quote
pRICE cUBE

Quote
clay
An area that I bike past has 2 dogs that are quick to come out on the road and aggressively chase me while on my bike. The first time (4 years ago) it caused me to lose my balance and I wiped out on the road. Just went on the same route last week and the same two dogs chased me again, but I was able to speed up and get away. I need to get some pepper gel or something so I have a tool for dealing with them if I go that way again.

Based on where they're at, I get the sense that they are probably not well cared for (rural location, property doesn't seem very well cared for) and the owners (who I've never seen) obviously aren't too concerned about their behavior.

Remember that pepper gel is not as fast as the fogging spray. One needs to hit the threat in the eyes and mouth areas. The upside is you are much less likely to spray yourself or suffer blowback contamination.

Thanks. Wondering what my best option is while riding bike. Both in terms of my procedure, and also what product would be best.

In the moments leading up to and during a threat, a person is usually not in tune with the direction of the breeze unless it is a strong one. The spray contamination the defender may hinder one’s ability to spray and run.

---

Ways to improve web conference image and sound quality. [forums.macresource.com]

MrBig,

A dog bit is a dog bit. Even a little yappy fru fru dog can inflict a nasty bite. They might not necessarily cause the same amount of damage and/or inflict the same level of terror but a bite is still a bite.

[www.clarionledger.com]

[pethelpful.com]

Robert

I don't usually carry a phone (or camera), and yesterday was no exception.

I do carry a Trader Joe's shopping bag. In the winter, (I like to think) the colorful bag helps motorists see me as I cross dark intersections. Last night, I was prepared to swing it at the dog should it have come to close. The bag was weighted down by an empty Tupperware container, an empty case for a pair of sunglasses, and full case for a pair of reading glasses.

Thinking about it more, I walk with a visible limp these days. Am still recovering from arthroscopic surgery that removed a bone chip and some frayed ligaments in my knee. I wonder if the dog thought it was culling the herd of pedestrians.

Thanks for your feedback, T's kb

.....was there a bone in your pocket.....or happy to see someone.....???

---

_____________________________________

I reject your reality and substitute my own!

They used to be fairly popular here and at the old place, good source of refurbs before Apple had a refurb store. Don't recall them being aggressive.

[shop.smalldog.com]

I grew up on a farm and obviously around a lot of different animals.

I've yet to be unable to "make friends" with any kind of aggressive dog from a cornered doberman to my neighbor's mentally unbalanced pit bull. There's a lot that brian Wilson's mom got right about "good vibrations" around an animal. dogs can sense a lot.

Your sunglasses (at night?) didn't help. They can get very agitated if they can't see your eyes.

Quote
GGD
They used to be fairly popular here and at the old place, good source of refurbs before Apple had a refurb store. Don't recall them being aggressive.

[shop.smalldog.com]

Small Dog Electronics. Boy, does that bring back memories! I bought several things from them decades ago. I glad to hear that Small Dog is still alive and kicking.

We have a small dog that I walk to a nearby park and back. I have a hiking metal stick and carry my phone along with pepper stream spray. The hiking stick has worked in the very few times I have had to use it generally holding it in front of the dog after I picked up my dog.

We never have her off lease while in public.

Then we had a neighbor a street over that told his neighbor that if he continues to let his large dog wander and try to go after his small dogs on his property that he would use his M1 Rifle to make sure it was the last time it was in his yard. I think he was serious. So did the neighbor with the big dog running loose.

Quote
GGD
They used to be fairly popular here and at the old place, good source of refurbs before Apple had a refurb store. Don't recall them being aggressive.

[shop.smalldog.com]

Was coming by to make this joke but you beat me to it. I figured it was blow-out pricing on a Umax machine - everything must go!

Quote
Z

Quote
GGD
They used to be fairly popular here and at the old place, good source of refurbs before Apple had a refurb store. Don't recall them being aggressive.

[shop.smalldog.com]

Was coming by to make this joke but you beat me to it. I figured it was blow-out pricing on a Umax machine - everything must go!

---

Ways to improve web conference image and sound quality. [forums.macresource.com]

Quote
chopper
Your sunglasses (at night?) didn't help.

7 PM in Canadian lattitudes in May?

Definitely not dark.

I walk daily with my Doberman in our neighborhood and a new family moved in a while back - they have two dogs who are frequently out in the yard unrestrained. They have run out at us -and yelling usually gets the to retreat. My dog is leashed and we walk on the side of the road away from their house. A couple of weeks ago they ran out and it was an attack that drew blood on my dog. I was pissed enough to call and speak to our animal control officer - I think he paid them a visit, as I haven't seen those dogs since.

Quote
rgG
WTH are people thinking letting their dog off leash in a public park, especially with kids around.
Glad you are OK and your tactics worked.

It’s their world. We’re just living in it.

---

Yelling aggressively at a dog is a great way to avoid a conflict. Small or large, chances are your bigger than even the largest dogs. They quickly establish a dominant/submissive order and when a larger, meaner animal acts aggressive, the dog retreats or submits.
Be that larger, meaner animal

Quote
GGD
They used to be fairly popular here and at the old place, good source of refurbs before Apple had a refurb store. Don't recall them being aggressive.

[shop.smalldog.com]

Drive past them when I ski in Vermont…and stopped in several times. And I see they moved to Burlington…



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/02/2022 08:25PM by Lizabeth.

Quote
Speedy
I’ve found that a solid kick to the muzzle keeps them from any second attempt and it works for dogs of all sizes.

This. I hate the thought of harming a dog, but under these particular circumstances the action would be warranted.

---

It is what it is.