Aggressive dog

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cross your arms turn side ways and do not look the dog in the eyes.

If you stand still and face the dog it is taken as aggression, if you deflect they are more likely to back off.

How no one has told you this (here) is beyond belief.

[Anonymous]

https://www.wikihow.com/Stay-Safe-when-a-Dog-Approaches-You

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP are you in DC? Can you share what neighborhood you were in? This happened to me, but the dog attacked my dog.

You must report - in DC it is not the police department but the Humane Society. The Humane Society in DC is very good. They have a scale on how to deal with this - it may not raise to "dangerous dog" but at least the dog will have something on file, and an investigator will come out to see if the family has the required fence/system in place to keep such a dog away from strange people/dogs.


Here is the relevant code form DC btw. I know others are saying you shouldn't be afraid of a dog barking but the stare is very concerning. I would describe it as the below.

(4)(A) “Potentially dangerous dog” means any dog that:

(ii) In a menacing manner, approaches without provocation any person or domestic animal as if to attack, or has demonstrated a propensity to attack without provocation or otherwise to endanger the safety of human beings or domestic animals; or

OP here, I am not in DC. I’m in Bethesda, though close to the DC border. But thank you for sharing the DC code.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:https://www.wikihow.com/Stay-Safe-when-a-Dog-Approaches-You

Thank you! This is very informative. I hope this will never happen to me again, but if it does I will feel more prepared.

[Anonymous]

OP here, to those of you who think what happened is no big deal and should not be reported, I am curious if there is anything short of an attack that you would report? Or does someone have to get hurt before you think it is appropriate to report an aggressive dog? This is not meant to be argumentative- It is a genuine question.

Also, I should mention that I was not even near the dog’s home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here, to those of you who think what happened is no big deal and should not be reported, I am curious if there is anything short of an attack that you would report? Or does someone have to get hurt before you think it is appropriate to report an aggressive dog? This is not meant to be argumentative- It is a genuine question.

Also, I should mention that I was not even near the dog’s home.

I might be wrong, but I don't think people are saying you shouldn't report an aggressive dog; I think they aren't sure you are reading the dog body language and barking correctly. Non-dog people can sometimes misread dog social cues.

I'm going to assume you were reading the dog right: If a dog came up to me and was following me and barking at me in an aggressive manner, I would be scared and I would report it. And I own an "aggressive dog".

I've posted before about my dog who has aggression problems and was rehomed (given to me) because I can keep her safely. Despite being "aggressive" my dog would never follow someone to bark at them. She would only bark aggressively if you entered her space and weren't going away. The only way she'd follow you barking is if you were dropping French fries or chicken fingers as you walked along. I would not have taken my dog in if she was the type of aggressive you're trying to describe and most would be hard pressed to find a home for a dog like that.

[Anonymous]

My question to the OP would be how often are they in this area. If they live nearby and have never seen the dog before then it sounds like a usually contained dog escaped and was being pursued by its owners so it is a unique issue. This only helps though if they live near or walk this this area enough to know if this is a repeated incident. It sounds like the dog had escaped — I think OP said the incident was not near the dog’s house- and owners were pursuing. In that circumstance telling if the dog is aggressive generally or just unique to this one off situation is hard to do. / On the other hand, if you have seen this dog on the loose before then yes report.

[Anonymous]

You said your daughter was already afraid of dogs. This dog surely sensed her fear, which didn't help matters. But the bottom line is that the dog didn't do anything to either of you and, as you said, the owner apologized and seemed sincere about it. Were you to report it, nothing would happen.

Get over it already.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You said your daughter was already afraid of dogs. This dog surely sensed her fear, which didn't help matters. But the bottom line is that the dog didn't do anything to either of you and, as you said, the owner apologized and seemed sincere about it. Were you to report it, nothing would happen.

Get over it already.

Suspect you have an aggressive dog yourself, or perhaps you are one!

[Anonymous]

Why not just talk to the owner rather than call the authorities? Aren’t you neighbors?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You said your daughter was already afraid of dogs. This dog surely sensed her fear, which didn't help matters. But the bottom line is that the dog didn't do anything to either of you and, as you said, the owner apologized and seemed sincere about it. Were you to report it, nothing would happen.

Get over it already.

I agree. I also remember we had a dog growing up that would bark And bark but would then lick you for an hour meaning you have no idea that this dog was just wanting some attention. Dog should have been on leash but obviously just got out and Family was on top of it. What would be your complaint?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s a bit hard to tell what actually happened here. A dog ran up to you and your daughter and barked. You saw this as a very aggressive act and from the point of view of fearful people you were in fright. But barking is communication, not aggression. Barking can mean play with me, it can mean I’m lost, it can mean help me. There’s no point asking you how the dog was barking because I don’t think you have the experience to describe it.

As for reporting this incident, I don’t know what the point would be. It sounds like the dog ran off momentarily and the family ran after him. They weren’t neglecting him and he does not sound dangerous just because his bark frightened you. I’m really sorry this happened to you but I can’t agree that this is an “aggressive” dog.

I don't think we should apologize for the dog or the owner. A moment is all that is needed for a pretty traumatizing attack. For such a dog, typically you would start with two types of barriers - a fence and a long lead for example. So if one fails the other is there to protect. Dogs sometimes are not aggressive due to fear or anxiety, sometimes the dog is just aggressive because of breeding. I really hate that we ignore that we bred dogs to do things - work, fight, guard etc. It really is important for proper training. Not every family should have a particular breed of dog, and that's okay. Sadly, we aren't at that level of specificity in adopting or purchasing a dog - it's hey I think a husky is cute I'll keep it in my apartment, but why is it destroying everything when I leave? Or an australian shepard is perfect with my 3 year old, why is it nipping them so much though?

And yet this dog barked at them for three minutes without attacking them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You said your daughter was already afraid of dogs. This dog surely sensed her fear, which didn't help matters. But the bottom line is that the dog didn't do anything to either of you and, as you said, the owner apologized and seemed sincere about it. Were you to report it, nothing would happen.

Get over it already.

I agree. I also remember we had a dog growing up that would bark And bark but would then lick you for an hour meaning you have no idea that this dog was just wanting some attention. Dog should have been on leash but obviously just got out and Family was on top of it. What would be your complaint?

NP. Who are you? I have grown up around dogs and have always owned one or more dogs. A non-aggressive dog will never go up to a person and bark at them; if the dog wants attention he would run up wagging his tail. A dog Who looks directly at a person and barks, is warning that person to stay away. That is aggressive. I likely would feel threatened by the dog as well if the dog was big, despite my comfort around dogs. I would definitely let the owner know that their dog is aggressively approaching people.

[Anonymous]

^^ agree with the above. In addition, I wonder what is the aversion to reporting on this board? That is what the human society (or whatever entity is taking this on in your jurisdiction ) is for. That way, if this dog every actually makes good on its threat there is a record and proper actions can be taken - whether it be requiring a muzzle, particular restraints, etc. You should talk to your neighbor of course, AND report to through the proper channels. More often than not, there is a neighborhood dog that has bitten several people and they know to avoid the house or its area. But why do we need to live this way? Its terrifying and unnecessary.

[Anonymous]

I don’t mean to sound dismissive. But do you think any authority will take it seriously that a usually-contained dog escaped from home and then barked at you “aggressively” for a few minutes? What would the action even taken in that case? Reporting is not meant to validate your feelings.