I live in a Dallas apartment complex. I do see a variety of dogs, such as one other Rottweiler, 2 German Shepherds, and 1 Doberman. The rest of the dogs are small toy dogs of various breeds.

However, I rarely see the larger dogs, day or night. Most of the time all I see are the smaller dogs. At first, I found the small dog owners somewhat comical. One woman would walk five Chihuahuas at once and be completely overwhelmed by the yipping and find herself entangled. Another woman walks one Schnauzer while holding the other one and alternating periodically. These dog owners are rather snobbish and utterly terrified of Tank (I do not force Tank on them, rather I give them a wide berth and make no attempt to socialize while walking him). It has always been my main objective to be a responsible dog owner.

Last week I was walking Tank as I always do. I saw a Chihuahua walking off the leash, so I forced Tank into a sit/stay to give the owner a chance to get his dog (perhaps the dog ran out the door? who knows?). The owner is standing next to his car, but does not call his dog to return. Instead he encourages his dog to "sniff" Tank. He assures me that his dog "loves" big dogs and means no harm. I tell the man that I do not want my dog to meet his dog, since Tank has no experience with smaller dogs. The man becomes more insistent and forces his dog toward my dog. Tank becomes excited and sees the smaller dog as a toy. I don't want Tank to accidentally hurt this man's dog, so I try to walk Tank away. The dog follows. Then the Chihuahua lunges at Tank and attempts to "nip" him. Tank turns and tries to "nip" back. Meanwhile the man demands I take my "vicious" Rottweiler away from his unleashed chihuahua.

I resolve this matter the next day at the main office. There is a leash law in Dallas and three offenses will have him evicted--this was his second offense. I am assured that if Tank should attack the dog, the fault lies with the owner who failed to put a leash on his dog.

A few days go by. I walk Tank on his normal route, careful to avoid other dog owners, since I know they are frighted of Tank. I pass a gentleman with two tiny dogs (shitzu or something similar). He is on one side of the street and I am on the other. I make no eye-contact and walk Tank as I normally do. The gentleman's dogs burst into a barking and growling spectacle. Tank turns to look, I tell him "leave it" and he obeys. These two dogs are on 30 ft retractable leads. The man lets these dogs rush toward Tank. They attempt to bite Tank in the face. Tank turns to bite back-I give him a quick jerk with the leash and move him away. Meanwhile the man says his dogs are really nice dogs and mean no harm. I ask the man to move his dogs away from mine. He does not and demands to know why my dog is attacking his. I rush Tank past the man as fast as I can.

I explain the situation to the front office. The lady says that this is not the first time that this person has forced his dogs on another person--particularly those with large breeds of dogs. She says that most of the owners with larger breeds of dogs tend to walk their dogs early in the morning or very late at night in an attempt to avoid people like this.

Surely there is something I can do? I don't mean to sound paranoid or anything, but I feel like I'm being set up. That some people are willing to have their dogs injured to get rid of a large breed dog like Tank. Tank is just a puppy, he means no harm, and I purposely try to keep him at a safe distance from everyone.

I have a wire basket muzzle on order. Hopefully this will keep Tank from accidentally hurting another dog while I walk him -- and maybe discourage people from trying to force their dogs on him.

Has anyone else ever heard of this? If so, what is the best way to go about this? I realize that Tank is a Rottweiler, and they have a bad reputation, but he's a good dog. I'm afraid that stunts like this will make him mean and distrustful of strange people and strange dogs --- when all I want him to do is ignore them during walks, which is what he was doing.

Wow... no wonder you're upset, those owners are really horrible. Sounds like you have a really nice puppy too, good job raising him :-)

I would just do what I always do when an aggressive dog approaches my own, no matter what size. Go after the offending dog. Yell at it, charge at it, try to scare if off. If that doesn't work, kick it, smack it with a stick or pepper spray it.
Tell the other owners that if they don't keep their dogs away from yours, you'll do it for them.

Unfortunately if you allow these little dogs to continue harassing Tank, he will realize that he can't count on you to defend him and will take it upon himself to fight.

The good news is that if you're aggressive enough with the attacking dog, you'll make a strong enough impression on it that it will hopefully know to avoid you in the future!

Don't be shy about this... you did a great job with your pup so far, but if these "attacks" on him continue, he could VERY quickly turn into a dog-aggressive monster. Better prevent that from happening in the first place rather than try to deal with an aggressive rott down the line

Good luck. Maybe if the other large dog owners started standing up for themselves and their dogs, these little dog owners would learn some manners!!

By the way, even if the other dog isn't aggressive, you still shouldn't let it charge up to Tank.

Just stand between your dog and the oncoming dog and yell at it to go away. You don't even have to confront the owner if you're not comfortable with that. I usually find it easier to just ignore the owner and take a strong stance against the other dog.

Most dogs won't actually challenge you and will back off from a strong posture, a hard stare and a loud warning. I have personally only had to resort to actual physical contact (ie. kicking) only 2 or 3 times in the past 2 years - and I run into many dogs every day on walks.

So far I've never had an owner complain or be upset. They usually apologize and seem really embarrassed to have an out of control dog with no manners... if I'm in a bad mood, I just ignore the owners and walk on. If I'm feeling generous, I tell them that it's nothing personal against them or their dogs - I simply don't allow other dogs to come charging over to mine, no matter how friendly.
(This is usually the point where I start getting questions on how I managed to have such well behaved dogs that pay attention to me and that don't act stupid around other dogs, lol. I just send them to this website )

You could carry a spray bottle with water set on stream. With a good bottle I can shoot a barking Chi (my own) at 7 or 8 paces. It's my low budget remote trainer. I don't stop spraying until they stop barking.
If they keep comming you keep spraying in their face until they stop. If you put ice in the water it will be even more of a shock to them.
Give them your baddest NO when you do it and you will eventually be able to leave the water bottle at home when you have trained them (dog and/or owner) to leave you alone.
If the rude dog owners decide they don't like their dogs being sprayed then maybe they will walk early in the morning or late at night OR keep their dogs on a short leash.
Maybe you could get the other big dog owners to carry spray bottles too.

Get the address and if you can the name of the owner. Call your Animal Control Dept and report that the dogs attacked you and your dog. Make sure you have all your required tags ( current rabies vaccination and county registration) before you make a complaint. Then follow up in a couple of days to see what was done.

Get a leather muzzle for you rott. I like one that is sold by these guys http://www.kristalas.com/muzzles/exlarge.htm it comes off quick but is relatively secure. Looks elegant too. I had one for 20 years from a Russian friend before I found that they are sold again, I cherished that muzzle..

Anyways, let your dog have his way with the little dogs, he won't hurt them too much with the muzzle on. After all in a situation where a big dog attacks you, you wouldn't want your rott to sit idle because that's what you've accustomed him to? Also he should learn to be ready to defend himself and you even if it's just against dogs.

After a few seconds walk between the dogs and shoo/kick off the other dogs. Hopefully it will be a lesson learned. A dog should not sit passively as he and his owner are being rushed even if it's by little dogs.

After incidents with the dogs of a couple HUA owners, a friend of mine carries a collapsible baton (ASP is a brand name; there are economy versions). Collapsed, it's an innocuous-looking 10" long "stick", but a flick of the wrist extends it to 26"

After you fend off a dog, you can use it on the owner, too - if you don't mind being arrested.
Check your local laws. It may be illegal in your area to carry, like it is in California - ask Snoop Dog!

Mike

 Quote:

Anyways, let your dog have his way with the little dogs, he won't hurt them too much with the muzzle on. After all in a situation where a big dog attacks you, you wouldn't want your rott to sit idle because that's what you've accustomed him to? Also he should learn to be ready to defend himself and you even if it's just against dogs.

After a few seconds walk between the dogs and shoo/kick off the other dogs. Hopefully it will be a lesson learned. A dog should not sit passively as he and his owner are being rushed even if it's by little dogs.

While some might agree, I feel this is a very bad idea. If you allow your dog to ever “attack” another dog, even with a muzzle on, you are teaching the dog that it is OK to do this with out a muzzle. Period.

You are doing the right thing by showing your dog that you will handle the threats. If you ever end up needing it, a good dog will back you up when needed. The dog will look to you for leadership in all other aspects of life as well .

You know, the more I sit here and think about it, the more this statement makes me a angry. I can list a hundred reasons that is a very bad idea, from hurting the other dog "let your dog have his way with the little dogs, he won't hurt them too much" , to creating/bringing out a monster in your dog, not to mention what it could do to the temperament of the other dog, to the very bad impression it gives any one who witnesses this (including the owner who now feel justified for their fear of the dog). And to top it off she has a Rott! A breed with a poor reputation and propensity for dog aggression.

But to be nice, I’ll acknowledge that it is a nice looking muzzle.

I agree with Jessica. The advice given by another poster to let the muzzled Rott "have his way with the little dogs" is, IMO, just training a dog to fight another dog. That's the last thing you want. Besides, it isn't true that a muzzled dog can't hurt another dog, but that to me isn't even the point. To top that off, a small dog can still bite hard, leaving your dog with an injury.

Debbie's idea of the spray water bottle is a good one, but would only use that for small dogs. A large dog might not be so intimidated and it may cause an aggressive reaction.

 Quote: Dan Elmar

Get a leather muzzle for you rott. I like one that is sold by these guys http://www.kristalas.com/muzzles/exlarge.htm it comes off quick but is relatively secure. Looks elegant too. I had one for 20 years from a Russian friend before I found that they are sold again, I cherished that muzzle..

Anyways, let your dog have his way with the little dogs, he won't hurt them too much with the muzzle on. After all in a situation where a big dog attacks you, you wouldn't want your rott to sit idle because that's what you've accustomed him to? Also he should learn to be ready to defend himself and you even if it's just against dogs.

After a few seconds walk between the dogs and shoo/kick off the other dogs. Hopefully it will be a lesson learned. A dog should not sit passively as he and his owner are being rushed even if it's by little dogs.

WOW!!!
I am sorry, but Dan, what are you thinking giving advice like this?

Not only can the Rott still do damage to a little dog with a muzzle on, but it will teach the Rott to be dog aggressive since it will be allowed to be attacked and not be able to defend itself in the way that dogs defend themselves.

The OP is doing things correctly by taking control of the situation and defending her dog.