I had a few extra hours that came up, so decided to take Quinton to the beach. We went to designated off leash area to let him swim and play a little (with the e-collar on.) All was going well and most of the pups that came by were friendly and well behaved if a little crazy.

I have worked hard in the last 18 months to get him to not try to eat other dogs. He tended to do a lot of rude posturing toward just about all dogs, and have now gotten him to the point that he ignores the smaller guys completely, and mostly ignores the big dogs as long as they are not showing excessive dominant behavior. I have found that if I watch all dogs coming and pick up on their demeanor, I can re-direct Quinn and give him a bunch of other stuff to do.

Well we had a little “spot” that was a pile of our stuff that Quinn and I had to walk away from to throw a baggie away up over the bank and 50 yards away. When I turned around to head back there was a woman walking toward our area with two wolves.

Now they could have been (and probably were) hybrids, but they were larger (80-95lbs) and were walking with their heads lowered and what looked like surveying. They were of course off leash as well. It seemed just a bit too intense for my security and we were still pretty far away, so I had Quinn do a few OB things and stayed back.

Well of course they spotted us and started “stalking” toward us. I had put the leash on Quinn and had him sit at my side as they approached and asked the woman to call them back. She said that “they were fine.” Oh really? By now Quinn is getting a little more worked up and whining. I am yelling at them to get back and go away. Every time I yell or gesture away, they growl at me. Not Quinn, but me. They are now staring me down and splitting to circle us. I have never been so scared.

I keep asking the woman to get her animals, and she says they don’t bite and are friendly… I tell her they are growling. Her answer to that? “let your dog go and they will learn their lesson.” OMG! As mom walked further down the beach, they left us to follow her.

I was obviously agitating them further, but what else could I do? Was there anything I could have done differently? I have only ever encountered packs of little dogs that I can kick away while holding him back, not big dogs that didn’t like me much. Problem is that Quinn would have absolutely engaged had they come closer. But after they left, we were fine and back to fetch and swimming.

Is this an I don’t know what to do but hope it does not happen again situation?

 Quote: jessicakromer

Was there anything I could have done differently?

Jessica,

I would have done a nice Foos, right off the beach or at least out of view and away from them since it sounds like there was time for that.
When I see more than one dog in a "stalk" position moving in my direction we just go do something else. NOT at all because my dogs will not behave, but because I do not really trust Joe Schmoe and his off-lead trouble maker. They may not be that stereo-type, but I would rather be safe than sorry.

Not much you can do about an irresponsible and somewhat smarta** owner though.

Hi, Jessica-

I don't have a lot of experience, but if I were ever going to go anywhere where dogs were off leash, I would make certain that I had some kind of pepper spray (or a nice, aluminium baseball bat - ha ha) with me at all times. You can get a pepper spray that attaches to your keychain. I used to have one. I would feel safer with it. Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it. If some dumbsh!t can't even call their dogs back (especially when another person requests it) in this type of situation, then maybe the dumbsh!t would think twice next time if their dogs got maced/pepper sprayed/hit with a blunt object. Like someone mentioned in another post not too long ago, buy 2 of them, so you can test with the first one how it works, how far it sprays, etc. Then keep the other one with you for emergencies. Just my 2 cents. Man, I would have been scared to death in that situation! Glad you are all unharmed.

P.S. Carol-What's a "Foos?"

 Quote: kori bigge

"Foos?"

Heel...sorry, I was talking to Rock and typed that instead of heel.

And Kori that is a great suggestion, I should have added that as well but was concentrating on my other train of thought.

As a matter of fact, Jessica, it sounds like you were paying plenty of attention and saw them while they were some distance away. If this happened and you had pepper spray, you could get it out, hold it up and THEN tell the owner "If you don't call your dogs back, I'll mace 'em." (After asking nicely once, of course. Maybe she'd have called them back and it wouldn't have even been an issue. Just having the spray might be enough that owners will take you seriously and keep their dogs under control (at least when they see you coming from now on. You know, the ol' "Call your dogs back and nobody gets hurt!" routine.

Thanks guys!

The irony is that I had brought pepper spray. I had left it with my pile of stuff fifty yards away. It was on my keychain (good call Kori) with my cell phone, long line, canvas dummy and chuck-it! Wasn't thinking about anything but doggie duty when I walked off.

I like what Carol said though, just walk away if I can. I was thinking about my stuff, but I was also banking (stupidly) on her ability or willingness to call her dogs off.

Learned my lesson! But man, it was scary!

I was just wondering how well mace really works on a dog? I happily have very few dogs around to try it on but am interested in adding something for the just in case situations I run into biking with the dog. I've been told by others that bear mace is the way to go. Any opinions?

Melissa,

You had asked about how effective mace is on dogs. There are several formulations of pepper spray (mace), and for it to do the trick on dogs, you need to look for one that is formulated for canines.

I've no knowledge of bear mace, so I'd just do some searching for canine-formulated pepper spray. And, when searching, look for ones that have a "stream" rather than a "fog/mist". Get two, as well; one to practice with and one to use. You need to know the range, spray pattern, ease of operation and what not.

Luck!
-J

Melissa, I think bear mace might be overkill on a dog.

Jessica, I agree with Carol that to have moved away hopefully out of sight in that particular scenario would have been best. Likely if it happens again, it won't play out the same. It's almost impossible to prepare for every situation. They're all different. But it helps to play some scenarios out in your mind.

I wonder if the reason some owners are so darn obstinate about calling their dogs away when asked (I am speaking oh so much nicer than I really want to about those type people) is because they know their dogs don't obey the recall and don't want that embarrassment. Perhaps if after we ask them to call their dogs and they refuse, the next thing out of our mouths should be "if me or my dog gets attacked, I will sue the pants off you". That more than likely will get a lackadaisical owner moving. Money speaks louder than anything else to most people.

 Quote: jessicakromer

I keep asking the woman to get her animals, and she says they don’t bite and are friendly… I tell her they are growling. Her answer to that? “let your dog go and they will learn their lesson.” OMG!

Was there anything I could have done differently?
Is this an I don’t know what to do but hope it does not happen again situation?

Hmmmm...maybe next time you should tell the lady, "If you don't call your dogs off, I will send my dog, but he won't go after your dogs, he'll come after YOU!