Okay, I'm sure this has been discussed before but I didn't see it in a short search.
I've been a year + with Zeus training him not to be aggressive to other dogs out being walked. As previously mentioned I don't walk Zeus off lead and he gets walked once or twice EVERYDAY. It just makes me mad that there are dogs in my neighborhood that are allowed to run free, unsupervised. We've had run-ins with several dogs. Luckily there never has been a full blown fight...yet. It got to the point that a deputy was cruising the neighborhood one day and I stopped him and asked him the ramifications of an incident. He told me that as long as my dog was on a leash I was okay and the other dog owner would be fined and liable for vet bills.
Now my ego tells me to let Zeus have at him/her but common sense tells me NOT A GOOD IDEA.
What are your viewpoints and how do you handle unsupervised dogs? Have you ever gone and knocked on the owners door and told them they need to restrain their dog?
What say you?

In my area we encounter unleashed/unsupervised dogs on occasion, mostly in conservation areas. I usually will call out to the other owner that my dog is NOT friendly. If there's no owner nearby I just just warn the other dog(s) away. In most cases they won't come within ten feet. In my state I have the right to defend my property, I will if I have too.
I would never allow my dog to "just go at it" with another dog. Why would I want to risk my own dog getting injured, perhaps fatally? I've seen it.
Your deputy is partially right, at least in my state, if the other dog is in violation of the leash law, the owner can be liable for damages but LE/ AC does not handle that. If the loose dog owner refused to pay, you would have to take them to court, and in the case with you letting your dog "go at it" you could also be sued for damages to the other parties dogs, in addition to if investigated by AC any dog involved would be placed under quarantine, and if rabies tag not on or dog not vaccinated cited for the rabies violation. I used to cite for no proof of rabies on every dog involved in a dog fight regardless of who was on leash and who started it.
If you have an issue with loose dogs in your area contact AC and file a complaint.

I protect my dog. I never put my dog in a position where she has to defend herself or me.

When approached by another dog, I keep myself between it and my dog, take an assertive stance, and give it a strong verbal "NO!" or a common command like "down". Usually works. Then I give the owner, who hopefully as caught up to his out of control beast by now, holey h@!! for not having his dog on a leash.

self-deleted

Edited by Duane Hull (02/07/2014 10:33 AM)
Edit reason: deleted

"I would never allow my dog to "just go at it" with another dog. Why would I want to risk my own dog getting injured, perhaps fatally?"

And I don't want ANY dog fight to be enabled by me.



"I protect my dog. I never put my dog in a position where she has to defend herself or me."

Me too.



You're 100% right, Robert: "NOT A GOOD IDEA." (I know, you had already come to that conclusion. I'm reinforcing it. )




"Have you ever gone and knocked on the owners door and told them they need to restrain their dog? ... What say you?"

I have indeed. I'm not alone in this, and there have been threads about it. I'll try to dig up a few a little later.


One thing mentioned is to take pictures (video is even better) with date and time stamps. IMHO, this is a good thing to have.

Also, I make any necessary visits low-key and calm. This might require that I cool off quite a bit first. Then I focus pretty heavily on the possible costs to the offending owner (their dog's safety and the financial cost of not guarding that; the possible legal costs; the possible damage to other people's property -- dogs are legally property -- and that cost, etc., etc.).

i'd like to add . . . if you have a problem , report it to the appropriate authorities with a proper statement , and what ever other relevant evidence you have . . . witnesses , photo , video , vet bills etc .

right now i am dealing with the local a$$ who thinks he is in control of his pack , two boxers and a mixed breed . his pack has now attacked my dogs three times and if i had done the proper documentation the previous two times he would be having the dogs taken away from him now .

as it is , they are now researching to see if there are any other complaints against him , but we are basically starting at " strike one " .

I am distinctly 'lucky' in that I live in a place with no leash law. Lots of offleash dogs. Lucky for us there have been no dog aggressive ones to this point. I do warn the neighbors if their dog is on the highway because I don't want to see them dead, but unless the dog is 'threatening' to me or my dog, I have no grounds to complain.

 Quote: ian bunbury

i'd like to add . . . if you have a problem , report it to the appropriate authorities with a proper statement , and what ever other relevant evidence you have . . . witnesses , photo , video , vet bills etc .

right now i am dealing with the local a$$ who thinks he is in control of his pack , two boxers and a mixed breed . his pack has now attacked my dogs three times and if i had done the proper documentation the previous two times he would be having the dogs taken away from him now .

as it is , they are now researching to see if there are any other complaints against him , but we are basically starting at " strike one " .

Yes, this is very important. Good reminder, Ian.

Much better to document unnecessarily than to need it later and not have it.

 Quote: Connie Sutherland

.. Also, I make any necessary visits low-key and calm. This might require that I cool off quite a bit first. Then I focus pretty heavily on the possible costs to the offending owner (their dog's safety and the financial cost of not guarding that; the possible legal costs; the possible damage to other people's property -- dogs are legally property -- and that cost, etc., etc.).

I just wanted to add that part of this goal of being as calm and as non-confrontational as possible is my always-in-place intention not to let my dogs become the object of anyone's animosity .... and that includes not just making sure they are not allowed to threaten anyone else's peace, but also that I won't approach neighborhood dog-owners in a way that triggers anger at me -- anger that could turn into anger at my dogs.

And part, of course, is just the knowledge that triggering defense mechanisms isn't going to get me what I want.

 Quote: Connie Sutherland

.... and there have been threads about it. I'll try to dig up a few a little later. ...

Found one for now:

http://leerburg.com/webboard/thread.php?topic_id=33497&page=1#380024

One thing I do to avoid problems (and this was before Ed Frawley's video) is to walk my dogs at night. This way most people are eating supper,watching TV, getting ready to chill out for the evening. But the days will be getting longer and people will be out later soon.