The other morning I was walking my Doberman rescue along our usual route when a GSD popped out of the bushes and confronted us. The owner was not around and I suspect asleep because he did not come out when he heard his dog barking or me yelling at the dog to back off. I'm in a wheelchair and so my dog found herself standing like a statue in between me and the GSD as he sniffed her. I did not know what to do but after a few seconds of this I glared at the dog and sternly said, "No!" He stared back and eventually let us go on our way. We took our walk and then had to come back the same way. I had figured that the owner would have retrieved his dog by now but to my dismay, there the dog was by its property. He started trotting towards us and this time my dog went around behind me so I was able to run interference. I again yelled at him to back off while trying to sound as threatening as I could to the point of bearing teeth. Whenever he would stop, I'd break eye contact and start to turn to go around him. When he'd take another step towards us, I'd turn back towards him and yell some more. Eventually, he changed direction and went around us grumbling all the while and we were able to move on.

Now, in this case, what I did worked, but I was left wondering if my making eye contact with the dog was potentially dangerous. It was a bit unnerving trying to bluff this dog. It almost seemed like he was weighing his options with me.

I haven't a clue as to what I would do if a dog attacked my dog--especially a big dog like this one. Other than trying to give my dog as much leash as I can so she can defend herself, there wouldn't be much else I could do. Wouldn't yelling make things worse?

Kitty S.

Kitty,
If you do a search you'll see that we've discussed this in depth many times.

Carry a walking stick, pepper spray, and/ or handgun. All the long discussions we had basically boiled down into that answer.

Kitty--

Since you're in a wheelchair, I'd expect a walking stick isn't going to do you too much good, and a handgun may be out of the question. Best to carry pepper spray--there are formulations specifically for bears (IIRR) that project a stream of irritant a great deal farther than the usual anti-human or dog version, so you might look into that. And don't hesitate to use it--being less mobile as you are, the authorities will cut you a lot of slack if you simply say you were afraid the dog was going to attack you. (If you Google on "bear pepper spray" (without the quotes) you'll find lots of references.

If your dog does get into a fight, let go of the leash! It can only hinder her attempts to defend herself or run away. And you could be dragged out of your wheelchair and injured, even bitten, if you hold on.

Yes, pepper spray would be the best solution if one has good use of one's hands. Unfortunately for me, this is not the case. I am in a powered wheelchair and the dog's leash is tied to the chair so freeing my dog would be impossible. (though I wonder if there is some kind of emergency release mechanism out there such as maybe is used with horses)

I will look into pepper spray anyways because there may be some that doesn't necessarily require lots of dexterity.

Thank you for your suggestions. And I must say this is a great site for all kinds of dog owners.

Kitty S.

Kitty, look for a quick release cross tie in a horse catalog. Tie a rope around the chair, and put the quick release on the rope. The normal snap goes on the dog. I have seen barns with the quick release by the horse (oops, I'm not going to risk getting hoofed or bit to use a quick release)!

This one has a panic snap and velco release

http://www.kvvet.com/KVVet/productr.asp?...t=false&GiftID=

Most just have a panic snap.

Maybe a fog horn would scare the dog? I've never tried, but it would wake up the owners <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> .

Lauren,

Thank you, I will do just that!

Kitty S.

A fog horn would likely scare YOUR dog as well, so if you plan on using one of those, you'll need to desensitize your dog to it first. lol

Oh, I didn't see the fog horn part. Ha! My dog would keel over if I blasted that near her. She's terrified of thunder (which we refer to as "Thunder Dog" the great Uber Dog in the Sky)

The velcro panic snaps look interesting. I also found a panic snap with a cable release:
http://www.shopworks.com/adanac/index.cf...B8D01150A0AD036

Kitty,
If you know the actual address of the loose dog in question, have you considered just calling animal control? If the dog is loose on a public by-way, animal control ordinances usually call for the dogs capture.