Last night my wife and I were taking a stroll with our five mo. old pup. We were walking toward some people loading a U-haul. As we got close I saw an untethered Boston Terrier. The instant that terrier saw our pup it took off like a rocket--not a sound--I knew it was going for the throat. I had seen a BT kill a cats the same way when I was a kid. There was no time to think, barely time ot react at all and just as the terrier was about to hit the pup at full speed I planted my foot into it's side. It went sailing across the road, squealed and rolled over three or four times. What an adreneline rush––at first I felt bad about kicking the dog so hard but it probably saved my pup from serious injury or worse. The owner said, hey-sorry 'bout that. Yeah right, good thing I wasn't toting a shotgun. Now I'm thinking, what could you do in this kind of situation if it was a big dog?

Wow... awesome reaction! Not for the BT, but for you and your dog, of course. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

I know a lot of people carry pepper spray just for this very purpose. When I was walking my family's dog (oversize beagle) a golden bolted out of nowhere and shot by my dog then doubled back for another pass. I quickly got between the two and screamed at the owners to control their dog. Of course, they looked at me like a foot fell out of my nose. Have pepper spray or even a big walking stick, because it's not a question of "IF a loose dog will cross our path" it's "WHEN." I wouldn't suggest trying to kick a big dog unless you're big and your kicks are powerful and well-placed, but even then it's not the best risk to take.

personally fond of the walking stick

i am a big guy (220 and 6'5") so kicking a big dog is an option.

thankfully all my incounters have been stand offs not all out attacks(knock on wood)

Pepper spray sounds easy because it can go in a pocket. But even if I'd been carrying some this time it wouldn't have done any good unless I had it already in-hand. A walking stick is nice in the woods but I can't imagine carrying one on evening strolls with any regularity. I'm big enough to consider kicking a larger dog––I sure hope it never comes to that. And I sure hope those people with the Boston Terrier were moving OUT.

I had a similar situation while walking my 5 mos. old GSD puppy. We were charged by two English Bull Dogs. They came at us at full speed and spitting and snarling and barking, the owner far behind yelling at them like they were children. As they approached I put Koach in a sit stay. The Bull Dogs came up short and just barked and snarled at us. Koach never flinched he just looked at them like he was studying them. I yelled at them and waited for the owner to get control as Koach and I walked away. I know this is not always going to work, but with no show of aggression from my GSD the Bull Dogs just stopped and snarled.
Terry
Treat them like they are animals
Train them like they are animals
Love them like they are people..................Louis Grant

If it were my 5 month old puppy, I would not risk his safety by putting him in a sit/stay and hoping the bulldogs didn't attack. Several years ago I was walking my then very dog friendly 5 month old GSD pup and she was attacked by an off leash Golden <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />- imagine that <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />. Anyhow, from that day forward she was always dog agressive whenever we were out in public. If it was a dog she knew or we introduced her to she was ok. I learned the hard way and would take no chances.

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If it were my 5 month old puppy, I would not risk his safety by putting him in a sit/stay and hoping the bulldogs didn't attack.

Actually I have tried the sit thing on aggressively barking and running fenced dogs and it truly does seem to be a calming signal (Turid Rugaas)to the other dogs.

Of course, sit quietly and carry a big stick - I sat my other dog once, and put myself between him and a small dog pack and took an aggressive stance with them as they were stalking us.

Since getting my 3 month old last month, I have realized 2 things.

I have a lot of idiot dog owners in my neighborhood.
I have a lot to be worried about from their dogs.

Just the other night, my pup, my lady, and I were walking through the park, dogs allowed on leash. I saw a guy enter the park with his 2 dogs. He stopped as he entered the park and removed the leashes, letting his dogs run free. Long story short, I had to pick up my pup and both of those dogs were snarling and going crazy. I maced them both, and because of all the trouble we've had, we had the camera with us. She started taking pictures of everything happening. I would say that I feel bad about him losing his dogs, but if he is stupid enough to put me at risk, he doesn't deserve them. I guess the police had had a problem with this guy in the past, it took showing them the pictures of the dogs being off leash, and the owner standing still with a dumb look on his face, plus the dogs snarling and trying to bite the cops when they showed up.

His only excuse was that normally, no one is in the park that late, so he figured it would be ok. We can never be too careful. I know have a reputation in the neighborhood as a "bad guy" but I have had a lot fewer problems as well.

I had to kick a dog once, lil white fluffy thing, my pup was 4 months old, loved other dogs, so was all excited when this lil white fluffy thing comes running up to us, gets a bite in on my pups nose, left a scar for weeks, I kicked it n it ran off down the street, the owners were on the other end of the street talking to their neighbors completely ignoring the dog, I yelled at em, they apologized, ugh.

My friend lives in a very dog friendly neighborhood, I love it, people are so understanding and everyone i've seen is responsible. People walk their dogs off leash and nobody cares because they are all well behaved, non-aggressive and stick by the owners. My neighbors complain when my dog is off leash in my own back yard in case he steps foot in their yard, heaven forbid they have paw prints in their grass <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" /> The aggressive dogs and free-roaming dogs that poop in everyones yard make it tough for us responsible dog owners and it drives me nuts. Some days I wish I didn't live in a community and had a nice 7 acre fenced in yard with no home owners association and whiney neighbors. Unfortunately that's not really an option without spending millions to stay in Orlando or moving too far out for my liking.

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I have a lot of idiot dog owners in my neighborhood.
I have a lot to be worried about from their dogs.

I feel the same in my neighborhood. I walk my dogs every day and have met up with some of the most dog ignorant people. One guy got angry with me because his little dog, not on a leash, went after both of my shepherds. When the little dog came running up snarling and barking, I gave my dogs the phooey command and kept on walking. I will give my dogs credit for trying to avoid this dog at all costs, but the guy got angry because one of mine growled at his poor baby. As he said, "your dogs could hurt a little dog given the chance." My reply was "if your dog was on a leash and under control, there would not be a problem." Basically our conversation ended with me walking away and telling him F*** off. Given this morons attitude, next time I won't be so pleasant.