Hi!

I've just found your wonderful forum ~ Thank you so much! I don't know where to post this, so hopefully I'm not breaking any rules.

Our dog Max is a 4 yr. old beagle/spaniel mix about 30lbs.; he's got a fabulous rescue story, and we have been thrilled to have him for just over a year. He just loves everyone & everything, literally never barks, is very docile in most situations, and will sniff right up to any dog. We have a neighborhood dog named Bailey, lab I think, a really big guy at least 80lbs. who we've met before. He gets very aggressive with Max, but his owner has always been within ear-shot in the past.

But the other day on a walk, Bailey appeared from nowhere & became very aggressive with his sniffing & perhaps more of Max's privates, with no owner in sight. Yes, I know this is the way dogs communicate, but Max was just going in circles trying to get away from the brute, and crying & yelping. I did not know what to do, but just kept loudly saying "Bailey no", hoping the owner would appear; this obviously had no effect whatsoever on Bailey. Finally after what seemed like way too long, owner finally came out of his house, appologizing for not knowing Bailey'd gotten loose.

This house is very close to ours and we walk regularly, so I don't know how I could avoid this area. What would be the proper way for me to handle this in future??

Thank you!
Tess Mickelsen
Redford, MI

Hello and welcome! I'm sure you'll get more sage advice, but I'll offer a suggestion.

If Bailey is friendly to you, try interposing yourself between the two of them. Step in front of your Max, keeping your body between the two dogs. There is really no reason that Max should be playing with other dogs, none at all. They don't "need to be with dogs" they need to be with the owner (Max and you, in this case). :smile:

Sounds like you've got a good dog there. Just step up and step in, as it were. Don't try to be too aggressive to Bailey, just be calm and in control.

Luck!
-J

Hi Tess,
You need to protect your dog. If he is crying and yelping, you need to intervene immediately before the situation escalates into a nasty disaster.
This particular topic has been covered extensively on this board. You can probably find a lot of valuable information if you search the http://www.leerburg.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=cfrm&c=9
forum. Your dog is not the problem, but there's lots of good stuff that might give you ideas on how to deal with someone else's aggressive dog.
Ed has lots of good info, too, and it's pretty easy to find if you use his directory here: http://www.leerburg.com/directory.htm