Hello. I'm a first time poster. If I'm posting in the wrong section of the board, by all means please move me, and if I commit any other faux pas, please let me know.

Anyway, here's my situation.

I am not, myself, a dog owner. I don't hate dogs, but in all honesty I'm not partial to them either. I prefer to think of myself as a dog respecter, rather than a dog lover, if that distinction makes sense.

Recently, my next door neighbor, an older woman, became an invalid due to some medical problems with her knees. Since then, she has had a lot of family visit her, including one young man who owns a dog.

The dog in question is medium-sized, muscular build, kind of front-heavy. I've been doing a bit of internet research, and my best guess as to breed is that it is indeed one of the legendary American pit bull terriers of aggressive dog fame. I'll try to get and post a picture if that will help. I'm trying not to be biased about the breed. Years ago when I was a paper boy, the most dangerous dog on my route was a toy poodle.

My first encounter with the dog was when I as walking back from work last week. The dog owner, a young boy I assume was his son, and the dog were playing in the front yard. When I got to the edge of her property (I was on the sidewalk, not cutting through the yard), the dog saw me, and charged at me, barking loudly. I tried to avoid making eye contact, and paid the dog no attention as I continued on to my house. The dog approached to about 5' from me, to my rear, barking and growling. The owner attempted to control it with verbal commands, but the dog just started running back and forth, returning to its owner, then charging back at me, barking all the while, until I finally reached my door.

I've had several more encounters with it, this time without the moderation of its owner. I exercise in my back yard in the morning, and lately I've had to jump rope to the musical accompaniment of a barking dog. When I walk to work, I get an escort from my porch to the edge of my neighbor's yard, reversed in the evening. Today we upped the ante. I felt I had to end my exercises halfway into the second set because I was being distracted too much by the dog, and when I walked to work, it followed me for a block and a half this time. I wound up calling the pound this morning. I have not yet had an opportunity to discuss the issue with the dog's owner. I should have spoken with him the first time, but I was lazily hoping he wasn't planning on visiting long.

I do not want to change my own habits because of one untrained animal. I believe that I have a perfect right to feel safe in my own yard and on a public sidewalk. Now, hopefully either local animal control will solve the problem, or I'll be able to talk to the owner and get him to take responsibility. In the meantime, though, what can I do to either come to better terms with the dog, or at least make myself less of a target for its hostility? What body language should I be displaying when being targeted by an aggressive dog?

Thank you for your advice.

Does your town or county have containment laws? It's illegal, isn't it, for a dog to run loose?

Well, let's just say that I'm not terribly confident in the enforcement of local laws. I had a conversation with a patrolling police officer last week who witnessed the dog's behavior on my walk to work, and nothing happened to change the situation.

Cell phone camera and animal control is my prescription, after explaining to the neighbor the cost (including destruction of the animal if it escalates) of flouting the law.

I'd have the actual printout of the ordinance in my lil mitt, and I'd be clear that I was hoping to save the neighbor (who is actually harboring and under whose control the animal may be, but who surely has "say" in her own home) serious costs.

The cost of springing the dog from dog jail is nothing compared to the costs (many kinds of costs) if the dog bites another dog or a child or an adult.

I appreciate the advice! I'll see if I can get over to city hall tomorrow and find out what the laws are, and possibly get a copy of the relevant passage. I hate to make trouble for someone else, but my tolerance has about reached the limit.

I am 90% sure you can get it online. My small city, for example, has the ordinances online.

You would be saving, not making, trouble for the neighbor.


JMO!