Problem with dogs off leash, help?

ClubDead

I live in a fairly built up part of Dublin but I’m luckily surrounded by a large green area. This is great for dog walking but there is an increasingly dangerous problem with a number of aggressive dogs that are allowed off leash. In the last 2 months alone my dog (tiny Yorkie) has been attacked twice, the last time was yesterday. While I was walking her, a small terrier ran up to us, pinned her down and bit her back. Luckily I managed to pull her away before it did any real damage but it was terrifying for both of us. Events such as this seem to be increasing and I really believe it’s only a matter of time before a dog or child is seriously hurt.

Asking people to keep their dogs on leash seems to be pointless so I’m just at a loss at what to do. On other threads I’ve seen people suggest contacting a dog warden....unfortunately I’ve no idea who most of the owners are or where they live so reporting them isn’t possible. Does anyone have any suggestions how to tackle this?

JustAThought

Thats shocking. Hope your dog is ok.

Without getting into the whole attitude excuses & terrier thing, what did you say to the owner ? Yiu were there - where we're they & what did yousay/ do to them? And how did they react?

ClubDead

JustAThought wrote: »

Thats shocking. Hope your dog is ok.

Without getting into the whole attitude excuses & terrier thing, what did you say to the owner ? Yiu were there - where we're they & what did yousay/ do to them? And how did they react?

I’m probably the only owner that wished my dog was more aggressive....not vicious but at least barked or growled but she is the most docile dog I’ve ever come across. When a dog approaches us she sits down and wags her tail, even when the dog is obviously unfriendly :rolleyes: This is what happened yesterday, she sat down next to me as the dog approached, this is the only reason I managed to pull her away from the other dog. The owner ran over, picked up his dog and mumble ‘eh, sorry about that’. I said ‘you need to keep your dog on leash’, I bent down to check my dog and he walked away before I could say anything else. He didn’t even ask if she was ok, or even if I was ok (it snapped at me too).

alroley

Sigh..... I have the exact same problem
I am afraid to walk my dog now. He is a maltese and I'd say on average 2 times a week large and small dogs run up to him(and on one occasion recently, the dog was vicious). Usually the owners shout "it's fine, he's friendly" but my dog is very small can easily be hurt by a large dog by just play

I am pie

Dogs should be on a leash, but to be fair it doesn't sound like an attack per se. Sounds more like dominant playing, especially the back biting. Still, not acceptable.

ClubDead

alroley wrote: »

Sigh..... I have the exact same problem
I am afraid to walk my dog now. He is a maltese and I'd say on average 2 times a week large and small dogs run up to him(and on one occasion recently, the dog was vicious). Usually the owners shout "it's fine, he's friendly" but my dog is very small can easily be hurt by a large dog by just play

Yep, hear that all the time too or when a dog has gone for her ‘he/she’s never done that before!’ :rolleyes: The only solution I can think of now is to pick her up when any off leash dog I don’t know approach us.

BillyMitchel

I feel your pain OP and its really starting to pee me off. Ive gone back to my 6am walks now just to avoid it. Its only a matter of time before my boy gets hold of one of these dogs and does damage and even though I'm doing everything by law I'll prob end up getting in trouble or even worse what could happen my dog if he hurts a dog off lead.