A Little Dog Charges Me: What To Do

Large dog or small dog, for fear or even territorialism, aggressing towards other people or dogs can be a dangerous situation. This might not seem like a big deal given the size of this little dog and how I handle it in the video, but this is one of so many situations and they most certainly don’t all get the luxury of this ending.

There are leash laws in place because of owners like the ones who are (ir)responsible for this dog. This was my second run-in with this little guy. The first time I was running with a baby in a stroller and he made the attempt to bite me multiple times while running. I had to stop, act vocally aggressive to him, and turn and run towards him to get him to back off. I never saw an owner the first time. Imagine if this were a large dog aggressing.

Let’s exam the many issues with these two situations that unfolded with the same dog and then I’ll give some additional tips as to how to act so that you don’t get bitten if run up on by a strange dog, especially a larger one:

Rabies Vaccine Status – I don’t know this dog’s vaccine status. If his owner is willing to let his or her dog run in the road off leash repetitively, and they are nowhere to be found, I’m thinking there’s a pretty good chance they also don’t vaccinate their dog appropriately either. Meaning if I can’t get him away before he does bite me, he might end up in a ten day quarantine. That’s an expensive impound fee through the local animal control facility or under hospital care at a veterinary clinic. Many owners don’t want to or can’t pay it and the dog loses its life because the owner didn’t give their dog a $20 vaccine.

Getting Hit by A Car – This little guy was so focused on what he was afraid of and peacocking that he was not mindful of cars in the road. This makes it a higher likelihood that at some point, he will get killed by a car.

Dog to Dog Altercation (On-Leash) – It wouldn’t even take a dog-aggressive dog or a leash reactive dog to end up in a tragic conflict with this little white fluffy. Given his aggressing energy, all it takes is another dog that is not responding well to that threat who simply retaliates. This tiny thing wouldn’t last 60 seconds if attacked by a larger dog. Now imagine someone is walking a dog-aggressive dog and this one makes it past the owner and to that dog. That equates to a dead small dog, fast. That would have been a horrible tragedy for the little kids that came out to find their loose dog to witness. That’s not fair as a parent to subject your children to.

Dog to Dog Altercation (Off-Leash) – This dog encounters another unsupervised off-leash dog that doesn’t care for his attitude and attacks and kills it. With no owner present to intervene, no holds barred. Yet another reason leash laws are in place – it’s not always just one person not caring about the laws, sometimes multiple people ignore them simultaneously. For this white dog, he’s lucky that hasn’t happened already.

Mean Person Encounter – Not everyone is as kind-hearted as you or I am and may hurt him. I’ve seen dogs with broken jaws who have been hit with a bat, dogs who have been shot, and even dogs with blunt lacerations from being beaten with a garden tool.

*****A few tips if you get attacked by a dog****

1. DO NOT RUN OR SCREAM!
2. Stand like a tree and tuck your branches under your arms
3. Don’t make eye contact
4. Remain calm
5. If you get knocked to the ground and the dog is biting, curl up in a ball, tuck your head in like a turtle, and wrap your arms up over your head and neck.

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