I read something strange the other day. A trainer in their blog saying that he had never seen any practical advice written on the subject of the off leash dog encounter on a walk. Now I do understand that he has some kilometres on the clock but hey so do I and Google will spit a number of them out at you if you ask. No matter what you read however nothing will stop you from fearing the worst if this happens to you.

Just the thought of it will make most people cringe in thinking that this could happen and it appears that there are more and more incidents of loose ‘friendly’ dogs roaming our streets.  You may have a dog that was, is or could be reactive or aggressive or one you do not want hurt (this would be most I imagine), and when you see an off leash dog coming towards you, everything your logic tells you goes out the window.

One of the most common questions I am asked  “what do you do when you are approached by an off leash dog“?

If I had one answer and one solution my life would be easy. There are too many variables to be able to do this however for every different dog that you may encounter.

This may include for the dog on the offense:

• The motivation of the dog running towards you
• Are they wanting to play
• Do they want interaction with you not your dog
• Defending territory
• Are they wanting to attack you or your dog or both

Your dog:

• Is your dog friendly wanting to play
• Is your dog on leash or not
•  Is your leash tight

And of course you:

•  Are you relaxed or tense
•  Are you angry or scared
•  Are you anxious

Any of the above and more in no particular order or all together can produce different outcomes.

So lets talk about what you can control. You can ensure that your dog is well socialised (I do not mean the dog has to be friendly with everything) so if they do see another dog or human they can remain calm. This of course needs to start on lead before you let your dog run free.

Using a long line in a variety of locations to teach your dog consistent recall and off leash management. No dog with a behaviour problem or one in training should ever be let off lead unless that is part of the training and in a controlled space.

Learn what your triggers are and learn how to be a confident handler that your dog can trust.

So what do I do? 

Can I start by saying this is far from fool proof as you will always have the chance of something not expected.

• Train or work on training your dog to walk on a loose leash and sit and stay on cue. If your dog has some self control, it will leave you more time to control the off leash dog.
•  Avoid potential situations if you can. If the off leash dog comes out of a house in front of you turn around and walk away. If it comes out of a house behind you, keep walking. The further you get from it’s territory the more it may give up.
•  If the off leash dog runs up to you, where safe, try and put your larger dog behind you and pick up your small dog putting it behind you too if possible or as I have once or twice inside my jacket or shirt. An elevated dog can trigger a dog further. Putting yourself between your dog and the other dog may deter the dog. I would stand with my arm outstretched and hand opened like a stop sign, and shout at the dog to “go away!“. My dog is behind me and as soon as the off leash dog started to back off I would walk after it to drive it away, hand still outstretched.

5. If the off leash dog attacks your dog, I would let go of my dogs leash, so I am not holding him still to be attacked, and now that my hands are free, I would do everything in my power to make the other dog go away. Yes that includes, kicking, screaming, grabbing it by the collar or whatever I need to do. I will do anything I have to in order to protect my dog.

There is no guaranteed way to avoid all risks and control all variables, in some suburbs it is just crazy and others not so bad. Some clients walk with a stick to ward off dogs racing up to theirs and some walk late at night and in early mornings where the chances of being accosted are less.

If you carry a stick or staff, try not to hit the dog as this can further provoke it, instead poke at the dog in a forward stabbing motion. I carry a small can of citronella or even RID or Aeroguard which can help as a deterrent.

Please remember especially for young dogs under 18 months of age that they don’t learn that they need to protect themselves from dog attacks or this can trigger fear aggressive behaviours.

Many of the dogs that trainer’s treat for severe reactivity and aggression have suffered being attacked by an off leash dog when under 18 months of age and a large number of these in dog parks. These can be the hardest dogs to rehabilitate.

Your most important job as a leader is to protect your dog from other dogs and other people, or they will take matters into their own furry head and hands and that can be harder to reverse than you might think.