# We had a scare tonight



## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

Me and Merlin went on our usual walk around the baseball field and football field in our neighborhood. People let their dogs loose and I am always watching for big dogs, and when I see one, I put the leash back on Merlin and go another way.

We were on our way back home, walking alongside the baseball field, when I saw this big brown dog, some kind of lab mix, about 90 pounds. Merlin is 6 pounds... So I put his leash back on. I made a big mistake. I figured the owner would have control of her dog and not let him come to me. But he started running towards us and he was so fast I didn't have time to pick Merlin up.

So I leaned against the dog, putting my weight on him to force him away from Merlin, who was making himself as small as he could on the ground. I managed to take him in my arms and the dog went away.

Then I told the owner, she was about 16, that she should have controlled her dog, because Mine is so small that he could have broken his bones just by stepping on him.

Merlin isn't afraid of dogs, but he was scared of my reaction. He sensed my fear and panic, I could see it in his posture afterwards. I hope I didn't make him afraid of big dogs...

I can't believe how careless people are. I mean, we all have a responsibility, don't we ? As a side note, A few yards past the dogs, there were these nice little boys who wanted to pet Merlin. My responsability, as a dog owner, was to say " no, he's not nice with little kids, he is too scared of them ". And that's just what I did.

We'll go back tomorrow so I can assess the damage I've done. Also tomorrow morning we're trying this new dog cafe. They have an interior dog park and you can sip a coffee while your dog plays with friends. Friday is reserved for dogs under 30 pounds, so we'll try that as well.


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## zooeysmom (Jan 3, 2014)

If I let Zooey off leash, I always pick her up if a big dog is running a little too wildly, if I don't know the dog, or if it remotely resembles a pit bull. I never rely on people to have the common sense to control their dog; that seems very rare, unfortunately. 

It's good that you protected Merlin from the dog and from the children. That will help to keep his trust in you intact. I bet he'll be fine.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

I am sorry to hear about this and hope that Merlin is okay. I know you have worked too hard with him to have someone else' stupidity be the cause of a new problem.


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## Kassie (Apr 7, 2016)

I am happy Merlin is ok. I have a shepherd whom always gets attacked by other dogs. As an intact male (the breeder wished this male to be left unneutered until 2 years of age), the male was attacked all of the time. He was nice and calm. But after several horrible attacks, this male pup, Wile-E became aggressive. Now he is a powerful 4-year old and he is now the aggressor. And it has changed my life in a terrible way. But while he was young, my boyfriend always tried to step in and help and my boyfriend always then ended up at the hospital for care for dog bites. A police officer I know well, said two words to me...since, I carry this product. "Bear Spray". The damage has been done at a psychological level for my shepherd. He was attacked, again, by 2 dogs this past summer. He was on a leash. I held him up high, off his choke chain, so that he couldn't retaliate, as the dogs were smaller breed, and/ pit bull. But since, now, my dog has decided to terminate. So, what a shame. I should have used Bear Spray from the beginning. Now I carry it.


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## TrixieTreasure (May 24, 2015)

Dechi, I'm so sorry this happened. Some people are just so irresponsible! I hope Merlin is okay, and I do think he'll be fine when going on walks. Just try not to show any fear about anything, because that's what Merlin will pick up on. Enjoy your walks and try not to think about what happened.


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## Mfmst (Jun 18, 2014)

I know Merlin was so solid outdoors, I am hoping that brown dog didn't ruin that for him.


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## PoodleFoster (May 25, 2013)

Dechi said:


> I can't believe how careless people are. I mean, we all have a responsibility, don't we ?
> 
> Yes we do....
> 
> ...


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## Shamrockmommy (Aug 16, 2013)

How frustrating! We've lived in all kinds of places, and so far Northern VA has been the best with responsible dog owners. (As far as walking neighborhoods anyway)

Out in the country here, there is one dog, a border collie, Jackson, who makes his way down to our place (on a VERY BUSY 2 lane road) and we have to call up his humans to come get him. 

The neighbors have a cockerpoo, who is smart enough to stay of the road, but not leashed or fenced  Fencing my whole property was priority #1 because of the road! Grr.


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## TeamPoodle (Aug 10, 2015)

Oh Dechi that's extremely frustrating, I hope Merlin doesn't regress.

We were walking when another dog owner accidentally let go of the flexi leash and their dog came barreling at us. They didn't even try to call him back and just kept walking at a slow, leisurely pace, while I quickly scooped up Riley and they called out "oh don't worry, he's friendly". Well he might be friendly, but my dog doesn't like another dog running at him at full speed. Zero respect for the fact that their dog's behavior is clearly seen as "rude" by my dog.


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## lisasgirl (May 27, 2010)

That sounds awful! I hope Merlin is OK.

I too pick up my little dogs around overbearing big dogs, though sometimes if the dog is really amped up they'll start jumping on ME to get to the dog. Of course, that usually gets the owner to run over since they're more worried about the dog being rude to me than the dog freaking out another dog. Maybe they know I can make life worse for them over it than little Cleo will? :alberteinstein:

But hey, that dog cafe sounds amazing! I wish they had one around here!


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## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

Kassie said:


> I am happy Merlin is ok. I have a shepherd whom always gets attacked by other dogs. As an intact male (the breeder wished this male to be left unneutered until 2 years of age), the male was attacked all of the time. He was nice and calm. But after several horrible attacks, this male pup, Wile-E became aggressive. Now he is a powerful 4-year old and he is now the aggressor. And it has changed my life in a terrible way. But while he was young, my boyfriend always tried to step in and help and my boyfriend always then ended up at the hospital for care for dog bites. A police officer I know well, said two words to me...since, I carry this product. "Bear Spray". The damage has been done at a psychological level for my shepherd. He was attacked, again, by 2 dogs this past summer. He was on a leash. I held him up high, off his choke chain, so that he couldn't retaliate, as the dogs were smaller breed, and/ pit bull. But since, now, my dog has decided to terminate. So, what a shame. I should have used Bear Spray from the beginning. Now I carry it.


I've never heard of Bear spray. Some kind of pepper spray I suppose ? Where do you buy it ?


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## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

Thanks everyone ! It's too hot right now but we'll take a walk around 7 pm tonight. I think he'll be okay.

We went to the dog cafe but there was no dogs. I bought a harness for Merlin, but it doesn't fit very well so he's going to keep his old one and Tamara will get this one.

When we were at the football park yesterday, there was a female bullmastiff with her owner. She came to talk with us, we were about 4-5 people with small dogs. As soon as she took her off leash, I left. Can you imagine a 100 pounds dog stepping on a tiny little 6 pound one ? The owner was a very nice lady, she also had 2 other small dogs, but I think it's a lack of judgment on her part to let her huge dog off leash with such small dogs around.


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## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

We went back to the park and everything was fine !


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## oshagcj914 (Jun 12, 2016)

Dechi said:


> I've never heard of Bear spray. Some kind of pepper spray I suppose ? Where do you buy it ?


Basically pepper spray to keep bears away. You can get regular Mace. Get the foam kind, that way you can be sure it will go where you aim it and not blow back into your eyes or your dog's eyes.


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## Kassie (Apr 7, 2016)

Dechi said:


> I've never heard of Bear spray. Some kind of pepper spray I suppose ? Where do you buy it ?




Sorry. Pepper spray. For Kate predators, the camMister is large; not required so large for dogs. But it cam come in a palm carting size. Runners carry it. I think you can find at outdoor sport stores, adventure stores.,..


Sent with Tapatalk


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## Kassie (Apr 7, 2016)

Kassie said:


> Sorry. Pepper spray. For Kate predators, the camMister is large; not required so large for dogs. But it cam come in a palm carting size. Runners carry it. I think you can find at outdoor sport stores, adventure stores.,..
> 
> 
> Sent with Tapatalk




Oh my. I can not fix typos with this app!

For big predators, it's called bear spray. But it is pepper spray. Too large a can for dogs. It comes in a palm size for runners. Forgive my typos. Darn phone. Crazy app! Can't correct typos. Oh well. 


Sent with Tapatalk


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## Streetcar (Apr 13, 2014)

Dechi, sooooo happy to read Merlin came through okay! Yay for your great handling .


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## Mfmst (Jun 18, 2014)

Me too, Dechi! Especially since outdoors is where he is most relaxed and confident.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

I am so glad that things are all good.


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## TrixieTreasure (May 24, 2015)

Dechi said:


> We went back to the park and everything was fine !



Yay!! So glad!!


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## West U (Jul 30, 2014)

Merlin has been through alot. He is proving to be a resilient little guy.


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## msteen (Jun 28, 2015)

TeamPoodle said:


> Oh Dechi that's extremely frustrating, I hope Merlin doesn't regress.
> 
> We were walking when another dog owner accidentally let go of the flexi leash and their dog came barreling at us. They didn't even try to call him back and just kept walking at a slow, leisurely pace, while I quickly scooped up Riley and they called out "oh don't worry, he's friendly". Well he might be friendly, but my dog doesn't like another dog running at him at full speed. Zero respect for the fact that their dog's behavior is clearly seen as "rude" by my dog.


Exactly. Friendly and interested in humans/dogs is ok, rude is not.


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## piin (Apr 28, 2016)

TeamPoodle said:


> Oh
> We were walking when another dog owner accidentally let go of the flexi leash and their dog came barreling at us. They didn't even try to call him back and just kept walking at a slow, leisurely pace, while I quickly scooped up Riley and they called out "oh don't worry, he's friendly". Well he might be friendly, but my dog doesn't like another dog running at him at full speed. Zero respect for the fact that their dog's behavior is clearly seen as "rude" by my dog.


I've only had Hugo since mid-May (he's a 14 weeks old, 2 pound toy poodle) and I've tried the same thing several times: Owners walking their dogs without leash, when seeing me and Hugo the dog comes running at us, and when I pick Hugo up they say "Don't worry, my dog is friendly." and sometimes: "You shouldn't pick up your dog." :argh: Last time it was a big labrador that was coming at us barking and everything...


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## msteen (Jun 28, 2015)

This just happened to us this morning! There's a man who walks his big houndy looking dog in our neighborhood, and he got to the open space near the park just as we did. He let his dog off leash, it ran towards my dogs (who were on leashes) and then, I swear, that dog went into a full point staring right at my mpoo! He's a very friendly older man, and I asked him to please put his dog on a leash, which he did. But still! Rude. 
I grew up with hunting hounds, and I know what that dog was thinking!


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## jcris (Feb 19, 2015)

It always scares me when something like that happens. Especially a dog/owner you're not familiar with. Some folks have suggested carrying around some sort of pepper spray or similar. At least perhaps to break something up before it gets out of control. I haven't done that yet but I probably should. One of my spoo's is a bit aggressive toward dogs she's not familiar with which has led to brief confrontations. Nothing bad but a concern for sure. Well at least that guy was willing to put his dog on leash right away. Some folks wouldn't and get defensive. I've never understood why some folks seem to enjoy the idea of having a mean dog that won't back off. Crazy. I love dogs that are kind hearted and easy going.
Ah well, have a good 4th
Jcris


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## cecethepoodle (Aug 23, 2014)

That is so scary! I always get nervous with my toys! My last toy had the ice stare down and could intimidate the largest dogs, but unless I knew the dog she was bossing, I never let her down. 

Bizzy had a run in with two boxers on one of our walks a month ago..it was terrible and he actually had a bruise and a scab from a canine puncture on his shoulder because of it. 

We were walking our usual night route around the block and these two dogs came running from their house with no leashes or collars and surrounded him. I grew up with boxers and maybe that is why I didn't react very fast because my childhood boxers could hurt another animal but it would have been a total accident. Bizzy was trying to back away because these dogs clearly weren't polite with introducing themselves and then I tried to pull Bizzy away from them the female bit him! Which was caused the male boxer to get really excited and tried to go after him himself. The whole time their owner was just trying to call at them because she didn't want to spill her beer she was holding. I finally got Bizzy away and she apologized. I took a Bizzy home and he hid under my bed because he was so scared they would come back for him. Now he is scared of all pug-nosed dogs. 

I snapped a photo so if I ever see her again I can show her. I don't want anything to happen to the dogs because they have a bad owner, but she needs to know that her dogs can't be trusted out in their front yard.


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