I Need Help

[Irishonly]

Two German Shepherd mixes are a part of our family. Sweetie, her name fits her perfectly, came to us as a puppy. Sweetie makes your heart sing because she is so happy and loving. Sampson came to us last year as a rescue dog. He had been at the rescue for over seven months and the reason he was there was because his family had been killed in a car accident. Sampson has a damaged ear and his teeth are very worn down. Sampson makes your heart feel gentle. We call him our gentle giant after he adjusted to having a home and a yard and knew he was home.

I am disabled but I will walk both dogs on my own. I get up early and with the heat wave we are experiencing they have be walked in the early morning. Now the problem

Several residents in our neighborhood are not great dog owners and it seems the worst are small dog owners. All of the large dogs in our neighborhood are never out of their yard unless it is with a leash. I am finding it more difficult to find a path on our walk where small dogs aren't charging us. The small dog comes out snarling and snapping at my dog's legs and the owners just stand there. My dogs are trained not to react to dogs snarling at them behind a fence or in a house. We go on our merry way. Now the reason I mentioned I am disabled is because both of my dogs weight 85+ pounds and it takes everything out of me to get my dogs moving while the stupid people are watching their dog act aggressive and don't do anything about it. They don't even try to call the dog's name.

Obviously my fear is that one of my dogs will hurt the other dog or get hurt themselves. I am also afraid that a child may lose a beloved pet and I don't want to see that happen either. I called the Humane Society and they told me if Sampson or Sweetie hurts another dog charging them I am not responsible. They take down the addresses of where the small dogs are and say they are sending them a letter. Big whoop, it hasn't changed anything.

Does anyone have advise or hints on how you solved a similar problem? There are three streets where I won't walk my dogs because I am trying to avoid a dog fight. My dogs deserve better. Thanks

[Longhorn]

1. I recommend a Halti or Gentle Leader.

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2754854

The Halti could help in two ways: one, when the dog lunges, the Halti closes around his mouth, which offers some protection to the little dogs; two, when the dog pulls on the leash, the Halti pulls from below his chin and it causes him to go backwards or sit down.

I have five dogs, three of them as big as yours or bigger. My husband and I took all five for a walk once when a small dog charged us. The biggest ones are not as well trained as yours and they really wanted to go after that dog but because of the Haltis, we were able to restrain them and move on down the road.

I'm also wondering if you can carry some pepper spray or whatever is legal -- I know they make a spray for cyclists to carry with them. Maybe ask the Humane Society if you are allowed to spray a dog that is charging you and your dogs.

As a last resort, you could walk your dogs with muzzles on them, though that doesn't seem fair to your dogs and makes it look like they are the aggressors.

My suggestions are focused on those things that you can control because it sounds like you've done your best to influence the behavior of the dog owners and that hasn't worked. You are to be commended for caring more about the little dogs than what your liability may be. Good luck! :hi:

[Irishonly]

3. Thanks

I'll look into it and will call the police or Humane Society to ask about the pepper spray.

[Longhorn]

5. You're welcome!

If you decide to get them Haltis, you might want to take them to the store to fit them, or order a size smaller than it says on the site. Four of mine are males and it didn't matter -- every one that I ordered was one size too big even though I used the breed guideline. I ordered one small, one medium, two large, and one extra large. What I ended up with is one extra small, one small, two mediums, and one large. :)

You can search YouTube for videos that show how the Halti or Gentle Leader work, too. The Gentle Leader comes with a DVD but it was more expensive, plus I found a site that compared the two with one other brand (I can't remember its name) and they concluded that the Halti was best. Petsmart had the Halti for just $9.99 online and $18.99 at the store at the time. I see the online price has increased. Since I got five of them, I lucked out!

Good luck to you, too!

[AZBlue]

6. If the spray isn't ok, a water pistol should help.

Get a good sized one - not one of those little tiny ones. You can spray the dogs and they should hopefully back away from that.

Good luck!! :hi:

[demnan]

2. I have the same problem when I walk my cat

I can only think of one way and that is to confront people. I did this with a neighbor whose dogs were out leashless and came up upon me and my leashed cat. What is your local government's law on this?

My county has a leash law for dogs. If yours does too, you should state that to any one who does not have their dog on a leash.

[Irishonly]

4. There's leash laws

The dogs are coming out of houses or yards. I turn in the address but I don't think the Humane Society will take the dogs. It's frustrating when you obey the laws and others don't.

[dropkickpa]

7. Baldwin Park Shelter

[phone]

Call and report that there are dogs at large. Every time. Enough calls and they'll come out and issue a citation if nothing else.