06/11/2025
I was walking my dog Havoc at Limestone park. He had just gone to the bathroom, and while I was picking that up I heard barking.
I looked up to see 2 off lead dogs with no owner around, running in our direction.
There was someone else walking their small dog. The off lead dogs saw them and made a beeline. They barked in the approach and then ambushed the poodle.
Thankfully the roaming dogs weren't aggressive (in that encounter at least) but despite the poodle owner yelling at the dogs to go away, they wouldn't leave them alone. The other owner ended up picking her dog up and carrying him/her.
Then the roaming dogs got bored of that, and came running over to me and Havoc. So what did I do?
When I am handling a dog, whether it is my own dog or a clients dog that I am being trusted with the welfare of, my biggest concern is keeping them safe and I will do whatever I have to do to make that happen.
As the dogs started approaching, I asked Havoc to sit beside me. I was pretty confident that if we tried walking away that the dogs would race up behind us, so we stayed put.
As the dogs approached I rewarded Havoc with treats for staying in his sit position. Externally I didn't change my actions much. I moved at the same pace that I usually would to reward him, I didn't shorten/tighten up on the lead. I just watched to assess the situation. Internally though I had an adrenaline dump. I find off lead encounters with dogs in on lead areas super stressful.
As the dogs got closer, they slowed the speed of their running. I had already seen them ignore the other dog owner yelling at them, so even though that is something that I will sometimes do to try to deter the dogs from getting closer, I figured it would be ineffective in this particular situation and there was the possibility that my shouting at the dogs would put Havoc on edge.
The dogs ended up stopping a couple of metres away and stood there, staring at us. I kept rewarding Havoc for maintaining his position.
After a few moments (which felt like eternity) the dogs decided not to approach us and they ran off to be nuisances elsewhere which was the best case scenario for Havoc and myself.
If the dogs had of continued to approach, I was prepared to be able to quickly step in front of Havoc to be a human barrier (it is why I had put him in a sit beside me) and I would have used my foot to boot the dogs away.
I don't enjoy kicking dogs, I love dogs and it is why I decided to pursue dog training as a career, but back to my original point that my biggest concern is the safety of the dogs that I am handling.
I go off the assumption that I know nothing about the behaviour and sociability of a dog that is rushing us, and I am not prepared to just wait and see and hope for the best. I would rather kick a dog to scare it away then end up having to break up a dog fight.
When I am in an on lead area, and an off lead dog rushes us, particularly with no owner around, I will do everything that I can to stop the offending dog from reaching the dog that I am responsible for. And for me, that means physically getting the dog away without hesitation.
As a summary, what I would usually do in this situation is:
- Aggressively shout at the offending dog to get away. For some nervy dogs that is enough to scare them into running the opposite direction.
- I keep the dog that I am handling under control and behind me.
- If the dog gets within reaching distance, I will use my foot to get them away, as forcefully as necessary.
I don't turn my back on the off lead dog if we are moving away.
It is really unfortunate that we need to be mindful and aware that there could be roaming or off lead dogs around that aren't under control. Even though it shouldn't happen, it does, so when I am out with my dogs I don't use headphones to listen to music or podcasts etc. I am not on the phone to someone, and I am not scrolling on social media. I want to be paying attention to what is happening around us so I have as much time to act as possible when necessary.
