Large Dogs

[DDNatureLover]

I had the oddest thing happen today. I went out to feed the stray cats, and heard loud ferocious barking coming from my (supposedly secured) backyard. The neighbor has 2 pit bulls, and they broke through the fence from his yard into mine. I was bitten by a dog when I was young, but am not particularly fearful of them, but to see strange dogs in my supposedly secure backyard really freaked me out. I'm a cat lover, and my concern was getting them out of my yard, and also ensuring that they didn't go after the stray cats or me. If it came down to it, I'd rather be attacked than have the cats attacked, though. I was able to get them back into their own yard and barricaded that fence section until I got their owner to repair the fence. 


I know a lot of people have a fear of large dogs, and some are even afraid of smaller dogs. I've heard that in some cases, smaller dogs can be more vicious and bite more than the larger ones. My sister had two large dogs, so that helped me overcome my initial fear or reluctance to interact with dogs in general and larger dogs in particular, but these dogs were in a frenzy, which was somewhat scary. 


In my neighborhood, it's not unusual for dogs to 'break out' of their yards, but they're usually huskies or other dogs, not pit bulls. I'm actually more concerned about the wild hogs and coyotes that roam this area at night, and it never occurred to me that I'd encounter large unrestrained dogs in my backyard. 


Do you have a fear of dogs/large dogs/strange animals? If so, how do you manage that fear? 

 

[kelden]

Nope. What I fear are big cats like Pumas or pantheras like Jaguar or Tigers; also wild wolves and coyotes when they roam a village looking for easy prey, which turns out to be cattle,cats, medium and small size dogs. Those fears are kinda justified since we are dealing with wild critters willing to harm your pet and you given the chance. But I don't fear domestic animal, perhaps  a dogo or a Mastiff, which can become pretty vicious without the proper training.

 

[Aree Wongwanlee]

No, I don't have any fear of dogs, large or small. In fact, I love them all. Even strange dogs. I read somewhere that dogs have very sensitive noses and they can literally smell your fear. Apparently, when you are afraid, you sweat and that sweat of fear has a different smell. So when a dog smells a person who is afraid of it, out of self-defence, the dog may attack first. So that's probably why I never had any bad experience with dogs.


So how to overcome fear of dogs?


I think there's only one way, which is to come into close contact with them. For starters, you can go down to the nearest dog shelter and help out. That would give you a lot of contact with dogs. Oh, what if you don't like dogs at all? In that case, then you just avoid them or carry a big stick if you have to regularly pass some place where there are dogs.

 

[Alex]

I'm only apprehensive about aggressive dogs, and big ones unless they are sheep dogs tend to be quite loud. It's like people, loud and aggressive people are scary whether they are large or small and the same is for dogs.


I have met a few well behaved dogs, so I always go by how they react when you meet them and also it indicates how the owners have trained or treated them. Good owners that discipline them tend to be well behaved, and spoilt ones are loud and attention seeking.

 

[oportosanto]

I don't feel confident close to large dogs, so I simply try to be away from them. Sure, some might seem harmless, but they are irrational animals and I never know what to expect from them even if they are with their owners. So nothing like keeping a distance to feel safe. 

 

[kgord]

Yes, I don't like strange dogs much even if they are friendly. I would be very afraid if I had two pitbulls in my yard.  It is always hard to know what to expect when you have strange animals in your yard. I think having the foresight to keep the cats safe is good, because large dogs like pits frequently do go after smaller animals. I think you can feel good about presenting a disaster.

 

[17emilyhalko]

I've had a fear of dogs after an incident where a dog cracked my tooth as a child. I still have many problems with larger dogs, but the only thing that has helped me to handle dogs is to spend more time around them. Now, I wouldn't suggest just volunteering at an animal shelter and to volunteer with dogs or anything. However, I found that it helped me to become more friendly with some of my friend's dogs, who I used to be afraid of. After spending a lot of time with them, I am no longer as afraid of dogs. I believe that generally owners have a very good grip on their dogs, and it's very unlikely for one to severely hurt you. We can all only hope for the best.

 

[Aree Wongwanlee]

The more harrowing experience I have ever had with large dogs was when I was working for a big warehouse. One day, the owner was late. All the workers were there already. The owner had tied a big German Shepherd at the front door for security. Nobody dared to go near. The dog was really big. It didn't look fierce, though. Still, it was so big that nobody wanted to find out whether only barking dogs bite. I was the manager of the warehouse so I had to open it to get work started. There was no way around the problem. It was a good thing that I liked dogs. I walked casually up to the dog and untied it like it was something I did every day. Good thing the dog thought that I wasn't a stranger.

 

[djanx]

I don't have the fear of large dogs. But, I am afraid of wild animals even if they're small in size. Pets even if they seem ferocious still have a human handler and are used to humans. Wild animals OTOH are dangerous because you don't know how they might react.

 

[hades_leae]

I remember one day I was walking home from school with lots of friends in middle school, and there was an alley behind the apartments that we all lived in. There was a gate with a Dalmatian dog, and we knew of it. It got out one day and was standing in our way, I remember everyone freaking out, one girl was crying because she thought she was going to die, I didn't panic as hard, but I was worried because I didn't want to get attacked. 


Now I understand what they are capable of and what I'm capable of, all I see now is a dog that is half my height, and with limited movement, but very dangerous if they can get a grip. I love big dogs, and stray dogs I don't run from them because I know that they will chase sometimes, I will approach them every now and then and they'll run from me, it's crazy how we think they are all dangerous and want to bite us. 

 

[pwarbi]

I've ever really had a fear of dogs or any animal really, and I think the reason for that is mainly because as a child I grew up around them and so they are familiar to me. Many people who are afraid of dogs, usually you'll find it's because they have had a bad experience in the past such as being bitten, and if that has happened to you then it's only understandable that it's going to knock your confidence a bit.


The problem with that though is that dogs have a sense of fear, and if they themselves can sense you are on edge around them, and that then makes them even more on edge with you, and it can be hard to overcome that situation.

 

[DDNatureLover]

@hades_leaeSorry, I had to laugh a little, because dalmations are always made to seem to docile and friendly in the movies. I'm not sure I've ever encountered one in real life, but I might not be as scared of that if I did, simply because of preconditioning from the movies. I'm glad that situation worked out.


I really don't think a lot of dog owners consider how their 'pets' will be perceived by strangers. Yet again, there are posts in the neighborhood Facebook group about random dogs roaming free. I know for a fact that there are people here who wouldn't think twice about shooting a dog (or other animal or even a person) they felt was a danger to their child or themself, so it's very foolhardy of people here to let the animals roam freely.


I have encountered one of this neighbor's dogs (pit bull) out front, when it was roaming freely, and it was quite passive, but this was an entirely different situation. His owner wasn't around (or even home this time), and now he's larger, and had his brother with him (dog sibling), and they were functioning more like a pack than two easygoing siblings. Also, having the dogs in my yard was disconcerting, because they were out of place, banging up against the rickety wooden fence (the cats and I were on the other side of it, in my driveway), and barking ferociously. My neighbor was really freaking out, thinking I was going to be attacked. If I had been, no doubt she would have grabbed her gun and shot the dogs. My neighbor has several drug convictions, and obviously doesn't have the best judgment, otherwise he'd secure the fence so that won't happen in the future. 


The dog that bit me when I was a child belonged to my uncle, and was supposed to be friendly. Friendly dogs aren't always friendly. I'm not the sort to tease an animal, but I don't recall the exact circumstances. The dog was probably agitated or excited by several children at once, since I was most likely with my siblings and/or cousins, and I wouldn't doubt that someone else might have been teasing it. 

 

[Panic57]

I'm afraid of unleashed dogs that I don't know.  I was at the park last Sunday with my little brother and mom to have a picnic and some guy let his dogs out.  They chased my little brother and was barking and growling at him.  I felt my heart drop at his scream of terror.  The dog owner laughed at my brother screaming and didn't even bother apologizing that his dogs terrified my brother.  We took down his plates, only then did he put his stupid dogs on a leash.  If they bite my brother or me in the future, I'm pressing charges, it'll be the third time his dogs have acted aggressively.  

 

[Aree Wongwanlee]

Yes, @hades_leae, Dalmatians are very friendly dogs. I have met a few and they are also very sociable. The Golden Retriever is also a very friendly dog. It's a big dog with lots of fur. However, it's friendly to everyone, even total strangers. In fact, in one article about Golden Retrievers, the writer says that using a Golden Retriever as a watch dog is a very bad idea because it may just go with the intruder.

 

[pwarbi]

Like I said, having grown up with dogs myself from a young age I've yet to come across a breed that isn't friendly to be honest. What can affect a dog is the situation that they are put in more than anything and a bit like us humans, if we are taken out of our comfort zone and made to feel uncomfortable then we also act irrationally and I think that's all it is. Some breeds are more prone to being viscous than others, but a lot depends on how confident you are with them and as soon a they know who's boss so to speak, they often back down.

 

[explorerX7]

I am very apprehensive when having to approach some of the large and what are considered to be potentially vicious dogs. I have seen people walking dogs like pit bulls and rot wilder's around in and around my neighbourhood on numerous occasions and I always try to stay as far away from these animals as is possible because I believe it could reach a stage where the animal may become aggressive and the  person that is guiding the animal is unable to control it. There was this incident in which a man was walking three pit bulls, a lady was passing by and the dogs got loose from their owner and attacked the lady. They had her on the ground, luckily a police vehicle passing just as it happened a police officer fired shots in the air to scare the dogs but to no avail. He had to shoot one of the dogs to save te lady from being probably mauled to death.

 

[oportosanto]

Yes, I don't like strange dogs much even if they are friendly. I would be very afraid if I had two pitbulls in my yard.  It is always hard to know what to expect when you have strange animals in your yard. I think having the foresight to keep the cats safe is good, because large dogs like pits frequently do go after smaller animals. I think you can feel good about presenting a disaster.

It's the same situation with me. Funny enough when I was a kid I loved dogs and I wanted to be around them all the time and it's the same with my kids now. As for me though, I don't fear them, but I don't want proximity too as I never know what to expect from them.

 

[DDNatureLover]

Thankfully, the dogs haven't broken through the fence again. I expect that it will happen, though, since as I said, the fence isn't in the best shape. That being said, the fence would last years more without large muscular dogs pounding their bodies up against it, so if it breaks again, that neighbor will be told again to fix it. I think most, if not all, dogs can be trained, if they're gotten at a young enough age. The problem is that not everyone values them, and some even train them to fight, or attack, animals or people. Others leave them be, to run wild.


I don't care for animals without discipline, nor for children/people without discipline, because invariably, they end up causing trouble. We have many children/teens that are left to their own devices here in this neighborhood, much like a lot of the dogs, and those are the ones who cause problems, steal, fight with others, bring in other problem children, etc. A little discipline goes a long way. My anxiety now cranks up every time I hear those dogs barking, and it's somewhat transferred to situations where I hear other dogs, but I'm using my diaphragmatic breathing to try to relax in those situations. 

 

[oportosanto]

When the dogs are large enough to a point where they break a fence we are talking about a real danger and we need to consider if we want to have animals with such a dimension. Animals as people should be education and where education lacks we have disorder and that usually generates fear, traumas and anxiety...

 

[joshposh]

I'm a dog lover.  There is a initial shock of seeing a huge dog that appears out of nowhere.  I think Pit Bulls get a bad rap.  The breed is not a bad one, it's the owner that trains them to be violent is the problem.


There is correct way to react to a violent or stray dog.  Just turn your back to them and don't make eye contact.  Barking is a way of showing off their dominance and territory.  but turning your back and not making eye contact you are submitting to them and they will eventually stop and move on because you did not challenge them.  A trained attack dog is different.  That is taught by a human to bite first.