A recent topic on a forum was what to do when around other people’s dogs. The discussion seemed to be dog-centered, that is the advice was based on observing the dog and then depending on what it was doing would determine what you should do. After thinking about that for a while and after considering what our nine dogs act like at home, I’m not sure that I would suggest that course of action. One would have to be able to predict dog behavior through visual signals while at the same time having no direct influence on the dog that would change the dog’s behavior. Otherwise, the dog will react faster than it may be possible to defend against. No, I do not mean shooting the dog or clubbing it, but merely getting out of the way can be challenging when the dog gets the first move.

Rather than have a meeting between you and an unknown dog be based on the dog, I think it should be based on you. If you are inherently afraid of dogs, that’s fine. React accordingly and that reaction would be to refuse to be around the dog. The dog will know your fear anyway, so why put yourself in that situation? If you can handle dogs but the dog is already visibly agitated, then you can be upset with the owner, who should either be in control of the dog or you can control your part in the situation – again, by leaving the situation. If the dog is not on a leash, you can tell the owner to put it on a leash. Off-leash dogs are only controlled by owners who are very, very good at training dogs. After over 20 years of training dogs, I do not have our dogs off-leash around strangers. Perhaps I am a good dog trainer, but I am not going to risk someone getting bitten by a big German Shepherd because the Shepherd thought that a person was a threat and I was unable to stop the charge. Off-leash dogs are loose, obviously. Loose dogs are fair game. Where I live, loose dogs get shot if they are the least bit threatening.