You’re out on a leashed walk with your dog, and out of nowhere, there’s an off leash dog running up to you. Maybe he’s all alone, or maybe there’s an owner in the distance calling out “he’s friendly!” What do you do?
If your own dog is highly social
The majority of the time, these encounters might be annoying but don’t cause any harm. Do your best to keep your leash loose as the dogs sniff and circle around each other, to reduce frustration and escalating arousal. Talk calmly but happily to the dogs, and remember to breathe! The calmer you are, the better your dog will do.
Once greetings are done, encourage your dog to get going again. If he’s reluctant, try jogging ahead, giving exciting/happy talk, or luring away with food. If he still doesn’t want to leave his new buddy behind, you may have to take him by the collar or harness and calmly but insistently lead him away. Reward your dog once he’s willingly walking with you, away from the other dog.
If either dog is not friendly
But what if your dog is anxious or fearful around other dogs, or even potentially aggressive? Or the oncoming dog seems aggressive? Here are some tools to keep everyone safe.
Toss treats in the dog’s face. If the other dog isn’t coming up too quickly, and doesn’t look aggressive, throwing a handful of treats right at their face may be enough to deter them. It will startle them, and hopefully they will then drop their heads and eat the treats while you make a getaway.
Walking cane or stick. This can be waved back and forth ahead of you, to keep the other dog back.
Pop-up umbrella. Opening this up while it faces the other dog can startle them into stopping, and it can be waved between you and the other dog.
SprayShield by PetSafe. This spray is strongly citronella-scented, which will deter the vast majority of oncoming dogs if sprayed in their faces (without hurting the way that mace does). Keep this in an easy to reach pocket or clipped on your pants/belt/treat pouch. You should practice pulling it out and switching off the safety during your walks, so that you’ll have good muscle memory to rely on in an emergency.
Break stick. This is a tapered plastic or wooden stake, used to force open the jaws of a dog that has firmly clamped down and is not letting go. You must first get a strong hold of the dog that is biting down, so that they can’t regrip once you free the other dog, or redirect onto you. Insert the flat end of the break stick into the corner of the dog’s jaw, then twist as if you were revving a motorcycle. Using a break stick requires a cool head and having a strong grip on the dog and the stick, but it’s much much safer than sticking your bare hands into the situation.
Muzzle, if your dog has bitten and caused damage before. I have known several dogs who were safely on leash with their responsible owners, had other dogs run up on them, and injured them in the resulting fight. Unfortunately if your own dog has a bite history, you have to take it upon yourself to protect other people’s dogs. Here is a page all about muzzles.
Note that you should desensitize your own dog to the waving of a walking stick, the umbrella opening and moving around, and the sound of SprayShield before you use them in a tense situation.
Extra protection for small to medium sized dogs
Consider a CoyoteVest to protect your dog’s neck and back from attack. Here is one being modeled by Frankie.
Useful training
In addition to the tools above, there are a couple things you can teach your dog to make these situations easier to navigate.
Get behind: Your dog gets behind you and stays there, so that you can deal with the other dog.
Come or u-turn: A strong response to “come” or “u-turn” will redirect your dog, or help him turn and run with you to quickly exit the situation.