Running and aggressive puppy?

[Kassia]

Some neighbors down the street got a german shepherd puppy a while ago.  I don't know how old it is now, but it's pretty big.  I'm a runner and one of the owners walks the dog at the same time I run most mornings.  The dog is on a leash, but it always barks/growls at me and lunges at me.  The owner (a young woman) grabs the leash tightly, but doesn't discipline the dog or say anything to me.  This dog has also exhibited the same behavior towards us while we were going for a walk or even just standing in our yard.

 

I've been a runner for a long time and am not afraid of dogs even though I've encountered plenty of aggressive ones (I've been bitten twice - but once from a very small dog and the other was a nip from a nervous dog).  I've been lucky that I haven't been hurt by the bigger dogs.  This dog scares me even though it's only a puppy.  I'm worried that it's going to get bigger and the woman won't be able to hold it back any longer (the dog pulls hard on the leash) or the dog will just be loose one day and come after me.

 

Should I say anything to the owner?  Is it possible that a puppy could be aggressive enough to really bite?  I've had large puppies come after me before, but they always just want to jump on me and lick me.  This dog is different.  

Edited June 19, 2017 by Erica H

[chiguirre]

I'd talk to the owner and call the police non-emergency line or animal control to register your concern.

[Pawz4me]

I'd talk to the owner. If you're willing and not afraid to you could offer to give the dog some treats (supplied by the owner) to help desensitize it to runners and walkers. You could just toss them on the ground, not let the dog make contact with your hand! It's totally understandable if you don't want to do that, though. If you don't get a satisfactory answer from the owner then you might consider calling animal control and seeing if they can have a chat with her. A lot will depend on your local animal laws. Sounds like you have enough dog experience to rely on your instincts.

[Anne in CA]

I do think you need to call animal control and find out how you can read up on the law. She doesn't sound like she is trying to train the dog differently, and so I would expect the situation to escalate. I also would start running with some kind of spray (which is a good idea anyway no matter how safe you think your neighborhood is) so that you can protect yourself if the dog comes after you. 

 

She may be raising the dog to be aggressive for a variety of reasons we couldn't guess, or maybe she genuinely has no clue about training at all.  Hard to know. Maybe she has an abusive ex and got the dog to protect her from a home invasion and does want the dog aggressive to everyone, for instance. 

[chiguirre]

I do think you need to call animal control and find out how you can read up on the law. She doesn't sound like she is trying to train the dog differently, and so I would expect the situation to escalate. I also would start running with some kind of spray (which is a good idea anyway no matter how safe you think your neighborhood is) so that you can protect yourself if the dog comes after you. 

 

She may be raising the dog to be aggressive for a variety of reasons we couldn't guess, or maybe she genuinely has no clue about training at all.  Hard to know. Maybe she has an abusive ex and got the dog to protect her from a home invasion and does want the dog aggressive to everyone, for instance. 

 

That's true, but if you need an aggressive dog, you should probably walk it at 11 pm or 5 am when you're not going to scare the joggers.

[Kassia]

Thank you!  I sent a message to animal control explaining the situation and will wait to see what they say.  

[gardenmom5]

I'd ask her when she's signed up for an obedience class.  (hint, hint, hint.)

she's probably extremely naive about how to handle a dog.

[mamaraby]

she's probably extremely naive about how to handle a dog.

The runner, dog owner, and sister of a person who used to own a German Shepherd in me agrees with this statement. My sister loved that GSD, but she was incredibly naive (and a bit lazy, tbh) about that dog. At least the dog isn't on a flexi leash.

[gardenmom5]

The runner, dog owner, and sister of a person who used to own a German Shepherd in me agrees with this statement. My sister loved that GSD, but she was incredibly naive (and a bit lazy, tbh) about that dog. At least the dog isn't on a flexi leash.

 

I've owned two - the first, I was extremely naive.  (given my mother, no surprise).  but I was educated because of her - and it was life changing. (in a good way.)

 

my second- was a fabulous dog.  It was painful to watch her hips disintigrate and she finally had to be put down.  very intelligent, and gentle.

 

eta: if you do talk to her about an obedience class - pass on there are a lot classes out there all about making money for the "trainer".  total waste of money.   a GOOD trainer - teaches you how to teach your dog.

Edited June 19, 2017 by gardenmom5

[Ausmumof3]

I'm no expert but I think if the aggression is anyway fear related the advice is not to scold or punish because it increases the fear/anxiety. It's supposed to involve a gradual desensitisation with lots of praise for non reactive behaviour.

 

I have no idea if the woman is doing that in other contexts but the fact that she's not discipline the dog in front of you doesn't mean she's not working on it.

 

If the dog has issues he should probably be muzzled while she exercises him though.

[Pawz4me]

I'm no expert but I think if the aggression is anyway fear related the advice is not to scold or punish because it increases the fear/anxiety. It's supposed to involve a gradual desensitisation with lots of praise for non reactive behaviour.

 

I have no idea if the woman is doing that in other contexts but the fact that she's not discipline the dog in front of you doesn't mean she's not working on it.

 

If the dog has issues he should probably be muzzled while she exercises him though.

 

I think almost all aggression is fear based to some extent.

 

And your use of the words "non reactive" set off the light bulb in my head -- it's very possible the dog is leash reactive (sometimes referred to as leash aggression). It's pretty common. For whatever reason(s) the dog feels anxious/stressed/frustrated while on a leash and goes nuts. The same dog may be as calm as a cucumber when not on leash. It can be a very puzzling behavior for an owner who's never encountered it before and/or doesn't even know it's a thing. That could be what the OP is seeing.

[lavender's green]

I currently have a problem with a neighbor with a large, aggressive dog, who don't give a flip when it chases my preschoolers and baby. :glare: Then they thought it was a bright idea to go out and get a second large aggressive dog. :glare:  They nearly killed my cat last night. :glare: They never take the dogs for walks even though they clearly need to exercise away that pent-up energy, and they allow their kids to handle them, even though they weigh more than the kids and easily get away. The owners completely blow us off when we bring up our concerns. The woman just watches the dog chase my kids and doesn't do or say anything. :cursing:  And the neighbor kid got mouthy with me last night, even though I hadn't said anything to him. You know, while the dog is up on my deck trying to KILL MY CAT.

 

This is an on-going problem. I looked up my city's animal control laws, got it touch with animal control, and keep a paper trail. Every.single.time the animals get loose and comes to my yard (which it always does because there are kids and cats to chase), I call animal control if it's business hours, and the non-emergency police line if it's after-hours. I familiarized myself with self-defense against animals laws and have mace.

Edited June 20, 2017 by lavender's green

[Kassia]

I currently have a problem with a neighbor with a large, aggressive dog, who don't give a flip when it chases my preschoolers and baby. :glare: Then they thought it was a bright idea to go out and get a second large aggressive dog. :glare:  They nearly killed my cat last night. :glare: They never take the dogs for walks even though they clearly need to exercise away that pent-up energy, and they allow their kids to handle them, even though they weigh more than the kids and easily get away. The owners completely blow us off when we bring up our concerns. The woman just watches the dog chase my kids and doesn't do or say anything. :cursing:  And the neighbor kid got mouthy with me last night, even though I hadn't said anything to him. You know, while the dog is up on my deck trying to KILL MY CAT.

 

This is an on-going problem. I looked up my city's animal control laws, got it touch with animal control, and keep a paper trail. Every.single.time the animals get loose and comes to my yard (which it always does because there are kids and cats to chase), I call animal control if it's business hours, and the non-emergency police line if it's after-hours. I familiarized myself with self-defense against animals laws and have mace.

 

That's awful and scary.  I'm sorry you have to deal with an aggressive dog and neighbors who won't take responsibility.  Especially when you have little ones and a baby.  

 

There used to be an extremely aggressive dog that would always come after me when I was running.  I was terrified of the dog and spoke to the owner who told me he didn't think the dog would bite, "but you never know with dogs."  I ended up filing a police report against the owners after one time the dog came after me and I was afraid for my life.  They ended up putting the dog down because it got too aggressive with their own kids.  I was really lucky that dog didn't rip me apart.  

 

What are the police and animal control people doing when you contact them?  Can't your neighbors be fined for the dog being loose?  The people across the street from us had a big, dumb puppy who would always be loose and jump all over us.  He didn't mean any harm, but my kids were little and the dog was much bigger/heavier than them and would jump.  I couldn't let my kids outside because I was afraid the dog would knock them over and they would hit their heads on the concrete.  When the dog would jump on us, his nails would scratch up our arms and they even ripped my shirt once.  We were always trapped in our own home because of that dog.  And the neighbors didn't understand why we were mad - they called my husband an asshole once because he asked them to keep the dog in their yard.  The dog would take stuff out of our garage, jump all over delivery people (who would get mad at us thinking it was our dog)...it even chased my kids inside our house one time when they ran inside trying to get away from him and he followed right behind them.  We were lucky that the dog wasn't aggressive, but it was a nightmare until he got older.  And the neighbors never took responsibility or apologized for the dog's behavior.