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I had an unfortunate encounter with a dog off a lead this afternoon, how should I have responded?

ComputerGeek1337

Hello,

I was out for a walk in the park this afternoon. I do a walk almost every day in this park, to try and loose weight. I suffer from anxiety and depression, and so am feeling on edge most of the time, but this afternoon was feeling more on edge than usual.

A dog which wasn't on a lead came up to me barking. I was fearful it might bite me. I screamed at the dog 'down' out of fear whilst walking backwards. This happened before at it hasn't usually bothered me. But this time the distance between the owner and where the dog was, was much larger than usual as this is what caught me by surprise. This further agitated my anxiety.

I then screamed at the owner: 'you really should keep it on a lead, it's not hard'. I then walked away with my back faced to the owner to avoid further confrontation.

How should I have reacted?

Parents

  • A good general rule is to stand still, keep your hands by your side, don't stare at the dog, just sort of smile. Maybe talk quietly. I usually say something like " Hello, Dawg. How are you today?"  (Not very imaginative, but the dog goes by your tone of voice, not the words.)  Then, if the dog is friendly, it may sniff you, smile and let you scratch it behind the ears. At that point you have a new canine friend.

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  • A good general rule is to stand still, keep your hands by your side, don't stare at the dog, just sort of smile. Maybe talk quietly. I usually say something like " Hello, Dawg. How are you today?"  (Not very imaginative, but the dog goes by your tone of voice, not the words.)  Then, if the dog is friendly, it may sniff you, smile and let you scratch it behind the ears. At that point you have a new canine friend.

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