Your safety comes first, so it’s important to prepare for all possible scenarios. These rules apply even if you don’t have a dog yourself. What to do when an off-leash dog charges at you. Check out these tips.
Whether you have a dog or not, it may happen that you suddenly see a dog running towards you while walking in the park. However, this does not always mean that he is hostile towards you. First of all, it is very important to focus on the dog’s body language.
If you see him calmly nodding towards you, wagging his tail and sticking his tongue out, these are all indicators that this is not hostile contact. The dog probably just wants to play with you.
You can find a video of what to do when someone runs behind you without a leash on the Stafordi & spol YouTube channel:
Source: Youtube
Aggressive dog
However, if you see the dog in question running really fast towards you, taking a dominant stance, teeth bared and growling, you need to prepare for the worst.
If you have a small dog with you, take him in your arms, if you have a larger dog with a muzzle, remove the muzzle so that he can defend himself if necessary. Then take it firmly by the leash and hide the dog behind you. Yell at a dog running towards you.
If a dog is running at you and you don’t have a dog yourself, the procedure is as follows. Make yourself as big as possible. Spread your arms and spread your legs slightly apart. If a small dog is running at you, just a big stomp might be enough.
However, if the dog is bigger, shout at it in a powerful voice. It can be “go away” or “go away”, as these can be commands that his master uses as well. In the process, also take a step towards the dog in question and wave your hand in the direction the dog came from.
What to watch out for
Do not run away from the dog under any circumstances. Do not forget that dogs are predators by nature, and most importantly, they are much faster than you. If you start to run, the dog will chase you and try to catch up. If the dog is big, it can even jump on you, and this could have really unpleasant consequences. It is also important that you do not look the dog directly in the eyes and do not make sudden sudden movements.
Sources: www.idnes.cz
