It’s an unnerving thing to be on a nice walk with your dog and get approached by an off-leash dog that isn’t yours, particularly if that off-leash dog doesn’t have an owner nearby or may be stray.
Even if the dog is friendly looking, it’s hard to predict what may happen when an off-leash, unknown dog approaches. You might ask yourself, “is this dog friendly?” “how will my dog handle a greeting like this” or “what should I do when this dog gets to us?”
An off-leash dog is a wild card and unfortunately, there’s no sure-fire technique for handling this situation. Each instance is as unique as each dog, so it is important to have a variety of options to manage an event as it occurs.
What to Do If an Off-Leash Dog Approaches You
Here are some ideas for how to handle an off-leash dog that isn’t yours:
- Don’t run. This may only cause the other dog’s chase instinct to kick in.
- Try to stay calm. Your dog is only going to feed off of your anxiety, and you don’t want to do anything to make your dog even more anxious than they might already be.
- Always have good treats with you. You need them for training, but in this case, you can throw them at the oncoming dog, and there is a chance that the dog will take interest in the treats, giving you an opportunity to get further away. Distance may decrease the dog’s interest in you and/or give the other owner time to get to their dog.
- Try to use some dog training cues. The oncoming dog may know “sit,” “down” or “stay.” Although they may not remember their training in this very heightened context, it’s worth a try to use hand cues or call out “sit” or “stay.” The dog may stop.
- Have a stick or umbrella with you. This is something to try if you are running into off-leash dogs regularly, like in a park that has unclear rules about off-leash dog areas. Waving the stick or opening the umbrella may stop the oncoming dog in their tracks or get them to retreat. This is especially effective if you are walking a dog that is reactive on leash as it may prevent the dogs from meeting and give you some distance from the loose dog.
- Drop the leash. As a last resort (a not-ideal last resort at that), if the strange dog gets to your dog and your dog is of comparable size, you need to drop the leash and let them defend themselves until you can get help. When one dog is on leash and the other off, the one who is on leash is severely handicapped at this point. You need to let them use their whole body to communicate and deal with the other dog.
If you suspect that the loose dog is lost or stray and therefore doesn’t have an owner nearby, the ideas above also apply. If you are able to keep your dog safe and contained with or near the loose dog, you can take steps to help the other dog find their owner or get them somewhere safe, such as a shelter or rescue.
Regardless of the situation, running into an off-leash dog can be really scary for both you and your dog. Being as prepared as possible and ready to think on your feet will give you some peace of mind.
A version of this post was originally published on AnimalSense blog.