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Im a bit too emotionally involved to be an unbiased judge on this one so looking for other opinions.
I had a very close call last night. I had Buster (5 month old Saint Bernard) out for his evening walk. We were almost home, only an empty field between us and home, when one of the neighbor kids rode by on her bike. Buster sees bikes as something to fear so I was praising him for looking up at me rather than bolting when the girl rode a bit closer than he's normal comfortable with. The next thing I know we're being charged by a Chocolate Lab from across the street. The dog was completely silent, only his owner screaming at the dog alerted me to him...the dog completely ignored the owner. Body low, teeth bared, hackles raised, very focused on Buster. I grabbed Buster by the collar (good thing he's a big boy! Im 5'3", his head is at my hip) and stayed between the dogs as the Lab circled us. In as low a voice as I could, I yelled at the Lab "GET OUT OF HERE" and by some miracle it listened. As soon as the dog headed back home, I left the area. Brought Buster home and checked him over just to make sure...thankfully I found nothing.
To whoever has posted the advice to stay between my dog and an unknown dog, THANK YOU! This advice saved my boy from the pain of an attack. Im still a bit shaken, Ive never encountered a dog that aggressive. Buster is a bit more clingy than normal, but I think thats more him picking up on how Im feeling than anything from last night.
I had a very close call last night. I had Buster (5 month old Saint Bernard) out for his evening walk. We were almost home, only an empty field between us and home, when one of the neighbor kids rode by on her bike. Buster sees bikes as something to fear so I was praising him for looking up at me rather than bolting when the girl rode a bit closer than he's normal comfortable with. The next thing I know we're being charged by a Chocolate Lab from across the street. The dog was completely silent, only his owner screaming at the dog alerted me to him...the dog completely ignored the owner. Body low, teeth bared, hackles raised, very focused on Buster. I grabbed Buster by the collar (good thing he's a big boy! Im 5'3", his head is at my hip) and stayed between the dogs as the Lab circled us. In as low a voice as I could, I yelled at the Lab "GET OUT OF HERE" and by some miracle it listened. As soon as the dog headed back home, I left the area. Brought Buster home and checked him over just to make sure...thankfully I found nothing.
To whoever has posted the advice to stay between my dog and an unknown dog, THANK YOU! This advice saved my boy from the pain of an attack. Im still a bit shaken, Ive never encountered a dog that aggressive. Buster is a bit more clingy than normal, but I think thats more him picking up on how Im feeling than anything from last night.