We have new neighbors with a large German shepherd that runs loose. We're rural, but come ON! Anyway, the first time we encountered him, I was surprised -- of course. I grabbed Susan up and stuffed her inside my coat. It occurred to me later that I could have insured my own mauling that way. Even so, I wasn't really afraid for myself, only Susan. I'm very short, but I have lots of "presence" when the mood strikes and it had struck big time. I used my best "teacher" voice to tell the dog to SIT. I took it by the collar and by golly it did sit. The owner later told me it has no obedience training, so I guess I just surprised it into sitting. Since that time I've realized that the shepherd (his name is Odin) doesn't really seem to recognize Susan as a dog, and that worries me a bit.
When we had big dogs we understood that they were scary to other people; why can't other big dog owners get it? |