I think saltidawg's solution is probably the easiest, try to find another route that won't take you past this house, it will give you peace of mind. I have small dogs and I do get uncomfortable walking them around my immediate neighbourhood, so I drive about 20 mins to a small lake where dogs are allowed and there are lots of people there walking their dogs too, but just about all of them are on leads and 99.9% of people control their dogs properly so as not to annoy anyone else, or the joggers and walkers who use the lake paths. It also has more of a social feel to it, since it's easy to approach other dog walkers for a chat (I only approach people if I feel comfortable with the look of their dog, and it being near mine). Ive also noticed that most of the dogs there are small dogs so many other people must feel this is a safer place to walk them like me.

It's definitely a lot more effort to go to but I just feel better about it since you dont know what dogs you might come across in yards or loose walking the neighbourhood. I also dont have to worry about one of my dogs trying to pee on the edge of someone's lawn :) Maybe there is a park near your home you could take them too. I guess people who let their dogs roam arent into taking them to a park or lake for a walk, but I just like the atmosphere of this "dog park", and my dogs get to mix with lots of others. If you dont feel safe walking your dogs locally then I think you should trust your gut and find another route or somewhere nearby you can drive to exercise them in more safety.

trancegemini-wa and saltidawg- i have altered my route as that seemed the easiest solution. the house is a corner lot so if the dog starts roaming out too far he is going to own both cross streets. i guess i am just afraid of that happening and me realizing it too late.

i wish i had a walking park near me. we have some lovely nature preserves but they allow dogs to be off leash "under control" and i have seen way too many out of control dogs there so i refuse to take my dogs. in spring, i should have 1 other park that is closed for the winter. unfortunately that park is where a large pitbull broke away from his owner and ran up to us intensely! i screamed and pushed my dogs behind me (scared the life out of me) luckily he was a friendly dog but it could've been very bad.

i watch a lot of dog training shows like cesar 911 so in theory i know you can't show fear but practicing it irl is very hard. if i was dogless, it would be easier. there have been 2 little dogs killed by a pit and mastiff in towns nearby and that is always on my mind:(

the local police should do something about it. I asked a police officer about a barking dog in our neighborhood. He was on their roof barking at every car and person that walked down the street. The officer said that was the easiest problem they had to solve. First call is a warning, next call they take the dog. If they can do that I would think they would take of a loose aggressive dog.

I'm sorry that you had to alter the route of your walks, since none of this was your fault, but it is for the best and the safest for both you and your dogs. My sister had a similar terrifying experience where a loose pit bull attacked her dog and he had to have stitches at the vet hospital. She stopped walking her dog at the area where the attack happened. I guess that is the safest option, if not the most fair solution. Stay safe, adoiron, both you and your dogs. I'm sorry that you have to deal with this situation. :-(

In my county, to file a complaint about a barking dog violating our noise ordinances requires two people to sign an affidavit attesting to the fact that they both are willing to appear in court to testify as to the nuisance's nature.

saltidawg that is the way it is here too! i filed a complaint about the loose dog but i may have to go to court as well

I'm in Montgomery County, MD, northern suburbs of DC.

Where I live dog attacks happen and often end badly. My town requires 3 reports before they get involved with citations, providing it didn't involve something very serious. My dog was attacked and required an emergency visit. I reported it. Unfortunately, the next 2 attacks didn't report. After the last one involved a child, the bad dog owners moved out in the middle of the night. No dummies there.

If you have a humane officer or animal control department, see if you can get some assistance with ideas on how to proceed. They deal with this every day. These people work for you, the tax payer. You may need to take this farther to make safety changes. What if this was a kid?

document the incident and keep a copy just for the future. You may not need it, I hope not. Notes on a calendar are fine.

But, you need to protect your self.

Is the dog outside all the time? Is it tied up when they aren't home? Some cities have strict tie up laws. Can you change your walk time? We had to do that. Some owners are oblivious to dogs moods and attitude. Other owners are down right scary. Some, like my neighbor, believes leash laws apply to everyone else but him.

invisible fence requires a battery in the collar to zap the dog if they cross the line. Owners forget to change the batteries so the dog may not have gotten the zap.

People not want to get involved. During my attack, I backed out into traffic hoping it would stop those dogs. Only when I started screaming "fire" did i hear the owner call the dogs. I know he heard the whole attack. No one helped. I walked home with my bleeding dog and trying to remain upright. I was terrified and 15 years later, still very anxious when i walk my dog. i used to love walking my dog 2 miles a day.

No more.

So be careful and realize the leash is an extension of your arm. Your fear runs down your arm and into the leash. Your dog feels the negative energy and in turn can project aggressive feelings you might not sense.

I have found talking or singing to her when we approach a crazy dog behind a fence helps keep her brain focused on me and it calms me down, too. If its loose, I get the heck out of Dodge ASAP.

No easy answers.

meyerk9 - your story is exactly where i am afraid this could head! your experience would leave me too scared too walk my dogs. there are way too many bad dog owners out there! and yes it is on an electric fence which is clearly not working. it isn't out all day right now but it was out last spring/summer so i fear it will be soon. we filed a complaint with animal control but not sure how much that will do. i imagine these folks will fight it in town court. i am hoping they just pay the fine and fix their fence but it's not overly likely:(

saltidawg- i live just north of albany, ny in a suburb . sounds like the laws in our areas are unfortunately similar in their uselessness!

Hot pepper spray will work but only use it in case of attack.

We are not allowed elec fences in our city. In a rain or if there is a puddle of water a kid can be seriously hurt. Someone even put up Christmas lights on a chain link fence and it was removed in a few days.

emma,

We're not talking about electric fences that pose a shock hazard to anyone or any animal. We are talking about a buried wire that creates a radio frequency field - combined with collar on the dog that "stimulates" (shocks OR vibrates) the dog's neck when it crosses or approaches too closely to that field.

Perhaps one day when the dog is out, you can have a police officer or animal control officer visit the home of the dog. That individual will see for him/herself how aggressive and intimidating the dog is and they can have a little chat with the owners. I hate invisible fence. Not only is it unreliable, it doesn't keep interlopers out of the area, plus there are plenty of dogs who simply disregard the shock in order to get out.

Enough visits/fines, and these folks might get a regular fence or simply move. It's not right that the entire neighborhood should be affected by their bad behavior.

Invisible fence is mot reliable!there is a danger of malfunction . You should call the animal control. They can talk to the owners to get them a leash in their dog neck. Moreover, it should be trained.

You can do damage by spraying something like that at the dog, why don't your spray your dog then too, you don't do those things, you avoid those areas, we all had too somewhere and it might mean driving to a park or area where you can walk safer, we did it all the time, went to many places and avoided areas where issues came up. But don't go spraying, you can damage eyes that way, its not fair to the dog, its the owners, have you and husband talked to the owner, maybe they don't know its not working as we had invisible fencing and our female we had to have her collar upped by a puppy trainer professional that knows it all and she was trained too to see the flags and not pass them and you would see her looking at them and not go by. But they dont specially stop them, if they see something, they will go for it despite the zap shock they get. They aren't perfect like anything and you aren't supposed to leave dogs outside alone with them either yet so many use them as babysitters and go off for the day and evening, weekends.