I've had that same experience, so I know how scary it can be. I'm sorry you were so upset

Is there a leash law in the park? If so, you could remind this inconsiderate man of it. If there is a leash law and he continues to leave the dog loose, I would report to the police or park authority that the loose dog is threatening.

I'd say walk at a different time, but you shouldn't have to do this.

Take your phone with you, and the moment that dog comes towards you, call the police and tell them an aggressive dog is threatening you. Some people are just jerks!

calling the police could end up really bad for the dog,not the inconsiderate owner, carry a spray bottle of water and next time the dog charges at you shoot him with water, that should stop him in his tracks..

Carry a cattle prod. Or bear mace if legal in your state. Make sure owner gets some of the bear mace!

I stand by my suggestion, regardless of Salti's many responses. My dog was attacked by a small aggressive off-leash dog, while the owner stood and watched and did nothing. Thankfully, other people came to our rescue, and the owner of the small aggressive dog just walked away as if nothing happened. If I had my phone, I would have called the police on the spot.

I've had a dog or dogs for 40 years and have seen people get panicky at the sight of any dog. My last two dogs were chow mixes and looked entirely like a chow, so anyone who recognizes a chow would be correct to be hesitant to approach. For whatever reason my dogs were docile as could be up until the point when another dog made the wrong signal in dog language. After that point the other dog was in deep trouble, because even a mixed chow can come UN GLUED. They never drew blood, but you had to wonder why. So it is good to be wary, especially when the dog is large enough to do some damage, but there is a difference between wary and panic.

I have been bitten by other people's dogs twice. My job requires me to visit with people at their homes. The first dog bite was a full blooded chow chow. She was protecting her pups. She never showed any aggression but simply and casually walked up, sniffed my leg, and grabbed onto my shoe very tightly with her teeth. Fortunately I had a tough shoe on, but I can still remember that feeling of having my foot pinched. The second bite was on my leg. This dog was more on the aggressive side. The owner warned me to stay in my car until he got there, but the dog went after me anyway after he said it would be okay. It was one bite and again, through my denim pants did not pierce the skin. I shook it off and after that the dog was fine. Clearly these dogs were giving me a warning and not looking for food.

Dogs have different instincts. Most have a hunting instinct which comes with a signalling system to tell the rest of the dogs that it has found an intruder or possibly prey. Those dogs will bark and bark but usually do not bite, at least in my experience. They will follow and bark for awhile so they don't lose track of the target.

When a dog is hungry enough to attack, or simply trained to attack, in a real attack it often does not do a lot of barking. It does a lot of silent running at full speed and never stops until it has reached the target. If a dog comes at you and hesitates for any reason, it's probably not going to do you any harm. I realize a dog can be very intimidating, even a small dog, but in most cases it is all bark and no bite.

I wish there was a way we dog owners could identify people who are wary or very wary of dogs. We don't want to cause a problem, but in my experience most people are not that afraid of dogs even if the dog is off the leash. I will say the owner in your case is one of the more idiotic dog owners who does not seem to care that his dog is causing problems even after obvious confrontations.

I would not hesitate to pepper spray a dog if it harassed me. Clearly there are no negative consequences coming from the owner. If the owner gets belligerent, you might point the sprayer at him, too, until he calms down. Remind him that you've asked him to keep his dog away from you and that he did not do it. Next time you see the dog, make a point of pulling out the sprayer and holding it in a ready mode. Dogs learn pretty fast when the effect is severe (ask me how I know).

I agree with Pamhatten and HB, take your phone, take video and call the police...but on the dog owner not the dog.

This IS still a free country, you should be able to walk in the park where ever you want to. According to the law, it is the dog owner's responsibility to keep his dog under control, not yours to put up with it.

Maybe consider carrying pepper spray; learned of this idea from DF who is a police officer.

Op said she is fearful of being attacked. Carrying a cattle prod or bear mace to protect herself iF it does attack is reasonable. The spraying owner was "tongue in cheek", to emphasize he is being rude and irresponsible.

Our postal carriers all carry pepper spray and have been known to use it. I think that is a reasonable way to try to stop a dog that is trying to harm you.

Guess I was not clear. A dog does not know that something is being aimed at it or simply aiming it would be enough. Aiming it at a person, assuming good eyesight, is usually enough to get his attention. Spraying a person is a whole different matter.

Also, pepper spray, not mace.

Seriously Salti, take a chill pill.

Postal carriers are bit quite often and I see a lot of law suits as a result in my work. It's not unreasonable to carry pepper spray but IMO it's the owner that's the problem, not the dog and pepper spraying it can be pretty traumatic for it, so I still say just call the police and have the owner issued a citation.

Lukki, I agree about calling the police but you have to protect yourself in the moment. Do you have a better alternative to the pepper spray? I would like to know for myself. I have had this problem in the past though not at the present, thank goodness. But I am always looking for ways to protect myself.

"this one dog looks quite small, he is so aggressive, each time I passed
by him, he runs towards me and keeps barking,seems like he wants to bite
me."

Golly gee, why do you need pepper spray for a "quite small" dog that "keeps barking?" Not to mention the need for "bear mace" and also assaulting the owner?

Holy crud! No responsible breeder would place a pup with people that would result to violence if confronted by a small dog barking!!! (That said, some of the usual suspects have advocated these likely criminal acts.)

Crimney, pick up the phone and make a call!

I agree Murraysmom, one should do whatever is necessary when confronted unexpectedly, but in this particular situation, the OP says that the guy is there every afternoon with his dogs. It's a routine. Under the circumstances, I can't help but think that she probably has the opportunity to call the police from a distance and file a complaint without experiencing a confrontation.

Most people show fear when confronted by an aggressive dog, obviously the OP is scared, who wouldn't be at the thought of being bit, but dogs sense that and act on it too. With a big dog, pepper spray may be the only option available but in this case, with a small dog, maybe it would be just as easy to carry a rolled up newspaper or magazine with you and swat at it instead. That's probably what I'd end up doing under HER circumstances. (And to be honest, that guy would be getting a HUGE piece of my mind in the process LOL)

Cesar Milan has a method that might work in this case as well.

How to avoid being bitten

If you are confronted by an aggressive dog, the most important thing to remember is this: Stay calm. Don’t give in to fear or anxiety, and don’t start yelling or kicking at the dog. An aggressive dog wants you to be stressed out before it attacks, but if you remain calm and in control, it slows them down and throws them off.

Also avoid direct eye contact with an aggressive dog. Stand slightly sideways (which also makes you a narrower target) while keeping the dog in your peripheral vision.

Once you have successfully used calm assertive energy to keep that dog back, claim your own space. If you happen to be carrying anything in your hands, like a cane or an umbrella, place it out in front of yourself to appear bigger and be more in command of your space.

What this tells the dog with your body language is, “I don’t want your space, I just want this space that I am in.” Maintain your very calm and assertive state; this energy creates a barrier that automatically demands the dog’s respect by letting it know that you are not afraid.

When the dog senses that you aren’t threatening it — and are not threatened by it — it will probably lose interest and the situation will de-escalate. Unfortunately, though, this process is not always possible.

Your suggestion is a good solution for the OP.

As for Cesar's solution, I would be afraid that things would escalate (especially if my dogs are with me) before I could try what he is suggesting. If I were alone, I would probably try this. What I have had success with in the past is to yell loudly at a dog that was approaching me slowly. It does stop the dog from coming at my dogs. In fact I did that once while the owner was standing in his yard, watching this happen and doing nothing.

I all this advice...wonder If the op ever came back!

profile says s/he is in China!!

Oh. Well, at least it's still useful information for the rest of us!

Thank you very much for all your advice, very helpful. Thank you for sharing your story, dchall_san_antonio, even though you have been bitten twice, seems you did not like the dog less. Yes, lukkiirish, stay calm is very important, most of the dogs are cute and nice in the neighborhood, so when we suddenly meet an aggressive one, we don't know what to do. good advice needs to be spread, I will share this helpful advice with more people. thanks again

Good to know you came back, and we hope your problem does not continue!

Thank you, socks, I haven't seen that dog after last time, I think I will handle better next time if I see it

AND please don't let folks belittle your feelings of fear about a small aggressive behaving dog. Far too many folks are bitten and sometimes severely by small dogs because people think their behavior is "cute" or "not dangerous" Any dog regardless of size should not behave in an aggressive manner towards people who have not made an aggressive move towards them or their owner. Aggressive small dogs are not cute! And just because a dog is small it doesn't make your fear any less valid then if it was a Tibetan Mastiff that was acting aggressively.

I think all this advice is worth consideration. I've found that most annoying dogs understand the gesture of the target person bending to pick up a stone. If there are no stones available, pretend to pick one up.

I'm glad the advise is helpful and hope it works out for you.

I have to say though that leaning down to get a rock to throw at the dog is never a good idea because you're not only putting yourself in a position that makes it easier for it to get to your face, but you're also minimizing your size. If a dog is in a zone where it feels threatened, it's not going to understand or care that you're picking up a rock, it's going to see that you're down at it's level and charge. Your face will be his target.