Aggressive territorial dog

Hello, I wasn't sure where to post this, but I really need help. I have a neighbor with a weimaraner who is not kept inside a fence. He roams freely in the front yard and is very aggressive and territorial whenever I walk my own dogs past their house. The first few times I ever saw him, he would only stand on the porch and bark, but now it has gotten very scary. He runs into the street and chases me growling and baring his teeth. I am afraid he is going to eventually attack me and my dogs. I have talked to my neighbors and all they did was assure me he "wouldn't bite", even after having to pull him away from me themselves. I don't want to give up my walks, but this dog terrifies me. What can I do to calm him down?

It is not your job to calm him down. To say that the dog will never bite is absolutely false. Every dog can bite. And this dog is giving every indication that he is very near his threshold. You should be able to walk down your road without being terrorized! This makes me so angry. You must tell your neighbor that the dog terrifies you and to please keep him under control. If they do not, call the police or whomever is the authority...animal control...This is illegal, at least in Washington state where I use to live. There was a dog in our neighborhood who terrorized children on their way to the bus stop and chased a friend's kid on a bike whose dogs was following behind. The dog tore open the belly of my friend's dog. They reported these people and the animal control officer said it takes only two warnings and that dog is gone. Well, it happened enough that the dog was taken away. He also said that the dog doesn't have to do anything. If he comes off their property and causes fear in people, that's enough of a complaint.

I just had a big mastiff come running out of his yard, not barking or growling, snarling or anything. But he ran behind my Chihuahuas and me for about 15 ft. It scared me. I turned and spoke to him in a very firm voice and pointed my finger at him and told him to go home. He did. But if this happens one more time, I'm going to speak to those people. This is just not right to have to worry about your safety or your dogs. Good luck. Please take action because if you don't, something very tragic could happen.

Is there a leash law in your area? If he leaves his yard call AC, if there are enough complaints they might do something about it. If you can go another route do that. If not carry something to protect yourself and your dogs like a big stick, pepper spray (make sure you know which way it's pointing), SOMEthing. You could also attempt throwing treats so he learns to like when you pass but then you risk getting him to follow you and getting you in trouble with the neighbor.

Doberluv, you stole the words right out of my mouth. It is so naive to say that a dog "won't bite" because EVERY dog can bite, even the sweet ones. And I've spouted off many times that it's not fair no one can use the neighborhood because this one family doesn't want to train their monster dog not to eat people, ha. The only reason I asked what *I* can do is because I don't see the family doing anything about it themselves.
I have looked into the leash laws in this county, and while a leash is not required, he is threatening me in a public road which is against the ordinance. So while I have reason to call animal control, I don't want to be "that neighbor" who likes to complain and just come across as a pest. I was thinking of going back over there and having them introduce me to the dog so that he would have his family close by and see that I'm not a threat, but I'm scared to go near the yard alone.
I just don't want to seem like a b****, you know?

Come after me or my dogs and I will show you what a B!tch looks like.

Not your problem if they think that about you. They are the ones who cant controll thier own dog

I understand about that not wanting to be "that bitchy neighbor" but even if the dog can get use to you (and there are some things you can try with their help, which may help, but not necessarily) the dog is still going to threaten other people. If the dog goes off the deep end, goes past his threshold and attacks, a child, adult or another dog could be seriously maimed or killed. This is just too serious to not prioritize. These owners need to be responsible to keep their dog under control at all times before a tragedy happens. What would you tell yourself or some child's parents if you didn't say anything to the owners of the dog or an animal control officer and some child got attacked and ruined for life or killed?

They need to also realize that their dog is a HUGE liability and they're just inviting a law suit if they don't take control of their dog. As far as not being the one to tell them...so you're not disliked by them, I don't know what to tell you other than talking with an animal control officer and letting him/her do the explaining. If that doesn't help, if I were in your shoes, after explaining my concerns to the owners, they were uncooperative, I don't know that they'd be the kind of neighbors I'd care about liking me. I think it's important to explain politely, while maintaining some assertiveness or showing that you're serious. But anyhow...I'd start with the authorities and maybe they'll put the fear of God in these idiotic people.

Exactly! If a dog did that to me, I'd be hard pressed not to carry my gun with me next time. (of course, you have to live where it's allowed to discharge a fire arm.) Or there's the big bear pepper spray. But you have to be careful not to let it get on your own dog or yourself....very serious pepper spray it is. A gun shot would get the message across to these irresponsible, incomprehensible dog owners....ya'd think.

Ha, yeah, I had my akita mix with me today (not sure what she's mixed with, akitas are big dogs but she's only 40 pounds), and he came after her and she peed herself, some guard dog she is.
I think tomorrow I am going to go to their house one more time, and see if they can be talked into fencing him. They have a fence, they just don't keep him in it.
I know that dogs sense fear, and me tensing up when I go by there makes him tense up, and that's why he thinks I'm a threat. I do have pepper spray that I'll probably start carrying with me, its hard to think about hurting someone's pet because I know he loves them and doesn't act like that towards the family, but what you said Dober, he could hurt a child and I'd never forgive myself for not speaking up.
If all else fails, according to the county animal restraint laws, I have every reason to go to animal control. I'd hate it, but I never thought about the possibility of being to blame if he hurt someone else, so now I know I have to.

Not just if he hurts someone else. What if he hurts you or your dog? There is no reason you shouldn't be able to safely enjoy a walk with your dog.

I'd suggest mentioning to them that you'll be carrying pepper spray from now on.

I would carry a can of citronella spray. Spray that fool in the face! It is not harmful but it will definitely drive him away... quick. That and report your neighbors every single time the dog comes at you! Even if your county doesn't have leash laws, you should report them for having a dangerous dog running off their property unsupervised.

My old neighbors had 2 Weims who would constantly jump the fence and were constantly in the yard, so every time we walked by they would jump it and come after me and my dogs. I let it slide until they actually attacked Gonzo and in the process severely hurt Fozzie's jaw to the point that he couldn't chew for weeks. I wish I would've reported them sooner!

Yeah, that's a better idea. I might not even carry it, there's 4 or 5 kids in that family and it's mostly them that I'm worried about. I don't want to them to think some evil witch hurt their doggy, and I don't want to hurt him. But I also don't want to be a snack.

You should worry. Those kids will grow up thinking its a-ok to get a big mean dog and let it run around the neighborhood. And that's what they'll do.

People forget that weims aren't only sporting/hunting dogs, they also have a bit of guardian in them. I have never met a friendly adult weimeraner, only some nice puppies. Every adult weim I've ever met has been nutso.

Personally I would not give a rats ass what the neightbour or their kids think. Its my job to keep myself and my dog protected. I would use any means in my power to keep them safe and if that means spraying the dog with pepper spray then so be it.


Would you rather save the feeling of the kids or prevent your dog from being attacked and hurt?

For me the answer is simple. My dog comes first.

And if the dog does end up hurting you and your dog badly guess what it will end up being put down. So I would resort to using pepper spray and talking to the neighbours so it does not come to that.

Animal control will most likely not take the dog away on the first warning, but they WILL tell the people they need to control their animal. I also suggest carrying pepper spray or citronella spray.

You might feel bad about the neighbor's kids thinking you're being mean to their dog....but what if this dog approaches a child in the same manner, and the child screams, and the dog attacks it? A weimerainer could EASILY kill a young child.

Aside from the fact, what if the dog ran up to a leashed, highly DA rottweiler or akita or some really large breed like that? The dog would be torn to bits. The people are being irresponsible, and it's your job first and foremost to protect your dogs and your self.

I went to their house today to introduce myself and meet the hellhound face-to-face to see if he would take to me any better with his family around. As soon as the lady opened the door, the dog came running outside and covering my hands in kisses. We talked for awhile and they also have a teacup pomeranian and a 5-week-old kitten. The weim's name is Asa, and he licked all over the kitten and the pom and kept nuzzling against me and rolling over for me to pet him. So he seems okay with me now, I guess the real test is how he reacts when I walk my dogs. She told me to tell her if he runs out of the yard again, because she said they tell him not to do that.
I have 3 dogs, all between 30 and 40 pounds, so I'm not used to 90 pounds of dog barreling towards me. I just hope that I don't tense up and freak out again when I run into him alone... that's probably what caused him to get defensive in the first place.

Tell him? Do they sit down and have a chat?

:wall:

When I was living in Edson, I had Emma (Beagle) and Jazz (Dobe). Jazz had alot of issues with other dogs. I had a Sheltie type dog run out of someone's back yard and to thier front yard trying to come after my dogs. I had to lift Jazz's front legs off the ground to keep her from tearing the other dog to shreds while trying to kick it away from Emma. The owners got mad at me for tying to kick thier dog Honestly they are lucky I didnt get a good shot at it.

I guess I didn't word that well. I meant she said they don't *want* him doing it, and if he runs out again, to let her know. There's a little dachschund that lives next door to them, and she said Asa is gentle with him too.

Well, that's good. I'm glad the neighbor was at least polite and not contradictory toward you. That's great too, that the dog was friendly. You can walk past and toss a treat into their yard, with her permission. That would also help the dog to associate you with good stuff. But the trouble with that is that he might follow you. So, that's no good. She really...bottom line, needs to keep her dog in the yard. So, hopefully that will improve. And maybe it's your dogs she reacting to more so than to you. I don't think that your tensing up is likely to make that big of a difference. I know what "they" say, but from my experience, I haven't detected a significant difference all in all with most dogs. (just don't run from a scary dog) LOL.