I've never met one. Seriously.
And I've met an awful lot of dogs.
I believe it's your attitude in most cases
(this does not apply to some situations).
Dog stories - I've come home to a pack of dogs
in my yard. People in the country have this need
(or laziness) to let them run free. I chase
them off. They run, but inevitably there is always
one hanging back, defying me. I go after
him - walking towards him, challenging him,
then yelling "GET OUTTA HERE". He takes off
every time. He's not on his property and he
knows it, and sees me as the alpha of the house.
My favorite 'mean' dog story:
There was this racetrack in New Mexico. It went
under and my husband was hired to get everything
ready for auction. The caretaker had a guard
dog that roamed the property at night, and
sometimes he forgot to tie him up during the day.
I heard stories from bankers and others how
this dog was mean and would eat your tires if
he was loose when you drove up.
I went to the racetrack the day before auction
to film it, it was rich in history. As I was
roaming around the property with my camcorder,
I turned a corner. There was a dog, cautiously
watching me. He didn't wag his tail, he didn't
bark, no growl, nothing. Just quietly watching.
On camera you can hear me say 'uh oh'. I was
sure this was the dog and I was about to be his
lunch. I thought my last moments will at least
be captured on film. I filmed the dog, and
commented that this apparently was the guard dog
I had heard so much about, and the caretaker had
forgotten to tie him up. Welp, nice knowing ya
people.
But as I turned to walk away and looked back, the
dog was still sitting there, watching me. I
tapped my thigh and said, "Well, come on if you're
coming." His tail gave a little wag and he came
running up behind me. We walked all over the place
and he was always at my side. A bit later, a
banker and another person pulled up in a car, the
dog went nuts trying to eat the car. They wouldn't
get out of the car. I went up to the car and
made the comment, "Is this THE dog?" They nodded
yes, looked very embarrassed since I was standing
there next to him, and got out. I told the dog
to settle down. We became fast friends I guess at
that point and he turned and jumped up on me, his
mouth inches away from my face. THAT made me
a WEE bit uncomfortable and I told him to get down.
He worshiped me after that, I guess seeing me
as his alpha. Later the caretaker came and we
talked a while about the dog. The caretaker told
me stories of other animals trying to get into the
property and the dog killing them. I believed it
after seeing the way he attacked a car.
With bears it is important to try to make yourself
bigger than the bear and act like you're not ready
to pee your pants. I guess it's the same with dogs.
If you act afraid, they do know it and will take
advantage of the situation. Let the dog know you
are in control but you are not going to challenge,
and if you are on his property respect that. Of
course never try to outrun a dog, instead once
you have established contact then try to back away
or walk away slowly in a non challenging way.
