Anyone else afraid of stray dogs?

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It was a tiny poodle.

Oh. I dislike all small dogs on general principle anyway, so I dislike that poodle that bothered you too.

It depends on what type of dog it is and where I am at, like if I saw a stray pitbull in the city I would be nervous since it is probably owned by someone and escaped and people use aggressive pitbulls to protect their homes. My parents live out in the desert tho and there are also wild stray dogs that run around, most probably ran away from someone at one time as they're usually an assortment of breeds and I can't imagine a dog being able to live indefinitely out here in the wild unless they're being provided food and water somewhere but there are wild horses too so who knows. They seem pretty shy of people and most aren't very big or healthy looking, they try to avoid you as much as possible. Unfortunately you see them up on the highway sometimes since they'll dart across.

Dogs are pretty funny in packs, they don't seem to have prejudice towards other breeds at all so you'll see funny stuff like a timid buff pitbull running around with an aggressive little Yorkie.

Pit bulls are common here in redneck central. I know tons of people who have them. They are gentle as can be, mainly because people know the bad reputation that they have and they want to prove it's not true. The meanest dog I've ever seen was a shar pei my mother had. She had to have it put down because it turned on her.

Loose dogs (as in let out during the day to roam) and strays were a big problem in a town I lived in once, I encountered them mostly when I walked my small fluffy dogs. I had to remove one of my dogs my from the mouth of a retriever cross once, another time I encountered a drug dealers loose pit bull, and on a regular basis I would meet a feral greyhound hunting food for her pups. Not to mention all the regular encounters, which really were pleasant and just curiosity based.

I'm not afraid of strays, but I am cautious, I found that the whooshing noise of a doubled length of wire cable was an effective deterrent for aggressive dogs.

I use to have a pretty big fear of dogs stemming from traumatic childhood experiences, we never had dogs growing up and brother got bit really badly in front of me across the face and had to get surgery to repair what it did to his nose. The dog that did that was a dachshund actually, aggressive mean little dog bred to fight badgers in their dens. Have never met a nice one. I've gotten over this for the most part, I wouldn't say I am comfortable around a large strange dog like some might be but I enjoy the company of a nice one and others don't give me the anxiety that they once did.

Pits that have been properly trained and socialized usually seem pretty gentle but I grew up in an urban inner city environment and there were a lot of pit bulls that you'd see that would be noticeably aggressive whenever you walked near them. Trying to attack you from the other side of the fence, if I saw somebody walking one then I usually crossed the street so I wouldn't have to count on the owner(who never take their aggressive dogs seriously) There was a lot of dog fighting in the city, drug dealers use them to guard to their stash house(not that drug dealers are the only people that use them as guard dogs) other irresponsible people just get them since its like walking a gun to them and in Wisconsin until a few years ago concealed carry wasn't legal so they're the only way some people felt safe walking around since nobody messes with somebody with a pit. In dog fighting they'll use the smaller weaker less aggressive dogs as bait too.

I am not scared of stray or strange dogs. I find it easier to read and understand dogs than it is to read or understand other people. There were even a few dogs that people said did not like people and were dangerous. The dogs did not seem bothered by me; maybe the dogs could sense that I understood when they started to say that they were getting uncomfortable and did not need to keep repeating themselves, or start biting, to get their point across.

I'm cautious but not exactly afraid. I've never had any bad encounters with stray dogs. The most that's happened is that they've followed me around for a bit.

To be guarded towards stray dogs is perfectly logical. I love animals, am good with them, but know the dangers, especially in places where rabies is present. Infected animals can either be highly aggressive and the complete opposite.

So, "fear" is, in this case, a very good thing. I now ignore animals (or even back off if they get too close) unless I am completely sure that they are safe to approach ie clearly tagged, owners present etc.

Better safe than sorry.

ive never seen a stray but i have very few fears of animals and i have been bit, many many many many MANY times. I suppose Horses scare me because of their enormous size but Dogs? never! i love dogs!

As a kid I was afraid of most dogs because they would often chase me.

Dogs in general make me anxious, sometimes. Some dogs like me, I do not know what it is about me that attracts animals, but animals like me certain ones.

Stray dogs make me nervous. Dogs make me nervous. And I am actually afraid of guard dogs because someone trained them to be mean to "trespassers". I went to a recycling plant a couple days ago, they have a dog on duty, and I couldn't find a person to talk to, and it was my first time there. I guess I lingered too long and the dog starts barking at me and drives me away. So, it turns out I am not going to recycle my cans any more after that experience.

That would depend upon the demeanor of the dog...if its viciously growling and snarling like it wants to attack(unless its just a little ankle biter sized dog) then I'd be afraid of it and try and figure out the best way to fight it off when it comes at me. But yeah the only time I ever ran into any vicious dogs they weren't strays they were some a**holes dogs they trained to be a**holes that got loose...was going to fight them off with a stick/try to but then another bigger dog who may have been a stray came and stood in front of me and growled at the other dogs and stayed until I was a safe distance away...no idea why but it may have very well saved me.

Then one time I was walking and someones Pit Bull came up to me, so I would pet it and rolled around on its back and such then went back to wherever it came from.

Not to mention to most kids it would not make sense to defend someone from a dog that is licking them, since that is a friendly gesture from a dog....quite the opposite of an attack. But I imagine had they known they may have tried to get the dog to back off a little at least till you could see it wasn't being aggressive or something to fear.

There are way too many stray dogs in the northern suburbs of my city and it's a depressing thing. They are very timid and usually run away when I approach them, as they are generally dogs who've had bad experiences with humans. Sometimes I used to take some food for them. I haven't come across any aggressive stray dogs.

I have to agree with OOM that pit bulls have quite good natures. I've worked with them before and they are generally only aggressive towards other dogs, not humans. I'm also quite familiar with Rottweilers, another breed that many people fear.

But not all small dogs are a nuisance: my Miniature Pinscher is adorable and has been my buddy since he was 6 weeks old. Some small dogs can be quite vicious: I generally like them but there's a Jack Russell in our street whom the owner has to keep locked in the back as he bites everyone except for the family. They're quite nice people so dogs don't always take after their owners!

Pits are common just about everywhere. My dog and the one before him were both rescued pit bulls. As an HSUS volunteer, most of the aggressive dogs by breed that I've dealt with have been little dogs like chihuahua (especially chihuahuas ) . Of course, it would be better to be bitten by a little dog than a big one.