Dealing with people taunting your dogs?

 I think Cita and Jackie are right on the money.  This guy is not threatening your dogs - he is threatening YOU.  In other words, he feels like he can win versus the dogs, and then you'd be powerless without them.  This is a dangerous person, IMO, because he is not willing to honor your request as the HUMAN who is uncomfortable, and you should create a "trail" with the police.  Just do not do it obviously - call them but don't say anything to the perp about it.  Tell the desk cop that the person has continued to harrass and unnerve you, making you afraid to walk in the neighborhood, despite your attempts to ask that he stop.  You might want to say that he seems to be agitating your dogs as if to see whether it might be safe to attack you if they don't react.  That tells the cops that you feel harrassed, not just the dogs.  And, it leaves evidence that the guy was "after you" if he gets more nervy and your dog does decide to defend you.  Guys like that, who like to make women squirm, are abusers - and you never know what they will do.

Cita

Do you carry pepper spray? You could hold it up, step towards him slightly, and say something like, "You are making me very frightened. If you do not leave right now, I will be forced to defend myself."

Just saw this.  I don't carry pepper spray because I have a fear of accidentally spraying one of my dogs.  I do ok walking all five of them together, along with carrying my phone.  I'm afraid that pepper spray would be a little much for me to carry along safely.

OMG!  I cant believe anyone would be so disrespectful.  I have only had this happen one time with Bear our 1st Rottie.  We had approx 50 people at our house for cookout.  Everyone loved him and he loved everyone.   We had one person come who had been drinking (not that we are opposed to drinking) but this cookout is a family thing.   He kept teasing Bear with a rib bone and we warned him not to do that.  He also kept getting down on his knees and getting in Bear's face.  Bear was just laying down as told and being a good boy.  Finally he nipped him, lol!  Everyone at the party was glad cause he had been warned and he left right after that.  Now had Bear meant to hurt him he could have but he did not leave his down position just nipped his nose.  That was the only time Bear ever nipped anyone.  I cant imagine some stranger on the street showing such disrespect.

In the instant moment I'm with Kim -- if you see him coming, trying to 'avoid' him is going to be impossible.  But while you still CAN, step off the sidewalk into the nearest driveway or street where it's safe and put BOTH dogs into a 'sit' and "Watch Me" -- for the next while keep the most lucious treats ON you that you can manage. 

Keep up a running diaglogue - "let Dad handle this and YOU watch ME.   What AWESOME dogs -- GREAT Watch me!  I'm SO pleased!"  Keep your voice NORMAL -- don't buy into being scared.  If they know any 'tricks' (shake a paw, lie down ANYTHING to be successful and lighten the mood -- DO IT to defuse it).  And if the guy comes at you, make a big deal out of the dog's ability to nail their eyes on YOU and that you are the ****ONLY BEING IN THE UNIVERSE WORTH WATCHING****

"That silly man just doesn't understand does he -- nope -- that YOU will keep your eyes on ME if I tell you to and that's exactly what you've been trained well to do.  I am SO PROUD of you!!!"

In the meantime your husband stands between you and the dogs and the agressor and says "Leave us a lone -- we've already reported your aggressive behavior to US to the cops."

But keep the dog(s) busy and occupied and "let ME handle it" (or let 'your husband's name' handle it). 

Keep your voice light -- let your dogs just think this is one more TRAINING OPPORTUNITY that **YOU** are in control of, and how smart they are to not be fooled by the silly man. 

He may well be dangerous so I'd be careful at home as well -- but he won't continue to plague you on walks if he can't get the rise out of the dogs he wants. 

spiritdogs

 I think Cita and Jackie are right on the money.  This guy is not threatening your dogs - he is threatening YOU.  In other words, he feels like he can win versus the dogs, and then you'd be powerless without them.  This is a dangerous person, IMO, because he is not willing to honor your request as the HUMAN who is uncomfortable, and you should create a "trail" with the police.  Just do not do it obviously - call them but don't say anything to the perp about it.  Tell the desk cop that the person has continued to harrass and unnerve you, making you afraid to walk in the neighborhood, despite your attempts to ask that he stop.  You might want to say that he seems to be agitating your dogs as if to see whether it might be safe to attack you if they don't react.  That tells the cops that you feel harrassed, not just the dogs.  And, it leaves evidence that the guy was "after you" if he gets more nervy and your dog does decide to defend you.  Guys like that, who like to make women squirm, are abusers - and you never know what they will do.

I'm pretty much with Ann on this one although he did it with DH there too - but this guy doesn't sound all there.  I also think it is a good idea to try to keep their focus on you - as you know this isn't always (OK rarely) possible with B so i know it is extremely difficult.  I also know that he would react intensely to someone doing this.  He doesn't even like it if DH does it in a playful way.  Trying to stare down a dog is asking for trouble.

Sorry I dont' have any great ideas but I am so sorry that he has interrupted your walks and is hassling the dogs - his elevator isn't getting all the way up!

Great advice from Anne. Personally, I think there's something very wrong upstairs with someone who has to make himself feel more "macho" by trying to intimidate an animal ... most likely the same sort of person who makes himself feel more manly by intimidating or abusing a person who is smaller or weaker.

Joyce

 I'm worried that he might have more sinster intentions. She lives in Texas with the new law that if your dog bites someone, the dog is euthanized and the owner is charged with a crime. He could be intentionally trying to incite a bite. He definitely is not right in the head.

Letting him know that he is frightening her is not a good idea either - that is just going to egg him on as that is what he is trying to do. Ignoring him and using him as a practice for 'watch me' is a good idea. That and calling the cops. It needs to be reported - to protect you, the dogs, and the general public.

I'm sorry you are having to deal with such an ignorant a$$. Stay safe.

Amy

 You've gotten some great advice already, the only thing I'd add is to make sure this guy isn't following you home - I'd be VERY worried that he'd do something awful if he knew where you lived, given his current behavior.

stardancnminpin

Letting him know that he is frightening her is not a good idea either - that is just going to egg him on as that is what he is trying to do. Ignoring him and using him as a practice for 'watch me' is a good idea. That and calling the cops. It needs to be reported - to protect you, the dogs, and the general public

There is a BIG diference between  saying calmly " You are bothering me, I have asked you to stop and you need to back off "  and egging him on. You have to stop to practice Watch Me. I would seriously not want her to stop walking. I don't want her to speed up either simply call the cops and if you are really freaking out walk up to the door of a nearby home or if possible a store and tell them there is someone trying to intimidate you and you want a police response.

I grew up in a big city and I learned quickly how to handle "odd" folks . I do think the comment that her may be deliberatly provoting your dog is not off base. However.... the police are not going to worry about your dog's discomfort as much as they will your own.

Hate it that you are going through all of this!!

Bonita of Bwana

i love Callies suggestion. i would do just that.

stardancnminpin

 I'm worried that he might have more sinster intentions. She lives in Texas with the new law that if your dog bites someone, the dog is euthanized and the owner is charged with a crime. He could be intentionally trying to incite a bite. He definitely is not right in the head.

Letting him know that he is frightening her is not a good idea either - that is just going to egg him on as that is what he is trying to do. Ignoring him and using him as a practice for 'watch me' is a good idea. That and calling the cops. It needs to be reported - to protect you, the dogs, and the general public.

I'm sorry you are having to deal with such an ignorant a$$. Stay safe.

Amy

i agree here too. it could be he's looking for a lawsuit - like some people will intentionally throw themselves in front of a car so they can sue the driver - all he needs is for one nip and you're in the bag.

i would make a report with the police but they may not take it seriously. in fact if you mention how easily your dogs are riled they might look more at YOU than him. i dont think they're going to chase him off for "looking at a dog". unless they are dog savvy that is.

I asked my brother's advice (he's a cop) and he says: There is such a thing as culpable negligence. have a record of calling the police saying he is taunting you and the dogs... you're a victim too. call the police and report he is harassing you. make it sound like the dogs are secondary. but also you need to walk in another area and avoid this guys house. it would look bad on you if your dogs did bite him and you knew all along they were being tempted. But if he's following you, constantly doing this and gets bitten then HE'S the one in trouble this time, not you. but MAKE THAT REPORT!

anyway i hope he goes away and you dont have to deal with him again. my brother also said (off the record and talking like a good ol' boy instead of a cop) "I'd just kick his ass for being an idiot" ....... and he would too.... 

Liesje

Most of the taunting we get is kids barking, growling, or yelling at my dogs. 

Kids in our neighborhood did this to Apollo, too. He's the big guy in the neighborhood....the biggest dog in the area and kind of goofy when it comes to kids- he loves them.....so unfortunately, he becomes a target for taunting. Thankfully, I have my brother (10 year old) who's the one of the "cool kids", lol. If one of the kids in our area tease Apollo and my brother's around, he'll step right up for Apollo, saying "Dude, why are you teasing my dog? That's not cool- at all." and the kids usually cut it out quickly. I just ignore them or ask, "Do you want to pat him? He's very friendly.", and usually the kids will say "yes" or shyly nod, so they pat him- usually extremely gently, and end up liking him, and Apollo loves it, too.

But....this man is grown. Honestly, I wouldn't hesitate to call the cops on him. I wouldn't even let him know I was doing it, because you don't know if he'll take off or what. Just have a car come by and talk to the guy, make sure he knows he's being watched, and it's documented if anything else comes up. I wouldn't converse with this stranger- ever. Just discretelycall the PD and let them handle it.

Also, I wouldn't make threats to him like, "Do you want me to drop the leash?" because that just adds fuel to this guys fire- you know? That is what this guy is looking for- a rise out of you and your dogs.

Some people are real jerks.

stardancnminpin

She lives in Texas with the new law that if your dog bites someone, the dog is euthanized and the owner is charged with a crime.

What? Is that limited to certain circumstances, or if your dog bites anyone, ever?

Amanda- there's lots of good advice on here. I agree with standing your ground, but not escalating the situation. And I definitely think you should go to the police asap.

While I don't think our law is if a dog bites a person under ANY circumstances, the dog is euthanized (Texas is big on self-defense and protection of property), it probably wouldn't go over well. Of course people would see the breeds involved and automatically make assumptions. Like several others have said, leaving a paper trail with the PD would be extremely important in this case. A guy who would taunt a couple of tough dogs in front of complete strangers probably has a lot of other issues with poor judgement/impulse control. Just in case (worse case scenerio) this nut job becomes aggressive or threatening and you have no other choice but to let your dogs deal with it, you want to make sure there's documentation that shows that YOU are the victim. I'd also be very careful about being followed home. Good luck & be safe.

Just an update.

DH called our neighborhood's security department today to discuss our problems with the person who we now refer to as the "insane guy." Security, told DH that I was am the fourth woman who this guy has hassled in the past two weeks. They gave DH his name, & his address, so now I have an idea where to try to avoid. He lives eight houses down from us.

We went & filed a police report, as have the other women who he has bothered. While talking with the officer, we were told that this guy has been convicted of assault in the past. He was sent to a mental hospital for the assault. The police are trying to find out if he is still under psychiatric care. If he is, as the suspect that he is, then they will share the reports with the psychiatrist.

DH will be running with us in the mornings, & we are going to drive downtown in the evenings to walk the dogs. I'm not thrilled with having to travel to walk the dogs, but I don't feel like it's safe to walk in our neighborhood right now.

I just wanted to say "Thank you" to everyone.  I wouldn't have filed a report had it not been suggested here.

BEVOLASVEGAS

Just an update.

DH called our neighborhood's security department today to discuss our problems with the person who we now refer to as the "insane guy." Security, told DH that I was am the fourth woman who this guy has hassled in the past two weeks. They gave DH his name, & his address, so now I have an idea where to try to avoid. He lives eight houses down from us.

We went & filed a police report, as have the other women who he has bothered. While talking with the officer, we were told that this guy has been convicted of assault in the past. He was sent to a mental hospital for the assault. The police are trying to find out if he is still under psychiatric care. If he is, as the suspect that he is, then they will share the reports with the psychiatrist.

DH will be running with us in the mornings, & we are going to drive downtown in the evenings to walk the dogs. I'm not thrilled with having to travel to walk the dogs, but I don't feel like it's safe to walk in our neighborhood right now.

I just wanted to say "Thank you" to everyone.  I wouldn't have filed a report had it not been suggested here.

Glad you did it.  In this case, I guess where there's smoke there's fire.  Mentally ill people often have little control over what they do or say, and obviously, while they are sick they can also be dangerous.  I'm glad you're taking precautions and not subjecting yourself to more encounters with this guy.