I don't have much experience with dogs, much less untrained off leash ones. One is pretty big (a lab maybe?) and always runs right up to me and my wife barking territorially whenever I'm out in my garden, and doesn't stop until one of my neighbor's kids comes and gets them. I've had dogs try to fight me before and they make me really nervous. I just want to touch grass :(

How should I be responding to the dog when this happens?

  • Quimby [any, any]
    ·
    2 years ago

    I know it's hard, but as another poster said, the dog can quickly become habituated to you. There are a few key behaviors when interacting with dogs:

    • high-pitched friendly voice. the reason people use baby talk with animals is because it's a universal signal for "I'm not a threat"
    • If your neighbor agrees, stand there and wait until there's a pause in the barking, then toss a treat (cheerios are a great low calorie option that won't ruin the dogs diet. if it's a bigger dog and cheerios are potentially too small, seedless watermelon can be a nice option.) you're doing two things here: making friends with the dog while also not rewarding the barking (by waiting until it stops)
    • stay calm. I know it's hard, but staying calm yourself will help calm the dog down and take it from a "reactive" state to a more thoughtful state of mind. when one of my dogs is barking, I have a family member who will turn to it and very calmly go "excuse me. come over here. I'd like to have a word with you" while looking at the dog sort of sternly. the dog gets sort of confused and basically goes "oh. uh. yeah... ok. sure." and gets sort of apologetic.
    • slow, deliberate body movements
    • Ideology [she/her]
      ·
      2 years ago

      ^ This is the better comment. I just added provisions for if neighbors are being unbearably irresponsible jerkwads.