Friday, August 25, 2006

Would You Take On a German Shepherd to Defend Your Dog?

Today while I was walking my dog Zeke, we were confronted by an aggressive German Shepherd. We were walking on the side of the road and approaching a house when a dog inside started to bark at the front door. Then the dog put its paws up on the front door, and the door wasn’t latched. Here came a big, barking German Shepherd. Yikes!

Zeke and I stopped and waited (only seconds) while the barking dog ran at us. The dogs started to sniff each other. An older woman in a house dress came out of the house and yelled, "Lady, get back here." She addressed her dog, but she stopped at the sidewalk and didn’t come any closer to try to retrieve it.


I noticed that Lady’s hackles were standing on end and wondered how much longer the sniffing would last until she bit my dog. Not long. She backed up a bit and growled and lunged. That’s when my mother bear instinct took over.

I yelled a guttural, "No!" And pulled Zeke behind me. "Back off Dog, or I’ll beat the crap out of you," I yelled.

Lady backed up to the sidewalk but continued barking- at us. She growled and moved toward us again, but I fended her off by swinging the end of the leash at her like I was going to hit her. I may have yelled too, but I’m not sure. I just know that I was not going to let her bite my dog.

Finally the owner grabbed Lady – mostly because Lady had moved onto the sidewalk – and Zeke and I continued walking down the street.

As we walked away, I found my heart racing. Guess it was from the adrenaline. After a few yards I finally realized what I’d done – I’d taken on a German Shepherd in defense of my dog. Whoa! What was I thinking?

When I got home (with no more confrontations), I told my husband about my escapade. "And to think I did that to defend our dog. Just imagine what I’d do to defend one of our kids!"

I hope I never have to find out.

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