pixeloriousspriteson
New member
We had an unleashed dog run up on us today. It ran out of its house. As I saw the dog approaching I went into full calm/adrenaline/survival mode, NO panic NO anxiety. I feel that my dog’s reaction was a complete reflection of what happened to me psychologically in that moment. She did NOTHING. No growling, no lunging, no barking (and she LOVES to bark). Her hackles were up and that’s it.
I heard it’s owners yelling before I saw the dog running and once I saw him, b-lining right towards us, I honestly thought of all the content I’ve been reading here and scrolling past on Tiktok and IG (all my algorithms are all dogs)
and thought, “ok here it is, now is when it happens to us.”
I thought of something I saw about lifting UP on the other dog’s collar if it’s attacking. So I stood there standing straddled over my dog (I think, anyway, it’s a bit of a blur), calmly but also fully ready, waiting for the dog to get to us so I could grab it’s collar. I didn’t scream, I didn’t try and move, we just stood there totally still and ready. I’m so grateful my instinct kicked in and seemed to keep my super reactive dog super calm. The owners yelled “he won’t bite!” and in my head I thought, “yeah well she might!”
I don’t fully even know what happened when he got to us. I think I grabbed his collar, I maybe grabbed her collar too. They sniffed each other and circled around me, and then the owners got to him.
They were mortified and apologetic and I was kind and forgiving, which also felt good. I certainly have no room to be impatient with someone else’s dog doing something the owners don’t want it to do. And I’m not optimistic she’d recall after zeroing in on something and going for it. My dog and I stood/sat still for like 30 seconds once the other dog was gone, and my dog shook it off and we had a nice walk after that. I shook it off too literally.
And writing this post was the first thing on my mind
I told my bf “all that scrolling was worth it.”
ETA: I’m normally very anxious about the smallest thing. I think it’s so interesting that in the face of actual risk/danger, I had a calm response. But in the face of imagined danger that I make up in my head, I could spiral in fear for an hour.
I heard it’s owners yelling before I saw the dog running and once I saw him, b-lining right towards us, I honestly thought of all the content I’ve been reading here and scrolling past on Tiktok and IG (all my algorithms are all dogs)
and thought, “ok here it is, now is when it happens to us.” I thought of something I saw about lifting UP on the other dog’s collar if it’s attacking. So I stood there standing straddled over my dog (I think, anyway, it’s a bit of a blur), calmly but also fully ready, waiting for the dog to get to us so I could grab it’s collar. I didn’t scream, I didn’t try and move, we just stood there totally still and ready. I’m so grateful my instinct kicked in and seemed to keep my super reactive dog super calm. The owners yelled “he won’t bite!” and in my head I thought, “yeah well she might!”
I don’t fully even know what happened when he got to us. I think I grabbed his collar, I maybe grabbed her collar too. They sniffed each other and circled around me, and then the owners got to him.
They were mortified and apologetic and I was kind and forgiving, which also felt good. I certainly have no room to be impatient with someone else’s dog doing something the owners don’t want it to do. And I’m not optimistic she’d recall after zeroing in on something and going for it. My dog and I stood/sat still for like 30 seconds once the other dog was gone, and my dog shook it off and we had a nice walk after that. I shook it off too
literally. And writing this post was the first thing on my mind
I told my bf “all that scrolling was worth it.”
ETA: I’m normally very anxious about the smallest thing. I think it’s so interesting that in the face of actual risk/danger, I had a calm response. But in the face of imagined danger that I make up in my head, I could spiral in fear for an hour.
