I was wondering if anyone has any advice or suggestions. Or has had this happen to them. I was just walking with my dog and I came across a lady I had seen before whom every time I see her she puts her dog on a leash. I witnessed last week her dog and another dog get into a fight. Her dog being the instigator.

When she approached me she waited until she was approximately 10 feet away and put her dog on the leash. My dog took her for hers, she then proceeded to kick my dog. I found this rather strange, upsetting and downright rude and cruel. First, my dog wasn't harming hers. Second, she should never kick a dog.

We proceeded to scream at one another. Her explanation is that my dog doesn't come when told and that she has had to take her dog to the vet several times to fix cuts on his face. My explanation being, I just arrived in the area and I've only seen her and her dog twice and the first time your dog was fighting with another dog. I just tried to explain that I will make sure my dog listens to me and that she has no right kicking a dog. Especially wearing boots!

I live in Kilchberg and it's a pretty small community and we see a lot of the same dogs during our walks. My swiss next door neighbor whom is great just said to leave it be and ignore the lady. I will try to keep my dog away from her but I really cannot let it rest at just that. Any suggestions on what I should do?

Honestly, I had to talk myself out of kicking her a$$.

did she not boot your dog so that her dog wouldn't give it a going over?

I have a very large siberian husky who was abandoned and thus not too social with other dogs. It has taken time, but now all the dog owners round here know that we don't play.

Funnily enough though he has never attacked any dogs but has been bitten twice by dogs off the leash. Hence I reckon the lady in your story booted your dog to keep it away in case her animal caused it damage, or she was worried your dog might bite hers.

Put your dog on a leash.

Like I said I'm willing to take responsibility for my dog. Therefore, he will go on a leash.

But that was of the cruelest things I've ever seen, and I lived in New York for 6 yrs.

You DON'T kick dogs!!!

Buy a leash for the lady and hand it to her the next you see her, whilst explaining to her that she needs to be leashed against dogs

I have, when one went after my daughter (she was 3). It was cruel, but I care more for my daughter than a dog (it was unleashed and she was holding my hand).

Like Tilia said, put it on a leash.

As a fellow New Yorker I take my hat off to you for being so kind, because I would have kick the BITCH dog as well! No one should harm an animal just because, leash or no leash!

I'm not sure if you read the story above, but the dog was not attacking a child, just trying to play with another dog. So please don't bring your irrelevant comment into this thread.

Further, most people in the area do not have their dogs on their leashes. It is recommended that if a dog off the leash comes up to your dog you are either supposed to let them off their leash or drop the leash. My dog is neither mean nor aggresive and does not deserve to be kicked especially considering he only weighs 14 pounds.

Please don't assume that because my dog was off his leash he deserves to be kicked.

Our dog is also from a shelter... Still no reason to kick a dog. This comment was simply looking to get advice on whom we might contact or if anyone has had a similar experience with this woman in the area. PLEASE TAKE NOTE, IT IS NOT OK TO KICK A DOG!

I disagree. It may be ok to kick a dog when the dog goes after a human.

It is not ok to kick a dog without reason.

Thanks for reading tomcat.... this is still not a story about a dog going after a human though. While your commentary is appreciated, this is not a story about a dog going after a human... still.

No, I just like being irreverent.

Recommended by whom? Your dog is neither mean or aggressive to you, but it is a dog. And at 14 pounds your dog weighs 3 times more than mine. I leash mine when other dogs come up because, I do not know what might happen.

I try not to assume anything.

In my experience, when a dog owner who is walking his or her dog(s) off leash sees another dog, they usually put the leash on their dog. The reason for this is just to be sure the animal is under control. This is common practice even with dogs that are obedient and not vicious. I always walk our dogs on leads but this is what I have observed.

There was no justification for kicking your dog. This is cruel and your dog could have been injured.

Given what you had already observed about this other dog, I am a bit surprised that you did not avoid the dog in the first place, which would have best been accomplished by using a leash on your dog when you saw the other dog.

It's that way in a lot of villages, where you get to know the dogs and their owners. I know the Bernese down the road, who is never on a leash, will come over and give my dogs a sniff and he is completely harmless. I know the farmers' dog a few doors away will bark furiously when we walk by, will not get too close, but he is equally harmless.

I have to agree with your neighbour, just leave things alone and avoid her dog.

I just want to add that I was a victim of an accident caused by a dog that was off leash. The owner called his dog but it refused to listen. My 3 dogs were of much greater interest. In order to protect my dogs I ended up the victim. I have seen a dog that is so obedient that it walked by my 3 dogs without taking any notice of them. But, in my opinion, this is rare. Dogs that are social want to say hello. In time you will get to know the owners and their dogs in your village, who can be approached, etc. For now I recommend a leash.

I think what you experienced is an isolated display of cruelty. Makes me wonder how that owner treats her own dog?

Wow, thanks to all the meaningful advice and sympathy to a new family experiencing difficulties a long way from home! I wish you all the best in your time here and I hope you don't experience anything like what we did today. I hope if you do, you manage to find people who are kind and give you compassionate advice on how to handle the situation instead of what we have found here.

Warmest Regard

Dear Mrs. Doolittle, that was exactly the kind of advice I was looking for. My sincere thanks!

Yes you do, if you feel threatened. And I consider all dogs not on leash as a threat. Depending on the magnitude of the threat this might be a light kick or an attempt to knock the dog down for good.

I see this guy when walking my 3 labs, he doesn't have his dogs on a lead (or a robi-dog bag either ) and one seems to be very short fused. I always take my dogs into the field to let this guy with his yapping muts past, and avoid any situations. Our dogs are pretty laid back normally, but the bitch in particular will stand no nosense.

Anyway one walk I see him coming and decide that if he's to fat and lazy to control his dogs, I'll just let him keep coming. He ended up, with his dogs by the scruff of their neck shaking them, the dogs going mentals, no lead i sight and him hurling abuse at me in Swiss.... which was very impressive as the cigarette never left his lips. My dogs just sat and looked bemused at all the fuss, and I was equally stumped at his behaviour. I mentioned this to a neighbour who said yes he and his dogs are well known!

In short my dogs are always on a lead.... JIC, unless I'm in the middle of nowhere, with unfenced pasture then they get a chance to run.

Forgive me if I misunderstood, but just what kind of advice where you looking for? Someone to tell you to go ahead and do what you had to talk yourself out of?

What you experienced is, in my opinion, not typical behaviour of a dog owner and if you feel that strongly, find out who she is, and report her to the animal protection authorities. I bet the local vet knows who she is so you can try asking there.

I am sure in time you will find other like minded dog owners and your dog may even be invited over for a play date. I know dog owners who get together so their dogs can play together. Usually one person has a fenced property and the dogs can run around and have a great time. We don't do this as we already have 3 dogs and I still want to be on speaking terms with my neighbours.

You were wrong for allowing your dog to approach hers without her permission. She was (very) wrong to kick your dog - that was inexcusable.

But two wrongs don't make a right.

Mrs Doolittle's post is spot on. In general, it is expected that if you come across a dog on lead, you should call your dog over to you and keep him/her under control. If your dog is trained to recall to you instantly and stay reliably at your side, fine. But if your dog has less than instant reliable recall, you should re-leash your dog.

Similarly, you should recall or re-leash your dog whenever you pass a person. Don't allow your dog to approach a person without his/her permission.

Granted, many people simply let their dogs run unattended: the "Der macht nichts" brigade. Who give all dog owners a bad name.

If you have a friendly, well socialized dog who loves all others, count your lucky stars - but even so, please don't allow your dog to approach a dog you don't know without first taking a few seconds to ask the owner if it is OK for the two dogs to meet.

Most people are happy for the dogs to do so - so taking the time to ask permission was two seconds well spent. Some owners feel it best for their dog not to interact in such circumstances, for a variety of reasons.

Please respect the other owner's decision, and keep your dog under control until the person with the on-lead dog has passed by.

Conflict avoided, everybody gets a happy walk.

A dog off a leash is not a threat, just what you perceive to be, and that is not necessarily the reality of the situation. There are many people who are afraid of dogs and do not know how to behave around a dog as they were never taught. At the moment there is a program running in our local schools called "Prevent a Bite." It's aimed at educating young children on how to behave around a dog, and none of the dogs used in the program are on a leash.

I can assure you that kicking a dog will get you into more trouble than standing perfectly still.