[Sora]

I didn't get harmed by him, thankfully, but I still think cornering me while barking and growling after chasing me is still considered as an "attack", right?

My mom had gone to our local Home Depot to get some gas for the grill outside, cause she was going to make us some burgers. I went outside with my camera to take some photos of the flowers we have, since they've bloomed, and I ended up lying on my stomach to get a better shot. Soon after I stand myself up to walk back into the garage (it has a built in screen door my dad put in, so we could open the garage door but yet keep it sealed from the outside so the cats could enjoy the fresh air), I hear barking. So I turned around and I see this dog sitting across the street. So I'm like, "okay, whatever" and I move maybe two steps. He growls and starts making his way into the street, coming towards our yard. Now where I was standing, the garage isn't near me. The front house door is. So I bolted it up the front porch to the door, only to find out it's locked. In the meanwhile, this dog runs into our yard and stops by the tree I was near and stands there, barking and growling at me, doing it even more with the slightest movement I made. I would have bolted for it and ran for the backdoor, but that's too far away around the house and up on the back porch and the dog was too close, he could have gotten me if I did that.

I heard some neighbors come outside into their own yard and I was about to yell at them for help, but the dog suddenly started turning around, sniffed at the ground a few times before walking away. As soon as he was back into the street, I got my ass off the porch and ran into the back yard and up onto the back porch and into the house through the slider door. As soon as I shut the door behind me, I burst into tears.

Just gives me another reason to be scared of dogs even more.

[Demonskid]

Oh wow.. I would be deathly afraid of dogs if that happened to me..

good thing you didn't get hurt. *huggles*

[Sora]

I was already afraid of dogs before. orz But yeah, this doesn't really help with my fear either.

[Demonskid]

May I ask why were you frightened of dogs in the first place? You don't have to answer ^^,

My mom is very scared of them just because they have fangs.. I'm uncomfortable around them cause I never get much contact with dogs.. but I don't think I'm afraid.

[Sora]

Because I've had bad luck with dogs before in the past. So I've grown to be afraid of them.

[Demonskid]

I see..

*huggles* well good thing it didn't get ya ><

I prefer cats =w=

[Taiki]

I would be terrified if that happened to me. X__x Aggressive dogs freak me out. I'd get chased by dogs every once in a while when I used to ride my bike to school and it's a scary feeling when they chase after you.

It's good to hear that you got away safely from it though!

[Ginger]

I saw my brother get attacked by dogs a long time ago. He was bitten on his leg and I've been kinda scared around dogs ever since.

[Desmond]

*hugs* That sounds terrifying and I love dogs. o.o

Now, I could go into a huge rant about that shouldn't have even happened in the first place because any dog, aggressive or not, should be contained within a fenced in yard or a house. >> Grr people.

Not all dogs are huge monsters. Mine is a huge pushover. Ask Ulti, he really is.

Picture of said dog:

Does he look like a menace? XD

[Syric]

I've had a couple of encounters with aggressive dogs in the past, but nothing severely bad. I own an american bulldog. He probably weight around 110 or so, pure muscle, but he's a big baby (though still an effective guard dog) and we keep him fenced in.
I guess a perk of being in law enforcement is I almost always have a handgun on me. That being said, if an aggresive dog comes after me, my bite is worse than his

[Lucifer]

As a kid a dog bit my finger, (the lady let me pet them but one of the two was a little more aggressive than the other, she gave me a Dolly Parton creepy barbie doll thing as an apology gift AKA to make sure we didn't get her dog in trouble, I guess?) and my ex's dog once latched onto my neck, I have a scar on my jawline from it :P
I have to admit certain big dogs scare me, but I still loves dogs too much (I feel an affinity for them, same with cats)

[Anonymous]

There's no such thing as aggressive dogs. Just stupid owners...
Any dog can be great if the owner actually took the time to properly socialize and train it.

A dog is not born agressive in my opinion. It's something that's learned from how it's handled.

[Quiet Man Cometh]

That's harsh. I love dogs, but I grew up with them (my parents had a great dane when I was a baby. I used him as a big toy of sorts, so I'm told). I think a lot of problems with dogs come from people not socializing their animals properly, or trainging them to simply behave when strangers are involved. It doesn't help that a lot of people use methods of interacting with dogs that are outdated. Sticking your hand in a dogs face to let it smell it can be asking for trouble if the dog is uneasy or nervous. The dog can smell you just fine from where you are standing.

I have been bitten three times by dogs. Once by a golden retriever who had just had puppies and didn't want company (the signs were there but being like 4 years old I wanted to pat her anyway), once by my spaniel that was ill and later put down, and once by a toy poodle that was afraid of me.

I can understand being afraid of dogs. I know they can have habits that would be frightening for people not aware of what the dog is doing. I know three dogs personaly that like to 'mouth' people they meet or like, grabbing into hands or arms and such to play or whatnot. Pit bulls are known to do it and my sister's pit-mix does it. He doesn't bite, and isnt' trying to hurt you but feeling teeth even lightly on one's hand can be frightening.

[Fey]

Okay, I've read this a few times and I hate to say it...but I don't think it was an attack. Yes, if you're wary of dogs it would feel like one, but I actually think the dog was trying to encourage you to play with it. I've worked with animals for 10 years and was 'raised' by them for the years prior to that. Often dogs will bark and growl to get your attention, 'asking' to have you interact/play with them. When you bolted for the door it probably thought you'd started a game of tag(part of why you never chase a loose dog). When you stopped and didn't do anything it figured you'd given up the game, hence the sniffing about.

Am I saying this wasn't aggression on the dogs part? No, I wasn't there, can only surmise from what you've said, but I've been around enough animals that's my first, third and fifth thought after reading it. Should you assume all dogs doing similar things are playing and not protect yourself? Heck no!

That all being said I would STRONGLY recommend talking to the neighbor that owns the dog(or have a friend/parent/someone if you're not comfortable about it) about having their dog loose. Most places consider that a violation of the leash laws, and if the dog SHOULD attack they can be charged with up to Assault with a Deadly Weapon(friend got served with that, we laughed even as we realized how serious it was). If you continue to see the dog out and about loose call your local ASPCA and report them, they'll talk to the owner and issues fines if it continues.

[Quiet Man Cometh]

The dog might have been being territorial as well, which also doesn't necessarily mean agressive. I've been charged by dogs on the street a couple times. I keep and eye on them but usually just go about my business and not bother to react. Both occasions they stopped barking a few feet away and walked off when they saw I wasn't reacting to them. Dogs can interpret running as an invitation to chase. If that's what they're looking for they will quit when they realize you aren't playing along.

[Sarah]

I'm a cat person as well.. I hate aggresive dogs too. ones with aggresive type manners. like my boyfriends current dog... >_> it finally likes me now but that thing is soooo stupid. it doesn't even get along with other dogs. =3= I dunno~ not a dog person.