Big Black Dog

After four months one would think I’d be over the trauma of the attack, but I still struggle with it. I was walking my daughter and our dogs on the Alamo Creek Trail when we came across a large, black dog coming slowly towards us. When we came upon the dog we noticed that it was off leash, and it’s owner was nowhere to be seen.

Nothing bad happened, but it was extremely anxiety provoking. I held the leashes of both dogs tightly, and I began walking slowly in the opposite direction. Soon I met up with another couple that was also walking the trail. They were acting scared of the black dog too. Finally the owner rounded the bend of the trail, and yelled ahead to us that the dog was not dangerous, but it was too late. All four of us were frightened anyway.

When the owner came by, the couple mentioned that the dog looked like it was going to attack, and I said that the dog should be on a leash. The man simply walked by without calling or leashing his pet. There was the vibration of conflict in the air. I’ve heard people say there is no such thing as a bad dog, just bad dog owners. It makes me wonder what they mean. How can a dog be harmless, if its owner is hostile? This man was hostile, and vehemently defending his right to walk his dog off leash when it is clearly posted on our trail that dogs may NOT be off leash. How could his dog be friendly, if the owner wasn’t?

I thought we were done for – again! I moved slowly away because I wanted to slow time down. I needed time to think about what I should do. It was as if I was willing time to stand still so I could come up with a plan to safely get us out of there. I was so relieved when nothing bad happened. I was literally bracing myself for blood and guts, and nothing like that occurred. I wondered how I could have missed the "calming signals" the black dog was sending out. I’d been studying the signals so I can help Roxie feel comfortable, and it’s been working.

A couple of the signals were evident, when I reviewed what happened later. The dog had it’s nose towards the ground as if it was sniffing (calming signal #1), it was also walking around and away from us in a curvy line (calming signal #2). Because the dog never looked away, or broke eye contact, I jumped to the worst conclusion. I panicked, and thought it was a threat. I was wrong, and here is why.

I believe dog to person eye contact can be misleading. We often reward our dogs by doing two things until they learn that these human signals are not a threat. The first is eye contact. We love it when our dogs make eye contact with us; we interpret it as looking at us lovingly. The second is showing our teeth. We smile, and it means we are happy, amused, or in a good mood. Dogs that have been in close contact with humans have learned that eye contact and showing teeth from humans is not dangerous. This may be the reason that black dog felt okay when it made eye contact. I still wonder about the temperament of that black dog, but I will likely never see it again.