I did at 5:40 in the morning on this particular day.
More importantly they were "on my planet", which is to say they were so involved in texting or playing some game that the guy didn't realize that he was about to have a Dog Incident.
Not to worry, I had read Rack's reaction to the two Schnauzers or Scotties and nothing happened.
Hey, Buddy, Pay Attention, you Bonehead!
Actually I defused the situation a lot more politely. Having seen this person before, I knew his dogs were out of control. While Mr X was standing there engrossed in what he was doing on the small screen instead of building a relationship with these two living and breathing creatures, those same creatures had spotted us.
His dogs had went into an aggressive stance. They crossed to his rear and formed an X across his back with the leashes. Rack at this time had walked to the far side of me and had stretched out my arm to get as far away as possible.
I used The Voice. This is the Command Voice that I can use well. Lots of booming sound, designed to wake someone up and draw attention.
"Are They Friendly?"
I knew better, having seen these dogs before, I had seen them lunging and growling both at me, my dog, and others in the same situation. Clearly this is someone who should not have a dog, let alone two.
"Oh Sure, they're friendly!" Then he noticed it was me and looked away as far as possible. As he was gathering his dogs together, I passed.
Of course my thumb had just flicked the safety switch on my Taser Flashlight that was in my pocket, and I had it out at my opposite side. I pretended to look at an object with the light thereby proving that everything was energized in case I needed protection. It either is a Flashlight or a Taser but not both. I generally need to watch, and that flashlight gets taken out of the pocket other than to light my path a startling amount of times, roughly every fourth or fifth walk.
Having gone through a dog bite incident, I simply wasn't going to walk blindly into that situation again. There are just too many bad dog owners out there. The dogs can be trained. The people are questionable.
I see this far too often. Living in a resort town, Wilton Manors, people come here literally from all over the world. They take a lot of time and effort to get here. So what do they do when they get here? Pull out the smartphone, sit in front of a coffee shop, and ignore the world.
I could have saved you vacationers a lot of time, if you really wanted to use that phone, you could have done that on your own couch.
As for the locals who have the little yappers? A dog is a dog is a dog. They all can be trained, even the dinky little Frou Frou dogs that city dwellers have a preference for and some people feel it is appropriate to stuff into a purse. That is to say that somewhere deep down there is that spirit of a Wolf. If you don't take control of your dog, your dog will take control of you.
You have been "owned". Or "Pwned" as Them Thar Kids say now a days. And it is never appropriate to stuff a dog into a purse. A dog is not an object, it is an intelligent and sentient being.
Your dog will take control of the situation. Since dogs are territorial beasts, they will growl, show teeth, and go to protect what they think their territory is. That is to say, you.
On the other hand, a well trained dog is welcomed just about anywhere. Many restaurants and shops will allow a well trained dog in. If your dog is lunging and growling and barking, it is not well trained and simply does not belong in public.
Some people don't need a dog, a plush toy would do, or even a picture of a plush toy may be more appropriate.
So every time you go out and see a dog in a shop or a restaurant, watch the interaction. It really isn't that hard to tell if the person is over their head and needs training. The dog has trained them to be in the back seat and is now in charge anyway.
As for the rest of our walk? I got well away from that dumbwalker and dropped Rack's leash. When there
Where're we gonna go, Dad? Huh? Walkies? GREAT!
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