Protect yourself and pet against aggressive dogs

Q: What do I do when I am walking my dog on a leash and a loose aggressive dog comes after my dog? Our neighborhood has a lovely nature trail that is dog-friendly and I walk there every day. One day, a dog who lives right by the entrance of the park, broke loose from its chain and came after my dog. If the owner had not been there to grab her dog, I don’t know what I would have done. I have thought of carrying a small spray bottle with water in it, what do you think? — Holly Fairfield, Franklin Park, Pennsylvania

A: A spray bottle is really not practical to use in a situation like what you described. What works for me is to carry an umbrella that can be popped open at the touch of a button.

If you just point the umbrella at the charging dog as it is running up to you and then pop it right open it will startle the charging dog. In most cases, the dog will re-evaluate the situation and find something better to do as there is now a barrier between itself and you.

If you are going to do this though, I would advise you to practice opening the umbrella in your own backyard while holding your dog on the leash so your dog gets used to it. You do not want to do this and then have the umbrella spook your dog as well as the one charging at you.

Q: I have an 8-year-old Maltese male dog that sleeps on my bed every night. He has the strangest behavior: When we first wake up every morning, he goes for my hand and licks it ferociously for about a minute, then settles down to normal behavior. It’s like compulsive. Is he just saying good morning, or is he getting something (like salt) from my hand? — Daisy Evans, Spartanburg, South Carolina

A: If your little dog was licking your skin because it tasted good then he likely would do it all day. Most likely this greeting ritual started as face licking, however, at one point you either inadvertently redirected the activity from your face to your hand or the dog did it himself.

Now you ask if it is compulsive, and I can’t say with certainty, but I think that this is more of a simple morning ritual than anything else. Of course I do not know everything and perhaps it is something completely different but this seems to be the most logical explanation.