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Thanks Adrienne for the additional information. Since your last post, we decided to pull Bailey from the daycare. During the summer season it gets very busy due to vacations and weekend getaways. On the last occasion we had Bailey there, they placed him back into the general population (haha) due to how busy they were and upon picking him up at the end of the day we noticed he had an large open gash on his lip that required a course of antibiotics. Of course, it could have occurred as a result of exuberant play but the fact that he sustained an injury that coincided with the facility placing him on the side where he's had all his past issues, was enough for me to make the decision to keep him out permanently. It was evident to me at this point that continuing to bring him to the facility was going to lead to a more serious injury, it was just a matter of time. That decision was further reinforced when I happened to chat with another dog owner at the dog park whose dog required multiple stitches due to a fight at the same facility. In retrospect, I should have listened to my gut, and pulled him a long time ago as I sensed he was having issues even before the first fight (cue the guilt). Since then I have found another daycare. We have not had him there yet (the trainer would like to meet him and interact with him first), but I was quite surprised by the stark contrast with the protocols of this facility compared to the other. First they have a full-time trainer (force free, positive-based) at the facility. Secondly, there is someone personally supervising the dogs at all times, usually multiple staff members if it is quite busy. The staff personally monitor the dogs and often interact with them, but at no time are the dogs left unsupervised. As well, they incorporate video should an incidence occur that requires further review and investigation. The staff members and owners were shocked that the previous facility did not supervise the dogs and left them to their own devices. The downside is it's a 30 minute drive, so we're looking at other options such as play dates with dogs we know he gets along well with. Thanks again, for all the help and advice!!

Hi Adrienne, Thanks for that great info (as always). It actually happened to me again today (I must have jinxed myself) before I had read this response. I had spotted a pair of stray dogs running together on my walk today, one Husky and another larger dog. Two larger dogs or more running together is the nightmare scenario, so I did an u-turn and went in the opposite direction towards an area with more people (in case the dogs came by and I needed assistance). On the walk, I was fortunate that I spotted the dogs off in the distance before my boy Bailey had noticed them, and fortunately the dogs didn't see us. The dogs later passed by the house after our walk so I noticed they didn't have a collar or tags on. Animal control was not available today (Saturday), so I informed the authorities, however the Husky (gorgeous dog) seemed friendly as he paid no mind to my dog barking at him through the window and I witnessed a few elderly people ride their bike or walk past him and he paid them no attention. I'm going to start carrying extra treats and I have found a citronella based spray on Amazon, so thank you. I'm also to work on attention heeling and emergency turns in the meantime. And, thank you Adrienne for the permission to use and reference your info for my blog. I reference you often from other articles I find on the internet that you have written, as I find they are the best source of information. I am affiliate for Brain Training and I have actually purchased and test-driven most of the popular dog training programs out there (over a half-dozen of them) and yours is easily the best program and the best value, so I recommend it with confidence. Cheers, Ralph

Just chiming in to say that it's great that you followed up and provided the list of force-free trainers to your vet. As the saying goes "Give a Man a Fish, and You Feed Him for a Day. Teach a Man To Fish, and You Feed Him for a Lifetime".

Hi there! I hear you, this has happened to me several times. We don't have many strays where I walks dogs, but we have neighbors with dogs who sometimes escape their yards. Some are friendly, others are fearful/territorial, others I don't know what their clear intent is, so I always use the upmost caution. In these cases, my personal "go-to" approach is to carry extra treats in my treat bag and "treat bomb" the dog. In other words, I will aim to scatter the treats in the dog's direction hoping to distract him (several treats end up bouncing off of him) and that he realizes that we "come in peace." If we meet the dog several times, with time, rep after rep, I even see a change in his body language, from being /territorial/fearful/aggressive to calmer, and even happier anticipation. However, this won't work will all dogs. That's why I like to carry with me a can of Spray Shield which was crafted by dog trainer Grisha Stewart. It's sprays citronella in a sudden burst which stops dogs in their tracks. I used it on a group of Chihuahuas one day which had bitten the ankles of another dog (another neighbors' dog) walking by, and they turned around and headed back home. I have never tested it though on a large dog with a serious intent to harm, there may be chances it may not work. Hopefully, we will never make such an encounter! I also make sure the dogs I walk have some training in attention heeling past dogs https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/heeling-attention-heeling/ and use emergency u-turns if the dog is heading our way. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/emergency-u-turn/ I have personally found that once we distance ourselves past what the dog perceives as his territory, the dog will go back to his property and we'll then use a different route. However, I aim to walk dogs in areas I am pretty familiar with and that I know there are no stray, aggressive dogs. Had to sometimes drive to some areas if there were dogs I didn't trust around other dogs. Edited to add: I was notified of an earlier post, but can't see it anymore. Feel free to use the info provided on dealing with stray dogs in your blog, you can quote me as Adrienne Farricelli, dog trainer and author of Brain Training For dogs (link to this website). If you haven't already, you may be interested in joining our affiliate program that allows you to monetize on your blog. If interested contact: [email protected] or visit this page for more info: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/affiliates/ Happy training! Best, Adrienne