What action to take against aggressive dogs in UK?

Question

i was walking my dog up the mountain field today and these two small dogs came running at me and my dog, i thought nothing of it until ONE of them went to bite my dogs back leg, my dog is 2/3 times bigger than the attacking dog but it had my dog on the floor and went to bite him again, my dog refused to leave my side until shouted at to do so, (the other one didn't do anything, it just stood there) then the same dog started acting aggressively towards me, baring teeth, growling, lunging forward only to back up again, barking all the time, i tried to take my dog around it but it moved into our path again, blocking our only exit. then they suddenly ran of, thinking they're owner had called them i sent my dog to lie down and followed them, hoping to find an owner, turns out they are from a house with a garden backing onto the mountain and the gate was open, after more aggression and barking from the dog the owner came out, she stayed a distance from me making no effort to listen to what i was saying, i said that the dog had attacked my dog and threatened me, she simply replied that they wear her daughters dogs and that i should shut the gate then she left.

I'm not trying to be mean or anything but what action should i take?

should i report it to the police or wait until it happens again? I'm walking my dog there again tomorrow as i've done for years without these dogs being there.

sorry for the length and confusingness of the question! any answers would be greatly appreciated!! x

Answer 1

This sounds really mean to do, but about the next time those lil muts start bothering you I'd throw rocks at them.. and i'd also report it to animal control to at least have it all documented to be on the safe side. best of luck

Answer 2

We used to farm sheep, so if these dogs are running wild then they can pose a definite risk. I don't want to go into details, but even if they never touch the sheep, being chased by a dog can be distressing, they can run into things and if they are pregnant then it can damage the lambs (it can even cause them to abort)

I would ring the RSPCA and report it. Owners have to ensure their dogs are under control at all times.

Imagine how bad you would feel if you heard the dogs were out again and attacked a child. The owners may not thank you now, but by reporting them you could be saving them a hefty lawsuit later on.

Answer 3

Hmmm it's difficult. I don't believe in mindlessly reporting everything, but since the dogs were off leash, without a handler and the person at that time responsible for the dogs was either disinterested (the mother) or not present (the daughter), I would report it. That way it will be written down somewhere that the dog has been unsupervised and acted aggressively, should something happen again.