They were being walked, by a Rottweiller cross, a pitbull cross and a Chihuahua cross. I had my own dog Piper, who is not great when confronted by dogs in tight or confined spaces. This bad situation was going to get worse if I didn't get control of it right away; it was clear the two young adults were in way over their heads.
These three strong-minded dogs, with the Chihuahua clearly in charge, were already raising their hackles and tails and lowering their heads - behaviours of an impending attack. Since the area was too narrow for Piper to diffuse the situation with play, he began looking for an exit route. Thick blackberry bushes to our left and a fence to our right left him the option of turning and running or to move forward for the fight. I didn't want him to do either; I had to find a way to quickly turn things around.
Years ago I would have looked at the young gal with her facial piercings and judged her ability as a dog owner. I would have rolled my eyes at the young shirtless man with his pants hanging off his backside showing off his designer ginch and thought to myself, "What a surprise: you have a Rottweiller and pitbull." But now I realize these two adolescents are trying to find their way in life and are just looking for attention. They didn't get lessons in self-confidence and self-respect; I had no intention of contributing by judging or criticizing them.
Some people might have plowed through them, figuring if they couldn't control their dogs and something happened, there would be verbal abuse or threats of litigation. Others would sneer with displeasure at being "put out," and turn around to walk in the other direction.
I chose to "pull a Piper," genuinely smiled at them and spoke to them with respect.
"Hey you little cutie," I addressed the barking Chihuahua. The pitbull mix started to change his body language and stopped walking to watch and listen to me. This in turn slowed the Rottweiller mix down.
"Holy smokes, you guys sure have your hands full with that handsome pack." I said, again with a genuine smile.
The young girl's eyes softened, her shoulders relaxed and she looked at me instead of through me. The young man still avoided eye contact.
"My dog Piper here really loves other dogs, but feels really threatened right now.
I know you have good dogs. How about if I get him off to the side a bit and you guys can walk by with your crew."
This caught the young man's attention as I was making way for him. He was strutting his stuff and I let him. When he looked at me I smiled and gave him a friendly wink, just so he felt good about himself for taking a moment to consider someone other than himself. He reeled his dogs in close and they walked by without incident. I thanked them for their help.
As I looped around the trail I ran into them again. This time they smiled first and got their dogs to sit and let Piper and me walk past. I nodded my head in appreciation and returned a smile.
Consider taking a cue from our dogs when conflict arises.
A genuine smile and friendly compromise will surely help put out the fires of anger.
