It's probably not something I would remember to do, but if one boisterous dog is approaching too fast and my dog is scared, would it be worth trying to distract it with a few treats thrown towards it on the floor and trying to get its attention on me rather than Elles?

If it is a thought, what would be the most likely treat to distract it and the least likely for it to have a sensitivity problem with?

What if there's more than one dog? Would throwing a load of treats on the floor start an argument?

I wouldn't normally call a dog 'it' but this is a hypothetical dog.

What suggestions do you guys have for preventing an untrained, boisterous or aggressive dog or dogs getting to my dog and keeping it from bouncing all over her, or snapping at her? She's too young to deal with it herself most of the time, so I'd like a strategy.

Thanks for putting on your post i will be interested to see any help PF s can give advice, as i have a dog who due to being attacked in the past is weary of dogs that come bounding up to him
Today while out he was on lead a dog came bounding up to him(off lead) and was jumping all over my dog, the owner would not recall or put her dog on lead, my dog was barking and growling but other dog would not leave my dog alone i could see how distressed my dog was getting so against my better judgement i picked him up, and walked off in tears. i have tried so hard to socialise my dog then this happens.

treats/food is something I would be dubious about using to be honest. Food and treats is one of the major things that if dogs are going to kick off about that will be it. If you havent got a clue what the dogs temperaments like,
it could guard the food and snap, try to lunge at your one, or if she too goes for a treat it could attack her.

The few times its happened to me, ive used a loud Hey or Ahh Ahh to stop the dog before it gets to mine, and sent it on its way. Must admit though its not something I would suggest you perhaps do either. The few times Ive just done it without thinking or no thought of consequence.

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I wouldn't use treats as it might fuel a situation.

I have problems as Monty has fear aggression.

Off lead when playing ball he is better but he just wants to be left alone. Once we had this young GSD off lead kept coming over and he was too bouncy and both mine were getting stressed.

We asked the young owner ( about 13) to get her dog away and she replied "it's ok if he bites it won't hurt"

Poor Milly was terrified as the dog stood over her and she was underneath him. Eventually they went off.

Anyway they went off and then it can charging over to us again!! hubby got annoyed and said to it " f**k off" and it did

So you could try that

No seriously I'm not sure as I would need that help too

I would probably be on guard anyway looking for dogs approaching and either moving mine out of the way so there is enough distance to pass or go in another direction.

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For a dog to eat it must not be stressed - throwing food is probably unlikely to help the situation if an incoming threat is seen by the dog - what is the message you are giving the dog?

• It's feeding time?
  
• You are stressed by the fast approaching dog here is your reward for being stressed/scared?
  
• There is food - it's yours but you need to protect that food from the incoming dog?

In your situation you need to have your dog calm as possible and your dog will look to you to be calm, set the tone for the inevitable encounter.

Picking your own dog up in such a situation can do two things, support and reinforce the emotion the dog is feeling - ie fear. And encourage the other dog to jump at at you/your dog.

Personally I would place myself between my small dog and an aggressor with a firm NO and hope that the other dog is put off, if not I would agress the other dog, stand my ground and be firm.

Running away can encourage a chase.

In most cases the other dog is probably only interested in sniffing your dog as a doggie socialisation but attempted to mount or fight would again cause me to assert that my dog is under my protection and not available for the "bolshy dog".

Escalation beyond this point goes beyond the scope of the OPs question so I'll stop at this point.

Water spray/pet corrector if your dog is very scared, and a firm no.

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This was my thought too for this situation. And a stern word for anyone who refuses to recall their dog. You have a right not to be accosted.

Both my dogs are confident when others come rushing over, not that it happens all that often. When Kite was little, about 13 -14 weeks, a young great Dane came bounding over, Kite screamed and ran behind my legs. The Dane's owners ran over, thinking their dog had hurt Kite, but by that time Kite had come out from behind me and approached the Dane, who had stopped. They greeted and sniffed nicely. I didn't do anything, I look at the body language of the approaching dog, if it's just over-exuberant, my dogs can see that too.

I've not worked out what to do that works yet.

I didn't have this problem with my first pup years ago when straying dogs was a big problem because the one place they didn't go was the park! So maybe going to less populated places with your well socialised pup is a solution until your pup is bigger and trained to ignore other dogs unless you allow play. I've found some intruding dogs find your dog too boring to pester if yours is glued to your heel watching you and just takes no notice of it.

Also on the basis that when dogs that have been punished for running off hear "Come" shouted at them in an angry voice they run the opposite direction so I yelled "Come here you brute" at one that was out without its owner and blimey it shot off.

You could yell "catch your dog" as you catch yours but some don't.

One of mine about 5 months old was playing nicely with a big dog but the silly thing got over-excited and started nipping so mine came running to hide between my legs for protection. Her dog bit my leg and arm. Spraying her dog with water might have helped.

I would possibly use a pet corrector in a real dire emergency of being attacked maybe.
But one caution, if you have a fearful nervous dog yourself, and they are frightened or unsure of other dogs, using a pet corrector on a pretty regular basis can make your dog worse still. It could make it noise sensitive, get more nervous of dogs approaching as the Hiss which is something extra to frighten it more will occur on a regular basis, creating something fearful to associate with an approaching dog. As I say just a caution.

There was a post recently where a power cut/surge caused house alarms to go off. Happened just the once, and now the dog is terrified of police sirens,ambulances etc, and doesnt want to go out and walk in the immediate vacinity of the home. So even one off frightening experiences can be enough for some dogs. That is why a lot of us are against adversion techniques/training, they can and do on a lot of occasions make problems worse and create other problems. Then you not only have to work on the problem you had in the first place, but another one/others as well.

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I like wacky ideas.. no surprise there. Carry an automatic umbrella... camoflage colour best. Make sure your dog is desensitized to it opening first indoors. When the other dog starts charging over crouch down and bam. You've disappeared.