One of the things I've learned about where I currently live is that the neighborhood has an overabundance of dogs. Almost every house has one and every single dog is unique in its own way and I'm sure shows love and acceptance in its own language. Each owner knows their dog well and most of them seem to be ok. The trouble with the neighborhood though is that most of them are not behind fences, at all. Here it seems that people love to use the off-leash rule to their heart's content and I can understand that to a certain point. I let Lylah off on one of the streets that is more remote every once in a while and even though it's a short little walk it's also scarce of other dogs. The terrain is easy to read and it seems that either the homes are empty when we walk by or they just like to stay inside to be warm. Either way, I'm cool with it and keep an eye out just in case someone's pup comes strolling out the door. 

Now normal etiquette with a dog, as I have learned over this past year and a half of having Lylah, is that when a dog comes out of the house or is in passing you would normally leash your pup just in case and keep moving. This is for a number of reasons. Reason one, you have no idea if the other dog is friendly with other dogs. They could be reactive and you may not know it until your pup is already nose to nose with them. Reason two, It's proper to stand up for your dog and let them have positive associations with meeting dogs but only when you feel it's ok. Just letting your dog stroll up to other dogs and people without being told it is ok is not only rude but just dangerous. Your dog could have a reaction or maybe that person has some kind of training going on and they are working their dog to not be reactive. It's up to you to ask the other owner if it's ok and to be aware of the body language both dogs present. 

Responsibility is key and that doesn't just include picking up your dog's **** when they take a dump in someone's yard. 

Now I lay this all out there because in this neighborhood people don't leash their dogs. It's either they have an invisible fence/collar match or they put them on a long line in front of the yard that forces them to stop at the boundary of the road and grass. NOw you may think that's leashing them but it's not really. It's just a tether that's usually about fifteen to thirty feet long and the owner is never present. Not really a leash in this case. 

One of our neighbors down the road has an overabundance of dogs. one of them is a big boxer who under normal circumstances we ignore. Why? He normally has an invisible fence collar on and when he gets to the boundary of the yard he stops and just screams his head off. Normally. 

Yet within the past two weeks, I swear this dog has become wild and will either get hit by a car or will get kicked by my own feet. Lylah and I do two walks a day or we do a walk and a run. It depends on the schedule and what we have planned. Either way 90% of the time we are going past this house with this boxer. Recently he has decided to scare the living **** out of us. You never see him coming. Last week we were walking by and he came barreling out from the backyard and started barking like crazy and slowly made his way to the pavement. We kept going at a hurried pace and passed him with no problems. 

A few days later we are about to pass the house when this kid opens the door and the boxer and this black labradoodle pup come barreling out behind him and start running to this black truck parked out front. Lylah and I pause and watch and the next thing I know both dogs are trying to get to us. The black labradoodle comes up and tries to jump on me and I immediately knee that dog in the face to keep him off me and I also step in his bubble which makes him stop jumping and start barking instead. The Boxer is in the middle of the road eyes locked on us and is barking. The parents come out of the truck and start wrestling these two dogs back inside. I made no motion to help. The reason was I had Lylah and I was worried about the Boxer and what he might do. 

From there, things escalated more. We go on a run the other day and we pass the house the first time and nothing happens. We are on the way back and we are passing the house and the boxer comes barreling out and follows us a bit up the road barking and trying to get close. I manage to scare him off and keep Lylah moving. She was not impressed and clearly wants nothing to do with this dog. We do another quarter mile where it takes us up the road on the backside of our street and when you come off the backstreet you end up going down the hill to the house and you can see all the way down to the boxers home. He saw us coming to the house and started running up the hill towards us. 

I swear you guys this dog will get in some serious trouble if he comes to our yard. He got into the neighbor's yard and started barking and pacing keeping an eye on us the entire time. I kept Lylah on a leash and told him to go home which he responded by barking more and then marking his territory before finally going home. He's never tried to come up to the house before but I swear these people don't watch him. The past two weeks have been really bad and I'm starting to wonder what is going on. They cant keep him under control and that is just not ok. 

I'm hoping this won't escalate anymore but only time will tell. If it does im sure you all will get an update on that situation.