Anyway, on this particular day, I watched as the dogs came down towards us staying one side of the path as we approached them from the other. As we passed, the larger dog looked us up and down and we carried on walking. Then, when I glanced back, the large dog turned, bared its teeth and snarled, threatening to attack us. It was as if it was protecting the smaller dog and the threat seemed real, so we were instantly frightened. I realised that I didn't have anything to fend off an attack, other than a useless carrier bag of waste that I was about to put in a rubbish bin, so felt very vulnerable. One hears of dogs savaging humans and I didn't want it to be my wife or me. We backed away, slowly walking uphill to put some space between the dogs and us.
As the distance widened, so the threat diminished and both the dogs and us continued on our chosen paths. Naturally, we then talked about the incident. I can understand the dog being protective, but we weren't at all menacing. If the dog was so liable to react in a ferocious way, it certainly shouldn't be loose on the road. Whereas a human in a dispute can shout to another and be understood, or in extremes use their fists, a dog only has its teeth and doesn't necessarily use reason. That can damage and hurt!
Feeling vulnerable and realising that it would be difficult to defend oneself against an attacking dog was disturbing. I've never been involved in a fight in my life and don't want to start now, especially with a biter as an opponent. When I walk next time, I'll carry a stick; how much that will help, I don't know, but I'll feel more prepared if a similar situation occurs.
That thought led on to how one should protect oneself in other circumstances. Is carrying a weapon for self-defence in case of assault reasonable? I'm sure that we can't legally carry a baseball bat or knife, for instance, whether it is for defence or attack, and under normal circumstance I'd never consider it, but it means that our options are limited.
It seems to be a giant leap to consider this because of a snarling dog, but I can understand why people would, once they've been threatened. A dog has teeth and, if it bites, the owner would be held responsible. Knowing that, though, is no comfort if the owner is irresponsible and their dog roams the streets like a villain. Most dogs have become domesticated, but there are always the rogues. Reading about occasional attacks by dogs should be enough for the authorities to clamp down and be zero-tolerant. Take the dog away from its owner and forbid the owner from having another. We need a law with bite!