Dogs are everywhere these days and there’s no real way to avoid them. While most dogs and dog owners are respectful, the unfortunate truth is that off-leash dogs pose a threat to our leashed cats, no matter how “friendly” they are. Although there is a small possibility of encountering wildlife or other type of dangers, off-leash dogs is actually the most likely problem you will encounter. Even when parks or trails are marked as “dogs on leash only”, you’ll often find that some dog owners simply ignore the rules and allow their dogs to run free. This post is not intended to vilify dogs and dog owners, instead, this post will help you prepare yourself and your cat for such situations.
Why Dogs Are a Threat
Most of the dogs I have encountered truly mean no harm, and are simply trying to investigate or say hi, as they are used to greeting strangers. Sometimes, when they see a cat, they are even more intrigued and want to sniff them or play with them. However, for a cat, dogs can be seen as a predator, especially if the dog is much larger and running towards them. For most cats, this will scare them into either fleeing or trying to fight back, and this is certainly not a positive experience for the cat. Furthermore, if your cat is prone to running and hiding, they may even slip out of their harness in order to get away, resulting in a lost cat.
We also can’t ignore the possibility of aggressive dogs, who have hunting instincts and will try to injure your cat. Although rare, there has been cases where cats have been mauled by dogs.
What makes the situation scary for us as cat owners, is we can never tell the intentions of a dog as they are running towards us, so we always have to prepare for the worst, and keep our cats safe.
If you are a dog owner reading this, I would encourage you to please be aware of your surroundings and who your dogs are running up to, and if possible, try to stop your dogs running up to people without consent. I generally love greeting dogs when I’m alone, but when I’m with my cat, it really scares me to see a dog running towards me and could ruin the entire day for us.
How to React When You See a Dog
Whenever you see a dog, you need to assess the situation and react accordingly. Your first priority should be to keep your cat safe.
If the dog is leashed:
- Ensure that there is enough space so that they can’t reach each other even with the leashes extended.
- If your cat seems stressed seeing the dog, you can pick them up to help them feel safer. Alternatively, you can put them on a log or bench so they are out of reach of the dog as they walk past.
If the dog is off leash:
- Immediately pick up your cat, and create distance by moving away from their path.
- If there is enough time, try to put your cat inside the backpack and zip it up.
- If the owners are nearby, you should call out and inform them that you have a cat, and to please keep their dog away from you.
If the dog is pestering you and won’t leave you alone:
- Turn your back to them to indicate you’re not playing with them and not interested in them
- Shout “No!” or “Sit!” just in case they’re trained to listen to commands.
- Grab the dog by their collar to stop them from jumping up and to calm them down.
- Use your foot to push them back and away from you.
- Use your body to block the dog from approaching your cat
- Call out to the owner for help
Things get more complicated if there is more than one dog, or if they seem aggressive. You’ll have to react to the situation and do your best to keep your cat away from them. It also helps if there is more than one person in your party, so they can also physically block the dogs. But unfortunately, there is no perfect solution to keeping the dogs away, and you’ll have to do the best you can.
Backpack Training
Training your cat to go into their backpack when there is danger, is a very useful skill to have, and will keep them safe from dangers such as dogs. This should be a skill that you and your cat should practice often, because the faster you can get your cat in the backpack, the better! I have created a separate guide for Cat Backpack Training:
There are several ways your cat can choose to enter the backpack, including:
- Jumping in the backpack directly from the ground
- Having the owner pick them up and climbing into the backpack
- Jumping onto the top of the backpack (for cats who don’t like being inside)
- Walking in by themselves on the ground
- Having the owner pick up the cat and place them inside the backpack
As long as your cat is inside their backpack, they should be relatively safe from harm. If you manage to zip the flap closed, that will be even better. Cats will have different preferences in how they enter the backpack, but in general, the faster they get inside, the safer they will be.
For myself, I will usually leave the top of my backpack open, so I can quickly pick my cat up, and he can climb into the backpack by himself, all in under 3 seconds. He seems to only do this when he senses harm, and in all other times, he refuses to go inside the backpack.
Safety Tools
I don’t recommend any form of weapon as I think it’s unnecessary and could do more harm than good. However, here are a few things you could carry that may help:
- Hiking stick – this helps create distance between you and the dog.
- Pet Corrector Spray (compressed air) – this will startle the dog but will not do much to deter them.
- Sabre Dog Spray (legal pepper spray in Canada) – this should only be used as a last resort as it really hurts the dog, but if you tell the owners “I have dog spray and will use it!” they may take you more seriously and retrieve their dog quicker.
Theoretically Teddy 