FLJeepGuy

I've encountered many cases of pet owners behaving badly or with poor judgement. As a life-long dog owner, I've gotten to the point where I never blame a dog for being a dog. For the most part, they're happy-go-lucky and inquisitive and unless provoked into a defensive response, easy to get along with. However, the owners and environment can change a dog; abuse by humans (owners or otherwise) or a rough environment (living on the street, etc) take their toll.

I own two large dogs, one at about 100 lbs and the other around 85, but as a conscientious owner, they are well trained and are always on a leash whenever in public. They're acclimated to people, love kids, and are always well behaved when approached with kindness. They are also protective of our family and I have seen them take on a defensive posture in more than one situation where I felt apprehension which they've picked up on.

What I'm getting at is in the vast majority of cases where I've had to deal with an unruly dog (as a pet, not including strays), the fault lies squarely on the owner. There are several example of inattentive or a-hole owners cited in this thread and I can add my own experiences. There are several families in my neighborhood that allow their dogs out in their unfenced front yards with no supervision or leash. I have to be careful when riding by their homes as I've been chased on occasion, luckily never bitten or induced to crash. This crap annoys me to no end and I will continue to report the homes to the authorities. To use a phrase from a comedian I once heard.... "You just can't fix stupid"! The best course of action is to avoid confrontation and just alerting the proper authorities. Sometimes a non-threatening word will help, but in the OP's case, if the owner threatened me with bodily harm, I wouldn't hesitate to report it.