When it comes to owning a dog, you have to be confident you can control them in all situations.
This is especially important for large dog owners who might not have the physical strength to restrain their dog from dangerous acts.
One woman is calling for all owners to teach their dogs one simply command which ended up saving her pet's life.
Speaking to Reddit, the woman explained how she was taking her dog around the block when an elderly woman and her great pyrenees started walking towards them.
She said: "The old lady came around the corner about 15 ft away. As soon as her dog saw mine, it started snarling and lunging at my dog.
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"She started yelling 'I can't hold him. I'm not going to be able to hold him back'.
"My dog started growling back, but he was trying to get away, pulling on the leash as hard as he could. The old lady was being dragged closer and closer by her massive dog."
Claiming it wasn't the first time another dog has spooked hers during a walk, she said it was the largest to try 'take on' her 80lbs crossbreed.
"To give my dog a fighting chance I dropped his leash and told him to 'go home', while I tried to grab hold of the woman's dog's leash and collar," she added.
"I didn't know what else to do, if he stayed the other dog would've gotten more agitated, if I tried to walk my dog away, the woman would've had the time to break away and it could have done some damage.
"I had to watch my dog take off without me. I start listing all the missing dog groups in my head so I can get him back if someone finds him.
"Once my dog was out of sight, the other dog started to calm down within a few minutes.
"I told the lady that if my dog was hit by a car or taken, I better not see her in my neighbourhood again - probably not the best response but it was the most polite one I could come up with at the time."
Terrified for her dog's safety, the woman ran home in hope her pet would be sat in her driveway waiting for her to arrive.
She added: "I am not runner by any stretch of the imagination. I was trying to remember where I left my car keys so I could grab them and go out looking for my dog.
"I finally made it to my building and who's there, sitting on my patio patiently waiting to get back in? The goodest good boy in the whole world. A little extra clingy, but otherwise fine."
She is now urging people to train their dogs to run 'home' on command, saying "you never know when it will come in handy".
"More importantly, don't get a dog you can't maintain control of if they get riled up - and hug your puppies extra close," she added.
While most users thanked the woman for sharing this warning, others shared their encounters with owners who couldn't control their own dogs.
One user said: "If you can't physically control your dog, you shouldn't walk it. Simple as that. It's too much dog for you and/or not trained well enough to stay within your grasp."
Another user said: "I own a reactive dog and I can definitely attest to the fact that going on walks does make it worse without proper training.
"If you don’t know your dog’s threshold, and you haven’t figured out how to prevent them from crossing that threshold, you’re better off letting them do zoomies in the yard and doing lots of mental exercise instead."
Do you have a dog story to share? Email paige.freshwater@reachplc.com.
