I have only ever felt uneasy once in the 7 years of walking Bruno and it was someone who was too interested in Bruno, how old he was, what a good looking "stud" he was and I am sure they wanted to steal him from me.

Other than that I feel relatively safe when walking as Bruno is generally beside me on the lead so dont think anyone would bother me.. I know staffies are big softies but many people think they are hard looking dogs and may think twice before trying anything - Bruno is the biggest woos going though

I used to feel completely safe when walking Ziggie as he was very protective. Not so much with Felix and Indy though, I finish work after nine pm in the week so there last walk tends to be quite late. I've taught Felix to growl on command though which makes me feel a bit safer!

Mate, you poor thing, you must have felt terrible.

I know exactly how you feel too, remember the time I was followed and that weirdo touched my shoulder and asked if I was out walking alone. It's really scary and ever since I now think about where I'm going and always look behind. So annoying that someone can ruin your walk and make you feel like that xx

Urgh what a creep...

I bet it's time like that you wished you had a massive Rottweiler at the end of the lead!

The local police officer rang me back this evening as he was very interested about the description I gave as it's apparently similar to the attacker in an earlier two incidents around Xmas time. He was also keen to know what I looked like as the other attacks have been on blonde women but i ruined that theory with my near black hair!

He said they'd sent a PCSO up to the canal shortly after my report came in and there was nothing untoward at the time but that my report stays on record so if anything did happen they may call on me for further info or for identification purposes.

I thought it was nice of him to ring and just shows that our police officers aren't as useless as most of the local residents seem to think.

Poor you - what an unnerving incident.

I have had a few similar scary experiences over the years so know just how frightening it can be.

These days, with the dogs I own and the places I walk (I very rarely see anyone) I don't get unnerved very often.

my mums freind was out dog walking and had her bag on her shoulder and she was pushed over by a man and he ran off with her bag - it was only full of dog poo she gets embaressed carrying poo in a plastic bag so used this to pop into untill she got too a bin!

its not a nice experince though when your on your own - my mum always says dont walk the dogs in the woods on your own , a few weeks ago it was raining so i ran in the woods to get out of the rain with dogs and there was a man hiding behind a tree in his camo clothes i know he was probaly just shooting but it still scared me!!

You poor lass, it can't have been a nice feeling having him behind you, even if nothing happened it makes you think what might have happened and those thoughts tend to stay with you for days or weeks even.

A couple of points I would make are:-
1) You are allowed in law to use anything that comes to hand to protect yourself but you are not allowed to plan to carry something, so in my view carrying a stick for your dog to chase and bring back to you could just be something you just happened to pick up a minute before you had to use it. If you are alone I would suggest you always carry a stick (One that you just happened to pick up at the start of the walk if you get my drift)
2) You could also try saying things to your dog as you pass these types such as "No Monty no kill today" or maybe "No Monty we're not practising the attack today" Say it in a loud voice like you mean it

Poor you.

I was thinking something simular last night when unwittingly I put Bruce and myself into a situation, I popped to the Petrol Station (late) a group of drunks...party goers....were giving the guy behind the counter grief.
They were staggering and falling about, when I came away they followed me for a short while shouting....give us your fags, and lets see your dog then.

Bruce was stressed (pulling and trying to get away) but as they got nearer his stress turned to aggressive growling....I know it was pure fear on his behalf, but thankfully enough to make them walk another way

I bet he got a nasty shock when he checked out the contents of the bag!!

I did have the dog's lead in my hand and thought i'd use it as a weapon if I needed to. I doubt it would do much damage but might've been enough for me to get away if needed.

Based on the fact he was on a bike i knew i didn't stand much chance of running away if needed.

Its funny how much goes through your head at times like that. I thought about ringing my OH but knew that this would limit my attention and he might be able to get closer without me hearing him approach and then i thought he might also decide my phone was worth having too.