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Ah, I get nervous around dogs too. I was attacked when I was 7 by a German Shepard (usually such sweet dogs but it belonged to my grand parents and had serious problems).

DH loves pit bulls but I really am uncomfortable with them especially with having small children. Maybe it came from another neighborhood or escaped it's yard? It's such a bummer when people don't keep track of their pets. I avoided running near our old house because some neighbors had a very aggressive and protective dog that they never kept on a leash/in a fenced yard.

Unfamiliar dogs sometimes make me nervous at first as well, and I've grown up my entire life with dogs and help rescue and transport dogs for rescues and fosters now.

Since the dog was friendly, *please* call your sighting into your local humane society, and post something about it on craigslist or another local site. In some areas, picked up strays only last days in a shelter before being put down, and pitties - regardless of temperament - are always #1 on the put to sleep list. Sounds like this dog has a family that loves him and that he loves, and he needs to find home.

I have two of the sweetest pit bulls ever. They love my LO to pieces. My dogs have gotten out a time or two, due to my spacey DH leaving the gate open. I would hope that if someone found them would notice they are friendly and call us. When our dogs have gotten out the first thing I think is that they are going to end up at animal control and mistreated because of their breed. Luckily when they have gotten out, they were right across the street.

That being said, I was never afraid of unfamiliar dogs, however after having LO I would be nervous no matter the type of dog. You don't know their temperament and I wouldn't risk my LO getting hurt!

Hopefully the dog made it back home!

Call the humane society. We have several dogs that are left off their leash in the cul de sac. Right now I am lax about them running on our property- in our backyard and in the garage even. But a rambunctious dog- friendly breed or not- walking loose is just not safe. I would hate for my baby to get pounced on.

That would freak me out too! I get nervous when I'm walking my dog (on a leash!) and people have their dogs unleashed. Most dogs are friendly but it only takes one to cause serious injury.

I would maybe carry some pepper spray when you walk? It might give you a little confidence that if you actually DID get attacked you could stop the dog in a non-lethal way. Obviously that is a worse can scenario though

I think I'd be nervous, no matter what breed it is. Yu just don't know with dogs. I'm glad that one was friendly, but if they're unfamiliar, you just don't know. And, I'm a dog person, so even I would say I'd be nervous! Plus, having your LO with you makes you much more guarded.

Any unfamiliar dog makes me uncomfortable if it is alone, off leash. Heck, even if the owner is around and it is off leash, I feel uncomfortable if I have my lo with me. I was bit once by a poodle who door darted and ran into the street where I was. Loose dogs and babies DO NOT mix. I'm sorry you experienced that and that you're uncomfortable going outside with your lo now!!

@sandy: I am a HUGE animal lover but for your safety and sense of security, I would suggest carrying a canister of pepper spray with you; you can get it at Dick's Sporting Goods. If any unfamiliar dog (or person!) comes near you or makes you feel uncomfortable, you can use that. It will dissuade the animal from continuing to follow you but will not do long-term harm.

I 100% understand where you are coming from. Any loose dog would make me nervous especially if I was out with LO (and it sounded like the two of you were walking around, no stroller). I'm now more afraid/cautious of situations where I wouldn't have been now that I have LO, too.

But, as an owner of a super sweet, friendly, couch-potato pit bull mix this makes me sad. Sad that if our girl had somehow gotten out and were lost, people would still judge her based on her looks and not her personality, which you said was obviously friendly if a little bit too excited. It's great that you called it in, but if you saw this dog had tags and you said you had a fenced yard where it could have been kept safe until the owners could retrieve her.... I just don't know why you didn't take those steps. LO could have been put somewhere safe inside with a monitor for the few minutes it would take to get the number from the dogs tags and lead it to a safe place (your yard).
Honesly, I REALLY, really am not trying to make you feel bad. Really. You did more than most people would have done. It is just eye opening for me as the owner of a much-discriminated against mixed breed and makes me sad thinking that if our girl got out, most people wouldn't stop to help her, or would let her continue to wander with the potential for harm even if she has her tags, even if they have a safe place for her to be.

@sandy: aw how scary! I would have been so uneasy around an unsupervised dog! I was attacked by a dog when I was 4 or 5, and I've never quite gotten over that fear!

An unleashed dog ran after Chloe and I two or three weeks ago & my gut instinct was to run... Suuuuch a bad idea! You did the right thing by calmly walking away and telling the dog to go home.

@MsLipGloss: Yes, me too! But I do understand that people can become really nervous around larger dogs who have been the subjects of years of misinformation and discrimination.

We have more pit bulls than I like to count. Dh is very involved with training, conditioning, showing, and spreading the word about the good the breed is. That being said, I'm uncomfortable around dogs that aren't ours, pit bull or not.

I'm always saddened by the tragic accidents you hear about on the news, but ultimately feel it is the owner's fault rather than the dog. I think the main problem is that people feel their dogs are family members and not the animals that they actually are. Pit bulls are naturally animal aggressive, but mixing breeds and mistreatment can add all kinds of issues

I can understand where you fear comes from, and I'm glad things turned out the way they did. I can't sing the praises of the entire breed though just because I know so many good dogs. I will say though that I think there are more good pit bulls than bad. Similar to the one bad egg everyone has on their family. They don't make the whole family bad, right?

@sandy: I don't know how I would have reacted in that same situation - I do know that I would have also been afraid. You called, so you did a good thing and you should feel good about taking action at all! Just know that I didn't intend to make you feel any worse than you said you already did.
Hugs to you mama, you have had a lot going on and unexpected stuff like this can make all of us react differently than we might think we would depending on the rest of what is happening in our lives.

I would be scared of any strange dog walking on the street alone.

I have a super friendly pit bull she is scary looking because they cut her ears (we rescued her). When pits are raised to be social animals they're usually really friendly but I understand you could be scared because the breed has a bad wrap. I'm glad it was a friendly dog and not a vicious one.