Fight or Flight

or in my case.....  Freeze And Scream Like A Girl.

That is what happened to me today.

I was going out to do some shopping.  Standing by my car, minding my own business as I fumbled with the key to unlock the car.  Suddenly there is a dog lungeing at me and barking ferociously from my right hand side, it was Jack the collie who lives next door.  Because I have a blind spot on my right side, sometimes it prevents me from seeing things or people as they approach.  Often I don't see the object or person until it is passing in front of me. 

Because I didn't hear Jack coming, and I couldn't see Jack coming, I had no time to react.  Which might have been an advantage for me because it didn't make the situation worse than it could have been.

I have never been afraid or reacted so afraid to a dog in my life until today.  I love dogs but if Jack had sunk his teeth into me there is no doubt that I would have sunken a boot into him.

Thankfully, it didn't come to that as Jack's owner was a few metres away and he bellowed at Jack for having a go at me.  I was so badly shaken up that I went back into the house, shut the door and burst into tears.  I had a mad rush of adrenalin and sat there shaken up for quite a while before I felt calm enough to go out. 

As I sat there I immediately thought about the fight or flight response and wondered if MY reaction, standing there screaming, would still have the same effect?  I neither fled nor fought, I just screamed!

I feel sorry for Jack, I don't know what happened to him that has made him so territorial.  Perhaps it was the guy why lived in the house before us, he hated Charlie so maybe he hated Jack too, and antagonised Jack whenever he could.  So whenever I am outside and Jack is in his yard, I can't even look in his direction without him barking incessantly and biting the fence as if he's imagining that it's my leg.

I am NOT happy about the situation with Jack having a go at me like that, so I will be having a talk to hubby and working out a way that we can approach Charlie about keeping Jack under control.  If he can at least keep Jack on a lead until he is safely home and back inside "his" territory, that would make me so much more comfortable.  I know Charlie carries a lead with him but he trusts Jack far too much and lets him off the lead when they are close to home.  I don't feel safe anymore so that is going to have to change.