As breeds go, the Pyrenean Mountain dog is at the beefy end of the canine scale. Powerful and chunky, these bruisers can top 160lbs. So, the experience of being tackled by such a hunk isn’t easily forgotten. Not least because the dog’s hapless owner – a diminutive woman with a shrill line in ‘he never does this’ – could only look on helplessly as her pet snatched the baguette I’d just bought for lunch. All the time, her dog growling and scratching at me as I were on the menu too.

The incident happened as I walked with my own dog, Manny, an English Bull Terrier pup on a beach in France. It doesn’t overstate the case to say both of us could have been badly injured had we not managed to get away. Leaving the owner struggling to calm down her dog, toppling over as she battled to do so.

Not that this was an isolated occasion. In recent months Manny and I have been set upon by huge dogs because their owners lacked size, strength, and stature to control their pets.

Not least the giant Caucasian shepherd who leapt at Manny and I as we walked by, even though the owner had assured us her dog was gentle and loved to play. Again, attempts to rein in her dog were pathetic – matched only by equally pathetic mitigation (“he’s normally so gentle”).

Manny At Home With The Family

The fact is that many – too many – people choose breeds of dog that are either too powerful to own or that they lack the ability to train. To keep such dogs in line you must be as I’ve learned to be over the years, Alpha in temperament – that is resolute, purposeful, and unwavering in demonstrating you are the pack leader. A view corroborated by a vet I know who also explained that dogs – big dogs – go on the attack in the presence of, so called, alpha personalities. It’s a neanderthal response – as if they can smell the challenge.

It’s not a problem if the dog owner is in control of their snarling, bear baiting pet. Only the other day I was walking in Tatton with Manny when a chap came towards us, a hefty Belgian Malinois dog at his side. As soon as he saw us, anticipating potential conflict from his brute of a pet, he pulled the lead, locked the hound’s face in his hands and waited for us to pass. The control over the dog t was masterful (if I only I’d had my baguette with me then).

And so with dog attacks on the increase – rising by more than a third in the past five years – I implore prospective owners to park their vanity or misplaced sense of ability and select a breed which matches their relative size and strength. This might sound like a poorly aimed piece of misogyny. But this is not about sexism. It’s common sense: biology doesn’t make men more equal than women; it just makes us different.

Anyway, there are plenty of men, whose lack of stature or ability to show strength and focus on training, who would also flounder with a big dog.

There’s another reason why it appals me that people choose breeds they can’t control. It impacts on the behaviour of other, innocent dogs. Manny is only 11 months old. And though, he’s now a strong and sturdy size, he’s still a puppy (if you saw the way he chewed through a pile of my partner’s lingerie the other week; you’d know what I mean. The trail of mangled bras and shredded briefs bore the pawprints of a pup whose training is still in progress!). That said, I love the fact that he’s fun-loving, playful, and deeply affectionate. Notwithstanding teaching him to keep his nose, literally, out of other people’s knickers, I don’t want that personality to change.

It’s why, when I’m out walking with him I go to great lengths to stay away from aggressive dogs. I learned the hard way, with my beloved and much missed Staffy, George, how a series of unprovoked attacks and injuries from other dogs changed my beautiful boy into a regrettably wary and suspicious boy. I refuse to let this happen to Manny simply because someone better suited to a handbag dog thinks they can handle a Rottweiler.

Again, I’m aware this could be construed as bias – especially in an age of cancel culture. But my motivation is simple – public safety. And the right to feel safe as we go about our walks is something we are all equally entitled to.