@Pat H It doesn’t happen often, but I will probably say something to the fellow about leashing that dog when I see him again. Doubt it’ll do much good...
My plan A at that moment would’ve been to kick the dog if he got too close, and plan B was to intercept and pin at all costs until his owner got there (he was coming to retrieve the dog). I may have sustained injuries doing so, but there is no way the whippets could endure an attack from a dog like that, and I was not going to let him get to them.
My wife is much taller and stronger than me, so she would’ve been able to handle the dog, I’m sure. She worked in rescue for a while with problem dogs, some of them pretty large!
I think I’m going to start carrying a taser when taking the dogs anywhere, just in case. The neighbor’s dog mostly seems bothered by other dogs. I haven’t really seen him react otherwise. But I hear you about aggressive dogs attacking people. I’m always on the alert and I’ve heard lots of stories. I worry most for our thin-skinned, lightly furred hounds, though. Even greyhounds often end up on the losing end of dog-on-dog altercations, and sometimes they’re killed.
Oh, that’s the tile at the vet’s office! It’s lovely, isn’t it?