PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – One of the scariest things, and dog owners know this, is encountering a loose dog. Animal advocate Carol Erickson talked to CBS News Philadelphia about the best ways to practice for real-life situations with your own dog.

Erickson suggests to find an alternative route if you know that there is a loose dog in the area or to ask the owners to keep the dog on a leash.

Here are some of the things you want to do when you navigate this:

• avoid the situation

• know dog body language

• loudly tell the dog to "go home"

• use gesture indicating dog to stop

• throw treats at dog to distract

• block your own dog

• startle other dog

Erickson also suggested to carry the following things on your walk to be prepared:

• umbrella to pop open and startle loose dog

• can of compressed air/citronella spray

• treat

Don't use pepper spray as it can trigger aggression.

Learnmore useful things in the video stream above.