A DOGWALKER is urging residents to be extra vigilant after a man threatened to “slit his dog’s throat”.

Dave Waidson, 32, from Eastleigh, was walking his 18-month-old Spanish mastiff cross Nando at Fleming Park, Eastleigh, when he was threatened and left in shock.

The assistant manager said Nando, a rescue dog, approached a white mastiff to play, but the situation escalated.

He said: “Nando looked like he wanted to play but the other dog looked like he didn’t want to. He snapped at him, they were starting to fight but it wasn’t a serious fight, and they weren’t biting each other.

“It was just all noises. We ran over to separate them, I made sure the dogs were ok and I sort of apologised – that’s what you do when things like this happen.”

But Dave said that the man who was with the white mastiff reacted badly.

“He told me ‘if I see your dog again I’ll slit his throat’.

“I didn’t know what to say. I was shocked and run off. He was very intimidating”, Dave said.

“I had to ask him to repeat because I wasn’t sure and he said that again.

“I understand some people are very protective with their dog but this is not a reaction you would expect.”

He said the man was in his 30s, white, slim, with light brown hair, and had a local accent.

Dave said he reported the incident to the police but he is now too scared to walk his dog at Fleming Park.

“These incidents shouldn’t happen. Anyone, any dogwalker should feel safe,”he said.

The incident happened on May 21 at about 9am.

Dave said nothing similar happened to him before.

A spokesperson for Hampshire Police said: “We were called at 10.12am on May 21. We circulated the report to local officers at the time.

“If anyone does experience anything similar, they should contact us on 101, or 999 in an emergency.”

Darshan Mann, borough councillor for Eastleigh South ward, said he believed parks in Eastleigh are safe, but added: “Behaviour like that is quite scary, so any incident should be taken to the police.”