Police have laid charges after a dog owner says she was pepper-sprayed at an off-leash area at Hermitage Park in northeast Edmonton.

Rayna Haythorne was sprayed earlier this week after her two Bouviers Jamie and Lily met up with a pitbull that was on a leash and wearing a muzzle.

The dogs got involved in a confrontation. Haythorne says the woman walking the pitbull approached one of her dogs, Jamie.

"She sprayed something and I realized immediately it was pepper spray," Haythorne said on Tuesday. "She raised the can up and held it in front of my eyes and sprayed me in the eyes."

The police were called and laid a charge of assault with a weapon against the woman walking the pitbull.

Haythorne’s dogs were observed growling and chasing after other dogs on two occasions during the CBC interview.

Haythorne explained that Lily has anxiety issues that can trigger assertive behaviour in Jamie.

"There’s still a lot of work to do when you have rescue animals to overcome these issues," she said.

"But if I just brought him, there would have been no reaction to the other dogs coming by. It’s her feeling of insecurity and not being safe that prompts him to respond."

Haythorne is warning dog owners to be aware when they are in off-leash areas.

"You could encounter somebody that may pepper spray you or your dog and that's a very real possibility as I discovered," she said.

Haythorne plans to keep taking her dogs to the off-leash area despite her bad experience.