dog walking etiquette

[alwaystryingtobeafriend]

So me and my dog go out walking alot and only when there are no other dogs i let him off beause otherwise he a) gets far to excited and over playful which some people see as him attacking and b) he jumps on people.

We havent had him long and he we are training him to be better and cope better in various situations.

I put mydog on his lead/leash everytime a dog passes just incase he tries to jump etc.

I get particularly annoyed at dog walkers who look down on us and our dog because he goes nuts around Their dog who is typicall not on its lead.

Hes not a bad dog just a young dog.

What is dog walking etiquette when you see Other dogs and yours is off lead?

On another note i find it pig ignorant dog walkers / people who feel the need to cross the road because a staffy if coming their direction. i noticrd one lady who crossed but when another dig was on her path she never crossed back. My poor pups gonna get a complex.

[Lilcamper]

The etiquette is to have yours under control which for a young excite able dog means get him back on lead.

Maybe that dog has had bad experiences with staffs in the past and is now reactive to them? I avoid all dogs when I am out with mine, I am trying to teach him to ignore other dogs so we can nail his recall.

[alwaystryingtobeafriend]

It happened 3 times in one day with various people.

It just annoys me the looks we get because he is getting excited like we cant control him. he needs to be better socialised i know and hopefully his classes will help. It just frustrates me. (More than it probably should) x

[Carpaccio]

We mainly go to a local park where most people take their dogs off the leash.

If walking through the park and I see that a dog and owner are coming towards us, I only put a leash on my dog is the other dog is leashed. If the dog isn't on a leash, I leave my dog off leash.
If there are cyclists, runners or dogs that I know aren't interested in my dog, I'll call her over and hold her collar (or leash her) until they've passed.

I don't have a problem with playful (young) dogs and I personally don't care if they jump up - if I go out with my dog to a park where I know there are loads of dogs off leash, I'm not going to wear clothes that I'm sensitive about.

If meeting a new dog, I'm happy to let them say hello while leashed and if they get on fine, I'm happy to take the leash off to let them play and run around. I don't like having unknown dogs running full speed up to us as my dog gets a bit nervous when that happens, especially if they are bigger than she is.

My dog's recall is very good and I wouldn't take her off the leash if it wasn't.

[ejsmith]

Its difficult. On the one hand you want a puppy to meet as many dogs as possible, and preferably off-lead. On the other hand many other dogs have been attacked and become super-sensitive to other dogs charging at them. I've 3 dogs, the eldest two can be reliably called away from anything so I don't put them on the lead. The youngest isn't as steady so if people have a dog on a lead or are doing the tell-tale signs of looking around nervously because they clearly have reservations about their own dog and/or there are young children with them she goes on a lead. What I have found helpful is asking adults permission for their children to help. I show the child how to give a sit command to the dog so she gets rewarded for being calm around children and the kids walk away really chuffed that for once they were giving the orders. Likewise with other dogs, explain that your dog is young and it would really help if they would stay around for a couple of seconds whilst you put your dog in the 'sit' or 'down' or just him/her to watch you rather than somersaulting on the end of the lead. I know this takes time but think of it as an investment and they can't look down on you if you are obviously doing the 'right thing'. A lot of trainers offer an 'obedience on walks' session because getting control in a village hall is rather different than in real life so if you don't think things are improving after your classes that may be something to explore.
Don't forget to enjoy puppyhood though, it goes even quicker than childhood!

[moosemama]

Standard etiquette is to not allow your dog to approach a leashed dog without permission from it's owner. There can be any number of reasons why a dog is being kept on lead and it's always better to assume they'd rather not be approached then to regret it later.

It's taken me months to get my dog over being pounced on by out-of-control off-lead dogs when he was a pup. He became reactive to off-lead dogs as a result of those incidents and I worked really hard to get him to the point where he is/was relaxed and calm when other dogs are free running. Unfortunately this week we had it happen again. A much bigger dog (and mine are pretty big) intent on causing trouble of the non-too-friendly kind - owner nowhere in sight - charged into us and caused no end of problems. That sort of incident sets my lad's training right back and drives me scatty. I have no problem with one-off's, where a dog perhaps has an iffy day and either decides to ignore or evade their owner, we all have off-days - but I do resent irresponsible owners that just let their dogs off at the park gate then proceed to ignore them or walk with them, but let them approach every single dog they see, either on or off lead.

As for people avoiding you because you have a Staffy. Don't waste your anger on them. Some people may just be scared of all dogs, but those that only avoid your dogs aren't worth wasting your anger on. I have two large Lurchers and people often cross the road to avoid us - their loss. You couldn't hope to meet two friendlier, softer lads than my two and their prejudice of sighthounds means they will go through life missing out on lots of potential friendly and enjoyable encounters with them.

[ender]

Dont stress about people avoiding you on dog walks, there could be loads of reasons. It happens to me a lot , I've got a friendly lab and a very aloof GSD X who ignores everything except his ball.
I just assume that their dog might have a problem, e.g. nervous, lead aggressive, or been bitten by a dog that looks like one of mine.
Sometimes I do the avoiding if I know the other dog will bark and lunge. I just smile and wave at the owner to show its nothing personal.