Dogs not on lead

I’m fed up of people letting their off-lead dogs bound up to my puppy while they are still miles away, on their phone or yapping to a friend. I don’t care if your dog is friendly. What if my dog was nervous? What if I was walking alone and was nervous of dogs?
Keep your bloody dog on a lead if you can’t recall it properly. It’s so bloody rude and ignorant.

Or @Chathamhouserules people with off lead dogs could just make sure their dogs are trained not to approach other people or dogs on leads.. you know.. like responsible owners! Just because dogs like sniffing other dogs doesn't mean they should approach any dog!

@Chathamhouserules but the owner of the dog was nowhere in sight.

Too far!!

I agree this woman was out of order. But I think there is a risk if going to far so dogs cant do what helps them lead happy lives- running about, sniffing, saying hello to other dogs. Maybe its parks where they need to be on leads and more open countryside/woodland where they can be off lead (if their recall is good) and people who want to keep their dogs on a lead for whatever reason should stick to the park?

And you shouldn’t have to!
Strange dogs bouncing all over yours is rude and unnecessary.
Mine are only allowed to greet dogs they know or that are happy for them to say hello. No leaping on them. Quick hello and walk on.

My dog has excellent recall so I do sometimes walk her off lead but she doesn't bolt off (even when there is another dog nearby) and I make sure we are in a suitable place (no small children, no livestock, at the moment not by the river as there are full nests etc)

People need to act responsibly and "it's ok he's friendly" is how accidents happen

100% agree @Lou98

this makes me and dh so mad as well. There are signs in places we walk our small dog (always on a lead) saying that all dogs are to be kept on leads and cleaned up after toileting.
So many off lead dogs owners never clean up. One attacked a swan but still you get selfish owners.
The only thing you can do is report to anyone in authority, contact local council and even invite a local councilor to take a walk through the area.
Owners who have off lead dogs are a menace who think they are above the law.
Hope you are feeling ok . Horrid woman.

But a big friendly retriever most likely wanted to say hello and isn’t a bad thing for a pup to meet a nice friendly dog.

How is the OP meant to know if it is friendly or not? Being a retriever means nothing - I've had a nasty bite off one before that showed no signs of aggression before bounding over.

I'm quite surprised at a lot of the replies on here - you shouldn't have to "just get used to it" because you have a dog, or toughen up in your reaction or any of the rest of it. You did absolutely right calling over to the owner - sounds like she couldn't even see her dog never mind have it under control. If nothing else, that isn't safe for her own dog, anything could have happened.

I don't believe that all dogs should be kept on a lead at all but they should if they don't have good recall and there's other dogs around - especially when not even in the owners sight. The law is quite simple in that dogs must be under control.

I have one dog that has excellent recall and is really friendly with other dogs - I still don't let him go up to dogs that I don't know, especially when they're on a lead. My other dog has excellent recall but can be funny with other dogs, he isn't aggressive but can be quite afraid and reactive - I don't care if someone else's dog is friendly, if he's on a lead and someone's dog comes bounding over to him, of course I'll say something. My dog wouldn't harm theirs, he would just be terrified but the fact is they don't know that. That could be the wrong dog they go up to and it's their dog that's going to suffer when another dog snaps. They're also usually the first to claim they've done nothing wrong when it does eventually happen

Some examples of yellow harnesses/lead sleeves incase it helps OP:
www.etsy.com/uk/shop/TheHuggableDog
www.bellascollars.co.uk/collections/harness

“Can you call your dog, please?” would have got a much better reaction than an instruction to put it on its lead. If you don’t allow your dog to interact with others it will never be socialised, OP.

Our tiny Jack Russell was pinned down under an Irish Wolfhound’s paw when she was four months old, she just got up and went back for more. Dogs need to play with and chase other dogs.

Yes, dogs should be supervised and from what you’ve said there’s no way that the owner could have seen if her dogs had a poo that needed clearing. Having said that, I think that what happened with your previous dog being attacked and then being reactive to other dogs has understandably made you anxious about dogs bounding up to you. Unfortunately you will pass that anxiety on to your puppy unless you’re careful. Dogs shouldn’t be bounding up to you and being annoyed about it is totally reasonable. If you treat them all as a threat though, your dog will start to see them as such.

Legally the other person is right and wrong.

If there is a PSPO in place regarding dogs on leads then it is a legal requirement
But generally there is no Dogs on lead’s law in the UK, but all dogs must be ‘under control’, indoors and outdoors on public or private land.
But ‘under control’ is open to interpretation, but generally means if you’re dog bites a person or another dog or they think it’s going to bite them or makes them fearful, then it’s not under control.

If this gets reported to the police, they then have a duty of care to investigate, and can instruct the person to keep the dog on a leash or be muzzled in public, or not walk in certain places etc etc

*doesn't

This drives me nuts. One of my dogs is not good with other strange dogs coming up to him so this is the bane of my life...... he’s on a lead for a reason.

Legally she may be right, but if an owner can’t be bothered to train their dog with a proper recall, the dog should be kept on a lead in public.

My (very big) puppy has good recall (still
Learning in paddocks etc), but when on a lead, he doesn’t like to be approached by off lead dogs. The number of times I’ve been laughed at because I’ve asked owners to keep their dogs away is ridiculous. “He’s friendly! Wouldn't hurt a fly!” Yes, but my dog is reactive - so back the fuck off!!!!

And @BeneathYourWisdom comes straight along and proves my point!

What did this ferocious , angry, aggressive dog do to you to leave you shaking for an hour?

Well, I’m a solicitor and my dog is always on a lead! YANBU.

Her dogs should have been under her close control in a public park, not running around wildly and failing to recall.

Etiquette is you call your dog to heel (or lead goes on) to pass other people/dogs!

One day they’ll run at the wrong on-lead dog and get a nasty shock.

There’s no need to have big dogs off lead in a park (that’s also used by puppy owners, people with prams and toddlers, people with mobility problems who may be knocked over by a boisterous dog, people trying to enjoy ball games and picnics).

I wish there was a blanket ban that all dogs must be leashed in public! And restrictions on owning large breeds.

I’m a dog owner but find other big dogs scary if they run at me across a park. Either because I’m trying to keep them away from my child or dog or because they’re just intimidating especially 3 at once!