Sick of ‘little dog’ owners.

I have a little dog and a medium sized dog. Both are kept on leads. The owners I find annoying are the ones of whatever sized dog who allow them to run up to my dogs with no control over them.

I've just lost my little dog, miniature pincher, I always had big dogs but she wanted a home and I took her in at 8 months old, now I'm broken hearted, without her. Let me just say in her prime age, she'd run up to any dog big or small have a sniff and want to play, if the initial sniff told her I don't like this one she'd growl or jump at it if it came near her, she was boss lady I called her, stubborn little girl, she never had one fight as such, but I knew she never ever showed or was afraid of any dog, saying that I read up on her breed and it said they're very stubborn, they will rule and take over your home if you allow the m to, possessive of their own toys and owners, but what always worried me was fact of I knew it of her, I knew if I didn't watch out keep a eye she could have got herself into big trouble as in getting really hurt even killed by bigger dogs, no fear in her whatsoever, and that's what I read the day I looked up, it said they and most little dogs actually think they are much bigger than the big dogs, they think no matter what they will fight that dog if it comes to it, they ruled and that was that and many times I had to stop her running over to any of the big dogs, I just used to put her lead on or just stear her away, as she got older she wouldn't bother anymore she just done her own thing, if the big dogs came running over and looked argumentive I'd just ask the owner to please put their lead on or just say she's snappy be careful, no prob, big or small if you're the owner just be sensible it doesn't take a lot to work out, better to stop it before it begins, I'd give anything to have my girl back it's only been 5 weeks and even though she was small, my home feels so bloody big, empty, and quiet without her.
Now over rainbow bridge, god bless you Coco god bless them all big and small and hopefully I get to see her again one day..

Doesn't matter if they're playful or not.

Hurtling up to another dog barking, showing teeth, growling etc is unspeakably rude in 'dog speak', and liable to result in a less than friendly response from many perfectly sensible dogs.

Doggy play that involves rolling around growling, barking, chasing, nipping at necks or shoulders or legs... is something acceptable between two dogs who know one another extremely well.

Would you think it ok if a stranger ran up to you screaming and threw their arms around you and kissed you and then pushed you over for a play wrestle?

In fact you'd feel uncomfortable if a stranger WALKED up to you and simply stood in your personal space and held eye contact for too long, never mind the above scenario.

Dogs also have social rules - direct, maintained eye contact = potentially a threat. Hurtling straight up to someone = a threat. Barking/lunging/growling from a strange dog = a threat.

Just like humans, there are behaviours that are acceptable between two parties who know one another very well, that would absolutely not be appropriate between strangers.

A polite greeting between off lead dogs involves arcing around one another, approaching nose to side/bum, not head to head. Sniffing, circling, then perhaps a play bow to invite play, then some careful posturing and chasing and pausing and watching to see if it is reciprocated.

Most owners unfortunately can't tell polite greeting or appropriate play from confrontational aggressive display designed to drive the other dog away, or bullying relentless chasing, or even predatory behaviour.

My 1yo cockapoo hates other dogs and barks at them 😒

She also takes a disliking to some people.

We paid £320 to a dog behaviourist which was frankly a waste of money. Currently trying to clicker train her into associating other dogs with a treat, so she associates them as a good thing. We just want to get to a stage where she can just ignore other dogs completely.

She's very fetch focused, so that helps to keep her distracted in the park. I spend the time moving in the opposite direction to other dog walkers!

I absolutely do not condone her behaviour and always apologise for it profusely.

All in all, I don't recommend a Cockapoo! She's been really difficult for various reasons. My lovely 6yo mini schnauzer is good as gold and loves meeting other pooches for a good butt sniff.

I hate when you see people using them by roads too. those clips on them are rubbish and give out really easily. if that dog sees something across the road, there's every chance they'll just run across the road.
people have had horrible injuries from them too, people should look up degloving images before they decide those useless leads are worth it.

I have a large Labrador, and until a couple of years ago I also had a Chihuahua, he wasn’t aggressive and didn’t yap/jump up. He was well trained, well socialised and just a lovely boy. He was feisty and knew his own mind but that’s what is lovely about them.

not all little dog owners are irresponsible, and not all little dog owners are clueless airheads who don’t know what they’re doing. I’ve met plenty of ignorant large dog owners who seem to think they’re more important because of the size of their dog.

but irresponsible dog owners I’m fully behind being fed up with. there’s two dogs on our street that go ballistic at anyone or anything (including our toddlers minding their own business) and there’s not so much as an acknowledgment or apology from their owner, she just ignores you. Even when they scared our toddler to the point she screamed.

Not small dogs are reactive a*holes and I, therefore, keep them on leads at all time.
Not all small dog owners are as twattish as you describe.

I have had both chihuahuas and lurchers, often successfully together, even though common wisdom says you can’t. They have all been good friends with no issues. All rescue and none of them, not one, has been allowed to behave like op describes. I currently have multiple dogs, including multiple chis. They ignore all other dogs and people, because I have trained them that way. No barking, no reaction. Nothing. They respond to the command “on me” and they heel to me and trot on. I have had many, many dogs and whilst I currently have one tiny one who is an asshole he is kept on a very short lead and never gets anywhere near any other dogs (other than the rest of mine. Who he loves). Not all dog owners are the same.

I hear you op. I own a greyhound and he's very friendly but really is only best with medium or other large dogs. He isn't great with the little yappy things and the amount of times I've had to explain this to owners is insane. 'Oh he needs someone his own size instead, tinkly laugh' seriously it's getting boring now 😂

It's really frustrating.

Soon as I see anyone coming with any dog I quickly pick up my Chihuahua and turn my back because as much as I love him so much, he definitely is a nasty git.

that's the thing, though. you are aware your dog is reactive, and remove them from the situation. you don't just let them charge over and harass other dogs.

You have clearly been very fortunate. It is difficult not to feel stressed once your dog has needed urgent urgent veterinary treatment after being attacked. It does affect how you feel about going out for walks. Believe me, if your own dog is ever attacked and injured, you won't find your walks so relaxing or pleasurable any more. You do start to live in fear of it happening again.

Very similarly I have a lovely big Lurcher, he is brilliant when out walking and very relaxed, he has zero interest in people or other dogs but will be nice if approached.

Little dogs often go absolutely mental barking at him, their owners pulling them away with looks to us like our dog is the problem, as he just stands there placidly watching the commotion. On one walk there was someone with a pack of chihuahuas, five or six, who all went absolutely batshit at my lovely big boy who didn’t react at all. The owner was trying to disentangle them all from each other as they went mental and was shouting at us to ‘keep that thing away’…. that thing? Loads of tiny snarly dogs causing chaos while my boy literally just stands there watching, not going anywhere near them and yet he is the problem?

I do agree with all posts that say there are a lot of problem dogs though, big and small. Its a problem that needs to be addressed but no idea how.

my mum has a deerhound lurcher. she's a big girl. she can be a bit overbearing at times, because she gets really excited and wants to meat everyone. but when we see other dogs, we shorten her lead and get her to settle down as they pass. some days she'll leap around on the spot with excitement, but we make sure she doesn't harass other dogs. yes, she just wants to play, but she's BIG and boisterous, and I can understand that could be overwhelming for most dogs.

we were out with her once, and a load of chihuahuas went for her. she hit the deck, while they were snarling and snapping at her, and their owner just ignored it. didn't even shorten their lead. we did say, "oh would you be so indifferent if she went for THEM like that?" he ignored us. unfortunately, there are some small dog owners that don't think their dog being aggressive is a problem because "they're only little"
she did end up with a few scrapes.

I feel so sorry for all those dog owners in the UK for whom leaving their door with their dog is so regularly such a source of stress an anger. Let alone for the non dog owners and those who don't like dogs.

For me, it's just a source of great pleasure and relaxation. It's an opportunity to socialise kindly with new owners and indeed meet new people. One is a childless widow in her mid 70s who loves a nice chatter in the park during the day. Her conversation is very pleasant and it's a nice breakfast my stressful work day. Her little dog is quite a character. He barks at bigger dogs, but bigger dogs find him funny. He's never attacked any of them. Owners fin it funny to see this adorable cuddly thing thinking he's a lion! We all laugh! It's great to laugh with strangers, it gets the endorphins going!

You obviously don’t like small dogs, but I think it’s a generalisation. More an issue of owners of any dogs not having control of their dogs . As a small dog owner ( did think they would get a bit bigger!) I get fed up of medium and big dog owners who let their “playful/ wants to play/ loved all dogs” dog terrorise my dog , rolling her over practically and batting her about. They have no control and don’t react to me keeping mine close by out of the way. They don’t make any attempt to gather them despite them clearly being too rough. She’s got her big dog friends - Greek mountain dog, a GS mix but they don’t behave like that and time it down for her size. If I see a big bouncy dog heading our way i make sure my dogs is on the lead. That is very rarely returned.
All about the owners so let’s not demonise all small dogs and their owners.

I was sick of being embarrassed by my MIL's dogs, thankfully partner doesn't live with her anymore so we aren't guilted into taking them for walks when i visit him. JRT's, (were 3 but one has passed since moving) and one in particular was really reactive to other dogs. She'd lunge, bark, etc, I'd have to shorten her lead to the point her front legs were barely touching the floor and stand between her and other dogs, i was forever apologising to other dog owners and just wanted to scream "It's not my dog! I'd have trained it better if it was!" She was a pain in all aspects on walks, would either refuse to walk or pull like mad, several times i ended up having to pick her up and carry her back.
TBH i'm glad i never have to be around either of the 2 left again, they were super badly trained in general, toileting in the house even when you tried to get them to go out, they'd refuse. I stopped staying over when his mum was away as they would keep me up all night playing the stupid olympics, on and off the bed, wanting to be let downstairs, then wanting back in because they didn't want to be on their own. Over and over as they wanted to be downstairs, but with me down there with them. When they did settle on the bed they'd crowd you and insist on laying against you which i hated, one would insist on getting under the covers etc. If you kicked them out of the room they'd scratch and cry at the door, which wound up my ASD partner who expected me to be the one being the human yo-yo sorting them out as he has to be on heavy meds to sleep.

I do not ever want to live with a dog again, ever!

Yes, it was an anti pull harness design with some cord attachments which we'd been using perfectly fine for several years. He'd never made any attempt to escape a harness before, it fitted well, was appropriate for his weight and he walked well to heel using it. The family with the dogs were standing there letting them jump on him and bark in his face for several minutes whilst we were pinned against a wall. My dog was understandably jumping and struggling a lot trying to get away. He bit through enough of the cord part to snap and for him to slip the harness. In hindsight I should have shouted at the idiots sooner and kicked their dogs away after the man stood there like an idiot when I politely asked him to control his dogs. I was shocked people could be that stupid and irresponsible.

I’m sick of irresponsible dog owners. I don’t care what size their dog is.
Those who don’t pick up, allow their dog to fly at mine, let their bloody extension lead get wrapped round my old girl, let their dogs jump up or worry livestock.

Just bored of liars.

Touchy

Wonder if we can have one thread where people don’t completely exaggerate about muddy paws, being tripped and pavements flooded with shit. Oh, too late
Indeed. Do small.dogs also attack without reason small dogs?

I have a small dog and she doesn't get attacked by small or larger dogs. They either ignore each other, have a quick gentle sniff or play happily together. Other owners seem very relaxed about it all.

Our two local golf courses are commonly used by dog walkers later in the evenings. In a 5 years' period of daily walks, I haven't once come across dog poo in the course.

I have had a few dogs jumping on me. That's when I stop to talk to the owners, never randomly. It's always young dogs still in training and the owners are always apologetic.

I am so happy I live where I am. Nowhere posh by any definition, but clearly much more civilised than all the unhappy posters here!

I can see that! My MIL lets her weird little cockapoo off the lead even though he’s got shite recall and runs up to people, it really annoys me.

It's not the dogs size / breed it's the owners who don't put any effort in and leave the consequences of their dogs behaviour for others to manage
I have a rescue lurcher, who is leash reactive. She is getting better but progress regularly takes several steps backwards because off lead dogs approach her aggressively / full on . She has been attacked a few times by a local gormless dalmatian even though she's put it on its back everytime. The owner now avoids us thankfully, because I told her next time I was letting go of the lead and would not be preventing her from fully defending herself again. My dog has clearly had to fight in the past and she's good at it. That dalmatian has cost us £100's more in training than it should have done to get to the point where we can walk passed most dogs calmly with a little encouragement.
She was probably worked by the low life that had her before us, so there is always the chance that your sweet fluffy little darling who only wants to play will trigger the prey drive that she was bred for. Thats why shes on the lead for crying out loud. Although I'm less worried about that since she watched 2 bunnies darting accross the field she was off lead in and only wagged ger tail. Probably the reason she was dumped.
So yeah, it's not the dogs whatever the size, it's lazy feckless owners,.

We have a small dog who is on the lead always. Always.

I fear it both ways - big dogs off leash attacking (has happened) and small dogs attacking (happened too).

Just really poor dog owners who always have a lame excuse - he just wants to play, he’s just excited, he is really friendly etc.

And I have in the entire time I have owned a dog (but had multiple large dogs growing up) never know (except one exceptionally trained dog) to have good recall.

Tired of those owners who are constantly calling their dogs to come and they NEVER do.