To have kicked an old man’s dog?

Fear aggression is not something that just can be " sorted" but it is true that most dogs can be trained to function around other dogs to varying degrees. But you cannot completely " train it out" of them.

Very, very infrequently would it limit life quality to the extent that euthanasia was the only choice.

I would do EXACTLY THE SAME to protect my little elderly dogs. His dog was out of control. Ignore the criticism.

She WAS shouting at the owner to get his dog and he did NOTHING !! A very large dog was jumping up at her trying to get to her dogs so what else was she meant to do?!!

'Everyone'

Nope.

Look at the poll. And the majority of comments support the OP.

Who the hell are you to say a fear aggressive dog has no quality of life? I have had 2 such dogs over the years. One was not like that until he was attacked WHILE ON LEAD by a dog that ran to him and started attacking. The other was like it because when I got him at only 7 months he had been badly abused, kept in a barn, never seen anything - not grass, birds, trees, cats, other dogs etc etc etc.

Both those dogs had a long and happy life with me and DH and we only ever walked them onlead in places where we were very unlikely to meet anyone (especially entitled idiot dog owners)

@nomas yes maybe. You live and learn. The prey drive is so strong it seems to be an accident waiting to happen.

My dogs would never be in that position in the first place, if I had any doubt what so ever they would jump at a stranger I would have them on lead.

If they jump at someone then yes I would be prepared for someone to lash out at them and I would 100% blame myself for putting my dog in that situation.

What a ridiculous statement. I had a fear aggressive dog and he had a great quality of life. He certainly didn't need to be euthanised, because some areseholes let their off lead, out of control dogs charge over to him.

You live and learn.

Yes, hopefully the greyhound owner will learn to keep his dog on a leash.

I don't blame the dog. The owner should have it under control. This sounds like the Reddit post where someone pushed a kid that was about to collide with a frail person. No one generally condones pushing or kicking kids or dogs, but the parent/dog owner should have the kid/dog under control, not bothering or potentially injuring others. In your case it's a dog, which is obviously not the same as a kid, but the principle is that the adult in charge should ensure the dog/kid is putting others at risk. FWIW, on the Reddit post the conclusion was that as the frail person could have been permanently damaged, it wasn't unreasonable.

YABU. You could have just kicked the old man.

Greyhounds (specially ex-racers) have a very high prey drive if they have only just finished racing. They are beautiful dogs though..Very docile and friendly. I hope this thread does not deter people to not own them. I speak as a former owner myself.

I don't condone kicking any dog but the man was an idiot and should have had it on a muzzle and harness until it was trained and safe to go without one.

Having had greyhounds I can understand they can have a long abiding interest in little fluffy dogs..And yes, the owner was wrong to have it off-lead..I wonder how old it was..Shame you couldn't have pulled the dogs apart in another way. I don't think a greyhound would ever react badly to a human separating it from other dogs..But it's done now. You live and learn.

A friend was walking her 11 year old (male, castrated) 25kg dog, so not even tiny, when a young "enthusiastic" - and off-lead of course - 40kg dog ran up and started to hump him. Not yet neutered because the owner wants to wait until he's 2 or so (apparently that's the new advice from many vets).

All very "friendly' and "Ha Ha, what are they like, these young dogs".

Except my friend's dog was seriously injured by the force used, and his quality of life is permanently altered. He can no longer walk very well, and can't jump up or down off the sofa at all. She's hoping he'll improve, but at his age the vet can't promise that he'll get completely better.

At 25 kg she can't pick him up the way you could a 10kg terrier.

It's not about friendly/aggressive - it's people who let uncontrolled/uncontrollable dogs off the leash.

Oh, and guess whether the other dog is any better controlled now since that incident?

My dog is happy and sociable but he hates dogs running up and sticking their face in his especially if he is on lead.

It's very rude for a dog to do that. If a person came up to you and stuck their face very very close to yours would you like it?

If your dog is offlead and it runs towards an onlead dog you should call it back to you. That is what a decent dog owner does

I am not sure if I would kick a dog in those circumstances, but you did what you felt you had to do at the time. Where i live greyhounds are supposed to be on a lead at all times. I dont know what it is about greyhounds and lurchers but they seem to hate my dog. She was attacked by two off lead ones when she was about a year old but luckily was just shaken up rather than hurt. We don't go back to that field any more because so many arseholes don't control their dogs, and thankfully any greyhounds we have encountered since have been on leads and well controlled (Though most of them tried their best to get at her.) She is a very easy going, inoffensive medium sized mongrel, no idea why greyhounds seem to dislike her so much.

I don’t see what else you could have done. It’s a shame you had to kick the dog but it was either that or submit to whatever it was going to do you and your dogs.

Have you spent money to improve your dog's recall?

No one demanded it. I simply wanted to know how anyone could consistently give such bad advice.

But yeah 15 years says it all, really. Bless.

Anything rather than spending money with a behaviourist to get it sorted eh? And if you're going to say that you've tried and it hasn't worked, euthanasia would by far be the kindest option. A permanently fear aggressive dog has no quality of life at all.

But would your dog be off lead and go up to dogs on lead? If yes, that’s not the fault of the on lead dog, and it’s not always because they are badly socialised. Mine will snap because she has been bitten before.

The greyhound was jumping at the dogs that OP was carrying, so yes, the kick was in defence.

OP was in protective mode, not punishment mode.

Incredibly rude to demand my qualifications to write on the thread... but 15 years working in the dog training community, so there you go 😁

Anyway, crack on with the "one size fits all "
dogs trust page advice and ignore away .

But the dog who got stood on had been picked up and wasn't in any more danger? So, the kick wasn't in defense.

People have the right to defend themselves, but not to kick an animal as a punishment, that's cruel.

It drives me mad when other dogs approach mine and start jumping all over them, because they don’t like it and one of my dogs will snap. If your dog can’t walk past other dogs without approaching them, they shouldn’t be off the lead.