To have kicked an old man’s dog?

One of my dogs is fear-aggressive. He's kept on a lead.
If your off-lead dog came up in his face he'd get a lesson in staying the fuck away.

I don’t know what I would have done in this situation, neither does anybody else. Adrenaline will have kicked in along with your protection instincts for your dogs.

I own two large breeds and I don’t let them off because they haven’t got a brain cell between them and have zero recall. They’re friendly enough but other people don’t know that, just like you don’t know if the other dog is friendly in this situation.

Im not condoning kicking dogs, but I understand why you did it and I can’t say I wouldn’t do the same to protect my two.

The local farmer has a pack of 6 dogs that roam off lead. I have been in the situation where I HAD to pick my dog up or they would've killed him. They all just appeared through a gate and into the lane I was walking on. I literally had to kick away at each of them in turn as they all jumped up at me. I also took to carrying a walking stick (like the other poster's golf club) and I will use it if I have too

OP, both you and the other dog owner are in the wrong.

Your dogs should be socialised enough to deal with other dogs approaching them. You would not have stuck your leg between your dog and another if that was the case. Also, the sensible thing to do would have been to take the other dog by the collar and remove it from your dogs. As far as you've written, the other dog wasn't showing aggression. When you say kick, did you push the dog back with your foot, or did you boot it in body? There's a big difference.

On the other side, the other owner's dog clearly had no recall and hasn't been taught not to jump up.

I'm a dog lover and none of your dogs should be off lead in public places. (ETA ) I see your dogs were on leads, so I guess you're less in the wrong in that regard)

I have horses and obviously ride them... off lead dogs tearing towards us can cause a major accident... how the actual fuck is my horse to know this predator is coming to 'play'?
So I carry a stick... it's not for the horse.

If you think kicking a dog is acceptable in any circumstance then you don't deserve to own a dog. My dog is happy, sociable and loves to interact with other dogs on his walk. I'm sick to death of people with badly socialised dogs expecting the world to revolve around them.

I have and would again kick any dog that wasn’t controlled to get it away

Even removing a dog when another dog has it's 'sights' on it can be dangerous - because if the dog is running at full speed they have more power to use to lunge or leap up at you with😊

Your advice is outdated, ignorant and dangerous.

As you cannot tell us what your qualifications are...and when other people have listed there's extensively on other threads, and your advice goes against the RSPCA advice, Dogs Trust advice, and advice of most of the dog training community, I am going to ignore you now.

You did the right thing and protected your dogs. Maybe the other dog will learn from this and not approach random dogs in future! You could also try shouting Back Off to the dog first. Has worked for me on little dogs chasing me and my dog on runs.

I have absolutely booted dogs when they have jumped up and me / my small children. At one point in a park near me it got so bad with moronic dog owners I used to go walking with a golf club and made it absolutely clear that if a dog comes anywhere near me I will crush its head.

👏 👏 👏 perfectly written

I would have booted it if it came near a pet of mine. Dog owners don't understand how their little darlings come across.

Picking up a dog in a situation like this is as stupid as sticking your head incinerator.
Incorrect.
If the approaching dog/ agressor has not yet bitten or made contact then sometimes, SOMETIMES, removing the other dog
( picking it up) can help to defuse the situation.
If there is significant difference in size between the dogs then removing one dog ( picking up) takes away the margen of space either dog needs to bite.

If the dogs are physically engaged then it is not advisable to pick up. But this is absolutely not the scenario described by the OP.

OP's dog was hurt. Her first post said 'my smallest dog he squeals in pain'. She also says 'my dog who was hurt when he had his head smacked into the ground.'

The greyhound didn't stop when OP picked up her dogs, he jumped at her.

Of course OP was going to kick the dog. Turning away and calling the wet lettuce owner would have done nothing.

There we have it

evidence that people think their dogs should be able to irritate and annoy anyone they like cos they are being friendly

is a dog being friendly the new “it’s just banter “ ? Completely inappropriate behaviour that people tolerate for far too long long

it’s not ok ever to have you dog approach people or dogs who may not want that interaction - people who have been bitten or attacked by dogs, people with allergies

your dog is not welcome and you need to train it, keep it on a lead or stop keeping dogs

I do this without thought if the off lead dog doesn’t listen to stop, me blocking it or have its owner nearby to control it. You absolutely did the right thing and anyone who says otherwise has obviously not been in that position which is lovely for them.

only one owner has said anything about me kicking their dog. She called me a “fucking bitch” and had zero come back when I said it wouldn’t have happened if she had her dog on a lead or she had trained it.

I’ve only had to do it a few times but I’m not sorry at all.

well done for looking after your dog.

Any off-lead dog that attacked my on-lead dog would get a punt that resulted in a drop goal being awarded

Turn away? Ask the owner to call him back?

If someone is in danger, of course they have the right to defend themself, but the op hasn't claimed the dog was attacking her. So there was no need for her to hurt the dog imo.

Yes the dog shouldn't have been bothering her, and should have been under control, but that doesn't mean it was necessary to kick him.

I agree with you OP, I have 2 small/medium sized dogs who are both very friendly to people but reactive to other dogs. I never let them off the lead and always tell people with dogs not to let their dogs approach my dogs because they're reactive. I think people who let their dogs off the lead (without 100% recall) are irresponsible. I don't walk my dogs in fields etc as I expect other dogs to be off the lead in that situation.

What's the right thing to do, offer her small dogs as a sacrifice to the hound?

You shouldn't have kicked the dog. Sounds like it was a friendly dog that just wanted to interact with your dogs.

@Mistymaglets Lots of experienced dog owners and trainers on this thread have disagreed with you on this and given the exact same advice I have. As do all dog resources online - size and age of the dog does not matter. It is irrelevant. Picking up a dog in a situation like this is as stupid as sticking your head incinerator.

I'd be interested to know your experience of dog ownership and training, given how experienced quite a few of the posters are who have agreed completely with my advice.

You are completely within your right to kick away any dog that is jumping up at you. I once had an off lead dog jump up and knock my 2 y old over whilst we were walking along a narrow path by a river with a river bank one side and a steep wall on the other thus no where’s to go. So I picked up the dog and threw it down the river bank.

This " standard advice" is absolutely not applicable in all situations.

And it certainly wasn't in this one, the OP had two, elderly, small dogs who reacted to an uncontrolled , presumably younger and much larger dog.

1. Having two dogs in fear reaction mode is much worse than just one, they will pick up on each others energy.

1. Elderly. These dogs will not react like younger dogs. Also they are obviously more vulnerable.

1. Size. Whilst it is correct that picking up the dog can stimulate reaction in an aggressor and should be avoided if possible, sometimes it's just easier quicker and safer to pick up the smaller dog and repel the agressor. Which is what OP did.

I think her actions were correct in this case.

Years ago my small dog was nearly killed by a greyhound (an ex racer). I would have done the same thing as you OP, I wouldn't trust a greyhound anywhere near my small dog to this day.