To have kicked an old man’s dog?

If a dog kept jumping on me and wouldn't stop, I'd kick it too.

What rubbish … an off lead dog should always be under control and have recall, otherwise it should NOT be off lead and should not be allowed to run up to on lead dogs!!

OP I would have done the same in your situation. Some are saying “he was just excited!”…but you didn’t know that and if you’re dogs were scared you of course can’t guarantee they wouldn’t respond in defense.

His dog should not have been off a lead. Very irresponsible.

What do people expect? You to stand there and let it repeatedly jump at you and await your dogs to react scared? Then that would have been your fault 🙄

Your advice wasn't balanced. You told OP her dog wasn't hurt when she says quite clearly he was. You dismissed what happened as 'paw play'.

You were also pompous telling OP 'no ifs no buts'. OP is the one who was there, she was absolutely entitled to protect her small dogs from being attacked by a big dog.

And then you ended with passive aggressive advice to OP to find this man and apologise to him and to be a better dog owner.

Let’s concentrate on the real troublemaker - the big dog owner who didn’t have his dog under control. And let the OP alone

I totally agree, idiot people that let their idiot dogs run up to dogs on leads have no place owning a dog IMO. BUT, there is nothing you can do to change that unfortunately, these people are thick as shit and are putting their own pet in danger every time the allow it, the only thing you can do is learn the most effective ways for YOU to protect yourselves and your pets if you come across them, and the no. 1 rule is to stay calm.

You said yourself that the OP panicked. Which is a fair reaction to a dog that big putting their paws on your shoulders.

She panicked before the dog jumped up her, I'm not sure what people are failing to understand with this.. the dog ran up, was pawing at her dog, at that point she could have turned and walked away, or blocked it's access, she could have shouted at it, but she didn't, she panicked, started moving around lifting her dogs off the ground and this dog decided that was a great game and started jumping all over her, then she started kicking out at it. The dog in OPs scenario wasn't aggressive, it was already over excited, and OP creating more excitement made it 10 times worse, I've seen people do this in real life, it looks crazy and just riles all the dogs up even more, it only ever works if the owner is near enough to grab their dog and you need to buy a few seconds.

Honestly, the best thing you can do is not react, walk away, or put a physical barrier in between them, and 9 out of 10 times, the excited dog will quickly lose interest, but it is completely against some people's natural tendencies, and as annoying as loose dogs are, I'd only ever hurt another dog if it was attacking or aggressive, which this dog wasn't.

When were the OP’s dogs aggressive??

No bias at all, I've had all different sizes of dogs. I've just taken the time to educate myself on how to train dogs. I've also seen many little dog owners scoop up their dogs every time they see a big dog. It tells the dogs to be scared. My advice was actually quite balanced and if the OP truly wants to stop this situation occuring again then she needs to train her dogs to not be dog aggressive and train herself on how to actually help herself and her dogs.

Exactly right

Spoken with the bias of a big dog owner with little concern for OP's small dogs.

He was wrong to let his dog come charging up to you. This is why small dogs end up reactive because people let their dogs do what the fuck they want because they don’t want to curb their freedom by keeping them on a lead so they prefer for them to jump up at people, knock kids over, chase other dogs and wildlife and then they say ‘oh he’s friendly’ just FUCK RIGHT OFF. Entitled dog owners and their unruly hounds do my head in.

It occurs to me that if OP exercises her dogs on the lead, it would be otiose to hire an entire field for them to run about in.

(I do wonder whether Hawksie has a greyhound that is reliable in its recall off-lead. I very much doubt it, if Hawksie thinks that rushing up to much smaller and older dogs and terrifying them, while ignoring their unwelcoming reaction, is "socialised".)

You shouldn't have kicked the dog, it wasn't being aggressive, it wanted to play with your dogs. You kicking the dog could potentially make the situation much worse and make him scared. sorry. People usually just keep walking in this situation they don't assault dogs. No matter what others say kicking a friendly dog is wrong and cruel.

Disagree. Why should the op hire a field because sone people cant control their dogs?An on lead dog doesn't know the intention of an uncontrolled dog bounding up to. In these scenarios I pick my little dog up and my 40kg Malamute goes in front of us to protect. Good luck to any uncontrolled dog.

First, by picking your dogs up, you create the issue with them being dog aggressive. They need to learn how to detect when a dog wants to play and by reacting in this way you create the fear. As a large dog owner I see this all the time, owners think they are 'protecting' their dogs when actually they're causing the problem. If the dog was playing too rough then you should separate them calmly but no big reactions as again that tells your dogs there is something to be scared about. Greyhounds do not have big paws and as you didn't say your dog has come away injured them being knocked to the ground has not done any damage and actually paw play is a very common way for dogs to play, they learn it as puppies.

Second, you were absolutely in the wrong for kicking a non aggressive dog, there is no ifs or buts with that. The only reason to ever do that is as a last resort if you or your dogs are in danger and being attacked. Honestly your reaction has likely done more long term damage to this dog than anything the dog did to yours. Reactions like this commonly lead to dogs become scared of people which would be a really sad result given he was only looking to play. If I was you, I would reach out to the owner, apologise and see a trainer to help you teach your dogs how to behave around other dogs and they can also teach you some techniques for when this happens in the future.

Dogs with no recall that run straight up to other dogs should not be off lead. Not all dogs take kindly to being rushed/sniffed at. I would have done the same

I don't think there is a legal ban on off-lead greyhounds, but I do know that all the greyhound rescue organisations I can find seem to be strongly in favour of keeping them on the lead except in an enclosed ("secure") field. Some even put a clause about it in the adoption agreement the new owners sign.

One explanation given is "Greyhounds are generally not allowed off-lead in unenclosed areas due to their high prey drive, immense speed, and poor recall ability, which makes them prone to chasing, getting lost, or injuring themselves. They can reach speeds of over 60 -- 70 km/h in seconds, often ignoring commands to stop when focused on a target. "

To be honest, I wouldn't let a greyhound off-lead myself, because they are impulsive and drivers' reactions are not always all you might want. A greyhound is not going to stop just because there's a road in the way, and there are roads near most woodlands and parks.

I’ve kicked away a dog before now as it’s jumping up at me so I don’t think you did anything wrong. I’m fed up of people with no control over their dogs.

Good first you to be able to be that assertive.
Not good for me who just freeze out of fear…. I’d genuinely be terrified and certainly would NOT put myself in front of an aggressive dog.

You said yourself that the OP panicked. Which is a fair reaction to a dog that big putting their paws on your shoulders.
I dont see the point on lecturing the OP about the fact they should have done xyz. Or that they are awful etc…

Let’s concentrate on the real troublemaker - the big dog owner who didn’t have his dog under control. And let the OP alone

I am pretty sure greyhounds shouldn’t be off lead legally anyway? Maybe an overreaction to kick the dog OP but that lady is a bitch posting on fb about something that was none of her business

The other dog was out of control! OP's dogs were on leads, the other wasn't and caused trouble. Op kicked it to get it off her own dogs!

What I mean by a 'dog being a dog' is that it's not his fault he is untrained. He was doing a very doggy thing and he doesn't know better. I hope your dog is ok and not too badly affected.

And I'm not piling on in case that gets thrown about. I am merely stating my own opinion which op asked for. It is okay to have different opinions and I wish op and her little dogs nothing but the best. I just wouldn't have kicked the dog. And that's okay too.

Oh come off it. The owner should have called the dog back when he saw it wasn't welcome. A dog shouldn't be that far off lead if they've got no recall. Never mind being so badly trained it jumps up at the OP to reach her dogs!

I think the main problem is that your issue is with the man and his lack of control, but it is the dog who was kicked. You have no idea if the dog was hurt. My dog didn't even flinch when a 50p sized piece of flesh was ripped off her by another dog (she did later). For all you know the dog is suffering major internal trauma. I dont think for a second it is, but you cant confidently state that you didn't hurt it. Everyone is saying the dog shouldn't have been off lead. That is probably true but it's hardly the dogs choice and physically injuring a non aggressive dog seems overkill to me. In terms of what to do in the future, I had success shouting "Get off. Bad dog!" To a collie who came aggressively at mine. He looked so surprised that it interrupted his behaviour. I would not recommend kicking because how would you get yourself and your two dogs home with a massive bleeding wound if the dog had responded aggressively?

And if the dog isn’t just playing but is aggressive, you … put yourself in front of the dog and put yourself in arm’s way at the same time?

Oh my god yes, I would, and have, absolutely put myself in front of my dog when being faced with an aggressive dog, IME experience, most dogs back down from a human being assertive (loud voice, deliberate 'blocking' body language) normally gives the owners chance to catch up. I've had dogs all my life and I can count on one hand the times that has happened though, most dogs that approach us are not nasty, but poorly socialised and/or boisterous.

I'm not sure why reading my post you have jumped to victim blaming though, I said OP escalated that situation in the way she responded, it is not her fault it happened at all.