AIBU re people with dogs on path

[SatsumaSatsuma]

I took my 4yo border terrier for a walk in the woods today. he is a real softy and a bit nervous of big dogs or groups of dogs. he is never aggressive and doesn't bark usually.

today we were on a woodland path and he stopped dead, and barked repeatedly, assuming a sort of stand off position. I called him, but he wouldn't come. 50m ahead of us were 2 people chatting with their 2 dogs. (the man was dressed in black and was standing on a sloping part of path, he had one leg bent and the other straight, in a kind of lunge position. ) after some minutes of me trying to coax my dog to go around the other to dogs, and the people, which involved going through low hanging branches/ undergrowth on a slope beside the path, it became apparent that my dog didn't like the man, and was unconcerned about the dogs, who had now ventured towards him.

at this point, we all realised that it was the man that my dog had the issue with not the other dogs. I apologised for my dog's barking and I joked that maybe it was the man's stance and said that he looked a bit like he was going into battle.

he said that it didn't bother him (ie my dog barking). they carried on chatting as if i wasnt there. it seemed like ages before my dog eventually followed me on my detour through the bushes, with his tail between his legs, and tbh it was quite stressful.

I realise that my dog is my responsibility and that he was technically behaving rather badly, however, AIBU to think that it might have been good dog walking etiquette for them not to have continued to block the path while I tried to deal with this situation?

would welcome views from doggy behaviour experts!

(my dog only once reacted like this before to a person- a man in balck, in a pub with a cap on but he stopped as soon as we told him not to bark)
TIA

YABU. One if you had to detour off the path into mud and bushes, as it was your dog misbehaving, it should be you that did the detour. unless there was a convenient side path that they could have walked a few paces down out of the way, but from your description there wasn't one.

I'm no expert but as a fellow dog owner, if I saw someone struggling with their dog and I could make things easier for them by moving out of their way, I would.

what did you expect them to do? why didnt you just put the dog on the lead and walk past them on the path rather than detouring around bushes? you have basically just told your dog that it doesnt have to deal with sonething he doesnt like, my dog also used to do this when she saw large bouncy dogs on the path coming towards her, sometimes she will try and turnaround and run away, I just put her on the lead and walk calmly past them, she is timid in nature and now nearly 2yrs she is getting much better and will now stand and wait for me to walk with her as we pass.

Besides, if an unknown dog was barking at me, the last thing I would do is move as that could potentially trigger an attack. Not saying that your dog would attack, but he doesn't know if it will or won't so the correct thing to do is stand still.

Your dog knew something you didn't! I bet he was dodgy and im not even joking! Dogs are very sensitive, yes it may have been his aggressive poncy look at me im stretching stance, but i daresay your dog sensed something nasty about him. My dogs have always been sensitive about these sort of things, they were never wrong.

He should have moved out of your way - he was rude, kind of backs up your dogs opinion!

ok, yes I probably should have gone and put him on the lead. it was a new situation and quite stressful, and I was ahead of my dog by this point (level with the people- probably only 20m away realistically- he often has a sniff around and catches me up) so putting him on the lead was not an instinctive thing to do due to the distance, it made more sense in that moment to call him to me.

Those saying put your dog on the lead and walk past have obviously never met my dog- it would have looked something like this graphicriver.net/item/stick-man-and-reluctant-dog/4445628 having said that, he was a jack Russell so easy enough to pick up and stick under your arm!

if my dog was behaving strange he would be put on a lead in case he snapped at the man as we went past , i dont see what you expected the other people to do.

lemming, I recognised this man from school playground, dh knows him vaguely from football and said he is rude and arrogant! id didn't say this in my OP as it is wasn't strictly relevant!

I accept that my dog was 'wrong' in one sense, but could one also argue that creating a human/ doggy barricade for us to go through is almost a confrontational thing to do in dog-speak?

following, I guess that it never occurred to me that my dog might snap at them as I saw his behaviour as being frightened rather than aggressive but i'm not an expert, obv.

if they'd continued walking the barricade effect wouldve been reduced , or moved to the side maybe, as they were talking up 3m width of path. I dunno, they just ignored me more or less totally and I recognised them both from the playground.

ah i can see now ive reread about the barricade , that probably bothered your dog and he probably felt threatened or nervy ,also agree with lemingaround dogs do sense dodgy people , i always put my boy on a lead if he gets wary , hes getting old and grumpy and i would worry about him just snapping then having to get him put down.

A frightened dog is the one most likely to bite (why socialisation & habituation etc is so so important).

Yes I agree lead and walk past. Any situations where I become unsure of my dog's potential reaction (although in his case it's more likely to be leaping about over-excitedly) he goes on the lead.

your dog is clearly a good judge of character they generally are!

It is fairly usual to move out of people's way when one is in their way, regardless of any dog related issues.

So Yanbu - the man sounds a berk.

thanks following and saintly and others. actually he mixes very well with other dogs when with the dog walker but is a bit timid with certain dogs when I walk him. maybe he prefers the safety of a pack on a walk. yes I can see that re frightened dog. I guess that as he has almost never barked, and never ever bitten, I didn't see that as likely. I would put him on a lead if there is a next time!

i do feel that they were a little unneighbourly, shall we say, at the very least.

if your dog is behaving oddly it should be on a lead, you cant blame the man for how he was stood. if your dog bit him i dont think a good defence would be a description of how he stood. The lead would protect your dog as much as him.

YABU. And I say that as a dog owner and lover. This was a situation you should have controlled. Regardless of the reasons why, your dog was displaying aggression towards the man. You can't expect the man to make allowances because you didn't know how to handle it.

As a fellow dog owner I'd say you're being a bit unreasonable. If it was my dog causing bother (It usually is, unfortunately!) I wouldn't expect someone to move out of the way, I'd clip him on the lead and lead him away from the situation. The man wasn't creating the problem, your dog was. I think he seemed like a nice chap, to be fair. Some people can be really funny about a dog barking at them, as they may take it as a sign of aggression. You need to remember that this man doesn't know your dog as you do.

On a side note, lifeinthefastlane I have had great results from BAT with SelectASpaniel who is fearful of some other dogs, especially large bouncy ones heading towards him, and part of that involves turning him away / changing direction rather than making him pass another dog head-on, on the basis that he learns I will not force him into a situation which he finds uncomfortable; instead he now trusts that I will take charge and so he doesn't have to, which has rapidly built his confidence. In the nine months since we got him from rescue he has improved from a dog who would bark and lunge at the majority of dogs he came into relatively close contact with to a dog who will sit quietly looking up at me most of the time when other dogs pass him.

Definitely worth a try with a nervous dog.

lunar, you are right, i was naïve as my dog is such a ridiculous softy.

x post, i def think i couldn't handled it differently but i still think he was a berk, as ali says!

i suppose it was just the fact that he'd never been like this before that threw me.

'could've' not 'couldnt'!!

It just sounds like you think badly of the man for not moving out of your way.

jolleigh, yes i do tbh as i think they were creating a wide barricade.

i accept i should've put him on the lead, but they were still hogging the wide path. and he had an arrogant demeanour.