To have assumed it was common courtesy among dog walkers

[SomewhereInbetween1]

To put your dog on a lead if you see another owner do so to their dog once they've spotted you? Especially if your dog's recall is a little sketchy? I've seen a lot of owners put their dogs on the lead at the sight of other dogs because they may, for instance, not get along with other dogs. But if the other dogs are off the lead and so still able to approach the one on the lead, it entirely defeats the effort. Anyone had any experience with this?

Hi Tabula,

There is a lady like you around you here: she has a large, muzzled, Staffy and crosses the road when she sees us etc. I'm also mindful of her dog who has as much right to be out as others. OH and I say that we much prefer passing her obviously aggressive dog as she has it under control, which is more than can be said for many.

I would never do this. I just assume the dog has a problem or isn't trained or something but I have no reason to then put my dog on a lead.

My dog obviously reads a signal that I don't as he avoids dogs on leads but loves a run around with a dog that isn't.

What about the ones with their dogs on an extending lead who then let them misbehave? Happened yesterday. I kept my generally Ok but selectively deaf Lab on the lead in a large field as I saw their small dog was on a lead. They then let it run out to the end of its lead, first to jump up at some ponies grazing quietly in the field and then to run up to my dog and do the same, until I stopped dead and asked them not to. Just idiots.

Totally agree with the recall training comments. Ours is usually off her lead to be fair, and since being whistle trained her recall has improved dramatically. We even managed to distract her from playing with a gorgeous whippet earlier. Proud moment!

My dog was trained thoroughly and still has the total recall to prove it . But he is 15 (or so we aren't sure as he's a rescue but must be around that mark now) and I trained him to the point he could play off lead with any other dogs and walk past other dogs on his lead without any reaction whatsoever. He was a mess when we got him and was terrified of anything with a stick (sweeping brush, vacuum cleaner etc) and also hadn't been socialised at all and was very bad with other dogs. It seems with the other dogs he has just reverted to form in his old age so I don't think retraining him is an option though I do my best to improve his problems with other dogs and haven't just give up.

But Navy you are the one with an issue, you want other dog owners to put their dogs on a lead in an area where lots of dogs run and play, such as the field we go to where lots of us go specifically to socialise our dogs. If your dog can't cope in those sort of areas then stay away from them. I don't mind dogs on leads in the field but I don't want the owners freaking out because other dogs are off lead.

Yes, I'm forgiving of owners who are trying. Usually, we get an apology and think no more about it. It's those who think mine is "out of control" when she's on lead that baffle me. She was fine until your dog over which you had minimal control set her off.

I cross roads, turn around etc when I see another dog. I give groups a wide berth. But there is always one complete tool. For example, the man round the corner whose Westie broke out of his garden and ran across the road to us. Guess who got the blame when Scrabble barked? Even walking down the road can be a bloody hazard.

"But Navy you are the one with an issue, you want other dog owners to put their dogs on a lead in an area where lots of dogs run and play"

Only if they haven't trained a reliable recall.

I think if your dog has a problem and needs to be on a lead - you should think about giving me a wide berth.

Anyway, my dog is 6 and we have met the same snarling, teeth baring, aggressive little border terrier several times per week. This dog is on a lead and usually on his hind legs as he's so desperate for a fight. My dog saunters past him with his nose in the air and an air of complete disdain.

You don't own public space Missy.

I give groups like yours a wide berth, but see no reason to leave the actual field. By the same token, I expect to be left in peace in a wide open space, and if my on lead dog barks at yours if it's zoomed over and won't go away, I don't expect mine to get the blame.

"There is a lady like you around you here: she has a large, muzzled, Staffy and crosses the road when she sees us etc."

It's not me, lol, my dog is a lot bigger than a staffy... but in case you've never spoken to her (I don't get the chance to say this to people) thanks

I am so pathetically grateful when people pause or slow down for a couple of seconds to let me cross the road to avoid their dog, but I can't say it because I can't stop.

The one mistake I won't be making is keeping my dog on a lead all the time just in case anyone ever gets miffed at her being off lead, she can't learn perfect recall if she's never allowed to practice it outside the garden. Puppies are not born knowing all this stuff they have to be allowed to learn. I think some dog owners are too up their own bottoms and think the world must revolve around their precious dog, and have in particular chosen to forget the puppy stage - or have never been through it because they chose a rescue dog with issues.

"Puppies are not born knowing all this stuff they have to be allowed to learn."

They also won't have a reliable recall if you're testing it before it's actually been fully trained.

You can't set them up to learn to ignore you and then be surprised when that is what they start to do.

Just to note: I've been through the puppy stage - Scrabble was the carefully 'chosen' one. We then did advanced obedience for three years. Meanwhile, my rescue Staff who is an unknown quantity, is the dog friendly one. Please don't make assumptions about how people end up with 'problem' dogs.

God this shit makes me want to a) smash my face into a wall and b) euthanise my dog.

Despite puppy training and 6 (SIX) behaviourists, including a clinical one, my small, fearful dog has serious aggression issues. She is now nearly 10, and I walk her on lead at 7am in an area where dogs have to be kept on a lead (public footpaths through a game shoot). It's the only way to never see another ignorant, narrow minded, self absorbed, entitled arrogant dog owner who could not conceive of the fact that I might be hiding in the hedge with a snarling shrieking tasmanian devil for a reason.

Why is it so hard to just clip your dog on for the 30 seconds it will take to give each other a wide berth? I'm doing my best to get away from you.

I've had warning hatched leads, caution leafs, bandanas, jackets, lead covers, currently she has one which says STAY AWAY in red.

It's such a load of bollocks, I'm ready to chuck in the towel. Life is too much for the dog as it is without trying to manage other people who simply don't care.

Thanks Navy. Bit of an angry post on my part really. I'm just so gutted that owning a dog has been such a traumatic 10 years...never again.

In the massive park where I walk my parents dog, if dogs are off the lead and running around I leave her off the lead and she will come back to me if she doesn't like the dog as she can be a bit shy and wimpy. If there's a dog on the lead, I will call her back to me and she will heel very patiently at my side or I will make her sit and wait out of the way until the other dog passes.

There are dogs that she immediately comes back to me when she sees them because they are aggressive just playing and their owner aren't proactive in keep them calm.

Why is it so hard to just clip your dog on for the 30 seconds it will take to give each other a wide berth? I'm doing my best to get away from you.

Yes.
It's not as if people are asking you to keep your dog on a lead at all times.

Billy