To be annoyed about other dogs

[Anewhope]

Every day we go on a walk to some nearby fields. My dog is a small spaniel and is obsessed with her ball. If another dog comes over she doesn't even glance at them, all she's bothered about is us and the ball.

Every day she gets mobbed by other, (usually bigger) dogs. It's not too bad if there's just one of them because she generally runs off and the owner can shout them back but recently there have been groups of 3 or 4 big dogs that come bounding over to us, so the owner isn't close enough to stop them. It happens every time, different owners and dogs.

My dog tries to get away, she isn't interested. But they end up all crowding around and jumping all over her. It's awful. She gets stressed and barks if there isn't any space for her to get away and I worry they might hurt her. I don't know how to stop it, I imagine it would be worse if my dog was on her lead cause she couldn't even get away.

Any advice? Would you say anything? Or do I just suck it up and let it go? Or change dog walk location? It's perfect for us other than that, she's a spaniel so needs that free, off lead time really.

We've been on walks with friends who have dogs. She's perfectly fine, happy to walk alongside them etc. She just prefers to play with us and her ball. She's not a boisterous, play fight dog. She's not into chasing or being chased by other dogs. She just wants to do as we say. When we were training her we made 'the ball' a big deal for this exact reason, so that whatever the situation, we always had control. It also makes her walks a lot more tiring as she's constantly fetching it. I'm quite glad she's ball obsessed. If I'm holding it she will follow me to the ends of the Earth.

Sorry that turned into a bit if a rant! It wasn't aimed at you. In answer to your question we don't have anyone with a dog we could walk with regularly and I think if we did she would still ignore them to be honest. It's a good suggestion though, to get her used to it. Is your friends dog a much bigger dog too?

My dog approaches slowly, lies down (not sure what this means but seems to be a good thing?!) and watches from a distance to suss out the other dog. A 'stand off' usually follows where she and the other dog just watch each other until one decides to play. I love it when my dog meets another playful dog. My dog doesn't however run straight up to other dogs and jump all over them.

However, if they can't or don't bother to recall it, or are ambling along 1/4 of a mile away totally oblivious to what their dog is doing then I will catch it and hold it until they come and take it away and I'm less polite if I get the 's/he's just being friendly' line

What a miserable, aggressive thing to do! Honestly some of the posts on here are utterly depressing. Most dogs are friendly, completely non aggressive and just want to play. I understand some people have nervous dogs and don't like it but really?? My dogs have good recall but they will always happily check out another dog. If I see that the other dog or owner looks worried I call them off. I'd be cross actually if you grabbed my dogs collar. Don't you worry about getting bitten? I am sure some dogs would hate being grabbed!

I have to say that the more posts I read from so called 'dog behaviourists' the more I think they make problems where there aren't any. It makes dog ownership sound absolutely no fun whatsoever. No vet I know would grab another dogs collar. One vet did tell me to carry a riding whip to smack a local dog who was very aggressive and ran around loose (old owner who was too ill to look after it, dog eventually destroyed sadly)!

Like parenting and kids, sometimes dogs and dog ownership aren't perfectly under control and as long as the dogs aren't physically aggressive it's just part of life!

Can't we all have a bit of tolerance and keep this in perspective?

Unfortunately as people like Merrykegs show, there will always be ignorant twats who just can’t get their heads around basic courtesy. Either that or their dog hasn’t been trained to recall.

I’d carry a squirt bottle of water to try to deter the worst offenders. Also a pocket full of treats because sometimes you can throw a handful at an incoming dog and then move away while it’s hoovering them up.

It’s maddening though. People can be so wilfully ignorant.

Scabbersly I totally agree!

Also a pocket full of treats because sometimes you can throw a handful at an incoming dog and then move away while it’s hoovering them up

my labrador would literally never leave you alone if you did thst

"ignorant twats"

calm down dear!

Also if you know so much about dogs you can probably work out why feeding dogs you don't know is a terrible idea.

I am imagining a Tasmanian Devil style whirlwind of dogs including jiminys, all going for the treats.

Or maybe Jiminys dog is looking on wistfully, like the child of a 'healthy food only' parent at a birthday party

If your dog comes up to mine she is likely to bite it and more. She's a dog reactive rescue. I'm not miserable. I'm not stopping friendly dogs playing. I'm looking after my dog AND yours by saying stay the hell away

Isn't she supposed to wear a muzzle in public in that case bumpowder?

No. She is kept on lead at all times and I walk her in reasonably dog free areas. I can also read her warning signs from quite early on and move her away from the offending dog in time.

The issues come from the "it's friendly" brigade who believe their dog is entitled to bound up to any and all dogs and are never to be seen when their dog bowls up to mine. So I'm not going to muzzle my girl who is otherwise a dream dog for the sake of those idiots.

I think the blue Cross would put the onus firmly on you actually. They recommend muzzles for dogs that bite.

She only bites as a last resort and gives off plenty of warnings before she gets to that stage. The law is on my side in that my dog is on lead and under control. She only gets into a scrap out of fear and being jumped on by lunatic off lead dogs.

The Law

I really hate it when I am out running in the park and dogs off lead come bounding over to me wanting to 'play'. Happens almost every day.

VetOnCall, Anewhope I agree, it is a bugbear of mine too. When I first got my dog I enrolled her in puppy classes and made sure she was well socialised. She was doing so well in training that we started Rally Obedience. At 7 months old I was walking her when a dog came pelting towards her, bundled her over again and again. I couldn't get the dog to leave her alone. The dog eventually pushed her into a ditch. All the time the owner kept shouting "It's ok, my dog is playing".
I managed to get the owner to catch his dog and I retrieved mine from the ditch. This was not an isolated incident and resulted in my dog becoming fearful. I had to take her to a behaviourist to help with the issue and unfortunately had to give up on the Rally Obedience.
I wish people would train their dogs and realise how detrimental it can be. They seem to think that as long as their dog is having fun it doesn't matter about what the implications are to other dogs.

Scab - if I were literally surrounded by dogs then you’re right; the food wouldn’t be appropriate. However if scattering a handful of food stops an incoming dog from hassling my fearful dog and keeps it busy while hopefully its useless owner comes to get it that’s fine by me.

Meanwhile my not-very-foodie-but-toy-crazy dog far from looking on wistfully is perfectly happy playing with me.

Maybe if more people engaged with their own dogs they’d be less likely to bugger off and be easier to train.

Just to point out, if a dog on lead bites an off lead dog the onus is on the off lead owner NOT the on lead owner. A dog on a lead is considered under control in a situation where an off lead one approaches inappropriately. You do not have to muzzle your dog if the only reason s/he snaps is to defend against dogs invading personal space. If your dog actively lunges it is different.

I spent ages being told my dog should have a muzzle because she snapped if any other dog got in her face. She was 9, recovering from severe illness & had been used as a breeding machine; she had every reason to want her own space. I never muzzled her, she was always on lead & under control.

I had this problem with a dog I had , he was great with people and fine with dogs as long as they did not mob him .
I carried two water pistols , one with just water in the other with lemon juice and water ( about half and half mix )
A squirt of water on the nose works for most dogs to be put off but if not lemon / water aimed at the mouth / tongue ( when panting ) will work along with very firm NO .
It surprising how good a shot you become after a while .
and before anyone says I am cruel , it does them no harm at all other than a bit of a shock / nasty taste .

I think dog interactions are a totally 2-sided coin and we all have to take responsibility for our dogs issues.

I have two small breed dogs. Both are friendly and we've worked on socialization and recall a lot. They are good at reading body language, ignore dogs that are ignoring them, recall is good ( massive break through on this through use of a dog training whistle -highly recommended)

They weren't born like this, they had to learn and they've learnt through meeting many types of dog and through age. If I had followed all these rules when they were puppies of never letting them approach others without getting 2 references and a full history I'd have two neurotic dogs with no social skills,

You WILL meet nervous dogs, rescue dogs with unknown pasts, dogs new to their owners whose bond isn't perfect, deaf dogs, blind dogs, aggressive dogs, young dogs who are still learning.

They are naturally social animals and if yours can't read the body language of a friendly dog, and can't effectively communicate that it wants to be left alone then you do have to work on that, get a behaviourist, go to socialisation classes with a dog expert etc. Your dog will be happier and more confident and so will you.

And anybody talking about the 'height of rudeness' in reference to dogs makes me laugh...they have their own social rules not ours and you have to help them learn to be a dog.

Agree with everything Sillyjelly says. Let dogs be dogs is my philosophy. And dont expect the whole world to revolve around your particular dog, its better to help them cope with situations rather than insisting that tricky situations must never happen.

Yes silyjelly absolutely right

Carrying a water pistol full of lemon juice!

I've heard it all now. I categorically don't believe you could hit a dogs nose without hitting their eyes

What kind of person do you have to be to want to squirt a dog in the face with lemon juice

Or throw treats

Jesus

Maybe just easier to teach your dog a recall and prevent it running up to unknown dogs without an invitation then Scab.

Let’s see... you see another dog... call yours... quick shout to the other owner “Ok to let them play?” then depending on the reply either let yours approach, or don’t.

Takes seconds.

Squirting water / lemon juice at a dog - not physically damaging, but absolutely the last thing certain dogs need - especially those dogs that are working through issues. I would be very unhappy if someone did that to my dog. Likewise some dogs are on special diets or have allergies, which makes throwing treats at a dog that is not acting aggressively about as appropriate as pushing chocolate buttons through the fence of your local nursery school. It also increases the chances that dog is going to approach you and others in future as last time that behaviour was rewarded with treats. I don't allow strangers in the park to give my dog treats precisely because I don't want him to learn to run up to humans (which he presently ignores).

Sillyjelly has hit the nail on the head. I can't ask that motorbikes are banned from my neighbourhood because my dog is scared (we're working on it), and likewise dogs are always going to be off lead and often leaning social skills in the park.

Though in response to one AIBU where someone claimed dogs should be on lead and muzzled in a park because their DC was scared I said motorbikes should be banned because my DDog is scared. Apparently that was VU and they completely failed to see the parallels - two sets of beings going about normal every day activities, two sets of beings with irrational fears that they need to work on.

The world does not revolve around any individual dog, but if we all communicate about our dog's needs we'll all have a much better time of it.

Having a dog barging uninvited into her space may not be physically damaging to my dog but it’s not what she needs either.
So - again - if you don’t have a recall then maybe keep your dog on a lead so it won’t risk being squirted/fed. It’s really very simple.