Who was unreasonable? Dog walking.

[Bearlover16]

Walking my dog up the field. Let him off lead for a run. He approaches another dog to say hello who was on lead. Other dog attacks my dog, bites him quite nasty on the leg. My dog retaliates. Owner rants at me that my dog should be on a lead and she's sick of people like me as her dog gets the blame being a bull terrier. I respond that surely my dog should be allowed to have a run off lead?
Who was being unreasonable? Should her dog be muzzled if it's viscous even on lead?

[EffYouSeeKaye]

YABU.

[PinkLady01]

Don’t let your dog approach another dog without the owners permission WITHOUT ASKING THE OWNER. No matter how cute or friendly the other dog looks!!

[didyouseetheflaresinthesky]

Of course your dog is allowed a run but you shouldn't have allowed him to approach another dog who was on the lead. It's just basic common sense and courtesy. People like you drive me nuts. I have two dogs. One is always off and other dogs are welcome to approach her. The other stays leashed unless in the fenced field with no one else around because he will go for other male dogs. If you can't call him back reliably then he needs to stay within grabbing distance.

[Pissedoffdotcom]

Not necessarily. A dog could be the most social animal going...then have an injury that makes them fragile. If another dog bounces all over them that would make them snap. That isn't anything to do with socialisation, that's self preservation.

My mum's bitch is stone cold deaf now at the grand age of 11. If she can see a dog coming, she is happy as larry. If a dog approaches from behind & startles her she will react. Again, self preservation.

[DeadCertain]

Not always down to socialisation or a dislike of other dogs either - illness (could be infectious), recovering from surgery, frail (neighbours have an old dog who had just suffered a stroke that got barrelled over twice last week by a "friendly" dog) ..... essentially you just don't know. Which is why on lead = do not let your dog approach. Simple.

[tabulahrasa]

“It isn't just down to lack of socialisation that dogs don't like others approaching them”

Not just lack of...

But dogs that don’t like being approached by others strongly enough that their reaction is to bite have had their socialisation go badly somewhere along the line.

Mine is reactive and would bite other dogs if they got close enough and he was unmuzzled, he’s had some pretty serious health issues that meant he missed a big chunk of time of being able to build up positive experiences and then when he could meet other dogs he was in pain if they bounced on him. It’s not because of any failing on my part, but it’s still bad socialisation.

Dogs that are fear reactive after bad experiences with other dogs, again not their owners fault, but it’s still essentially a socialisation problem.

Dogs that aren’t particularly social but wouldn’t bite... well that’s not really a problem anyway, they’re just happier being left alone.

[mama17]

You was being unreasonable. They were being responsible by keeping their dog on a lead. My dog is the same awful with other dogs out of fear and many of time dogs run up to him he gets scared and snaps. I try and avoid other dogs as much as possible with him

[DeadCertain]

Very unreasonable for all the reasons that multiple people have posted.

Muzzles also don't prevent a dog from doing harm (although clearly stops a bite if fitted correctly). Muzzle punches can do a surprising amount of damage. Ultimately the point shouldn't be reached where an on lead dog feels the need to defend itself.

I have been the owner of a dog terrified by others having been attacked and almost killed once by a dog barrelling over when we were walking past it's garden (on pavement, gate left open). It is absolutely heartbreaking to see so much hard work and effort in even seeing another dog again undone by "friendly" dogs barrelling over - and really, really disheartening starting all the confidence - building work again. The owners of the dogs that approached tended to be really rude (defensive) and patronising when politely engaged about their dogs' behaviour (those that came close enough to engage with) and then go merrily on their way leaving me with a wreck of a dog who had just had the sky fall in on his world again. A little common courtesy from all owners would mean that we could all enjoy our walks in peace.

[DC2018]

Seriously? Obviously you are in the wrong! Fair enough letting your dog off lead if you can control him and can reliably call him back before he runs up to another dog but that doesnt seem the case. Your carelessness put your dog and the other dog in danger!

[AriadnePersephoneCloud]

YABU I have an antisocial dog. I'm not sure what happened in his past (rescue dog) but he's brilliant with people of any age and absolutely awful with dogs. He can't go near any. We try and walk him on streets to minimise bumping into people with dogs off leads but even so there's loads where I live... Everywhere. It's great their dogs are so well trained but my dog is on a lead because he's savage so please keep them away. Honestly I've had to resort to picking my dog up and carrying him because people won't call their dogs. I have the No Dog lead and always shout out to people. It's horrible and stressful.

[Pissedoffdotcom]

It isn't just down to lack of socialisation that dogs don't like others approaching them

[tabulahrasa]

“My dog did not bite first, it simply approached it. Dogs do this.”

Well yes... badly socialised dogs do approach other dogs who clearly aren’t interested, but then badly socialised dogs who don’t want to be approached might bite. It’s basically the other end of the same problem, so I’m not sure why you think your badly socialised dog should be the other owner’s problem?

As for muzzles, they’re not magic you know, they stop teeth connecting, but if you let your dog run up to a muzzled dog they’re just going to get hit with a hard blunt object instead of bitten... it’s not any pleasanter and can cause pretty severe injuries.

[Nodancingshoes]

God, this annoys me when people's dogs run over to my dog on his lead. My dog (Jack Russell) is always walked on a lead. He is not vicious or uncontrollable but he DOES NOT LIKE other dogs. I keep him on a short lead when other dogs are around and on the long lead when not. I would rather random children didn't approach him either. He has never bitten anyone and loves our kids but you never know

[TitOfTheIceberg]

Generally speaking, dogs who are reactive or aggressive to other dogs are not so towards humans. They behave this way because a vital part of their socialisation with other dogs was missed when they were puppies (there is a surprisingly short window when pups are receptive to learning this behaviour) or because they've had a previous bad experience with another dog who didn't know 'the rules' either - my old dog was attacked by a black Lab as a youngster, and remained fearful of big black dogs for the rest of his life, despite lots of counter-conditioning and positive reinforcement training. That's why they don't read the approach of a playful dog as an invitation to play, and instead see it as an invasion to be defended.

Dogs generally bite humans when they're a) provoked and b) the human in question has failed to misread the myriad signs a dog gives off which says "I'm uncomfortable here, please remove me or yourself from this situation". Understandably, a child left alone with a dog is more likely to be oblivious to these signs or be too young to pick up on them, which is why it's recommended to never leave the two alone together until the child is old enough to understand, and why the majority of awful "small child mauled by dog" stories involve a period where the dog and child were indeed left alone.

Not all adults understand the warning signs either, which incidentally is why it's so important never to scold a dog for growling. Growling isn't aggression, it's communication. It's a dog's way of saying "I'm really, really uncomfortable here" and as such is a valuable warning tool for its human to remove it, or whatever is making it uncomfortable, toot sweet. A dog scolded for growling will simply learn not to growl, and so instead next time it's in that really, really uncomfortable position, it will proceed straight to biting and then you really do have a dangerous dog - made so by humans who don't understand canine behaviour.

[poppy196]

@NicoAndTheNiners Yes your right , dog warden told my daughter that if your dog is on the lead and has a fight with off lead dog then you are in the right and other owner is liable for any vets bills .
This thread is annoying in the fact despite 99% of comments are YABU she has only posted to bring up what if it was a child which we all know is shit because dog on dog aggression isn't dog /child aggression .
Just wish op would come back to say ok I'm wrong .
I do worry for her dog though if she allows him to carry on as he is then one day very soon the shit will hit the fan and she will be facing huge vets bills for two dogs .

[SoupDragon]

surely it's a bit hypocritical having a go at OP for not controlling her dog when you clearly can't control your own bad language and aggression in your responses!

😂😂😂

[platesandflowers]

@Ellapaella what-fucking-ever

[TheSmallClangerWhistlesAgain]

One of mine gets really narky if other dogs bother her when she's on her lead. Off-lead she's fine and will either play or just run off out of the way. This is really, really common behaviour. Despite the fact that she's a brindle Staff, she isn't vicious, she just feels vulnerable when she's on the lead and can't get away from a situation.

[lifebeginz]

Other dog was on lead for a reaason. You should never let an off lead dog run up to an on lead dog no matter how friendly your dog is... for all you knowshe could have been training an extremely nervous dog and you have just undone all her hard work...

[Pissedoffdotcom]

It's interesting that people think reactive dogs shouldn't be walked in 'popular' dog walking spots. Why?? If a dog is on the lead & not lunging at other dogs...which in this case OP makes no reference to any aggression until her dog gets in the other dog's face...then why should owners keep their dogs away? It isn't a legal right to have your dog off lead anywhere

[NicoAndTheNiners]

I might be wrong but I reckon that as your dog retaliated if the other dog needed vet treatment you could be deemed liable for their vet bill because they will be seen as having a dog under control (on a lead) yours won't be (off lead) and you dog will be judged as having instigated it by approaching (out of control)

[Ellapaella]

Am totally in agreement with everyone who says OP should have her dog on a lead or train it not to approach others dogs.

But so many people are using the F word in their responses here - surely it's a bit hypocritical having a go at OP for not controlling her dog when you clearly can't control your own bad language and aggression in your responses!

[codenameduchess]

You, if your dog can't be recalled you should put the lead back on as soon as you see another dog.

You've decided the other dog is dangerous to make yourself the victim here, but it's more than likely it's afraid of other dogs and that fear reaction caused the bite. Unfortunately certain breeds have been labelled dangerous because of irresponsible owners and then prejudiced people who treat them badly and that not the dogs fault.

My mums dog really friendly with other dogs but is always put back on lead of one approaches, he's a big dog and little dogs not on leads often attack him and their owners excuse it because they are small and he's a 'dangerous' breed and has been attacked by other owners because they can't be bothered to control their dogs. That's not an excuse for them or you!

Use the lead and don't blame people who are being responsible.

[Bibijayne]

@steppemum

Fellow soft spaniel owner here. I think I must have been lucky. Our Poppy dog is a kid magnet but I'd say 90% of the time kids ask before approaching her. And that's with her wagging her tail like a lunatic.

I do feel a bit like a dog information service though. Telling g kids how she likes to be stroked.

[Bibijayne]

Both TBH. Your dog approached her dog. However, she didn't move her dog away or alert you that her was unfriendly. Presumably she was walking in a popular dog walking spot? Usually people with unfriendly dogs make efforts to keep curious friendly dogs away. She did not. At the same time, you should have been able to call your dog back when the situation became clear.