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?

You were most definitely the unreasonable one in this situation.

This really pisses me off. She had her dog on a lead and had control of it, your dog ran over to say hello and was off the lead. If you can’t control your dog from running up to other dogs it should be on a lead.

My dog stays on the lead as she gets overfriendly and is pretty solid (could knock someone over), it really annoys me when other dogs run up to her off the lead as she can not defend herself and fees threatened (as she’s on the lead and I have control of her) so she is likely to go for a dog that bounds up to her.

maryshelley my rescue is the same. He is onlead most of the time unless I know that he won’t meet other dogs.

If an off lead dog bounds up to me I get nervous he gets nervous. My pet hate is dog owners like the OP

You. My dog is sometimes dog reactive with dogs he doesn’t know he’s on the lead and under control. I’m sick to death of having to scramble as fast as I can away from someone’s dog that the owner thinks should be able to bound up to whoever it feels like.

I walk my dog on a lead every evening, and sometimes when passing other aggressive dogs on leads, they still try and attack my dog. The fact that he is off lead is not completely relevant. If hes aggressive, he should have a muzzle. YANBU
As a professional: Dogs should be trained to interact properly with other dogs, otherwise it can cause aggression. Also it's important for them to have a run!
My dog knows not to approach a sick/ old dog too closely and if I call him while off the lead then he always returns to me.
People have no right to say that you are in the wrong when they don't know how your dog reacts.

So so pleased to see everyone talking sense on this thread !!! ( I only wish the local residents living round here thought the same way)

My dog was recovering from major abdominal surgery, staples all up his stomach and wearing a support vest. On his first little walk post surgery I came across three other owners who let their dogs come and harass mine when he was on the lead. I was so annoyed but they honestly looked at me like I was being crazy!

So YOUR dog got into another dog's face and the dog reacted by defending himself and somehow HE'S at fault?

YABVU.

As PPs have said, just because YOUR dog is friendly and wants to play, doesn't mean that every dog is up for that. It's quite reasonable for a dog to be anxious about being approached and to potentially react in a defensive manner.

Had your dog not approached hers I doubt any biting would have occurred.

Reverse surely?

Who was being unreasonable?
You.

This has reminded me of the time a man ignored my shouts at him to recall his spaniel because it was bothering my on-lead spaniel to the point of snarling. I had to pick mine up and carry him away. I may have called the owner a wanker amongst other things. I was over reacting apparently, despite shouting at him across the field for 10 minutes to call his bloody dog.

Of course the fact he is off lead is relevant! What an odd thing to say, OP would have had him under control and kept him away from the other dog for a start. Her dog retaliated so I think we do know how it reacts

Off lead is very relevant. By law it it was not under control. If the off lead dog had not approached the on lead dog it wouldn't have been bitten

YABVU!

If your dog doesn't have reliable recall keep them on a lead.

My dog is never off lead in public as he's a greyhound and would basically vanish into the distance!

He's also TERRIFIED of other dogs that run up to him, I'm fucking sick of irresponsible owners like letting your out of control dogs harass dogs like mine.

Keep your dog under control OP

This reminds me of the time someone allowed their puppy to approach my on lead dog.

No recall (puppy), owners did not have a clue.
I held my onlead dog tightly by her collar and in the end she jumped up to me (gsd, that was fun), in an attempt to get away.

I see OP hasn't been back since everyone has told her the harsh reality of who's at fault: she is.

I don't care if your dog is a giant buttercup who just wants to be loved ... if you can't keep your dog away from other dogs and people who don't want him near them, then he shouldn't be off a lead.

So unfair of you to put that poor woman and her dog into that situation.

I once had a man to keep my leashed dog away from his off lead dog as it bites. Some owners are awful.

My dogs are reactive...They are soft Spaniels who only want to play with each other and their ball..they do not like other dogs coming up and sniffing them..especially running and bounding up..they go on the defensive straight away. I leash them both when I see another dog in the hopes that the owner will get the message. It works 90% of the time..Please don’t let your dog run over and ‘greet’ other dogs..it’s so stressful.😦

YABVU I get so fed up with dog walkers like you.

You should NEVER allow your dog to approach an on lead dog. You have no idea whether it is reactive, old, injured, recovering from surgery, blind (in my dogs case) etc.

I'm sorry you were completely in the wrong.

Any thoughts OP?

I'm surprised that more people don't put their dogs on a lead when they see another dog on the lead. That dog on the lead is going to protect itself in the only way it knows how, which to you will of course look like aggression. Always ALWAYS put your dog on a lead if you're approaching a dog that has not been let off.

She should 100% muzzle her dog if he bites. But at the same time if your dog rushes up to other dog then maybe yours should be on the lead too.

Yep, you I’m afraid.

One of my dogs has fear aggression, so is always on the lead.

YWBU my old dog was dog aggressive and the amount of people who would let their dog run over whilst he was on a lead was unreal and beyond frustrating no matter how 'friendly' they are.

Same as @Pissedoffdotcom I muzzled him until he was attacked on 3 separate occasions (twice by the same fucking off lead dog!) and never did it again as it wasn't fair that he couldn't defend himself.

I have 2 dog friendly dogs now but always recall them around other dogs, even off lead ones, you can never be too sure how they will interact. Op if you see an on lead dog assume it's not dog friendly and recall your dog, if your dogs recall is rubbish when other dog are about (or just in general) don't let them off!

This is similar to when people allow their dogs to chase livestock and are then surprised, upset or angry when farmers shoot their beloved pet that 'only wanted to play'.

My mum's dog seems to think every animal wants to play with her including hedgehogs but we don't let her bound up to other dogs without asking the owners first if they're happy to let them play. If the other dogs owner says yes, we let her off the lead and they can go and have fun etc etc.