To be upset at peoples reaction to the muzzle?

[Doggydoggydoggy]

Just that really.

Dog wears one because she has nipped a few people.

She is not people aggressive.

I had a woman today clearly frightened because she ran near her buggy.
Near as in running past it.
Not barking/lunging/acting aggressive/approaching the child etc.

The woman got really scared at the sight of my dog, recoiled pulling the buggy so my dog did what most dogs will do in response and looked at her and went to approach.

So I called her back to me immediately and put her lead on.
That didn’t stop the woman constantly looking back angrily at me as she was walking ahead.

I really don’t think my dog had done anything that would reasonably make anyone feel frightened.

I can only assume it is the muzzle making the mum think she must be some child mauling demon.

And I find it really upsetting.

I wanted to talk to her and explain that she has the muzzle for nipping dogs and that I was sorry she frightened her but she honestly poses no risk to her child and has no interest in her child.
But her constant looking back and glaring at me made me feel really uncomfortable so I didn’t.

Someone who is scared of dogs or simply doesn't like them will feel threatened if a dog leaps past, people who haven't been around dogs simply don't know how to interpret body language.

It didn't occur to DP to remove DS straight away when the dog he was stroking (with the owner's blessing!) arched his ears and raised his shackles. When I interfered immediately and pointed this out, DP (who's clueless about dogs) said 'but he's wagging his tail' .

Glaring is an obvious aggressive gesture.

Nope. Lots of reasons someone might glare that are not aggressive.

I have repeatedly stated I don’t blame the woman, not personally attacking her or anything.

You are accusing her of being aggressive based on the way she looked back on you at a distance.

Just reading through some recent replies - OP, thank you for muzzling your dog in response to it's nipping at other dogs. My dog has been nipped BCs several times when they start trying to herd him and he takes this as them wanting to play. They can be very intense dogs that really focus hard and if you get in their way during a job you can get nipped as a warning. It's happened to my dog several times when he is approached and the owners never even say sorry, so well done to you for being a good owner.

And I'm not saying anything about the breed here - I don't do breed stereotyping, just thanking you.

I used to have a muzzled dog and loved the peace. Nobody trying to stroke her, nobody making small talk, no dogs running up to her without terrified owners trying to grab them.

Now I own (lovely) german shepherds and have even more people recoiling in horror and nobody ever speaks to me.

I think you need a bit of a thicker skin op

Was she like this, OP?

You were right to be upset.

More bonkers by the minute.

I haven't read every reply but greyhounds are popular dogs which should, in most cases, wear muzzles off lead because they can chase small animals and kill them. Such as squirrels etc. Wouldn't touch a human though, gentle giants they are.

There are so many reasons for a dog to be wearing a muzzle, I think you're terribly OTT to dramatically glare and whizz away and look over your shoulder even after the dog is on a lead. If you genuinely think that's how you'd react, then you sound a bit unhinged.

OP it's rubbish, people assume every dog is uncontrolled and that's not the case. Good job for teaching yours recall and don't worry about this, you didn't do anything wrong

Yanbu - i’d be far less concerned about a muzzled dog approaching my child than an unmuzzled one. To me, when I see a muzzled dog, what I see is a responsible owner who is looking after their dog as much as they are the general public.

Off topic but... Those of you who muzzle dogs, would you be offended if someone asks if they can approach it? My two year old loves dogs and if we're walking and see a dog, we tend to crouch down and invite it to come (life long cat owner so I always invite rather than walking up to stroke!) While asking the owner of this is ok. However, I don't do this if the dog is muzzled. Could I?

Have come across aggressive women with kids before now so yes if I was getting repeated glares from a woman with child I would be anxious anticipating trouble tbh

Someone who is afraid of dogs and has pulled away and beat a hasty retreat is definitely not going to approach you aggressively.
I'm nervous of strange dogs and there is no way I'd approach an owner whose dog is being a nuisance to me. The most I've ever done is call over to an owner "Can you please call your dog away from me?"

You can imagine the sneeriness and ridicule that results in.
"He won't hurt you, he's a softie" is a common response.
I don't fucking care. Get your dog's nose out of my crotch.

Some people don't like dogs. You are a responsible dog owner and know to have muzzled your dog. I really wouldn't be upset about the opinion of a stranger you will likely never see again. Forget it and move on .

You've chosen to let your dog off the lead, when you must know full well that fear of dogs is reasonably common, and you've got the brass neck to be upset because someone was scared of it? Fuck off.

FYI my dog is not young.
I have three young children
FWIW my family had a border collie when I was a child. She was always a lovely friendly tolerant dog who wouldn't hurt a fly, but she did get very nippy as she got older. She even nipped me a couple of times for no discernible reason. Maybe the dog just felt a bit out of sorts but she'd been my dog for 13 years and then just suddenly out of nowhere got nippy with me.

I am pleased none of you have obviously never come across such behaviour

Not those of us who keep our dogs on leads in public haven't.

I don't believe that a dog-aggressive dog wouldn't have a greater propensity for human aggression.

I don't understand the desire to have an aggressive dog- I give them and their owners a very wide berth. I've been attacked by a pit bull, I refuse to accept that they're lovely soppy dogs, same for Staffys, neither do I like border collies or Dalmatians.

Off topic but... Those of you who muzzle dogs, would you be offended if someone asks if they can approach it? My two year old loves dogs and if we're walking and see a dog, we tend to crouch down and invite it to come (life long cat owner so I always invite rather than walking up to stroke!) While asking the owner of this is ok. However, I don't do this if the dog is muzzled. Could I?

I don't understand. Why would you do this?

YABU. All dogs should be on short leads in public unless they are walking close to their owner/off road somewhere/ in a field or other large open spaces where it is to be expected that dogs may be running loose. Especially muzzled dogs. This is particularly important around young children who can be unpredictable and make noises that can attract dogs’ attention.

To those who suggest my 4 year old’s dog phobia is caused by me being “dog phobic”, think again. I’ve not always held the above view, and I used to be fond of dogs and never minded them running up to us but after 4 years of my child being scared by them, I’m fucking sick of it. My children and I have a right to walk down a footpath without being disturbed by dogs. I don’t let my child run too far in front of me and I’m sure you’d be pissed off if I let my uncontrolled child approach your dog.

Thankfully, where we live now most dog owners are respectful. I see many responsible dog owners put their dogs on lead when they see me approaching with 2 young kids.

If you're scared/wary of dogs then the look over the shoulder is to check that the dog is going is going with the owner.

Based on the comments on this thread, dog owners seem to assume that non-dog owners have as much dog knowledge as them. I would certainly not know that a dog who attacks other dogs don't necessarily attach humans. In my mind, the dog would attack dog sized humans too.

OP I think that a lot of people judge strangers that they see when out and about. For example I've heard lots of negative comments about women with big prams or 4x4s, men in sports cars or lots of tattoos...The dog won't know or remember this incident so try to let it go.

YABVU
I am a dog lover. However i too would be a bit if a muzzled dog without a lead came near me. I dont know that dog. Or its owner. Or why the dog has a muzzle.
You need to understand it from their point of view!

Oh for goodness sake. A frightened woman gave you/your dog a dirty look because you had it off it's lead. It's just a look. Put your big girl pants on and stop being so precious about a bloody dog. I'm sure it wasn't offended by the way someone looked at it.

The considerate thing to do when you and your dog are approaching/passing other people, especially when children are involved, is to keep your dog by your side and on a lead if necessary, whether your dog is muzzled or not.

I have a GSD and understand that few people will appreciate 34kg of fluff and teeth up close as much as I do. She's also dog reactive after being attacked several times as a youngster so she's exercised in on lead areas only while we practice CARE counter conditioning. This gives her enough space so she's never in a position where she's scared enough to bite, or scared at all for that matter.

I don't understand the fear of muzzled dogs. Even if it does bite it can't when muzzled surely?

People will be nervous, OP, especially if they have young DC. I'm wary around strange dogs myself when my DDs are with me, though I would stay calm, as the last thing I would want is to encourage them to be afraid of dogs when there's no reason to be.

It's not personal, though, so it's a bit silly to take it that way tbh.

A muzzled dog can still run around aggressively, jump up on people and knock young children over, scratch or paw at people.. . When I was a child I was frightened, not that dogs would necessarily bite me, but that they would jump up on me, which I hated. A muzzled dog is even more frightening and should be kept on a lead at all times in public.

Your dog should be on a lead. I've had dogs all my life and would be happier if all dogs were on leads.