To ask what you’d think if you saw someone putting their dog on a lead?

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I always think they don’t want me to go near their dog so stay away or walk further away from them.

When I was walking my dog today I put her on the lead because she can sometimes be reactive to other dogs. Mostly she’s fine but she was attacked and gets scared if dogs approach her sometimes and I could tell she was in one of those moods today so I put her on the lead as the other dog was approaching and started walking a bit away from them. The man kept coming directly towards me, he had a big husky so thought I was putting her on because I was worried his dog would be aggressive. He kept walking towards me saying it’s ok he’ll only want to play, I was like I know but my dog won’t want to

Am I unreasonable in thinking if you see someone recall their dog and put them on a lead you stay away? Not sure what else I could have done to keep her away? She started showing her teeth, she doesn’t go for the dogs just warns them away because of her fear, but I always worry about the other dog reacting to her and things escalating.

We have been going to training classes and she is getting better but doesn’t like dogs who jump around her still. Walking past dogs etc she’s absolutely fine.

YANBU some people are idiots. My dog is always on a lead that says clearly he is blind. If I see a dog not on a lead I change direction (visibly) and still some idiots let their dog come running up to us. My dog used to love other dogs and would happily play, but now he is blind if he is startled he could and has reacted.

OP, I had this. Telling people like this bloke that maybe his dog is friendly, mine isn’t (and may bite) helps

She’s never bitten another dog, just say that so they respect her

Zaphodsotherhead
On the lead means on the lead.
If people want to refer to dogs that are badly behaved and out of control then they should refer to dogs that are badly behaved and out of control instead of making lazy sweeping statements.

Dogs should be on leads around livestock regardless of training, so that's a silly example. We are talking about day to day dog walking and some people believe that the world should do things their way based on their preferences with their dog.

That's what I meant, LolaSmiles. People putting their dog on a lead is shorthand, it is someone demonstrating that their dog is under control, because everyone can SEE it's on a lead.

Sorry if I didn't explain myself properly.

Then I think people need to avoid using lazy shorthand that doesn't convey what they mean (though given some of the replies on here I think quite a few people genuinely do think that people should be putting dogs on lead just because they do).

It's not any more effort to say "When I put my dog on a lead I expect other owners to suitably control their dog" or "it's polite and reasonable to ensure your dogs don't approach an on lead dog" (which is what many reasonable posters have said).

Too often on here people with their own hangups quite deliberately try to paint this picture of off lead dogs being out of control because it suits their own argument of "my dog is on a lead / my toddler should be allowed to grab dogs at random so everyone else should cater to me".

I am suitably chastised and will ensure that all my future posts explain in great and glorious detail exactly what I mean even though that may involve using many many more words than are actually necessary in order to put forward my point of view.

Wouldn't want to be accused of shorthand again, would I?

No need to be sarcastic 🙂

My point is that there is a difference between telling people to have their dogs under reasonable control / not allow them to approach and telling people that they're rude, lacking courtesy and so on for not putting them on a lead (which has happened on this thread).

Few people who walk dogs off lead would say dogs approaching on lead dogs is acceptable. Few people who walk off lead dogs accept lazy training and the "they're just friendly" arguments from other off lead dog walkers.

Shorthand is great and useful at times. It's less useful if the situation is "claim A" and then when challenged "oh but A means A and also includes B and C and D even though we've been acting like B is always awful earlier, you should have realised that A doesn't just mean A ".

Too often on here people with their own hangups quite deliberately try to paint this picture of off lead dogs being out of control

I have no hangouts, but where I live most off lead dogs ARE out of control, I come across very very few who will walk at heel or completely ignore other dogs.

If this is what others are also experience then you can surely see how people often make the assumption that off lead = out of control.

In that situation I would have assumed your dog didn’t want to be approached.

If a dog is already on lead I’ll try and shout “is your dog ok” ahead, my dog isn’t interested in playing with other dogs and mostly ignores them, but I’ll keep extra distance if they need it or leave them to it if they’re not bothered.

FrangipaniBlue
Not walking to heel doesn't equal out of control. If dogs are happily playing with other off lead dogs and aren't pestering others then that's not out of control.

Not walking to heel when told to and not returning when called is out of control and is out of order.

I feel for you if that's what you experience. In my area there's loads of off lead dogs, they all see the same few faces and play with each other, all owners will think nothing of pulling a dog up who they know, there's tolerance when socialising and training puppies off lead. The off lead dogs are friendly and under control. The main issues on my common walks are from people getting uppity about dogs playing with each other nowhere near them and their dogs.

Maybe the assumption of "offlead = out of control" is what uppity woman who decided to reprimand me for me "out of control" dogs was going for. I have to say much as I didn't want to interrupt their play, I did enjoy giving the whistle command and having dogs at my side sat immaculately before thanking her for advice on my "out of control" dogs and continuing my walk as she continued to struggle. Cats bum face would accurately describe the look on her face, but that's what you get if you lecture people when they've done nothing wrong.

Genuinely not trying to be argumentative but to those who leave dogs off lead while passing people/dogs etc, do you not sometimes wonder about people with fear of dogs or nervous dogs being made worse?
I had a very nervous aggressive dog that sensed an off lead dog and it terrified her, even if the dog was ignoring her, poor soul. It’s like she knew it was off lead and could get to her even if it didn’t I was shocked at the amount of stress it caused her and it made me think about worries people too. I presumed the same can be said for people with a fear of dogs as lots of people see a lead as safe and off lead as dangerous.

My horse also gets very tensed up by off lead dogs running around after being bitten 3 times in a year (all by dogs who had never done that before but seeng a horse was too much ) Fair enough the dogs aren’t bothering her but she can’t rationalise that and the running around her does cause her stress.

I also pass a woman regularly who walks hers off lead, lovely dog that stays away from other dogs but play bows then runs past. The mount of owners nearly wiped off their feet is unbelievable as even well trained dogs are taken suprise by a greyhound zooming past like a crazy thing. I can her her point that her dog is just running past but even though a distance away it’s still interacting with others.

I probably could leave my dogs off lead, they are well trained and have never ran off but dogs are dogs and I couldn’t say I trust them 100%. We all have to share a space and I don’t want to ruin anyone’s walk for the sake of 10 seconds clip them on then off again.

@Maneandfeathers

It’s completely disproportionate to expect every dog to be on a lead all the time, just incase they happen on a nervous dog. A lot of breeds cannot get adequate exercise on lead and need the mental stimulation of sniffing etc.

I speak as someone that has had an on lead dog that was happy to just run half marathon distance with me and had zero recall so wasn’t allowed offlead (breed specific), a nervous rescue dog reactive rescue who wore a nervous dog coat and needed space and now a working dog who absolutely needs to be offlead. Also have a horse too!

I agree some people don’t manage to properly control their dogs, but those few can’t set the tone for everyone. It’s akin to saying kids shouldn’t play ball because occasionally one hits a passer by.

@FunOnTheBeach20 I didn’t say my dogs were on lead all the time. They are off 80% of the walk running and playing with eachother. They are also off lead on my land a few hours a day. However, if I see a person or dog I don’t know and have never spoken too then I recall, leash, walk past with a cheerful hello then release them.

Why wouldn’t I when it takes all of 3 seconds of my day and I don’t know what the other persons circumstances are.

Sorry @Maneandfeathers I misunderstood and agree that’s entirely reasonable. Also how I approach it.

Maneandfeathers I’m sorry you have such a nervous dog but I don’t see why my well behaved and well trained dog should be on a lead every single time we ever see another person or dog! We live in a town where dog ownership is very popular, we have good parks and fields where dogs are nearly all off lead, it would be crazy if everyone was constantly clipping and unclipping their dogs leads every 5 seconds! I let my dog be a dog, she wanders and she sniffs and she chases squirrels ( never catches any). If other dogs or people are scared of my mini schnauzer then I suggest they ignore her and she will ignore them.
She is never off lead on pavements because of the danger of the roads.

I agree missy and the attitude of "the world should go out of its way to cater to my preference with my dog" is unreasonable.

There's reasonable dog ownership courtesy (have your dogs appropriately controlled, don't allow your dogs to approach on lead dogs etc) and then there's ridiculous instructions telling everyone they must do X Y Z because it suits me.

Plus, I'm not clipping my dogs into a lead any time they see another dog and walking away because I'm not teaching them other dogs are something to be nervous of. It's like the "see other dog so tug on the lead and pull them/ see other dog so scoop it up and fuss".

One of my friends had a highly reactive rescue who was fine with people but just the sight of another dog was enough to bring out aggressive behaviour... So she didn't walk it in areas with lots of dogs until her dog would settle with another dog in sight and she'd done some more training. According to some on this thread, every other dog should be on a lead and taken out of the way because her dog doesn't like being in eyeline of other dogs.

@Lolasmiles

The attitude you describe is what really frustrates me, some people think accommodating them is “right” thing to do, not realising (or caring) it takes the pleasure out of it for everyone else.

I have a friend who believes all dogs should be on a lead all the time, she has several acres of land and a nervous disposition. Suits her. Does not suit me with a well trained working dog who will walk to heel and ignore other dogs but needs to run, sniff and track. It’s not realistic to expect everyone to inconvenience themselves for the very few.

I had a very reactive dog, like your friend. I jumped in the car and drove somewhere quiet. Less stressful for us all.

I walk through a city centre park in the morning to get to my office and see dozens of dogs being walked. One or two people may be professional dog walkers I’m not sure but they have multiple dogs . In any case the dogs are all mostly off the lead and playing with each other. I tend to find at least one dog will run up to me... could be a terrier could be a Great Dane. I’ve never even had an owner acknowledge me when this has happened- not even to tell me how friendly their dog is. As much as I love dogs I find their disregard for other park users pretty annoying. So, to answer the question I doubt lots of dog owners give nervous dogs a second thought since they barely acknowledge other humans.

I hate all dogs so as soon as I saw yours lead or not I would change direction if I could.

I honestly don’t think we should be tiptoeing around other people at all, maybe it’s because I can’t be arsed with the scoop up fluffy dogs and run off because a german shepherd Is around so I avoid the interaction altogether. I’ve actually had people try and kick my dogs for walking past

Luckily I live rurally and see maybe 1-2 people per walk. If it’s someone I know I leave mine off, otherwise I just put them on lead to save the hassle.

I no longer have a reactive dog, sadly he was put to sleep when his nervous aggression towards strangers got too much to control. He had a miserable life for a dog, the world is too much for some of them.