If your dog doesn't recall 100% reliably keep it on a lead!

[Nottherealslimshady]

Just had someone's dog get in my car!

Saw it coming so got my girl straight in the car and shut the door just as he came up to it. Went round to get in drivers side and it pushes past me to get in. Had to shout three times "will you come get your dog, he's getting in my car!" Ended up piss wet through standing in the rain trying to get his dog out while my dogs making it very clear she doesn't want to meet him.

Oh lord I'd be mortified if my dog had tried to get in your car OP!
Did you have any food-based or smelly items in there? You are entirely justified to be furious. I am imagining a big fat Labrador sitting in the drivers seat and (I can't lie) I am laughing a bit. However, it is inexcusable and the owner should be ashamed.

It’s incredibly annoying, I work with rescue dogs and have had numerous fosters usually with issues to overcome, I’ve had a dog muzzled, wearing a ‘I need space’ vest and still morons let their ‘oh he’s friendly’ dog run over

Then why don't you hire a field? Your dog is bound to encounter other dogs at some point

However, it is inexcusable and the owner should be ashamed

Honestly. Dogs are living beings. They aren't machines. Yes its annoying but "inexcusable"? "Ashamed"? He wasn't aggressive, just stupid.

@unicornpower no, you need to change your rule. You shouldn't let your dog go up to other dogs full stop. On lead or otherwise. My dog doesn't need a lead, but he doesnt like to 'play' or be harassed by other dogs. If your dog came up to him and pestered him enough he would give a warning grumble. I'm not leashing my dog for being a dog. Keep yours under control.

Totally agree! Dogs off lead should be trained not to approach people, recall instantly and walk to heel to pass people.

If a dog approaches me I stand still and glare at the owner while he/she tries to assure me he’s ‘safe’. Then I point out ‘yes but he has no recall does he?’ And owner often has to drag dog away. Dog owners seem to hate that being pointed out!

They don’t get that I don’t want to be sniffed or have muddy paws on my work clothes! And my DC gets anxious as she’s been knocked over and licked by dogs a few times.

@SBTLove yes there is a place just 15 mins drive from me that hires secure fields out for dogs, I use them once or twice a week. Our local park also has tennis courts which are securely fenced in and I often use those so he can run around after his ball etc.

@SBTLove we have done that as part of her training...we started at home, then across the garden, then in the field and after that she went on a long training lead. And at a 30 minute drive away it’s not practical to be there every day. The problem with these fields is that they don’t properly simulate distractions out and about. Dogs aren’t born with perfect recall and training has to progress outside of the field otherwise no dog would ever be off lead. She runs up to dogs she knows and while I affectionately call her a pest, she doesn’t run off all the time otherwise we would take her training back a step and she’d go back on the long lead. Also, this is a dog that started off nervous we also did a hell of a lot of work on her confidence and socialisation...so I am mindful of how she was when we got her and she was approached hence why she goes straight back on if we don’t know another dog or it is on lead...nervous dog behaviour is also something that can result in reactive behaviour and in my view needs to be worked on...what about those who react while on lead even towards other dogs on lead and people...are we supposed to just put up with that?

It's so nice when you find a happy owner with a friendly dog who wants to play. Luckily I have friends nearby who are very relaxed and our dogs love each other and play for ages.

Quite a few off lead dogs we've encountered have shown aggression with him and their owners seem completely unfazed by this? surely if your dog is reactive or not dog friendly then keep it on a lead so we know to put ours on one?

I promise I am not saying this to be a dick but if you are seeing this problem repeatedly my guess would be that your young and playful dog is displaying body language that is making them uncomfortable. Lots of young dogs do it and I have seen young labs do it more than most. Things like an excess of interest can easily trigger something like this and it is genuinely worth looking out for because training on keeping his focus more on you (if this is what's happening) will help.

Lots of dogs don't mind other dogs who ignore them (ie. they are not reactive), but do mind those that look like they might try to initiate play or approach them and get in their way etc. It's just poor doggy manners

How did the owner react? What dog was it?

I wouldnt have been i.pressed but wouldn't have made a big deal of it if the owner had apologised profusely and gave me half acceptable reason why it happened.

Quite a few off lead dogs we've encountered have shown aggression with him and their owners seem completely unfazed by this? surely if your dog is reactive or not dog friendly then keep it on a lead so we know to put ours on one?

Maybe your dog starts it? If he's not on the lead you can't really insist others put theirs on a lead.

@Janevaljane

It's so nice when you find a happy owner with a friendly dog who wants to play. Luckily I have friends nearby who are very relaxed and our dogs love each other and play for ages.

This! Ours is so much happier and tuckered out after a play with other dogs!

I have a wonderfully trained dog, perfect in every way. Until he steps paw outside & goes selectively deaf. So I keep him on a lead. Sometimes a long lead in the park, so he can run around (and only when the area is empty). But a shorter lead by roadways, people, other dogs.

I don’t mind a dog off lead. But it’s all about respecting others around you. Which could pretty much be applied to every aspect of life, in any situation.

I was reading a book in the park last year & chatting to a Boxer’s owner, when it went behind me, cocked his leg & gave me, what I think is known in a more salubrious setting, a golden shower. However, knowing that dogs are fallible, I bent double laughing whilst the owner mortifyingly dabbed at me with a tissue. Being ashamed is a human construct, dogs don’t give a fig.

This! Ours is so much happier and tuckered out after a play with other dogs!

If you tell my dogs that "Fido is coming!" they run to the window to look out, wagging madly. It's very sweet.

It's so nice when you find a happy owner with a friendly dog who wants to play

A thousand times YES! 🐶

@Janevaljane
Secure fields have their uses but we do need to introduce the dog to a wider world to acclimatise towards a normal socialised life, not every dog will be adopted within distance of a secure field and our sil is to rehabilitate a dog towards leading a normal life.

@Missfelipe
These dogs you mention that aren’t perfect in your eyes, could be being socialised, trained, recovering from illness, any number of things and don’t want to interact. Should these dogs not be walked? as above we can’t forever keep nervous dogs excluded, they over time become sociable.
Comments on here continue to show the ignorance many have about dog behaviour, would you like strangers getting in your face?

@steppemum

and I could also write it the other way round with cyclists.

I walk along a shared cycle/walkers path. It has loads of dog waklers on it, most dogs off leads. It is long and straght, so visibility is good.

Some cyclists see you and dog a little way ahead, and ring their bell. I call dog, he waits at my feet, cyclist goes past without having to slow down, even says thank you. That is repeated down the path with other walkers. Most of the dog walkers either have dog on lead and stand to one side, or their dog has recall and stand to one side.

But some cyclists come up behind you, so you can't hear them coming, and don't know they are there, and then slam on the breaks when you and dog are in the way. Just ring you bell. It is a legal requirement to have a bell on a bike. If you ring your bell, everyone moves out of the way. If you don't, then slow down and don't be surprised if a dog walks in front of you.

There are 10x as many dogs as bikes. It isn't rocket science, cycling past up to someone at speed, with or without a dog is not exactly a great idea, when they have their back to you and your bike is silent.

Oh. I could write a very long post about aggressive, wanker cyclists and their utter lack of sense on shared use paths. Or, worse, just cycling on the pavement.

It doesn’t change the fact that many of the dog owners round here (not all, obviously) seem to be totally irresponsible.

Dogs should always be kept on a lead when in public. Well-trained or not, they can be disobedient at any time.

Dogs should always be kept on a lead when in public. Well-trained or not, they can be disobedient at any time
So can kids, even teenagers. They should be holding hands with their parents until they turn 18 :)

Dogs should always be kept on a lead when in public.

No they shouldn't. They should be allowed off lead in appropriate areas if their owner judges that they are able to behave themselves.

My dog has 100% recall, it's just not instant if she's excited about something. I use common sense and etiquette.

I only let her off away from traffic.
I put her back on the lead if I see other dogs on lead. Common courtesy.

Ditto people with small children. She loves kids but would knock them over in her excitement.

Sometimes I don't/can't get to her fast enough and most times I can get her back, but sometimes not.

She's 14 MO and still learning.

I let her off in a common dog walking area, if you don't like dogs, are scared or just don't want the hassle there are many places less doggy to walk.

I've been on both sides of this coin. I've been the owner with a very reactive, aggressive dog on a lead, doing our best to stay out of everyone's way (walking very early or very late, only frequenting places where dogs will be on lead and never going to parks or lovely open areas etc). If an off-lead dog did manage to approach her my dog would go ballistic and lose her mind, going for the other dog and then starting a fight. I lost count of the times I said calmly to a horrified looking owner, she isn't friendly, she doesn't play, and if you had called your dog away or put it on a lead when you saw from bloody miles awayshe was on one, this would never have happened.

That dog passed away, and now I have a male puppy with a sweet temperament. But he is OBSESSED with other dogs. He is 9 months old, his recall is pretty good - he's not that interested in dogless people, joggers, children or bikes, so I can 100% get him back from those. But throw a dog into the equation, and that goes down by a good percentage. He will come back when I call - but not before he's dashed over to say hello. Which is fine if other dogs are already off lead, not so much if they are.

So for now, unless I can see the way ahead clearly and can get him back in good time, I daren't let him off very much. I need his fascination with all other dogs to wear off a bit until he can bring himself to ignore them. Having been the owner with the on-lead dog who doesn't greet, I don't want to be THAT owner running after their errant pooch insisting "he's friendly / he's only a puppy".

@Janevaljane

It's so nice when you find a happy owner with a friendly dog who wants to play. Luckily I have friends nearby who are very relaxed and our dogs love each other and play for ages.

I totally agree with this - I love it too. Seeing dogs running about and playing together is an awesome thing.

BUT not all dogs enjoy the company of others and that's okay too. It does bother me when owners have no control over their dogs and let them run over and pester my on-lead ones. The "rule" here is off-lead dogs are fine to play, but if you see a dog on a lead then you leash yours, or have enough control over them that they keep away.

I saw two lurchers in the local park this morning - instantly thought, pair of sight hounds, small terrier the colour of a hare, think I'll steer clear.

But they came over off lead anyway (my puppy was still clipped on , not being 100% reliable), and I ended up letting him off and they chased around for ages having a lovely time.

It's so nice to be able to do that, after 12 years frantically avoiding other people. I've discovered in the last few months that actually, 99% of dogs and their owners (around here) are normal and friendly, and don't want a scrap or a confrontation.

There's always the 1%, I know!