Another dog moan - aibu

[Cocothecat27]

I have a small terrier who is quite reactive to other dogs. He's mostly just very barky but he has been known to have a little snap at other dogs if they come up to him, not that he'd do any damage as he's tiny. He seems particularly reactive when he's on lead and other dogs approach him who aren't.

We are working on this, he's still very young. But for this reason he is always on a lead.

Three times this week we have been approached in public places by dogs off lead. The owners always say the same thing - it's ok he/she is fine. But my dog isn't always fine and if he snaps at yours and a fight happens it'll most likely be my very small, on the lead dog that comes off worse.

We had an incident yesterday where a huge dog came bounding over to us which is pretty scary as it is. My idiot dog started going crazy and I had to pick him up.

I tell people sorry he can be a bit snappy at times, as though it's my fault! but if their dog was on a lead too it wouldn't be a problem would it? I'm working on my dog being less reactive but it doesn't help when these things keeps happening. Aibu to find it really annoying?

It’s not your dog’s fault at all and owners should know by now that if you see another dog on lead they should put their’s back on a lead or have it under total control and don’t let it near the on dog lead. Also there is the yellow bandana or a get a yellow ‘reactive’ thing ( can’t think of the word 😂 ) you can attach to the lead which signifies your dog is nervous/reactive- but again unless people know about the scheme then it may not be that helpful- owners should see the yellow from a distance and know to keep their dog away.

And I can't predict where and when I'm going to bump into an irresponsible dog walker.

No, you can't which means you need to find ways of managing situations where there are off lead dogs. We all agree it's annoying and not your fault but that doesn't make irresponsible dog owners disappear. Your dog is displaying anxious behaviour and you panicked which will not help at all. Please find someone professional to help you, it will make yours and your dogs life much less stressful. Imagine being taken out everyday and put into situations which frighten you, it's a welfare issue for your dog. He may never want to be friendly with other dogs, not all dogs do, mine doesn't but he would be happier if he wasn't scared on his walks.

@EmmaGrundyForPM

I always try to put my dog on a lead if I see someone coming with a dog on a lead. But occasionally mine doesn't come back when called (we're working on it!) and will run up to a dog on a lead. I only have him off lead in places that are quiet.

Our local parks all say that dogs need to be kept on a lead so I'm sure you can find somewhere where dogs are all on leads.

I did see a dog with a harness the other day which said "please don't approach" which I thought was a good idea.

If your dogs recall isn't reliable, he shouldn't be off lead.

Get your dog a little jacket that says "nervous" on it. Then people can see from distance that yours does not want to be approached. I would never let mine go near a dog on a lead!

Dogs should always be on a lead. They are unpredictable animals. I don't care how well trained they are, the are never 100% trustworthy

The only place acceptable would be in a designated dog exercise field or in a deserted area with nobody else around

And I'm sick of being pawed by strange dogs. Don't like dogs and I don't want to be touched by one or touch it. It's not acceptable.

The other day, I was walking with a friend and her toddler and a large dog bounded from out of nowhere and jumped up and licked the toddlers face making her cry: then started to leap up to me, putting Muddy paws on my clean top. It was unnerving

The owner ran over and was very defensive when we asked him to put the dog on its lead. Tried to imply that we were overreacting

Dogs and their owners can be arseholes

YANBU. People letting their dogs bound up to on-lead dogs are fools. I walk a friend’s GS who is ALWAYS on lead and a lovely boy, but he’s a rescue and missed the crucial 6 month socialisation period with other dogs. If an off lead dog gets in his face he growls and if it shows aggression back or attacks him he’s very fast to get the upper hand. He’s enormous and can react like lightning. Then owner of off lead dog comes running up shouting at us for having ‘an aggressive dog’. They never listen when I say he’s only aggressive if you let your dog harass him or snap at him!

He’s never muzzled because sadly it’s not unusual for other dogs to attack dogs on lead and he needs to be able to defend himself! For some reason it’s usually staffie/pitbull/boxer types that go for him. He can make short work of one dog but I dread two attacking him.

Most dog owners I know are calling for stricter licensing laws and many want all dogs on lead unless it’s private land.

Some of my friends hire a private paddock for an hour at a time, very cheaply, very secure, so they can let their dogs off lead to play together. Responsible dog owners don’t inflict their off lead dogs on members of the public in my opinion.

His behaviour is odd. If we walk down the street and another dog walks past (also on lead) sometimes he will go crazy barking. Like really aggressive yappy barking. Other times he doesn't do a thing.

If we are out and another dog on lead approaches he will have a sniff around them and sometimes be fine. But on the other hand this happened recently and the other dog who was much bigger ended up with a nip on the nose he seems to dislike larger dogs and he definitely feels out of control when off lead dogs approach him.

But it isn't constant. As I've said some days he can walk down the street with no barking or issues. Other day he's like a little savage. And that inconsistency is why I don't like other dogs approaching.

i wouldnt pick my dog up, i often put mine on a lead if the path is narrow and there is no escape, and if my dog is snarly then the other dog will back off.
keep her on a tight lead

I absolutely hate this! Our westies are reactive to certain dogs. They were properly socialised as pups but they were badly attacked by a German Shepherd at six months old and the fear is still there. Actually off the lead they are better but we keep them on the lead as 1, they aren’t reliable and 2, in their senior years their hearing has gone so there is little recall. There are few places we let them off now but I will shout out to any other owner who lets their out of control dogs approach ours. The ones that seem to be an issue at the moment are those on retractable leads. No control at all.

Socialisation training may help loads, then.

As will becoming very cross with owners who let their off or on-lead dogs approach yours without checking first! If your dog is on a short lead and they approached you without permission, they have no one to blame but themselves if your dog nips a nose.

YANBU. I don't know what other dog owners find so tricky about it. If a dog is on a lead, put yours on a lead! It's really not hard.

I'm a dog walker and my pet hate is when I'm walking 3-4 dogs on leads and someone lets their out of control dog come barrelling over.

Dogs are on lead for good reason - poor recall, reactivity, aggression issues, illness and injury, old age...the list goes on.

Just keep your dog away. They don't need to bound up to every dog they meet and say hello. And if you shout "don't worry, he's friendly!" I may secretly want to punch you!

Just because yours is friendly, doesn't mean mine is.

I always put my dog on a lead if I see an on lead dog. However I do think one of these would be helpful OP.

NERVOUS (Give Me Space) Yellow Colour Coded 60cm 1.2m 1.8m Neoprene Padded Handle Dog Leads PREVENTS Accidents By Warning Others Of Your Dog In Advance (60cm) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00MOGF86Y/ref=cmswwrwaaapiglccfabc3DM8FJZ9G5C27GA17CDX??encoding=UTF8&psc=1

My dog is off the lead in parks etc and may occasionally approach other dogs on leads, but it's very rare and just a glancing sniff, if anything. She's not interested in other dogs at all, so I know she is safe around other dogs.

I’ve definitely got bolder about politely (and sometimes increasingly less politely) asking others as they approach to put their dog on lead as mine is not friendly. 90% of dog owners happily put theirs on lead and are grateful for the heads up to avoid a confrontation. I have a similar issue to you in that my dog is a cute looking spaniel and people often don’t believe he is anything but friendly (or that it must be my fault that he is reactive). I recommend Janet Finlay’s excellent book ‘Your End of the Lead’ which really helped me to see how much I was setting my dog up for problems by tensing up/transmitting my tension down the lead to him whenever other dogs approached.

OP you say you're working on it, what techniques are you using? Is this your first dog? How long have you had him?

No, YANBU. It is not your dog's fault, but for all those who are saying 'just tell the owners to put their dog on a lead', it sadly really isn't that simple. We go out with our reactive dog only with a yellow jacket with NERVOUS across it. Like your dog, he is selectively reactive and dislikes large dogs. Trouble is, he's large too, so when a 'friendly' dog bounds over and he starts barking, the 'friendly' dog will often turn in response. The trouble is, there have been several occasions the owner was nowhere to be seen, it can be really scary. Do you have any National Trust places near you, OP? Our dog is much happier in places like this where dogs have to be on a lead and it is actually enforced. Sadly for us, even areas like nature reserves are no go for us now as we've had too many irresponsible dog owners ignoring the on lead rules. It's a massive problem for wildlife and livestock too.

As the fellow owner of a reactive terrier, can I strongly recommend that you see a properly qualified behaviourist?

I say properly qualified because there's a lot of utter charlatans out there, who can swiftly make a dog worse.

APBC and CCAB are the gold standard qualifications, and not as expensive as people assume. Insurance often covers it too.
Www.apbc.org.uk/find-an-apbc-member/
www.asab.org/ccab-register

So you want all dog owners to keep their dogs on a lead because you have badly trained / socialised your own and keep bringing it to places where dogs are allowed off lead. YABVVU and you are the irresponsible dog owner here

Dogs need a bit of off lead time to run around.

@Clymene

If you never let your dog off lead, how do you train it to come back in those situations? Being on a long lead is of course one thing, but at some point you have to let them run free if you want them to have good recall in every situation. Training has to start somewhere. Just because your dog doesn't come back straight away once every 50 times it's asked to, shouldn't mean you can never have your dog off lead in areas where it's allowed.

YA most definitely NBU!

Anyone who is out walking with an off-lead dog, should put the dog on its lead immediately they see other people approaching, regardless of whether or not those people are with a dog.

Nobody wants an off-lead dog bounding up to them.

To those who say "my dog is well behaved and has good recall" that's great but you should still put the dog onto a lead when approaching other people. The people you're approaching don't know your dog and the sight of any loose dog coming towards them is alarming.

His behaviour is odd. If we walk down the street and another dog walks past (also on lead) sometimes he will go crazy barking. Like really aggressive yappy barking. Other times he doesn't do a thing

Same with my friend’s GS, most dogs he ignores, provided they don’t approach. But occasionally he takes offence at a random on lead dog walking past, he sort of rears up in the air barking and trying to lunge forward (he can’t go forward as he’s on a harness and strong lead) but it makes everyone jump!

Do some dogs communicate aggressive signals just by looking? Or can an entire male recognise another entire male from a few metres?

The other day I was sitting on a bench with GS, he was all placid and i had a takeaway hot chocolate in one hand, his lead in the other. A man walked past with a dog about the same size, unsure of the breed maybe a lab cross. Man and dog both stared at us in a bit of an odd way and I don’t know if that triggered him, but GS leapt forward barking and my cup flew over the hedge! (I always have his lead secure so he couldn’t get anywhere near the other dog and man). At least 6 other dogs had walked past prior to this and he hadn’t reacted to any of them! Any theories?

(He’s been to numerous training and residential socialisation classes, not aggressive to people but unpredictable with dogs. Raised in a family with kids then ran wild with a dog pack for a while, was half starved when friend rescued him.

@Aprilx I take it you are one of the idiotic and selfish dog owners the majority of people are complaining about here then.

Even if I wasn't walking my dog, even if I didn't have a dog, I still wouldn't appreciate a large, badly trained dog with no recall bounding over to me. People shouldn't have to have their walk spoiled or inconvenienced because people believe that their dogs right to roam trumps everything else.

If the dog is genuinely well trained and won't approach me or my dog that's fine but that is rarely the case.

Dogs need a bit of off lead time to run around

So hire a secure private field for an afternoon with friends and their dogs!

Or train your dog not to approach other dogs. You cannot believe the hassle it is walking a big reactive dog who does not necessarily want to play with yours (hence why I have him on a short lead). If your dog gets bitten or worse for getting in another dog’s face... whose fault is it?

Lots of people have rescue dogs who have missed the crucial time for socialisation. No amount of training and socialisation can make up for that, they will always be unpredictable and may misread your dog’s social cues eg thinking yours is aggressive when he’s initiating play.

they communicate in other ways, they use smell and sixth sense