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?

Frangipani is it you who is a fellow EBT owner?

Your situation sounds like mine. At 2.5 years old he does now have pretty good recall, though it took a long time and a constant supply if balls 😊

But it is exhausting keeping track of them.

How old is your toad?

@Lolwhat

Muzzle your dog

1 - Muzzles only prevent bites, they don't actually prevent injury. If a dog muzzle punches another it could cause pretty bad bruising, or even a fracture in a puppy/small dog.

2 - Muzzles are often counter-productive. Many reactive dogs snap/lunge as the first line of defence (as it generally makes people/dogs back away) so take that method away from them and they're even more terrified with no way of telling other dogs "go away".

The noise my little Jess emitted was the most heartbreaking thing, I didn't even realise it was her at first, she was actually screaming. She sounded like a little girl screaming. And she didn't stop screaming and crying for ages whilst these lurchers leapt about all around us (I was holding her by the point, bear in mind she was the size of a grapefruit and they were massive hip high dogs). Her screaming made the lurchers react even more as they thought it was a wounded rabbit noise. I didn't stop crying all the way home whilst she shook and cried on my lap.

People who overprotect their dogs in this way should really stick to cats. It shows a complete lack of understanding of the basic nature and needs of dogs.

@3ormoredogs @ImpatiensI I think we will have to agree to disagree on that one. In order for behavioural adjustment therapy to work the dog cannot be exposed to any triggers during that time.

Then I will have to say, with the greatest of respect, that 'behavioural adjustment therapy' sounds like bs.

As usual with such things, the working truth lies somewhere between, doesn't it?

@ImpatiensI

The noise my little Jess emitted was the most heartbreaking thing, I didn't even realise it was her at first, she was actually screaming. She sounded like a little girl screaming. And she didn't stop screaming and crying for ages whilst these lurchers leapt about all around us (I was holding her by the point, bear in mind she was the size of a grapefruit and they were massive hip high dogs). Her screaming made the lurchers react even more as they thought it was a wounded rabbit noise. I didn't stop crying all the way home whilst she shook and cried on my lap.

People who overprotect their dogs in this way should really stick to cats. It shows a complete lack of understanding of the basic nature and needs of dogs.

I think it shows a bigger (and dangerous) lack of understanding of the nature of dogs to think that 2 out of control kitchens don’t pose a very real risk to a dog the size of a grapefruit. It’s not uncommon for sight hounds and their crosses to kill small dogs as they have been bred to kill small animals. This is why sighthounds are commonly muzzled and on lead in public and many rescues that rehome greyhounds and kitchens do so on the understanding that these dogs will be exercised on lead and muzzled in public. This is to protect small dogs and wildlife.

Lurchers not kitchens!

And even if the lurchers were just playing they could easily injure a small dog

@WiganNorthWest

Lurchers not kitchens!

I did wonder 😁 though kitchens are dangerous places.

But yes, lurchers present quite a real danger to small dogs. I am always wary when I see one without a cage muzzle. My 30kg toad probably wouldn't defend himself well against 2 of them. Lovely dogs, but should only be owned by people who are fully aware of the strength of their prey drive.

@WiganNorthWest that you 'cry all the way home' because the tiny breed you chose was intimidated by bigger dogs is a ridiculous reaction. If your dog is size of a grapefruite (seriously??) then almost ALL dogs will be much bigger! People who take on dogs without thinking do my head in and show no real understanding or empathy of dogs do my head in.

@ImpatiensI 'Overprotecting' WTF are you in about?! Amy dog was a tiny Jack Russell puppy of about 15 weeks old and the lurchers were greyhound sized and out of control. I'm not going to leave my puppy in the floor to be mailed FFS. Idiot.

@Teesel you didn't say anywhere in your post that yr dog is a puppy. You choose to take a 15 week puppy to a park where other dogs are free to run around and play then complain about them coming over to investigate your dog. This is what dogs do. Idiot yourself.

I think a small dog being approached by unknown large dogs could be a real risk to its life (how on earth does the owner know if the dogs are friendly/will stay friendly during the interaction especially if the small dog acts aggressively) and is a very valid reason to be upset. I think it’s very inconsiderate of other people (and dogs) feelings to let large dogs approach small dogs on leads without first checking with the owner. Reassuring the owner from a distance that the large dog is “friendly” is not good enough for me.

[quote ImpatiensI]**@Teesel* you didn't say anywhere in your post that yr dog is a puppy. You* choose to take a 15 week puppy to a park where other dogs are free to run around and play then complain about them coming over to investigate your dog. This is what dogs do. Idiot yourself.[/quote]
So you can't take puppies to the park now incase there are dickheads that let their large uncontrolled dogs hound them? Riiiiight ok

[quote ImpatiensI]**@Teesel* you didn't say anywhere in your post that yr dog is a puppy. You* choose to take a 15 week puppy to a park where other dogs are free to run around and play then complain about them coming over to investigate your dog. This is what dogs do. Idiot yourself.[/quote]
So you can't take puppies to the park now incase there are dickheads that let their large uncontrolled dogs hound them? Riiiiight ok

@ImpatiensI Youve not read my posts at all have you.

I'll leave you to your ignorant crap. Have a nice evening spouting your nonsense.

[quote Teesel]@ImpatiensI Youve not read my posts at all have you.

I'll leave you to your ignorant crap. Have a nice evening spouting your nonsense. [/quote]
Yes I read it and quoted from it. It was completely preposterous. Farewell!

This thread has been fascinating to read. I have two dogs; both trained equally and socialised the same;

Cavalier king Charles. Almost always off lead, has perfect recall, and never jumps up at people. She will however approach another dog, but from a distance (she's a flirt). And if the dog doesn't reciprocate she'll walk off. She's also very submissive.

Chihuahua. Flippin' nightmare although chilling out a bit more in old age. He has an anxious jacket and he is always on lead. He will growl and show teeth but has never bitten another dog (it's fear). I tend to loosen the lead if another dog bounds up and DO NOT PICK HIM UP. Most owners are quick to call their dog back once they see his jacket. I don't expect other dogs to always be on leads just because my dog's an arsehole!

@Jumpers268

This thread has been fascinating to read. I have two dogs; both trained equally and socialised the same;

Cavalier king Charles. Almost always off lead, has perfect recall, and never jumps up at people. She will however approach another dog, but from a distance (she's a flirt). And if the dog doesn't reciprocate she'll walk off. She's also very submissive.

Chihuahua. Flippin' nightmare although chilling out a bit more in old age. He has an anxious jacket and he is always on lead. He will growl and show teeth but has never bitten another dog (it's fear). I tend to loosen the lead if another dog bounds up and DO NOT PICK HIM UP. Most owners are quick to call their dog back once they see his jacket. I don't expect other dogs to always be on leads just because my dog's an arsehole!

I think expecting dogs to always be on leads is too much. I do WISH dog owners wouldn’t allow their dogs to approach dogs on leads/in anxious jackets, or at least that they are able to call their dogs away from on lead dogs when asked by the reactive dogs owners. I don’t EXPECT this to be the case though, because I know that there will always be people that can’t/won’t control their dogs which is a shame. I took on a reactive dog knowing this and do my best to walk in areas where there won’t be any dog. It’s still very frustrating that there are still dogs that are allowed to approach and scare my dog/ruin any training progress we make. Most dogs and owners are respectful there is just a minority that is the problem, but it makes every walk a bit stressful as I don’t know when I’ll run into a rude/unruly dog and irresponsible owner. I accept that there’s not much else I can do about it (except vent on here to make myself feel less alone!)

@WiganNorthWest completely appreciate that. It does annoy my son (he's 6) when big dogs jump up at him (it's rude!) and he'll actually tell the owner that they should train them not to do that haha.

I see a lot of threads saying all dogs should be on leads all the time and I really don't think that's fair as my cavalier has never jumped up at a person or got close to a dog (without the dog coming over to her first).

I have both so I do get it! I've had my chihuahua years now and I'm not overly fussed when other dogs approach him and he growls. He's on a lead and he has a jacket telling the owner that he's nervous. I found the more stressed and anxious I got the more reactive he was (easier said than done I know!).

@Jumpers268 I think there’s no reason why well trained dogs that don’t jump up at people and can be called away from dogs can’t be off lead. I just think off lead exercise in public areas should be a privilege for well trained dogs not an automatic right for any friendly dog. But there’s no way to police that so there will always be a few dogs off lead around that really should be on lead. And there will always be people that are a bit nervous of any dog off lead due to too many bad experiences with off lead dogs, but this shouldn’t mean well behaved dogs should have to be on lead. Like many things it’s a case of an inconsiderate few people ruining things for everyone else.

Well said @WiganNorthWest! If your dog jumps up at people (or dogs) and doesn't have perfect recall they shouldn't be off lead! It's a shame as it does tend to be "all dogs should be on lead", but we're not all irresponsible owners!!

I just cannot believe how complicated walking a dog has become.
If your dog is unsociable with other dogs you should walk it somewhere quite, like woods or fields not expect all other dogs to be tethered.

[quote WiganNorthWest]@Jumpers268 I think there’s no reason why well trained dogs that don’t jump up at people and can be called away from dogs can’t be off lead. I just think off lead exercise in public areas should be a privilege for well trained dogs not an automatic right for any friendly dog. But there’s no way to police that so there will always be a few dogs off lead around that really should be on lead. And there will always be people that are a bit nervous of any dog off lead due to too many bad experiences with off lead dogs, but this shouldn’t mean well behaved dogs should have to be on lead. Like many things it’s a case of an inconsiderate few people ruining things for everyone else.[/quote]
Absolutely. Letting your dog frighten, irritate or interact uninvited is not acceptable. It might be ‘what dogs do’ but that is why they have owners who should be putting appropriate controls in place. That means, as you say, excellent recall even with temptation or a lead in the presence of other people or dogs.

Letting your dog ‘play’ is not good ownership if the other person or dog does not want it to happen. It is negligence or ignorance.
Dogs that jump,up playfully should be on leads.
Dogs that approach others uninvited should be on leads.
Dogs in crowded areas should be on leads.

The nonsense spouted by Impatiensl is what gets responsible dog owners a bad name.

There is nowhere quiet to go, the woods and fields are full of 'he's only being friendly' dogs with zero recall and appalling social skills.

Anybody saying that the poster with the screaming puppy was overreacting/being overprotective must never have seen the aftermath of a dog attack. And I hope you never do.