To have picked my puppy up?

[MonkeyLeg]

I have a four month old puppy. My last dog was extremely reactive and I’m determined not to allow this one to go the same way.

Anyway I was walking him around park yesterday as I have done since he was allowed to go out. I’m socialising him walking him past gangs of geese, other dogs, screeching kids, lamas, donkeys etc etc

Well we were walking around the lake in a quieter part of the park and up ahead I saw two young blokes with 3 dogs off lead. The biggest one was trying to get into the lake to go after the birds and the bloke kept dragging it out. As we got closer I realised the dogs were pitbull/xl bully whatever you want to call them. About twice the size of a staffy, built like brick shithouses. I’ll try and attach a photo of a dog that looks identical to the ones in park.

I picked my puppy up and turned in the opposite direction. The bloke shouted at me “My dogs aren’t vicious you daft cow”. So clearly owner was a dickhead also.

was I wrong to do this?? I’ve happily walked him past Dobermanns, German shepherds, Rottweilers etc but I draw the line at these dogs which imo should be illegal.

Image is off google but appears to be the same type of dog.

Who cares if he was offended? He was acting in an aggressive manner by shouting at you. He has shown what kind of person he is. You owe him (and his dogs) nothing.
I wonder if he would have shouted if you had been a man?
I think we know the answer to that!!

I'm confused as to why this man would assume you about turned because of his dogs, if I saw someone turn around and go back where they had come from my thoughts, if any, would be that they either have done enough walking or had forgotten something. Probably the former in this situation, especially as yours is just a puppy. It's weird to be so invested in someone else's actions that you assume it's about you.

And people commenting about not picking puppy up. Two times in her life my puppy literally LEAPT into my arms for safety. They are clever and understand things, both times I of course picked her up. Not in a panicked way, as you do have to be aware that holding your dog will make it more interesting to other dogs, but just to remove her from a situation she was terrified of. This is in the context of LOADS of socialisation and doggy meet ups.

Dogs are unique as pets in that they will run to you like human toddlers if they’re scared or hurt, I think it’s fine and healthy for their development to comfort and protect as long as you’re not overdoing it, just like with a human toddler.

YABU. There was no indication that the dogs would have hurt you or your dog. You could have just turned and walked, or given them a wider berth if you were that scared. Picking your puppy up made it pretty obvious what you were doing, and was also a pretty stupid idea as it automatically makes your dog vulnerable for a couple of reasons:

1. Other dog thinks “ooh, flying puppy! I need to see this now!”
2. Your dog can run faster than you can. If you pick it up, it can’t run away from danger and if the dog did jump up to try and get to your puppy, you’ve put yourself in harm’s way and removed your puppy’s ability to run away.
3. By picking your dog up, you’ve created a cue for your dog to react to.

I’ve had people drag their small dogs/kids/whatever away when they see my dog coming, both he and I are pretty normal-looking so it always confuses me. He isn’t any kind of ‘bull breed’ so I wonder whether they take offence to me or my dog.

if u were genuinely concerned and had a gut instinct about these dogs, then you were right to pick the puppy up. I’d have done the same

as long as it doesn’t become a pattern every time you see a larger dog nearby, as that is really bad learning and poor socialisation for the puppy. There is a woman who walks her puppy in the local park and she used to always pick up her puppy whenever a dog, of any kind, was in the area. Now this dog has got so used to it that is squeals and tries to scramble up its owners legs every time a dog passes.

i have a chocolate lab, medium sized, and there’s been several times when owners have picked up their tiny dogs when we have walked past. I know they don’t know my dog, but I foster rescue puppies and my dog lets them do whatever they want to him and is not phased whatsoever. So he definitely isn’t going to attack some chihuahua on a walk!

Better safe than sorry, I've had numerous bad experiences with bully type dogs which has led to my small dog being reactive. At this point I avoid them regardless if the owner says they are fine (many of my experiences have been with those owners that say 'my dog would never hurt a fly'). It's profiling, it insults some people, but I don't care, the safety of my dog comes first.

I don't think you were being U, though maybe just turn around and walk away next time rather than picking your pup up.

I've got two small breed dogs so can't pick them both up annyway, and haven't ever been in a situation where I've felt I had to. But I do absolutely avoid certain breeds. One of those xl bullies would rip my two to shreds if it decided to and I really don't care if I offend someone by crossing the road/turning around to avoid them. There is one reason people have dogs like that, and it's not because they are fine upstanding members of the community. Plus ear cropping is vile and illegal in the UK.

My daughter has a little dog that would be killed outright if anything that size got hold of her. I've experience with all dog breeds and I know any dog can attack but if it's a powerful breed I'll pick her up if it gets too close. I don't want to take that chance on her life.
I see it from both sides. My own dog was dog aggressive due to a bad start so he was always on a lead, he never attacked a dog but I was forever having to tell people he was reactive if they let their dogs run up.
I wouldn't have taken offence if anyone picked their dog up. You'd pick a small child up under those circumstances why not a small dog.

It never ceases to amaze me why people feel the need to ‘interact’ with others by making comments like this. Just why? Why do people have to verbalise their opinion, which many of us (thankfully!) are still able to quietly think to ourselves! So what if you picked up your puppy, what of it? You are entitled to do whatever you choose to do in order to keep your puppy safe!

My rescue dog, who would have been on lead, probably would have taken one look at three aggressive looking dogs (off lead) and become reactive… I would have turned and walked the other way, just like I do on many occasions, to avoid my dog going ballistic. Would he have called me out too, for being cautious? One response comes to my mind!

As a dog lover and owner, I am tired of these types of breeds being ‘owned’ by idiots. I am all for licensing dog ownership. A dog is a commitment, all dogs can be dangerous, all dogs need to be trained and have boundaries in place at all times. All dogs in public parks should be on lead in the presence of other dogs and should never be allowed to harass the wildlife (that alone tells me all I need to know about this fella!). A dog is not an accessory or a status symbol!

On the basis the dog was a bit out of control you were quite right.

However it’s such a shame for those dogs. I met one on the train yesterday and he was the loveliest gentlest good boy. He was with a pretty decent seeming bloke though (poor boy has had his ears cropped though which I did have to bite my lip at). They’re big powerful dogs but again it’s the way they are looked after that has the biggest impact isn’t it and sadly they’re status symbol dogs to a certain type of walloper.

Those dogs are terrifying and I would have walked away too but felt really unsafe with my back to them, too.

this 100%.

Turning around is absolutely correct. I would have. Picking your dog up not so. Picking them up cause bad behaviour but honestly. If they were aggressive dogs then you've made it harder for both of you to get away and brought their attention to your upper body.

Turn around quietly and don't draw attention. If your dog is ever attacked let them off the lead. Same with If you're ever chased by cattle. Let the dog off and run. A dog can protect itself better when not tied by its head to a person.

I don't believe in BSL but there is a dangerous trend at the moment of backyard breeding dogs with shit temperaments to look and act scary. I wouldn't go near them.

I'm not commenting on what happened, but I just wanted to say I met a dog like this a few weeks ago on my walk with my pup. He was very friendly and really gentle with mine, who is very annoying and giddy. However both were on the lead and the owner was great too.

Didn't want all dogs like that to get a bad name.

Photo of my pup, just because he's cute 😍

I always wondered why they advise letting a dog off lead if cattle start to attack. I assumed it was so the cattle would attack the dog and leave the humans alone 😂

I’d of shouted “I was walking away from the dog, I was walking away from you!”

Id of done the same as you, my dad has this type of breed and he knows to keep it on a lead at all times.

I once picked my dog up when he was a four month old puppy because we were about to walk past a man with two very aggressive looking dogs. This was on a street and the man actually used his body to pin his two dogs to a wall as I walked past, so they clearly didn’t like other dogs, I felt better for having my puppy in my arms.

You did the right thing. My pup was attacked five years ago, by someone's dog and has been fear reactive ever since. It's made walking my boy really difficult as we now have to find places off the beaten track, and even then he has to walk on a ten meter line, just in case we meet anyone with a dog.
Thank goodness for secure fields so he can hav at least a place to run fear free. Totally with you on picking up your pupper. I would have done the exact same thing.

Yeah he's a dickhead.
Iv got a little dog, we had an incident in a field where a dog off the lead came bounding over, it was probs 4 times bigger than mine so I picked her up, the other dog was jumping up and using me as a springboard trying to get to my dog, at this point I had mine over my head 🙄
Owner eventually managed to call it off from a distance, no names were called, I raised my hand to her to show no harm done and she waved back.
I really wish people would keep there dogs on a lead or at least within grabbing distance.
You did the right thing, pick your dog up and avoid the potential of injury.
The other owner is a complete tool

I’m all for not picking dogs up, they need to learn how to deal with things themselves and picking them up can remove their sense of control (it’s why so many chihuahuas and toy breeds are reactive) but I think if it is a one off and not your standard way of dealing with things it’s absolutely fine and I wouldn’t worry.
I probably picked my dog up twice as a puppy when there were dogs who were far too much, and on both occasions there were three or for dogs so too much for him to process. Now if there is an aggressive dog the he doesnt like he will stand behind me and let me deal with it.
the way to not have a reactive dog, Is for your dog to trust that you control the world-and they don’t NEED to deal with things, because you will.

It wasn’t any of his business why you picked up your dog and turned round. I’d have told him to fuck off.

That said, it’s not a good idea to pick up your dog. Just steer him in the opposite direction of the perceived danger.

I'd have done the same and I've also done similar in our local park where there have been dickheads with dubious breeds off the lead that I personally find scary let alone my terrier.

Nope, you're not UR at all.

My tiny (adult) Terrier got mauled a few years ago by a similar breed in your picture a few years ago and I couldn't get the fucker to release her from it's jaws. Luckily my husband was with me and give it a swift boot up the arse and it unclamped. She almost bled to death, had my husband not been with me to rush us to the vets she would have. Her treatment came to £1400 ( thank goodness for pet insurance!)

She has walked by and played nicely with this breed since as they are not all vicious beasts. But whenever I see one being aggressive I pick my dog up and I don't give a shit what the owner or other people might say, my dogs life is more important.

Not unreasonable, at all. I've had big dogs - I wouldn't have been offended at all if someone had moved their dog away. Unfortunately, a lot of bull breed owners seem to think that bull breed ownership is a protected characteristic on the same lines as race, sexuality, etc, and that not liking their dogs is actually a vicious act of prejudice.