Was I rude/wrong in this situation?

[clankist]

Was out walking my two seven month chihuahuas today. I have treated them like dogs from day one and they are very well trained. They walk off lead absolutely fine and don't bother other dogs at all, however if a dog comes running over to them they will bolt.

Today I was walking them off lead and there were two big golden retriever with two women who were chatting. We were quite a distance away but one of the retrievers started barking and running towards me/my dogs. I put my hand out in a 'stop' motion as it got closer. I said, 'stop' and when that didn't work I said 'no'. That didn't work either and my dogs started to run away.

I moved away from the dogs and began to call for my dogs but the retriever kept following me so my dogs were standing watching at a distance but wouldn't come over due to the dog being next to me. I shouted across to the woman, 'can you please get your dog?' No reply and she continued talking.

I moved away again, calling my dogs and the dog followed me again. I looked at the lady and shouted, 'can you get your dog?' She didn't move.

I moved away again and the dog followed once again, at this point I was exasperated and said a little sternly, 'will You move your dog!?'

She came over and said, 'my dog isn't anywhere near your dogs' rudely.

I said, 'yeah because they ran away terrified due to your dog coming up to them. If your dog is off lead it shouldn't be running up to my dogs'

She went to say something but I just held up my hand and said, 'thank you'.

I then continued my walk with my dogs and the lady met another dog walker who then started pointing to me and shaking their head.

Did I do the right thing to deal with this situation or was I too sensitive? I just think you shouldn't have your dog off the lead unless you know they will not approach any other dogs without permission.

I don’t think you were being unreasonable, I think you were frustrated at the other dog owner not bringing their dog away from you so yours could return and you could go about your business.
I do think your dogs should be put back on a lead when other dogs and people approach if they run off.
I get very frustrated when out walking with my two children and husband. Every bloody time we come across another person with their dog off of the lead, I can guarantee the dog will approach us/jump up at either us or the kids etc. it is unwanted and I have started reacting to owners to show I am unhappy. Instead of just accepting their silly comments of “oh they just like to play” “they won’t hurt you” etc etc. I no longer say “it’s okay” and smile. Instead I say “my children are afraid of dogs they don’t know” or “your dog has dirtied our clothes by jumping up, I didn’t want that”

I do also shout no and put my hand out to the dog if it is running towards us, more so the owner can see I’m unhappy about what is happening.

ever since covid, I’ve seen so many people that aren’t in control of their dogs and it’s unacceptable. A lot of owners seem to think everyone wants to be approached and jumped up at by dogs and WE DON’T!

I've had dogs for 40 yrs - I now have a reactive rescue dog, always on lead. The only totally safe place to take him is into town or walking in areas where dogs have to be on lead. If I CHOOSE to take him where there are friendly, off lead, dogs wandering around then I have to be in a position to keep him under his threshold. My dog, my responsibility, no one else's. Mine is small enough to pick up and march past other dogs and he can be kept under threshold if I do that, if he were bigger then he wouldn't be walked in those areas. Other dog owners know him and me and we pass wry comments about "little man syndrome" all very friendly. My dog, my responsibility.

It has seriously limited where I can walk and at what times of day - but that's the reality of life with a reactive dog.

It is both unreasonable and unrealistic to expect all off lead dogs to be trained to stick to their owner's side like glue. You are setting yourself and your dog up for constant failure by putting a reactive in that situation, it's not fair to any of the dogs concerned.

@sparepantsandtoothbrush

No it doesn't. Having a dog off lead indicates (or rather SHOULD indicate) that the dog has a good recall! It's NOT an indication it wants to Interact with random dogs.

I don't know whether you've noticed OP but chihuahuas are tiny in comparison to other dogs. They are therefore are far greater risk of damage from other random dogs and also from vanishing down a burrow and coming to harm, especially if they are bolters. Don't take them off lead in public spaces where there are other animals, you are asking for trouble. Attend to your own dogs instead of policing others behaviour.

I'm sorry to hear about your dog, I hope he gets his confidence back!

However, the OP's digs were not on leads, so it's not the same thing

Then what IS the point of this post?!

You were rude and you were rude to a respondent 'hand in face'. I'm gathering that you are a rude woman.

If this is in the UK it's illegal to have dogs off the lead in public and pedestrian areas. Both are at fault I think.

I don't actually think it's illegal to have most dogs off-lead? Maybe in specific areas, yes, but not overall.

It's really not.

@Lbol no it isn’t.

It really isn't

Whether she was BU depends on how far her dog was from her and from you - i.e. if her dog was 3m from her and 15m from you then she was NBU. If her dog was 15m from her and 3m from you then she was BU.

However, you definitely were BU. Your dogs weren't under your control, not only is that unreasonable, it's also illegal. They don't have good enough recall to be off-lead, especially if they run away whenever another dog is near them (the dog didn't attack them). You were very rude to her putting your hand up at her.

That's not true. It's illegal to have your dog out of control in a public place, which OP's were.

It really is. In: children's play areas, sports pitches, roads, parks, beaches and pedestrian areas you must have your dog on a lead. Please contact your local RSPCA or Dogs Trust centre for more information 😀

Tis. In: children's play areas, sports pitches, roads, parks, beaches and pedestrian areas you must have your dog on a lead. Please contact your local RSPCA or Dogs Trust centre for more information 😀

Not all parks or beaches at all. Or even pedestrian areas. Under control yes. But that does not mean on a lead.

This is just blatant misinformation, though.

From the Blue Cross:

There is no blanket law requiring dogs to be kept on a lead in all public spaces. However, there are a series of orders that mean you have to leash your dog in certain places in your local area, for example children’s play areas, sports pitches, roads, parks and beaches.

Many local authorities have introduced Public Spaces Protection Orders over the last couple of years to restrict dogs to being walked on lead (or excluded from the area entirely) in certain public spaces. Look out for signage detailing restrictions. We also recommend checking your local council’s website for details of any restricted areas.

That doesn't mean "you must always have your dog on lead in those areas" it means, "if there's a PSPO in place, you may be required to keep your dog on lead".

So the etiquette where I live is that off lead dogs can approach other off lead dogs as you expect an off lead owner to have control of their dogs and be socialised enough to interact with other dogs. Your dogs were off lead so it’s fair game they can be approached. Your dogs sound too timid/ unsociable to be off lead around other dogs and you sound like you have created that situation. My dog is highly social and will run up to other off lead dogs. However I am close by always watching as occasionally even the other off lead dog could just take a dislike to my dog or vice versa so I’m careful to watch the body language in case anything untoward kicks off. So I wouldn’t be the woman you describe either who was chatting and not watching her dog. Also , if I noticed a dog I wasn’t sure about head towards me or even before that eg a much larger potential badly behaved dog ( most are known or I sense it) I’d quickly put my dog on lead and take a detour.

If I’m walking off lead and see an on lead dog , if I have time I’ll check first with owner if ok to approach and if no time/ I’m unsure I always put my dog on lead until I do know. It could be that the other dog is a rescue or in season. My dog is intact male so I am always very careful. I don’t like my dog approaching on lead dogs as some dogs are stressed on lead when approached.

Every now and again there will be a dog that bounds over and tries say to hump / dominate my dog and I accept it happens. My dog will then step up, bark and basically get the the other dog to back off. In these situations I am very quick to call my dog away and he will come immediately to me whilst I put him on the lead. If the other dog followed I would hold onto that dogs collar or use a firm command to keep that dog at bay until the owner arrives. Usually they are nearby and we all accept that dogs occasionally will do things that upset other dogs but we deal with that as the responsible owners and unless it’s a complete attack or something just move on.

@Lbol you are still wrong.

@Lbol you are completely wrong.

Incorrect @Lbol please re consult your source.

I think you're well within your rights to show her the hand after she had dismissed you previously! I think you were quite polite!

No, you were not rude. The lady should have recalled her dog but she was paying it no mind.

owners of large dogs do not realise that their “friendly” dog can absolutely terrify smaller dogs and they need to watch their big dogs to be sure that their presence will not cause issue to smaller dogs (children and anyone who is fearful of dogs). Just because your dog is friendly does not mean it is ok to leave them to wander or run up to people and other dogs. They can be quite frightening have a large dog bounding up to you.

Honestly some people on this thread are seriously confused. The law is that it is illegal to have your dog seriously out of control in a public place. That means dogs that might cause injury or alarm. Think savaging people and sheep worrying. That does not mean two mild-mannered and nervous chihuahuas not wanting to meet a much bigger dog running up to them and moving a short distance away to avoid the interaction. Lots of dog will give others a swerve. This does not mean they are "seriously out of control" for goodness sake.

I can't believe the weird bossiness and "you have to do things like me" attitude on this thread. People are all different and dogs are not robots. People need to remain flexible and responsive to the environment. There is nothing wrong with the OP having her dogs offlead if they don't want to interact with other bigger dogs, but aren't causing a danger to anyone.

People talking of the "etiquette" in their local park still need to be flexible to the fact that others might be there who don't know the place or do things differently. It's not up to them to decide the "rules" for everyone. The point is not about "rules", the point is about what is reasonable. What is unreasonable in this case is the OP called to the owner several times who continued either not to hear or make any effort to remove her dog. The owner should have been in better contact with her dog and been more aware it was causing a problem for the OP and should therefore have recalled (or come across and collected the dog). The nicest dogs in the world may occasionally be a nuisance by hassling people for food who are having a picnic, or maybe not picking up on messages from an old or unenthusiastic dog that doesn't want to play with them. There are always people nervous of dogs too and good owners should have a mind to that and make sure their dog isn't being a nuisance even if it is a nice-natured dog. We don't want the world to become so inflexible that nice-natured dogs can't be with us, so it's up to us to make sure they don't annoy others as much as we can. These are all just real-life situations not things you can legislate for. So owners should be aware and should make an effort, be aware and apologise if need be.

There is a huge gulf between a dog "dangerously out of control" and say an enthusiastic puppy saying hello to someone or a friendly family dog getting distracted by a picnic or a couple of small dogs intimidated by bigger dogs bounding up! You can't (and shouldn't) legislate for the latter. Most decent dog owners are civilised and are able to respond to situations in a normal human way, aware of the different circumstances and needs.