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.

The golden retrievers were off lead and not under her control.

Your dogs were off lead and not under your control.

You don't have a leg to stand on.

This.

Yes, you were rude I think.
Your dogs shouldn't have been off lead if they run away in some situations.
It's hard to judge exactly what tone you used when you say you said something "a little sternly", but I suspect it was somewhat aggressive given the other woman's reply.

I think your reply to the first person who answered your question here was also a bit rude tbh.

To start with, I thought you were both as bad as each other, IMO.

If your dogs bolt when approached by other dogs, they are not under control and could get themselves hurt or even killed, so you should have recalled them and put them leads as soon as you spotted the Golden Retriever.

If her dog won't come back when called, it be on a lead too

But you were incredibly rude to hold your hand up in her face like that, so overall I think your behaviour was worse.

Keep your dogs on a lead, its simple.

YABVU why the hell are your dogs off the lead if they will bolt if approached??

You weren't rude. I've been worse in this situation with entitled people and their dogs 😐

Did you put your hand up or did you put your hand up in her face? There’s a difference - I’d happily do the former to indicate I’m not prepared to continue the conversation, but wouldn’t put my hand up in someone’s face as has been described on here by some posters.

if I see off lead dogs I allow my cocker spaniel to approach so if you cannot trust them not to bolt in what is a very normal situation then I’d suggest putting them on a long lead. Imo you were at fault here and I’d be really confused by your request to move my dog when he’s not near your dogs at all.

I don't think you were rude in the interaction. She heard you several times and ignored. She initated the rudeness (leaving aside the dog issue, it's rude to ignore someone who is calling out for assistance) and you weren't required to listen to her justification.

I have Chihuahuas and wouldn't take them where larger dogs are off leash, though.

Didn't her dog bolt over to my dogs though? Why doesn't she keep her boisterous, prone to bolt dog on the lead?

Why are you trying to blame her dog for your dogs behaviour when you knew IN ADVANCE that your dogs are known to run off.

She should have been in control of her dog but this could have been a one off but the fact that you knew this could happen and are still blaming someone else is ridiculous.

Just hold your hands up and learn for next time.

You were in the wrong , look after your dogs
and keep the on their leads , they are not train enough if they bolt

YABU. Nervous dogs prone to bolting should be on a lead.

You also sound pretty rude.

Hi. I do think you were being a little unreasonable.
Her dogs were not being aggressive and some dogs will run and bark at other dogs if they are not on the lead. If your dogs are scared by this, I would have them on a lead for their safety as I wouldn't want them running away, scared. The lady wasn't to know your dogs would react that way.
If you shouted me to get my dog, I would have complied but she was chatting so maybe didn't hear you?. I don't think you really need to know if putting your hand up to her and saying "thank you" is rude, do you! You don't mention if she was verbally rude to you. I would have them on a lead if it was me.

I don't really understand though, what did the dogs actually do to yours? You are saying they were boisterous but sounds as if yours ran away and the other dogs did nothing more than run over. When he was younger my large pup would run over but stop a yard or so short and wait till I said it was ok to say hi. He is a horrid teenager now so is only off lead in the specific dog park and on the long line or short lead anywhere else.

I put my hand up and said, 'thank you' and walked away. I wasn't near her, so it would have been impossible for me to put my hand in her face. Which I wouldn't have done anyway. I put my hand up to stop the conversation.

I understand it’s not completely courteous for a dog to run up to your dog but you can’t really think this isn’t expected. Lots of people have unruly dogs, puppies or are simply not that responsible themselves. Surely if your dogs have a propensity to bolt you’d keep them on lead if you’re walking at a busy time/busy location.

I do sympathise as I imagine this was super stressful for you, it would be a nightmare for me as my dog is my baby.

Agree with pp who said:
The general rule is that if dogs are off lead then other dogs can approach them to play.

If you see dogs on lead, then you stop your dog from approaching them. Off lead dogs can play with each other.

I think your doggies need to be on a lead, for their own safety but the other walker should have responded quicker.

If your dog is likely to run away then your dog should be on a lead.
Well trained is well trained, well trained is not except for certain situations. Your dog may be well behaved but if they run away they are not well trained.

You stop your dog approaching full stop. Ok lead or off lead. Until you are sure the other owner is ok with it. Ffs.

I think if you ask another dog owner to recall their dog then they should do this, surely that's good manners?

Is it potentially unsafe though OP if your dogs will bolt in this situation? Could they get themselves into danger or are they actually removing themselves from a potentially dangerous situation?

Yes you were rude and your dogs shouldn't be off lead unless you can recall them. If your dogs will run away in the event of encountering another dog, you need to keep them on lead.

In many areas, the etiquette is that off-lead dogs are okay to socialise, and on-lead ones aren't.

If your dogs are prone to bolting, you are (imo) an idiot for continuing to have them off the lead once you've spotted other dogs.

If I see a dog on a lead in the park I put my dog on a lead
If I see an off lead dog in the park and my dog is off lead it's usually safe to assume the other dog is OK to be off the lead

To be honest I wouldn't care if I was rude, her dog frightened yours and you had asked multiple times for her to call them back.

I’ve no idea why posters are stating a dog, who is off lead, is fair game for other off lead dogs to bound over and jump all over the dog and it’s owner.

I walk my dogs off lead. I’ve trained them not to approach people or other dogs. They don’t want other dogs bothering them and neither do I.

If everyone kept their dogs to themselves dog walking would be a much more pleasant experience. Reading some of the dog threads on MN I’m so grateful to be living in the country, surrounded by mountains and not having to encounter untrained, rude, nuisance dogs and their owners every time I walk my dogs.

I walk them in the park - well away from the children’s play area, occasionally if they need a quick walk/play fetch.

The number of untrained dogs and clueless owners around lately is astounding.

If you cannot control your dog, using your voice, put it on a lead!