Randomly insulted in village about my dog's 'behaviour'

[madbatarse]

I should preface this by saying we live in a fairly small village in South West - so this behaviour probably goes with the territory to a degree. We have 14 mth old dog who is still quite puppy like & boisterous: very sociable & wants to make friends with everyone. Twice now the same person/couple have shouted at me across the street that my dog is out of control, a disgrace & I should not be walking her through the village roads. My dog is always on a lead & has never gone anywhere near them.....it is totally unprovoked, random insults. First it was the husband on his own & then the couple together. I am a responsible dog owner & realise not everyone wants a dog coming up to them (or a lead or otherwise) so I always restrain & control her to not be nuisance - except for her 'regulars' (most everyone else) who make a point of coming over to talk to her. I walk her on my own during the day & now feel intimidated (& frankly a bit scared) about encountering these people again. Should I just change my routine &/or try to ignore them or AINBU having a go back next time he/they have a crack & tell them what I think of their unprovoked insulting rudeness? Thx ppl

Having an enormous great dog is a bit like driving an enormous great car-some onlookers will think you have chosen to do so in order to intimidate people.

I'm not taking over the thread but I will explain that it's a Livestock Protection Dog breed, they don't work to command, they are very independent minded and notoriously difficult to train. It's not about "not bothering" to train them, believe me. I've had 8 of them, and only one had reliable recall. As I've already said, people do not welcome a 50kg dog wandering up to say hi, but with a LGD it is never easy to guarantee that won't happen because their guarding instincts and need to investigate things often overrides the owners commands. In the current climate of dog hate we have to tread carefully. So yes, sadly, that means they are on the lead a lot.

Is it possible that your dog is the same breed as another dog that is walked by someone who lets their dog off lead and the dog is a nuisance?

That would be my first thought and I would know k and ask them why they are upset at my dog in particular when he is supervised at all times and is not a nuisance.

@madbatarse your dog is on a lead so whatever they say or shout is totally irrelevant!! people dont seem to understand that a big dog does not mean an adult dog! some dogs are better behaved than many people! is their dog a handbag doggy????

If your dog is on a lead (not a long line) and not being allowed to run up to people / into buildings and gardens, it absolutely is under control. If they approach it, that’s on them. YANBU.

'She is a bit hyper.' Sounds to me like a strong case of head in the sand. Get control of your dog. With obedience lessons if necessary. Sounds like a menace.. I don't imagine for a minute that they are yelling at a well behaved dog.

@CoubousAndTourmalet as someone with a dog with a strong prey drive but who previously had a biddable lab I absolutely understand. I can see you were empathising with OP rather than suggesting not to work on stop/recall. I googled your breed and they’re stunning! We’d be asking to say hello but appreciate you must get a lot of folk picking up their dog/ making a sharp exit, bless you.

Been thinking about this @madbatarse , and I wonder is it relevant to ask if these people are local or could be summer visitors, since you said you are in a village in the south west? We find that Brie has her regular cuddlers that stop to say hi, and who know her by name, and you seem to suggest it's the same with your pup. If you've had her for a year, and you've had the breed before, then she's probably a very familiar sight where you live.
Oddly though, my husband recognised spaniel woman from previous walks, so it must be something about me as a small woman with a large dog that bothered her.

If you do encounter this abusive couple again it's probably best to ignore them. It sounds as if there are plenty of people who know you and your girl and would vouch for the fact that she is friendly and exuberant rather than badly behaved.

Have you met the general public?
Nothing a lot of people seem to enjoy more in life than randomly venting their spleen at inoffensive strangers.

As for OP's dog, she sounds like a perfectly normal adolescent giant breed dog.

Thanks @Flippertygibbets Yes, they are amazing dogs but not for the faint-hearted. I really hope that the OP won't mind me saying this... but a quick PM has confirmed that our girls are littermates. She's in the SW and I'm in the NW so it's quite a coincidence that I responded to her post. We've also both had PMD before, so the boisterous behaviour of our girls is not down to us being novice owners or not training properly.

Yes, we do find it's love/hate when walking these lovable hooligans; people will either grab them for a big cuddle, or cross the road with their lapdog or baby. We always try to reassure, but I suppose it's understandable that some people do feel intimidated by the size. Still, that doesn't excuse people being abusive of a dog that is not showing any aggression, and I hope the OP won't encounter these people again.

Puppy probably fine - there are people who will have a go for no reason. This happened to me and when I told them to hold up so I could cross the road to discuss they scuttled off, and never did it again. I did worry about coming across them again, though.

Not really. If it's on a lead and away from the shouters, it's not their problem at all.

Ohh it’s so lovely the litter mate owners have found each other. The power of mumsnet! You’ll have to meet up in the middle - just avoid people prone to panic if you’ve got two 😂

If your dog is always in a lead and under control, they are unreasonable

OP - for all I know these people are weird and you are doing nothing to justify their anger.

But - are you keeping your dog on a tight lead when walking in the street? I get annoyed with people who, while, yes - their dog is technically on a lead, it's a great long loose lead, or one of those expandable ones, and frankly the dog might as well be loose. I think if you're in a street or anywhere where people will have to walk near you, the dog should be under close, tight control - like when you're riding a horse and you need to 'feel the horse's mouth' with the reins.

Dogs used to have to walk to heel - but I see very little of that any more. Has it gone out for a reason, or is it just poor training?

I know your dog (who sounds lovely) is a puppy but for adult dogs I think they shouldn't bother anyone else at all, whether on a lead or not.

God - those expandable leads! I've nearly broken my leg being tripped up on those a few times with daft owners allowing their dogs complete free rein when in busy pedestrian areas.

Thanks so much everyone for the comments & helpful suggestions - especially obviously @CoubousAndTourmalet for the fantastic support & understanding 😄. It's an incredible coincidence that 2 litter mate owners met on MN through the same experience! You have reassured me that I'm not being totally irresponsible (which I needed to know) & given some useful tips & hints that I will try out. Thx again ppl

Off to google Pyrenean and realise what I thought was a giant golden retriever in fact a Pyrenean 😂😂
what beautiful dogs

I always worry if I see a dog pulling on the lead when out walking with their owner- especially by a road. It shows that the owner hasn’t got full control of the dog. I’d not say anything, but I’d be concerned. Dogs should not be pulling on leads, they should be trained to walk by your side with a loose lead, to stop when you stop and to ignore other people.
You need more support with lead work.

I trained a dog I sometimes look after to ignore other dogs. Simply told him to sit facing me while I held a treat. Once the dog had passed, he got the treat.
That was as much for my benefit, as I don't want him prancing around and pulling me.

I wouldn’t jump straight to an antagonistic position and assume I’d been insulted. I’d be investigating wether there is village gossip I don’t know about and I’m being considered a problem. People talk, and only a few will do so to your face.

very sociable & wants to make friends with everyone.

Newsflash - not everyone wants to make friends with your "boisterous" dogs. This reads very much as if there has been an incident, or more than one incident, of your animal annoying someone, jumping up, getting in their personal space. Probably brushed off indulgently as "oh he's soooooo friendly!"

People generally do not shout at others in the street. Quite clearly nobody should be shouting at anyone, but this has not come out of nowhere, and you have to look at your dog's behaviour and question why you - out of all the thousands of other dog owners - are being singled out for this treatment.

Or in other words - it's not "random".

An enormous and very powerful dog which is boisterous and wants to engage with everyone, I can't imagine why people find that a problem 🙄

No - we are not one of those 'our dog is very friendly' dog owners. Our dog is on a short lead at all times when out walking & is never allowed to get anywhere near other ppl or their dogs to jump up at them or cause a nuisance. There have never been any such previous incidences of personal annoyance.

Yeah, I don't believe that. Maybe there have been incidents which you don't even perceive as an incident or worth thinking about but other people do.

Again - why have they singled you out among all the dog owners in town?