Am I the c#%t??

[cantthinkofausername26]

Walking my cavapoo today in a big open and empty field. He trots along happily off the lead, if he comes across another dog he will go and give them a sniff and be on his way.

usually if I see another dog on a lead I will put him on a lead too. I didn’t see this woman soon enough as she appeared from behind a bush. Big gnarly dog on a lead XL bully type dog. My dogs starts trotting in her direction, she goes mental shouting “go away, this is a dangerous dog, get your fucking dig away” etc. I called Doggo over and put him on a lead, no drama. She is still mouthing off at me, to which I replied “all right calm down!” This set the mad woman off shouting that I’m a fucking idiot and her dog would rip mine to bits and I shouldn’t let him off the lead. To which I replied “you’re the one with the aggressive dog you can’t control, who is the real idiot here?” I then got called a butch and a c£&t!

Now is it me that is a c£&t? Or the person with a massive aggressive dog that was literally pulling her along??

A dog isn’t “under control” if it’s going to attack anything that approaches.

Just checking OP, if your dog was attacked and became dog aggressive due to the trauma you would get it PTS?

What are people supposed to do if like others have said their dogs have been attacked and now react badly to other dogs? Just get it put to sleep?

Those are the rules according to Op 🙄

If your dog is aggressive in public it should be muzzled until a behaviouralist can help solve the issue.

Maybe the other dog owner was a total arsehole.

Or maybe they're not, maybe they're trying their best and in the moment, terrified of an accident which does tend to make people less than calm and diplomatic.

Has it occurred to you that this person maybe did not get an aggressive dog, they got a perfectly happy normal dog who, through no fault of their own, became aggressive as a result of a series of (or even a one off!) unpleasant or scary experiences?

Guess what the top way to get a reactive dog is?

Yep, have them on a lead and have other dogs (regardless of their intentions) run up to it.

The on lead dog is trapped, can't get away, can't freeze and assess the situation, can't fiddle about... the only option they have left (out of freeze, fiddle about, flight or fight)... is fight.

For some dogs that will be a bluff, all loud and flashing teeth but no substance. For other dogs it absolutely will not and as its difficult to tell, that means the dog now has to stay on a lead.

Putting them at risk of other well meaning but clueless owners like yourself who let their dogs approach and then throw smart arse remarks when told to get their dog back.

You are potentially 1 unpleasant incident away from that being your dog on the lead, yelling their head off, having to be dragged away, carefully managed etc etc.

Teach your dog that the sight of another dog is a cue to return to you - I won't explain how as you apparently know so much about dog behaviour this will be a piece of piss for you.

Don't let your dog approach others until you've asked if thats ok - owner too far away to do that, keep your dog by you.

That way, it doesn't matter if the other owner with a dog on lead is a total twunt, it won't affect you or your dog.

Any dog that would ‘rip up’ another dog should be muzzled and harnessed and walked in places and at times to minimise the risk to others.

Poor recall and control is suboptimal, I agree, but aggressive, reactive, unsocialised, traumatised and untrained animals are the menace, not off lead family pets who wander over to other dogs.

The worst ones are the owners who are oblivious that their unleashed dog is being a nuisance as they're on their phone or chatting to other people 🙄.

Muzzle in public and consult a behaviouralist. It’s sad and wrong if a dog is attacked and becomes aggressive but that doesn’t mean it should be allowed to present a risk to the public.

I wouldn’t say you were a cnut but if I had happened across a lary type with an XL Bully type dog, I'd have said something like "yes, I agree with you, you are quite right" lots of nodding and smiling as I got my dog to heel and back on the lead. I wouldn’t have given anything back.

She was a cunt. If her dogs that bad she needs to muzzle it. Or walk it in places where unlikely to come across off lead dogs. Like I did when I rescued a dog who was reactive to other dogs.

ANY leashed dog can suddenly become aggressive if another dog invades its space in a way that makes it feel threatened though, because they've got nowhere to run. That's why owners shouldn't let their off-lead dogs trot up to one that's clearly being held on the lead.

All dogs should be on a lead in public places. If you want your dog to run off-lead, go to a dog park, or dog field.

I think maybe you haven’t read it properly because I haven’t backtracked at all

The other person sounds a nasty piece of work with a dog known to be nasty and generally only owned by nasty people. Your dog sounds lovely.

'ANY leashed dog can suddenly become aggressive if another dog invades its space in a way that makes it feel threatened though, because they've got nowhere to run. That's why owners shouldn't let their off-lead dogs trot up to one that's clearly being held on the lead'

This. It is not rocket science is it.

Completely agree. It’s the aggressive dogs that cause potential harm not the annoying off lead ones, yet some people feel entitled to do as they please regardless.

It’s like saying pedestrians shouldn’t cross the road at undesignated places and therefore it’s fine for them to be run over if they do 🙄.

Are posters who say "doggo" Australian?

No. Im British and say doggo all the time.

I’m betting we all have kids who watch bluey!

Literally above

XL bully and type are not the same thing

ones banned ones not

Well obviously, but there’s a huge difference between a usually placid dog suddenly becoming aggressive and walking a known aggressive dog unmuzzled. Proper socialisation and training will remove 95% of the issue of a leashed dog being approached by an unleashed dog, the basics of dog ownership surely.

I don’t like big, aggressive dog breeds but it sounds like you’re at fault here OP.

It doesn’t matter if you “usually” put your dog on a lead, you shouldn’t be letting it run free where someone can surprise you by suddenly appearing.

You’ve been irresponsible here. She was rude but probably more than a bit frustrated with your inability to keep your dog under control.

It’s difficult when it’s an elderly dog and rescue. He is 13 and we got him two years ago but is small and still has loads of life in him. He came to us aggressive with dogs and unable to have a muzzle on for whatever reason, he just snaps. No idea if he was abused or what. I don’t know if a behaviourist would work at his age so we tend to walk him at night and he’s not allowed off the leash. For a younger dog or one you’ve raised from a pup who hasn’t been abused by all means see a behaviourist.

any XL bully type that an owner hasn’t muzzled needs reported, but it’s a case by case situation for other breeds.

Two points here.
If my dog was that aggressive he would be muzzled. What if it was a child.

I have a dog he is nervous reactive but not aggressive per se. Drives me mad the amount of times I've had off leash dogs approach him when he is on a leash. Other owner doesn't even bother to call them back no matter what I say.

Not forgetting the woman and her off leash dog who immediately on seeing my dog someway off (collie mix) zoned in on my dog, on seeing this ahead i put my dog behind me and called to her to get her dog to stay away from mine....she didnt bother, her dog proceeded to attack my dog round my legs , i kicked it, she sauntered over with the infamous words ' he's never done that before'. Makes me so bloody angry.