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??

It's imp0ortant for dogs to get off-lead exercise. Most won't get enough otherwise, because (most) owners work/have responsibilities like caring/can't move for enough. As many pet breeds were originally bred to run, not walk, for hours, it's really important for their physical and mental well-being. Our neighbour has a boxer and his trainer told him that the dog would get more benefit running off-lead with another dog for 5 minutes than on-lead for an hour (and this neighbour is very fit and a faster runner than most). Mentally/physically happy dogs are safer and less likely to hurt anyone.
Obviously there's exceptions. Some dogs are old/sick/don't actually need much exercise, and their owner might want to keep them on the lead, particularly if they're not trained well. Naturally other people shouldn't let their dogs go up to them-but you didn't.
To give this woman the benefit of the doubt, maybe she's stressed/ill, maybe she rescued this dog and due to a traumatic past, he attacks, despite her best efforts to train him, and maybe a hundred other people have let their dogs run up to him and bother him today, while stereotyping his breed (some APs are apparently lovely). Just like a parent dealing with a child who has difficulties, maybe she'd just reached her limit. But no, it's not ok she behaved like that.

Dogs take their lead (pardon the pun) from their owners. Stressed out anxious dogs in my experience are usually walked by stressed out anxious humans who push this stress down through a tight hold lead.

Off leads - a well socialised dog will ofcourse sniff bums. anyone thinking this is a training issue doesn’t understand dog psychology.
a well socialised dog will probably steer well clear of any dog showing signs of being a nutcase

you told her to calm down because she needed to calm down!

hopefully your dog could spot both her and her dog were nutters and keep well clear. 🤣

But you had no control over your dog! Two wrongs don’t make a right!

What an unpleasant incident but you escalated matters by telling an angry person to "calm down" which is superior and patronising and you didn't need to speak further just walk away. Not excusing her abuse but best to de-escalate.

If your dog would "rip him up", why doesn't your dog have a muzzle?

Would it be the other dogs fault if yours savaged it? What is a child ran up to your dog and it savaged it?

You were both wrong, she for shouting and you for letting your dog run off to a dog on a lead. I used to hate this as my dog needed to be kept on a lead but owners like yourself used to think it was ok for their dogs to come running over get my dog all excited and then think it was ok. Lots of dogs on a lead are on a lead for various different reasons and you should respect this when walking your dog.

My dog is perfect with other dogs when he’s off lead. He also has impeccable recall. However, on lead, he’s extremely reactive, as he’s been attacked in the past. I wouldn’t have him off lead anywhere except for an open field, just in case we meet someone with a similarly lead reactive dog, and they're face to face before I can recall him, as it’s rude to assume every other dog and owner are going to be ok with my dog getting close to them.

For the record, he’s small and fluffy, not a huge dangerous breed. And he’s great with kids, whether on or off lead. Dog reactivity is very different from aggression towards people!

In this instance, you were in the wrong. She shouldn’t have called you names, but you may have been the 20th person with a “friendly” off lead dog she’d met that day and it might have been the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Now I think the opposite. My dog is gentle and friendly and likes to approach people (a soppy Goldie). People with potentially savage dogs shouldn't take them to public parks unless they are under strict control.

Nothing more annoying than walking my dog and having to avoid all these dogs that are off the lead, my dog ( Labrador ) seems to always get attack by other dogs , usually the ones that owner assure you that the dog nice 🙄 and she gets scared when other dogs unexpectedly approach her.

So said the owner of every XL Bully before it turned out to be a killer.

Leash reactive dogs are not “dangerous” dogs.

'Stressed out anxious dogs in my experience are usually walked by stressed out anxious humans who push this stress down through a tight hold lead.'

Stressed anxious dogs just need other dog owners to be responsible and considerate. The only time it is ok to approach another dog is when both are off lead in an open space. Owners don't 'push stress down a tight hold lead ' either .

Maybe stop thinking your dog going up to have a 'sniff' is something all dogs want.
It's rude in dog, so your dog is rude.
Mine loves other dogs and is happy to play, owners in the main check though because, manners. Those that don't and come the "he's it playing" also get a mouthful because sometimes I haven't got time and you don't know whenter my dog is reactive or not. I also can take the play in my hands sometimes and as the mutt has no recall and it's anything he comes across he's not allowed off lead.

Not the point of your thread I know but just wanted to wade in to say I fucking hate really get annoyed by anyone who lets their dog off lead in public. I'm frightened of dogs (for legit reasons), and my kids are both nervous too. The number of times an unknown dog runs up to us and given us the frights is too high and, quite frankly, unfair. I don't give a toss about your encounter with the "aggressive" but ON A LEAD dog - I'd care if your "friendly" dog came up to me uninvited. JUST WALK YOUR BLOODY DOGS ON A LEAD IN PUBLIC UNLESS YOU'RE IN A DOG FIELD.

If you can’t recall your dog it shouldn’t be off the lead.

'My dog is gentle and friendly and likes to approach people (a soppy Goldie).'

Approach people or other dogs on a lead? Neither is ok regardless of how friendly you think he is. Tbh I've found retrievers to be often too boisterous and annoying. Get it's lead on unless in an open space where you're playing fetch or whatever.

You clearly don’t want to hear it, but you are part of the problem here. Not all of it, but part.

You need to have your dog on lead BOTH when other dogs approach AND when you can’t see round corners. It isn’t fair to expect everyone else to deal with your dog not being under your full control in those circumstances.

I’ve owned many dogs over the years. I wouldn’t have an aggressive dog but I have had anxiety-reactive ones and it takes so many hours work to see tiny improvements. One encounter with a dog and owner like you describe can set it back weeks. This owner is probably at the end of her tether but ultimately she DID have her dog on lead- it’s you that didn’t.

I absolutely love dogs but I haven't got one...and one of the reasons is precisely because of all the complications in all these posts. It just sounds so complicated and scary. Like everybody goes the the park and half of you come back mauled to bits.

Any dog that is known to be able to rip another dog to bits, and would want to do so, should NEVER be out without a muzzle. A responsible owner would ensure that is the case. Even moreso if the dog is so poorly trained it strong enough to be pulling the owner along. Dogs should be socialised to not react to the normal doggy interaction of sniffing each other.

She was just showing you who she is and her aggressive dog is part of that. Both unsociable and hostile. You weren't wrong to react as you did, but it may have been wiser to blank her.

As a dog owner, I 100% agree with this.

It doesn’t sound as if either of you have covered yourselves in glory.

she shouldn’t have called you a cunt, you shouldn’t have put her in the position where she thought she needed to. Some of your dog’s behaviour is unacceptable.

Agree, but then maybe get a dog that doesn’t approach other dogs 🤷🏼‍♀️

She totally over reacted and absolutely no need to call you what she did, totally over the top, but I’m sure that wasn’t helped by the ‘calm down’, never in any history ever has anyone ever calmed down when being told 😆

You are both cunts.

exactly this!!

So maybe in her view you’re a c**t and needed to be told. See how it works?