To think that 'reactive' dog owners should stop kidding themselves?

[realpeopledontlikebites]

Their dogs are simply aggressive. If you've been doing everything within your power and finances to make your dog happy and it still goes for people and other animals, whilst you diminish your whole world to accommodate it..... bearing in mind most dogs WANT to please their owners and live without conflict ..... then it's time to do right thing and remove the dog from the possibility of harming anyone.

Stop kidding youself. Stop putting children and vulnerable people in danger. Stop pretending there is any other solution , because there isn't . Visit your local vet and discuss the only humane sensible thing to do.

I've been there. I've blamed others for walking too fast. For looking at my dog. For breathing anywhere near him . He was wired wrong and he was a danger and we did everything we could and we made all the excuses.

He bit people and when he tried to lunge at my baby grandson I knew we had to take him to the vet and end his life humanely.

I wish we'd done it sooner and I am so fearful of other dogs when I see them the same as my dog was. I know how dangerous they are. I Know their body language.

If you're soothing your dog constantly to stop them attacking people or you have to walk in the dark or hire a field, you own a dangerous dog and it is a liability . PLEASE do the right thing before your dog kills someone.

If your dog is on a lead and has great recall you are not the dog owner those with reactive dogs hate. If you do as you say you do no one has a problem with you.

It’s those with zero recall who’s owners shout loudly “it’s ok, he’s friendly” as their unsocialised dog gets in the face of dogs who want to be left alone, and whose body language clearly says that. Half the time these dogs aren’t friendly at all, they barge in showing dominant behaviour and are often borderline aggressive. Some owners are really dreadful. Most reactive owners I know are very responsible and proactive in managing their dogs.

Are you new here? On MN there is a lot of anger towards anyone who has a dog!

Hasn't a law been passed to allow this exact thing to happen?

Exactly. Let’s not start in fighting. We’ve got enough to deal with from the anti dog lot.

What law are you on about? If you are alluding to the assisted dying bill then it is not for people who are stressed and anxious. It is for people already at the end of life.

People adapt. Some people love their dogs and will adapt so everyone is happy.
I am in a big dog group on FB and one of the frequent posters has a lurcher that is reactive to other dogs. So he walks him on the lead when he goes out, and often hires a private field so the dog can have a run about.
It is not stressful for either of them, and he enjoys having the dog in his life.
A reactive dog is usually only reactive in certain situations. At home, this dog will be happy as any other.

I posted on another dog thread recently to support leads for ALL dogs in public places. But no, not all reactive dogs are aggressive. My late mums dog is a dream - cuddly, not food reactive, amazing with kids & strangers, doesn't really bark - until she sees another dog on a walk and loses her absolute mind. She is actually fine off lead but being on lead will bark & lunge at any dog regardless of size. I would NEVER have her put to sleep because shes a pain in the arse on walks. I do apologise profusely & have tried to train it out of her by making her sit & focus on me until dogs have passed us. This is sometimes successful and sometimes not. She is a dream otherwise. And if other owners had their dogs on a lead, there would be no issue apart from me being embarrassed by her behaviour. She is a small breed so can't really get far when she pulls/lunges etc.

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Friendly dogs are ones who correctly interpret the signals other dogs are giving, and only approach if they effectively give consent. Absolutely no problem.

The ones who approach regardless of the signals another dog is giving off are poorly-socialised and need more training to behave appropriately. If the owner does nothing but shout "It's OK, they're friendly!", then they need more training too.

This.
People yell "it is ok, he is friendly" to basically mean they wont bite you. But they might still jump up and frighten your own dog.
I have seen a few dogs in my local park who have been trained to lie on the floor when another dog passes. It is pretty amazing to see.

So is our mini. They are an absolute nightmare of a anxious mess of a dog. Good luck!

My dog is reactive because she had a bad experience firstly with an irritation on her body and secondly with somebody who was supposedly caring for her. She is wary and nervous.

She isn't given the opportunity to put anyone in any danger. She is on lead, with us. I tell other dog owners that she isn't friendly, and ask them to recall their dog when they allow theirs to come bounding over to mine. If they can't heed my warning then that's their look out.

OP you are plainly not being unreasonable.

Yeah, I'm not going to unalive my dog just because he is fear aggressive. He is always walked on a short lead (actually doesn't like long leads and stays by my side). Also I don't walk him where off lead dogs are allowed.
He is crated when somebody comes to the house as well. He is the size of a breadbox so easy to control.

Oh, and I have had 3 tiny dog before him who were all friendly and sociable so it isn't a case of bad owner....some dogs just have behavioural problems (if he was a person I'd think he was autistic coz it's like he doesn't know how to speak dog!).

It's not aggressive or reactive dogs who cause problems IMO, it's owners who either won't accept they have a problem or can't read their dogs body language

I didn't say that, I was just commenting that it must seem even more stressful when you see so many other dogs that don't have these difficulties.

I am not criticising them, just saying it seems pretty stressful and unenjoyable to own a difficult dog.

I have seen a few dogs in my local park who have been trained to lie on the floor when another dog passes. It is pretty amazing to see.

You may be giving too much credit. My collie does this. It's part of her innate herding behaviour.

It can be very stressful, but some people see their dogs as part of the family and worth the effort. I’d be a pretty shit owner if I rehomed my gorgeous dog because she can be difficult without committing to put the necessary work in.

Some people see their pets as disposable and give up on them at the first sniff of a challenge. I’m quite happy to judge them.

I'm sorry, I know I will get shouted down, but there are SO MANY dog owners on Mumsnet who seem to think that their own, personal knowledge of their dog, is enough defence for them to walk through society and do what they want .

The word reactive is being used in the most absurd fashion by people who don't want to take responsibility for their dog's actions.

A life lived on lead is no life for a dog imo.

You’re the kind of person I was talking about at the start of the thread when I said owners of reactive dog expect others
to pussy foot around them. Why should my.well behaved, respectful, well socialised dog have his life limited to appease those that aren’t?

Isn't there an argument as well to say that for owners who choose to own "difficult" dogs, they're kind of imposing that choice on society as soon as they step outside the door?

Isn't there someone in the "dog community" who can accept that for many of us, we just want to walk through our parks and public spaces without having to worry about our body language or how a dog perceives us, in case that dog is "reactive" or "difficult"...?!!

Definitely a lot of confusion over the difference between reactive and aggressive in this thread.
Aside from that, what can be done about the humans that were abusive to my rescue causing him to be reactive (bark)? Can we take them somewhere to be put to sleep?
Also, using dog fields for reactive dogs doesn't just mean they are too "reactive" to walk in open spaces. We do it so our dog can enjoy a great run without being bothered by the "he's just being friendly" brigade!

Definitely a lot of confusion over the difference between reactive and aggressive in this thread.

No one has given a satisfactory definition yet that is easy to understand or differentiate between the two states.

I can’t stand being around dogs sometimes.

I was walking through my local park yesterday and behind me I could hear two dogs running towards me at speed, barking, and I was terrified. My heart was racing and I had absolutely no idea whether I was in danger or not.

Thankfully they both ran straight past me but those five seconds where I could hear them running up behind me , with no idea idea what kind of dogs they were or if there were owners present, made me feel so scared.

I hate the fact that some dog owners don’t take into consideration how other people feel when their unleashed dogs are running around. Yes, they may know their dogs aren’t dangerous and are friendly and that wouldn’t even bother strangers in the park, but the people in the park don’t know that.

It’s so unnerving being surrounded by dogs running around when you have absolutely no idea about their characters and temperaments. You have to put your trust in the fact that the owners allow them to run around unleashed and so they must be safe, but there will always be that doubt.

Like I said, I just wish some dog owners were more considerate and didn’t allow their dogs to be running around unleashed in busy parks (unless they are dog parks of course).

This.

“Reactive” is a completely subjective and overused term.

I think you’re right though OP when you use the phrase “wired wrong”. We hear so much about how there are no bad dogs only bad owners/it’s all in how you train them/if you’re kind to them and love them enough it’ll all be ok and most “laypeople” just don’t get that genetics play a MASSIVE part in dog behaviour.

Not all dogs can be fixed and in some cases it would be dangerous to try.