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 well behaved dog can be off lead, read the behaviour of other dog who clearly don't want to be approached & comes back when called I have absolutely no issue with that. If your off lead dog comes over to a clearly reactive & frightened dog and you shout don't worry he's friendly then you are a dick. Unfortunately my mums dog can't be off lead but still needs to be walked. She is given ample time off lead in her own garden where she is comfortable and also taken to secure dog fields. She is happy & well looked after, I would not have her put to sleep so that your dog can run around. What an absurd way to think.

your off lead dog comes over to a clearly reactive & frightened dog and you shout don't worry he's friendly then you are a dick.

Yup, unless the owner of the badly-trained offlead mutt (usually a labradoodle but not always) profusely apologises. Sometimes they have the grace to, then most people will sort of shrug it off. But usually they compound their error by going, "he's friendly. Don't you ever let your dog play? Dogs should be offlead..." etc etc.

Read the post I was replying to. The poster said she finds owners with the yellow jackets with the expectation that everyone else has to pussyfoot around the dog, give wide berth, move away they are coming though etc..... yet I added if they are indeed a problem they should be muzzled since it's a dog problem which doesn't excuse anything that may or may not happen if you 'get too close'. They don't own the footpaths ,park etc

Agree with the above. If I see a yellow jacket or lead I will give a wide berth. But responsibility goes both ways, if you know your dog is reactive and has the potential to bite it needs a muzzle. I see dogs wearing muzzles and think the owner is responsible and never have a negative reaction to it.

That's actually pretty normal dog behaviour, though. A bitch being a bit bossy with strange dogs.

What's abnormal us humans assuming that all dogs want to socialse with strange dogs.

I have two dogs. One of them loves everyone and will lick them to death, the other is reactive and will bark constantly if he spots other people / dogs. It's really difficult and walking them around my village is hard as most people own dogs and my dog really shows me up.

So I now hire a field. £5 for 30 mins and they can run free and do their thang every day without worrying about noise. Absolute bliss, and I'm sure the neighbours are appreciative too.

This. Exactly this.

Sadly, too many confuse reactive and aggressive and lump them into the same bracket.

We have a dog in the family who has always been the sweetest, most playful and friendliest dog ever - he's a big breed but he is very well trained and has been since day one.

This summer, he was attacked on the beach, for no reason at all - he was minding his own business and sniffing in the sand and three other big breed dogs lunged for him, jumped on him, bit him etc - it was horrific.

Since then, he has been reactive and very very protective of his master. He is categorically NOT aggressive, but he will react if provoked. So we mitigate this by walking him alone, either early or late, and he stays on a lead.

Do you have any idea how frustrating it is when a dog bounds up to yours, off the lead, but the owner is shouting "it's ok he's friendly, he only wants to play....."

Too many dog owners are irresponsible and too quick to call out aggressive dogs, because they've mistaken aggression for reaction.

What's abnormal us humans assuming that all dogs want to socialse with strange dogs.

That’s not abnormal at all in my experience. Dogs are social animals and enjoy greeting other dogs and it’s obvious the enjoyment my dog gets from playing with other dogs, it is in no way forced.

Obviously not all dogs are the same and some don’t like interaction but in my experience the joy dogs get from social interaction is clear.

I can understand that.
But the ones I have seen have been spaniels and labs, and even a staffy.

There is also a very large dog (might be an XL bully, it does have a muzzle on) who sits when any other dog goes past too.

It isn't normal, and much of what people like you think of as innocent play is nothing of the sort.

Some of it is straight up bullying.

Most of it is dogs trying desperately to suss out where they stand and deploy a ton of appeasing behaviours to try to avoid some sort of scrap, fight or deadly attack.

Dogs are social creatures - so are we, its why dogs and humans mesh so well together.

It is not normal for a human to approach another group of humans and immediately involve themselves in over familiar close contact and play. Imagine hurtling up to a bunch of humans you don't know and suggesting you all play Twister together?! Madness.

Dogs form relationships like we do, getting to know others slowly over time, in a variety of contexts, building a relationship, building trust. Like us, some have better social skills than others and like us, some are hampered by physical appearance and mobility (some dogs have very upright stances, starey features, bulgey large eyes, faces permanently fixed into a frown - this reads to other dogs as a threat!).

Treat yourself to watching some of the webinars and docu's on feral dogs/wild dogs and see how they deal with meeting unfamiliar fellow canines.

I’m just going to straight up disagree with you here.

I understand some situations can be stressful depending on the circumstances.

I’m not forcing my dog to play and interact with other dogs, it’s always on her terms and she’s the one wanting to greet and play. I know my dogs behaviour and body signals. She clearly loves playing with other dogs and I see it as an important part of her well-being.

Most people on this thread with reactive dogs (including me) have said that this started as a result of someone else’s unruly dog scaring it.

I certainly didn’t choose a difficult dog, but the selfish actions of others (not having control over their own dog) has resulted in my dog being nervous.

I fully understand that others want to walk their dogs without a care in the world, which is why lots of dog owners like me stay away from the fields where dogs are let off. The problem doesn’t really go away though, because plenty of those dogs that are “just friendly” actually aren’t, and in their owner’s pursuit to exercise them with gay abandon are creating more reactive dogs.

The bottom line is that knowing your own dog well is important. If your dog will approach others and not back off when another dog gives the appropriate signal, then your dog is the problem. If your dog happily exercises and displays good socialisation with other dogs, and recalls reliably, then it’s not a problem.

In my village there is a horrible man and his untrained dog who has traumatised half the dogs in the village, who now mostly, out of politeness, stick to road walks on leads, which is a shame for them as it’s one awful man and his need to walk his dog without giving one shit about anyone else. I’m pretty sure I know who the selfish one in this scenario is, and it’s not the owners of challenging dogs who are all exercising them responsibly.

But what about the other dog? Do their terms get any heed? Because I find this is the problem. One of mine is 18, can't be off lead these days because she's losing her hearing and she's small, she still likes a bit of a potter around but nothing too strenuous and although will happily greet other dogs, bit of a sniff, she doesn't want to play rough, chasing around etc and she's well socialised enough to give plenty of signals before it gets to a snap or lunge that she doesn't want to be dived on or charge around, I have a younger dog that will play and enjoys it, but she's also well socialised enough to heed my older or any dogs signals and takes no for an answer, unfortunately not everyone's dogs are like that and the owners seem to feel that my dog owes their dog their want to play, or chase around, or be dived on, and that dog may well have friendly intentions but those situations turn sour when the dog doesn't heed the no, and the owner seems to think my dog is the problem because she doesn't want to play, rather than their dog not heeding social cues or the owner insisting that their dog gets so much out of playing that my dog should play regardless of what she actually wants to or can safely do.

Whilst reactive and agressive may be different the outcome can be the same.

There is a guy that lives near us with a reactive dog that is extremely agressive, even on a lead and muzzled the dog still managed to do some damage to a childs school bag that was on her back when she was walking by.

Thank you thank you thank you thank you.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

My dog only plays with other dogs we either already know, or check with the owner first.

To say dogs don’t enjoy social play is bizarre and incorrect when I see first hand the enjoyment she and her pals get from it. There are even a few dogs who we call her ‘best friends’ because they are clearly happy when they see each other.

There is a difference between happy dogs playing and dogs harassing older, injured or reactive dogs.

Can I recommend an Instagram account?
Finntheacd iis brilliant to give an introduction to dog body language. And indeed the difference between reactive and aggressive.

our dogs are often yelling their feelings through their body language and it is very often overlooked or misunderstood. All dog owners would do well to be a bit more aware. The bounding bouncing pup is saying far more than “I’m fun wanna play” and the stoic dog averting eye contact and tucking its tail is giving a clear answer which should not be ignored by either the playful pup or either owner.

My dog and husband were smashed into by a rollerblading rounding a corner out of control last week. Guess who is now suddenly barking ferociously at bicycles, scooters and roller blades? Ffs. The calmest collie ever previously.

I haven't said dogs don't ever enjoy social play.

They absolutely do, because we've selectively bred them to retain the playful behaviours of juveniles...

But respectful, safe, mutual play tends to be between dogs who know one another well, who have learned each others boundaries, who listen to one another even when arousal levels are high. This is highly unlikely to be the case where dogs do not know one another!

Just watch next time you see dogs playing - look at whether they switch roles, does the chaser become the chasee?
Do they pause and take breaks, if one pauses does the other respect that and reciprocate?

Can they mooch along together, exploring the same ground, or sharing a toy or are the games JUST chase based? Because the former are much more social, respectul behaviours than the latter and suggest a much better relationship and better social skills.

The dogs in our park share toys and sit waiting for treats very happily.

Cant remember names but a poster did say earlier that dogs don’t play and it’s a form of bullying, I was disagreeing with that statement.

It seems you are referring to my post - I actually said that much of what most owners assume is sweet innocent, mutual play is not.. so I definitely did not state that all dog to dog off lead interaction is bullying at all. Perhaps you might go and read what I actually said again.

Some of it is bullying/being bullied.
Some of it is dogs sussing out where they stand with one another and as such is pretty stressful and tense.
Some of it is dogs outright trying to attack another dog (fortunately relatively rare).
And some of it will, particularly between dogs who do know and like one another, be actual play.

Anyway - next time you're observing dogs playing, whether its your own or in video clips - look for the things I have mentioned. They'll reveal much more clearly whether play is mutual, enjoyable for all, respectful etc or whether it may in fact be very stressful, involve one dog being bullied, one dog throwing their weight around etc etc.

That was not a Jack Russell ffs it was an XL Bully!

I think a big issue is that people just are not considerate anymore. Dog owners and non owners. I have a reactive dog. She was made so by several incidents with so called friendly dogs out on walks. As a result she is now very nervous of other dogs when she is on the lead. I never let her off in public because she will bolt if scared. So instead I take her multiple times a week to secure fields. There she can run free till her hearts content completely safe from other dogs. She isn’t living a bad life because she isn’t allowed off lead in public.
Yes life has changed since having her and at times that has felt restrictive. But she is worth those restrictions. She is one of the most loving and trusting souls there is. And it makes me sad that others don’t always get to see the real sweetheart she is.
Having dogs is restrictive full stop. And actually my life is slowly changing to adapt to my older dogs needs. I don’t see why one is worse than the other.

My dog being reactive isn’t reasonable to PTS. It is perfectly possible to give a reactive dog a good fulfilling life and at the same time keep them and everyone else safe.

I have a reactive dog, he’s walked twice a day every day, he’s worked in between to help him calm, but he still will jump up on people, he wants to be everyone’s friend, and just is a chaos gremlin, doesn’t have any aggression, he’ll just kill yoi with his need to be your best mate. I’ve had behaviourists, and all
sorts to assess him, the consensus is, he just likes to play rough!