My dog and reactive dog

[Advicewelcome10]

I was walking my dog today she’s always off lead if we are in park woods beach etc and has 99% recall I say that because no dog has 100% recall so we were just leaving the beach coming off the sand and a dog was on lead with a woman about 15ft away aiming to walk the opposite direction to us my dog did not even look in their direction she does not go to people dog runners bikers etc she is excellent like that she was just focused on her ball in my hand, anyway the woman slowed to a stop staring at us she didn’t say anything so I threw my dogs ball in the direction we were leaving away from the woman and her dog and she started shouting “well that’s going to fucking rile my dog up!” I turned around and said pardon my dogs just chasing her ball then she exploded screaming she’s been attacked before and I shouldn’t own a dog it should be on a lead all the while her dogs barking and snarling at me as my dog and husband had continued to walk and play ball, my question is should I have put my dog on a lead? We were in an area of the beach that dogs are off lead at lot and bear in mind she didn’t ask me too leash her I would have if she asked and my dog was 15ft away and didn’t even acknowledge them but it’s left me feeling like should I always leash my dog when people pass was I wrong or was she out of order as she must have known it’s a very busy dog walking area loads off leash dogs sorry for the long winded post but I’m angry at her having a go at me and a bit annoyed I should have said do u want my dog on lead while u pass maybe hearing from people with reactive dogs or who have been attacked before will explain better why she felt she should scream and shout at me I feel for nothing.

Her dog, her problem. Mine's under control, other peoples aren't my responsibility.

The woman's reaction gives a big clue as to why her dog is reactive.

She will have been giving terrible messages/anxiety to her dog with the shouting etc. It's not your fault @Advicewelcome10 that she is neurotic and so is her dog.

There isn't around here. Keeping dogs on leads is cruel all the time and likely to cause behavioural problems

Yup. It would have driven my dog insane and she would have been pulling me over.

So I don’t take her to places where these sort of things would happen, sadly. I walk her early morning and late a night or take her to private bookings at a dog park.

If she knew her dog would have been driven nuts, a beach with other dogs is the wrong place to go.

I think it's responsible dog owner etiquette to put your dog on a lead as soon as you see another dog on a lead no matter how well trained your dog is. My dog has been attacked by an off lead dog and the owner was completely shocked and mortified. She said her dog had never done anything like that before but it did that day.

She was clearly stressed and behaved badly.

us too.

Yet another entitled dog owner who thinks everyone has to play by their rules. Put your dog on a lead. You don't know if her dog has been attacked by an unleashed dog before and that's why she was pissed off with you. You've just admitted that nobody can be 100% in control of a dog, arrogance is off the chart.

Dogs need to be exercised properly and that means running of the lead as well as lead walking.

Exactly.

I wouldn't even get a pet dog if I thought they couldn't ever be allowed to run & explore off the lead.

Seems cruel to me.

My dog is never off lead in a public place.

I use an 8ft lead in the park and the woods/nature trails so she’s not clamped to the side of me, but I need to be sure she’s under control at all times. Mainly for her own safety as she’s reactive.

We book a secure dog field a few times a month where she can run free for 90 mins to her hearts content in a safe environment, away from other dogs and people.

It's them with an issue not you.

No wonder her dog is aggressive if her starting point is to be aggressive, it will pick up on her energy.

My dog is always off lead (except for near traffic, around livestock, and places where there is a rule about having to be on lead), and he is trained to never approach dogs on lead until I give consent. Even on narrow paths he will slow to walking speed and give a wide berth walking as far to the opposite side as he can, all automatically, I don't need to command him each time, he just knows how to behave now as it's so ingrained. Sometimes people screech at me to put my dog on a lead with no justification, because he is nowhere near their dog, isn't even looking at them. 99% apologise when I explain about his training and say how good he is to do that.

What does frustrated me is the amount of people with reactive dogs who don't manage the situation. I have had people be dragged down the road by their on lead dogs, who are pulling them trying to attack mine. Or even worse, aggressive dogs not even on a lead. Thankfully, mine are trained not to react and to deescalate instead, and will only ever fight back as a last resort (if a dog has bitten). They also look to me for instructions if they know a dog is going to kick off and aren't sure how to get out of the situation, because there is no easy escape route and their owner isn't there.

I have no problem with people with reactive dogs that are sensible and manage the situation safely. Indeed, because my dogs are/were so sensible around aggressive dogs, I was often asked for support to help them learn to be around dogs safely, which I was more than happy to do

Agreed