...or was he? (Dog walking)

[HarderToKidnap]

Me and dog in park yesterday, we go quite late when it is quieter.

Only saw one other person, who was walking a massive muzzled dog on a lead. My dog is a titchy toy dog.

When we saw them, my dog started running towards them. Immediately this guy started shouting "call your dog off!! CALL IT OFF!!!" My dog was still about twenty feet away and was ambling, and I knew full well it would stop within about ten feet unless invited by the other dog to come closer. So I called my dog and he stopped. I went over and put him on the lead. Then got a mouthful from the guy about how I should not allow my dog to frighten other dogs by running up and that I would have ruined his dog's walk and "she will be useless now" (his dog was going mental, baying and howling).

I felt/feel bad but not sure if I should. After all my dog did not go very close, stopped when told to and did not display any aggressive behaviour at all. And tbh, before Mumsnet I wouldn't have thought twice about it, but dog owners are judged so strictly on here I am second guessing myself all the time! After all, surely the whole point of a walk is for dogs to meet and chat with each other? So it's understandable my dog may approach other dogs?

Harderto kidnap
So how close does my dog have to get before I am becoming unreasonable by letting him "approach" other dogs?

you can approach another dog....if it is on their lead!!!...or ask the owner of the other dog if yours can approach it...respect and consideration for others!!

And they say people with rottweilers and other 'can be aggressive dogs' dont think of others, maybe thats what he was doing, if he had a type of dog that gets bad press, he obviousl;y muzzled it for a reason.

And to call dogs fighting dogs is wrong, people can have rottweilers or other dogs but put them in the wrong hands and thats when they become fighting dogs.!!

My mum has a neighbour with the soppiest dog [staffie] which other people would class as a 'fighting dog' and just because a dog like a yorkshire terrier is small it cna just be as bad...I hate the yappie things.!

I have a staffie. She is beautiful.

I have been bitten by a poodle and a sausage dog.

condensedmilkaddict.

whats her name??

It just goes to show doesn't it that all dogs are diferent.

x

Your dog was just displaying natural doggy behaviour. It is totally acceptable and normal for your dog to approach other dogs. This guy was doing the opposite of what he should have been doing, he should be encouraging interactions with other dogs rather than freaking out and reinforcing his dogs unsociable behaviour. I get fed up with dog owners who have no concept of what is norm dog behaviour. If you lived in an environment soley with another species don't you think you'd be eager to meet and greet your own kind when you came accross them.

Jemma, you think that someone who has their dog muzzled and on a lead and requests other dogs keep away should just sort himself out with some info on normal doggy behaviour and then let his dog get some proper interaction going on to fix all its woes???

Hmm, I wonder what the result of that might be then?

We have a lovely Staffie round here who is severly dog aggressive. One of the other lovely, if slightly misguided, dog owners thought like you and, as a direct result of his advice, my dog has now been attacked 4 times and is nervous in the extreme - now developing into the attack first scenario (although this is mild yet and only when on a lead as he feels trapped). Thanks to the encouragment of "natural doggy behaviour" I have a massive uphill climb over the next few years to reinforce good behaviour and prevent my dog becoming another one that has to be muzzled and leaded at all times.

I spent the formative months of his life encouraging as much doggy interaction as possible, carefully training and guiding my dog to have it all undone by someone who thought they had a clue - but really didn't.

jemma you are totally wrong. It is NOT always possible to "fix" a dog-aggressive dog, especially one who has been attacked several times, like bella's and mine, who is very similar. If a person was attacked four times by different random dogs, would they be unreasonable to be scared of dogs for the rest of their life? That's happened to mine and bella's dog. "Freaking" out when people are so stupid as to let their dog run up to one which is so clearly dog-adverse or dog-aggressive is quite understandable (even though this guy may have gone over the top) because it's SO bloody frustrating.

Maybe there is someone in the world who can "fix" my dog but if so, I've not found them. I tried one dog psychologist after another for 5 years with no improvement and now I just manage it by keeping him away from other dogs. He's much happier that way.

Normal dog behaviour is not to run up and "be friendly" anyway. Normal behaviour is to create a pack and reject outsiders. Certainly many dogs seem to enjoy "meeting" other dogs but some just don't, and that's not always because they're "reinforcing" their dog's behaviour. Sure it may be sometimes, but not always. Respect the fact that you don't always know what's going on, and a dog's history.

'Respect the fact that you don't always know what's going on, and a dog's history. '

Hear hear.

And I'd add to that 'Respect the fact that other people don't necessarily want your dog charging at them, licking them, or 'being friendly' either'.