Dog walking etiquette thread.

[GrittersWifeAndProud]

That's just it really, thought we should have one.

What are the Do's and Don'ts of dog walking?

Plenty of dogs round our way do not have good recall. Not normally a problem. Provided owner is quick to catch it! From my point of view I have no issue if someone comes and collects their dog but if they either have no clue where there dog is or shout over anything about it being friendly then that's when I get annoyed.

He walks SIX!! I am impressed!!!

Have you got a van for them all? A bit of a squeeze in a car!

Agree with loads said already, but particularly about being aware when you are walking a dog and going to pass another dog. I always shorten the lead and get between my dog and the other dog, I walk quickly and show really obviously that I don't want contact, so why can't the other owners see this and realise that letting their dog (usually terrier type) lunge across the pavement at mine is asking for a stern bark from my lurcher. For some reason yapping terriers are ok but when my dog does a couple of stern deep barks to warn the dog, the owner looks at me as if I have a wolf on the lead. If someone lunged at me across the pavement to sniff my bottom or nip my legs they'd get more than two barks!!

Also those groups of people who gather in the middle of small parks and talk to each other while their dogs are all off lead - while they gossip their dogs are acting like a pack terrorising other dogs and pooing everywhere (but they can't find it to pick it up because they wern't taking any notice).

Don't get me started on leaving poo bags...its unbelievable. I carry plastic bags if I'm going for a walk away from bins. Put the poo bag in the plastic bag, attach it to the rucksack - no hassle until I've got to a bin.

We walk on Wimbledon Common every day. I really do dislike the habit some dog owners have of leaving their bags till later. I carry mine with me - it is not pleasant for me but far more pleasant for other Common users.

We got a 16mo Terrier X bitch from Dogs Trust almost 6 weeks ago, she came from a hoarder who had 100 dogs and as such is not v well socialised.

Thankfully her fear does not translate into aggression but she is petrified of everything. She is kept on a lead at all times, I walk past people, dogs, etc ignoring them while she is trying to get as far away as possible but it does annoy me when people don't attempt to call their dog back, yes he/she might be friendly but my dog is frightened.

Please recall your dog if they are approaching a dog on a lead. They might not be 100% at coming back but at least make the effort to try.

Size matters - most puppies are bigger than my 2 smallest dogs who do not appreciate being squished by over exuberant puppies/adolescents. You may not think of your young dog as large but put yourself in my dogs' (tiny) shoes.

They don't care that s/he is only young, s/he is only trying to play, they don't want to be squished so don't look so shocked when they tell your puppy off! (Or when my other, slightly larger, dog jumps in to defend them.)

Am I not getting this thread? Where I walk my dogs, everyone has theirs off lead, all very relaxed. Owners say hello, dogs sniff, maybe play or just go on their way. No-one does the putting dogs on and off leads thing - we just walk our dogs. Am I just very fortunate or totally clueless?

There's places where we walk where its as Lara describes, and places where it's not. The former tends to be the more open, country areas - today we were in woodland and it was lovely, most dogs offlead not bothering people and mostly fine with each other (except for the choc lab who tried to hump my dog. There's always one, isn't there?). But I tend to keep my dog on a lead somewhere like the canal towpath - its narrow, there's bikes, sometimes he'll decide he doesn't like the look of another dog and if he wasn't leashed he'd panic and take off in the other direction, in a way he wouldn't if there was more space. And anywhere theres livestock, esp at lambing time, its not worth the risk IMO.

Lara - it's like that where I live (new forest), we are mellow country folk around here rather than uptight suburbanites

hmc I don't know if you meant it that way but your remark comes across as somewhat smug. It's alright for you 'mellow country folk' with plenty of space, but as a suburbanite my choices of where I walk my dogs are more limited and, I suspect, a lot busier!

We encounter lots of other dogs on every single walk, so that's lots more interactions requiring consideration from a bigger variety of people and dogs, of all shapes, sizes and temperaments. Even just looking at it statistically we are probably more likely to encounter more dogs with issues and more idiot owners.

My dogs probably face the challenge of meeting more unfamiliar dogs/owners in a week that yours do in a month and I'm happy to report that most of these encounters go perfectly well - even if I am an 'uptight suburbanite'.

One thing I will do once my pup is older and (presumably!) calmer: if I'm walking along and a puppy comes up to my dog and and the pup's owner is trying to call the puppy back to her, I will stop whilst the pup owner retrieves her dog. Quite often I find I am calling my pup whilst the owner and dog continue walking and it's not helpful at all - if the owner just stopped then I'd get my pup back a lot sooner. These owners fall into the rude and unsociable category; luckily we don't meet them that often and the majority of people appreciate my puppy is still learning.

Quite often I find I am calling my pup whilst the owner and dog continue walking and it's not helpful at all - if the owner just stopped then I'd get my pup back a lot sooner.

I don't always stop because if I keep walking it makes it harder for my dog to swallow your puppy!

Sometimes I do because I get all my leads, balls, chuckits, halti's, in a muddle it's easier.

I will also keep walking as it hopefully will encourage my dog to stay with me .

I dont think dog owners like that or like me are rude and unsociable - it is not their/our problem that your puppy wont come back .

I will stop occasionally and get hold of my dog .. but ultimately it's not my problem if your puppy follows me or my dog .

If a dog comes running up to me and my gang I wait until I'm sure the owner's got their dog back before walking away. We live somewhere like Lara upthread, very rarely do you meet dogs on leads, the leads are all around our necks in case of tractors jumping out from behind hedges .

I'm not asking people to grab their dog I just want to get hold of my pup and take her away. Usually the owners who dot stop are talking on their phones/listening to their iPods and not really aware that someone is behind them trying to get their pup to stop hassling their dog! If I see anyone who is in a bit of trouble (e.g. a middle aged lady chasing a puppy down a hill) I won't just walk away, i will stop and see what I can do.

Unfortunately round my area there is a craze of breeding staffies and then not training them, or training them to be vicious for status.

It makes for very pleasant walks and most will of probably read about my various run ins that involved lots of pointiness and pain.

The beach however, is much more laid back and I can dare to breathe a little whilst letting my dog have a nice long run about without fear of his neck getting ripped open.

Can I just point out to those people who pick up then leave the bag till later, that the second you hang the bag of poo on a branch/post etc and then walk away, you are committing an offence regardless of whether you intend to collect it later on or not.

People who don't have a lead on their dog when on the pavement, Ie on the way to the park or whatever. It's grand for ya that you have a beautifully trained always at heel dog. Surely you can teach it to walk on a bloody lead nicely, too? It's illegal! and show-offy I worry more for the dog tbh, what if something spoked it and it ran into the road?