We are not very popular. Advice please.

[chipstick10]

I need some advice as this is new to me. My darling old dog died last June, he had been with us for 15yrs. He wasn't keen on other dogs and was always happy playing with us or just sniffing around in the park.
We now have a new rescue dog and he is the complete opposite and is very sociable. He is still a puppy and loves rough and tumble. In the park I know he is the dog other owners dread seeing. He play fights all the time. He never growls or barks and just pins dogs down and play bites their ears. Some owners are really happy with this and tell me it is nice to see the dogs playing but I know other owners are less happy. They tut and tell me to keep him on a lead. One woman the other morning pushed him away with her walking stick. I absolutely dread going to the park now, every day is a nightmare. Am I over reacting? What is the eticate I have no idea?
I think perhaps I should keep him on a lead but another part of me thinks why the hell should I. Trouble is once he's in play he doesn't recall very easily.

[Floralnomad]

Where I walk ,which is a quiet local field / trim trail , there is a man who walks a Chow on a lead and I just tell my dog to leave him and he simply walks past , I don't feel that I need to go as far as putting mine on a lead. I agree with chickens that no one is perfect and as long as people try to remove their dog then that's fine ,its the owners that are nowhere in sight or simply can't see the problem that I take issue with. Equally whilst I'm on my soapbox I get mightily cross with people who's dogs take my dogs ball and then they can't get the dog back to get my ball back. Also whilst I'm busy outing myself I'm also cross with the woman who told me not to throw my ball because if her dog got it she wouldn't be able to get it back ! Bloody dog owners !

[mistlethrush]

I am aware that there are some dog trainers who work with their own dogs and their client's dog to get the client's dog to understand a bit more about doggy language and etiquette - if you could find something like this that you could get to it would be well worth it, because your dog needs to learn what the signs are for a dog saying 'stay away, I don't want to play' compared with 'play with me'.

I've just recently got a rescue - and she's just learning. She got roundly told off by a collie the other day for chasing him whilst he was going after a ball - she wanted to play with him, he wanted to get the ball - she got told off in no uncertain terms. She backed off, and all was fine - lesson learned.

[ChickensHaveNoEyebrows]

I was in the field the other day with my dog and a couple of friends' dogs. All was fine, the dogs were all pootling, mainly ignoring each other. Then, shattering the silence, came Knob Man. He had his dog on lead and was storming towards us in a right fury. He bellowed that his dog was dog aggressive, so we needed to put all of our dogs on leads. We all did this at him, and my friend politely enquired why he was storming towards a group of dogs happily snuffling under hedges instead of, you know, avoiding them. Well, he puffed up his chest and went in to one about how his dog had the right to exercise too and the world didn't revolve around us. He totally didn't get the irony and was quite pissed off when we started laughing. His dog was stood next to him the entire time, seemingly relaxed, ignoring the other dogs as they ignored it. Bonkers. He eventually stalked off after giving us the hairy eyeball for a minute. This is a large field, btw, holding four football pitches.

[ChickensHaveNoEyebrows]

Dunno why I told that story, as it isn't really relevent. Ahem. I was just musing on the madness that is dog ownership

[chipstick10]

Dd has taken the dog to the fields today where there are hardly any other dogs. My dog needs a good run and I couldn't face walking him on a lead today. But I might get myself a whistle and try some extra training in the garden. If I can get him back quickly then I will be more able to get a lead on him when the need arises and I will feel in more control. I am not a couldn't care less dog owner. I am acutely aware of others and dog walking has become less and less enjoyable.

[digerd]

Chickens
I liked your post, and showed how that puffed up chested worst type of male human is the problem and NOT the dogs.

[digerd]

Ps.
Same applies if it had been a human female btw

[Scuttlebutter]

Chipsticks, one of the things you might find helpful is to contact your local greyhound rescue. We regularly use a field rented by a local greyhound group which is secure and has high fences - this means we can let our four dogs off the lead and they can have a wonderful hour of off lead play/zoomies etc with absolutely no worries about the local Yorkshire terrier convention coming round the corner at us It also allows us to practice our recall in a distraction free zone (well, that's the theory anyway). We also go to Sighthound Playgroup regularly which might be nice for your pup - lots of lovely off lead frolics in an indoor riding school. It's fantastic to see them all playing together and doing high speed Wall of Death!

[groovejet]

I used to be the one with the dog other owners dread, Flynn was a terror at recall and I used to get a crick in my neck from constantly looking around for dogs on leads so I could spot them before he did. This is despite him having perfect recall at dog training.

It got better, started to meet other dog owners who were happy for the dogs to play together, in this situation I made sure I worked on recall so I could recall him back from exciting situations.

Now walking is far more enjoyable, he has really improved, he now sits and watches other dogs to pick up their signals, me knowing that his recall is now good I am more relaxed and he picks up on that.

He still does have his moments, border collies are his downfall he loves them.

There are loads of tips on here if you search, on how to improve recall and make it more exciting and that has been the key for us I am now (usually) more exciting than other dogs making Flynn want to come back to me -a kong tennis ball helps on this!!

[zonedout]

Thank you scuttlebutter and I'm so sorry about your darling girl. I must say as much as I feel blessed that my doggy has made it to such a ripe old age (she had a very aggressive cancer when she was young) I am finding it really hard watching and waiting and knowing that it won't be long until her quality of life is no longer good enough. I can't imagine her still going by the Summer I haven't been without a dog for 20 years and she has been the most wonderful girl.

As for my ds, taking him on dog walks are now horribly fraught. I am such a massive dog lover and I am devastated that he is so fearful. By the same token I am not surprised as the attack on our dog was pretty awful. Her ear and face/head were absolutely savaged and ears bleed a lot so what he witnessed was pretty traumatic

Sorry OP, I seem to have done a bit of a hijack