Why do ppl let their dogs run up to yrs!!

[MarcoPoloCX]

I was walking my friend's dog this morning who is reactive. So I take care to avoid triggers that would set him off. He's not aggressive but barks like a lunatic if a dog gets too close. We were walking on lead in a field and we saw an elderly lady with her dog. I turned and started walking in another direction. Her dog was off lead and was approaching us. I yelled 'can you recall your dog' She went ' oh it's fine, he doesn't bite, he's friendly' I responded 'well mine isn't fine with other dogs' she tried to recall but the dog wasn't responding and it started my friend's dog barking. I met up with my friend who was ahead of me and he tells me she's always like that, she never recalls her dog. Just makes me angry that a lot of people do not have walk etiquette and that you should not let your dog approach others without asking. I volunteer at a rescue. Dogs could be reactive, fearful, injured, recovering from op, old and young puppies need space. I'm sure most ppl know that. Are they simply letting them roam free and not recall because they think oh it's friendly and they wouldn't get into trouble. The other week a friendly dog frightened the living daylight of this little pup. The owner asked how old the pup was and then suggested the pup goes to a socialisation class while it's still young. Yeah, that would be good if you had asked first and not scare the poor thing to death. Rant over.

The 'Oh he's friendly' thing is so silly. My big pup could easily hurt a small dog or a frail dog entirely by accident - friendliness doesn't prevent that. He ran straight into my knee at high speed this week and knocked me over - clumsy oaf .

The places where i walk my dog are full of off lead dogs who all approach each other without owners seeking permission. It's the accepted doggie culture around here. I asked initially if ddog could play but got such an odd surprised reaction from people...telling me i was being silly - no one asks here! I put my dog on lead only if we are walking past another dog on lead, otherwise it's a bit of a free for all!

lilwelshyrs is your lovely dog a rescue? I only ask because I was interested to read that she's afraid of greyhounds. If she's a rescue could she have been used as a bait dog for greyhounds/lurchers who were being trained to hunt?

Loafline, same where I live. All very friendly people and no cats bum mouths.

I never use a cats bum mouth

I am too busy disentangling myself from the extendible rope lead cutting into my legs and yelling "my dog is not friendly" to the amiable dog lover whose friendly dog is licking the baby whilst jumping on foolish dog who is snapping playfully and being allowed to "sort it out" and "teaching the friendly dogs their place". At the same time I am obviously having a good natter with the roguish walker whose dog is away having a play chase with the lambs in the next field.

My life is a full and a happy one.

I rarely pull any faces after a dog has come over, or in fact say anything - except to my dog...I'm too busy holding on to and trying to calm down the furious 40kg of dog I'm attached to.

I wouldn't keep back a normal dog from an off lead dog btw, unless there was a huge size difference, I might hesitate to let a large dog go greet a small one, but other than that I'm talking purely about on lead dogs.

What annoys me is people just say well they're just doing what dogs do. I can't imagine stopping them, they're not aggressive etc.

That does not mean my two enjoy it! Like us humans they have dogs they know and trust. In their pack so to speak. Any other dog is an outsider and treated as such.

I don't care if you dog is friendly. I don't want them around mine. They re always on the lead. Huskies are not good at coming back. If mine snapped, I can guess who the blame would instantly be placed upon, all because they are 'big' dogs. Therefore aggressive

It always surprises me the how short sighted people can be on this subject. Dogs are individuals. Treat them as such. Not all dogs like the same thing.

My dog loves to run, but not other dogs. Not his fault his old owners couldn't be bothered to socialise or walk him from puppy to two. So walks and dogs can be stressful for him and he is reactive. It's not his fault or mine. But it his rehabilitation certainly isn't helped by the; mines friendly", the ignorant and the other-side-of- the- park-to-their-dog owners. I have to walk to where he can run, in peace and safely and do my best to avoid stress and possible harm. He wears and muzzle and always walks on a lead (except in said field).

There is simple etiquette surely, if a dog is on a lead (small paths etc especially) put yours on one too unless they do an immaculate heel. If it's off lead, keep an eye on them and don't let them run up to on lead dogs. And if dog is wearing a muzzle try to give as much space a possible, were trying to!

TooOldForGlitter She's not really a proper rescue... She was going to be put into a home but instead we took her on instead. I was worried that because she was an older girl she might be PTS as demand is much higher for puppies.
She had bad experiences with small dogs as a puppy, but nothing specific with greyhounds, as far as me and her previous owner are aware! They had her since she was a puppy.

Some interesting comments here and I'm so going to purchase the yellow bib for one of my dogs.
I have two rescue dogs who were originally street dogs in Serbia, one I have to have permanently muzzled as he is very reactive. We have had unfortunate incidents with both people and other dogs so I can't take a chance with having him off lead or un-muzzled. I absolutely hate it when peoples dogs run up to us, he immediately get scared and adopts an aggressive stance. Having 'don't worry he's friendly' shouted at me probably makes me do cats bum face but more because I know how quickly a situation can escalate with two dogs on leads who feel threatened. Even when I walk purposefully in areas with signs saying to keep your dogs people don't. What annoys me is I'm walking in an area where you have to keep your dogs on leads so I'm not spoiling other dog owners walking but they feel the need to spoil mine.

Both of my dogs are always on leads and muzzled, most people give them a wide birth when dh is walking 2 10 stone mastiffs. Still get the ignorant assholes that let their dogs charge up to mine then get the shit on when mine start to lunge and growl. They're on a lead for a reason, would buy the yellow ribbon but people where I live are ignorant and ignore it.

I love the looks of terror that people get whose dogs have muzzles on... They're a damn sight safer than dogs without muzzles on

Oh dear, I have a young dog that does just that!!! How do I train him to not go up to other dogs? It's really worrying me,I've tried treats etc. I guess I shall just keep him on his lead so that he doesn't annoy anyone.

Good recall imo. Take time in doing one to one training somewhere out of the house but where he wont run off and get distracted. I used the local basketball court to train my boy. He's a hound so recall didnt come naturally!
"Leave" is a good command although im not sure how to explain how to do it lol. I just call my boy back to me as soon as we see another dog. Over time he has begun to stop and look over his shoulder at me when he spots another dog.
It doesnt always work all the time though... Sometimes another dog is FAR more interesting than me lol.

summerwood you can train him so that his recall is very very good, then recall him when you see other dogs (masses of praise when he does this, big mean voice and lots of ranting when he doesn't, and the make him do as you ask, always follow through and always praise for three times as long as you rant) and either make him walk to heel off lead past them, or put him on his lead again. When you pass the other dog, if they owner is happy for them to play then go ahead, but at least this approach gives those with dogs who need some space exactly that. Hope that isn't a sucking eggs answer. Personally I never use treats or food in training, but that's just what works for me

It is basic dog ettiquette that if you see another dog on a lead that you either put your own dog on a lead or bring him/her to heel wherever you are. If you can't do that with 100% certainty then your dog shouldn't be off the lead in the first place.

Many dogs have reactivity issues, not because their owners have trained them inadequately, but because they are rescue dogs with an unknown history. Put yourself in their shoes...trying to rehabilitate a dog can be set back significantly with just one incident with an off-lead dog.

I have walked an extremely reactive rescue foster dog & some of the looks I had from people amazed me. I had her under control at all times on a lead but people judged me without knowing anything about the situation. Now several months later in her forever home, she is a totally different dog and loves visiting the local pub every weekend with her new owners! Many dogs can get over an abusive past, but it takes time, understanding and patience.

Thank you,some really good advice. I shall start tomorrow!!!

I have use cheese to get pup back to me. Cheese seems to fix most things (bar house training . I always stop her and keep her away if we see a dog on the lead. Pisses me off when people let their aggressive dogs off the lead. Since having pup she has been attacked by a jack russel who "sorry she hates other bitches" Dont let her off the lead then . And bitten by a staffie who stole her ball then objected to her chasing him. "Oh sorry hes ball possesive". Really annoys me it happens alot i'm seriously considerinf taking some form if defence out on future walks.

Round here most dogs are off lead so I use the rule of thumb that if another dog is on the lead then there's probably a reason for that and call my dog back (although he's deaf as a post now so sometimes doesn't hear me). Thankfully he's now completely uninterested in other dogs and usually walks past them without a second glance.

I do wish more people with reactive dogs would use the yellow lead/bib system though. It would make things a lot easier for everyone.

Sometimes I feel like the yellow ribbon thing is a red herring... I don't think I should have to mark my dog out as nervous to stop other people being irresponsible with theirs, but now it's becoming expected! If they don't have sufficient recall to get them to leave my dog alone, they should be on a lead!

If people ignore that, with him also on a lead and me actually saying that he is not ok with other dogs...I'm not really sure how adding yellow helps? Lol

Haven't read the thread so apols if others have said this, but I think there's a bit of mutual tolerance missing here.

Other owners should, out of courtesy and good sense, call their dogs away if you ask them to.

But, they are not responsible for your dog's issues, you are. (Or your friend, in this case). A dog that overreacts to being approached needs careful socialisation over time to correct the problem, so they can go for walks calmly. Another dog approaching is not behaving badly - its behaviour is normal.

In any case the barking is your dog letting others know it doesn't want to be approached and most dogs will get the message immediately. They are often better at sorting this stuff out than their owners in my experience.

I have an 8 month old lab and i take her for walks in the kind of places you would expect dogs to be off the lead, (wheat field, beach, etc) and she is always bounding up to other dogs, i always call her back but her recall isnt great, its getting better and im working on it but when there are other dogs around she doesn't often come back, i have to put the lead on her until we are away from any other dogs.

My pups recall is about 95% ok. She occasionally ignores me which is frustrating for me and the other owners but i personally wouldn't walk a really aggressive dog unmuzzled in a busy park its a recipe for disaster. A slightly reactive dog yes but a dog that actively looks to go at anything no. A man at our local park has to staffies and preparing for being flamed they scare the shit out of me. pup keeps well away but on occasions we have had no choice but to pass having two big snarling lunging dogs is pretty terrifying.

I do feel for people with reactive dogs, but I do think that taking a dog on lead in some heavy dog walking areas, you have to expect the odd approach from off lead dogs. My dog has had a series of operations. At the end of his recovery period for the first I took him on lead to usual dog walk. I could not let him off as he was not allowed to run. He adores other dogs and always wants to play. On several occasions, dogs came bounding upto him, and he was trying to play, while I was trying to stop him. Not easy, he's big. The owners invariably ran up, apologising, before getting their dog. I always told them, no worries, because I expected it. Most dogs would be young, and training a work in progress. Life is seldom neat and perfect.