Selective recalling.

[MarcoPoloCX]

Do you recall whenever you see another dog, or only if the other dog is on lead? Or recall if you don't like the look of the other dog or its body language?

I am asking because last night I was jogging with a friend and his dog in the local park. His dog was off lead but he always stays close. He is a little reactive so when we saw another dog and owner approaching from the other direction, we changed course. The other dog got excited and ran towards us. I shouted at them to recall but the dog was not responding. When it got too close, that set off my friend's dog barking and lunging. The other dog then started to act aggressively and my friend kicked it. This then started an argument with the other owner. The other guy started swearing and saying he will report us and that if we have a reactive dog it should be on lead. I said but it's your dog that's at fault. You let your dog approach and it did not respond to recall. And it has set my friends dog off. It doesn't matter if it's friendly, you just don't let it run up to other dogs. He mumbled something and walked off. My friends dog is a cockapoo. Though he uses a yellow ribbon you still get people paying no attention and letting their dogs run wild. And by the time they recall, their dog was already too close for the reactive dogs comfort zone. I am sure if it was a Rottweiler or some large breed, more than half the people would leash up and walk in the other direction. We shouldn't be breedist but I do think people are selective when they recall.

People don't always recall their dogs from my muzzled on lead rottweiler, so, no, it doesn't make much difference.

Generally though...having a dog onlead is the most obvious way of showing that you don't want it approached by other dogs.

It does tend to be that if it's offlead then it's ok to be approached.

I can see both points of view but both owners were at fault. I think if you have a reactive dog the onus is on you to keep it on a lead around other dogs.

But my friends dog never ever strays more than a few metres. So would you expect every young,old, injured, reactive, fearful, whatever, dog that needs space to be leashed up even though it never strays or bother other dogs?

Like the previous message. She has a muzzled on lead dog and you still get dogs running over. Our dog was literally on our side and never more than a few metres away.

The short answer is yes. Whatever the reason if the dog is reactive itnshould be on a lead. Yes the other owners should have recalled but your friend should also have put his dog on a lead. Thre lack of lead rightly or wrongly gives the signal to other dog owners that the dog is ok to approach.

If your friend's dog is reactive it should be online and / or muzzled. I have worked hard to train my dogs not to approach any dog on lead.

I would expect any dog that should not / cannot interact with other dogs to be either on lead, or for the owner to put it on lead as soon as they saw another dog. I would not expect young or old dogs to be put on lead purely because of their age. I WOULD expect an injured, fearful or reactive dog, or a bitch in season, to be on lead.

Your friend KICKED the dog? No wonder the other owner was pissed off.

we changed course. The other dog got excited and ran towards us

That's because you effectively initiated a chase game with the other dog. Much better to stop, put your dog(s) on lead and carry on with your dog under close control.

If it is reactive then it does bother other dogs.

It was a big park so it wasn’t like we spotted them just 20m ahead and we changed direction.
We spotted them well in adavance from a distance and we changed course. We stopped when our dog started to bark when it got too close and we realised the other dog was there.
We were so far away and our dog was right by us that you wouldn’t be certain if it was on lead or not.

I'm sorry but your friend kicked the dog?! You can't claim any high ground after that.

I assume if the other dog is on a lead mine goes on a lead as his recall can be dodgy or sometimes people just have a look of "oh shit another dog" at which point he goes on his lead. Or a dog that looks older or close to owner he goes on. A dog running around in the fields I let him go see and don't call him back as he used to be scared of other dogs so I'm kind of pleased he's got the guts to do that. We walk the same route daily so we know most people anyway.

You said in your first post that you were close enough to shout at the owner of the other dog to put their dog on lead, yet you say in your last post you were so far away it wouldn't have been possible for them to see if your dog was on lead. So which is it?

Same here ozzia My two are off lead, but if I see anyone (evens miles away) who appears to walking on lead, my two are put straight on theirs.

If there are other dogs off lead, then I let them get on with it.

Your friend should have put theirs on lead when you saw the other dog. No doubt the other dog walker would have done the same at that point.

Oh, and much to my shame - mine can have selective recall too!

Usually great, but if they meet other dogs and they are all playing, i don't stand a chance until the meet and greet is done with, then they come back..... working on it, I promise

Marco yes absolutely I would expect every dog that needs space to be on a lead around other dogs. That's like the Humber 1 rule of dog walking! How can you expect everyone else to read your mind about your dog? Putting it on a lead sends out a signal that it should not be approached.

*number 1 rule!

You can see from really quite far away if a dog is on a lead, if I even think they might be he goes on until I can be sure.

If you want to run with your dog there are some awesome hands free leads available

Our dog was right next to our side , we were probably over 100m away when we changed direction.
It’s a dark coloured dog so you cannot be certain that it’s on lead.
Also we didn’t spot it running over to us straight away.
When it got close enough for our dog to react and when we spotted it, we shouted for it to be recalled.
We stopped and other dog kept on approaching even though ours was barking, we tried walking away and it followed.
When the other dog started growling and being aggressive and trying to paw, that was when my friend kicked the dog.

It really doesn't sound like the dog needed kicking so I'm sorry but irrespective of who is right or wrong your friend should not have kicked the dog - that sort of behaviour is reserved for when the other dog has your dog in its jaws . If your dog is offlead it's fair game for other dogs to approach so it should be put on a lead when you see another dog to give the other owner a chance to behave properly ( if you don't want another dog to approach) . If the dog only stays within a few feet of you I can't understand why you don't keep it leashed anyway as there is no reason to have it unleashed ,it's pointless .

To be honest if you're walking a reactive dog off lead you should be constantly looking around and keeping tabs on what other dogs are about & where - I do this even with my non - reactive dog as it's best to know the situation so you can react in good time if there's a dog charging towards yours/a horse/children etc.

The other dog should of been recalled however your friend should of had his dog on a lead and not kicked the other when it didn't attack your friends dog.

I shouted at them to recall

I'd be annoyed about that before the kicking started.

Put the bloody dog on a lead and then you won't be at fault will you??

I have two giant donkey dogs, both GSDs, ex guidedogs who have been socialised within an inch of their lives, we had them since 7 weeks and puppy walked the pair of them, both have impeccable manners and recall.

BUT I will always put them on the lead/hold their harness or collar, if I see a stranger (dog or person) we don't know, it's BASIC good manners

How on earth do you expect someone to see a yellow ribbon at 100m? And is the dog at your side, or a few metres away?
You sound like the sort of person who thinks all other dogs but yours should be on a lead. How well is that working out for you?? 8)

He usually keeps it on a lead but there were two of us jogging, and we had water bottles in hand.
And to avoid tripping over the lead if the dog changed side or if it run in front and across the other person, we decided it was better to take it off, plus it was during the evening when it was quiet.
We changed direction to avoid them but when we spotted the dog again, it was darting across.
Maybe my friend overreacted in kicking the dog but we should not have been in that situation, especially if you are not sure if the other dog is on lead or not.

With my own dogs, whenever I see other dogs (whether they are leashed or not) they are recalled and kept close.
And if they want to play I would ask first before releasing them.
I would not automatically assume that off leash dogs are all OK.

From that distance you might not have noticed them as I know running can be engrossing but they may have noticed you, if yours had been on a lead the other owner may well have got theirs on a lead and the whole situation would be avoided.

Kicking the other dog seems a little over the top! I'd be so upset if someone kicked my dog (granted he would have just stood there wagging his tail at yours and not barked or anything)