grrrrr other dog walkers

[anxious123]

What is it with them letting their dogs bound towards mine - who is on a lead - and them calling "it's ok they're friendly"...frankly I don't care if your dog's friendly, mine might look like a tiny little Jack chi but he can be a grumpy sod at times hence him being on a lead. And then when he barks its his fault. Really annoys me! Rant over.

They don't all 'let their dog run over' necessarily. My point holds yet again - we aren't all Usain Bolt! Give us a chance to run over to sort out dogs out please!

And everybody else's point holds ,your dog should not be anywhere near a dog on a lead in which case it doesn't matter how fast you can run .

I did actually have someone say that to me once, 'oh it's alright, he's friendly'. I thought they needed educating so I said 'well mine isn't, could you recall your dog please?' They did look a bit huffy but I thought it was worth it to make a little bit of the world a safer place.

MrsRoss I'm sorry but there isn't really an excuse for letting your dog get so far away from you that you can't call him or catch him up. Yes other walkers might take you by surprise but in an ideal world your dog should be fairly near you even when he is off lead. Much safer for everybody. Whistle training is quite easy and saves you yelling. If he's got into the habit of wandering off from you its a difficult learned behaviour to undo but it's not impossible. You're probably best to speak to a dog trainer though, they can probably explain it better than me.

My dog's lead has writing on it, it says One of us is a Bitch. I don't think other dogs can read it though.

It's a tough one though, we have a friendly 5 year old girl who looks like a scary attack dog. Some other walkers try to keep their dogs away from her, some let them play. She plays if the other dog wants to or leaves them alone if not. If the other dog shows the slightest sign of dominance she rolls on her back them runs away.

We also have a young pup aged 4 months who is still learning how to interact with other dogs, she is not as submissive as our older dog by nature but she still won't approach another dog unless it''s giving off encouraging signals.

Our old boy died recently & it's a sad loss but again he was another kettle of fish entirely. We had him on the lead if other dogs were around because he was unpredictable in his reactions, friendly dogs with good socialisation would give him a wide berth because he was blatant in his unfriendliness (body language, growling etc). I wouldn't blame anybody else's dog though for his curmudgeonly attitude though!

We don't live in the UK and things are a bit different here, dogs have to be on lead in public at all times but you still get the odd person who thinks it doesn't apply to them.

If your dog can't read dog body language (or snarls) it is your responsibility to firstly not let them bother other dogs without checking if the other dog is happy for an approach a d secondly keeping them sfe by not letting them approach a potentially reactive dog. Why on Earth wouldn't you want to keep your dog safe rather than relying on chance?

If a dog ignored my dogs' warnings (which are enough to send most dogs running for the hills) and actually approached us, they would kill the other dog. Again, things are different here, we have rabid feral strays, but why would anyone be so negligent as an owner as to risk their dog's safety?

I'm quite glad you're not in the UK. You always seem quite proud of the fact that your dogs are dangerous. You scare me!

"Are we all supposed to keep our dog on leads just because some other dogs have to be controlled?"

All dogs should be controlled though, that's the point - if your dog will recall then no, there's no need to actually put it on the lead.

MsAdora yes, I am very glad they're capable. We have them as personal protection dogs as well as pets. We've had several incidents with gangs trying to lure DH and whoever else is on night patrol away so that they could rob us and get to the women in the process, so I'm extremely glad they're dangerous. I have cancer and my aim with a gun isn't steady anymore, plus I've been raped several times before in my life, I'm not keen to add more times to the list. Our dogs keep us safe and I am in awe of their efficiency at doing so. I luffs them.
Sorry, that was dark, DH often says to people that items they have to worry about, not the dogs!

Says to people, that should be.

I should also add that my dogs are very highly trained and under strict control, having potentially dangerous dogs is a responsibility I don't take lighty, despite my joking about it sometimes.

Yes I should think it is. We don't have quite the same problems in the UK I'm happy to say. Your life sounds rather unfortunate, I am sorry. I hope you're happy wherever you are.

Thank you, and sorry, I didn't mean to come across all woe is me. I have a fantastic life and I am very happy and content, I just had some crap stuff, but who doesn't? All the bad things which I went through happened in the UK, here I can set my dogs on any unsavoury characters . Still, it makes me value feeling safe.

Sorry to derail.

I am with MrsRoss and Mermaid here. Yes, you should be able to recall your dog, but all dogs will have to go through a period of being trained, for example, when they might find another dog too distracting to respond straight away. Should those dogs be kept on leads all the time? (And therefore never get the opportunity to actually be trained?)

If my dog's on a lead and meets another on a lead, I won't let her approach it unless the owner is clearly welcoming. Similarly if she's loose and meets another loose dog who doesn't look happy to meet her then I will do my best to recall her, but she's not a machine, she's a rescue dog who's currently in the process of being trained and is not perfect yet.

I can definitely understand the frustration of owners whose dogs get really stressed/have health issues, and their annoyance at owners who just amble over and don't try to deal with the situation if it goes south or who don't apologise. But some owners are over-precious about their dogs.

Musidora that's what long lines are for, so that until recall is perfected you can still bring your dog back. Why would you not? It's for your dog's safety too.

'until recall is perfected' - many types of dog (e.g. some terriers) would never, ever get to go off the lead if everyone were to wait for that. And they would go their whole lives (or at least years) without ever getting to sprint properly as a long line is not the same as being loose. That can't be good?

As for it being for the dog's safety, if another dog was dangerous I would expect it to be on a lead - my dog would back off if a dog she approached was aggressive.

She's just a normal, friendly dog who likes playing with other dogs, I don't think she should be kept on a long line because of that. I can easily retrieve her if the other dog is on a lead (and have done e.g. if the other owner says that their dog has had an infection or something like that) - the only problem is if both dogs are loose and then they start playing, in which case the other owner is just as helpless as I am!

I wonder if this is a cultural thing? We have lots of working dogs (shepherds and terriers) in our family and it's just the norm to let them go loose in the fields. And if they meet another dog, even if their play gets a bit boisterous, that's normal dog behaviour and they will sort it out amongst themselves. I appreciate that other dog walkers might not have the same attitude...

I don't expect immunity from other dogs: I do, however, expect the owner to have a modicum of recall and stop their dog approaching mine when I ask. That's as much for their dog's safety, as well as mine.

I have a fear aggressive Border Terrier. She has not bitten, but she will make a lot of noise and get worked up with strange dogs. We've had a behaviorist out, and made massive improvements in six months (can now walk past dogs at a reasonable distance happily). When a dog bounds over because "it's friendly", there is a real risk that she will be set back to square one.

I don't intentionally walk in busy places; I have a yellow 'nervous' lead (mixed effectiveness); and I always shout to the owner if there dog is zooming towards mine. That's o.k, I understand some dogs want to play. But mine doesn't. If you cannot recall your dog and mine then snaps at yours whilst on-lead, it's not mine that is out of control.

Had it yesterday. A Boxer crossed the road towards us, and the owner said "If you stay still and let her have a sniff it'll be o.k." No. It won't. The whole problem is to avoid that in the first place. Your dog does not need to interact with every dog it sees (do you speak to every person you see?). Recall it. I ask no more than that.

If a dog's recall isn't yet reliable and the owner is letting it offlead somewhere public and not secure...they're putting them at risk of all sorts of things, not just approaching reactive dogs (who yes, should be on a lead, but that's what those of us complaining are complaining about, dogs coming over despite ours being on a lead)

Mine can't be off lead where there's likely to be dogs, because of his issues - so I have to take him to the middle of nowhere (literally I mean, I always try to walk him in quieter places anyway) or at weekends I have access to my OH's work, which has a lockable gate and enough grass for a good run about.

If it was just a general recall issue, that's still what I'd have to do to have him off lead (or longline) because a dog without recall isn't safe.

That sounds very reasonable Godstopper, he should have heeded your warning and recalled his dog asap.

Other owners seem to think that dogs should be taught never to approach another dog in the first place, which would be very unnatural behaviour. Dogs who do have genuine issues with interaction are exceptions, and all other friendly dogs shouldn't have to be kept on-lead to accommodate them (though as you say, owners should respond promptly and effectively when they do come across such a dog).

Just to put in some context...this is my dog ready to be walked.

Well actually he's at the vet here, but that's what he's wearing when I walk him, the muzzle is (obviously) to stop him biting, but I picked that colour so it was visible from a distance and the bandage is from his chiropractor to help correct his posture.

So that, on a short lead, held even shorter and at least 10 feet (twice that if there's room) off the path to allow people to get by is what people are allowing their dog to say hello to...and with definite steer clear signals from him and me calling over that he's not friendly...

I'd avoid him like the plague if he wasn't mine, rofl

My dog is very saintly (!) and doesn't go near dogs on leads if he is off the lead. When he is on the lead, however, and we meet a dog on the pavement he does try to have a sniff.

Some people have a very odd view of dogs, even when they own one. Dogs are not human beings. A woman was walking her dog in the local park and was bellowing "KEEP AWAY! My dog is in season!" What an idiot. She started ranting that dogs should just look and not approach. They are not blokes who might surrepticiously ogle an attractive female but know not to make a comment.

And also, why do owners of unfriendly dogs who need to be on a lead take them to places where dogs habitually run free? If I take my dog for a lead walk, we walk round the neighbourhood, on pavements, or somewhere where all dogs are on leads.

And don't get me started on extendable leads. Sometimes you can't see the damn things and the owner is ineffectually trying to reel a dog in whilst tripping everyone up in the process.

"If I take my dog for a lead walk, we walk round the neighbourhood, on pavements, or somewhere where all dogs are on leads."

Well firstly, it's 50/50 round here whether a dog on a pavement is on lead or not.

It doesn't leave me much room to get out of people's way either, you get things like there's a dog coming on my side of the road and a car coming so I can't cross over and I end up literally trapped there because the oncoming owner doesn't stop their walk (nor would I expect them to) to wait for me to have the right timing to cross the road.

Some days all his walks are lead walks because I don't have time to drive for an hour as well as walking him, so that'd mean days could go by on just pavement walks...he still likes to sniff and explore, he can't do that the same.

Gardens have dogs in them...and there are whole streets I can't walk down because dogs rush at the fence barking...which sets mine off.

I don't go to things like parks where there will be loads of dogs off lead...but if there's somewhere to walk, the chances are that someone else will think that's a good spot to walk as well, so there are very few places where there's likely to be no dogs at all.

The only places where there would be dogs that are supposed to be on lead are children's play parks - there's no way in the world I'd walk him there, lol.

So I do pick as quiet places as I can, I purposely walk in heavy rain when I can, I walk late at night...In the dark, with a torch and a friend with a friendly dog to go in front if me when I can as well, lol.

But it's still an issue that strange dogs come bounding over sometimes.

My dog was a lovely pleasant always friendly thing. Loved playing with other dogs, and would come back when called, wouldn't bound up to over dogs until given permission.
Then he was attacked by an off lead staffy (he's a Labrador), the other person had no recall. This dog just took offence to my dog and ran across a busy road to get him. Now my dog is scared senseless by other dogs. He is walked on lead and mainly on pavements, although as someone has said that doesn't give us much room to manoeuvre when we see another dog, whereas a big field we can stop and turn or walk diagonally cross instead of around the perimeter.
MY dog is the most loving and peaceful dogs at home, but out and about he's on high alert, we did keep him as a garden dog for a while on behaviourist's advice but found he was getting stressed without walks and chewing his tail, despite throwing the ball for hours with him, kids racing him up and down the garden, Frisbee throwing etc. So he now has controlled lead walks and luckily I work hours that mean we can avoid the dog walking rush hours.
He's a black lab, with a bright yellow harness and lead saying nervous dog but most people don't take any notice of it!

I've considered not walking mine at all...but my garden just isn't big enough to give him sufficient exercise.

The size was never an issue before because I only used it for toilet training and the odd little play session before he had issues and with previous dogs - but now it's just too small for it to be his only outdoors time.

If you can't prevent your dog from approaching other dogs then you have a recall problem.

If you CAN prevent your dog from approaching other dogs but choose not to, you've got an attitude problem.

Of someone has their dog on a lead it's for a reason. It's not for anyone else to decide whether it's justified or not. It's just courtesy to check with the owner whether my dog can approach theirs.