Path etiquette

[Chrisalice]

In public places I feel the onus is on me to allow others to pass my dogs safely and without fear or undue inconvenience. If there were a highway code of pavement and path use for dog owners what should it say?

If on a path, and someone is coming, then your dog needs to be on a lead and right by your side.
If your dog is aggressive, barky at others etc, then you turn them into the hedge, or away from the person coming and put yourself between them.
If the person coming is in a wheelchair/scooter/ pushing pram/ on crutches or generally in anyway less able to squeeze past, then it is encumbent on you to make sure they have plenty of room by putting dogs behind you or whatever.

It seems obvious to me that humans should have right of way over dogs. If I'm dog walking on a narrow path and someone coming towards me I always step onto the road or flatten me and dogs against wall to let people pass.
Was surprised to see on the runner thread that not everyone agrees.

Dog on short lead not extendable
If possible put yourself between dog and people

Don't let your dog jump up even if friendly

All above, plus:

• be alert, expect other users to approach from behind as well as ahead

• on a busy path where possible maintain a constant space for others to pass

• acknowledge the approach of faster moving users, even brief eye contact reassures them know you know they are there and are prepared.

• expect that others might be afraid of, don't know what to expect from, or how to behave around dogs and manage accordingly, especially near children

• If dog will bark at horses move as far off path as possible and warn in advance.

Does this mean that nobody should have their dog off the lead in public places except a field then? I live in a village in a fairly rural area. My dog is often off the lead on paths when not near a road. I don't call him and put him on the lead every time I see a person coming along a path. Neither do most of the many other dog-owners I meet locally.

My dog takes no notice of passers-by and will just walk past them unless they greet him though.

But when you say path, do you mean pavement or just any path/lane/track etc?

Merciful - I'm thinking of pavements, or footpaths with hedges/ ditches to each side. But I'd call the dogs back and put them on the lead if I had any doubt that they might be annoying/worrying/in the way. I always recall them if theres a cyclist as I know how dangerous loose dogs are around bikes

For me, the important thing is that people can pass safely and without fear or undue inconvenience whatever the location.

I guess much is context dependent - the number of encounters, the dog and the path...?

On a quiet path its a very pernickety (or scared) person who resents cycling, running, or navigating their children/dog carefully past a quiet off-lead dog who is away from their owners side, but if you are passing 20 or more in this way, the dog is big and scary looking /zooming around / barking, your dog / child is fearful, the path is narrow and bounded by a busy road etc then not not so good.

Phew - ok. I thought maybe I was BU (new dog owner here). I have him off lead quite a lot, but tend to put him on lead if I see someone approaching with their dog on a lead, or with a small child etc. I do worry about coming across someone who is genuinely dog-phobic though. I hope they would call out for me to put him on his lead if they were bothered.