All dogs with poor recall should be on lead in wooded areas?

[MarcoPoloCX]

Took my dogs to the woods this morning.

Saw a dog appeared about 40 metres in front of us.
We stopped to see where it was going.
The dog started approaching and stopped about 10m away before it started barking and chasing my dog.
The owner appeared and started running when he heard the commotion. He tried recalling it but it was not responding and then said it has a muzzle on so it can't harm my dog.

After about a minute of chasing it lost interest. My dog was petrified and was hiding behind a tree. He wouldn't come to me. And when I got to him, he was bleeding from being grazed on his lip and chin from being shoved around, and he pooed down the side of his legs.
We both got hold of our dogs... I was fuming. I shouted that if your dog has poor recall then you shouldn't let it off the lead especially in a wooded area where you can't see clearly all around.
And he goes "oh it's quieter here than the park and my dog needs a proper exercise"

But sorry, poor recall and bad social manners means your dog stays on the lead. I didn't take my dog to the wood to be petrified and be injured.
Some people think by taking their dogs to a quieter area, they can be more relaxed but you never know who's round the corner!

Sorry about what happened to your dog, he must have been petrified. The other owner sounds irresponsible. My boy has average recall but doesn't always react well to other dogs. He is kept on his lead unless I am walking somewhere open where I can see in every direction, less stress for everyone that way.

Equally grinds my gears when friendly dogs with no re call are off lead and come bowling over, with the owner screeching he's friendly whilst I'm trying to restrain my terrified 35kg dog who wants absoutley nothing more than the other dog to leave him alone.

Hope your dog's okay poor chap. And you too.

I don't take my dog to the woods now as when I did she always seemed a bit overwhelmed by it all - too many trees I think - but I always kept her on the lead because, although she has a solid recall I wouldn't have been able to see her at all times - she's small and there are a lot of places where there are steep banks leading to water of unknown depth, unknown by me that is.

If my dog had a rubbish recall the last thing I'd do is let her off somewhere where she could potentially disappear. He sounds like an idiot.

Yes, dogs that run at my dog really wind me up. There's an out of control dog in our park - looks kike a french bulldog but is a bit larger than usual - anyway, it just mindlessly runs at my dog, doesn't seem as if it wants to play, runs round us in a large circle several times and heads off, over and over again. The owner calls it back and eventually it goes back but not before my dog has been left distressed and growling.

Why do some owners think this is okay. Teach your dog how to behave or keep it on a lead until it does.

Completely agree. I walk my dog on lead at all times as she's reactive but the number of idiots who can't control their dogs that are off lead is disgusting but yet it is me that they blame when they get snarled at!

Always have ours on a lead, he's good as gold but other people don't worry about theirs and when he gets jumped on when the owners are yards and yards away he barks and says back off. And he's a Rottweiler so he's always in the wrong. Sad really. We always keep ours on the lead where we know there are other dogs.

Completely agree! I often walk my son's dog with my 3year old DGD. My DGD loves her Uncle's dog but is nervous around unfamiliar dogs. We were accosted by a six month old Cocker Spaniel which wouldn't stop jumping up at my DGD. The owner had no control at all, just kept ranting about how stressed she felt then told me I was giving my DGD the wrong messages and her dog had the right to exercise! I'm still fuming just thinking about it!

If you have dogs with great recall, how did you train them? Were yours never off the lead? Never run up to someone or another dog?

Serious question, because I'm working with my dog on her recall, and it's still hit and miss. I don't want to upset people, yet I have to train her somehow.

My dog just "gets" it. She came fully trained with immense recall...shame we don't get to use it in public!

Argh. I'm frequently positioning myself between my elderly arthritic girl who can't do rough play and finds butt sniffing anxiety provoking. Mine are nice dogs but they have poor recall, and would go for cats and birds, so I keep them on leads. I'm always envious on behalf of my two of dogs that can run freely until you come across the odd one who has more energy than manners.

We have an amazing Staff who has good recall unless she thinks she or we are being threatened. Essentially she is great with people but as she was a rescue not always great with other dogs. (Think boisterous jumping and on one occasion years ago a small fight with MIL's collie)

I always walk her on the lead as I think she is more on alert with me and my son looking out for threats and she seems more relaxed on the lead tbh. My Husband can walk her off the lead and they have no trouble with recall and she is always on the lead around other dogs. Essentially i'd say know your dog. It amazes me how many dogs without good recall come up to my dog with the owner shouting "it's fine he is friendly." I always reply with "Thats nice, mine isn't" and they collect their dogs quickly.

Come to think of it the amount of kids that run up a pet her (she is AMAZING with children) with the parents following after saying "Oh is the dog friendly?" - "Yes she is thankfully or by not she'd have eaten little Johnny!!!!"

If you can't recall your dog safely then don't have them off the lead.

A friend has a reactive dog which would lunge and bite and shake the lead if other dogs get too close.

It has bitten another dog before when it got too close hence it's always kept on the lead.

The park she goes to ( which is just behind her house) often has off lead wandering dogs and it's a nightmare for them. She doesn't drive so the only other option is pavement walking.
People just say oh their dogs are friendly and not recall.
And they give her evil looks when her dog growls at them.

A dog is on lead for all kinds of reasons, you just don't know.
So better to check first or keep your own dog close by.

Yanbu. My dog has a reasonable recall and is very harmless but he is not allowed to mither other dogs especially if they are kept on their lead. I am always mortified if he is being a nuisance.

It is a bit of a juggling act regarding letting them off before their recall is established Knickers.

We practiced in the house and garden but I know that doesn't necessarily translate successfully to other places such as the park.

I was just lucky with my dog as she was more interested in me and her ball than other dogs but I had her on a trailing lead for some time so I could grab that if she looked like running off too far.

She never really ran up to other dogs, but would sometimes make friends with dogs of her own size who ran up to her wanting to play.

Lots of people on another thread have been recommending the book Total Recall. Haven't read it myself but, apparently, it's absolutely brilliant and takes the whole training of recall through all it's stages.