Just a confrontation in the park

[GreenieGables]

I have a greyhound, we got her 3 months ago. She's ok with dogs on lead, I don't let her sniff we just walk straight past.

Dogs off lead however are another matter, she feels very intimated by them bounding over. We were in the park opposite our house at the end of our 2 mile walk, I spotted a Doberman off lead so I walked round the edge of the field, he came bounding over and I waited for the owner to call him. He didn't, Doberman was very friendly, no aggression and wanted to play. Mine however reacted and snapped and was barking at him, I think she would have nipped him if I wasn't holding her so close.

I yelled at the owner to call his dog, nothing. I called again, nothing. He started strolling over shouting it's ok he's not aggressive. I asked again for him to call his dog away, I was shouting and becoming quite angry. I wasn't sure what to do, I was holding my dog tight so she didn't pounce on him but this dog wanted to play and wasn't getting the hint.

The owner eventually came over and said again, it's ok he's not aggressive. I said I know that, but you can clearly see my dog is distressed. She's not on a lead in a big park for no reason. He still didn't call the dog away! He was close enough to grab him at this point but didn't.

I said he needed to control his dog etc and he apologised. I apologised too as I swore at him when I was calling to him .

We actually ended up talking and he was a nice guy, but for some reason didn't understand that he had to control his dog because it wasn't aggressive.

Anywho, I get home and tell DH what happened. He said the exact same thing happened to him with the same dog about a week ago.

So what do I do in these situations? And how do I stop my dog barking and snapping at other dogs that come near? She's ok with dogs she knows, but strange dogs she's not keen on. She also doesn't react when we see other dogs, she's not interested and just walks past. It's only when they come up to her, she seems anxious and doesn't know how to react, so barking and snapping is the default.

As an aside, this Doberman was quite honestly the most striking dog I had ever seen. He was stunning!

There's some really good advice on here OP. You sound like a great dog owner and I'm sure you'll help your dog to feel more relaxed out and about. Let's hope one day you'll enjoy watching her run around with another friendly dog.

Hi Greenie! Just a quickie to say G was the same and last week he had his first socialisation session at a local dog school. We have seen a difference already, in fact I've only had 2 episodes of growling at other dogs all week. The other difference is me, I realised after chatting to the people at the dog place that I wasn't helping matters because every time a dog approached I was really tense and basically validating his anxiety. I have come to realise that some dogs won't like each other and that's perfectly fine. And that me standing still clenching the shortest lead ever does not give him any control over the interaction which will add to his anxiety.

Oh and I accidentally bought a yellow lead not knowing about the yellow thing. I do notice that some dog owners will clock it and call their dog back. So it is effective but only with owners that are aware of the scheme.

Lol so much for my quick post! But basically don't worry, it's all part of them adjusting to a world that contains dogs that are not other greyhounds. I do recommend a socialising session if you have one local to you x

Thank you cowgirl, I hope so too.

lambchop I didn't realise G was the same, it's reassuring to know but also not nice for you either. I think I struggle more with the etiquette, I want to come across as being a 'good owner' and would hate for anyone to say otherwise. Which is a bit crazy really! I do exactly the same, stand still with the shortest lead possible and tense up! Which you're absolutely right, it's given her no control over the situation and making her worse.

I'm going to be getting a spring/summer collar and lead from Meggie Moo any excuse so maybe I'll go for a yellow one too. Luckily that's DD2's favourite colour so should be approved!

I definitely need to find some classes don't I, I want a nice relaxed walk every time without having to worry about coming across an off lead dog. Thanks, nice to know we're not alone x

I get so frustrated when off lead dogs are allowed to approach my dog, who wears a muzzle and a yellow jacket, I usually throw treats in the distance so the off lead dog can go for them and then try and get away, while trying to get the owner to put their dog on a lead. It sometimes works sometimes doesn't, I would also hold up my hand and say NO to the approaching dog, see if that stops it running at you. There is no fail safe method though and it makes me sad that I have to dress my dog up like hannibal lecter so she doesn't hurt an unsuspecting loose dog.

Can I just say I have a bouncy very friendly 7 month old puppy, and although I only let her off lead in secure off lead dog parks /fields where 99% of the dogs are off lead, she has been known to bounce up to dogs on leads. I always follow her as quick as I can but her recall is still a work in progress (hence I'm very picky about where we do off lead), but I would hate people to judge me or get pissed off with my pup, I am training her but it's slow going at the moment. If someone asked to to move her away from their dog I would immediately put her on her lead.

People letting their off lead dogs approach mine on a lead is one of my biggest bugbears!

I was out with my girl on a lead when 2 French Bulldogs off lead came scampering over. Mine was very tolerant, let them sniff her arse, but then one of them started jumping around at her head while the other one was still behind her. She got a bit growly, but these dogs were oblivious. Owners fair distance away. Then mine bared her teeth a bit. In the end, against my better judgement, and because they just wouldn't piss off, I had to pick her up to get her away. I then had to stand still with her so the owners could catch up with their completely out of control dogs because they were following us.
They then told their dogs to not worry about it as "not everyone is friendly"

Can you muzzle your dog until you can complete further training?

One of my dogs was a reactive dog. It's taken over a year but she finally doesn't freak out when she meets another dog off the lead.

She's very friendly and barks to play but doesn't like it if another dog walks past our garden gate. That I cannot untrain, I've tried!

Give your dog some time to adjust, there's a good chance she was just setting the boundaries.

I totally agree that the other owner should have better control of his dog, friendly or not.

So my pup is just a puppy so I am still at the recall training but have eyes everywhere for other dogs. As soon as I spot one in the distance it's a recall and back on the lead until they have passed.

If he did run up to someone's dog on a lead (not happened yet) if I didn't spot them in time then I would be as apologetic as hell.

What I don't understand is owners that don't care that you have put yours on a lead and think it's fine that their dog approaches yours and doesn't even bother trying to recall them because 'their dog is friendly'

tobecontinued yes I've muzzled her the last two days, more for my own anxiety. Sods law we haven't seen a single dog in those two days! But I felt more relaxed, so I'm going to keep it on for a bit. Her muzzle happens to be yellow as well, so I'm hoping that will help for owners who know about yellow dogs.

I had a lightbulb moment though, and I don't think she's acting aggressively, she's just scared and doesn't know how to react. She only has a problem when they physically touch her, so sniffing etc. Walking past another dog on lead, she'll normally just look and then carry on walking. There's never any growling or barking.

I enquired today about dog classes, so we'll see. I also spoke to my friend with the very friendly, chilled springer and she said we can meet up next week to get her used to other dogs again. She also mentioned the yellow coat to warn other owners.

That's my bug bear as well, people who say it's ok their dogs are friendly... maybe, but mine isn't .

Totally agree with everything already said but I do just want to add that your dog will be looking to you and the signals that you are giving off and panicking and shouting is obviously going to frighten her. I know you were put on the spot and your poor dd was also very upset. Dog training will help you to learn how to manage your own behaviour as well as the dogs. You say she's fine waking past dogs on leads. I bet you're a lot calmer too and she will pick up on that. Please do persevere with it.

You say you've only had her three months. It's still early days, go easy on yourself.

And I second the yellow coat thing, it is becoming a lot more well known.

Other people need to control their dogs. If you cannot recall your dog reliably it shouldn't be off lead at all. The onus isn't on the on-lead dog to be 'properly socialised', it's on the owner of the dog that doesn't go away.

I was told by a dog owner whose dog was dancing around and annoying my two on-lead lurchers that his dog didn't like dogs on the lead.
So keep him away from mine then, idiot!
And I wish I had a pound for every owner who says 'He just wants to play!'

One of mine is a greyhound and she is very unhappy about other dogs fullstop. Off lead dogs bounding over send her apoplectic and if you have only ever had dogs that love everything going then it's hard to understand how stressful it can be. After many years of therapy and socialising that had little effect I now walk her where other dogs are few and far between. I tried parks where there were signs to say dogs must be on lead but lots of people totally ignore them. Re training if you want good breed specific training then Jim Greenwood is very good with sighthounds.

Just resurrecting this thread as I'm so flipping proud of my hound right now. After this incident I muzzled her, and let her have a good sniff and a play with other dogs (the muzzle gave me the confidence I needed to let her do this knowing she couldn't nip). She still lunged at smaller dogs but in a playful way, and came away when I called her.

I decided not to go down the training class route, instead I found a brilliant local dog walking company who take her out once a week on a group walk. She has been amazing. No muzzle needed and she walked with two JRT's yesterday and didn't bat an eyelid. She's the only one on lead in a group of 4 or 5, and it doesn't faze her at all. She gets a good hour walk (although I suspect it's more as she was gone 2 and a half hours yesterday) and is loving the socialising. I get photo updates too and love seeing her doing so well.

I'm so much more relaxed now too.

Onwards and upwards

Fantastic, Greenie! It is so much more pleasurable to walk a dog when you're not on edge, isn't it! xx

Yes definitely! How are you getting on? X

We're good thank you! he had his last socialisation session on Monday and they said he really doesn't need to go any more. Now, instead of growling at every dog he meets, he wants to say hello to everyone. Takes blimmin ages to go for a walk ha ha!

We're going to work on his recall now, which is OK so long as there is nothing more interesting on offer, in which case he goes completely deaf in favour of eating twigs/running in a circle/saying hi to a complete stranger.