Help me be a good owner

[Gogreen]

Hello,

In two months I will be getting a puppy, it’s a small breed dog. I haven’t taken the decicion lightly to get a dog and know I will be a good dog owner....apart from walking it. There are other members of the family that can walk him but there is the slight chance it will mainly be left to me on occasions. I suffer from anxiety and not greatly comfortable outside of houses in public although I manage. I’m not afraid to walk the dog, I’m afraid of other dogs ripping my small dog to shreds.

How can I cope with this, my dog will be well trained because I can do this, how to I train myself not to let this become a thing.

My main problem is I don’t trust other dog owners...it’s irrationally as most of them are good owners with obiedoant dogs but you always get that one dog that’s off a lead and not controlled.

How do you cope when a strange dog bounds up to you and your dog?

(I think I’m worried because it’s a small dog and not a big dog I will own)

Thank you for any advice given

Personally I find that ddog gives me confidence, but I was unsure at times when he was a puppy and he was on the lead. Do very short walks at first, building up as your dpup grows.

I would say start with walks that are in areas that you know to be quiet, and slowly build your confidence in busier places.

I'm struggling with my nerves after my dog was badly attacked for the 3rd time by another dog in the village.

What's helped me is using a really good quality harness - I feel happier now it holds his weight and I can pull him up to me if I need to. For the same reason, I never use a retractable lead and use a really good quality short one. I also carry a walking pole - helps going uphill/downhill and also makes me feel a bit safer. I'd avoid quieter routes/paths as that's where the problem owners will be going.... randomly I've been using a very busy walk over some local hills but as so many other people are about, I've not met one uncontrolled dog.

And teach your dog a really good recall - my dog was a monkey until he was around 2 but now I have a tone that he knows means get here now, and he does come straight back.

The first thing I would do is plenty of research on dog body language. It can help you see the difference between a friendly but over exuberant dog and one that really means harm. I'm not saying either are fine to approach your dog without asking/warning but it might help you.

The second thing might be to think about what you might shout to the other owner to help them know you want their dog controlled. I know that if someone shouted out "I'm nervous about your dog" I wouldn't take it personally and would go extra lengths to bring him under control and keep our distance. If you don't want to do that then deflecting it from yourself to say "my dog is really nervous" can also be a way to do that.

You can get yellow leads and collars that, whilst not universally recognised, indicate the dog needs space. I know your dog isn't likely to be nervy but you still might want to use the yellow to help keep distance.

Get yourself to a good puppy training class. I appreciate this might be tricky for you with anxiety but it will really help your confidence in handling your dog and you will be with lots of other puppies to start with that grow up a bit during the class - thus helping you get used to bigger and bigger dogs around yours.

In my experience (which may or may not be representative of the truth) then people with reactive dogs tend to keep them on lead and under control. So long as yours isn't one to run up to them uninvited then they should not be a problem. The tricky ones are the friendly but ill mannered bouncy dogs who mean no harm but are rude - and can sometimes frighten another dog. I agree that, although it sounds counter intuitive, places where MABY dogs are walked tend to attract better behaved dogs than those where few are. Think about it: if your dog was rude and likely to cause trouble you wouldn't last long somewhere where lots of other dogs were.

I disagree about walking where they are lots of dogs. In my experience the "popular" dog walking areas are filled with poorly socialised "but they only want to play dogs" as they charge up to you and your dog.

I would initially walk at quiet times and quiet places. I would join a good training school and meet people and dogs and then join up with the suitable ones that you and your dog are comfortable with. You can then walk together in the knowledge that the dogs will get on. You will gain confidence.

It is not too early to contact trainers before you get your dog, go and watch some of their classes, good trainers like to see clients before they get their dogs to help them with the issues you are thinking about.

I do not think it is irrational at all to not trust dog owners - I don't either! I do not let my interact with dogs unless I know the dog and the owner. Dogs do not need other dog interaction - you are more than enough for them.

Interestingly a very talented dog trainer Steve Mann was recently talking about small dogs. He said (and I agree) that if a dog was making his small dog feel uncomfortable he would pick it up and move away. I totally agree with this. I would make sure my dog was safe and reassured and then work on the issue when the dog was under threshold. There is an old fashioned view that this will make your dog more anxious - it will not.

A lot of people think small dogs should be left on ground level to sort things out - this is an outdated cruel idea.

I agree about body language but practical things you can do are:-

Find a quiet dog walking area

Carry treats and if a dog does charge up to yours throw the treats out to the charging dog pick up your dog and move away

Practice calling out "Can you call your dog please" and do not hesitate to shout this to the owners. I doubt they will be able to recall their dog but they will try and run after it and give you time to grab your dog and move away.

There are some things we can teach your dog too:-

Teach your dog to stand behind you, or in the middle of your legs, it is hard for an approaching dog to get to your dog in this position (My dogs are taught to stand on my toes if they are anxious)

Do pay attention to your gut reaction - if you are not happy with an approaching dog then change direction .

Most of all though enjoy your dog, find a good trainer who will give you confidence to keep your dog safe, it is not an irrational fear at all.

I don't trust other dog owners because just like in all walks of life you get good and bad and even amongst the good there are differences in opinion on what is acceptable.

You will quickly learn the times and places that are good to walk. I find parks at peak time so Saturday and Sunday late morning to be the worst for owners letting their dogs bounce up having no recall and have the 'they are just dogs being friendly' attitude whilst bouncing on mine who is clearly not enjoying it. I therefore avoid those places at those times.

You do have to develop a bit of a thick skin sometimes as 'some' people do take it personally if you ask them to grab their dog even if you ask nicely. I have sat in the emergency vets on many occasions (for illnesses and accidents) and seen other dogs come in having been attacked by other dogs so I am more than happy to protect my dog if needed no matter what anyone else thinks of me.

Saying all of that the majority of owners are sensible and have their dogs under control but you are right to keep an eye out of the minority that aren't.

OP as Bitey said - we checked out local parks and found that before 9.30 on weekdays the only people around were hard-core dog people, whose dogs were well trained. We avoided the same parks on holidays and weekends. We also joined a local dog class and met with others for walks. So do a bit of checking before you get your puppy and work out the 'safe spaces', as we walked in the same park, at the same time, we also got to know other dog-walkers and could count on each other if there were any problems.