Off-lead dogs approaching my dog

[goodwinter]

I recently adopted a lovely 6yo Lurcher from the RSPCA. All that's known about his background is that he was used for badger baiting and he was found, badly injured, in someone's front garden before being rescued.

Because of his high prey drive, we were advised never to let him off the lead. This is fine for us, but I'm wondering about the etiquette of off-lead dogs. A few times now a dog has come running up to my dog, sometimes barking and/or getting overly excitable.

So far, this hasn't ended in anything other thers make an effort to call their dogs away until after they've reached my dog and started sniffing him. My dog is really laid-back but I have no idea what his history with other dogs is.an a friendly sniff, but what's bothering me is that none of the own

Is the onus on me to shout over and ask someone to recall their dog if it's running up to mine (although sometimes the owner is so far behind the dog that I can't see them at first!)? Or should people call their dogs away before it gets to that point? For the record, if we're about to pass by off-lead dogs while on a walk, we give them a wide berth, but it happens anyway.

And more generally, what's the deal with on/off-lead interactions? I've read that being on a lead can make some dogs feel "trapped" and therefore fearful/aggressive, so I'm always on the watch for that. So far it's all been pleasant, and it's nice to see him interacting with other dogs, but I don't want anything horrible to happen.

[bumpsadaisy11]

@CallMeRachel You are making assumptions about things that you know nothing about!
I am most certainly not an experienced dog owner& we have managed to turn the lives of our dogs around.
Are you saying that instead of rescuing these damaged dogs, that they should be put down instead?
When we rescued our girls, we took on all of their problems & with a lots of time, effort & tonnes of love & professional training, they have improved immeasurably.
You also state that I am unable to control my dogs around other dogs! They are on a lead because they are unpredictable around other dogs, caused because of the torture & abuse they have received. Not because they are nasty & reactive.
I have no problem with them being on a lead, but do not expect "off lead dogs" to be allowed to run up to them.
We always take the time to chat to other dog owners to explain why our dogs are like they are & luckily every single one of them has been completely lovely & understanding!
I am absolutely appalled that a dog owner has a problem with people rescuing dogs that so deserve a loving home!!

[Namechangeforthiscancershit]

I work on the basis that my dog shouldn’t approach any dog on a lead, so I would always call him back. I don’t think it’s right to wait for the owner of the on-lead dog to tell me there’s a problem.

He is very keen to meet other dogs but he has plenty of chances to do that with off lead dogs. I’m a bit paranoid about recall (very good at the moment but I’m waiting for the tricky teenage years to kick in) so I like to call him back regularly anyway.

Very occasionally the owner of the on lead dogs will hear me calling him back and say “oh no they’d love to say hello” etc and then I’ll let him for a short time.

[tabulahrasa]

“Dogs are social creatures and should naturally be allowed to greet each other and sniff. The problem comes when you've got an off balance reactive dog giving out stress / on-lead aggression which can trigger an attack.”


No, the problem is the off lead dog...

An actual friendly dog wouldn’t approach a stressed reactive dog, the dogs that approach despite the very obvious body language being given out aren’t being friendly - they’ve just got really bad dog social skills.

[goodwinter]

If you have a highly reactive dog likely to snap then the onus is on you to avoid off lead areas or muzzle

Ok but what if your dog isn't likely to snap, but doesn't want to be ran at by another dog when it can't escape from the situation (because it's on a lead)? I don't know anywhere near me where dogs must be kept on leads and I don't like the idea that I shouldn't be able to walk my dog because you don't want to have to call your dog back.

[babyblackbird]

call me rachel are you saying that dogs with issues shouldn't be walked ????

. I walked past a dog today( I was without my dog today) who was a traditionally seen as large guarding breed. As soon as I spotted him with his owner from a significant distance I could tell by the owners actions and body language that his dog struggled with interactions with other dogs. The owner had essentially sandwiched his dog against some railings on the edge of the harbour so that any other dog would have to cross the owners path before getting near to his dog. The dog was also wearing a massive tabard with the words " Dogs please stay away" in huge fluorescent letters across it. And yet, someone walking infront of me with their dog on lead STILL alllowed their dog to approach this dog head on despite all these precautions taken by the other owner. To be clear , this is not an off was area. He should have felt relatively safe walking his dog here without unnecessary interference by other ignorant owners.

I felt huge sympathy for him. Can you imagine every walk being that stressful ??? Their by the grace of god go all of us - it may only take one irresponsible owner and dog to turn yours into that dog I saw today.

[Squirrel26]

People have to walk dogs on lead for a variety of reasons, not just reactivity.

Yep. My dog is on lead because off lead he’d be a danger to himself and anyone who happened to be driving should he decide to dive across a road. He’s actually got quite good canine social skills. What he doesn’t need is strange dogs forcing him to interact when he can’t choose to move away. How would you like it if you had a broken leg or were otherwise unable to escape and someone you didn’t know got in your personal space and shouted ‘HELLO!’ repeatedly while poking you?

[Bouchie]

I have an on lead and off lead dog.I like other dogs coming to say hello, if your dog is a bolted it might be nice for them to socialise a bit too. Our dog is on the lead as she is old and wanders off. A couple of points

1. If a dog is on the lead because it might bite it needs a muzzle. It's the owners responsibility.
   
2. Off lead dogs must have good call back
   
3. Not all on lead dogs are to be avoided.

[SpanielEars070]

My older dog (5) got really badly attacked last year, and I can honestly say it was one of the most awful things I've ever gone through let alone my poor dog . As a result I'm now quite nervous of other dogs approaching him, especially now we have a very timid pup who is 5 months.

I am SO SO sick of dogs appearing with no owner in sight and both my dogs too terrified to move away. They both have a yellow harness and lead but it makes no difference. I had to run through 2 fields the other day to get the puppy back after a labrador off lead wouldn't leave her alone....... the owner was very indignant saying "my dog is very friendly" when I gave them a mouthful for not getting it back when it was clear mine was squealing in terror

[BiteyShark]

I often ponder the 'my dog is friendly' or the 'dogs must socialise' brigade. I wonder if they don't understand social boundaries and therefore apply that with their dog e.g. as far as they are concerned you can ignore everyone else's boundaries.

Or they see it as a direct slur against their dog and them if you don't want to 'socialise' your dog with theirs.

[goodwinter]

@BiteyShark I wonder if part of it comes from the fact that they think the dog would benefit from interactions with "its own kind" rather than spending its whole life with humans. That's roughly what I used to think, before I started researching dog training and behaviour etc before I adopted my boy - like "he's a dog, isn't it sad if he doesn't get to spend time with other dogs?"

Regardless though, it doesn't excuse allowing your dog (general "you") to approach whoever they want with no consideration of the other dog's comfort!

[BiteyShark]

goodwinter yes that may be a big part of it as well.

I just don't understand why people can be so blasé about letting them play with strange unknown dogs. Mine plays with dogs he knows at daycare or training groups as it's a controlled environment and you get to know the dogs and owners.

[CalmDownPacino]

My last boy was reactive on the lead. He was growly and snappy if dogs came bounding up to him. He hadn't always been like that. He became that way because of other dogs. He was attacked three times during the 6 years we had him, by off lead dogs running up because they were "friendly". It is bloody not friendly. He was a gentle giant who became afraid of other dogs precisely because of the ignorant "dogs need to say hello to each other" brigade.

[tabulahrasa]

“Or they see it as a direct slur against their dog and them if you don't want to 'socialise' your dog with theirs.”

I once got a load of verbal abuse for crossing the road to avoid 2 chihuahuas... a lot longer but basically they were real dogs and could meet mine just like bigger dogs.

My highly reactive, on lead, muzzled 40kg, Rottweiler...

I mean I crossed to avoid any dog because obviously I wanted him under threshold, but I definitely wouldn’t be testing him with chihuahuas!!

[DogInATent]

Chihuahua owners are the worst for letting their off-lead dogs approach dogs on leads. Nasty, yappy, snappy things - and I'm not keen on the dogs either.

[minion345]

I'm not sure if this thread is still ongoing but thought i would post anyway. I have a border collie who is brilliant the other dogs and a bullmastiff who is picky around which dogs she likes. When she was a pup a small dog In which she is now terrified of anything smaller than my border collie.
There has been multiple times when I have been walking with the bullmastiff and out of control dog has came bounding up to her (baring in mind she is a very big girl) and she gets petrified!
Last week I was walking my border collie on his lead past a row of houses. Someone knocked on a door and when the door opened a little terrier came rushing out and started attacking my dog. I had to pull the dog away and give it back to him as the lazy bastard just stood there and didn't flitter a eye lid! He did absolutely nothing and didn't even apologise after. As a result of this he has become very wary of other dogs! I really do not think this is fair that my dog is now like this due to some stupid man who couldn't be arsed to control his dog (I doubt he would of been able to anyway)!

[minion345]

I ment to say that the small dog attacked her!