My dog is on a lead... why do other dog owners allow their dogs to approach?

[mypuddin]

My dog is always on a lead when walked. I don't know why but there's something about my dog which other dogs seem to dislike, other dogs always growl at her when she has done literally nothing to them. I once was walking her on her lead when another dog literally ran straight across a playing field directly at her and pinned her down by her head. The other owners are always surprised and say their dog has never done that before.

I'm very careful to keep my dog on a short lead when I see other dogs, but sooo many owners let their dogs come over .. if you see a dog being walked on a short lead why on earth would you let your dog bound over without checking first with the owner? It's really annoyed me today. My dog is a staffy so is already pre judged.. today she got growled at by a labradoodle... once again the owner was all "ooo she's never done that before" ... well she has now and made my dog nervous again. It's very frustrating.

I feel you, OP! My dog is on lead because he’s absolutely terrified of other dogs. I walk him in an area that is really quiet woodland (where he can go offlead) but you have to walk through a small section of a busy dog walking area to get there. I’ve lost count of the amount of times an off lead dog has bounded up with the owner going, “It’s ok! They’re friendly!” I don’t care! You have no idea if my dog is or not. Learn some bloody manners!

@mypuddin yes, but that doesn't mean I let him run around and approach random dogs.

He can play with other offlead dogs. If we see an on-lead dog approaching and he's off lead, he comes back and goes right back on his lead.

@adaline fair enough but you didn't clarify that and I misinterpreted. I apologised for misinterpreting your post. I'm very glad you're a responsible owner.

I think we cross-posted somewhere :)

I do sympathise with you to some extent though. I have a beagle who just follows his nose (as they do) so I can't let him off-lead everywhere. We often have off-lead approach us and I get told off for not letting him off to play sometimes - but it's simply not safe for me to let him off everywhere.

@mypuddin
My small on lead dog was attacked by an off lead dog who grabbed him by the throat . Luckily he was wearing a snow coat with a thick collar so injury was minimal .
What I found so sad was when word got round amongst the local dog walking people everyone assumed he'd been attacked by a staffie .
That wasn't the case . I have personally never met a badly behaved staffie either .

I discovered when Battendog had conjunctivitis that shouting "he's infectious!" is a MUCH quicker way to get the other owner to step up.

Honestly, it was like night and day.

Without it owners just call and call their dog's name with little affect. After yelling infection, they suddenly find their legs, come running, put more effort into trying to get their dog under control.

I really recommend it

mypuddin Have you thought of hiring a field so that your dog can have a good off lead run from time to time away from other dogs.

In my area you can hire a safe field for as little as £5 an hour.

That's a good idea @pigsDOfly but she gets plenty of exercise don't worry! We have a big garden and a friend does have a small field which we do visit. But obviously on daily walks she's on a lead and my issue is that other owners just let their dogs come over. They have no right to do that and would be the ones upset if she did snap back. As I said on my original post, a dog once made a bee-line across a playing field and attacked her. It was a big bull mastiff and it literally had my dogs head in its mouth pinned to the floor. My dog was on a short lead and hadn't barked or paid it any attention at all.
As per other PP it seems that some dogs just give off a vibe that other dogs don't like , and unfortunately mine is one of those!

mypuddin My suggestion wasn't meant to imply that I thought your dog didn't get enough exercise, or that I thought your dog was being aggressive.

It was just a thought that if your dog is being bothered by other dogs a hired field, where she can run around off lead without being attacked, might be nice for her, and a change from the garden.

As I said in my pp my dog has had enough unwanted dogs running at her over the years and at one point I did wonder if hiring a field for her would make her life better.

But as I also said in a pp where I live now things are a lot better and apart from the odd occasion other dogs pretty much leave her alone.

Because they're dicks? Lol, I hate it too. 'Just being friendly' is not an excuse for your dog not having any manners.
Mine is walked on a lead (no recall, long story), and he is constantly, constantly, charged at, jumped on, growled at, snapped at, by other dogs. Always. There's a green area near us where people 'walk' their dogs (term used lightly; they walk down to the green then stand around talking whilst their dogs irritate other people until they lie down bored. Why do people do that?) and mine is harassed everytime we go through. 'Oh let him off the lead! They're easier that way!' Are you going to chase him around the city trying to get him back? No. Are you going to dive in front of a car to stop him from getting squashed? No. Short answer; there are a lot of disobedient dogs and ignorant owners.
Rant over!