Small dogs get away more than large dogs.

[MarcoPoloCX]

Would you agree that small dogs get away with bad behaviour more than larger dogs?
They could lunge, bark, charge at other dogs and because they cannot do as big a damage as a larger dog on average, they get away with a lot of bad behaviour.
Either the owners don't see it as a major issue or other dog owners think their own dogs can hold their own so they let it go.
But if a larger dog or certain breeds did the exact same thing, people will be up in arms and are more likely to get reported.

On the flip side of this I regularly come across medium to large dogs with shocking food manners.

I walk with a treat pounce at my hip and it's pretty usual that if we greet a dog it will help themselves to the treats if they can reach and if I don't stop them first.

Some of them have been downright pushy about it, jumping up at me to get a better angle into the pouch.

I agree with this 100%. I never let my German shepherds approach people as people are often not nice even when mine want to say hello or play. Mine get attacked, snarled at or barked at on a regular basis by smaller dogs, they never retaliate but if they do bark back people look horrified
I’ve really taken it seriously making sure mine don’t frighten or worry anyone else because it’s not worth the hassle and the breed does not need any more negativity.

On another note MIL has toy poodles who bite, bark, growl when you sit down and wee allover the house. She has just accepted this as life and people coo over how cute they are bouncing around ankles (trying to savage you )

Can you imagine the drama if mine did that.

MissBattenburg well yes, of course.

Your easy to smell and grab treats are easy target, ands its your responsibility to keep them away from other dogs. Your present yourself as a lure to others dogs and thats unreasonable of you, as many many dogs are food driven and they will eat food. You are silly to expect this won't happen.

I am sicknof asking people to not give trwats to my.dogs. they are well fed on a specialist diet, i dont want them fed [crap] by strangers.

These people trying to treat will be the first reporting my dogs to the police as dangerous when they get knocked down and hurt by them , and, as usual, it wont be the dogs fault.

The dogs can smell the treats, the owners don't know you have an open bag of food swinging around about your person that their dogs can reach. YABVU.

I keep telling people not to treat my dogs, not to jist approach them without asking, or encouraging them away from a training situation,but others think they have entitlements over my animals, and will be the first to complain when something goes horribly wrong.

There are a lot of people that dont want dogs anywhere near them, others give you shit for not letting your dogs go to them, and having to raise your voice to bring them back under control (because they're being countermanded by strangers appeals, excitement, foods, are met with negativity and rude comments)

Eh ?

Dogs don't guard food

100%!
I have a large breed dog who is scared of small dogs having been nipped by one when she was a pup, I always make sure she’s on her lead but I often encounter owners of small dogs who say ‘oh she’s fine she’s harmless’ as they chase my dog around who’s wrapping me up in her lead trying to get away whilst I’m trying to control the pram too! So no mate my dogs terrified so reign yours in please!

Eh ? Dogs don't guard food

Some do - google resource guarding.

Mine will, given the opportunity, guard everything from sticks to treats to anywhere he perceives as his own territory (ie anywhere he's been stood still for the last 20 minutes) from other dogs (but not humans).

Naturally, I don't give him the opportunity to resource guard (no sticks, treats only given out when not next to other dogs etc etc) - but that doesn't mean he won't do it if he feels the need.

I literally don't know where you got some made up situation in which I am acting like some dog catcher luring dogs with treats.

I am universally attempting to stay away from someone else's dogs and going to a fair extent to stop the (off lead and out of control - mostly) ones helping themselves. I am training. I am often using food to maintain my on lead dog's focus on me. I am also often well off the path to create the distance to facilitate that.

I am sorry people feed treats to your dogs but you are barking (ha!) up such the wrong tree here that's it's funny.

I am genuinely intrigued how I am meant to keep training treats away from someone else's dog while it is jumping up at me and off lead?

I can put my hand over the pouch which sometimes works but sometimes does not - because I only have so many hands and so need one to hold the lead and sometimes the other to old something else (full poo bag for example).

There was that one time I used the poo bag hand to also protect the treats. I came home with dog shit smeared down me where the other dog had burst open the bag.

Anyway my original point is that there are sometimes things big dogs get away with that little ones do not because they cannot physically do it.

Small dogs can't counter surf. Got to be an advantage.
Have to agree carrying treats is the best way to acquire a lot of doggy friends!

Off lead dogs shouldn't be jumping at treats.
Even my greedy dog knows they stand a better chance of getting a treat if they walk, remain at a distance and sit staring at the owner 😂

That said, I also carry treats and I don't wear a pouch at hip height as it seems to be asking for issues. I keep mine in a pocket they can't get in and then am vocal if any dogs pester

Dogs jumping to get at treats pretty much leads back to what dogs, large or small, get away with because of bad training.

A well trained dog will not jump at someone to get treats.

A pocket would be an idea but I am using fresh meat treats - as that is what works best with my dog - they would go a bit yuck in a pocket so I sue a silicone pounce that can be cleaned easily.

Maybe pigs. I guess I was just trying to balance the thread a bit to show bigger dogs are sometimes pesky. I have a big-ish dog myself but was just sharing for balance.

Ah well.

I sue a silicone pounce

Or I use a silicone pouch 😂

Carrying around fresh meat in an ooen pouch that all dogs can smell mile off is asking for trouble, and no, I didn't think for a minute that you would be deliberately luring them, its very clear that isn't what i said, thats the way you turned it.

Its not something I would do, and the smell of fresh meat is obviously going to lure dogs.

Your lure will overpower others treats unless their dogs are very highly trained, more so that yours indwed if you can only keep their focus by carrying fresh meat.

Try not taking fresh meat out around other dogs and you might find you are left alone. Stop blaming others for having an open accessible bag full of fresh meat and being surprised when dogs take it

Maybe put your silicone pouch inside a pocket, I dunno?!? Praps?

Yes, that's my point missbattenburg.

You should be able to take treats out to train your dog without having other dogs jumping at you, big or small.

On that point we will have to vehemently disagree smother

You can vehemently all you like, but you know full well that that all dogs are not trained to an extremely high standard to ignore food when its fresh meat especially.

Yours dogs cant behave themselves properly without it, by your admittance, so why do you hold others to such unattainable standards.

You cannot control other dogs and owners, only you, and you cant control yoir own dogs without the fresh meat so stop preaching!

In a perfect world all dogs would be impeccably trained and not turn a nose at fresh meat, but as we know thats just not the case.

Some people you just can never win with. Some want just the exact right level of interaction for them, oh and mind-reading skils to know who wants what level, from being ignored to wanting exuberant interaction. Depending on whose on the receiving end it can all be wrong.

I know people who carry treats for others dogs, some dont even have theor own dogs. I would expect dogs to be very keen on me if I carried such attractive treats around.

Maybe to manage your own situation (not wanting the attention and bad behaviour), use something more bland, or will you lose control then?

missbattenburg
I don't think anyone would argue larger dogs can't be pesky.

I do think people are right in saying that smaller dogs get away with more due to being small.
Eg. I almost never have a larger dog jump for treats. Some will approach me (after all you see familiar friendly faces doing the same walks most days) and sit to see if they can get one, but they don't jump.
Meanwhile I regularly have issues with smaller dogs, jumping barking yapping nipping at ankles as their owners go "see they're just so greedy". 🙄

Thinking about it, I was out with a load of largish dogs recently and whilst they did all congregate round the person with the treats, I don't recall any of them jumping up. Obviously, they are all better trained than I gave them credit for!
Definitely small dogs get away with more, my childhood was beset with an aunt who had small yappy terrier types that jumped up at you (infact one bit my sister's face) all to the tune of 'isn't he sweet/pleased to see you' etc. Ooh, how I hated those dogs!

Actually ment the dogs were begging politely, ie not grabbing, even sitting waiting. They obviously didn't need to jump up, their heads were already at hip hight!

I tend to find bigger dogs don't grab/jump as much for things, and that's usually because the owners are all too aware of the consequences of a large dog jumping so they tend to train their dogs to sit and wait.

Mine will sit by the food area at home around their meal times, no begging barking, no jumping, they take themselves there and sit. If they see owners they know have treats (regulars on the walks know who they are allowed to give treats to) then they'll also sit.

I feel owners of medium to larger dogs tend to feel a lot more responsible for ensuring their dogs are appropriately trained and under control. This thread plus a couple have got me thinking overall and I've realised that on our walks, there's almost no very reactive medium to large dogs and quite a lot of small reactive dogs. Some are rescue and the owners are doing loads of training to help their dogs, others are dogs that the owner hasn't socialised well and lets them growl/jump etc but then picks up and fusses if another dog says "no" to their dog. It does make me wonder whether some of the poor reactive rescue dogs are that way due to their previous owners not training or interacting properly enough because "they're small dogs" and so they've had that sort of behaviour reinforced, with consequences for the poor dog.

Now I'm confused. My trainer says to use high value treats such as roast chicken or hot dog when training our new dog. Is this not right?

I don't want to cause problems with other dogs big or small. Do I really just have to accept that using treats means other dogs trying to get them?

Agree. I've got a twat of a neighbour with a small happy dog that she has no control over. She lets it drag her down the road yapping and jumping up at people/other dogs and she just giggles away like it's such cute behaviour. She doesn't speak to me anymore after I said "Can you not let your dog do that?!"
Guaranteed if I let my (well behaved) large dog do the same to hers she would have something to say about it being threatening!