Wwyd if you saw a huge dog running straight

[Girliefriendlikespuppies]

for your small on lead dog?

Had this happen yesterday and interested to know how other people would have handled it?

The big dog had zero recall, owners were far away and it was running straight towards my (already nervous) dog with its head down.

@UhtredRagnarson

we did this once and unfortunately the dog chased ours for well over 2km and eventually out of the field, into the next field and back over a main road. Our dog actually ran home, the other dog returned to its owners about 20 mins later. Took us 20-30 mins to find our dog and realise he had returned home

This is exactly what you would hope to happen tbh. Your dog running home and other dog going to their owner is the best outcome in this scenario.

Awful advice as they could cross a busy road and be knocked down instantly 🤦

Carrying a whistle round your neck would give some clout in a frightening situation. Blow it hard and it may be just enough to stop any altercation between the two dogs.

@Catforaheadrest

I’m so sorry this happened you shouldn’t have had to do anything, because it shouldn’t have happened.

This is not your fault, the other owner is BU. It doesn’t matter if a dog is friendly or not. A dog is an extension of their owner. That person decided to get in your personal space, gave you no choice in the matter, and then was an asshole to you. You can’t reason with this situation (as Judge Judy says... you can’t argue with stupid).

I hope you have a lovely weekend and you can find something to distract you from replaying the sorry situation over.

That's really kind of you, thank you. I have spent the morning replaying it over and have come to the conclusion the other owner was idiot and it wasn't my fault.

I have clarified in my mind what I would do in a similar situation so that's been helpful.

I take on board what you're all saying about small dogs can be just as aggressive etc, I don't take for granted my dog couldn't potentially hurt another dog/person and have put a lot of time and effort into training so that never happens.

Pic of my dog just because ☺️

Your dig looks lovely.

Dog! What’s with my typing?

"It’s impossible to say if you overreacted without knowing more."

Rubbish. Dogs should not be charging over to people whilst they are walking. If you can't control your dog then put it on a lead.

Had this once - a large, known to be dog-aggressive (from previous encounters) off-lead elderly lab came running aggressively to my medium size dog. I immediately let my dog off lead (as he is super-speedy so I knew he could easily outrun this dog) but oddly, my dog stayed close to me, exhibited avoidant behaviour, and the dog backed off when I shouted at it.

I would put yourself between your dog and the approaching dog, but never pick up the dog. It will make the other dog more interested and it's generally not a great thing to do for your small dog and could result in making your dog fear reactive.

I had this! I wrestled the Alsatian to the ground and kept it pinned until owner arrived. Luckily it accepted this and I was not bitten. My dog was a bit surprised but grateful.

I pick my tiny little Pomeranian up and shout at the big dog

I will take the risk of being bitten, I am much bigger and stronger than my 13 year old 3kg Pomeranian

Blimey some really dodgy advice on this thread.

DO NOT drop your dogs lead unless you are in danger too. The risks involved in this are mega.

Do not shout at the dog unless this is the last resort - it can excite the dog and make the situation much worse

Do not leave it to the dogs to sort out - a big dog can kill a small dog just through playing

DO:-

Pick up your dog and turn away from the dog
Walk slowly away
If the dog does catch up with you (I doubt it will) stand still and hold your dog out of the way and no reaction to the dog at all.

Tbh the body language of the approaching dog is important BUT more important is how your dog is reacting to the dog. So pick up , protect your dog and leave the situation

Today I had a really big dog running up to my 6 yr old. While the owners called its name which it ignored, and then shouted to us not to stroke him or he'd jump up at us.

I grabbed it by the collar, held it while it tried to thrash about and then handed it back to the owner reminding them that if their dog can't be recalled and they can't guarantee it's safety around other dogs and people then they need to keep it on the lead.

The nasty little man told me that was my opinion, I told him that was law and he could either accept and follow it or I'd keep the dog and take it to the local police station. He wasn't too happy but did put the lead back on.

SOME dog owners are entitled wankers.

@PollyRoulson

Blimey some really dodgy advice on this thread.

DO NOT drop your dogs lead unless you are in danger too. The risks involved in this are mega.

Do not shout at the dog unless this is the last resort - it can excite the dog and make the situation much worse

Do not leave it to the dogs to sort out - a big dog can kill a small dog just through playing

DO:-

Pick up your dog and turn away from the dog
Walk slowly away
If the dog does catch up with you (I doubt it will) stand still and hold your dog out of the way and no reaction to the dog at all.

Tbh the body language of the approaching dog is important BUT more important is how your dog is reacting to the dog. So pick up , protect your dog and leave the situation

Thanks polly this what I'd aim to do if there's a next time, I think I was taken by surprise Ystd and panicked 😕

Awful advice as they could cross a busy road and be knocked down instantly

Please learn to read.

I would have dropped the !ead.
I have had this happen a couple of times, my dog managed to run into the lake, even though she's not a lover of water, a man was walking his two guard dogs in remote woods where l was walking and they both charged at my dog. Luckily my dog is a lurcher so can usually outrun most other dogs. Another time another lurcher ran at her very aggressively, but l dropped the lead at the last moment because l knew they would start fighting, my dog is more than capable of standing her ground if need be, and l was stuck in the middle of them. As soon as l dropped the lead it deesculated.

@UhtredRagnarson

Awful advice as they could cross a busy road and be knocked down instantly

Please learn to read.

Have read it fine thanks. Leaving a dog to find its way home on its own could end up a fatality.

There's a very busy road near me and my dog wouldn't stand a chance if I let go of her lead. I know one large breed this happened to in the area. Each to their own.

@sunflowersandbuttercups

We've misjudged the odd situation ourselves and not put him on lead quick enough however at the end of the day my dog is 7kgs and really not much of a threat to anyone.

I'm sorry OP, but it really bugs me when owners of small dogs say things like this.

A dog that size put me in hospital as it bit my finger so badly you could see the bone. Please don't underestimate the amount of damage a small dog can do - either do another dog or a person.

Similarly it was a pair of tiny Jack Russell terriers who pinned my beagle puppy to the floor and bit him on the neck at seventeen weeks of age.

Small dogs can and do do serious damage to other dogs and people. I'm not saying your dog is aggressive by any means but please don't underestimate him just because he's small.

Agree. Also, a small dog running up to an on lead larger dog is very dangerous for the small dog. It’s also very stressful if you have a large fear agressive dog which you have on a lead, and a small dog comes running over as the small dog could get injured. Letting your dog run up to scared, on lead dogs is selfish and really scary for the on lead dog and it’s owner, and puts your own dog at risk-it’s not harmless even if your dog is small and friendly. This has happened to me and my fear aggressive rescue so many times now that I have no tolerance for “oops we normally try and put him on a lead but didn’t get him on on time”. In my opinion, if there’s a risk that if you can’t get your dog on a lead quick enough before it runs over, it’s recall isn’t good enough for it to be off lead. I think all dogs should be on long lines (or short leads near roads) unless they can really really reliably be called away from any situation including other dogs.

Have read it fine thanks. Leaving a dog to find its way home on its own could end up a fatality.

You clearly didn’t read as you state “awful advice”. If you had read you will have seen that I didnt actually give any advice. I was stating that in the event of already having let go of the lead your dog running home and the other dog returning to their owner was the best outcome.

@DartmoorDoughnut how do you propose people ‘train’ their dog on recall without ever letting them off a short lead?

My dog’s recall is brilliant now (which you would know if you had taken time to properly read the post instead of jumping in with a comment about ‘dogs like mine’). He went to puppy classes and general obedience classes (including a gundog class), and all three trainers recommended the use of a long line to train him.

I don’t see what else you expect people to do? All puppies end young dogs need training, not confining to a short lead for the rest of their lives. You could train every day in a confined field but the dog would never learn the same behaviour around distractions.

I admitted that there were a handful of occasions where we failed with the longline but the dog is now brilliant with his recall. Kept on a short lead he’d probably be much more of an issue now from not being exercised sufficiently. It’s crazy how many dogs are reactive, overweight and obese these days because they don’t get the exercise they need and chance to communicate without feeling restricted by a lead.

Yes there are some dogs which shouldn’t be let off their leads but the average puppy or young dog needs to learn somehow.

I propose they train the recall in an enclosed area. Dogs jumping on my dog are the reason he is now dog reactive. Years of training out the window because of fear. So excuse me for not being sympathetic to you having ooops moments and missing the long lead. You are meant to keep a hold of it whilst using it. And yes big dogs with limited recall/over exuberance have ruined my dog walks because I now have to keep my dog on lead instead of letting him run and properly enjoy himself so again they should be taught in the garden/in a dog training area/in an enclosed private hire field. You can arrange for distractions to be in the area for goodness sake and a responsible owner would do this not rely on random dogs/people to provide the needed training during distractions!

There's a staffy locally that is always getting out and has terrorised (and bitten) a few local dogs. I'm getting a rescue dog soon, too big to pick up, will be muzzled and on a lead (sighthound). What on earth do I do if this dog comes at us and the rescue is likely to react ? Owner has zero control. It terrifies me but doesn't come at me aggressively when I'm on my own, just wondering what will happen when I'm not. Stick? Would that make it more angry. I will be scared, it scares me anyway !

@DartmoorDoughnut

I propose they train the recall in an enclosed area. Dogs jumping on my dog are the reason he is now dog reactive. Years of training out the window because of fear. So excuse me for not being sympathetic to you having ooops moments and missing the long lead. You are meant to keep a hold of it whilst using it. And yes big dogs with limited recall/over exuberance have ruined my dog walks because I now have to keep my dog on lead instead of letting him run and properly enjoy himself so again they should be taught in the garden/in a dog training area/in an enclosed private hire field. You can arrange for distractions to be in the area for goodness sake and a responsible owner would do this not rely on random dogs/people to provide the needed training during distractions!

I do have sympathy for your dog and I’m sorry that another unruly dog has had such a massive impact. Mine never jumped all over other dogs - he would just run over to initiate a game of chase with a play bow. If they didn’t engage he would return. If he had been in any way aggressive or a danger to other dogs it would have been a different programme of training, not just recall.

I disagree however with your comments about training.

Firstly you could never replicate a high distraction environment in an enclosed field.
We trained in these places with other dogs at least once a week when our dog was a puppy/adolescent but it’s completely different when you’re out and about. It’s just not possible for every single puppy/adolescent dog owner to only ever train in an enclosed field in any case when something like recall can take thousands of hours.

The whole point of a longline is so that the dog thinks it’s running free so you’re not meant to have hold of it. We used them in various classes with qualified professionals and nobody was ever told to keep hold of it.
We were also instructed to go out and use them in different environments to ‘proof’ the desired behaviour as unfortunately dogs don’t generalise. If you teach them a ‘sit’ at home this doesn’t mean they understand the same command when you ask for it elsewhere without practicing it countless times in each different environment. The same goes for recall training.

You can’t tar everybody with the same brush. A lot of owners spend hours and hours training but nobody is perfect and we all make mistakes. There’s a huge difference between people making a huge effort with training and those who don’t care and will let their dog do as it pleases.

My dog is bomb proof now on his recall and I get so many positive comments from other dog walkers about how obedient he is. I know that wouldn’t be the case however without all those walks training him on a longline.

Stepped in between but allowed them to greet each other. Any sign of hostility, I'd have grabbed its collar or put my dogs lead on it and walked it back to the owner and given them a piece of my mind about letting an aggressive dog wander off.

So best thing is to greet the dog in a friendly way and possibly throw a treat to the side ? And if it's aggressive grab the collar (eek)!