Leash Etiquette

[Sitdowncupoftea]

With the amount of new dog owners at the moment it's unbelievable how stupid some are. My dogs are never off leash due to the breed. I walk them on a leash and switch to a long line. If I see another dog they are brought to heel in the sit or down position depending if the other dog is under control. Only yesterday I was out for a walk and twice I had to shout at dog owners with no recall to control their dogs. My poor dog was sat behaving at my feet and had to endure a GSD running up with a full force jump on him. I could see it coming and shouted to the man get your dog under control. The man took no damn notice. In the end my dog had enough and bit his dog. I didn't apologise I had nothing to appologeise for. I just felt sorry for the GSD as the poor dogs owner is a complete imbecile. Dogs are on leash for a reason. I won't muzzle my dog unless he's in close proximity of humans however I'm pig sick of people with off leash dogs that think this behaviour is acceptable. For a you newbie dog owners if you see an onleash dog don't let yours run up and jump on it.

@Turquoisesol

I think this mindset from other owners stems from the constant misinformation everywhere that puppies and dogs need to be “socialised” lots with other dogs and people to make them a well rounded dog. So people interpret that as letting their dog play with as many dogs as possible. Socialisation is a misleading term and needs better explanation. In some ways it is antisocialisation that is needed, so dogs learn to ignore unknown people and dogs. I once had a husky jump up and lick my sons face while the owner shouted “it’s ok he is friendly”. I tried to tell the owner as politely as possible that it is scary for the children if a dog does that. And he said in a patronising voice “that’s why I am telling you he won’t hurt you” like I was terribly stupid. Like that fixes everything and dog has a given right to approach anyone/any dog they want.

This is absolutely right regarding socialisation.

It is the wrong word to use because of the way people interpretation it.

A dog is not 'well socialised' because it can go to the park and rough house with all the other dogs it meets there or it likes to hurtle towards strangers while its clueless owner yells, 'he's friendly'.

A well socialised dog has good manners and has been trained to conduct itself with restraint.

And yes, of course dogs can greet or play with other dogs or people, but only when allowed to by the owner, who should also have better manners than to allow their dog to run up to other people who very likely don't want a dog covering them in muddy paws even if it is 'friendly'.

I shout 'He's got kennel cough!'

@Spanielsarepainless

I shout 'He's got kennel cough!'

Unfortunately, as I discovered when ddog really did have kennel cough, even that doesn't motivate some owners!

What are people’s thoughts on puppies? I keep mine on lead generally unless no one is around/ I’ve checked with the owner of another off lead dog if it’s ok to let her off. Recall is perfect at home/ with other people around when out, but 50:50 around dogs, which I’m trying to work on.
I’ve been shouted at recently by another owner who walked his on-lead dog into an empty field we were in as we approached the gate: he said I was stupid to let her off lead at all at her age (she needed calling 3 times before she came back) as puppies “can’t be expected to behave”. Was it acceptable for him to unexpectedly approach my off lead pup with his dog? Is it unacceptable for me to let her off lead ever? I did call her back as soon as he started opening the gate, but another dog suddenly appearing 1m away from her was too exciting in the moment. If it’s not okay for her to be off lead ever until her recall is perfect even around other dogs, how am I meant to get to that point? She has an extendable lead and will recall even around other dogs on lead: what’s the next step? The man was quite aggressive and left me a bit shaken but I’m not sure what I could/ should do differently?

I totally agree, and I have a GSD puppy who is a complete nightmare around other dogs. She is so sociable and absolutely loves being around other dogs - she will stop and lay down at every dog she sees and won't move - sometimes the dog and owner will come up to us and they will sniff and play with each other, other times they walk past. At the moment I would NEVER let her off her lead as I know full well that the moment we do she will run after the nearest dog and go absolutely mental jumping all over them and playing. I've tried using her favorite treats, chicken, bouncy balls etc to distract her but none of it tempts her away from other dogs, she's obsessed. It's so irresponsible to just let an excitable out of control dog off leash. Until our puppy is older and has calmed down she will stay on her leash and it's up to the other dogs and their owners whether they want to meet her or not. Surely this is basic dog walk etiquette?!

@Howmanysleepsnow Very young puppies tend to be fine off the lead as they will sick very close to you. However, it does start to change as they get older.

I let my dog off the lead when she was a puppy and she was fine with a very good recall until adolescence reared its ugly head at around eight months at which point she decided recall was for dummies and I was to be ignored; well she'd come back when called but would run off 'laughing'.

At that point I put her on a long training lead, not an extending lead, which aren't good for training recall.

Nothing wrong with letting a puppy off lead, but if you've got her on a long lead you have more control.

If you tie knots along it's length you can leave it trailing and stamp on it if she runs, although you've got to be fast.

Hiring an enclosed field (usually start from about £5 an hour) from time to time might help you feel more confident about letting her off lead.

@Howmanysleepsnow I have a 9 month old pup. I'm lucky enough to live near lots of open fields and a disused golf course. When there is no one around I let him off for a run, but I'm hyper vigilant as soon as I see another person / dog he's straight back on his lead as I know I can't trust his recall when there's another dog to terrorise play with. I also have a 30ft training line that I put him on when it's nice weather in the field as I know it's always busier with other dog walkers. I find the long line works best if I stand in the middle of the field and let him run around me, rather than trying to walk him while he's on the line. When I see another person/dog I shout him back, if he doesn't come I stand on the line so he can't go further and then I draw him in closer to me.

Sometimes I get chatting to other dog walkers and with their permission I'll let him off to play with their dog for 10 minutes.

How old is your puppy? At 5 months ours had cracked pretty much perfect recall, at 6 months he hit doggy adolescence and turned into a complete knobhead 😆😆 have a look at the 'teenage dogs are horrid' thread! 😁

@cakebythepound1234 OMG I could have written your post! I've never seen another dog doing it! My pup lies down every time he sees another dog... and then when they come over to sniff he jumps all over them 🤦‍♀️ I have to warn every dog Walker that comes near 😆

These posters need widely published.

Pheasantsinlove what breed do you have. I have a collie pup who does this and people tell me it’s a collie thing. But I do wonder if it’s more a puppy thing.

@pheasantsinlove Yes, it's so annoying isn't it? She's so stubborn and as she does it with any dog she sees, walks can take forever! It's worse too when she sees a small dog - because she knows I won't let her go near the chihuahuas (we live in Mexico so there are a lot of them!) and other small dogs because she will flatten them, she gets very frustrated and starts barking at them. Hoping she grows out of it soon as I really don't know how to train her out of it seeing as high value treats have no effect on her dog obsession.

@Wolfiefan I have dogs with a strong prey drive hence why they are on leash and longline.

See i have the reverse really. I have a puppy i have on a lead who i am trying really hard to train just to walk past other dogs or only greet them if i say so and he gets jumped in by off lead adult dogs from established owners. Sort of 2-4 year old. All the puppies are on leads. I also get much older dogs on leads who still like to greet him and i say 'im training could you walk on" and the owners tell me its nice for them to sniff and then get cross when my puppy gets excited.

Mildredpuppy yes I know what you mean. I think it’s good for them as pups to understand they need to walk past and not “meet” every dog they see. But the owners of older dogs seem to think they are providing h some sort of service to you to let you puppy meet their dog and socialise. It’s all a total minefield really. They do need to learn how to meet dogs occasionally. But also need to learn that they can’t every time.

@Turquoisesol he's a total Heinz 57 scruffpot looking thing with lanky legs a wirey coat and floppy ears! He's definitely got terrier and spaniel in him I think ... he's bonkers with a high prey drive. Love him to bits!

@pheasantsinlove she’s 5 months: obviously advanced for her age as she seems to be hitting the teenage stage early. I’m hyper vigilant like you, but this guy just appeared from behind a hedge...
I’m working on walking past dogs nicely on the lead and letting her play with dogs when owners agree to practice recall in the excitement of the moment. It’s going ok, but when she does manage to find a dog without me checking first it’s all the more exciting for being illicit I think!

I was going to post and rant about this yesterday. Took ddog for a walk along a beach while dd was at a club. It can be fairly busy but it was raining quite heavily so was pretty quiet. Because of this I kept ddog on a lead because, possibly unusually, her recall is amazing in busy environments where there is lots of distractions so she can't pick one to focus on, but when it's quiet, people appearing suddenly can set her off and she'll run and bark. She does recall but I still find it unacceptable so I keep her on a lead when I don't know that she will 100% come back immediately. She is slightly lead reactive with larger dogs, due to previously being harassed or sacred on many occasions (she's around 5 kilos not much bigger than a cat). Every large dog we passed was off Iead. Every single one came up to her and didn't take her leave me alone cues. We kept waking, they followed. Every single owner said it's ok, he's friendly while chasing their dog trying to catch it while my dog pulled away then growled and barked when that didn't work. I replied each time that she's not friendly though (which is doing her a disservice as she is very friendly in the right circumstances) I had to pick her up on 2 occasions as she was getting very stressed. I was furious. It's people like this who are at fault for her being scared in the first place. Another one they trot out, heard it 2 times yesterday, is 'it's ok he can be full on he needs to be put in his place' when I say she doesn't like being approached on the lead and she yapping/ growling at being trapped/ harassed - it's not my tiny dogs job to discipline your huge one because you can't be bothered to put it on a lead. These people always find it funny. Bet they'd not if she was a Rottweiler rather than a tiny terrier. Sorry for the rant but im still annoyed.

[quote Sitdowncupoftea]@Wolfiefan I have dogs with a strong prey drive hence why they are on leash and longline.[/quote]
But your dog bite another dog. The circumstances aren't ideal, but if you know your dog will bite you should muzzle it. I have a gun dog and it can be recalled 99% of the time, it generally walks to heel off lead so doesn't need recalling. But they are animals not robots.

cocoloco987 I could have written your post so many times over the ten years I've had my dog; also small 5.5kilo.

We had two big dogs leaping on her once, owner had absolutely no control over them.

I called her to me and we managed to walk right across the park with one of the dogs following us before he got bored and went back to his owner.

And yes, the 'he needs to be put in his place' idiots drive me potty; it's not my dog's job to teach someone else dog manners.

I had one guy swear at me because I told him to call his dog back. We were in the park and his bloody great mastiff type dog (looked quite young) came out of nowhere and started leaping at my poor dog and shoving at her.

She was actually screaming with fear and eventually bared her teeth and growled at the other dog, something I've never seen her do before, which according to this stupid man meant that she was dangerous and had attacked his dog.

God, there're some idiots out there.

@hopingtochangeeachtime I’m guessing @Sitdowncupoftea means the dogs may chase wildlife etc.
The law says that if a dog is on a short leash then it’s under control. It’s the responsibility of others to keep their dogs under control and away.

@Wolfiefan there is no law in the UK that dogs have to be on a lead, but as there is the use of leash in this post maybe people are in the US?

@hopingtochangeeachtime I didn’t say they did have to be on a lead. But U.K. law says a dog on a short lead is deemed to be under control. It’s up to others with off lead dogs to keep them under control as well.

@hopingtochangeeachtime If I'm on a walk with no one around then no I will not muzzle my dog why should I. If you had read the post a dog off leash ran at my on leash dog so my dog bit it to tell it to back off. The other dogs owner is at fault. My dog was on a short leash and sat at heel at the time and didn't appreciate a large GSD jumping on him.

My cavvie growled at a lab yesterday to tell him off. Rightly so I think , but being fresh I apologised as I was so shocked !

I was sat dabbling my feet at the shore of a lake my dog literally at my feet - he’s not keen on teeny waves , with his paws in a little water. All calm. Bloody great lab bounds over , jumps up on me 😡 and gets between me and ddog , which I think proper hacked him off. He growled and I hoisted him shaking on to my lap instinctively.

I think that was a fair enough reaction really. He’s only growled about twice in his life like that and the other was a teenaged westie getting right in his face. ( he’s 2)

We are at the seaside. The number of growly snarly dogs on the streets / prom is really upsetting. I can only think they’re all way too hot - we are so fortunate as we have a place in the centre of town so go out at 9 , back over lunch and out at tea time or later when it’s cool

[quote Sitdowncupoftea]@hopingtochangeeachtime If I'm on a walk with no one around then no I will not muzzle my dog why should I. If you had read the post a dog off leash ran at my on leash dog so my dog bit it to tell it to back off. The other dogs owner is at fault. My dog was on a short leash and sat at heel at the time and didn't appreciate a large GSD jumping on him.[/quote]
Unless you legally have to, I would not muzzle a dog. S/he needs to be able to defend itself if any out of control dog attacks it.