Bigger dogs chasing my puppy - what to do?

[Turquoisesol]

So out for a walk with puppy off lead (8months). Two bigger dogs come over to see her. I guess I could tell by body language they are friendly, but I still try to call my puppy over to me. Before we know it the two dogs are chasing my puppy round in circles through the forest. Puppy ends up much further away from me than she would normally go. I could tell she was half enjoying the chase and half scared. I shout the the lady to recall her dogs (as politely as I could) which she kind of tried to but didn’t seem to be managing. I am not sure she cared too much. I eventually recall my puppy to me with one of the dogs still following her and gave the other dog treats just to get it to stay still, until owner eventually recalls it.

Does anyone have any further tips on how to manage such situations?

Bomb proof recall of your own dog. Your pup was fine and probably a bit overwhelmed by the experience. Teach her that you are more exciting than anything else on a walk. Liver paste/liver are really good high value treats for this, only use them for recall. There will always be bigger dogs out there, some friendly and some not so friendly so your dog being great at recall means you can get her back to you and move away from dogs you don’t want near her. If you call her back from every other dog you’re teaching her negativity towards other dogs, it’s normal for them to have a sniff and sus each other out, she needs to learn this and socialise with other dogs. I would call back if dog appeared aggressive though. Give her lots of praise and positivity she sounds like a lovely dog who you’ve already done really well training.

Yes this is the difficult thing letting her learn to speak to and have a quick sniff with other dogs so she learns this etiquette. But also encouraging her to come back to me. It’s a difficult balance. I guess it’s just a matter of keeping a good view of what’s going on around me and if we see young boisterous dogs to recall her or move directions before we have these meetings. But calmer looking dogs to allow her a sniff.

In this instance I let her say hello and the situation got out of control very quickly. Hard to recall a pup who is running away from other dogs as she is probably not thinking straight

Obviously can't comment on the body language but I don't find that friendly behaviour at all - a well socialised dog would not continue to chase a puppy that looked 'half scared' and a well trained dog would recall when instructed. From experience, these situations can quickly tip over into being predatory and intimidating and a worried dog can end up learning to bolt if they can't reach their owner. I don't trust that many other owners have good enough recall or a good enough understanding of dog behaviour and body language to prevent situations like this from getting out of hand (nor do they care - from that owner's point of view, her dogs have had a lovely run round, never mind if your dog got scared).

I wouldn't let rude dogs practice their behaviour on my well balanced dog with good recall and would advocate for my dog by calling them back before the dogs approached, putting them on the lead and asking the other owner to call their dogs away. Dogs don't need to greet every other dog they see and I'd far rather practice with dogs I know well than gamble with the 'he's only being friendly' brigade.

Yes. I am a new dog owner so learning the ropes here. I guess I need to be on the ball a bit more (no pun intended) and get her away before these things start

I eventually recall my puppy to me with one of the dogs still following her and gave the other dog treats just to get it to stay still, until owner eventually recalls it.

I don't stick around with my dog. I have found the best way is to recall my dog and once they are with me start walking off away from the owner at a reasonable speed. If their dog follows then that it up to them to recall and I often think it might be a wake up call for those that don't care if their dog won't come back and is 'just friendly'.

My dog now knows to come back and follow me if he isn't happy with the situation and if the other dog follows and is still pestering mine I have stood in between them and assertively (body and voice) told the other dog to 'get back' which has worked.

So difficult 😞 I usually go to a local national trust property where we have a nice quiet walk with occasional other dog passing. But it’s about a 20 minute drive to get there. So thought I would try local forest for once but I just never have a good experience there

I have seen people say that you should get between your dog and other dog and assertively tell them to sod off. But then don’t I risk my dog thinking she has something to be scared of?

@Turquoisesol

I have seen people say that you should get between your dog and other dog and assertively tell them to sod off. But then don’t I risk my dog thinking she has something to be scared of?

If we are walking and mine says hello and the other dog says hello and follows their owner and he continues walking with me I say nothing. It's a non event.

If we are walking and they both say hello or have a bit of a circle chase and I say 'come on' which is a command for follow me because I am going then he gets a 'good boy' for coming when called. Non event but well done for continuing to follow me when I have said.

If it gets out of hand and I have to shoo the other dog away because they are upsetting mine I don't think it matters as he is upset and wants rid.

Put your dog on a trailing long line. Until recall is bomb proof.
From what if you’ve described this sounds like play chase. Did you feel it wasn’t ?

My puppy was never doing the chasing though. She was always the one being chased. So I don’t think this is a mutual play?