Bloody off lead dogs.

[Sexnotgender]

2 days running fucking off lead dogs harassing my 2.

If your dog has zero or unreliable recall then don’t let it off lead.

Not everyone lives in places where there are specific "on lead areas" though.

I'd love to know how all the posters on this thread would react if they were walking down the street and a random person ran up to them full tilt, starting talking or shouting excitedly in their face and even jumping on them and hugging them.

Would you find that ok?

My dog gets let off lead and is allowed to run free in places where there are no other dogs/cyclists/runners/small children that he would pester. But when I am around the general public he stays on lead where he can't run up to anyone and give them his potentially unwanted attention.

Considerate dog owners keep their dogs away from other people, UNLESS the other people have explicitly said it's ok.

@Moonface123
100% well said!
The walk is supposed to be for the dogs enjoyment! Let dogs be dogs and greet and play with eachother. I always have my dog offleash. I got to parks where people take all their dogs off and there can be 30 dogs at any time running round playing. Guess what, never seen an incident. If your in the small minority of people who has a dog with behavioural issues then thats your problem and for you to modify your behaviour. Dogs are social animals, they want to interact with eachother. Let your dog be a dog or why did you even buy one!

Longlines are an effective and safe way to teach recall.

Dogs are social animals, they want to interact with eachother.

Not true and obviously if you are seeking out dog owners who think like you then you are getting confirmation bias.

Mine goes to daycare and sees the same friendly dogs all the time. He still prefers his own company and have been told on several occasions that he tends to do his own thing. He just doesn't want to be jumped on, bumped into and tried to be rolled over by unknown dogs who are insistent and won't take no for an answer.

So dogs with good recall should suffer just because yours is reactive?

@Strawberriesandicecreamsundae
I do get your point with rescues and dogs with traumatic experiences. This is a fair point.
I also agree I don't have a dog who harasses other dogs. Some she ignores and some she approaches calmly and friendly. I find she seems to approach those who have a calm friendly body language and avoids those with a nervous or aggressive body language. She has always been well socialised and as a result has very good manners with other dogs. I do think a big problem with dog behaviour is they aren't socialised enough from a young age so they never calm down when they meet other dogs. If being able to play with other dogs wasn't such a rare occurrence to them I doubt most would be as over excited. All the dogs my dog plays with frequently have great manners but all have owners who have deliberately allowed them to socialise well. I understand some reactive dogs with traumatic histories will always be like that but in reality this is the extreme minority of dogs. I think the fact that owners suppressing and preventing the dogs natural instinct to be socialabe are the owners who create reactive and over excited dogs. Being off leash and allowed frequent greeting of other dogs is essential to having a calm well rounded, happy dog, who learns how to behave appropriately with other dogs.

1 of our labs would rather play with her ball, than play with other dogs.

I like my dog to have time off lead - it gives him freedom to explore.
But I put him back on the lead as soon as I see a dog coming on lead. Also my dog is a bit reactive too - so if an off lead dog comes up to him - I hurry on, explaining that he’s anxious
I think you do have to know how to manage and look after your own dog.

I will say that I passed a woman twice today in an open grassy area - she was carrying her dog (presumably reactive) past us, and her face was so set and hard.
My dog didn’t remotely go up the woman either time. I just felt if dog walking is that unpleasant for her - she should maybe not do it.

Putting a dog on a lead for 20 seconds as you pass by a potentially reactive dog is hardly 'suffering'. Nothing worse than a lazy dog owner.

So dogs with good recall should suffer just because yours is reactive?

No dog is going to "suffer" because they've had to go on lead for a few seconds while they pass other dogs.

I'm a dog walker and every single dog in my care gets recalled and put on the lead when we see other dogs. This guarantees their safety (I don't trust other dog owners when they say their dog is "friendly") and also means that other owners are happy to
pass us with their dog(s).

If your dog has such good recall and is so well rounded, it won't be an issue for you to pop them on lead for a few seconds 🤷🏻‍♀️

@BiteyShark
It is literally a fact that dogs are social animals 🙄🙄
It is an important part of socialisation of puppies to learn how to interact properly with other dogs.
I am not referring to older dogs who have had traumatic upbringings and as a result have behavioural issues (these are the minority and actually have abnormal dog behaviours.).
Dogs with normal upbringings who are well socialised are on the whole sociable.
Dogs who jump on other dogs and try and roll them over and are not reading the other dogs body language are dogs who are behaving innappropriatlely and not understanding normal social cues. Poor socialisation of puppies and young dogs usually creates these behavioural issues.

Back to the OP... Are your dogs fine? I often think it's more the owners who have the issue rather than the dogs....

I have a dog who is always on lead as he is sometimes reactive and now very deaf too and one who is always off
If I see a dog on a lead I call my dog and she will always walk next to me for a treat or a throw of her ball.
I think it used to be the agreed thing that on lead meant other dogs should be kept away.
I don't think it's sad that my reactive dog is pretty much always on lead, it keeps him and other dogs safe, prevents people getting upset and I just make sure he gets loads of exercise. I think he has had a happy 11 years since I adopted him and don't feel bad at all.

So many entitled dog owners on this thread. It's really simple, don't let your dog off lead if it isn't trained to come back. And if it is trained to come back make sure you call it back rather than letting it approach other dogs and people who may have their own reasons for not wanting a strange dog running up to them. It's really not difficult to understand and it's so inconsiderate to allow it to happen.

@Needsomeadvice33 we go to a similar park with off lead dogs, we’ve been going since ours was a puppy and she’s learned fantastic behaviour from older dogs. They share treats and toys, chase and the fun they have is so lovely.

Having a reactive dog is sad, but I don’t see why well socialised and friendly dogs should all stop this interaction. If you have a reactive dog then it’s your responsibility to avoid these areas.

Ive always thought walks are for the dogs benefit, not the owner’s convenience. Let them greet, take their time sniffing and enjoy themselves. Talk to other owners, don’t make it a solitary experience.

Reading this thread you can see why these awful incidents happen. Dogs should be kept on leads unless you can ALWAYS call them back.

Had an unfortunate incident the other day where my two sighthounds who were on the lead, reacted to a staffie who came charging at them. Their dickhead owner ran down apologising but it was no use since his dog took no notice of his calling back. Luckily two of them did put the other dog causing any damage as it was outnumbered but if you're not in in control of your animal... Do not have it off lead.

The best part of having my Beagle was the leisurely jog with frequent sniffing along the roads on our route, a short wander through the park to the Big Field, Sit. Wait. (unclip lead) Ready? GO! and then we'd sprint all the way diagonally across the field, racing one another, jumping over assorted felled branches, him no more than three foot from my side, absolutely flat out until we reached the exit path by the gates together, where we'd make a fuss of one another, the lead would go back on again and then we'd go back to leisurely pootling on our way home. I'm not even sure if the dogs plodding around the side paths even registered with him.

It was a moment of utter joy, just as using hand signals to tell the Staffie many years later it was time for him to go full speed across Fallen Oak Field to come to me for his treat.

These days, it feels as though they and I would be universally hated and in all probability would never be allowed to feel that.

People and dogs are not the same.

Exactly.

I don't think it's about off lead dogs or reactive dogs that should suffer. Surely both can exist without impacting others?

Reactive dogs should be onlead. Off lead dogs shouldn't be running up to any strange dog especially on lead ones. Then both can coexist happily.

It’s perfectly fine. It’s compressed air in a can and you spray it near them not on them

Ive used it and will use it again.

I’ve got one bomb proof dog. She’s allowed off her lead. I’ve gone one who isn’t. She stays on. It isn’t hard.

Just to add, I still put my bomb proof dog on a lead when I see another dog. It’s not fair on either parties

I an ideal world.

But as this thread (and all the others like it) shows, most owners don't think they should have to call their dogs and put them on leads.

@BiteyShark absolutely agree. The problem is this is not happening . When I can't even walk in an on lead nat trust site without risking a dog barrelling up to us - something is our culture is going wrong. I can usually tell the off lead dogs that are going to be fine as they're usually just doing their own thing - spaniels and elderly labs tend to be no problem.

It's often small fluffy dogs which run up and unfortunately my sighthound would snap them in half with one bite if they really annoyed him - and it wouldn't be us at fault as my dog is under control. This is the risk some of these owners are taking .