Has anyone tried putting their dog in “middle” and telling them to sit and wait til off lead dog pestering us goes away

[Toppl]

Struggling to manage off lead dogs who come over and jump all over my dog. She is getting ratty with them and other owners are so ineffectual. Would putting my dog in middle (she goes round the back and through my legs and sits there) work? I must try it. It’s just so hard in the heat of the moment when we get ambushed

Personally, I wouldn't do that as it could potentially make her feel trapped which could cause her to lash out through fear.

I turn around and walk off in the other direction when people let their dogs approach mine.

Totally different response to previous poster!

Many dogs find being in the middle position comforting and feel protected in the position. It also stills your dog so to another dog may be less appealing. The dog in the middle position is usually looking up at the owner so again less likely to encourage another dog to approach.

However some dogs have very few social skills and the middle position will not stop them pestering your dog unfortunately.

Also make sure in the middle position if your dog does lunge forward it does not knock you off balance depends on size of dog obviously

Thanks. Just looking up other possible ways to deal with them and internet says throw treats at other dog and walk in opposite direction? I do usually try to avoid these dogs but they follow us! Most websites seem to offer ideas to try but admit that it’s really not easy to find a good solution to this unfortunately 🙁

The main reason I don't support the "middle" position is because if the other dog continues to approach and a fight breaks out, you're either going to get knocked to the floor, hurt, or bitten in the melée.

You're putting yourself and your dog into a very vulnerable position - not only is your dog effectively trapped between your legs and unable move to escape the approaching dog, you're also making yourself vulnerable to injury.

Ok. I normally have a problem with overly friendly but rude dogs. Rather than aggressive. But I suppose it’s hard to know which it will be for sure. I guess I would feel a little vulnerable with her in that position. I am just thinking through what happens is my dog try’s to scuttle away and shake off the dog. Dog follows her and pesters her until she gets annoyed and snaps at dog. So I thought maybe if other dog can’t get access to her it might help. Appreciate you thoughts on it . Good to think through

Why not let your dog off the lead too? No wonder she is getting ratty!

i do tend to leave her off lead as I figure it’s only fair if the other dog is off lead.

She is fine with polite dogs who pass by and have a quick sniff to say hello. It’s boisterous bigger dogs who invade her personal space, often appearing from behind before we know what’s happening

A lot of owners will assume she's friendly if she's off the lead, though. I suspect that's partly why she's being approached so much in the first place.

I would put her on the lead if another dog approaches, tell the other owners that she's nervous and ask them to recall their dogs.

I just tell the owner to call their dog off. It’s extremely rude to have them in your dog’s face.

An on -the -lead dog is that way for a reason. I have a friendly but shy dog who likes to be left alone. There’s a woman near us who walks a pack of 3 off lead- they all come bounding over and it terrifies mine. Her yelling “but they’re friendly” is not helpful.

The reason mine is on lead when we meet others is that the rude dogs have no social etiquette and just keep bouncing around her which distresses her more. It’s easier to walk away if she’s on the lead.
It depends on the dogs. If it’s someone she walks with who knows her and “gets” her then she’s off lead.

The rule of dogs not approaching on lead dogs just doesn’t seem to apply in the real world though. If she is on the lead the same thing happens

I don't disagree with you, but if she's on the lead and a fight breaks out, then you have protection as your dog is considered under your control.

If both dogs are off the lead, it's just seen as "one of those things".

Also if she's on the lead, it's much easier to walk away and know she's safe with you.

I put myself bodily in front of my on-lead reactive dog and firmly tell the other dog 'no' with a palm up while eyeballing them.

does that normally work kleptronic? Young overly enthusiastic labs tend to be the worst offenders, does it work with them? Might have to give it a go

I also have a problem with off-lead dogs bothering mine who is always on a lead. I've started telling the friendly offending dogs to stop - most dogs respond to one of "no/stop/sit/wait" etc. I have also recently taken to clipping a spare lead on the other dog and waiting for the owner to arrive and remove it - only do this if I've asked the owner to call the dog away and they have either refused or they haven't trained their dog to respond.
I have no tolerance for my dog being bothered by others.

It absolutely works @Toppl and my dog is so much calmer now because he knows I'll deal with it. You need to channel your best Paddington stare. The best reaction is they just u-turn.

Some of the hardy ones slow down and look up puzzled at me, but a couple of repeats does the trick as their concentration/focus is broken, and I'm a stern strange human to them.

I also put mine behind me and stand between the dog and mine blocking it with my foot or leg. Most respond to a very strong telling to get lost! The vast majority look very shocked they have been told off and leave!

I will have to start walking somewhere I don’t know people to try this out, my usual walking spot is where I tend to know a lot of other mums and are in polite small talk mode.

the other thing that may make it tricky is that my dog does often want to say hello to the other dogs so not sure if she will creep round in front of me.

Just looking up other possible ways to deal with them and internet says throw treats at other dog and walk in opposite direction?
Isn't that just rewarding their rude behaviour with food, making it more likely that they'll follow you, or try again tomorrow?

I think I'd take the approach of stepping forward and shouting 'Go away!' I have in the last stood between my dog and another saying, 'Just push off! Go! Go!'

As it is, both of my dogs are quite stroppy and will tell a rude dog off. There's one dog we see who runs up barking and my younger dog has recently matured enough to decide to not take this shit any longer. She runs right at him with her hackles up, barks two or three times and he turns and runs off crying. She just looked at him the other afternoon from a distance, as he began to wind himself up, and you could see him think, 'Oh... It's her... Um, nothing to see here... Bye...' and ran back to his owner.

I found shouting at the other dog can help, a loud and assertive 'get out' will sometimes see another dog go back to its owner. I used to ride horses and would have to do this quite regularly with off lead dogs who would bark and annoy my horse

There’s a guy on YouTube / Facebook / Instagram called Southend dog training and I’m sure he advocates putting yourself between your dog and the “friendly” dog for various reasons. Take a look, he can explain it better than me.

I have noticed round here that people are getting better at recognising an on-lead dog might not want to be bothered. DH swears that DDog's reactions are all about guarding 'us' and says that if he walks forward of offending dog, DDog will run to him.

Personally, I put him on lead. It's maybe not fair to him but I feel more in control that way. I did think about putting him in the middle but I'm really small - I quickly realised that would probably have me off my feet if he lunged forward.

I agree. Dogs are social animals and it is natural to greet and sniff each other. If the approaching dog walker puts their dog on the lead when they see me I take the cue and put mine on but otherwise let them do their sniffing and move on.

My dog used to be reactive to other dogs but I trained her out of it by rewarding occasions when she didn't bark or growl.

I find 'Bugger off' growled very loudly, so the owner can hear, usually works. Not so good if you meet them daily though! Also 'My dog's coughing badly' can work. With one of mine, on holiday, I yelled he was a police dog and the owners of three collies couldn't get away fast enough.

I auppose the reason I haven’t tried shouting at the other dog yet is that I tend to keep my voice light and happy. People always say your dog picks up on your own vibes. Maybe the hand up and the stare and a relatively quiet “no” will be enough