Reactive dog and beach... people are ar$eh0les!!

[PlinkPlonkFizz]

What do you do with off lead dogs who are harassing on lead dogs?

I'm fostering a sweet lab mix, sweet - until she meets another dog 😤. We're working together on trust using sit, look and treat if no reaction. It's going well and I think it helps that if there's a chance to cross the road and avoid a face to face, I'll do it. I feel a bit sad for her that she's not socialising but it stresses her so much at the moment, it's not fair. Maybe in time we can get to the point she's more confident, or future owners will get her to that place.

At the beach early morning and a Scotty comes charging up, yipping and snarling. Of course Mrs. Sweetie who had been sitting and minding her own business, goes full alert, barking and jumping. The owners totally ignore the situation unfolding as the Scotty races back for two more loops of frenzied barking. Mrs S goes mad but owners keep walking towards me, ignoring their dog! I call over to ask can they put their dog on a lead but they pretend they can't hear - exaggerated hand to ear gestures even though it was obvious what the problem is. Eventually my older DS shouted it really loud and the man squared up at a distance and kept staring back as the Scotty's ran all around.

I'm at a loss about it - it was obvious we were taking steps to avoid them just as it was obvious that their dog was upsetting Mrs S. What way do you manage these kind of situations?

For the sake of your dog just ignore the twats. We had a similar dog to you. A behaviourialist pointed out that the dog was hugely reacting to our reactions to a situation. Be bored, reassuring and ignore twat dog and twat dog owners. Your dog will be reading so much into your actions and tensing up, shouting out etc will reinforce your dog's intial response that this was dangerous.
Total game changer.
If they do react, calmly destract and walk away

Well I'm 99% of the time the most mild mannered person, but in this situation, where my dog is unnecessarily put into any kind of bad situation by another dog and an owner who should know better I become the most assertive person you'll ever see. I'm not rude, just VERY direct and ask the other owner to do the right thing. I don't know how I find the assertiveness, but I do. I think my dog can't voice her fears and so I have to do it. It's so unbearable to watch your dog be put in that situation.

It's never not worked for me.

Do you know about the yellow lead meaning 'stay away' thing? Also you can get 'nervous dog' type harnesses .......they work on most people but there will sadly always be arseholes.

I warned a gentleman once my dog was very anti social,had been caged all his life(not by me-we were new owners).Idiot of course tried to smooth my dog,by dog bit his finger,then he give me advice on how to muzzle my dog😐.My point being are people are complete idiots-i walk my dog at random times,or places I know are likely to be quiet.hes on the lead at all times,he's such a darling in the house but a terror on the lead.i shout out loudly"disclaimer-he might bite"as soon as someone comes near him.im not muzzling my dog who's clearly on a lead.People will never learn that we DO NOT APPRECIATE YOUR DOGS NEAR OUR DOGS,no matter how many times you tell us they are harmless,or want to play.honestly,if you are walking your dogs at a popular park or field,I'd think of going somewhere else,pavement walks maybe so you can cross over if you see another dog.garden play time/training,if it's big enough.people can be selfish t*s.

I believe some owners are just unaware of their dogs actions.

We were at the beach on Sunday - busy day. We chose to go to the dog free part. About 50 metres away over the next groyne was the dog friendly section.

Early afternoon a family of two adults, plus children plus two dogs set up on the dog free beach away from the sea line and just let their dogs free into the sea and to roam around all the family's while the two adults sit back in their chairs.

We were by the sea edge with a toddler and small child and suddenly hd a large British bulldog bigger then my toddler running around not being controlled by the owner.

Luckily a life guard appeared and spoke to the family and they moved on.

My point is - their dog might be friendly but I wouldn't let my toddler near their dog but they were happy for their dog to be running around lots of small children without monitoring what their dogs were doing - I don't get it

@Simianwalk I'm guessing you've had your dog since puppyhood? Thing is I'm an experienced dog owner and I could paint myself purple and do Hatha yoga in front of Mrs S when she gets upset, and she wouldn't take a blind bit of notice! That's not to say that calling over was a good idea - it was pointless because the owners didn't want to know.

@BunnyBetChetwynd yes I will look into the yellow lead but these owners would have ignored it anyway. Might be good for the more considerate owners who want to chat.

@ColourMeBlue you're so right, some really are selfish xxxx's. I'm walking her early or late to avoid as many as I can but inevitably a few will appear.

@lifehappens12 with all the recent attack cases you'd think some owners would be a bit more careful of strong breeds. I despair!

I have a dog similar to yours. Mine is always on a lead because he has no recall, and he gets scared when other off-lead dogs run up to him and then he reacts. No amount of ignoring or calm reassurance deals with this once he's set off, it's very upsetting and unfair on him. Usually accompanied by a selfish careless owner who is either calling out that their dog is friendly, or blindly ignoring the situation.
So, I've developed very little tolerance for this and have resorted to carrying a spare lead. Now I have no hesitation in grabbing the other dog and clipping a lead on it, then waiting until the other owner reaches me.

People can be such arseholes and only care about themselves. I absolutely hate dogs being off the lead in public places. My old nervous rescue was attacked twice by dogs off the lead. Thankfully on the worst occasion she had a thick winter coat on which got most of the damage. An already nervous and anxious dog became quite aggressive when near other dogs after that. I also don’t leave any of my dogs unattended with my child so don’t want your dog running up to us in the park when you are still round the bend out of sight 🤯

I love this idea!

I’m not a fan of dogs and I would love to go to the beach without all the bloody barking but some beaches are full of off-lead dogs. If it’s a beach where dogs are permitted, I think you’ll have to accept that they’ll be off-lead and don’t take your dog there if it’s a problem.

Beaches aren’t like parks. Some are designated dog-free, some are dogs-on-lead only and some are unrestricted. You can’t make an unrestricted beach into a dogs-on-lead beach because your dog is a problem.

This one is lead-only and very deserted.

Hear hear. I believe that is what happened Mrs S - attacked by family dog in her adopted house, returned to the rescue I'm involved with a nervous wreck poor lass 😞

That’s not how that works, if you can’t control your dog in a public place, it shouldn’t be off lead.

If you see an on lead dog and you can’t control yours verbally you put in on a lead until you’ve passed it, you don’t know why the other dog is on lead, could have issues with dogs too close, could be old, could be blind or deaf, could be recovering from an operation... or any other reason, makes no odds, you control your own dog.

OP, tbh, there’s not much you can do about people being wilfully ignorant, I know some people say their dog is contagious 😂 no clue what they’d answer if they were asked what with right enough.

If you see an on lead dog and you can’t control yours verbally you put in on a lead until you’ve passed it

No. Not on a beach. If it’s an off-lead permitted beach, don’t take your dog on it if it needs to be on-lead. Beaches aren’t like parks.

As the owner of a dog who is fine with all dogs except one breed he really hates for no discernable reason, I have seen it from both sides.

If I spot the hated breed, I pop him on a lead and take the biggest available detour to avoid them.

If we can't avoid the other breed, I pop him on lead, and shout out something along the lines of "sorry my dog is a twit and hates GSDs please can you keep yours away... I'm sure yours is lovely mine is a knob" etc etc which I've found quite effective.

When it comes to encountering dogs that will really not appreciate an audience with Ddog, I really do prefer some warning. Signage with clear instructions like "keep dogs away" is my favourite. Things I'm less impressed with

• the person whose dog had the vague "nervous" garb on, but was off lead. I'd given them masses of space, until theirs ran over to mine. I thought mine was about to be mauled tbh. Upon pointing out I'd been giving them as much space as possible, I was informed that it's just human she hated(!) and Ddog would be fine. This is why I prefer the more specific signage. Saint Roch has a decent selection.
• ddog was playing nicely with another dog, both off lead. A man walked straight towards us with an on lead dog, but as he was approaching us I assumed his dog was nice but had crap recall. As mine and the dog he'd been playing with broke off to say hello to the third dog, it turned out the other dog was rather reactive and the next thing I know he's got his dog half suspended by its collar.
• I'd spotted an off lead dog with no yellow garb on playing fetch. Ddog ambled slowly in that direction. I assumed there wasn't a problem. Next thing I know they're body blocking ddog (fair) - but if I'd known there was an issue we would have kept the dog away.

This is all in moderately busy urban parks where meeting other dogs is inevitable.

In summary, signs with clear instructions, shout a warning if you can't avoid the other dog, and don't walk straight towards other dogs (or do anything else equally confusing) if yours is reactive.

Nonsense! Same rule anywhere and for bloody good reason as OP has just shown. See another dog and it’s on a lead, snap your lead on too. Simples. (Unless you know that 100% your dog will stay glued to your side and not go bothering other dogs)
It’s just-you know-being a good person and a good dog-owner.

Beaches have hazards. If you can't control your off lead dog it shouldn't be off lead.

If your dog cannot recall, it should be on a lead. I don’t care whether you’re at a park or on the beach. It should not be harassing other dogs on the beach with you idly standing by pretending your little sweetheart is just making friends. Always have your dog under control!

I was walking along just coming up to a busy road when someone clocked my dogs and let their husky off the lead to... come greet us? My reactive dog started howling and still they stood there looking dumbstruck.

We can rarely enjoy a peaceful walk these days with all the idiot owners about. They don’t even bother trying to recall their dog as I’m tugging mine away. I’ve become increasingly less polite about it now.

I know people who carry a pen and a citronella spray when walking their dog because of unleashed dogs approaching their dog. Not sure if that is helpful in your situation. The spray won’t hurt the other dog, but should deter it.

Bollocks.

If you can't control your dog, it shouldn't be off the lead. That's the law. It doesn't matter whether you're in a park, on the beach or on the top of Snowdon.

Yet a lead with a big flag - I’d not go for “ nervous “ I’d go for one that suggests they might hurt idiot dogs ( and I’m a dog owner ) - only suggests mind … and the answer to “ my dog is friendly “ is always “ mine is not !”

I have a dog and Iv never known a yellow lead to mean nervous dog.
Never read it, heard it or seen it before.
You can trust that people will know what that means.

My dog is blind so always on lead, he's very friendly but if a dog approaches and he's not aware he gets scared. I find shouting 'recall your fucking dog' works quite well.

Shouting recall your fucking dog does nothing in most cases in my experience.
Many dog owners don't think they have any responsibility to monitor what their dogs are doing, let alone recall them.
I am doing my best to avoid a woman with her two dogs at the moment. I've challenged her about picking up before because she never does.
She is always on her phone when walking her dogs.
The dogs can do whatever the hell they like.
They go on the beach which is not allowed right now.
They run all over the promenade in front of runners, bike riders, kids on scooters.
They run up to my dog and intimidate her causing her to react. One ran up to her the other day and I thought it was going to fall over the cliff.
No reaction whatsoever from the owner.
She's one of the most entitled I've met but many dog owners are not a whole lot better.

Presumably you were on a public beach were dogs are allowed? Why didn’t you turn round and walk away when the other dog approached? We too had a dog like yours. When out walking with him, we would just turn round and walk away without saying anything if another dog approached. You can’t expect other dog walkers to stop their dogs doing what comes naturally to them!
The comment about whether the other people could hear you or not is irrelevant. For all you know they could have been hearing impaired.

OP, how exactly is Mrs S reacting?

I mean, if it's a snarl and a snap at the other dog when it is in her face, and she is on a lead, then I'd leave her to defend her personal space. There are plenty of grumpy dogs about who hate other dogs getting over-familiar, but do not react that way to humans.

If Mrs S is headed off on the attack, that's very different.

Unfortunately, it is your dog who is reactive, so it is up to you to deal with that. I appreciate it is an on-lead beach. You could stand up, go over, and speak to the owners. Explain.

But if other dog owners will not follow the rules, you may need to do the beach trip without the dog.