Stranger has just filmed me and my dog

[NewMeNewUs]

We have a 8 month old Labrador. She has good and bad days when it comes to recall, we are still working on it.

i take her down to a large green near my house which is usually empty and don’t often see anyone else and we practice our recall. Today we were there and there was a man with a dog sitting on a bench quite far away from us( could just about make them out) Anyone I let my dog off the lead to practice our recall. Typical she was having a bad day today and wasn’t listening well, so I was calling her name a lot, shouting for her. 2 other dogs appeared out of no where also off their leads. My dog ran over to them (she wasn’t listening to me) she said hello to them and was playing with them. I apologised to the owner and we were chatting for about 5 mins while the dogs ran around.

anyway as we were leaving the green, I was struggling to put the slip rope lead back on the dog was jumping etc. I look up, and that guy that was sitting in the corner of the green was in his car window down filming me and my dog!
he was talking to the camera saying how this large dog is out of control, this lady cannot control her dog yet still lets it off the lead…. I’ve watched this dog attack 2 other dogs, owner has been calling her dog and the dog doesn’t listen etc. I was saying what are you talking about the dogs were saying hello and playing, she’s a puppy we are practising our recall etc.

he was saying I’ve got your whole walk on video as evidence, I’ve got an XL bully and he is much better behaved and controlled then your dog…….

he then drove off. My gosh I am SO upset I can’t stop crying about it.

im trying my hardest with this puppy and it’s been hard. But she is a good girl and by no means out of control. She’s sooooo friendly and playful. It just hurts to hear someone observing thinks your dog is out of control, like I’m basically doing a shit job.

im also concerned about what he is going to do with a video of me and my dog. I was called her name like a lunatic, and struggled the get the lead on her etc, may have shouted at her also. Embarrassing video for me to see of myself I’m sure!

fully expecting some tellings off for letting her off the lead etc which I can accept but please be kind. Thanks for reading x

If it had run up to my dogs I would have caught it for you. As it’s a lab I’d be 99% sure I wouldn’t get bitten. It’s a lab the reason so many of us keep them is they don’t bite and are friendly to everyone. Downside is they are friendly to everyone

High value treats that work well are bacon and c sausage chopped into small pieces. Other than that it’s practice and sometimes they do run off a don’t come back for ages. We’ve a 13 year old lab. Beautifully behaved in and out of the house. Just once he ran off a couple of years ago and covered about 5 miles over fields before arriving in someone else’s farm yard. Never done since.

I've only ever had issues with friendly, excitable, untrained dogs. DS1 has been pushed off his bike, DS2 was weeks old in a baby sling when a happy dog jumped up on me, DS1 had food swiped from his hand (chocolate!), we've had a picnic run through, DS2 knocked over on the train platform...

All friendly, excitable dogs that just loved kids. I used to think I was a dog person, but now I'm really anxious if I see one off the lead.

The most frustrating thing is that most of these incidents ended with a lecture from the owner about how friendly their dog is.

My dog was a sheepdog who worked sheep, before she got old. I also live in the north west Highlands, with free roaming hill sheep. It wasn't a sheep field. I was on a road, and so was the distant sheep. A whole different scenario to your assumptions.

Though also to add I would have shouted on my dog and held onto yours for you, this is something I’ve done 100 times before, it doesn’t bother me in the slightest regardless of the breed - it’s unlikely that a puppy looking to play will turn on a friendly voice giving them attention (and I secretly love the opportunity of puppy cuddles) but I’m a dog person and a lot of people wouldn’t feel confident/comfortable doing that which I totally understand x

A lot of XL Bully owners have an agenda right now, so don't worry about him.

But please keep pup on a long line until recall is reliable. It's not about how friendly your dog is.

I recently looked after a sweet older dog (lived happily with a houseful of cats, well trained, good with people) who was somewhat dog reactive and could in theory inflict serious damage to another dog in the wrong circumstances. He was walked on a short lead in a quiet area at quiet times of the day, and kept away from loose dogs. I do think the owners should muzzle train him, but not my call, and your pup could easily run up to a dog like this and be injured.

Labradors absolutely DO bite, and badly.
As do Golden Retrievers.
( seen results of bites with own eyes on humans)
They are often aggressive around other dogs and push small children over- too overexcited and clumsy-
If one has a small or sylph like dog, the last thing one wants is ten ton Tess or Trevor crashing into it.

People that have highly trained ones to shoot over aren’t as bad .
(A working dog needs to work.)

Why do you even care and why are you crying? It's a stranger who has no baring on your life.
The most you should've done was give him the finger and go home.

I'm absolutely fed up of people like you and your dogs, bounding up to people. Keep your dog on a damned lead!

How many times will you be prepared to pay vet fees when your “friendly” dog runs up and gets in the face of dogs who are on lead because they are reactive and will take the face off a dog who gets too close?

The Dogs Trust do fab puppy training classes. You’ve missed the boat there OP. Your dog is not classed as a puppy now. I believe they do training classes for older dogs too but I’m not sure if the next stage classes are follow on classes from the puppy classes. They teach the owner to train their dog. Invaluable for dog owners who don’t have a clue

If she was a bad owner, she wouldn't be on here asking for help

OP did not ask for help. She claimed her dog is playful and moaned about being recorded when it was not under control and approaching other dogs.

That is the case in her original post, but if you read her other replies, she admitted she was in the wrong and asked for help on how to prevent it happening again.

She's a first time owner and maybe didn't understand the etiquette around having an off-lead dog. She's now been told (harshly, by many) that she needs to have her dog under control and is willing to work on that.

She also hasn't run off or lashed out at anyone despite the nastiness of some posters, which is to be commended imo.

I would have been creeped out and intimidated by this too OP.

MN is not very dog friendly and it seems that has led to you being victimised here all over again.

I'm sorry both these things happened to you.

The long lead is your friend, recall training is so less stress with one and you can recall under control, treat and gradually build confidence.

Big friendly dogs are no less dangerous they can still knock over kids and if she had run up to my large reactive on harness dog he would have snapped at her (he's muzzled) because of dogs like yours bounding up.

I also have non reactive dogs who are super friendly so can see all angles.

The guy was weird though, please ignore him.

Labradors absolutely DO bite, and badly.
As do Golden Retrievers.
( seen results of bites with own eyes on humans)
They are often aggressive around other dogs and push small children over- too overexcited and clumsy-
If one has a small or sylph like dog, the last thing one wants is ten ton Tess or Trevor crashing into it

Absolutely. My toddlers were knocked flat to the floor and jumped on by three labs. They were hysterical. I'll let you guess what the owner said.

Shit happens. You know now that you need to keep your dog on the lead or long line unless they have good recall. Don’t let her practice running off. She’ll get very good at it.

upsetting to be videod but nothing will happen. Chalk it up to experience and keep working on your dog choosing to be with you.

FWIW we were walking on a very quiet, wide beach a week or so ago. My older pups recall is excellent in that situation so she was off the lead and we were enjoying frequent check ins from her with regular interaction and fun training (wait and release etc to keep her focused on us). A runner approached from behind and we didn’t see him and she chased him and jumped, barking. All play but not acceptable. She went straight back on the lead until he’d gone, we’d checked for others and she had calmed down. We saw him coming back towards us so she went back on the lead and we stopped him to apologise. He was fine about it but it wasn’t acceptable but it was just one of those things. She wasn’t out of control as she came away from him the first time I called but we could have maybe been more aware there may be runners. There are often horse riders on the beach so we take a long line as not to allow her to approach them. There are some very scary ‘friendly dog’ videos on YouTube!

Shouting and screaming your dogs name teaches them to ignore you, nothing more. If you recall your dog by command and they ignore you, you need to go get them.

Either way, with such poor recall your dog has no business being off lead anywhere.

Recall with a puppy is about much more than just calling them to you when out. It should start from day 1 at home. You need to ensure she's firmly bonded to you as a first...if you're a fan of the use of cages at home this is much more difficult. Use the recall command to call her for food every time you feed her so that she learns good things happen when she obeys the command.

Play hide and seek with her around the house and garden - teaching THEM to look for YOU through hide and seek is the best, most underused tool for assisting recall and ensuring a dog stays close when off lead.

Hi all. Thank you for every single one of your replies I have read them all.
we went out with the long line tonight and although it took us both a little getting used to- it was great and we had a great time.

tomorrow I will be taking out a clicker and some ham .

also I saw that guy again who filmed us!! I couldn’t believe it. He drove past me, slowed down and showed me his middle finger 😲😲

fanny 😂 ignore him!

you’ve taken on board advice on how to go forward, it’s easy for people (I can also be guilty of this) who have had dogs all their life expect others to understand how to train/teach them manners/rules, which improves the life of dog and owner.

Take joy from teaching each other the ropes we have all been there x

Horrible he done this but you must understand this happens to XL bully/bull breed owners daily with regular threats of police.
I suppose they are just getting their own back which I don't think is right because if you're a dog lover you love all dogs.

I think filming in public should be considered harrassment personally

@NewMeNewUs this is unbelievable! Next time take down his registration and report him. What is wrong with him!!!

Clearly he has issues, but it's great you are working on your dog's recall. I would personally go for a whistle over a clicker, as it can be heard from further away, and can be used in exactly the same way!

This isn't directed at you as such but a PP said how can a dog be dangerous if it's not aggressive, and just to give some examples:
-Bounces into a person with poor balance and knocks them over.
-As above but with a small child instead.
-Bounces up to a dog which is rehabbing from injury/surgery and causes them further injury.
-Runs up to a cyclist etc, they have to break suddenly and fall off.
-Runs out into the road.
-Chases livestock (even without the intent to kill or harm).

Ignore him. Hes obviously got a bee in his bonnet over his own bad choices.

It’s great you’ve got a long line. I personally never let mine off until recall is 100%. Better safe than dead, if she was to run up to the wrong dog she could get very hurt and it would technically be your fault. Also remember every time she evades you or runs off to play with another dog she learns that’s more fun than you so it reinforces it. The key to training is being the thing your dog wants the most. To make things easier I don’t allow mine to play randomly on walks because they then expect to do that, instead I am the playmate and as a result they have no desire to investigate anything else.

Have you any dog training clubs around you that you could join? It doesn’t matter what the activity is really but use it an an opportunity to teach her how to work and listen around distractions so you can then put this into practice outside.

My elderly mum was knocked over on Sheen Common by large dogs - Labradors and Golden retrievers are often far too over excitable - and three is a pack.

Your poor little toddlers.

Hope they were ok.

My friend had her baby and toddler attacked by an English Bull terrier -it barrelled out of a park and flew at the buggy - her children still have the scars- {they are teenagers now}
She said it was like trying to grapple with a pig - nothing to grab hold of as it wasn't even wearing a collar.

This dog was beaten off by its 18 yr old owner who came running up with a heavy chain.... Who had a ban for keeping dogs at the time. {Dog fighting}

Police seized the dog. Not sure what happened to it.

Heck, how creepy! You haven't broken any laws though, because the other dog owner did not feel threatened, which doesn't mean I don't agree with the other people that your dog was out of control. Have a look to see if any local (qualified) trainers run recall workshops or sessions. It is a way to practice with the controlled distractions of other dogs - plus you will all be in the same boat, which is a confidence builder. Have to say that the easiest way to train a recall is to let them off on their first walk at 10 weeks, when the world is still a bit scary and they are permanently hungry. Make it into a habit so that once they hit adolescence and start questioning things you have a strong reflex to build on.