Is it ok for an off lead dog to bound up to another off lead dog?

[Nosepeas]

On a walk today my dog ran quite far ahead to catch up with a small group of dogs. Her recall is great and she would have come straight back if I'd called, but I let her go on the basis that the other dogs were all off lead. She tends to bound up, sniff them, run away, repeat and then wander off. She grew up with other dogs and loves their company. She did that today and the owners (who were walking a group of 5 dogs) looked really annoyed.

Of course I always recall and leash her if we're passing or near a dog on a lead, but these were running around happily and she just wanted to join in.

Did I do something wrong? Am relatively new to dog owning and she's very good but appreciate that there seem to be lots of unspoken rules here.

I mirror what the other walker is doing. So in this situation, what you did was fine. Imo

I tend to play it by ear. If there are just one or two off lead, staying near their owners then I recall to do the same, but if they're running about freely playing then I'll leave them be to join in the fun. Any kids around & straight back on the lead. Barge arse is completely harmless but a big heavy dog!

100% this. I wouldn't let her go bounding up to a dog on a lead (although we've probably all been called out for this at times, especially when you have a young dog). My dog is 4 now and I still practise recall every, single, day, and will carry on for the rest of her life. It's so important.

No it isn't acceptable. Recall your dog because you don't know if the other dog is nervous etc.

No it isn't acceptable. Recall your dog because you don't know if the other dog is nervous etc.

I didn’t know this rule that dogs off lead shouldn’t approach dogs on lead. Can anyone explain more about this? (I can kind of guess ofc but interested to understand better)

I recall my dog and place him on lead, but that’s partly because he is very bouncy and dreadful on recall if close to other dogs and partly because you don’t know what those other dogs are like. I’m trying to get him to ignore other dogs because of this (he’s completely fine around people, could not be bothered but forgets himself around dogs).

Saying that, round here, almost everyone leashes or controls their dog (grabs harness etc) when coming up to another unleashed dog.

Because you never know if the other dog is nervous/reactive or in training. It isn't good manners to let your dog approach other dogs. Correct socialisation = your dog ignores other dogs. I train mine on walks so the last thing I want is random dogs bounding up and interrupting training

@WellWhaddayaKnow A lot of dogs that are sociable off lead get very anxious if a dog approaches them when on lead. They seem to feel trapped.

Also, a lot of dogs don't like other dogs. Putting a dog on lead is a signal to keep other dogs away.

It isn’t good manners to let your dog approach any other dog generally? Including both off lead?

That’s the accepted etiquette - dogs on leads are on leads for a reason, either reactive/nervous/in season/likely to jump in the river etc.. not fair to allow off lead dogs to approach and can be really stressful for everyone. Dogs off leads running around id generally let mine join in, dogs kept close by but off lead don’t let them go running up but play by ear.. as someone else said, it’s usually good to mirror the behaviour of other owners

If the other dog is nervous or reactive, I would expect it to be on a lead and so would put mine on one also. As a PP said, I mirror what the other owner is doing.

My dog doesn’t go up to other offlead dogs , I personally have no issue with dogs approaching him if they are polite about it and preferably if the owner is at least close enough to recall etc . IMO if you don’t want dogs to approach your dog then keep it on a lead so everybody is clear about what’s expected or hire a private field .

The way I see it, if my dogs are off lead, they're fair game for other dogs to come over and say hello. Unless I am obviously training them, but good luck with that TBH as a lot of owners seem oblivious to what their dog is doing and even more oblivious to what I'm doing with mine.

I tend to call them back from unknown off-lead dogs, though, as there are two of them which can intimidate a nervous dog, and check with the owner before I let them approach.

I'd add, I keep mine away from on-lead dogs, not least because 'It's okay, he's only on a lead because he's a bit nervous' has a tendency to mean, 'He's Not okay, he's on-lead because he's actually a Tasmanian devil!'

I think if you don’t want you dog to play with other dogs.. (which is shame if there are no additional issues) then you need to send a signal such as leashing your dog early on so the other owner can
mirror this/take your cue.

Yep but I deal with working dogs so the last thing I want is my dog running up to strange dogs. They have free time but only with a select few other dogs who I know have the same play attitude etc. The rest of the time I want them focused on me.

The other dog was off the lead too so I'd assume it wasn't. Dogs are social animals it's natural for them.to sniff each other and play.

Yes, but if your dog is nervous and reactive why would you let it off lead? I would agree if the other dog was ON lead but why would it be ok for their dogs to be off lead but not for OPs?

I call ours back to us and only let her interact once we are in a close enough distance to have called out and checked the other owner is happy for them to play.

I agree with @oOmoonhaOo but I would add that my dog is fine off lead but there are certain breeds of dogs that make him nervous. (E.g. once ran off from the dog walker and headed home because he was surprised by a wire-haired viszla!) In the OP the dogs were a long way ahead (perhaps going in the same direction?) so their owners wouldn't have seen OP's dog coming and couldn't make a judgment about what to do about their own dogs. So I'd probably think it was fine if dogs and owners could see you coming, but maybe recall your dog and keep him close if not, then let him approach once you get nearer the other dogs and owners and can intervene if necessary.

To clarify she wasn't that far ahead that it wasn't immediately clear that she was with me. She checks in with me before going ahead and I had let her.

I do generally take my cues from the other dog owner and she will ignore dogs if I tell her too.

It feels a bit sad that I should be aiming for her to ignore all dogs though. She's a social animal.

I can see that there are really mixed views about this though so I'll try and be more vigilant. I just found it odd. Some of the dogs in the group even left the group and came up to me for a pet so I think in this instance it wasn't so clear cut. I maybe just caught them at a bad time and in fact nothing to do with us.

I in general watch the other group and their owners for a bit and try to approach a bit slower, for two reasons:

• So that I know the owners have definitely caught sight of me, as if they've got a dog whose nervous around new dogs it then gives them time to recall etc - works well.
• So I've given myself time to assess the dogs behaviour and if I want my dog to get involved. If I see two retrievers play fighting, I generally keep my dog a little closer, as she has been known to enthusiastically join in not realising how much bigger they are than her. We've got three AWFULLY behaved pugs around here that are ALWAYS off lead despite having ZERO recall, who always walk in the middle of the path and like to have a squabbly little go at any dog that passes - so while I know she can easily escape (and would certainly flatten the horrible things in a scrap) I try and avoid them by stepping off the main path with my dog. However they have started coming off the path after us! The owner just huffs 'they aren't very friendly' at me. Fine - but why are they off lead on the path to the fields when there's approximately 6 lovely big fields you could let them off in and keep them far away from other dogs quite easily?

I have two young dogs both female. One only wants to interact with people and wants to show them the dummy she carries on walks. Somehow she gets people to throw it for her (I would never take a toy off a strange dog but her body language shows she wants them to). The other wants to meet dogs and play chase. If they don't play she isn't interested.

Etiquette: dogs on leads are a no go. Children are a no go. Adults without dogs are a no go - unless they invite them.
Dogs off leads are ok but if I perceive concerns with their behaviours I remove my dog.

Not that he would, but I'd never let my dog approach, whether they're on or off. He likes his space and although he doesn't react, he doesn't like other dogs bounding up to him

I think you should hang back a bit, to give the owner enough time to clock you and put their dog, if nervous, on lead (both as as a signal to you to recall, and to protect your dog). I think it's a bit rude anyway for a dog to barrel its way up to any dog, best thing to do is keep your dog close to you until you reach the owner, check if it's ok for the dogs to have a play.

I met a dog walker the other day who had trained (or maybe conditioned) her dog to run back to her whenever he saw another dog (on lead or off lead) and only interacted when given the signal. That's the holy grail to me!