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.

As the owner of a difficult dog, thank you for your consideration!

If there was a problem, they would have said so

Not necessarily. Not everyone has the confidence to confront a total stranger about their dog. Many hope the dog will just lose interest and go away, or that the owner will see sense and get their dog back.

A well socialised dog should not be running off to other dogs in the first place. Dogs who behave the way are generally poorly trained and/or over socialised. It's never okay for a dog to run well ahead of its' owner and bound up to other dogs.

I don't allow my dog or any of my clients' dogs to approach anyone else without permission. They're either called back and put on leads or called to walk at heel while we go past.

If the owner says it's okay or we know the dogs etc. then that's different.

My dog was like this.
OP, what you did was to let dogs be dogs. All this faff about putting them on lead, off lead, holding them around other dogs can be counter productive. Dogs should be able to socialise with other dogs. When we prevent their natural instincts we are inducing stress in them. With our dog, we always kept him on lead if we were anywhere that there would be horses, cyclists and children in close proximity - so the public park, nature trail etc. however, if we were in wide open places where he could roam freely then he would be off lead. He loved running round with other dogs, would avoid other people and had great recall.

Sorry @Willmafrockfit that should have been aimed at@Missingmyusername!

IMO, no. Ddog is reactive but she's worse on lead, so we only walk in wide open spaces with good visibility and very few people / other dogs about. The local nice parks are totally out for us so we go to trading estates or some fields locally that are near the tip. Not the most fun of places! She won't go looking for trouble, and never goes more than about 20 feet from me and thats only if there's noone about; if she can see another person or dog she sticks to me like glue.

So many times someone has let their off lead dog head for us, sometimes from hundreds of yards away, mostly because they are looking at their phone and seem not to give a shit their dog is bothering us, even when I immediately put Ddog on a lead and try to leave. That said this has happened both when my dog is on and off lead, so it's likely just crappy careless owners regardless!

What is ‘oversocialisation’

Dogs should be able to socialise with other dogs

Except lots of dogs aren't interested in socialising and shouldn't have to tolerate other dogs bounding over and getting in their space.

In fact, the reason many dogs don't want to socialise is because they've had to deal with badly trained dogs bounding over to them and they're now scared and reactive.

Well trained dogs should not be bothering other dogs unless both sets of owners have given permission.

If your dog has good recall (and it shouldn't be off lead without it) then there should be no issue with you calling your dog away and having it walk to heel for a bit.

Agree with the consensus. If all the dogs are off lead, absolutely nothing wrong and indeed completely normal behaviour for them wanting to sniff and say hello to each other.

@CraftyTaupeOtter I don’t think I gave the impression my dog runs up to on lead dogs- 🧐 I wouldn’t allow that. If the dog is that bitey it should be muzzled anyway.

@twistyizzy I don’t believe in all that clap trap, sorry! Dogs need to socialise, these were walking groups where anyone could join. Unless you owned a bitey bastard, in which case keep dog on a lead and muzzled.

OP you said they 'looked' annoyed, but did they say anything? Maybe they were talking and it just interrupted their flow and it was just an a automatic annoyed face look ...?
I walk one of my dogs on a lead as he's fairly deaf now and therefore not brilliant recall, plus he still, at almost 15, be a bit bouncy. Most people let their off lead dogs bound up to him. He's fine with that (it's my other off lead dog who isn't keen, but she is fine unless they will not leave her alone after initial sniff, then she'll give a small bark and try and get away).
I think the fact that the dogs running around playing off lead then it's fair game - as long as you know your dogs wants to join the fun I can't see how anyone should be annoyed - it's a public park after all

What is ‘oversocialisation

When dogs are taught that it's okay to run up and greet every single dog that they meet. They're often accompanied by owners shouting "it's okay, they're friendly!".

Unfortunately many people think that socialising puppies means allowing them to greet and play with every dog they meet, but it often ends up being counterproductive as the puppy then learns that dogs = playtime when that's not always the case.

Dogs love meeting other dogs and is the best way to socialise them to stop them being aggressive/nervous. If your dog is nervous or a twat (like one of mine.who can get snappy at massive dogs). It's up to the owner to make it clear they don't want their dog approached.
Around here if dogs are off the lead it's absolutely fine to let your dog approach unless indicated otherwise.

Dogs need to socialise

Socialising isn't about bounding over to random dogs though 🤷‍♀️

Around here if dogs are off the lead it's absolutely fine to let your dog approach unless indicated otherwise.

Personally I think the default should be that dogs don't approach unless both owners say that it's okay.

Leaving aside anything about manners and etiquette- for your own dogs protection you should assume all other owners you meet are potentially arseholes with aggressive dogs until proven otherwise. Assuming that all off lead dogs are safe and friendly is trusting complete strangers with your dogs safety and sadly there are a lot of idiots out there!
It is really good for them to do some casual social walks with known safe friends dogs if you can though. Not for a mad play session but just to learn to co-exist politely and not find other dogs so exciting.

I appreciate the fact that some people live in areas with a lot of aggressive dogs but it’s just not the case where I am.

I have such lovely interactions with other dog walkers when our dogs politely sniff and greet each other. It’s one of the nicest aspects of dog ownership imo. The public places I walk though are all fairly isolated and you have to drive a way to get to them so perhaps to some extent that means you end up with people who really enjoy walking and being with their dogs.

And those walking groups are the worst things ever. Socialisation isn't about letting your dog approach each and every dog.

I have such lovely interactions with other dog walkers when our dogs politely sniff and greet each other

It is lovely when that happens - it's not what OP describes though.

She says her dog ran well ahead of her and bounded over to a group of dogs and people. That's the complete opposite of a lovely interaction and it had the potential to go very wrong.

OP is very lucky that she just got some annoyed glances from the other people, imo.

@lifebeginsaftercoffee well yes but there seem to be quite a few opinions on here that dogs should never be able to approach other off lead dogs.

Well, personally don't think they should be approaching others without permission from the owners.

If your dog is well trained enough to be off the lead then it shouldn't be an issue to call them away from others.

Not all dogs want to socialise and I don't think the default should be "approach" even when dogs are off the lead. I walk lots of dogs with impeccable recall who don't want other dogs in their space - they're not doing anything wrong and shouldn't be restricted to lead walks just because other people won't ask if it's okay for their dogs to approach first.

It’s the racing ahead of you and bounding up to the other dogs that may have been a problem. Not all dogs like that kind of over enthusiastic approach. It’s not polite! Generally dogs take some time to read each other’s body language. Maybe sniff butts then decide how to go forward. One of mine likes all dogs except one bloody rude boxer cross who runs at her and bounces all over her (even if she is trying to do a poo in peace!)

I always wait until I'm near enough to the other owner to check if it's ok for them to say hello as my goofy Labrador thinks they're all his long lost twin. Not all dogs, on or off lead, are friendly.

Thanks all. Interesting reading - many different opinions, which is reassuring.

I appreciate that there will be dogs off leads who are nevertheless still not to be approached - either because they're nervous, simply not keen, or have negligent owners.

Yes it's entirely possible (likely) that the grumpy look was nothing to do with my dog but I can see how it could be in other situations.

Just a note as I can see "bounding" was an emotive word for some and appears to have negative connotations. She will gallop happily over, doesn't jump on other dogs - she stops at a distance and waits to pick up on their cues, ie if they sniff she sniffs etc and if they're not interested she will leave them. She is a rehome and spent years around dogs so is fully socialised, which I take to mean as enjoys the company of other dogs but respects their boundaries. Much of the time she will ignore other dogs on our walks, but this time I guess she saw a party and got FOMO.

Might have to think about getting her a companion.

That said, a PP's point about not letting her get too far ahead is a good one and I will definitely take that on board. To be fair, as I said, she's usually v good and if she's running will do a big loop and circle back to me and on this occasion she did check in with me before going ahead, but I can see that it's probably up to me to assess the situation better and be present before giving her the nod.

Phew! Minefield.

But all that big paragraph is about how good your dog is. You can't assume that of other people's dogs.