Dear Small Dog Owners,

[MonsteraMama]

Dear Small Dog Owners,

I get it, I truly do. Your cavapoo, dachshund, westie, yorkie, frenchie, or whatever variant of weenie little dog you chose is adorable. They really are.

But please for the love of all that is good and holy train them.

Them being small does not make it ok for them to jump up on strangers, paw at them, bark at them, chew their shoes or fingers, cover them in mud and god knows what else. I know they're harmless, I know it's different for me because if my Deerhound jumped up on someone she could be face to face with them and that's far scarier. I know lots of people think it's cute to be leapt all over. I know I'm only in scruffy Primark jeans that probably need a wash anyway.

But it's not ok. It happens nearly every time I walk my dog anywhere. Please teach them at the very least to keep all four paws on the ground when saying hello to strangers.

Sincerely,
Muddy Jeans

(Ps, I'm sure this has been mentioned many times on here, for which I apologise in advance, I'm just cheesed off at having to wash my jeans again 😂 so having moan)

Yes, she's a Norfolk. Although tiny she's a proper terrier with a strong prey drive and selective hearing.
But so much fun.

It's not harder to train small dogs to jump up, what a ridiculous excuse for lazy ownership

I'm not sure I agree with this. Yes, in an ideal world no dogs should jump up - however the reality is that people's hands aren't four inches off the ground and so many small dogs will jump for attention whereas medium and large dogs can just nudge you with their heads or noses.

I'd also say that many people don't mind being jumped at by small dogs as they're unlikely to hurt you, so I do think it's harder to train that behaviour out of them.

Generally, nobody wants a massive Newfoundland leaping at them and so it's not something that's ever encouraged.

It's easy to say "just don't let people say hello until they're calm" but sometimes people are stupid and will just reach out to dogs in the street without asking or checking first 😬

It's easy to say "just don't let people say hello until they're calm" but sometimes people are stupid and will just reach out to dogs in the street without asking or checking first

This with bells on. Mine looks cute but he’s fear reactive and hates people bending over him to pat his head. I try and warn them before they go to stroke him but I don’t always get the words out in time, so he will either cower or bark, depending on what mood he’s in - if it’s the latter I think, well it serves you right. I would probably react that way if someone taller bent over me and ruffled my hair.

I know one, who was given up as an untrainable hooligan by people who barely bothered - her current owner took her in, realised she is actually an incredibly clever dog, and taught her to compete in agility. She's the best behaved dog I know. I have only heard her bark once and that was to warn off a too-friendly dog.

I don't see many bad dogs. I can't remember the last time I did. I have seen a few reactive dogs, but they've all been under control on a leash and not bothering anybody.

Maybe I'm just lucky to live in an area of good dog owners?

I don't know why some people seem to refuse to accept that some dogs jump up on people completely unprompted.

When I am out walking my dog I have zero interest in your dog. If it jumps up on me I will lean down to try to gently steer it away - thinking about it that's probably how my jacket also gets dirty. I try to turn round as quickly as possible so the dog can no longer make contact, bit sometimes it's not possible.

But here's the thing, I accept that no pet is perfect, but please for the love of god when your dog jumps on me and dirties my clothes, what I need to reduce my completely natural annoyance is a heartfelt apology.

I don't know why some people seem to refuse to accept that some dogs jump up on people completely unprompted.

I think some people just like to look down on those who don't have perfect dogs.

Like you, as long as the owner gives a genuine apology then most behaviour doesn't bother me all that much.

But owners who make snotty comments towards those of us who are clearly struggling and doing our best really piss me off.

Absolutely this! I don't expect perfection from any dog - my own is far from it.

I have just noticed a lack of apology from the owners of smaller dogs also...if I was walking across the street from someone and my dog just started barking at them unprompted, I would be full of apology.

Amen!!!

Sick of small dog owners going "he's friendly" ER, not if he's growling and snapping at my dog, no he fucking isn't.

Or even just getting all up in his face, in our business, while Useless Owner toddles along half a mile behind, clueless, smiling fondly at their ugly little toilet brush of a dog.

But whose dog would be in trouble if he ever snapped back at the Tiny Terrorist?

One day I am going to be the one to snap and boot one of the little fuckers over the hedge, see how you like that.

I don't think shouting an apology over the road will help calm the reactive dog.

Some of you sound a bit unhinged, yourselves.

@JustGettingStarted an apology doesn't need to be shouted, and I've seen plenty (and been one myself in the past) of people with medium/large dogs manage to acknowledge their dogs adverse behaviour towards others without escalating the dog further

Having been privileged to own a small dog for many years I can definitely say there are some people who just don't like them and for some reason feel the need to tell you that. My beloved girl was well trained and very well behaved on and off lead. It's hard to all be tarred with the same brush.

If my fear reactive dog starts barking at a person across the road my first reaction is to move him away as quickly as possible and to deal with his reactivity do that his triggers don’t stack and stack. If I can get an apology out then you’ll get one (although you probably won’t hear it over his reactivity) but otherwise please just take it as read that I’m mortified, apologetic, humiliated and feeling pretty shit.

In turn I’ve seen owners of large reactive dogs doing the same - if mine is having a settled, calm day and our walk is going well I don’t stand in judgment looking for an apology from the owner of the reactive dog as I am very aware of the challenges they’re dealing with at that moment.

I really notice this. Maybe I notice it more because I was set upon out of nowhere by my nan's chihuahua and small fluffy terrier thing (not sure of the exact breed) as a child and bitten quite badly so I have a bit of a fear of small dogs.

Bigger dogs around here tend to either be very well trained or kept on a lead if not - the smaller ones just run about, yapping and jumping up with no recall even if their owner does call them back (some just seem to look on indulgently and smile at me as if I must be just delighted to 'interact' with their pet). When my dog (a staffie cross) was still alive she'd also get small dogs running up to her, either aggressively or wanting to 'play', and was known to growl or give warning barks (she was kept on her lead in the local park). I was properly shouted at once by a small dog owner to 'keep my dog under control' despite the fact that a) she was on lead and b) it was her dog that ran up to mine and tried to jump up at her while the owner did feck all!

I love dogs generally and I don't mind small dogs that I know, ideally in a home setting, but random little dogs charging towards me in the park genuinely makes me panic!

It would help if owners of all dogs just kept them under control. Round here it would seem leads are optional, I think people see the farmers and gamekeepers etc with their well trained dogs off lead and don't realise the time and effort that's gone into that and just think they can do the same.

And I own a small and medium breed. Both on the leads around other people, both trained and treated the same way. But I'm constantly retraining reactivity out of them when other people decide that their dog is 'friendly' and can come and interact with mine while they're miles away (usually because I've taken evasive action in the first place). It's even worse when it's a small dog because it would come off worse in any fight, it's just irresponsible. Not to mention I'm then in the middle of a dog fight on my own and have the potential for being injured myself. The "Oh it'll teach him a lesson" really pisses me off - me and my dogs aren't responsible for your dogs training, it's not up to my dogs to teach your dog anything! Nor to entertain them, entertain your own dog and if you can't be arsed, don't have one.

In the last month we've had a cockerpoo, a spaniel, a pug and a mixed breed small dog and 2 labs together come for us with the owner shouting "They're friendly" the pug that actually went for me because I stood between the snappy little bastard and my 2 certainly was not - I'm not sure if people just can't read dogs body language or they use it as a way to deny responsibility for anything their dog does. It's not the first time the same spaniel has come for us either, and it's aggressive and I told the woman next time I'd be reporting it.

So at the moment both of mine are reactive - it's not an issue to anyone if they keep their own dog under control because I stay away and am yet again, retraining them away from reacting to other dogs - probably just in time for some arsehole to ruin it all again with their unruly and badly trained dog of any size or breed.

@SirChenjins it's pretty easy to see if someone is distressed by their dog's behaviour - although generally in my experience I will get an apology from the person - and someone who doesn't give a damn that my outfit is now caked in mud because of the actions of their mutt.

Rookiedog is definitely not perfect, he had a spate of reactive behaviour last year caused - as it turned out - by DH involving him too enthusiastically in his marathon training. I was absolutely mortified when he barked at other people or displayed aggression to other dogs and yanked him away as quickly as possible whilst apologising as much as I could in the process.

If they’re a decent dog owner they will be focused on the dog and will be turning in the opposite direction to move their dog away from the thing that’s causing them to react as quickly as possible. The last thing I’m looking for is an apology from them if their dog is reacting badly to mine or to me - if they want to apologise then fine, but I’m aware they’re dealing with a whole load of challenges at that time and I move on swiftly to minimise the interaction for the sake of their dog and of the owner. I appreciate it when people do the same to me. I’ll apologise if/when I can but sometimes my focus is on getting the hell out of there, using my cues and checking for other people/dogs in the immediate vicinity that he might react too as well so I may miss that small window of opportunity.

Unless the owner is standing idly by and doing nothing I’m very tolerant of fear reactive dogs and understanding of the stress the owner is under.

I have a jumpy dog too 🙈
The problem is, its impossible to train. She does not jump up on me. Whenever I get her to the point where she doesnt jump at everyone and i trust her to run free again all it takes is one idiot greeting her with a high voice, slapping on her knees going ‘who’s a cutie!’ then feeding her a treat when she obviously jumps up 🤦🏻‍♀️
Training of the last weeks useless again.
I just put her on a lead now or keep her with me when we meet strangers. Then I warn them about her jumping and they can decide if they wanna let the dogs play still or not. If after warning they are too slow to prevent, their tough luck 🤷🏻‍♀️

🤣

Mine turned 1 yesterday & he's so bouncy haha! We're training him at the moment to try & be calm. He's just legs.

I do agree that a lot of smaller dogs when we're out are the barkers/lungers etc but it's usually a case of an owner not concentrating whilst their dog bombs over on an extender lead.

Or those with their (any sized) dog off lead which bounds up to my leashed reactive dog and stand laughing and saying he's friendly whilst I struggle to calm him down. Enrages me. Yes he's a pug.

I know this is an old thread so had to double check that this wasn't me! Not sure if it's a difference in perception or reality.