Off lead dog problem

[tetleydd]

My Dog is scared of other dogs but loves people. I avoid other dogs as they find him to much. He is always on a lead. My problem is off lead dogs coming up to him. My dog hates it and so do I. I try to walk away but it’s not easy and have to tell owners politely to put their dog on a lead. Unfortunately some people don’t like this and are rude and abusive, some don’t mind at all.

A lady who lives nearby has become a big problem, she does put her dog on a lead but lets him off again later. She admits her dog has become very barky at other dogs since being castrated. Recently she thought I had left field and her dog came rumbling over at full speed. My dog was scared so was I. I told her so, she was sorry and explained she thought we had gone. it’s recall is not good. Today she was near my home with the dog off lead, I was terrified of what would happen so held back before returning home once I saw her leave. It makes me scared to go out with my dog. What am I supposed to do? This lady has been a friend of a friend in the past so we do know each other. I’ve seen her posts of facebook accusing people of attacking her verbally about her dog going up to theirs. Some people sympathise. She does have a mental health problem which means stress can trigger a seizure. Which actually happened a few weeks ago when someone shouted at her on the dog walk. I don’t want to distress or upset her but I was shook up by her dog the other day and it’s impacting my life outside my house. What can I do ?

I work with dogs. 100% of the time they gravitate towards nervous people, which is exactly what those people don't want. It's uncanny.

So, is there a possibility that your dog is picking up on your nervousness?

What does your dog do that you have interpreted as anxiety? (I'm not saying it isn't, however a large number of owners aren't able to read dog body language, and assume something that isn't the case).

I’m a bit confused about what your dog’s issue is - he’s scared of other dogs but they find him too much?

I’ve been told it’s because my dog isn’t castrated and that other dogs smell him as a threat. He really isn’t but I do tense up with fear in case of attack. My dog just freeze me or cowers. It’s horrible to see. He has screamed with fear.

You have my sympathies, it’s so annoying when people just allow their dog to run at you. You could try one of those vests or leads that say ‘needs space’ or ‘in training’ - this might deter some people, I see quite a few dogs wearing them around here.

For this woman in particular though, she sounds difficult and if she’s posting about it on Facebook, being confrontational might backfire. Does she walk past often, or do you bump into her without the dog? You could try appealing to her better nature and explaining your dog is anxious and say you’re following a training plan or something.

Alternatively you could hint you’re worried something bad might happen if she keeps letting her dog near yours (works best if your dog is the bigger one!).

Take your dog to a leads on park, instead of a leads off one.

Get a sign for his harness that says reactive in big letters. Also shout out to owners that your dog is reactive.

I think if you are in the countryside, most owners expect to be able to walk their dogs off their lead unless they are problematic. My dogs are much more nervous about other dogs approaching them when they are on a lead as they don't feel in control. They are much more relaxed off the lead as they can greet another dog on their terms.

My friend’s dog isn’t castrated and he’s been attacked. She’s getting him done, for that reason.

I had a no nonsense vet firmly tell me that my dog can feel my anxiety down the lead so I needed to stop worrying and be confident for him 😂

You probably do need to work on his and yours anxiety as well so this is less of a problem for you longer term. Maybe practice calling out a cheerful ‘we’re in training, please can you put yours on a lead’ to everyone. I find most people are nice about it!

My dog, who is 14 months, is not (yet) castrated. He is still very much behaving like a puppy.

The vet said that the time for castration is if he starts to get bullied by other dogs, and does excessive marking of territory. He recommended re-evaluating every three months.

I’m very confused and might have read the post wrong going on answers here but is the question not about this other lady? She just needs to stop letting her dog off the lead? Why do people let their dogs off the lead if they can’t return on reques? My dog has awful recall so he doesn’t go off lead

Dogs definitely react to owner fear. And @tetleydd I would disagree that all castrated dogs react to entire dogs. It does happen, but not always. I have five dogs in the house today, a mix of castrated and entire males. No issues at all.

I think what @Cactus2025 says is worth a try. Deep breath, shoulders back, stand tall, and walk confidently past as quickly as possible. See what happens.

I agree, however other dog owners don't always know the script. And periodically, dogs don't know the script either. My dog has 99% recall, and the 1% of the time when he embarrasses me will always be near a nervous person.

I took the view that there are things within the OPs gift that might be worth a try as the other person is unlikely to do anything especially useful.

Also if you can practice engaging your dogs attention and distracting them before, or as they see the other dog approaching, this can help you get past quicker with less stress for you and the dog.

I’m careful not to drag my dog into me as I see another dog coming, as I think this reinforces that there is something to worry about, but I might ask for a heel, a sit, change direction, or literally throw a few treats down in different directions so he’s focused on chasing/eating them. All in a super positive tone. The dogs trust has lots of resources for building confidence and engagement.

Op I am sorry that you are having to deal with this. I also think some of the replies seem to be putting the problem on your shoulders are incorrect.

You should be able to walk your on lead without it being hassled by other dogs. The other dog owner is the problem not you.

Having said that though other people are idiots and will not change so how to protect your dog. Do you know what time the lady walks her dog? can you move your walks to a different time. Can you get to another location to walk your dog. If you throw treats on the floor does that give you time to turn and walk away from the other dog as they are eating the treats (this can be a really bad idea with some dogs though!) .

I would teach a "lets go" and "look at that" cue for your dog to help them stay underthreshold which would keep the situation a bit calmer for you all.

Dont worry about asking other people to call their dogs. Their dogs should not be hassling yours. If they are rude to you it is them with issues not you.

You have my sympathy and I am sorry your walks are being so stressful for you.

I know dogs do react to owners fear but the dogs reaction is what often causes the owners fear . I hate it when people blame the owner (think that dreadful dogs behaving badly guy on tv) .

Lets add more stress and fear and blame to a struggling dog owner and see if that changes things!

Giving the handler strategies to deal with situations is way better to naturally bring down any stress and is more effective long term than just tellling owners to breathe!

Hi OP I have a similar issue with my reactive dog and people who let their dogs run over even when I ask them to recall. I found using pet corrector spray helps to keep random dogs away - its just compressed air but makes a loud sudden hissing noise that makes approaching dogs stop and hesitate to come closer. If you try this, you may need to desensitise your own dog at home to it first so it doesnt upset them

I don’t think there is much you can do about this individual. It sounds like she has been told several times. I would focus on learning strategies ( we had an off lead dog approach us today, no owner in site on a road) I managed to get him away once but he came back, no collar so I couldn’t even grab him.) my dog was trying to get away and the owner wandered up with some excuse about the door blowing open and him escaping, he could have been hit by a car and they would have had no idea). I kept walking initially but he followed us till I hissed at him to scat, he then came back after we had walked off. I will be asking our trainer for further ideas as it has happened before and I am not sure shouting ( although it worked) is the right thing.

My dog is fear reactive and my trainer told me she can pick up when I'm anxious through the lead. I keep the lead soft, a treat in hand and aim to distract when another dog comes bumbling along. It works if I time it right!

On street walking, I keep my dog on the inside, to heel, treat in hand at the ready. Relaxed lead though, but short.

In the park, if an off lead dog comes running, I shout to the owner that mine will react with aggression so please recall. Apart from idiots asking if mine is on a lead (she's on two leads, harness and collar because she's been known to slip one or the other), it's not a problem.

Only problem I had is when I was on a suburban street, poo picking on a bit of grass, two off lead dogs came charging round the corner with no owner in sight. They both launched themselves at my dog and both went off whimpering and howling so I suspect my dog nipped them. I almost went flying trying to hold on to my dog's lead. Still didn't see a sign of their owner.

My dog is only 15kg. The attacking dogs were probably about 25kg each. Doesn't help with training when there are idiot owners around.

My dog is approaching 9yrs and is a rescue I got in September.

She is out of order - her dog should be kept on a lead as it can not behave off lead. She therefore has an out of control dog off lead which is illegal.
My dog is always on a lead as her recall isn't great and she's unreliable off lead around other dogs. Drives me mad when off lead dogs bound up to her. She's always on a shortened lead when other dogs are nearby. Have got to a stage where I just let her get on with it if other dogs get in her face - I don't want her injured but she needs to be able to defend herself against out of control dogs.