Who was in the wrong?

[loopyloulou87]

I have a 9 month old puppy, we are on holiday and there is a communal dog field for everyone to use.

I just wanted to check if it was us or the other owners that were wrong in this situation? Our dog was playing in the dog field, another dog came in while still on its lead and my puppy ran over to the other dog, I will admit that he was jumping up close to the other dogs face, the dog then told off our puppy and the owner shouted at us that we should never let a dog run over to another dog like that and that’s how dog fights happen.
My dog was just being friendly, were we in the wrong or should the other dog not have reacted like that (and the owners).

A puppy that barrels over to another dog and jumps all over it is not being friendly - it’s being rude and obnoxious.

I disagree with the others, your dog was in a dog field running around. If another dog isn't friendly in any sort of way then it's just sensible not to take it in the dog field where there are going to be other dogs running around.

If you're out for a walk it's a bit different, if you see a dog on a lead it's polite to put yours on. Poorly socialised dogs are just a PITA in general though IMO, I realise it's not always the owners fault though.

It sounds though like the other dog was fine and just told your puppy off, it's a good way for your puppy to learn IMO, maybe they were worried that if your pup didn't listen that it might get a nip and you'd be horrified though which I can understand.

But even if the other dog had been off the lead, OP shouldn’t have let her puppy barrel over and jump all over the other dog.

Even if your dog is in a dog field, it still shouldn’t be barrelling over to other dogs and jumping in their faces - that’s rude behaviour.

we have a 6 month old puppy, no manners whatsoever and thinks every other dog and person is her best mate. we're training her recall and disengage and practicing all the time but don't trust her 100% yet, other dogs are still very exciting ...

some advice I found very helpful is attach a trailing lightweight longline to the harness, then you have security to step on it and recall your puppy from there. it means puppy doesn't get to practice running off and having a jolly time ignoring your recall cue and bothering other dogs, but can still have freedom to play etc.

It’s polite to ask, even in a dog field avd you should have called your DDog back. Ours is reactive and I have no doubt she would have bitten your DDog’s face (then probably gone for their throat).

You still need to be able to recall your dog if it's offlead even if it's on a dog field. Your pup could have ended up in a bad situation

I agree with @Dawntime and @May913 .

It would be irresponsible to take a dog with issues into an area specifically for dogs.

I also have an alternative view about the puppy running up. While this is a complex area, and the other dog will have undoubtedly considered it rude, the puppy got told off by the dog it approached which is perfectly normal behaviour and how dogs learn. If more of this interaction occurred, and dogs were able to exhibit their natural behaviours, there would be a good deal fewer "reactive dogs" that everyone else has to tiptoe around. For the avoidance of doubt, I am not suggesting that this should be allowed as a matter of course though.

The majority of dogs with issues that I deal with are solved largely by walking them regularly with groups of other dogs.

You were already in the dog field. They should have asked if it was ok to come in.

Exactly. Dog fields aren’t a random free for all where dogs can do whatever they like 😩

It’s a communal space - they don’t need to ask.

@HappiestSleeping while I do agree with you about dogs needing to learn, letting your puppy run up and jump on a strange dog with an unknown temperament is not the way to teach manners. OP is very lucky her puppy wasn’t bitten.

To be honest I dont think it's that big of a deal. The dog told your dog off as it should. The risk is if you allow your dog to run up to unknown dogs it could get hurt. And that would be on you.

You were in the wrong

You were in the wrong. It really pisses me off when people allow their off lead dogs to approach mine which is on the lead. Usually they say ‘it’s ok he’s friendly’ I don’t care, mine is reactive when that happens. Control your dog

my dog (once attacked out of nowhere) would have unfortunately bitten your puppy for running over, hence why my dog is on a lead! it could have ended up very nasty for your puppy! and you don't want the poor pup with fear aggression like mine

The only reason it didn’t turn into a big deal is because the other dog was incredibly tolerant, though. It’s a situation that could easily have ended in disaster for the OP and her dog.

Thank you everyone. I’ve realized it was our fault, I will learn from this experience. There was a sign on the gate to say it’s for everyone and a communal field so I don’t think it’s the type where one person is there and other people ask to go in, it’s also very big and my dog did run across the whole field as the other dog was coming in. But like I say I take full responsibility and it really was just a telling dog the other dog wasn’t aggressive.

The other dog wasn't in the wrong at all, but it was in no way incredibly tolerant.

I did say it was complex, however in the event the OP described, had the puppy been bitten in the place where dogs are specifically expected to be, I would have viewed it as being the fault of the other owner for bringing a dog likely to bite into such a place.

Out in the wild, I definitely agree with you though.

Hmm, I think snapping at a strange puppy bounding over and jumping all over it does show an incredible amount of tolerance, tbh. Many dogs would have bitten in that scenario.

I don't think the location matters - just because dog are expected to be there, doesn't mean they have free license to be rude and jump all over other dogs.

Agreed, but a well adjusted dog is very unlikely to bite just because another dog is rude. Especially if it is a puppy.

I think if this was a 3 or even 6 month old puppy, I'd agree, but at 9 months most puppies are well into adolescence and should know better. Very young puppies definitely have a "puppy license" with older dogs but at 9 months, I suspect many adults wouldn't be all that tolerant of strange dog leaping and bouncing in their face.

Depends on the set up of the dog field?

If an enclosed field, with clearly visible from the entrance that your dog was in there off lead - the others should have first got your attention so you knew they were entering & giving you chance to control your dog prior to them coming in
Different to a general public dog walking area