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).

It does not matter whether it is a dedicated dog field or not - dogs should be under control whether on or off the lead anywhere. A dog that bounds up to another and jumps up in its face (which is an absolute sign of a dog that is not properly trained and socialised - this is not how dogs greet each other, and just about everyone knows that) is not under control at all. And I will repeat, nine months old is not a puppy. Calling a nine month old dog a puppy is a real indicator of a clueless owner. A puppy that runs over (under 5/6 months) to a grown dog without showing the proper respect and social greeting will get told off by another dog. An adolescent dog (5/6 months to 18/24 months) that shows disrespect is lucky not to start a full on dog fight.

And I say that as a lifelong dog owner.

The OP was in the wrong. As soon as their dog took off to "meet" another dog it should have been recalled (and if it can't be recalled, it shouldn't be off lead in a shared area) and then you check with the owner if a meeting is allowed.

And it is easy to check who is in the wrong - if it had run off to "greet" a three year old child and jumped in its face, would everyone be defending the OP then? They most certainly wouldn't.

Another reason why I sent my puppy to day care from six months.

She can only learn so much from me, and I do my absolute best. However the vetted and regular adult dogs at day care have taught her many things I'm sure. Not just about interactions but generally how to chill, how to walk in groups. She must have copied the adults like toddlers do.

She's an adult herself now and I guess it's her turn to teach the puppies that come in.

@PhilippaGeorgiou I think you are splitting hairs and being unnecessarily judgemental there. I call my almost 10 month old a puppy. I am not a clueless owner.
Most definitions I can find describe a puppy as being up to 12 - 18 months, depending on breed. Puppy food is marketed for up to a year old. I have never heard anyone in real life say they are taking their adolescent dog for a walk.

That's my point though, in a place specifically designed for dogs to have such interactions, they should be allowed to do so.

Outside of a place designed for them to interact, I would agree, but not so much inside one.

Whether you let your dog approach another dog depends a lot on what your dog is like, and the behaviour of the other dog and their owner.

I just try to apply common sense, and I'm more cautious with a puppy or young dog (mine or someone else's). Very, very rarely things go a bit tits-up - but all life involves risk, and being the recipient of an air-snap shouldn't do lasting harm to a stable young dog.

Totally agree with this.

When I am walking in the woods and meet another dog and owner, we usually let our dogs meet and greet. They have a quick sniff and then go on their way again.
Yesterday I met someone who put their dog on a lead when she saw us, so I called mine to me and we moved off the path into the woods to allow them to pass. She said, "Thank you". I said, "You're welcome." We all continued our walks with no drama.

My 4 year old is excellent at communicating with other dogs, so I let her decide if she wants to say hello or avoid a dog.
When my puppy was younger, I held her back and asked if the other dog was alright with puppies before allowing her to approach. Not all adult dogs like or tolerate puppies. She still got a couple of tellings off as she had no manners. No harm was done and puppy has learnt to be a little calmer and that not all dogs will put up with her antics like her sister does.

I very definitely am not splitting hairs. As for judgemental - yes I judge people who allow their dogs to act inappropriately, and since the OP asked for judgement (that is what an opinion is, you know) then I am doing as the OP asked. What you call your 10 month old is irrelevant - by 9 or 10 months they are an adolescent dog and too old to be acting in an inappropriate manner. I would hope that you have taught your 10 month old how to behave better?

Excusing an adolesecent dog its behaviour because it is a "puppy" is irresponsible. I ask again - would you excuse your 10 month old bounding straight into a childs face and jumping up at them? Take a look at the typical behaviour of any adult dog and a dog of that age will be very lucky if it gets away with such behaviour because it is not a puppy from the dogs viewpoint. A 9/10 month old dog is old enough to hurt or injure another dog or a child - in some cases even a human adult.

And..."Adolescence marks the change from being a puppy to becoming an adult. In dogs, it can start any time between six and 12 months and can end between 18 and 24 months. During this time, there are dramatic hormonal changes and a reorganisation of the brain."
https://www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/pets/dogs/health/adolescentpuppies#:~:text=Adolescence%20marks%20the%20change%20from,a%20reorganisation%20of%20the%20brain.

As for "puppy food" it is designed to have the nutritional value suitable for a growing dog, which is not the same thing as a puppy.

An adolescent dog (5/6 months to 18/24 months) that shows disrespect is lucky not to start a full on dog fight.

Completely breed dependent. Bigger dogs mature a lot more slowly than smaller dogs. Goldies very much have a puppy mentality until they are over a year old and are consider adolescents until theyre about 2-3 years old. Most don't calm down until well over three years ago.

And, as with most things they say, the RSPCA is talking absolute bollocks in that article.

@PhilippaGeorgiou What I call my almost 10 month old is relevant because you said

Calling a nine month old dog a puppy is a real indicator of a clueless owner.

Therefore you have judged me and probably thousands of other dog owners by our choice of language.
You can judge the action/behaviour (which is what the OP asked for opinions on) as much as you like, but being pedantic and judging the OP and others for using the term puppy/adolescent/dog is unnecessary and irrelevant. Would it have been more acceptable if OP had used the word 'furbaby'?

I'm not disagreeing with when adolescence begins. I am arguing no-one uses it as a noun to describe their dog. Mine is a puppy in the adolescent phase of life. If someone asked "Is she a puppy?" I wouldn't say "No, she's an adolescent."

From what I have read, the OP hasn't excused her puppy's behaviour. She has accepted she was in the wrong. From the sounds of it, the dogs were happy to interact once both were off lead, so if she'd held her dog back for 30 seconds there wouldn't have been any issues at all.

@LandSharksAnonymous 😂😂 Glad I didn't waste time reading the article now.

I must be extremely lucky, because I have never witnessed a full on dog fight, despite having met some very rude dogs and owned a reactive one myself.

@SpanielsGalore I have to confess I got as far as the below before I laughed and closed it.

Avoid frustration at dinner time
Dogs in general, and young dogs in particular, get frustrated when people eat. Because they also want the food and cannot participate, they may jump, bark and scratch. Minimise their frustration by feeding your pet before you eat, then giving them something to chew or perhaps a dog puzzle while you eat.

Almost all of their advice is 'give your dogs entertainment' (kongs, scatter feeding, a puzzle etc) across all the various issues they discuss when they're being naughty instead of teaching them to settle or training them to settle nicely when the humans are busy.

I've only ever witnessed one proper dog fight and that was one of my old girls vs. a very poorly trained Doberman who kept trying to mount her. It was nasty.

Just because it's a place designed for dogs to interact, doesn't mean your dog can be rude and out of control, and allowed to jump all over other dogs.

But it’s not a space designed for dogs to interact, it’s a field for customers of the holiday accommodation to use for their dogs.

It could be used for dogs to interact if you’re there at the same time as someone, but the OP didn’t recall her dog and check if it was ok first and the other owner didn’t give the OP a heads up she was coming in with a dog that might not want to interact on lead.

I have 2 dogs, one has good social skills and good recall and when walked alone is fine to meet other dogs however, on or off lead, he’ll react appropriately to the other dog, not interact if it doesn’t want to, say he doesn’t like something without being OTT and I can recall him if there’s anything going on I’m not happy with.

One is quite frankly a dickhead, terrible recall round other dogs, will bound over and shove other dogs round with no concept of consent, can be a bit arsey if he’s on lead with a loose dog and is completely OTT if he feels the need to correct another dog.

You wouldn’t know if I appear with one dog or both how it’s going to go, so it’s reckless to just allow yours to come over without speaking to me.

Equally it’s not fair of me to just waltz in somewhere with the second dog without saying, here… he’s friendly but a bit of a git, want to put yours on lead while I work out whether mine is getting off or not.

RSPCA 🙄
Mealtimes are a prime time to teach the puppy to settle.

Manners are a much under-rated element of dog training.

In this instance, it was a puppy. For an adult dog, I would lean more towards your point of view, but a puppy will learn much faster in a controlled environment such as this.

But this wasn't a controlled environment OP didn't know the other dog or it's owner, had no idea of its' temperament or what might happen when her puppy zoomed over and jumped all over the place.

I think if you are in a communal dog field & you were in first you are fine. The other owners should not have come in if they don’t want their dog to interact.

That's where I have been going wrong. I have always eaten first so I can show them who's boss. 😁

(This is a joke before anyone comes at me. My dogs eat hours before me. And let me know if I am a few minutes late.)

Agree. It was no more controlled than meeting a random dog in the middle of the woods or on a beach.
It's a space provided to exercise dogs. You have no idea if the other dogs are friendly or not.

I actually don't think OP was in the wrong. If I approached a secure dog field and there was a puppy in it, I wouldn't just wander in with my dog and assume everything would be OK.

Although this is a communal dog field, OP's dog was the only one in it and it was secure. Hence, OP's decision to let her dog off the lead was fine. The people arriving should have given OP the opportunity to get her dog on a lead - given that the dog is a puppy and also was using the field alone.

If it was a private field where you book it for sole use, I would agree - but it wasn't. It's a field for anyone staying in the accommodation and therefore you need to be prepared and able to recall your dog.

Yesterday I met someone who put their dog on a lead when she saw us, so I called mine to me and we moved off the path into the woods to allow them to pass. She said, "Thank you". I said, "You're welcome." We all continued our walks with no drama.

This is how pretty much all my walk interactions go, I don't recognize the drama that a lot of people seem to report.

Sometimes, if someone looks especially nervous holding on to their dog I'll ask if they want me to put mine on a lead, 90% of the time they'll say "no, mines only on a lead as they're taking it easy after surgery" or "no, they're 9 months old and they've got no recall" or similar. It's all very civilized.

Absolutely agree with Dawntime

Closed field where all residents take their dogs = controlled environment where dogs are expected to meet.

Side of a mountain = non controlled environment where dogs need to be controlled more vigorously.