Mini Rant! ... (if i may) ... and maybe some advice!?

toby_puppy

piratess - I think you sound like a considerate and sensible dog owner so don't worry. My dog is a rescue dog and has a bit of fear aggression (although he has improved over the 2 years we've had him) he also has hip dysplasia so can be quite defensive when approached by an off leader wanting to say hello in that he might lunge and bark at them.

the amount of abuse I have when this happens - such as saying he should be muzzled, he should be on ball on chain once! grrrr....I feel like saying, erm, my dog is on a lead under control it's yours that's jumping on mine actually. Then they say "he/she is only playing". I don't doubt that and have nothing against off lead dogs providing the owners of them are courteous and at the least, if they can't recall their dog when it comes over, at least they should apologise to me, not me apologise to them for my dogs reaction!

rant over, lol. you would probably like www.doggysnaps.com forums - excellent forums for these kind of rants/letting off steam and meeting up with fellow dog walkers in your area. my friend lives in the new forest and she got a pup recently. :T

Hawthorn

Piratess, I hear you.

My dog is not dog aggressive, but being an bull terrier, is very full on. She's slooowly learning doggy manners though.
It irritates the heck out of me when someones dog comes bounding over to her and gets in her face.
Ok, so maybe their dog isn't aggressive, but mine could well be, and being the breed she is, well, I can imagine the headlines now Bull terrier savages poodle - should they be banned?

If I even get a whiff of another dog, she's straight back on the lead (though we tend to use longline anyway)
We have got her focussed onto us with people passing by, but not dogs yet. She still wants to play.
And don't even get me started on the idiots that let their kids go up to a dog and pat it on the head. What? So, they come over, pat the dog on the head, dog doesn't like it, snaps at child, dog destroyed.
My kids NEVER approach a strange dog, and they never ever pat a dog on the head.

I don't claim to be at all knowledgeable about dog behaviour, or training, but somethings surely are just common sense?

Psykicpup

piratess wrote: »

I dont post on here often but this has been bugging me since it happened yesterday...

I have a 20 month old Choc Lab neutered male! .. he is adorable, VERY happy, bouncy happy go lucky kinda boy ..

We live in the New Forest so have so excellent walks, yesterday we took him out on a forest track where alot of other people walk and when it was quiet we let him off the lead for a run, ..... (his recall is good when we are alone BUT when he sees another dog he is off and goes "deaf") So i always call him back praise and clip the lead on ...

anyway walking back down towards the car on a busy part of the track cyclists people with kids etc he was on lead! Because he is just so friendly he wants to say hello to all he meets but some people dont like it so he stays on lead! ..
There was a couple walking towards us with a golden retreiver and 2 springers all off lead, anyway i said to my daughter to carry on walking, as our dog tries to stop to greet ...
the golden retreiver walked upto Bosun and instantly growled and went for him! .. Bosun yelped and we moved to get him out of the way and the retreiver came again! .. I said to the man .. get your dog away! .. to which he replied!
"oh hes doing it because your dogs on a lead! hes not aggresive! "
I said oh so growling and going for my dog is not agression then is it not! he told me to stop being stupid and i should have let my dog off ! :mad:


Ok so im not expert and we do the best we can with Bosun
(whether its right or wrong i dont know)
But you would think, if you know your dog is like this around dogs on a lead then why not clip it back on its own lead until you have passed! ??????????????????
For all they know Bosun could have been onlead because he was an agressive dog!!!!!!


ggrrr sorry ... glad ive got that out of my system! ...

opinions advice etc would be welcomed xx xx

I'm right with you - My dog is aggresive to other dogs & therefore is harnessed & muzzled but it doesnt stop other owners letting thier dog run up to mine.... as the vet said I am completely in the right & god forbid if anything did happen, Shadow & I could not be blamed ... I mentioned it to him as he looked concerned to see this muzzled HUGE GS in the waiting room...........:eek:

Psykicpup

having re-read this I'm thinking a mention to your local dog warden might be in order - he certainly is NOT in control of HIS dog

Hope the socialising goes well for you!!!

SkipE

I have had this before also.

Walking a husky (my sisters dog I was looking after it) on a lead on a path when a golden lab approached and an owner not too far behind. Lab went for our husky.

Owner then had a go at me for allowing a dog off a lead to approach a dog on a lead??? Erm, your loose animal was the one who approached!!! I didnt know what to say. As I dont own a dog Im not familar with 'walkers etiquitte'. But I have since heard this is quite common.

I dont get it. Why do owners with dogs off leads seem to think they are in the right. Is there some rule Im missing??

Isnt it it more responsible to keep your animal under control?

user55

I've only ever come across 2 dog owners on our walks who have told their dogs to stay away from mine because they are on the lead. One was this morning as it happens, and there would have been no problem with her dog coming to play with the one I was walking on lead - but she said she didn't want her dog bothering mine when we were minding our own business, dog on lead. I have so much respect for that because it is so rare! If it had been my other dog I was walking then her stopping her dog bouncing up to him would have saved a potential scuffle.

Why can't more people have that kind of common sense!

Penny_Watcher

user55 wrote: »

I've only ever come across 2 dog owners on our walks who have told their dogs to stay away from mine because they are on the lead. One was this morning as it happens, and there would have been no problem with her dog coming to play with the one I was walking on lead - but she said she didn't want her dog bothering mine when we were minding our own business, dog on lead. I have so much respect for that because it is so rare! If it had been my other dog I was walking then her stopping her dog bouncing up to him would have saved a potential scuffle.

Why can't more people have that kind of common sense!

That seems to be the etiquette round here.

Dogs on the lead to be left in peace by other dogs. Mine are trained to the command "Keep Going" which means (surprisingly ) keep moving and trot past as if the other dog wasn't there. Woe betide any of mine who decide to go in for a sniff!

toby_puppy

Penny_Watcher wrote: »

That seems to be the etiquette round here.

Dogs on the lead to be left in peace by other dogs. Mine are trained to the command "Keep Going" which means (surprisingly ) keep moving and trot past as if the other dog wasn't there. Woe betide any of mine who decide to go in for a sniff!

We need more dog owners like you in our area! :T There is only about one dog owner in our park who I can trust

mrcol1000

piratess wrote: »

I dont post on here often but this has been bugging me since it happened yesterday...


Ok so im not expert and we do the best we can with Bosun
(whether its right or wrong i dont know)
But you would think, if you know your dog is like this around dogs on a lead then why not clip it back on its own lead until you have passed! ??????????????????
For all they know Bosun could have been onlead because he was an agressive dog!!!!!!

Your dog must be under your control at all times. Therefore if its off the lead then you must be able to confidentally control it. Therefore if you don't want the dog to go near another you should be able to instruct it not to. If your dog ignores you when its sees other dogs (like mine does) you should put it on a lead when near other dogs. I only let my dog off when there are no dogs around and put it back on when I see other dogs.
There is always people who don't do this so I wouldn't worry about it too much. Had your dog bitten the dog which was off lead legally your not liable as your dog was under control (on a lead) it was the other dog which was not under control and therefore to blame. So just keep doing what your doing.
Bad owners such as this are also the exact reason why local councils are bringing in dog control orders which makes it a criminal offence to have your dog off the lead in many places (wether they are trained or not).