Someone else's yappy dog...

ernie-money

Dollardog wrote: »

I don't think you would find any vet willing to neuter a 14 year old dog.
If I had a 14 year old dog, I certainly wouldn't put it at risk by neutering it, especially as it is not that dog which is the problem.

No, definitely not an option. I wouldn't risk having an operation that would be costly and risky, when it's completely unnecessary...

ernie-money

jumpedtheshark wrote: »

Some owners of little dogs just don't realise this. We've had this with our two big mutts and a youngish (late 20s?) guy who seems to think it's funny his yappie little terrier charges our two big dogs.

OH has told me not to, but if it happens more than once with the same off-leash dog, I'll tell the owner to keep their dog away from my dogs. If I get a 'he's/she's only little/friendly reply', which is the usual defence for these types of oblivious owners, I'll tell them 'well, he's/she's obviously not well-socialised and has no recall or you'd be able to keep him/her away from my dogs, and other dogs might react worse than mine...' or words to similar effect. I am convinced I come over as a bit of a nut job. I don't want to, I want to appear friendly and approachable, but I'm not prepared to risk creating problems for my dogs (fear of other little dogs, excessive defensiveness against other little dogs, etc.) just because some owners aren't well-trained.

You either need to walk another route or bite the bullet and risk coming over poorly (which you can then do 'damage control' on by telling other friendly dog walkers what you had to say to that owner...)

I have tought about it, but talking to her would mean that I'd have to hang around with my dog, as half 7 in the morning is the only time I know where to find her... Maybe I will pluck up the courage though, it's just the fact that there's always three of them together. Makes you feel a bit inferior trying to talk to someone in a group...

ernie-money

Person_one wrote: »

I'm afraid this is just part of dog ownership. You can't force other people to train their dogs, and at least its on a lead so as long as you don't go too close there isn't any actual danger. All we can do is try to train our own not to react and to be calmer themselves, and do what we can to keep them out of stressful situations.

So I'd try to avoid this dog as much as possible, but if you can't then keep your distance and keep your dogs attention on you, reward him for walking calmly past with his eyes on yours. I'd also consider getting your dog neutered if there are no medical reasons why he shouldn't be.

I'm having a similar issue with a neighbour at the moment, so I do sympathise.

Sorry, maybe my post was misleading, but the other dog isn't on a lead. If it was there wouldn't be a problem...

Person_one

ernie-money wrote: »

Sorry, maybe my post was misleading, but the other dog isn't on a lead. If it was there wouldn't be a problem...

No, my fault. Not sure why I assumed it was on a lead. I also missed that your dog is 14 so I must just be off my game!

ernie-money

krlyr wrote: »

I agree with the above. Chances are, if she sees no problems with it, she's not going to change. That leaves you with two choices - try to force her to change her ways by going down the official route. The DW would, in a sort of unofficial way, deal with 'out of control' dogs by having a quick word if you can identify the owner - police probably wouldn't do anything if the dog didn't pose a threat to people as a dog-on-dog attack is only a civil offense, not a criminal one. Dangerous Dog laws are being revised though so this is something that may change in the near future.

Alternatively, if she won't change, you may have to for your dog's sake - so a different time, different route, or even just turning around and heading a different way as soon as you spot her. It sucks, it's not the way it should be, but if it saves your dog from stressing out, it may be a compromise worth making.

I had thought of dog wardens, but I don't know who the lady is, or where she lives, all I know is that she usually walks to the park about 7.30AM. Also, I'm not sure they would take me seriously, as he's just a little yorkie, and he's never actually really hurt my dog, not physically anyway. And besides I wonder what they would tell her - if they said they'd had reports from another dog owner who walks along the same route, would she know it was me - I'd feel awful...
It's really hard, because I don't know what her dog is like when mine isn't around, maybe he's perfectly fine, and that's why she doesn't see it as a problem. I've had that with a previous dog - he just hated this one particular dog, and I'd have to put him on the lead as soon as I spotted the other dog, but at least I did that...
The more I think about it, I think maybe I should say something, but I don't know how to word it to make it sound non offensive, but still bring my point across. Also I don't know what I should ask her to do - always keep her dog on the lead along that stretch of road, even if I try to avoid coming past there at the same time as them as often as I can? I also want to keep the conversation as brief as I can, as I don't want to stop very long with my dog. Very tricky...

ostrichnomore_2

I think you need to speak to her. Age is no excuse for being stupid. And it's no excuse not to talk to someone who is letting their dog run riot just because it's small. but I can see why you want to take a softly softly approach at first.

I'd go there one morning without your dog and approach them in a friendly manner. Say hi and ask if you could have a quick word about your dogs.

Tell her that you want her to stop her dog approaching yours, please, because 1) her dog is aggressive and has bitten (don't say nipped) your dog in the past. In future if your dog is attacked then you will be taking it to the vet for a checkover and antibiotics -dog bites get infected (lay it on a bit)and you'll have to hold her responsible for any bills. 2) Your dog is very elderly and the behaviour of her dog is upsetting him and making him reluctant to come to the park. Old boys just want to live in peace (she might empathise with that, maybe). Then you could suggest that she uses one of those extender leads as her dog doesn't respond to her calling him back, dog can still have a run around but she can keep him under control.

coinxoperated

ernie-money wrote: »

Other people's problems are always simple to solve aren't they...

This is only a problem because the OP has let it become one. If on two walks I came across the same dog yapping and spooking mine, I'd be changing my route straight away. Even going the opposite way around 5 minutes earlier might help them miss each other!

If they don't see the dog as a problem and don't care about it, you pointing it out isn't going to 'make them see sense'.

And if you don't want to change times / routes for all of those reasons, then do it for your poor dog who is being put under unnecessary stress at every walk!

ernie-money

ostrichnomore wrote: »

I think you need to speak to her. Age is no excuse for being stupid. And it's no excuse not to talk to someone who is letting their dog run riot just because it's small. but I can see why you want to take a softly softly approach at first.

I'd go there one morning without your dog and approach them in a friendly manner. Say hi and ask if you could have a quick word about your dogs.

Tell her that you want her to stop her dog approaching yours, please, because 1) her dog is aggressive and has bitten (don't say nipped) your dog in the past. In future if your dog is attacked then you will be taking it to the vet for a checkover and antibiotics -dog bites get infected (lay it on a bit)and you'll have to hold her responsible for any bills. 2) Your dog is very elderly and the behaviour of her dog is upsetting him and making him reluctant to come to the park. Old boys just want to live in peace (she might empathise with that, maybe). Then you could suggest that she uses one of those extender leads as her dog doesn't respond to her calling him back, dog can still have a run around but she can keep him under control.

Thank you for your helpful advice!
I don't normally get up that early on a Saturday, but this weekend I did. I hung around for a bit and managed to catch the lady on her own, without her friends. At first she was very defensive, and said that at the end of the day they are dogs, and they will sort it out between themselves. I persevered though, and explained that my dog is really old, even if he doesn't look it, and when she realised that I wasn't there just to have a go at her, but wanted to find a solution to the problem she eventually opened up a bit and started actually talking to me. She agreed that it's only the 5-10 minute walk to and from the park that is an issue. Once in the park, I always head in a different direction, and when I can, I try to avoid them altogether, but she said that from now on, she will keep her dog on the lead for that part of the walk!
When I went out this morning, we came across them just before we got to the park, and as promised, her dog was on the lead, and she even stepped to the side with him and waited for us to walk past! :T
I'm so glad I listened to your encouraging post, because now we can carry on going to the park in the mornings, and there are no hard feelings when I bump in to the other owner!

ernie-money

coinxoperated wrote: »

This is only a problem because the OP has let it become one. If on two walks I came across the same dog yapping and spooking mine, I'd be changing my route straight away. Even going the opposite way around 5 minutes earlier might help them miss each other!

If they don't see the dog as a problem and don't care about it, you pointing it out isn't going to 'make them see sense'.

And if you don't want to change times / routes for all of those reasons, then do it for your poor dog who is being put under unnecessary stress at every walk!

Well thank you so much for your input...
You might have said that in your opinion this is all my fault, and that there is only one way of dealing with this situation, even if you can't possibly know all the circumstances from my brief post.
It must be nice to live in a world where you're always right and know best, but even if I sometimes make mistakes, and I might be in the wrong, I still prefer my reality, where everything isn't black and white...

sharloid

The other person is definitely in the wrong! They are responsible for their dogs behaviour and if you feel any way threatened by this then he should be the one changing, not you. If his dog doesn't have good enough recall then it should not be off lead!

What an awful situation to be in.