Big Dog vs. Small Dog

lostinrates

catkins wrote: »

I like big and small dogs but often owners of small dogs let them get away with things just because they are small.


I go to my local park almost every day, sometimes more than once in a day and literally every day there will be at least 1 small dog running around out of control, jumping at other dogs, sometimes snapping at other dogs and the owners usually just laugh. Occasionally there will be a larger dog but it is almost always small dogs.


As I said, I can't let my dog offlead at present and, to be honest, even when his recall is good I am not sure I will let him off in the local park as it is relatively small, close to roads and he is a sight hound! I know a couple of other dog owners who, for various reasons, do not/cannot let their dog offlead and they too moan about dogs running up to their dog and hassling them.


I don't mind if a dog (big or small) runs up to mine to sniff and say a doggy hello. It is when the jump around mine, run round him in circles, bark at him (well it sound more like a yap to me but that seems to upset people on here) or even snap at him. The dog owner often will call their dog but the dog ignores it. I usually then try and walk away but more often than not the small dogs follows us still running round my dog.


If the owner bothers to come over and try and get their dog they nearly always laugh and say how cheeky and naughty their dog is as though it is a huge joke. I can guarantee that they would not think it funny if a large dog were doing the same to their onlead dog.


Of course not all small dog owners are like this but I can't understand just why so many are. Why is it supposedly acceptable to have an illbehaved disobedient small dog?

My small dog had a training fail a couple of weeks a go, when he was barking at a dog on a lead. He wasn't' having a go' but unacceptably inciting to play. My husband ran over put him on the lead, admonished him and we both apologized. The other dog 's owners were great, but kept saying, 'don't worry, he's fine' while we were explaining to the dog it wasn't fine. I am certain had one of my large dogs attitudes would be different. As it was it made it clear, as is often the case, that I need to work more with my young dog on boundaries. We spend the rest of that walk doing that. Its no shame IMO to admit things need work, just wrong when you pretend they don't and refuse to tackle them.

If one of my large dogs barked back or threatened with body language a dog inciting them when its not wanted I would consider it proportionate and not feel too bad about it, but I would be horrified if they snapped and picked up the dog.


The diff illy with all these things on forums is we don't know whether the OPs are those who can tell the difference between aggressive behaviour or unacceptable inciting to play ( both unacceptable, but will mean something different to a well socialised dog on receiving end). We come across people who see our dogs playing and are horrified by it, often.

captainhindsight_2

lostinrates wrote: »

The diff illy with all these things on forums is we don't know whether the OPs are those who can tell the difference between aggressive behaviour or unacceptable inciting to play ( both unacceptable, but will mean something different to a well socialised dog on receiving end). We come across people who see our dogs playing and are horrified by it, often.

likewise with people submitting reply's...

bazingamo

catkins wrote: »

I personally think the owner of the small dog was at fault. I lose count of how many small dogs run up to my onlead dog in the park and start jumping round him, barking etc. My dog doesn't get aggressive but he gets very excited and starts trying to run in circles, jumping etc. I am still working on recall and also getting him to keep calm when dogs are close to him which isn't easy with and excitable dog leaping all round him.


I find though that almost all of the owners just think it is funny. They would not think it funny if it were my big dog jumping around their little dog though I bet which is one of the reasons I don't let him offlead at the moment.

Sorry to hijack....but my dog sounds exactly like yours! What techniques are you using to keep his attention from other dogs? We can't let ours off he would run around the park playing with every single dog on lead or off!

Person_one

Notsosharp wrote: »

But my dog is small and she is yappy, snappy and has an attitude problem in that she is utterly stubborn.

Well then, they must all be like that!

Person_one

krlyr wrote: »

But the little dog didn't just run over and get bitten. By "having a go" I'm assuming little dog was acting aggressively. Husky reacted, like any other dog, defensively. Difference here is that little dog was Husky mouth sized. However, Husky could have done a lot of damage and didn't, which shows good bite inhibition and a lack of true intention.

krlyr you surprise me, surely you can't think its acceptable to allow your dog to pick a smaller one up in its teeth?

Notsosharp

Person_one wrote: »

Well then, they must all be like that!

I'm not saying they are but a lot of small dogs are, there are some that are worse than my dog others that are better. All dogs are different but without fail all the small dogs I've met (and I've been round dogs all my life) do have more attitude than bigger ones.

And to be honest I think the Husky's reaction was perfectly reasonable given the circumstances, it was just defending itself it wasn't out of control or off the lead and I would think that the majority of dogs would have done the same or worse no matter how good their training.

lostinrates

captainhindsight wrote: »

likewise with people submitting reply's...

Absolutely true.

The important difference is, only the OP is a witness to what happened, so only they are on a position to evaluate the situation and respondents are totally reliant on their interpretation

wannabe_credit_free

All dogs regardless of size should be taught how to behave, just like naughty children. Some owners could do with some training themselves, lol

gettingready

Person_one wrote: »

Still not remotely acceptable.

What are you going to do to prevent your dog picking up other dogs in future? You can't count on every other owner being perfect, you have to be just as prepared for the ones that aren't.

Erm?

So we should muzzle our on lead under control dogs in case some psycho dog runs up out of control to our dog?

So our dogs have to suffer a muzzle in case we come across an idiot?

I would never allow my dog to hurt another dog if I can help it (my girl is on a lead around dogs she does not know) but I am NOT going to take on responsibility for other people and their dogs.

Neither am I going to put my girl in a position when any dog can run up to her and bother/bite her and she can not defend herself as she is muzzled.

gettingready

Person_one wrote: »

So you aren't going to take any steps to try and prevent your dog from picking up and potentially injuring another small dog should this happen again?

Congratulations! You just joined the irresponsible owners club along with the one you came on here to complain about!

Owners like you are the reason so many owners of smaller dogs are reluctant to let them socialise with bigger dogs, no matter how friendly they are or how sensible the owner. They are naturally scared that the bigger dog may cause damage due to its size and strength. Its a real shame because then both dogs miss out on valuable socialisation and play.

:eek::eek::eek: