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The doghouse

Grrr walkers

66 replies

Heartstart · 01/02/2013 00:03

I took ds to walk and took our Border terrier with me on lead as usual. Loads of parents do same and there was one woman who had 2 spaniels on leads too. After drop off I took dog over recreation park for walk. The dog was fine and my friend and I were chatting when I suddenly noticed woman with spaniels who were still on lead at other end of field my dog shot off to play with hers, as I got nearer it was obvious woman was not happy and she shouted at me to call my dog, I did and just as he started to come she walked away so he followed her as he thought the dogs were playing. She was clear cross (I was hollering like a navvy at dog to come) as I got nearer them I called (pleasantly) if you could just stop for a minute he will come to me and I'll put him on lead. He thinks your playing. so she stopped I called dog and he came immediately and I put him on lead. She then walked off and shouted back at me you should keep your dog on a lead.

We were on a field where loads of people walk their dogs, often there are 10 dogs with parents from school it was unusually quiet that day just her and me with dogs. My dog was not aggressive, he wanted to play .... Ok he didnt come first time but she did distract him. When she stood still he came straight away.

Why if it bothered you would you take your dogs there, or aibu

OP posts:
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fanoftheinvisibleman · 01/02/2013 07:14

Mmm...I have a border pup who won't come away from other dogs when called and I am very selective where I let him off and on the odd occaision my lead ninja act has failed then I pelt after to retrieve him at speed

Her dogs are maybe not keen on other dogs hence the leads? I think if you don't have very reliable recall then you have to be careful about allowing your dog off lead to be honest as from her point of view her dog was under control and yours wasn't.

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Lonecatwithkitten · 01/02/2013 07:41

I always operate the rule if someone has their dog on a lead I put mine on a lead.
It is really upsetting if you have a dog on dog aggressive dog and then a loose dog is round you dog making it go mad.
Finally another walker should not have to stop to enable you together your dog.
The law says close control.

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ExitPursuedByABear · 01/02/2013 07:46

Agree with everything Lone said - and I speak as the owner of a dog on dog aggressive Spaniel. If your dog came running up to him, he would probably have a go (all bark and no bite but still quite scary) but I would feel I had the moral highground as my dog was under control and yours was not.

I see very few terriers off the lead where I live - and there are hundreds of them, as I understand they have very poor recall.

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Cuebill · 01/02/2013 08:00

I think you are bvu. Part of being a Responsible dog ownership means that we are aware of how our actions and our dogs actions impact on those around us.

On lead dogs should never ever be approached by other dogs off leads.

There are numerous reasons why dogs are on leads. They should also be allowed to walk where they want to! Why do some dogs eg yours have the right to walk somewhere if you do not control it and the dogs that are controlled loose that right?

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Cuebill · 01/02/2013 08:01

loose = lose

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Inthepotty · 01/02/2013 08:04

Tbh Op I'd have been annoyed with you, I hate to see dogs out of control. Which means to me if you haven't got immediate, foolproof recall over a dog, it should be on a lead, or at least a long training line.

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biff23 · 01/02/2013 08:07

I have learned that I need to put lead on when I encounter another on lead who I don't know. My dog is like yours, wants to play with every dog. Her recall is pretty good plus I use a whistle so I can always get her attention but I still prefer to have her sitting at my side or on lead in this situation just in case.

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D0oinMeCleanin · 01/02/2013 08:21

My dog was not aggressive, he wanted to play Maybe her dog was aggressive and she wanted to keep yours away for it's own safety. I'm sure you'd have had a lot to say if your dog ended up injured by hers because you couldn't control him.

This really winds me up. When we had our last foster she was aggressive in the house with other dogs and I had no idea how she'd react outside with other dogs, so I kept on a lead and tried to avoid busy areas. Some eejit let their JRT run up to her barking and when I asked him to get it away he called "It's okay, she wants to play" Angry That might well be, but my dog does not want to play, it wants to kill your dog.

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feetlkeblocksofice · 01/02/2013 08:33

I have this too, my cocker bitch is fine unless approached at speed by another dog. There is a lady by me with a lab that 'just wants to play' I have asked her repeatedly to get her dog away from mine explaining why, she just says well it may teach him if he gets bitten Hmm

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hellhasnofurylikeahungrywoman · 01/02/2013 08:40

My dog is old and has sore joints, he really does not appreciate younger dogs jumping all over him so I always pop him back on a lead around other dogs, it doesn't mean I stop walking him around other dogs though. Why should it? He is a calm dog who comes when called. He has as much right to be out for a walk as your dog does.

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MagratGarlik · 01/02/2013 08:42

Everything that Cuebill said. YABVU.

Your dog should not be running of bothering other people (or other dogs) uninvited. Many dogs get defensive if they are on the lead and approached by off-lead dogs, but she may not want to let her dogs off, or may feel that their recall is not good enough, or one of them may be recovering from an injury and under a gentle exercise program.

There are any number of reasons why she doesn't want to let her dogs off the lead and you are being rude to think your dog has the right to go running up to hers.

She should not be in effect 'banned' from the park just because you cannot control your dog, hers were under control.

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SpicyPear · 01/02/2013 09:04

What everyone else has said is right. I have a pup that won't yet recall from other dogs so he is on a lead unless I've checked with the owners of a dog that they are okay to play with a puppy.

Mine aren't dog aggressive but even still sometimes I don't want them to be approached on lead as we are training or in a hurry. To be blunt, it's very difficult to train pup to recall from other dogs when people like you who can't be bothered to do it let their dogs bound over!

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Floralnomad · 01/02/2013 10:24

There have been so many threads lately about this same issue and I agree with everyone else who says you need to have better control if your dog is off lead. Why should somebody have to standstill so you can catch your dog ? It's very much like the woman a few weeks ago who told me not to throw my ball because if her dog got it she wouldn't get it back! Lots of terriers have poor recall ,my Patterdale is not too bad, but because of this you have to be very selective about where you let them off .

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gymmummy64 · 01/02/2013 10:33

I'm with everyone else here. 'Friendly' dogs that will not leave my on-lead dog alone are exactly the type to make him very un-friendly indeed. Plus undo weeks of training trying to improve his dog-on-dog interactions. My dog doesn't do 'play', he just doesn't and I don't think ever will. He finds it at best annoying and at worst threatening.

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foolonthehill · 01/02/2013 10:46

Argh: this was me yesterday.
Foolishdog is Spaniel who is very tolerant of dogs when she is off lead in that she will say hello then likes to move on. She is not "playful" but gentle unless really provoked. On the lead she will say hello but needs to move away if the other dog is too interested.

She is 1 week on from being spayed. We took her for a brief on-lead walk around the park at a good pace. She was jumped all over by an off lead border terrier, her owner was calling him/her but did not retrieve the dog. I had stood still for him to collect the dog but he "couldn't" get the lead on (wasn't trying that hard IMO) then I brought my dog to him so he could get his dog off, he didn't, then I walked away quickly at this point my spaniel was snapping and growling and sounding very fierce. As I left the park the man said to me...aggressive dogs like that shouldn't be out without a muzzle, and a nearby parent agreed that "dangerous dogs" are a terrible thing and should be PTS or kept on private land Shock.

I have spent months working with my dog who has (had) mild fear aggression...he clearly had spent no time thinking about recall, control or politeness.

I am still shaky and wobbly about their comments and feel I can't return to the park.

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sumrandomgirl · 01/02/2013 10:50

I am very lucky to have wonderful dog walkers, unfortunateley the woman suffers with her nerves and freaks when other dogs are around, I have told her I can walk my own dog now and as I don't even pay her feel really bad at times when She tells me about incidents She has, where my dog will go to play with others and due to her panicing my dog gets all protective over her!!!
Her husband on the other hand, walks my dog off the lead an never has any problems with her being aggressive as he is calm.
They are amazing, and have gotten so attached to my dog that I now think I just house their dog haha, they buy food, wash bedding, buy collars etc, and have also added her onto their pet insurance (they have cats at home, I suspect this is the reason I house their dig haha)
its a weird set up but they are amazing, and no idea how to thank them apart from saying thank you over and over.

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ExitPursuedByABear · 01/02/2013 10:52

Oh fool that is awful. My Springer can be aggressive and I have had people with similar reactions - when they are unable to control their dog. One mad woman said I should have him put down because he had tried to bite her - he hadn't, he wasn't pulling to get at her, but to her dog who was barking and barking at him.

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gymmummy64 · 01/02/2013 10:54

Lots of sympathies foolonthehill. That's just the sort of scenario I worry about and I can totally relate to it making you feel shaky and wobbly. Hope you feel better very soon. I too have spent a long time working on my reactive dog (and on myself as I'd got very anxious too) and that's just the type of incident that would set us both back and upset me hugely

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ChickensHaveNoEyebrows · 01/02/2013 10:55

Oh fool :( I have a fearful dog who hates other dogs. He, too, would have reacted the way yours did. You weren't in the wrong at all. Your dog was on lead and under control.

Actually, this whole thread has made me feel better. You are responsible for your own dog. You can't expect other people to make endless exceptions and tolerate your dog winding up theirs. A bad encounter with another dog sets training back, sometimes by months. The only correct response when your dog is showing you up is to retrieve it and apologise profusely.

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ChickensHaveNoEyebrows · 01/02/2013 10:57

Ha! And now I see Exit, Floral and gym have already got here Grin We are the Bastard Dog Club Grin You can join us, Fool, and we can all douse ourselves in gin as we recount the horror that is walking a Bastard Dog.

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TantrumsAndBalloons · 01/02/2013 10:58

YABVU.
Your dog shouldn't approach on lead dogs.
I have to keep NewDog on lead at the moment as he is very dog aggressive. We are working on it but I would be furious if a dog came running up to him, especially a dog with no recall.

The person was trying to take the dog away from the situation but instead had to stand still until you managed to catch up with your dog.

There would be no playing if your dog approached NewDog off lead. He would want to fight it. And making us stand still whilst you walked over to catch your dog wouldn't be an option I'm afraid.

Dogs with no recall shouldn't be off lead with on lead dogs.

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D0oinMeCleanin · 01/02/2013 10:58

I was lucky enough to only have that once when I was training Devil Dog, he quickly got a reputation as the meanest dog in the park, so people avoided us, which suited us just fine Grin

When whippy went through a fear phase otoh Angry Someone actually let their dog come up to her and start sniffing her mouth while I was desperately shovelling hotdogs in to try and distract her. When she eventually snapped I was told I should not take my dog out in public if I can't control her Hmm

I found looking at my dog, sitting nicely by my side now she had a distance she felt safe with and then at his still straining to come and 'play' said more than words ever could Grin. I muzzled her after that. Oddly people avoid muzzled dogs and keep their own dogs away Confused

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TantrumsAndBalloons · 01/02/2013 10:59


I currently have one that can't go off lead around other dogs, one that is a teenage rebel and one that would actually prefer not to walk at all and has to be coaxed out with sausage.
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sumrandomgirl · 01/02/2013 11:00

I did used to walk my two dogs, one was large and I used a halti to controle him, this went over his nose so when he started to pull it tightened till he slowed and then it would slacken,
this got mistaken for a mussel at times, he was never aggressive but when on the lead and was being pestered by another dig he wud eventually bark, a warning to get lost. The amount of times I asked other walkers nicely to get their dog, or walked over to owner so they cud do something was unreal, i wud explain that my dog was getting annoyed, an that he will bark an then I would get told to sort my pet out when he did. I do feel for u lot who have dogs with issues , sone people are just lazy and ignorant an they see dogs as stupid animals..they ain't,

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foolonthehill · 01/02/2013 11:05

happy to join bastard dog club...Grin, need some of DOoin's attitude!

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