Advice re park walking

[DixD]

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I’ve two dogs, both well behaved, and tgey both enjoy walking in our local park.. One is small and I keep him on a flexi to save him being knocked over by loose, chunky dogs. My other dog, Hugo, just wanders along, loose, sprightly but nearly 13. Today, we got accosted by a large, strongly built, badly behaved Labrador. I picked the wee one up out the way, and the Lab proceeded to bully my older dog by trying to mount him. Hugo was very well behaved, turned round, and barked at it, but trying mot to start a confrontation. The owner had no control over it, and was of the opinion his dog wanted to play with every dog it met. I found myself in tge position of carrying one dog,while trying to chase the Lab away without heightening the potential confrontation, and getting quite panicky as I was worried about Hugo getting knocked off his feet.And I know anxiety isn’t a good emotion to introduce into these situations. Any advice in dealing with this kind of situation would be really appreciated!

 

[Mad Murphy]

I always have both dogs on lead in our local park. Its not an off lead area anyway... But I carry a pocket rape alarm 120db its come in handy once before when a great dane off lead repeatedly went for my dogs and in the end I used the alarm scaring away the dog and then drowning out the abuse of the owner!
another trick Ive tried is just to call out 'sorry but my dog is contagious'...Most owners will then rush to get their dog away..
I know some people throw treats but to be honest that can cause fights or t
the other dog might really think you like him.

 

[JoanneF]

I'd report it to the dog warden. Yours might not be the only dogs that are annoyed by it and some dogs are old, nervous, recovering from illness or injury. If the dog warden has a word maybe the owner will behave more responsibly.

 

[DixD]

Some good ideas there, Madmurphy and JoanneM, and I will be better prepared in future. Basically, a lot of the problem stemmed from the owner’s reluctance to be proactive about getting hold of his dog, so the person needs to be aware of repercussions of having an out of control animal accosting another. The bye-laws in our park state that dogs need to be under control so I would be within my rights to report him, and I would certainly make him aware of this, if it happened again. Most dogs in the oark are friendly and well socialised, it’s what makes our walks usually so enjoyable.

 

[JudyN]

Reading this has just reminded me of when my dog was an oversized rambunctious puppy who liked to bounce up and down on other dogs. I did my best to control him, but one day as he picked his latest victim, the owner called out, 'My dog has just had back surgery!' The thought of him plonking his huge paws on the back of a frail dog who had recently had back surgery really made me redouble my efforts, and also to keep an eye out for that dog and put mine on lead when I saw him.

So maybe calling out 'He's just had back surgery!' might help.

 

[DixD]

He looks a bit like he could be recovering from back surgery. He moves well for his age but with the air of a dog that knows he could get knocked off his feet quite easily! So, maybe a good warning call... I think what stressed me a bit was I recognised it wasn’t playful young dog behaviour, as your dog was displaying. It was deliberate dominance, going behind Hugo and trying to mount him, and had the real potential for a fracas. You know when there’s that moment you kind of hold your breath as you’re not sure what’s going to happen next. I don’t think the owner was aware of what was going on.

 

[Josie]

Hi @DixieD I understand you completely!
My boy is 12 and I get so worried when a young boisterous male comes bounding over wanting to play It doesn’t help that my boy has a real thing for entire males!! So I can tell he desperately wants to play but I can’t take the risk with his back and being knocked over.

It’s probably harder with two but I just hurry Den along and try and continue the walk without hanging around too long and usually the other dog gets bored!

 

[Ari_RR]

My current super-friendly 11 m.o. puppy assumes that everyone is a friend, and just runs away if the other dog makes him uncomfortable. But my previous boy, especially in his dark adolescence days, would welcome any chance to have a confrontation, so in situations like this I had to really worry about the safety of all involved quadrupeds (he was well over 100 lbs of Ridgeback muscle).

The only technique that worked for me at the time of the encounter was to get a hold of my boy, keep him really close, and put myself between him and the other dog.

Notifying a warden, having a row with the other owner etc may well be reasonable actions, but they happen after the fact, right?

On my part - I never really had any shouting matches with other owners. When the dogs were under control, my first objective was to get my boy out of the stressful environment as quickly and as far as possible. Yelling at the other human was way, way down on the priority list.

And as for reporting to wardens - I knew that my boy was far from an angel himself, so I never done that either.

But all that said - I am a good size human, fairly strong and in a decent shape, so getting between 2 dogs wasn’t overly risky. Don’t know if I would advise this approach to everyone.... For those brave enough to do this - wearing rugged clothes which can withstand action helps. Wearing gloves helps too.

 

[DixD]

My current super-friendly 11 m.o. puppy assumes that everyone is a friend, and just runs away if the other dog makes him uncomfortable. But my previous boy, especially in his dark adolescence days, would welcome any chance to have a confrontation, so in situations like this I had to really worry about the safety of all involved quadrupeds (he was well over 100 lbs of Ridgeback muscle).

The only technique that worked for me at the time of the encounter was to get a hold of my boy, keep him really close, and put myself between him and the other dog.

Notifying a warden, having a row with the other owner etc may well be reasonable actions, but they happen after the fact, right?

On my part - I never really had any shouting matches with other owners. When the dogs were under control, my first objective was to get my boy out of the stressful environment as quickly and as far as possible. Yelling at the other human was way, way down on the priority list.

And as for reporting to wardens - I knew that my boy was far from an angel himself, so I never done that either.

But all that said - I am a good size human, fairly strong and in a decent shape, so getting between 2 dogs wasn’t overly risky. Don’t know if I would advise this approach to everyone.... For those brave enough to do this - wearing rugged clothes which can withstand action helps. Wearing gloves helps too.

 

[DixD]

That’s why I would prefer to have a word with the dog warden, if the situation was to occur again, as I would have an opportunity to discuss the dog’s behaviour with his owner first, and see how that went. I think he genuinely didn’t realise his dog was intentionally intimidating mine, and thought it was play. It was of a size that could have easily knocked over and frightened a child, and then he may well have found he and his dog being prosecuted under the Dangerous Dogs Act, not necessarily the dog’s fault, but through lack of training and understanding of the situation that could develop because of tge dog’s sheer bodyweight and energy and inability to be controlled.

 

[JoanneF]

he may well have found he and his dog being prosecuted under the Dangerous Dogs Act,

While it's possible, it isn't likely for a single or first incident. But if you are not the only ones being harassed, the DW might be aware of a pattern.

 

[DixD]

While it's possible, it isn't likely for a single or first incident. But if you are not the only ones being harassed, the DW might be aware of a pattern.

Unfortunately, I think the risk lies in this part of the law (from RSPCA website) “Under the Act, it's illegal for a dog to be 'out of control' or to bite or attack someone. The legislation also makes it an offence if a person is worried or afraid (the term is 'reasonable apprehension') that a dog may bite them. So it's important to ensure that your dog is kept under control at all times and in all places.” With regard to knocking over and terrifying a child, the example I gave, I imagine concerned parents would be reading up on this aspect. Our park is used by a lot of families

 

[Mad Murphy]

Well I didnt have time for any warning today.. Walking along a path in an area that is not for off lead dogs three large black dogs all off lead came running over. Murphy is really nervous around black dogs but we stayed calm said a cheery good afternoon to the owners and tried to just walk on but two of the dog kept buzzing round us making Murphy a bit jumpy, the owners called the dogs but carried on chatting all the while Murphy was brilliant, then one of the dogs decided to try to mount him and that was game changer . Murphy is quick and he whipped round and darn near took its face off.

Suddenly the owner found a lead and ran over , is she is season? she asked pointing at Murph, I said no because HE is male.. Oh well he must smell nice, she said and walked off..

Sadly just behind this pair of idiots were two walkers who saw what happened and put their dogs on lead but by this time Murphy was so wired he reacted at their dogs which ruins all our hard work trying to make him less nervous.
I wish I had used the alarm.

 

[JoanneF]

I wish I had used the alarm.

Does it not scare your two too when you use it? It sounds like a good idea but that would be my worry about it.

 

[DixD]

I’m sorry to hear that. Poor Murphy.. And all that good work you’d done too. It is so frustrating. Sadly, I think a lot of dog owners depend on their dogs’ and others’ reasonable natures to keep them out of trouble, and are unaware of the complexities of canine communication, especially body language. And have no idea of the disruption to other owners, or anxiety to nervous dogs, that loose badly behaved dogs can cause. I’m sure the owner wouldn’t like accosted in the street like your dog had to endure from hers.

Today, we had a similar, but totally different in intensity, situation as yesterday. A young whippet cross came up to see Hugo, but the owner and friend were just behind, and the youngdog wanted to play, but it approached him from the front, displaying friendliness. Hugo did a little play bow and danced about with it a little, and then just stood looking into the dustance, and it wandered off. My other dog was standing quietly and it didn’t go to see him at all. I had a nice chat, and then we all went on our way. A nice end to a lovely walk.

Murphy is lucky to have you in his corner.

 

[Mad Murphy]

@JoanneF Mine are on lead so if I used the alarm it would only be to scare loose dogs into leaving us alone. To be honest its the lesser of two evils if things get heated.