Dog walkers friendly or no?

[Josie]

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The majority of dog walkers I find to be really friendly but I do find some will walk straight past you like you don't exist. Has anyone else experienced this?

I can't understand people that can just walk straight past without a glimpse! Maybe I'm trying to be too friendly!

 

[arealhuman]

Most I see are friendly, there are a couple I see regularly and we also exchange pleasantries in passing (I don't stop too long as Jimmy can get uppity).

 

[Violet Turner]

omg! I get this a lot near me olive wants to see the dogs and the walkers just pull them away, once I saw one drag the dog and quite literally hang it in the air! I was fuming I walked over and I gave her a piece of my mind!

 

[arealhuman]

omg! I get this a lot near me olive wants to see the dogs and the walkers just pull them away, once I saw one drag the dog and quite literally hang it in the air! I was fuming I walked over and I gave her a piece of my mind!

Sometimes I have to drag Jimmy a bit, like last night in a field. He likes to stop and sniff around, but there were a lot of big dogs in the field (GSD, Husky, etc.) and I have to encourage him along to avoid a confrontation with other dogs. Whilst most that come bounding over turn out to be friendly, Jimmy gets scared and will bark at them so it's best avoided if at all possible.

 

[GreyLee]

Neither of my two can go off lead as they just won't recall (the joys of some sighthounds huh).
I often see people give us a wide berth as they presumably think they're on leads as they can be funny (they're far from it!)
Roughly 50% of the time people will stop to allow their dogs to say hello.
Guess there are so many cases of dogs being attacked by others (very very sad in those cases), people have become wary.
My view is, if you know your dog can be aggressive, muzzle it. There's no shame in it and it's for everyone's benefit.

 

[Whippylove]

Most dog walkers around here are friendly, a couple of dog's upset Marley so when we see each other coming we avoid the situation so both our dogs dont get upset ( my boys dont like black dogs!) they are always polite.
But we have had some bad experiences when younger people with big dogs let them snap and try attacking mine to the point I've had to get away from them. Now i just avoid the areas were they are.

 

[Caro Perry]

Oh it's a hard one. I had real problems when Harri was little as he was the cutest puppy you could ever imagine!

Everyone ( and I mean everyone) wanted to stop and say hello to him and make a fuss of him. He adored all the attention but it did nothing for his training not to rush up to strangers, not to jump up and to be good on the lead. One memorable morning it took me 40 minutes to get to the top of the High St (and we are talking a very small town!). It's got easier as he's got older but at times I admit I'd put on a very grumpy face to try and discourage any form of interaction as even a smile was enough encouragement for someone to want to make a fuss of him even if I was trying to drag him past with a treat under his nose!

He's now very good at trotting past strangers without expecting them to be the new best friend so I can risk that smile

 

[NorthamptonDogWalker]

I'm a dog walker myself and generally I am very friendly to other people I meet out walking dogs. It's not the same as walking your own dog though. I know exactly how my own dog reacts in different situations. When walking 2 or 3 clients dogs though I will sometimes change direction to avoid dog owners and dogs I don't know that I'm not sure about.

I tend to walk the same places so know most dog owners. Sometimes it can be quite innocent, for example someone will stop me and start a 10 minute conversation. It's hard to concentrate on the dogs I am walking and the conversation and at the end of the day I'm being paid to exercise their dogs, not engage in chit chat.

 

[Mad Murphy]

Im sad to say that the professional ones I've met while out are total PINA, they allow dogs who have bad recall to charge about even into the parking areas, they do not pick up after the dogs and if one of the dogs they are walking does get nasty they shrug it off and say 'its not my dog'..
One now avoids us totally after OH went ape and threatened all sorts of nasty things. This after 3 of her charges set about Murphy when he was just 5 months old on 2 separate occasions.
Maybe its just here but I really dislike them and I groan if I see a dog walkers van at the field when we arrive.

I avoid them if at all possible and think there should be much tighter laws to stop the idiots who know nothing about dogs or dog control /training setting up in business.

 

[Josie]

To balance your post @Mad Murphy - I also know lots of fantastic professional dog walkers that are considerate to others. I know a great dog walker who is able to mange larger groups. She only takes them to big fields where she can observe other dog walkers coming and going so that they never cross paths. They all have great recall.

Unfortunately there are some bad ones that tarnish the rest with a bad reputation.

 

[Mad Murphy]

@Josie
I hope you didn't think I was tarring every dog walker with the same brush.. I know there must be good ones out there. Its just that here it seems to be the cheapest kind of business to start up with no need for any qualification so every tom dick and harry is out there with a van calling themselves a dog walker, and you are right these people give real dog walkers a bad name. As I said its the ones we have met so I can only judge based on them. But if only there were tighter rules maybe things would be better.

 

[Josie]

Of course not @Mad Murphy - I just thought I’d balance it out

 

[Violet Turner]

OMG! I was walking Olive and i saw what i think was a woman kick and drag a whippet sized dog down one of the streets near me. I saw the dog and he/she looked a bit wobbly after she kicked it, i wanted to follow and get her home address so i can report it but Olive needs her dinner. I obviously am worried for the dogs wellbeing but am being 'over the top' with this situation? What can i do about it?

 

[Mad Murphy]

Nothing ..if you didnt look where she lives..
if you see it happen take a photo, see where she lives, report it. The reason I say take a photo is because I once reprted a neighbour but because no one would back me up nothing was done, I had no proof.

 

[Violet Turner]

Nothing ..if you didnt look where she lives..
if you see it happen take a photo, see where she lives, report it. The reason I say take a photo is because I once reprted a neighbour but because no one would back me up nothing was done, I had no proof.

Okay thank you, i will do.

 

[JudyN]

It might still be worth reporting it to the dog warden because if other people also report her, it could build up a picture and help if they decide they need to take action. Details such as whether the dog was whippet-shaped as well as -sized might help.

 

[Violet Turner]

It might still be worth reporting it to the dog warden because if other people also report her, it could build up a picture and help if they decide they need to take action. Details such as whether the dog was whippet-shaped as well as -sized might help.

Okay much appreciated I'm still shook up about it.