Dog Walking - Is it okay to let your dogs run to other dogs?

[LurcherLizzie]

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I don't know if I am on my own in my thoughts on dog walking so thought I ask for other opinions on whether it is ok to allow your dog to run up to other dogs.

Asha and Stanely (my dogs) are friendly dogs with lots of doggy friends who we often walk with and look after in our home. I consider them well socialised as when I used to work in a rescue centre I used to foster lots of older dogs, if we had any lurchers in they would always come home until they were rehomed (running 5 dogs is as easy as 2 when I had endless fields behind my house) and generally always had puppies in the house to begin house training them.

When I lived in London (6 years ago) we were in the park one day just about to leave so Asha and Stanley were on their leads when they were suddenly attacked by 2 dogs off their leads and the owner just stood and watched. Leaving me to seperate a rather nasty fight along with another passing dog walker. Stanley had his cheek and eyelid ripped, several puncture wounds in his neck and a large tear in his back leg. Asha has several puncture wounds. I also received several bites from one of the other dogs seperating the fight.

Since that event they understandably don't like other 'unknown' dogs approaching them when they are on their leads. They have got much better over the years and off their leads they are not too bad when other dogs approach. Stanley will adopt a dominant stance but I recall him and all is fine. I am always vigilant when exercising them off their leads and their recall is very good. Obviously due to their breed they like to run and will burn off but always loop round to come back to me. If I see another dog nearby I call them back and put them on their leads.

This is where my issue lies. Surely common sense would suggest if you see another dog walker put their dogs on their leads when approaching you, you would not then allow yours to go charging up to them? When this happens Stanley will become aggressive and Asha will shortly follow. With most dogs this stops them in their tracks and mine sense there is no danger so we can continue. A lot however don't stop and although they may not be aggressing back, mine are choking and stressing themselves whilst a dog runs round them with an owner shouting their dogs name from a distance and not making any effort to come and get control of their dog. Asha has a heart mumur now and this kind of situation stresses her out and leaves her with a coughing fit.

I am aware that this is an issue with my dogs and that although they are on their leads whilst they are 'wigging' out I do not have full control of them. We can walk by other dogs in close proximity when the other dogs are on their leads without mine batting an eyelid. I have tried all sorts over the years, I have a squeaky toy in my pocket when walking them and their favorite treats to try and gain their attention and distract them when this sort of thing happens. I have also worked on not getting stressed myself and passing this onto my dogs. But if another dog comes charging up they is often no time to do anything about it. Some owners shout "Oh he just wants to play" or "She's friendly" but even though it is quite obvious mine are not enjoying the situation they still don't come and get hold of their dog. I often have these owners shouting at me, saying that my dogs should be muzzled and treating me like I am the owner of some devil dogs. I don't think I should muzzle my dogs as I have them on a lead, am resonsible with them off a lead and think they deserve to be walked as any other dog without being restrained.

Sorry if this seems like a rant but it does really upset me as I am trying to be a responsible dog owner so wondered if anyone has any thoughts, experience or suggestions on this?

 

[nicky12]

i totaly agree with what your saying i always try walk mine were i no were not likley to bump into anybody so they can free run as much as possible

but somtimes i like to lead walk them around a local beauty spot and always keep them on ther leads as i know as soon as my lot see another dog they would be off like a shot 3 of them wanting to play with other dog and 1 barking his head of at other dog and must be very frightening for other dog walkers and ther dogs to have 4 strange dogs running upto them which is why they are kept on ther leads

but what pisses me off is when somone can see that ther dog being off ther lead is causeing problems for another dog walker and ther dogs and do nothing about it

an example we went for a loverly lead walk around a very popular walk and had our dogs on lead at all time never once did they get let off as we were walking i could see 3 people walking 3 dogs they were not on leads these dogs came running upto us not agressive but my boys started to go into protect mode getting inbetween the girls and barking and growling at these dog and if i wasnt holding ollies head at one point he would have gone for one of them and then we would have been in the wrong for one of our dogs biting another .

in the end i got so annoyed that i shouted at these people to get ther bloody dogs on ther leads or i would let my lot off and then they could sort out the bloody mess ,needles to say the man came down very quickly after that and got all dogs on leads :rant: which was far to late in my eyes :angry:

 

[LurcherLizzie]

but what pisses me off is when somone can see that ther dog being off ther lead is causeing problems for another dog walker and ther dogs and do nothing about it

I am glad I am not on my own then! I think there are 3 types of 'offender'.

1 - They have no control over their dog. They shout and shout and shout at it then if it does return to them or they do come and retrieve it, they grab hold of it and chastise it????

2 - They have a dog that wants to 'play', usually a dog owner with just the 1 dog.

3 - They just don't care, would rather be texting or talking on their phone rather than supervising their dog.

 

[nicky12]

im not saying im the perfect dog walker and we all learn by our mistakes .....one time i didnt see somone coming with ther dog and my lot took off at high speed to greet it three trying to play with it and the other just barking his head off at it ,because of this i dont let my dogs off were ther is likley to be other dog walkers now as its very scary for the other party as well i know from my experience ,but then im lucky to live somwere wear i can walk my dogs and not come across any other walkers ,at the end of the day it is down to the owners of the other dogs to be in control of there dogs and if ther dogs have a tendancey to run up to strange dogs ext then they should anticipate this and keep them on ther leads

 

[LurcherLizzie]

im not saying im the perfect dog walker and we all learn by our mistakes

Oh I am not saying I am either just think there should be consideration and a responsible attitude when walking your dog

 

[bertha]

It really does annoy me, I put my dogs on lead when I see some body coming and they leave their dog off!!!!!!!!! They just do not understand that my dogs feel threatened when the other dog is running free. My greyhound had her temperament ruined my two lurchers funning free that hounded her into a corner and terrified her by sniffing her rear end, and trying to course and attack the two whippets i had out with me. I yelled out call your dogs, because I could not see the owner, he blew a whistle and eventually the dogs went away. Since then I leave by greyhound free, so she can escape, on the lead she becomes an aggressive manic thing. I always explain to people she will not do anything, she is too scared. It has made it difficult to show her, because she will turn and snap at dogs that come too close.

Years ago, when dog walking you always put your dog on the lead if some one was coming towards you, ti was the done thing, now people just don't care and cannot read their dogs.

I have nothing against lurchers, it was sad that these two were so far from their owner he had no idea what they were up to.

 

[maggie217]

If I see another dog being walked I always put Ruby on the lead, and I do hope, and expect, the other dog walker to put their dog on the lead also. When we then meet up we can establish whether it is safe to let them off again, or we just pass by. I always thank the other person for putting theirs on the lead. If they have seen me put my dog on the lead then I think it is only courtesy that they put theirs on too.

I get really annoyed though with those stupid extending leads when the other dog is still basically out of control and bounds up to us.

 

Pauline

 

[Finleyfoofoo]

I don't know if I am on my own in my thoughts on dog walking so thought I ask for other opinions on whether it is ok to allow your dog to run up to other dogs.
Asha and Stanely (my dogs) are friendly dogs with lots of doggy friends who we often walk with and look after in our home.  I consider them well socialised as when I used to work in a rescue centre I used to foster lots of older dogs, if we had any lurchers in they would always come home until they were rehomed (running 5 dogs is as easy as 2 when I had endless fields behind my house) and generally always had puppies in the house to begin house training them.

When I lived in London (6 years ago) we were in the park one day just about to leave so Asha and Stanley were on their leads when they were suddenly attacked by 2 dogs off their leads and the owner just stood and watched.  Leaving me to seperate a rather nasty fight along with another passing dog walker.  Stanley had his cheek and eyelid ripped, several puncture wounds in his neck and a large tear in his back leg.  Asha has several puncture wounds.  I also received several bites from one of the other dogs seperating the fight.

Since that event they understandably don't like other 'unknown' dogs approaching them when they are on their leads.  They have got much better over the years and off their leads they are not too bad when other dogs approach.  Stanley will adopt a dominant stance but I recall him and all is fine.  I am always vigilant when exercising them off their leads and their recall is very good.  Obviously due to their breed they like to run and will burn off but always loop round to come back to me.  If I see another dog nearby I call them back and put them on their leads. 

This is where my issue lies.  Surely common sense would suggest if you see another dog walker put their dogs on their leads when approaching you, you would not then allow yours to go charging up to them?  When this happens Stanley will become aggressive and Asha will shortly follow.  With most dogs this stops them in their tracks and mine sense there is no danger so we can continue.  A lot however don't stop and although they may not be aggressing back, mine are choking and stressing themselves whilst a dog runs round them with an owner shouting their dogs name from a distance and not making any effort to come and get control of their dog.  Asha has a heart mumur now and this kind of situation stresses her out and leaves her with a coughing fit.

I am aware that this is an issue with my dogs and that although they are on their leads whilst they are 'wigging' out I do not have full control of them. We can walk by other dogs in close proximity when the other dogs are on their leads without mine batting an eyelid.  I have tried all sorts over the years, I have a squeaky toy in my pocket when walking them and their favorite treats to try and gain their attention and distract them when this sort of thing happens.  I have also worked on not getting stressed myself and passing this onto my dogs.  But if another dog comes charging up they is often no time to do anything about it.  Some owners shout "Oh he just wants to play" or "She's friendly" but even though it is quite obvious mine are not enjoying the situation they still don't come and get hold of their dog. I often have these owners shouting at me, saying that my dogs should be muzzled and treating me like I am the owner of some devil dogs.  I don't think I should muzzle my dogs as I have them on a lead, am resonsible with them off a lead and think they deserve to be walked as any other dog without being restrained.

Sorry if this seems like a rant but it does really upset me as I am trying to be a responsible dog owner so wondered if anyone has any thoughts, experience or suggestions on this?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

​

Hi,

I have 3 dogs,and i think it,s good doggy manners,that if someones dogs are on the lead,so are mine.If somebodys dogs are playing off the lead,i still ask if they are o.k with other dogs before letting mine off too.Most dogs hate being trapped on the lead when strange dogs approach,as i know they feel trapped,which is understandable.I am lucky,as i live in a mainly great neighbourhood,where most dogs owners are respectful of others.

Amandax

 

[Scallywag]

There are times when it's tricky though. I have a poorly socialised rescue dog. He's much calmer off lead than on so I tend not to put him on the lead when we meet other dogs. 99 times out of 100 he trots past ignoring them, but every now and then something too subtle for me to notice happens and he'll have a go at the other dog (so I always put a muzzle on him). I then get in there as soon as I can, apologise profusely and go away.

It means there are probably a few people out there cursing me, but it seems a better option that having him yarping and snapping on the end of the lead all the time.......

 

[Fleesh]

Mine do plenty of free running, they can dissapear running around trees or hills whilst we follow on. However I think they have been called back that many times when we've seen other dogs that they have been conditioned and simply turn tail and return to heel every time they come across other dogs.

Sometimes they are chased back to me by other dogs but they remain calm, however recently they were chased by a pack of Irish Setters and yes you guessed it, a Staffy. Now the setters were alright just a bouncy silly bunch but the staffy kept chasing Talli round sniffing at her backside, to the point that poor bumpy dog was terrified running around barking and screaming, the owners were about 100yds away just watching it happen. I got hold of Talli and picked her up and Rob stepped forwards to try and make the Staffy move away, well it went and growled, at that second Blaze left my side where she'd been stood the entire time and took a dominant stance next to Rob and growled back (not something she'd normally do as she likes to protect me), luckily this was enough to encourage the other to back away.

The owners approached and all they said was, "your dog should be on the ground to go for a walk not for a carry" before wandering past and leaving their staffy hanging around us.

 

[Fleesh]

Something I wanted to know was the situation with dogs and other people, to my mind I was not out of order in this situation, a little communication would have gone a long way.

A woman was walking her young daughter and Rob and I were walking three off the dogs offlead, as usual they were a little ahead sniffing around. Now we were having a conversation and Rob swore, being blind he did not know there was a child there but I made him aware straight away. The mother turned and saw us walking and saw the three dogs offlead, she was about 50yds ahead at this point and we were heading her way. She turned around and carried on walking. Now two of the dogs continued to go past her when they noticed the child had a slice of bread in her hands (I was not aware of this) so they stopped and stood infront of her. The mother grabbed the child by the arms immediately and swung her up into the air, dropping the bread, which Talli then proceeded to eat. At no point did the child seem distressed when the dogs stood infront of her. As we approached she began shouting at me, "are you not going to appologise to her, hey, ignorant cow" well Rob was going to stop but I decided to ignore her and carry on, she may have wanted to shout and swear infront of her young child but I was not about to join in as I had enough of that from my Dad as a kid without seeing another child have it inflicted on them.

I discussed it with Rob and said to him that when she had turned round when we were behind her why did she not ask me to keep the dogs away, make me aware the child or herself were afraid of dogs etc, a little communication goes a long way. I was only glad it was my dogs that stopped and not someone elses, as I know mine won't snatch food, and aren't jumpy, imagine if there was a nervy or boisterous dog there when she swung the child suddenly up in the air, it could easily have jumped up and snapped at her legs or face thinking it was a game or out of fear at the sudden movement.

Obviously had I been aware there was food involved I would have called them to heel immediately, had there been no food the two dogs would have ignored the people entirely and gone straight past. Maybe I should have stopped I'm not sure but at the time I wasn't sure whether I should have been appologising for the dogs stopping and standing infront of them, for the child droppping the bread, for the mother panicking and grabbing her up into the air, or just appologising for being a dog owner in general.

We continued of our walk and when we returned to the car the mother and child had then moved to the play park, well the mother couldn't wait to move from one park to another closer to the car saying to the child, "look there's them ignorant dog owners, there's the dog owners with no manners". Again I ignored her, my back was up and I know if I started it wouldn't be pleasant for either the child or ourselves, clearly the mother didn't consider her child when she carried on, the child was clearly not distressed, maybe only a little confused as to why she was whisked into the air and was too busy playing in the park at the end of our walk to be bothered by the presence of dogs at all.

Anyone with an opinion on a better way I could have handled the situation, do I call my dogs back every few seconds every time we are out just in case someone has some food or do I continue as normal knowing that my dogs will ignore and not approach people in general.