Irresponsible owners

[JudyN]

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A friend of mine has recently started dog walking - as she's skint and one of her dogs needs an op, this has worked out well as she comes over to me, we have a short slow hobble with Jasper, with her holding the lead, then gossip over coffee and cake, and I pay her a tenner (we have to haggle - she keeps trying to refuse the money but I've hit on the trick of giving J the tenner and saying 'Take it to L.' Refusing me is one thing, but she couldn't possibly refuse J!

Anyhoo - she walked another dog yesterday after seeing me, but turned up today with a large dog bite on her leg At least a couple of separate bites, with broken skin and bad bruising - definitely not a nip. This happened before they headed out - she accidentally dropped her bag, the dog was startled, and jumped up and bit her. Only then did it emerge that this dog has previous history - he's bitten about 4 people already.

She's seen the owners walk the dog - he's dog reactive, but the husband won't cross the road to avoid other dogs as he thinks his dog should be able to walk past at close quarters - so instead, when they walk past another dog he grabs his dog's collar and practically lifts it off the ground. When she walked him herself, and took sensible avoiding action, he was absolutely fine. She's tried to talk to them about how to manage him, and deal with his reactivity, and also that his fabric muzzle isn't the sort he should be wearing but the response is 'Oh, so we're really bad owners and you're some sort of expert'

Apparently they've tried a couple of behaviourists, but he kept growling at them - one said very early on that they couldn't help.

Bless her, she intends to carry on walking him, purely for HIS benefit. But if these owners carry on being so irresponsible and resistant to change, this dog will run out of luck when someone reports him

 

[Josie]

it’s really frustrating when you aren’t given the whole picture - I learnt the hard way!!
Blamed myself for ages (and part of it was my fault) but after since meeting lots of amicable full males that interact happily I wish they had told me.

It’s also very hard to tell someone else how they should look after they’re dog... even if it’s the better way. People get very defensive over their dogs!

 

[JudyN]

It’s also very hard to tell someone else how they should look after they’re dog... even if it’s the better way. People get very defensive over their dogs!

I know - it's a hard one. Hopefully they'll have a think about it, and realise that as what they're doing clearly isn't working, and the evidence is right there on the dog walker's leg, it's time to at least listen. And recognise that the fact she's still walking their dog means she deserves some respect.

I tend to use the approach of 'My dog used to do just that and what seemed to work was...'