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On-lead, Off-lead Etiquette?

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ruth said:
If i see a dog on a lead i autmatically assume there is a good reason for this and will put monty back on his lead until we are well past them. 

This is my philosophy as well. It irritates me like mad when others let their dogs run up to mine when leashed. Now mine are actually ok, and could care less. Usually they're leashed because we're on our way home, but the other people don't know that. When I see a dog on a lead we gather our girls and either leash them ourselves or hold their collars till the leashed dogs have passed. It's only polite. I assume, like you, that they're leashed for a reason, either they don't like dogs, or they like them too much, or it's just the end of the day... They certainly don't need to be mobbed.

Stuff happens and there is the occasional time that you can tell someone (or when we have had it happen with one of ours) is desperately trying to get their dog back and it's just decided today is the day it's not going to listen. Those people I can forgive, as I said, it's happened to us. Those who just saunter along and make no effort to keep their dogs under control drive me nuts.

Wendy
 
to be honest i havnt got a problem with dogs cuming up 2 mine, AS LONG AS IT DOSNT START, if it does then its me who starts, dogs r meant to be playful things so when i can i let mine have fun with other dogs, u can normally tell which one is a bad one id say..
 
We have had a couple of incidents:

Our two were on leads along the canal towpath and a English Bull Terrier jumped off a narrowboat and hurtled at me and Dolly. I picked Dolly up but the EBT tried to grab Dolly's leg. Fortunately no damage was done.

Another time along the canal a Japanese Akita (on lead) tried to attack Bobby and its owner couldn't hold it. :eek: It ended up with OH on the ground, tangled up with the dog leads. Very unpleasant experience.

Unfortunately Dolly is now quite aggressive on the lead with large dogs, but I am sure this is fear aggression. :( I plan to return to dog training to try to socialise her better, although we did go to training when she was younger and she was fine then.

We tend to keep our on the lead when we see other people/dogs as I feel that not everyone is 'dog friendly', and I do feel others have a right to walk without being bothered by dogs.
 
Joanna said:
ruth said:
I walk on the same open common as Joanna and as she said it is full of dogs being exercised off the lead, this is a god send for us as it means monty can have free running every day. 
If i see a dog on a lead i autmatically assume there is a good reason for this and will put monty back on his lead until we are well past them.  The off lead dogs often run up to us to say hello and monty runs up to other offleaders to see if they want to play, i always apologise but most people say don't worry that's why we bring the dog out here.

I think because this area is known for dog walking and there is a history of 'off leading' people understand the risks and are much more aware of good dog ettiquette

Hi Ruth

Long time no see :thumbsup:

Seems like we are lucky :)

Jo

Hi Jo

Yes, very lucky. Touch wood, i have never had a nasty incident.

See you soon :thumbsup:
 
Great topic!

well walkin off lead(the dog not me) :- " You do get alot of people let their dog off and just stand there while the dog is jumping all over your dog and when your dog turn nasty its you fault. Or you get the dogs that jump all over you and they turn around and say either their being friendly or they dont know how to stop them. Zeb was a dog that jumped up at people and we stopped it.

You can usually see the dogs that are'nt trained :angry:

I try hard to stop Zeb running up to dogs, abit of common curticy, would be good 8)
 
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I really love to see my two run with other dogs, i have had people thank me for the lovely run my two has just given them (w00t) :p

if i see a dog off lead i tend to wait and see what reaction the owner gives, like if they start calling their dog back, i see what signals the dog is giving out, ie wagging tail i generally leave them to it, some times i will put them on a lead...

If i see a dog on lead i will call mine away, they are quite good, but not always :oops:
 
A few years ago,while out with old Eric & Dylan,a black lab ,off lead came trotting up to us & for no reason,attacked Dylan.I ended up with a hole in the back of my leg,courtesy of the Lab,& Dylan was very badly bruised on his ribs.

My poor Dylan went from a happy,normal dog to a quibbling,nervous wreck,& he died a year later from kidney failure due to stress! :(

I am now very nervous of walking my dogs in public places!

Fortunately,as i'm in a rural area & have loads of private land to exercise my dogs,i don't meet anyone.

But when i go to the beach,I dread the walk through the narrow lane to the beach as there is often some total idiot that can't keep their dogs on lead until they get to the vast expanse of beach.

On numerous occasions i've had dogs running up & barking at mine & it scares the hell out of me. & of course,if i dare to say something to the prat of an owner,i just get a load of abuse thrown at me :rant:
 
i've read through this whole thread and am feeling jealous!

living right in the middle of birmingham makes it kinda difficult to have regular walks all on our lonesome......so most of the time i have to think very hard about meetin other dogs

as ppl probably know, Dij can be quite ansty with other dogs, so most of the time i have him on a lead - i am usually hyper aware of other dogs around us and will always be ready to stand in front of him if another dog approaches.

it's a hard balance to maintain though. other people's dogs may be generaly fine around other dogs, but it is very easy to up the ante. Who knows what subtle signal from one or the other, will lead to a low growl, a show of teeth, tails up, snapping and snarling?

for me, the key thing is, what the PEOPLE do about it. We can't change doggie politics, but owners must understand the signals and be ready to take action. if an off-leader comes up to Digit and the sniffing gives way to snapping, providing the owner intervenes (as i do) then all is ok in my book - is just unavoidable dog stuff.

what gets me is when the other person just stands there like it's all my fault, when mine is the dog on a lead and theres is the one who keeps coming in for more!
 
We regulary meet an elderly couple with a collie cross. Its never on its lead even walking down a very busy main road . On one ocasion it charged up to William who was on his lead at the time the woman came strolling up to me and asked if he was visoius(sp) as he was on his lead . My answer was if he was your dog would been have been bitten by now :rant: She said if she see's dogs on leads she thinks it's because they are dangerous or they wouldn't be on its lead they'd be running free

I did point out I wouldn't let any dog run free as I was on a main road it could cause an accident she just walked of with the dog

Then we meet a man with 2 labs both loose one runs at William teeth bared and hackles up The man shouts' its ok hes friendly' fortunately it realises that William is a lot bigger than it is and it turns tail and ran of never had any bother with it since. Wiliam didn't even look at it
 
I now assume all other dog walkers are idiots unless proved otherwise. Mine stay on their leads unless we are on the field and even then I have one eye on the entrance points just in-case another dog enters. I don't particularly want to chat to eveyone I meet, I want my own space with my own dogs and that's all I ask.

I am a miserable git really but I'm happy. I don't find anything remotely social about dogs sniffing every other dogs bits, mine can do that in the privacy of their own home without doing it to every dog we meet, or even worse having it done to them by every dog we meet.

It's taken me 8 months to get Sparky back in the showring after being attacked, he'll never be the same dog he was but I'll make bl***y sure that no dog will ever attack him again.

Jenny
 
quintessence said:
I now assume all other dog walkers are idiots unless proved otherwise.  Mine stay on their leads unless we are on the field and even then I have one eye on the entrance points just in-case another dog enters.  I don't particularly want to chat to eveyone I meet, I want my own space with my own dogs and that's all I ask.I am a miserable git really but I'm happy.  I don't find anything remotely social about dogs sniffing every other dogs bits, mine can do that in the privacy of their own home without doing it to every dog we meet, or even worse having it done to them by every dog we meet.

It's taken me 8 months to get Sparky back in the showring after being attacked, he'll never be the same dog he was but I'll make bl***y sure that no dog will ever attack him again.

Jenny

I think incidents like Jenny's do make you very suspicious of other dogs. :(

My dog Chip was attacked in 2000 and I never let him off the leader after that, I was terrified of it happening again. I had an 8 month gap of NO DOG - then got Oscar following 8 months later Kobi ...... thank goodness nothing like this has ever happened again. I have got my confidence back , but hate confrontations with other peoples dogs. :rant:
 
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>but hate confrontations with other peoples dogs.

I've been lucky that my dogs haven't been involved in many dog scraps but they have always left me feeling very shaken and sick.

I've also been very, very lucky in that none of my dogs have ever been seriously injured. I find it scarey when I read about how many dogs on here have been badly injured.
 
I wonder if I should have entitled this dog-owner etiquette? It genuinely saddens me to see so many posts about not wanting to be friendly or polite to other dog owners, even when both they and their dogs appear perfectly sociable. :( I wonder how much canine aggression derives from picking up defensive or aggressive cues from their owners? One of the things about a village is that there is good social cohesion and interaction; people still maintain social niceties even when they don't particularly get on, and allow their dogs to go through greeting and sniffing rituals in their entirety while the humans nod and make the usual comments about the weather.

I personally would never interfere with dogs going through a greeting ritual, even if one of them was bouncy or pushy, as I'd rather both dogs learned to handle the situation themselves; interfering at this point is a very good way of escalating a potential confrontation too. The only exeption would be with known aggressors or when it happens places where one or other may be over territorial or claustrophobic (including park gates, narrow passageways etc). Or with people who have large groups of dogs, as the dynamics of the group may be too complex. There are some problem dogs here, mainly rescues, but their owners are usually polite and communicative and prepared to explain the nature of the problem.

We may not feel the need to go through social rituals every day (esp. as technology has provided us with a range of substitutes ), but dogs do, and the more they practice their social skills the better they become:

"Dogs have a truly universal language that can be incredibly subtle and wide ranging. This marvellous language is one that we can also learn and understand, and through that ability communicate with our dogs far more effectively.

However this is a language that needs to be practiced for our dogs to be fluent. That is why early socialisation, puppy classes, and controlled play with other vaccinated dogs is so vitally important, especially in the critical periods from 7 to 16 weeks. As a behaviourist I get to treat many of these animals that are unable to give calming signals or are stunted in their ability to meet and greet because of the lack of early socialisation."

taken from "the dog listener"
 
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That is absolutely fine until your dog is attacked at 4 months old at a RING CLUB, by a Russian Black. Luckily I was right there and pulled her head out of his mouth as he bit down. We tried to go back the next week and she wet herself on the way in. We then had other incidents ( see earlier post) and now she is NOT good with othre dogs. Personally I am happy to say good morning to anyone but with severe back problems as well I don't want or need a confrontation with another dog. SO, mine are on-lead when we meet other dogs and I ask other people to either let us pass or I stand as far away as possible till they go. It might make her worse but at least we are all safe.
 
moriarte said:
I wonder if I should have entitled this dog-owner etiquette? It genuinely saddens me to see so many posts about not wanting to be friendly or polite to other dog owners, even when both they and their dogs appear perfectly sociable.  :(   I wonder how much canine aggression derives from picking up defensive or aggressive cues from their owners? One of the things about a village is that there is good social cohesion and interaction; people still maintain social niceties even when they don't particularly get on, and allow their dogs to go through greeting and sniffing rituals in their entirety while the humans nod and make the usual comments about the weather.
I personally would never interfere with dogs going through a greeting ritual, even if one of them was bouncy or pushy, as I'd rather both dogs learned to handle the situation themselves; interfering at this point is a very good way of escalating a potential confrontation too. The only exeption would be with known aggressors or when it happens places where one or other may be over territorial or claustrophobic (including park gates, narrow passageways etc). Or with people who have large groups of dogs, as the dynamics of the group may be too complex. There are some problem dogs here, mainly rescues, but their owners are usually polite and communicative and prepared to explain the nature of the problem.

We may not feel the need to go through social rituals every day (esp. as technology has provided us with a range of substitutes ), but dogs do, and the more they practice their social skills the better they become:

"Dogs have a truly universal language that can be incredibly subtle and wide ranging. This marvellous language is one that we can also learn and understand, and through that ability communicate with our dogs far more effectively.

However this is a language that needs to be practiced for our dogs to be fluent. That is why early socialisation, puppy classes, and controlled play with other vaccinated dogs is so vitally important, especially in the critical periods from 7 to 16 weeks. As a behaviourist I get to treat many of these animals that are unable to give calming signals or are stunted in their ability to meet and greet because of the lack of early socialisation."

taken from "the dog listener"


I think this is true Elizabeth ..... I know because Ive spoken to Alfyn on this one.

Oscar will pick up the vibes if Im anxious or nervous when meeting other dogs.

I felt like this for a long time after Chip was attacked, he must sense it sometimes. :( I try very hard to feel more relaxed now when we approach other dogs.
 
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Believe me I do sympathise, I've been there too with mine too Juley. Following on from his attacks, he is slighly more fearful on lead now, particularly with certain breeds, but I still feel it's important to keep on socialising with other dogs otherwise what is currently a slight problem will just continue to get worse. I need to practice it to build my confidence up again too.

I didn't find keeping him on a lead when his toe was healing helped get over his attack either; he was showing definite signs of frustration aggression towards the end of the time, mainly barking at other dogs to try and gain their attention. Also people would come and drag their dogs away while they were in the process of saying hello (because they assumed he was on lead for being aggressive) which resulted in the odd hair raising moment, and just added to his confusion about why his contact with other dogs was being curtailed. I was very glad to get back to normal, and relieved to find that he got back to his normal self very quickly too. :sweating:

I have drawn the line at my parents walking him though; being on warfarin means falls or bites could be potentially very dangerous for them; I am so thankful he wasn't attacked when my mother was walking him. It is sad though - I've walked dogs in this park since I was about 7, with virtually no aggressive incidents until recently. :(
 
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I was out at 6.30 am with my boys today, on the field not a soul in sight, they were playing together and chasing the birds, it was a lovely morning and I don't think any of us wanted to come home. Compare this to Christmas day having your dogs testacles stitched back because someone else can't control their dog, I'll do it my way all the time. For a long time Sparky could not meet another dog without cowering on the floor scared to death and wetting himself, I have tears rolling down my face now just thinking what he went through. My way might not be Jan Fennell's way but it's got him back to a decent life again and that's all I want.

Jenny
 
moriarte said:
I have drawn the line at my parents walking him though; being on warfarin means falls or bites could be potentially very dangerous for them; I am so thankful he wasn't attacked when my mother was walking him. It is sad though - I've walked dogs in this park since I was about 7, with virtually no aggressive incidents until recently.  :(
I wont allow my daughter whos 16 or my son whos 12 to walk them either Elizabeth, for fear of 'just in case' :( I know what you mean. Unless they come along with me or the OH.

the delights of owning dogs - makes you wonder why we do it eh?? :clown: :lol:
 
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quintessence said:
I was out at 6.30 am with my boys today, on the field not a soul in sight, they were playing together and chasing the birds, it was a lovely morning and I don't think any of us wanted to come home.  Compare this to Christmas day having your dogs testacles stitched back because someone else can't control their dog, I'll do it my way all the time.  For a long time Sparky could not meet another dog without cowering on the floor scared to death and wetting himself, I have tears rolling down my face now just thinking what he went through.  My way might not be Jan Fennell's way but it's got him back to a decent life again and that's all I want.
Jenny

I'm sorry I missed all of this. That must have been vile for you and Sparky well that don't bear thinking about.

Had a thought have any of you read On Talking Terms with Dogs: Calming Signals by Turid Ruggas? Her work is phenomenal.

A lot of people whose work is the reshaping the aggressive behaviour of rescue dogs use her techniques. If you are interested in diffusing aggressive behaviour of dogs get hold of a copy and reading it. It's amazing when a strange dog responds to you sending it a calming signal.

The other great book about behaviour reshaping is Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson (James & Kenneth).

For nervous dogs then T Touch is very effective.
 
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