What's going on with dog walkers these days??

[rumpelstiltskin]

Starting to feel like a leper around my area walking my dog?Do other dog owners really think that every time their dog meets another dog they are going to rip each other to shreds?Im really sick of it.I've got an 11 month old Husky,she is the softest dog in the world and she just wants to play all the time,she never been involved in any kind of killing or fight.Dogs are pack animals,they will sort each other out!Everyone just instantly puts their dogs on a lead,or if my dog goes over to play i get shouted at,stared at etc.Even met a woman on a beach who ran away to the side with her dog,and refused to move any further along the beach until 'we' put our dog on a lead,for heaven's sake the world's gone mad!
In fact my misses has said this is definetly going to be the last dog we own,she's also sick of it.Anyone else feel the same?Even tonight there was a lady with three collies,my dog went over and was playing around with all three of them,you should have heard this woman screaming and shouting,i just looked at her,what in the hell?After the dogs played i just remained still staring at her and shouted to get my dog back in,no harm done.

[Siscar]

It depends on the dog breed, it's not something you get with a Golden Retriever, hardly anyone feels threatened by him. A Husky is a little different to that in image.

I should add, if that's what is happening it is idiotic. We meet all sorts of breeds without a problem, it's rare that people who have a dog with a problem just let it run around, we react to the other owner and not the dog.

Edited by Siscar on Saturday 14th December 16:05

[mustdash]

I put my dog on a lead when we're out and meet other dogs, mainly because he gets a little bit anxious around dogs he doesn't know, which can lead to him acting in an agressive / defensive manner. Most dogs are fine with this and either wander off, or don't react - some aren't ok with this and react in a way that escalates the situation, which could lead (thankfully so far nothing other than a nip that didn't break the skin to another dog yet) to injury. I don't want my dog injured, and I don't want my dog to injure another dog.

[Pickled]

You're brave walking a husky off lead, they are notorious for having poor recall.

I would never trust my Malamute to come back if off lead in an open area.

You might be lucky at 11 months with recall, but give it another year...

[andym1603]

I also put our dog on the lead if other dogs are about. Being a Great Dane he is a tad larger than other dogs in this area. All he wants to do is sniff butt and play chases, but I find the smaller the dog the more likely they are to run up to him and bark, which sets him off. I do not want to run the risk of any aggression with him as I feel being the larger he will be held responsible if anything happens.
Would love it to meet another Dane here so Fletcher can run and play.

[Marcellus]

I think it's more to do with your choice of breed, you know it's as soft as anything but Huskies don't generally have a good reputation..

[kVA]

Pickled said:

You're brave walking a husky off lead, they are notorious for having poor recall.

I would never trust my Malamute to come back if off lead in an open area.

You might be lucky at 11 months with recall, but give it another year...

Ha ha - yes... A good friend of mine breeds huskies and they are off lead all the time around her farm at home...

but NEVER anywhere else!!! If a husky decides to run, your recall will be straight out of the window - if you're lucky, he'll not get hit by a car, get shot for chasing livestock, or go feral, and then he might come back after about 3 days

I love them to bits, but it is this trait that stops me getting one (and the fact that they might kill the neighbours cats - like the ones next door to me did

[kVA]

Back on topic though, yes, I get this too - especially when all 3 of mine are off lead and want to play...

[Jasandjules]

Maybe they have a nervous/aggressive dog.

One of ours would hurt another dog so we make sure people keep away when he is out with us, though we try to walk him around areas dogs are not off lead.

[rumpelstiltskin]

Pickled said:

You're brave walking a husky off lead, they are notorious for having poor recall.

I would never trust my Malamute to come back if off lead in an open area.

You might be lucky at 11 months with recall, but give it another year...

She actually has good recall, its just that she reacts 10 minutes after ive called on her!:-)
But many dogs are like this, all dogs are different, some owners like letting their dogs play, but the majority will take issue and start shouting and moaning over nothing! Are dogs not meant to socialise?? Thats how most peoples dogs 'are' terrified and have issues, they spend their lives on a lead!

[rumpelstiltskin]

kVA said:

Ha ha - yes... A good friend of mine breeds huskies and they are off lead all the time around her farm at home...

but NEVER anywhere else!!! If a husky decides to run, your recall will be straight out of the window - if you're lucky, he'll not get hit by a car, get shot for chasing livestock, or go feral, and then he might come back after about 3 days

I love them to bits, but it is this trait that stops me getting one (and the fact that they might kill the neighbours cats - like the ones next door to me did

Im calling her a Husky for quickness, she's actually a Northern Inuit, or Northern idiot as I prefer to call her.So shes part Husky, malamute and Alsation.We have three cats and she cleans them, nuzzles into them 'and' sleeps with them 'then' kills them, (just kidding!!)

[pad58]

I walk our lab every day off lead in a small forest, we meet other off lead dogs no problem.

There is however one collie that went for her nastily and forced my dog into a ditch ,then our Millie retaliated.
Now they give each other a wide berth.
The two Huskies we see are always on leads, the poor owners have a hard task pulling them back.

[rumpelstiltskin]

pad58 said:

I walk our lab every day off lead in a small forest, we meet other off lead dogs no problem.

There is however one collie that went for her nastily and forced my dog into a ditch ,then our Millie retaliated.
Now they give each other a wide berth.
The two Huskies we see are always on leads, the poor owners have a hard task pulling them back.

This is what annoys me, when dogs are playing, mouthing each other, knocking each other over etc its all play, but some owners see this as their dogs being attacked!! Weve had dogs coming over to us, hitting her over, even had a little wound on her once, do we go nuts and start shouting at people, no!People just need to chill out I think, all these timid little dogs on leads quite literally I think 'feel' the tension from their owners.

[ShampooEfficient]

kVA said:

Back on topic though, yes, I get this too - especially when all 3 of mine are off lead and want to play...

Oh my.

[Siscar]

rumpelstiltskin said:

This is what annoys me, when dogs are playing, mouthing each other, knocking each other over etc its all play, but some owners see this as their dogs being attacked!! Weve had dogs coming over to us, hitting her over, even had a little wound on her once, do we go nuts and start shouting at people, no!People just need to chill out I think, all these timid little dogs on leads quite literally I think 'feel' the tension from their owners.

Well it does depend on whether your dog has ever been truly attacked by another. We had a staffie hanging off the throat of one of our Goldens, I ended up in a battle with it - me and, fortunately, a stick, it and it's teeth. It finally ran when I got it with the stick on the jaw, blood flew and it ran. Believe me, it was horrific.

I know someone who was hospitalised for several days when he tried to intervene when a dog attacked his old Lab, he got bitten quite badly.

It happens, I can understand that people are nervous about a large dog bouncing about particularly if it shows no sign of being under control - able to recall on command. To me recall is essential, it's the absolute necessity if you are going to have dogs off the lead. When we approach people we don't know we don't put ours on the lead but we do recall them to us so people can see that they are under control. If you are just letting it bounce around with no sign of control you shouldn't be surprised that people have a problem with that.

[New POD]

My Cavalier knows to avoid any dog on a lead. If he's off the lead he'll keep his distance. Clever little thing.

[Jasandjules]

Siscar said:

If you are just letting it bounce around with no sign of control you shouldn't be surprised that people have a problem with that.

Yep, sadly our rescue is not a dog friendly chap. It really f**ks me off when people have their dog running around us (especially the ones snarling and snapping) and they are saying "don't worry he's friendly" and we are going "but our's isn't"...

Simply put, if someone has their dog on lead they may have a reason for that, please try to respect it.

[Kiltie]

rumpelstiltskin said:

pad58 said:

I walk our lab every day off lead in a small forest, we meet other off lead dogs no problem.

There is however one collie that went for her nastily and forced my dog into a ditch ,then our Millie retaliated.
Now they give each other a wide berth.
The two Huskies we see are always on leads, the poor owners have a hard task pulling them back.

This is what annoys me, when dogs are playing, mouthing each other, knocking each other over etc its all play, but some owners see this as their dogs being attacked!! Weve had dogs coming over to us, hitting her over, even had a little wound on her once, do we go nuts and start shouting at people, no!People just need to chill out I think, all these timid little dogs on leads quite literally I think 'feel' the tension from their owners.

It sounds a wee bit like you've decided exactly how things are and you expect everyone you meet on a walk to think exactly the way you do and to have an advance understanding that your dog is friendly.

My old Greyhound is twelve years old.

If a large boisterous dog was to appear and try to play with her in a rough way, there's a real possibility she could be injured.

If a large boisterous dog was to appear and try to play with her in a rough way and the owners didn't have control and / or thought this was all fine and acceptable; I'd be really fed up with them.

I walk my dog off the lead but I'm always keeping an eye out for other people and dogs. When I see people and / or dogs approaching, I make a judgement as to what to do.

If there are young children, I usually put her on the lead. Not so much because I'm worried about what she could do but to be respectful towards the parents in case they're not dog people.

With other dogs, I sometimes do and I sometimes don't. My dog is fine with a bit of polite bum sniffing but can react if another dog jumps up or puts a paw on her back.

I want to avoid situations where my dog might snap at another dog even if it's that dog's fault. It's being sensible and being respectful to the other owners.

Up here, we have "The Control of Dogs (Scotland) Act 2010" which essentially requires owners to be responsible. It's based on a "deed not breed" ethos. I'm not sure if there's an equivalent where you are.

If a large boisterous dog was to appear and try to play with her in a rough way, I'd have a word with the owners and let them know I wasn't very happy.

If it seemed that they understood their mistake and apologised and explained that it had been a one off; I'd leave it there for the time being.

If they told me not to be so daft because their dog "was only playing" I'd photograph them and report them to Police Scotland.

It's all about respect for people you meet. Maybe your posts aren't coming across very well but it reads like you maybe don't care about how other people feel.

There are many analogies I could draw with driving on the public road but my supper is nearly ready.

[rambo19]

I used to get the same thing when I walked my mates rottwieler.
Not really alot you can do about it.

[Kiltie]

Kiltie said:

Up here, we have "The Control of Dogs (Scotland) Act 2010" which essentially requires owners to be responsible. It's based on a "deed not breed" ethos. I'm not sure if there's an equivalent where you are.

Sorry, just looked at the OP's profile and see he's in Scotland too.

rambo19 said:

Not really alot you can do about it.

You could keep the dog under control and stop it bothering other dogs / people.