Dog Walking Etiquette - gahh!

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SplashofSoy

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Can all you experienced dog walkers help me with some rules about this so i can be clear in my own head. As someone who has only had a dog for a 10 months i think i have got it wrong.

1. If other dog is on a lead keep your dog away either by walking to heel or in our case as we are not that advanced by putting your dog on a lead.
2. If both dogs are on lead and passing each other you dont let them approach until you have had the ok from the other owner. If you dont get the ok walk past at a safe distance.
3. If your dog is off lead and the other dog is off lead and either owner makes no attempt at recalling their dog presume its ok for them to say hello and let them get on with it.
4. If both dogs are off lead and one owner recalls the other should also.
5. If your dog is not good with other dogs/people then either have it on a lead, recall before they get chance to meet, i know not always possible if you are say in a remote area not expecting to meet someone and they appear.

These are the rules i tend to go by but i think i am wrong with number 3 in particular. I ask because I want Henry to meet as many dogs as possible, have done since a puppy and he is very well socialised. In fact on his group socialisation walks he is used quite by the trainer as the first dog a new dog to the group will meet as he completely none reactive and knows how to interact, polite approach without bounding and a quiet sniff, he moves on quickly unless play is initiated as he is still quite puppy like even at 13 months. I went to the beach this morning. This is a very busy beach in a town with a lot of dog walkers at prime dog walking time before work. Lots of dogs all off lead running round, playing with each other or just walking etc. Henry just greets all the dogs and they make loads of friends as it is often the same faces. The situation where you havent a clue what the people are called but you know all the dogs names!:D

In this situation do you just let them get on with it? i do with Henry but was told off by a woman this morning because Henry went to greet her dog who was off lead. She said i shouldnt have let henry just go up to a dog he didnt know and her dog wasnt good with other dogs and if he had had a go it would have been my fault and to stay away. I just apologised and walked away, Henry had by this point had no further interest in her dog.

I dont think Henry did anything wrong but please correct me as i dont want to upset people and think i am one of these lunatic dog owners who cant be bothered to train thier dog.

What is the right course of action and are my general rules correct?
 
I agree with your rules, but no 3 should actually say"presume its okay but bear in mind some owners are idiots"!
If her dog wasn't good with others she should have at least called it back to her or shouted a warning to you to keep Henry away.
 
I go by the same rules as you, and if she had met me, I would have told her to put her bloody dog on a lead if it was unfriendly and give people fair warning rather than relying on other people suddenly developing telepathy and reading her (presumably fairly empty) mind...

I've got some hormone issues going on right now:p
 
Oh and btw, I would also have told her that if her dog had 'had a go', since she had it off-lead it would have been dangerously out of control in a public place, thus contravening the DDA, and I would have reported her for it. And she'd have got the vets bill too. So there:p

Yep, real bad hormone issues...
 
I would agree that if her dog wasn't good with other dogs, she should have put him on the lead or shouted a warning.

I always put mine on the lead as he can be a bit unpredictable on our narrow tracks. However if we are in a big wide open space or on the beach for example where there are lots of dogs, I leave him off lead (but will call back to heel if necessary) as he is much less likely to react in those situations .

Most people round here are pretty good and will put heir's on a lead or recall if they see me putting mine on a lead but I do warn them if they don't look like they are going too as a loose dog coming up to mine on a lead is just asking for trouble. If it looks like they have no control over their dog, then I might leave him off as again putting him on the lead while the other dog is loose and bounding around will make the situation worse.
 
I think you're in the right. The dog that's got a problem should be kept on a lead. My parents rescue dog is walked on a lead beacuse he can be a bit funny with other dogs sometimes. He's huge to and even though he's on a lead being told to calm down by my parents you'd be surprised how many people let their dogs/kids come up to him. Some people are daft though and that woman just sounds like she was rude!
 
Have never adhered to any written or assumed rules of etiquette...I let common sense be my guide. Can't keep dog under control ? Put it on a lead. Unfriendly dog? Don't let it mingle and don't assume that other people have THEIR dogs under control. Don't assume that other dogs off lead are under control or friendly.
 
PucciNPoni said:
Have never adhered to any written or assumed rules of etiquette...I let common sense be my guide. Can't keep dog under control ? Put it on a lead. Unfriendly dog? Don't let it mingle and don't assume that other people have THEIR dogs under control. Don't assume that other dogs off lead are under control or friendly.
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I agree with this really. Although I think we're lucky where we walk our dogs as there's a lot of woodland and bridelways and you don't actually bump in to many people on any narrow tracks or anything like that. Also, you tend to see the same people on the walks so know their dogs and vice versa. The vast majority of dogs in my experience and not outwardly aggressive and most people round us have their dogs off lead when walking.

Our older dog can be a bit of a grump when meeting other dogs so I tend to put him on the lead but nowadays this is normally for his own safety as I am concerned he'll pick a fight with something much stronger than him. Thankfully, he actually is pretty sociable generally and knows his limit so just likes to give a grumble these days. Our GSD x is friendly but also a wuss. To be honest we rarely put her on the lead as she stays close and, if she senses a dog we meet is not going to be friendly then she will do her own 'detour'! It's quite funny. Also, she would never go bounding up to another dog and she will stay close to us so I do not worry that she will jump all over an injured dog and I figure the way she passes a dog is no different than if she was on lead anyway.

I think sometimes though dogs owners do need to give each other a bit of slack as there seem to be a few who think others are "idiots" because they do not (at that time) have 100% control over their dog(s). Ok, if it's all the time then that's different but sometimes even the best trained dog can have the moment of selective deafness (I have experienced that regularly!!!) and can make the owner look like an idiot when they may not actually be! :)
 
PucciNPoni said:
Don't assume that other dogs off lead are under control or friendly.
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Think this is my problem. This is the assumption I have made and quicky realising this is not the case but dont want to keep Henry on the lead or recall away from every dog off the lead just in case so suppose you just have to keep a close eye and hope.
 
Mostly, dogs are pretty good at sorting these things out themselves IME, especially when they are off-lead and hence don't feel extra defensive as a result of being restrained. Yes, as an owner keep an eye on off-lead interactions and be ready to step in, but actually IME most dogs off the lead are not about to chew your dogs head off.
 
I, er, let :p (translation - he ignored me bellowing HEEERE! because I missed an opportunity to recall him while he was still thinking about it :p) the youngster run up to another offlead GSD on the beach yesterday. They they then did a mad tear-arse around while me and the other owner played the 'hop, skip and jump over the long-line' dance :o :o :o but luckily he was very nice about it.

My older dog is not good with other dogs so he stays on a lead in public. Duh!
As Spud says, I have witnessed some real handbags moments, but that is all it was, just handbags. The worst fight I thought I had ever witnessed and was expecting blood and gore, the dog who was pinned down (my older dog's sister) did not have a single puncture wound. And she never gobbed off at another dog!!!
 
If we meet people and/or other dogs on a walk I would normally stick to your etiquette rules, we do tend to recall ours but we have 5 out and 3 of them are large dogs and I wouldn't like for 5 dogs to come running up to a dog on it's own, we normally recall stick on leads if the other owner is ok dogs back off leash to have a carry on.
If it was only one dog I was walking and there was nothing from the other owner about recalling their dog how are you meant to know?
Everyone knows their own dog and if it's a bit grumpy with other dogs it always runs a chance of grumping at the wrong dog (one of the ridgebacks is great for playing but if someone else starts a fight with him he will finish it, and at 31inches at the shoulder and over 50kgs he will use his weight) again there was a bit of a spat between him and a friends ridgeback where the other one was pinned to the ground, but no marks on either.
 
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