dog walking thoughts

Cahill

Cahill

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just musing here (and I know the rule about if you see a dog approaching on a lead you put yours on unless it is under close call)but if `good` dogs are allowed off lead and ones wanting a bit of manners are not-how do dogs learn to interact with each other?
surely dogs need to learn how to tell off/be told off and learn doggy language to become alround happy chappies?
 
I used to ask people :) Tia was just bouncey with strange dogs so if we met one of a similar size I'd explain and ask if I could pop her on her long line and let her have a play/let their dog tell her off a bit. Some obliged, some were rude but at least I asked :)

I've had people ask the same of Jack with their puppies which I have no problem with. He's good but will tell them off if they get OTT.
 
I agree op. And we're going through this with our puppy at the moment - I feel it's a very important part of her education. Obviously we don't want her hurt. But at the same time she needs to learn things we can't teach her.

We have her off lead 90% of the time and if loose dogs are around we monitor the interaction. Obviously one on the lead we prevent from approaching and pop her back on her lead for a more controlled introduction if ok with the other owner.
 
Agree OP. It's easier in open spaces for dogs to meet and greet off lead, rather than within the confines of a single track lane, but it depends on the owner being realistic about the dog's temperament.

I look at the owner's body language as much as the dogs. Stressy, hysterical owners tend to make dogs excited and nervous, so with that kind of person, my dogs have the lead put on or we take a detour.
 
This is the reason/excuse I give to people when they tell me I'm bonkers for having so many dogs! Continual socialisation :o
 
Just come back from a walk with my dog, who never goes on a lead and in the interests of research I counted the dogs we met.....18 in total, only 1 was on a lead and every dog passed with no interest apart from a few who said hello to my dog and passed on their way. All the humans said hello ! Maybe I just never encounter the type of dogs that others seem to on here ! Two of the dogs did pretend deafness and jump in the river for a paddle but that was the only problem we saw.
 
bonny said:
Just come back from a walk with my dog, who never goes on a lead and in the interests of research I counted the dogs we met.....18 in total, only 1 was on a lead and every dog passed with no interest apart from a few who said hello to my dog and passed on their way. All the humans said hello ! Maybe I just never encounter the type of dogs that others seem to on here ! Two of the dogs did pretend deafness and jump in the river for a paddle but that was the only problem we saw.
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Thankfully we've never encountered the types of dogs others seem to either (either with our pup, or step sons dog when we had her).
 
I think it depends on the type of places you go to. I used to walk in central Cambridge, which has a lot of green spaces for off lead dogs but close to the centre, I would walk a dog on a long line because he is a run away type breed, and generally reel him in when another dog was close to avoid everyone getting tied up and me not having control. Hardly anyone bothers to call their dog back in this situation and I definitely would do so. The dog in question gets nervous of big dogs that come bounding over with little warning, and will often snap and get boisterous. I did feel sorry for him not being able to go off lead and socialise (and get told off), but it is not my dog so I could not be responsible for him running away. I do however do my best to meet with dogs on lead, and you can usually tell who is happy to do so as they are looking at you rather than looking away trying to get their dog away. I don't walk in those areas anymore as the open spaces and too many dogs were too much for him really, I go to an old cemetery now where it is much more enclosed, and we more often meet dogs that are under control on or off lead, or with owner fairly close by. Much better for us and he doesn't snap as often as it is a lower pressure situation. I can take my own dog pretty much anywhere as he is well socialised and ignores other dogs unless they are friendly. The trouble with the aforementioned dog is that he is desperate to meet other dogs but then immediately hates them! At least he can be friends with my dog now (even though he tries to pick on him!) and they can play in the garden etc. I wish we had some properly enclosed dog parks sometimes.
 
When my Lakeland was young he used to sometimes annoy dogs on a walk. A bit too much wanting to play. I used to be pleased if an older dog put him in his place. Taught him in doggy language was what and wasn't acceptable. He lives with other dogs but they let him get away with things strange dogs would not. Some people I feel can be a little over protective. If he got roughed up or knocked over I let him pick himself up and dust himself off and get on with it. I didn't want him to grow up being wussy and molly coddled. He's grown into a confident dog who's friendly to all dogs he meets. He isn't afraid to stick up for himself if needs be, which is what I wanted.
 
when we go to the park and there are lots of dog my boy doesn`t take that much notice because there are too many but likes to play if he find a one of a similar place in the pecking order(he is a woossy ).

when on the lead and we meet another dog he some times barks and bounces if the other dog barks at him,sometimes people go the other way because he is a rotti :(

the thing that annoys me most is when a dog on a lead has a go at my dog and the owner will pat it to soothe it and therefore reinforcing the behaviour.usually the owner has created the problem by tightening the lead in the 1st place.
 
Cahill said:
the thing that annoys me most is when a dog on a lead has a go at my dog and the owner will pat it to soothe it and therefore reinforcing the behaviour.usually the owner has created the problem by tightening the lead in the 1st place.
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I understand why you would feel that way but what do you suggest instead? You don't know the source of the other dogs aggression and it may come from feeling uncomfortable and defensive, in which case I would say reassurance was the thing to do and works for both the reactive basenji I walk, and my collie on the rare occasions he will have a bit of a growl in an enclosed space (this happened in a pet shop once that was quite narrow) ideally I'd like to divert their attention I suppose but that isn't always possible.

Obviously if any dog I am with tries to go for another dog I tell it to pack it in, but I would usually avoid getting to that stage as it only further increases the stress.

I found the hellish weekend looking after the snappy dog quite useful, I learnt a lot about both dogs reactions and now can be better prepared when out with either of them.
 
Copperpot said:
When my Lakeland was young he used to sometimes annoy dogs on a walk. A bit too much wanting to play. I used to be pleased if an older dog put him in his place. Taught him in doggy language was what and wasn't acceptable. He lives with other dogs but they let him get away with things strange dogs would not. Some people I feel can be a little over protective. If he got roughed up or knocked over I let him pick himself up and dust himself off and get on with it. I didn't want him to grow up being wussy and molly coddled. He's grown into a confident dog who's friendly to all dogs he meets. He isn't afraid to stick up for himself if needs be, which is what I wanted.
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I agree with this.
 
mandwhy said:
I understand why you would feel that way but what do you suggest instead? You don't know the source of the other dogs aggression and it may come from feeling uncomfortable and defensive, in which case I would say reassurance was the thing to do and works for both the reactive basenji I walk, and my collie on the rare occasions he will have a bit of a growl in an enclosed space (this happened in a pet shop once that was quite narrow) ideally I'd like to divert their attention I suppose but that isn't always possible.

Obviously if any dog I am with tries to go for another dog I tell it to pack it in, but I would usually avoid getting to that stage as it only further increases the stress.

I found the hellish weekend looking after the snappy dog quite useful, I learnt a lot about both dogs reactions and now can be better prepared when out with either of them.
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yes I agree with you about averting the dogs attention in ideal situations but I still think what you are calling `reassurance` is really reinforcement.
I reward good behaviour and ignore the not so good unless it needs a verbal `io!`
 
Problem is you never know what the dogs you are relying on to teach your pup are reliable/ have decent owners.

You know you ask said owner if it is ok for your pup to interact with their dog, "of course replies said owner mine is very friendly" 5 minutes later you are prizing said friendly dogs jaws from round your pups neck, whilst your pup screams, and end up in the vets with no more than "ohhhhhh he/she's never done that before" from said "friendly" dogs owner!!! personally i do not trust other owners or their dogs enough to allow them to "teach" my pup ta

I think training clubs are a great way to socialise a dog in controlled conditions.

I can also assure you that "most" folk with a reactive dog have not "created" said dog by tightening a lead.....
 
Copperpot said:
When my Lakeland was young he used to sometimes annoy dogs on a walk. A bit too much wanting to play. I used to be pleased if an older dog put him in his place. Taught him in doggy language was what and wasn't acceptable. He lives with other dogs but they let him get away with things strange dogs would not. Some people I feel can be a little over protective. If he got roughed up or knocked over I let him pick himself up and dust himself off and get on with it. I didn't want him to grow up being wussy and molly coddled. He's grown into a confident dog who's friendly to all dogs he meets. He isn't afraid to stick up for himself if needs be, which is what I wanted.
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Yup, this is the same as my Border. Dogs don't learn by being mollycoddled and he's a dog, not China, he'll bounce! My dog is still a little over friendly but will (mostly) come away if called and if a dog is showing signs mine will stop, drop and show his belly because he hates to offend.
 
Mostly they don't get hurt though. It's more noise than actual harm being done. Hand bags I call it. Some people do create dogs which are scared of others. By the owners being scared their dog will get hurt and reacting in a certain way, the dog learns to be afraid. Rushing over and fussing them, picking them up if another dog approaches etc. Obviously I always asked the owner if their dog was friendly before I let the pup approach.

It's done him no harm. He was a year old last week and got knocked flying by a huge boxer. He got straight up and told it exactly what he thought of him. As Dizzle says, they are dogs and even the smallest are not made of glass. They are tougher than we think.
 
My dogs are great for anyone wanting to introduce a puppy, they do seem to tailor their behaviour to the age of the dog, they will tell them off if they over step the mark but its a growl or a bark never a bite. If they meet an aggressive on lead dog they couldnt give a stuff and just ignore them, if friendly dogs run up to them they are more than willing to say hello but dont usually play with other dogs unless they know them.

I agree with the dog training classes that has been suggested by Lexie as they are a great way of introducing your pup/dog to other dogs in a controlled environment but do your research first and go and have a look at a few to see which one you would like your dog to go to.
 
This has been done to death. The reason mine is on a lead around other dogs is first of all she has been attacked by another dog who was not on a lead. This reinforces the stupid owners idea of letting them play when I told them to leave her. And secondly she is older and I don't want her attacking again thanks. My dog your vets bill. I carry a walking stick I will put it between my dog and theirs until the owner can be bothered to get the dog that won't recall. My dog will recall and is let off the lead.
 
Kaylum said:
This has been done to death. The reason mine is on a lead around other dogs is first of all she has been attacked by another dog who was not on a lead. This reinforces the stupid owners idea of letting them play when I told them to leave her. And secondly she is older and I don't want her attacking again thanks. My dog your vets bill. I carry a walking stick I will put it between my dog and theirs until the owner can be bothered to get the dog that won't recall. My dog will recall and is let off the lead.
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I was not meaning`reactive dogs`or dogs with issues,i was talking about ordinary dogs and interacting with each other.
I did mention in my OP about meeting dogs on leads and etiquette so obviously this thread is not for you.
 
When my big GSD was a pup, we went for a walk with BIL's cairn terrier, who had displayed no previous signs of aggression. My pup was 12 weeks old. He was running past BIL's dog, minding his own business, when with no warning the terrier attacked, locking his jaws onto my pup's ear. It took three of us to get him off, with my pup screaming and screaming from the pain. We had to effectively strangle the cairn til he passed out to loosen his jaws; I had my knee on his neck in the snow for what felt like hours. If it had been my puppy's neck, he'd have been dead.

As a result, this GSD does not like other dogs. I've done what I can to socialise him. If he can walk 20 feet on a lead next to a nice dog, he relaxes and will play beautifully. He has never attacked another dog but will not turn his back on any strange dog.

This attack has made all our lives more difficult. I will not allow any of my dogs to interact with another dog unless I know it well; I will not have this happen again. I do fully accept that my experience has coloured things for me though.
 
Cahill said:
I was not meaning`reactive dogs`or dogs with issues,i was talking about ordinary dogs and interacting with each other.
I did mention in my OP about meeting dogs on leads and etiquette so obviously this thread is not for you.
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She is an ordinary well trained well behaved dog it's idiots who 'want them to play' who have no idea about dog ownership.

As for this thread 'not being for me' wtf it's about dogs ofcourse it's for me unless you want to but a disclaimer on it that only those with dogs of certain behaviour can reply?
 
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Kaylum said:
She is an ordinary well trained well behaved dog it's idiots who 'want them to play' who have no idea about dog ownership.

As for this thread 'not being for me' wtf it's about dogs ofcourse it's for me unless you want to but a disclaimer on it that only those with dogs of certain behaviour can reply?
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Well I must be 'an idiot' because I want my dog to 'play'.
I thought I was an experienced, sensible dog owner, having kept dogs all of my life. I thought that allowing my 6 month old pup to play with others of his own species would help him become a more rounded, socialised and indeed happy little dog. How idiotic of me!!
 
minesadouble said:
Well I must be 'an idiot' because I want my dog to 'play'.
I thought I was an experienced, sensible dog owner, having kept dogs all of my life. I thought that allowing my 6 month old pup to play with others of his own species would help him become a more rounded, socialised and indeed happy little dog. How idiotic of me!!
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Me too. I'm a huge idiot cos I like all mine to play with other dogs. Luckily we will have confident dogs who are comfortable with other dogs approaching and not neurotic dogs created by neurotic owners. The only one I am wary to let play is the rescue who wasn't socialised until he was a year old. He's very excitable and bouncy and only certain dogs can deal with him. Although he will tailor his enthusiasm to the size of the dog!
 
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