Irresponsible Owners

misst

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To be fair lately it has been better around here. The lab that knocks dogs and people over is the biggest exception. Her owner shouts from afar "don't worry she's friendly" as she runs up to strangers. I put mine on leads when I see her coming but it really annoys me. I have a 2 year old JRT who is brilliant most of the time but does like to play if invited and seems unaware that playing with a large bouncing lab is not the same as playing with her bestie who is a same age and size BT. The lab owner has suggested I "let them play together as they'll love it".

Today we saw several dogs being put on lead as we approached and so I put mine on leads at the same time. Each time it was in case my small dogs would be overwhelmed by their larger dogs, which I found very thoughtful of the owners. All the big dogs ignored us and my two ignore others if they are on the lead. It was a lovely civilized walk with plenty of squirrel chasing in the woods and lots of swimming in massive puddles and polite interaction (or lack of) with everyone :)
 

blackcob

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I have definitely noticed an increase in stressful encounters with off lead dogs and for me it's been a double whammy of going from two large 'scary' dogs to a small fluffy - his space is significantly less respected than that of the big dogs, to an extent I really hadn't anticipated. I am ok with doing shouty harridan but it is tiresome and stressful.

SaddlePsych'D I've also observed that 'off lead at all costs' type mentality and cannot understand it at all.
 

lou246

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I have definitely noticed an increase in stressful encounters with off lead dogs and for me it's been a double whammy of going from two large 'scary' dogs to a small fluffy - his space is significantly less respected than that of the big dogs, to an extent I really hadn't anticipated. I am ok with doing shouty harridan but it is tiresome and stressful.
I have a small dog and a large dog and definitely notice a difference in how other dog walkers behave around them if I walk them separately. People often keep their dogs away from my larger dog but don’t with my smaller one. It’s as if they don’t think he could do damage even if he wasn’t ‘friendly’ so it doesn’t matter. It does matter though as a dog charging at him could really stress him out.
 

Pearlsasinger

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I am surprised to see that some people notice a difference between the way others react to big and small dogs. Our Rottweilers were always walked on lead in public places andwewerealways amazed at thenumberof dogs that were allowed to approach them by owners who really didn't seem to be aware of the damage that a Rott could do. Fortunately the were both very even-tempered. The only reason that they were kept on-lead was because their recall was less than reliable.
 

CorvusCorax

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SaddlePsych'D I've also observed that 'off lead at all costs' type mentality and cannot understand it at all.

I genuinely don't think there's anything more to it than 'my arms are sore' and not being able to admit they can't train.
You never see the same people able to walk their dogs at heel/on a loose line.
I can't imagine caring so little about a dog you'd willingly let it put itself at risk of injury on the roads or in the hands of another dog or a livestock farmer with a gun for the sake of fReeDom.
 

Annette4

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I genuinely don't think there's anything more to it than 'my arms are sore' and not being able to admit they can't train.
You never see the same people able to walk their dogs at heel/on a loose line.
I can't imagine caring so little about a dog you'd willingly let it put itself at risk of injury on the roads or in the hands of another dog or a livestock farmer with a gun for the sake of fReeDom.

With sighthound owners it tends to be 'they are bred to run so they should be able to' which I've given up arguing with.

I'm sick of Dobby turning himself inside out despite wearing a muzzle, harness and all his other kit to keep him safe. We hire a field when we can so he can free run outside of training and we moved so we have a bigger garden although we have to be careful when we train or nextdoors staff rips through the fence and the metal wire we've put up to keep her out.
 

lou246

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I am surprised to see that some people notice a difference between the way others react to big and small dogs. Our Rottweilers were always walked on lead in public places andwewerealways amazed at thenumberof dogs that were allowed to approach them by owners who really didn't seem to be aware of the damage that a Rott could do. Fortunately the were both very even-tempered. The only reason that they were kept on-lead was because their recall was less than reliable.
It’s like they don’t care about their own dogs safety, let alone other dogs! We still get people who don’t seem to care and let their dogs run over anyway but definitely less so than when walking with my smaller dog.
 

lou246

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So many owners who laugh and say their dog has "small dog syndrome" when its kicking off at mine. Nah, pet, that's aggression and if my dog did what yours is doing you would be calling the Police.
Exactly. Reactivity and aggression in smaller dogs is so often overlooked. I have trained my small and large dog the same way and I treat them both the same way. They are both dogs!
 

SaddlePsych'D

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I genuinely don't think there's anything more to it than 'my arms are sore' and not being able to admit they can't train.
You never see the same people able to walk their dogs at heel/on a loose line.
I can't imagine caring so little about a dog you'd willingly let it put itself at risk of injury on the roads or in the hands of another dog or a livestock farmer with a gun for the sake of fReeDom.

Same, I thought it was shocking but it was on a sighthound group so in line with the view Annette describes. They think it's cruel to stop them doing what they are bred to do. I get we need to work to what our dogs like but I still think there are ways to indulge sighthounds that stop short of letting them terrorise local wildlife and pets while putting themselves in danger.

I also wonder if there's another social media influence from seeing other peope share videos of off lead 'zoomies' making it easy to think 'let's go for it' when you don't see the work that goes into (or ought to go into) making that safe.

Thankfully so far in person I have only met other sighthound owners who have been lovely and very safety conscious. We're off to our first secure space hire (indoor arena) next week and I picked it specifically because the venue owners have greyhounds, it was good to chat to them beforehand as we are so wary of off lead time but it sounds like a great space for us to get started and train safely.
 

Escapade

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I'm really shocked by some things I've seen on FB in terms of attitudes around on/off lead dogs. One person thinking of giving up their sighthound after it had killed two sheep, got lost on an estuary (or similar), and nearly got itself and it's owner injured from chasing a horse (no mention of the poor horse or rider) but they just 'didn't like the idea' of the dog being kept on lead. I thought 'surely better than an injured or dead dog', turns out not necessarily when I saw on another post a comment that someone would rather risk their dog being hit by a car than 'take away it's freedom' to be off lead - they even mentioned having lost a dog in exactly this manner. Of course there was no mention or thought of the livestock, pets, car drivers, horse riders and other third parties impacted by these various attitudes.
Dogbook is absolutely bonkers.
I’ve copped some flak irl for walking mine on-lead but it’s always been people with handler-focused breeds. If I have time I’ll let someone finish their sermon, respond “okay” and move on, seeing steam come out the ears gives me joy ?
I firmly believe that off-lead time is a privilege which is earned. Mine never will and that’s okay, it just isn’t one of our goals. She has other outlets and runs in short bursts anyway, most places just aren’t safe for her to do that. Our walks are for her brain more than her body. See so many super fit hyper dogs that never get their brains worked!
 

Annette4

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Dogbook is absolutely bonkers.
I’ve copped some flak irl for walking mine on-lead but it’s always been people with handler-focused breeds. If I have time I’ll let someone finish their sermon, respond “okay” and move on, seeing steam come out the ears gives me joy ?
I firmly believe that off-lead time is a privilege which is earned. Mine never will and that’s okay, it just isn’t one of our goals. She has other outlets and runs in short bursts anyway, most places just aren’t safe for her to do that. Our walks are for her brain more than her body. See so many super fit hyper dogs that never get their brains worked!

Exactly this! Ginny and Dobby aren't safe off the lead (for different reasons) outside of sports unless it's a secure private field so that's when they get off lead time. Otherwise they are on a longline or a short lead and they work their brains and their bodies every day. It's a running joke with my friends that I'm useless since I can train my dogs to do backflips but I can't train them to come back ?

Even Fizz who has good recall is a sighthound at heart so she's only off lead in areas where I have a clear line of sight and there is no wildlife or stock for her to be tempted by.
 

CorvusCorax

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But it's the prey/chase/hunt drive that makes them good at sports. Swings and roundabouts. My young one likes to dick off and do victory laps, I keep having to shout LINE at my decoy so he can grab it or she's off ?

Same girl is exhausted after ten minutes working for food in the kitchen earlier, it's not all about the hooning about.
 

CorvusCorax

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AS IF BY MAGIC I saw the knob with the springer this morning (the one that jumped into the garden and chased her when she was tiny) from a distance so went through a gap in the hedge to avoid and was playing with her. He obviously unclips the line the second he passes my house or thinks I'm not around as the thing came racing through SCREAMING at her and trying to jump on her. I had a tight hold and kept her protected and he just kept walking with the head down while his dog was out of sight barking maniacally then whizzed off again.
Unfortunately I was so close to home I had gone through all the food.
I stayed for ages to make sure it was gone but once we started moving again she started vocalising but got her across the lane.
Time will tell later on how this will impact on all the counter conditioning I've been doing for over a year.....

I did say the last time we had 'words', that I had been very fair and was within my rights to call the dog warden but had not. He then got very aggressive and said I kept my dogs locked up all day (they are in secure, covered kennels for a few hours a day with more floorspace than most of the rooms in my house, he cannot see them but hears them barking BECAUSE THERE'S A STRANGE DOG RUNNING AROUND THE GARDEN).
So obviously he knows where I live and I don't want to put my dogs or myself at risk :(
 
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CorvusCorax

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TBH,I think that if you don't follow through your threat to call the DW, you will have endless, escalting trouble as he thinks he can do as he likes, including allowing his dog to run round your garden.

I did after the last time and they asked what time he is likely to be around but there's a pretty large window. I also phoned a couple of councillors and the animal welfare officer as a pre-emptive strike in case he tried to report me.
 

CorvusCorax

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I could, but doesn't help when she comes bursting through the hedge when we're out and about. She's done that to the large dogs in the past as well but they are just bemused by it. I do have a headtorch that looks a bit like a hatcam though! There was no way I could have held the small one and got the phone out this morning. I know it sounds daft to say mine is intimidated by a springer but the first incident happened at such an important age for learning/imprinting and she's been extremely guardy/defensive around the property since then and it is something I am always going to have to work on. She's only just stopped barking at people walking past.
 

YorksG

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I could, but doesn't help when she comes bursting through the hedge when we're out and about. She's done that to the large dogs in the past as well but they are just bemused by it. I do have a headtorch that looks a bit like a hatcam though! There was no way I could have held the small one and got the phone out this morning. I know it sounds daft to say mine is intimidated by a springer but the first incident happened at such an important age for learning/imprinting and she's been extremely guardy/defensive around the property since then and it is something I am always going to have to work on.
Oh yes, we have had labs get very iffy around jrts, after being attacked by them as pups!
 

Pearlsasinger

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I could, but doesn't help when she comes bursting through the hedge when we're out and about. She's done that to the large dogs in the past as well but they are just bemused by it. I do have a headtorch that looks a bit like a hatcam though! There was no way I could have held the small one and got the phone out this morning. I know it sounds daft to say mine is intimidated by a springer but the first incident happened at such an important age for learning/imprinting and she's been extrem
ely guardy/defensive around the property since then and it is something I am always going to have to work on. She's only just stopped barking at people walking past.



I used to have a Lab who hated all JRT's because one came hurtling out of its garden barking on one of her first walks when she was a pup. It didn't actually touch her because I got my foot under it and lifted it up -much to the consternation/affront of its owner - but she never forgave the breed, until we got a pair of JRT pups when she was about 13 and she tolerated them because she knew them when they were tiny..
 

skinnydipper

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I used to have a Lab who hated all JRT's because one came hurtling out of its garden barking on one of her first walks when she was a pup. It didn't actually touch her because I got my foot under it and lifted it up -much to the consternation/affront of its owner - but she never forgave the breed, until we got a pair of JRT pups when she was about 13 and she tolerated them because she knew them when they were tiny..

Are you saying CC needs a springer pup? :D
 

L&M

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Totally agree - we are lucky enough to live by a some lovely riverside paths, but since lockdown they have became so busy it can be quite hairy. Our dogs know most of the 'regulars' but am very wary of unknown dogs, espescially off the lead.

My whippet is very nervous of strange dogs after being cornered by 2 sharpei's - the owner was over 200 yards away and on his mobile, totally oblivious to me shouting at him to call them off. I now avoid the 'popular' walking times, of just loose them off in the field for a run instead.

Too many dogs, with too many ignorant owners........
 

lou246

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Totally agree - we are lucky enough to live by a some lovely riverside paths, but since lockdown they have became so busy it can be quite hairy. Our dogs know most of the 'regulars' but am very wary of unknown dogs, espescially off the lead.

My whippet is very nervous of strange dogs after being cornered by 2 sharpei's - the owner was over 200 yards away and on his mobile, totally oblivious to me shouting at him to call them off. I now avoid the 'popular' walking times, of just loose them off in the field for a run instead.

Too many dogs, with too many ignorant owners........
It’s a shame that you have to change your walking routes and times just because people won’t control their dogs. I have had to do the same over the past year or two as my smaller dog can be nervous around new dogs after a few unpleasant encounters. We try our best to avoid dogs we don’t know!
 

lou246

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This afternoon on our walk we were very nearly charged at by three dogs from the other end of a huge field. Fortunately they were distracted when another dog walker appeared from the woods closer to them (unfortunately for them). I recognised the dogs and they are walked by a ‘professional’ dog walker who has about 7 dogs normally, although I once counted 10. She has absolutely no control over them! I had a chat with the landowner (we often meet as he walks his dogs there too, it’s his land after all) and he’s not happy about it as she is parking up and walking across his private land to get to the footpaths. Other dog walkers have had problems with her too as the dogs just charge over to everyone. I’ve seen them chase deer as well. Of course there are many responsible professional dog walkers but surely there are checks or something that should be done, this woman would fail them all! I wonder if the dogs owners know the person they are trusting to look after their dogs is putting them in danger like that. I’ve no idea how she rounds them up when it’s time to go but it must be difficult!
 

splashgirl45

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ive been very lucky for a long time as im, careful where i walk and i avoid any dogs i dont know ... i had been out for 2 hours with my tiny terriers today, had a lovely walk but they were both muddy so i detoured to the river so we could all paddle to get legs and wellies clean. i put both on the lead so they didnt go off into the mud on the last 5 mins and a dog the size of a large german shepherd came running up and started to intimidate mine, my younger terrier was scared as she couldnt get away and i shouted to the owner to call it, meanwhile pushing it away. she said its ok shes friendly , i dont want to be banned but i didnt say take it away very nicely. she looked at mine pityingly and said dont you ever let them off lead ? ignorant person, mine had been off lead for most of my 2 hour walk and she should have put hers on or called it to her when she saw mine on leads, that few minutes made me really angry after having such a lovely time in the sunshine..
 

paisley

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ive been very lucky for a long time as im, careful where i walk and i avoid any dogs i dont know ... i had been out for 2 hours with my tiny terriers today, had a lovely walk but they were both muddy so i detoured to the river so we could all paddle to get legs and wellies clean. i put both on the lead so they didnt go off into the mud on the last 5 mins and a dog the size of a large german shepherd came running up and started to intimidate mine, my younger terrier was scared as she couldnt get away and i shouted to the owner to call it, meanwhile pushing it away. she said its ok shes friendly , i dont want to be banned but i didnt say take it away very nicely. she looked at mine pityingly and said dont you ever let them off lead ? ignorant person, mine had been off lead for most of my 2 hour walk and she should have put hers on or called it to her when she saw mine on leads, that few minutes made me really angry after having such a lovely time in the sunshine..

Just tell her next time its either a: none of her bloody business when your dogs are off lead or b: they dont bully or harass other dogs when they are.
I like to tell the 'okay he's friendly ' eejits that I'm not asking for a character reference, just for their dog to be less of a dick
 

splashgirl45

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Just tell her next time its either a: none of her bloody business when your dogs are off lead or b: they dont bully or harass other dogs when they are.
I like to tell the 'okay he's friendly ' eejits that I'm not asking for a character reference, just for their dog to be less of a dick
i wasnt very polite (slight understatement) so i think she might avoid me next time :D:D
 

Annette4

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We had to again today when I took Ginny out. I'm working really hard on her recall around distractions (on a line) and she was doing amazingly then we got charged by a spaniel who didn't get close enough (only because I managed to keep her walking) but owner was just following the damn thing round and not even calling it and letting it approach everyone. Ginny's boundary frustration then kicked in so lots of growling and yapping but managed to get away and get her back focused on me only for the damn thing to reappear after getting another spaniel so wound up it nearly had its owner over.

I can't work on the issue without taking Ginny to areas where there are likely to be distractions but when I'm being responsible and trying to stop my over friendly dog from approaching others by keeping her on a line and training her it, it's so frustrating to deal with. I'm just thankful it was her not Dobby!
 
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