Mild rant - dogs running loose.

MrsElle

MrsElle

Well-Known Member
Joined
21 November 2008
Messages
6,183
Location
Back Where My Heart Is :)
Visit site
We went for our usual walk on the beach this evening and all three dogs were off lead. I saw a dog quite some distance away heading in our direction at full pelt. We quickly got Lola on the lead and decided that it was better to leave the other two off so there was chance for them to get away if the dog was aggressive.

It was a mad as a hatter labradoodle and had a manic five minutes running around with Poppy and Roxy, splashing about in the sea and play fighting. It did get a bit too close to Lola and recieved a bite on the nose, but it could have been worse.

It just makes me a bit cross that Lola is a fear aggressive dog and she has enough problems to deal with without getting stressed because some lunatic hound is bouncing about like tigger in front of her :( I don't mind a jot if owners ask if their dogs can come off lead to play with mine, they all enjoy a good romp and if we tell Lola it is OK and she gets to meet them nicely first she will tollerate other dogs and not try to eat them :)

This is why I dread walking my dogs. I trust the Staffy and JRT, they come to call and walk to heel but other dogs running up to them I hate. I worry that they will be attacked and because I have three they will turn on an aggressor and we will get the blame when it was the one strangers dog all along.

Other people really do take the joy out of dog ownership sometimes.
 
I will be honest, when there is a group of dogs having fun, playing, chasing, barking etc the one on the lead will always feel like Billy no mates and will resent being on the lead. I honestly don't think you can aportion blame to the other dog because Lola has to be kept on the lead. I use distraction techniques on the dog I have to keep on the lead, when then the others I walk are playing with 'strange' dogs' food treats, squeaky toys. :)
 
My very mild issue was that the dog wasn't under control and ran up to my dogs who were. If my dogs were aggressive then the other dogs' owners would have ended up with a seriously injured pooch. Or if the other dog was aggressive I could have ended up with seriously injured pooches. Lola is old and infirm and has no wish to be haring around with any other dogs, even my other two so she wasn't resenting being on the lead - if I had let her off the lead there would have been a bloodbath, if the other two were also on leads this manic dog would still have been running up to them :D
 
I would imagine the owner of the Labradoodle could see your three off lead initially and wasn't too concerned (because they were off-lead) regarding their sociability. I'm not excusing the labradoodles lack of recall, but I think as an owner, if two thirds of your dogs are happy to play with other dogs and one is not then certain distraction techniques used for the on-lead dog are very useful to avoid any nipping etc when the stranger dog approaches.:)
 
I sympathise but I'd have to say maybe avoid a beach where dogs are allowed. If I go to the beach, I know there will be dozens of loose dogs.
IMAG0194.jpg


I do believe in the etiquette of if a dog is on lead, then you put yours on the lead or heel them or send them away, if your'e walking down a path or in a park.

Pees me right off all the owners that have told me their dogs are fine, only for swines to nearly kill my on lead recovering from major surgery dog. :(
 
i get your point mrsellie.
i have a fear aggressive dog myself and there's nothing that makes my hair stand on end anticipating the worse when an over exuberant dog comes bouncing up wanting to play to mine whose on the lead beside me.

the last time that happened the dog literally leapt on top of my border collie who was NOt amused and took all my strength to try to control her from killing it yet the other dog wouldnt take the hint and leave her alone.
By the time the dog's owners had caught up and got their dog back on the lead again, they muttered a half hearted apology and said they didnt see us until they came round the corner nd i know dogs will be dogs and it wasnt really their fault but i was left with the impression they thought it was somehow my fault that their dog nearly got bitten because it was off the lead and jumped on top of mine.

i know you cant always control these things but it can be really scary sometimes and some owners just seem to assume all dogs play togther fine.
 
Last edited:
Hmmm - well before I had Rosie I would be saying "what on earth are you on about" ;)

But for the first time I have a dog who is agressive towards other dogs and if we do (albeit very occassionally) meet another dog on a walk, I call her back, put her on a lead, warn the other dog owner and carry on until we are past and let her off again. The other two are absolutely fine with other dogs and it wouldn't occur to me to put them on a lead!

So I can see it from the other walkers point of view, if their dog is fine with other dogs (as my original two are) quite simply it is the owner of the agressive dogs problem to keep things under control.

Its simply something you have to put up with if you have a dog that is not good with others - you can't expect everyone else to pussy foot around you.
 
Ravenwood said:
So I can see it from the other walkers point of view, if their dog is fine with other dogs (as my original two are) quite simply it is the owner of the agressive dogs problem to keep things under control
Click to expand...

yup, this is a completely fair point (as i found out last weekend! :() and id feel the same if i was one of those other owners too.
 
This really irritates me as well, My dogs are not aggresive but we always put them on the lead if we see another dog, Recently my partner was out with four of the larger ones 9on the lead) and a labrador comes running over and attacked them, My two bull crosses both received bites to the face which required vet treatment. The owner just carried on walking, didn't even saw sorry or try to help.
 
cinammontoast said:
I sympathise but I'd have to say maybe avoid a beach where dogs are allowed. If I go to the beach, I know there will be dozens of loose dogs.
I do believe in the etiquette of if a dog is on lead, then you put yours on the lead or heel them or send them away, if your'e walking down a path or in a park.

Pees me right off all the owners that have told me their dogs are fine, only for swines to nearly kill my on lead recovering from major surgery dog. :(
Click to expand...

I would have to say I normally run on the same principle, if the other persons dogs are off leash then I assume that the dogs are ok to be off leash, if I see another owner with a dog on leash or calling their dog back to be put on a leash all ours go back on the leash until they are past each other (to be fair we sometime don't find one of the dogs in the wood until after the other person has passed but I then go on the basis of what they don't know won't hurt them).
None of our dogs are aggressive but I am aware that if someone elses dog is aggressive and attacks one of ours then they have the whole pack to deal with and that's something I would rather avoid.
 
It can be difficult when only one of the other dogs goes back on the lead, because then do you put your dog on the lead or not? I have had the experience of putting Henry on the lead because one dog in a group is on the lead, only to have the other loose dogs leap all over him:rolleyes:

That said, I'll always try and get Henry back on the lead, and generally will succeed (unless we come round a corner in the woods and land right on top of the other person, which can happen).
 
this is why we only go to the beach when it is raining....

less hastle!

i dont agree that it should be my problem if my dog (who is extremely domminant and as such not good with other dogs) is on a lead, under control and someone has their dog loose! i cannot control their dog, and it is very likely to be battered if it bounds up to us.

everyone has a duty to keep their dogs under control in public. a dog loose running up to us while my dog is on the lead is not under control. it is the bane of my life and is completely irresponsible of other dog owners.

just because your dog is freindly doesnt mean everyone elses are!

in these situations i shout to the other people to get their dog on a lead, or at least keep it away as mine is not dog friendly.... that tends to do the trick. :rolleyes:
 
Last edited:
Xara has always been a horror with other dogs (she pushes them till they snap and then she'll have them
poke.gif
)

Salem is just so big and scary, everyone avoids us
eek.gif


If an approaching dog is on the lead, then it means, 'stay away'.

Our part of the beach is ours only
whaat.gif


salembeach.jpg
 
Ravenwood said:
So I can see it from the other walkers point of view, if their dog is fine with other dogs (as my original two are) quite simply it is the owner of the aggressive dogs problem to keep things under control.

Its simply something you have to put up with if you have a dog that is not good with others - you can't expect everyone else to pussy foot around you.
Click to expand...


Some dogs are kept on leads for a reason be it poor recall or some form of aggression. Allowing an off lead dogs to approach with no idea why that dog is on a lead is irresponsible. You can't expect the owner of the on lead dog to pay your vets bills if your dog gets injured as a result of your assumptions...
 
Ravenwood said:
Hmmm - well before I had Rosie I would be saying "what on earth are you on about" ;)

But for the first time I have a dog who is agressive towards other dogs and if we do (albeit very occassionally) meet another dog on a walk, I call her back, put her on a lead, warn the other dog owner and carry on until we are past and let her off again. The other two are absolutely fine with other dogs and it wouldn't occur to me to put them on a lead!

So I can see it from the other walkers point of view, if their dog is fine with other dogs (as my original two are) quite simply it is the owner of the agressive dogs problem to keep things under control.

Its simply something you have to put up with if you have a dog that is not good with others - you can't expect everyone else to pussy foot around you.
Click to expand...

It is each owners responsibilty to get and keep their own dogs under control.

My method is to put mine on the lead and at heel when loose dogs are around.

If other dog owners don't wish to recall their dogs and one of them runs into my dog's jaws, that can't be my fault;)
 
Yellow Dog's recall can be *ahem* dubious to say teh least when there are other dogs around :o If I see dogs on the lead then I generally try to grab him but tbh he always appraoches with caution and any sign of growling he generally gives the dog a wide berth! If I see other dogs off the lead then I don't worry too much - if theyre off the lead and other dogs are around then I'd like to think theyre friendly!
 
I can see your point - and it would have been polite if the owner of the doodle had seen you leashing your dog and then called its dog back.

I get that dogs go to the beach to play . . . and I get that sometimes the fun all gets a bit much and it's hard to get your dogs' attention. Fred is dog aggressive . . . I always call him to me and leash him if we see the type of dog he particularly hates (mostly black labs) . . . but if you see me leashing MY dog as you approach with your dog on the lead, why oh why would you then let yours off? Oh, and I don't just leash him, we move to the side of the path and I make Fred sit . . . really some people are idiots.

P
 
My dog can be slightly agressive with other dogs and i now no longer take him down my local park due to dog owners who think they own the park and its ok if their dogs run riot because ' its ok hes friendly!'. Take the hint when mine is on a lead and we are walking away from the situation that mine is not. It drives me mad as i'm working on his training and these stupid dog owners make is near on impossible.

Luckily my field is opposite the bridleway so he goes for his walks down there where we only ever meet respectful dog owners and thats if we meet another person at all :)
 
Jake10 said:
Some dogs are kept on leads for a reason be it poor recall or some form of aggression. Allowing an off lead dogs to approach with no idea why that dog is on a lead is irresponsible. You can't expect the owner of the on lead dog to pay your vets bills if your dog gets injured as a result of your assumptions...
Click to expand...


bloomin' right.

that's why my dog is ON the lead. if your off lead dog jumps on mine and gets bitten please dont try to blame me as there will be row.
 
Just to put another slant on it Darcy was fear aggressive with other dogs when I first had her and the natural instinct is to put her on the lead when you see another dog approaching. I think that made her worse and the other dogs would always make a bee line for her as she was displaying defensive behaviour. Ive worked hard on this and now she is fine with off lead dogs and just tends to ignore them and they her. But if I put her back on the lead she goes into defensive body language, now I dont think its me giving off bad vibes because I just say to her come on lets go, I think its because she is restricted and then feels defenceless.
 
The dog in question, the gorgeous doodle (who, if smaller would have been tucked into my coat and dog-napped!), was owner-less when it ran through the dunes and onto the beach. It's owners had evidently let it off lead/never had it on lead from the car park and it came bounding over the sand a few minutes before its owners. We never let the dogs off lead until we are on the beach and can see if there are other dogs or strange men (another of Lola's bugbears).

My other two were called to heel immediately and Lola put on the lead so to someone looking in the distance it would appear that all dogs were on leads. Bless them, my loose two were itching to go and play but didn't until I told them they could, mainly to get the doodle away from Lola, who despite being wobbly on her pins was the perfect image of a devil dog.

I just get a wee bit annoyed when I take the time to be responsible when walkig my dogs and others don't - and don't get me started on how much of other dogs' crap we pick up off the beach so kids don't stand in it/dig it up and we end up losing year round dog access to the beach as a result. Grrrrr!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top