As I Walk Through My Suburb

[Guest Willow]

I teach Puppy pre School, and have the following conversation with every class...

1. Under what circumstances must your dog be on lead?

2. When can you have your dog off-lead?

3. What would you do if you were out walking in an offlead area with your dog, and saw an owner approaching with an onlead dog?

4. Why is it important to ASK before you let your dog approach another dog?

We have a group discussion on the law, common courtesy, what to do if there's a problem etc etc.

saving the world, one puppy at a time!!!

[OSoSwift]

When I had my Dobes the line " If you don't want your dog to look like a patchwork quilt Get it under control" worked quite well.

Now I use "If your dog so much as touches one hair on my dogs body I will make sure your dog is reported as dangerous and you will be paying any vet bills. I will also get extremely angry. To avoid that control your dog"

Has worked the couple of times I have needed it. Because it is perfectly normal for an adult male Rotti to stand over a 5 month old female Whippet on lead and growl at it when it is sitting still shitting itself!

The other thing is when I get extremely mad I speak to people like they are very very stupid and it is not hard to tell I am about to erupt so most people get the point quite quickly.

The easist way to get me to that point is threaten my kids or dogs safety.

Edited January 5, 2010 by Rommi n Lewis

[OSoSwift]

I teach Puppy pre School, and have the following conversation with every class...

1. Under what circumstances must your dog be on lead?

2. When can you have your dog off-lead?

3. What would you do if you were out walking in an offlead area with your dog, and saw an owner approaching with an onlead dog?

4. Why is it important to ASK before you let your dog approach another dog?

We have a group discussion on the law, common courtesy, what to do if there's a problem etc etc.

saving the world, one puppy at a time!!!

Sound a lot like what we do!

At least our PPS people will know what they should and shouldn't be doing, Even if the rest of the population may not!

[kelpiekaye]

Or maybe only a little bit. Even though I have exchanges like this:

Me walking all dogs on lead along cycle path. Up comes an offlead large pilar erect staffy mix with his owners strolling behind him. I put Howard the Happy on point and call out to them

Me: Could you call your dog please

Owner: Oh he's fine.

Me: One of mine is dog aggressive.

Owner: Oh we don't mind if your dog has a go at him. Yours are only small.

Me: Well I mind!

Owner: [pauses] Well he doesn't look very aggressive!

People, (not all) are dickheads! I once owned a Rotty called Chap, he weighed 55kg. He did not like other dogs rushing up to him when we were out running, but people often let their dogs come running up and their answer was 'Oh our dog is fine" I started putting a muzzle on Chap and suddenly people kept their dogs away from him, the "vicious dog with a muzzle on" Did they not know he couldnt bite with a muzzle on and could bite without one.

[leighw]

A very sad story that happened recently in Canberra. An acquaintance was walking his dog aggressive GSD on-lead when a small terrier type dog who was off lead rushed at him and started to bark, snarl and generally be aggressive. The GSD retaliated and ended up picking up the terrier in his jaws and badly damaged (I'm not sure if it was actually killed) it. The owner of the GSD could not get the dog to drop the terrier and was verbally attacked by the owner of the terrier and by-standers, so he immediately took the GSD to the vet and had him PTS. The family were devastated, naturally, but the owner said he couldn't take the chance of it happening again and maybe to a child.

[poodlefan]

A very sad story that happened recently in Canberra. An acquaintance was walking his dog aggressive GSD on-lead when a small terrier type dog who was off lead rushed at him and started to bark, snarl and generally be aggressive. The GSD retaliated and ended up picking up the terrier in his jaws and badly damaged (I'm not sure if it was actually killed) it. The owner of the GSD could not get the dog to drop the terrier and was verbally attacked by the owner of the terrier and by-standers, so he immediately took the GSD to the vet and had him PTS. The family were devastated, naturally, but the owner said he couldn't take the chance of it happening again and maybe to a child.

A muzzle would have been a less drastic solution. Was the GSD human aggressive as well?

Edited January 5, 2010 by poodlefan

[Aidan]

Frankly the "friendly" dogs are often just as much trouble as the more aggro ones if their owners aren't on the ball.

I agree completely.

In fact I think abnormally sociable dogs can and do contribute to dog aggression problems in other dogs. They have poor social skills and lack boundaries or respect for personal space. I don't know how many dogs I've seen not back off when asked politely so the usually polite dog suddenly learns to become impolite, which leads to all sorts of problems if not handled with consideration.

[Nic oh lah]

Frankly the "friendly" dogs are often just as much trouble as the more aggro ones if their owners aren't on the ball.

I agree completely.

In fact I think abnormally sociable dogs can and do contribute to dog aggression problems in other dogs. They have poor social skills and lack boundaries or respect for personal space. I don't know how many dogs I've seen not back off when asked politely so the usually polite dog suddenly learns to become impolite, which leads to all sorts of problems if not handled with consideration.

Oh dear, I think Sophie is one of those "friendly" dogs. I do try and keep her calm and with me but at 19months she's pretty much still a puppy and just wants to play play play. I do tend to hold her collar until i've asked other owners if i'm fine to let them play together before i let her go bouncing with other dogs - but that's only at leash free parks and I guess i've always figured people taking their dogs to a leash free park with a heap of other dogs are expecting them to be playing and running round like loonies.

[poodlefan]

Oh dear, I think Sophie is one of those "friendly" dogs. I do try and keep her calm and with me but at 19months she's pretty much still a puppy and just wants to play play play. I do tend to hold her collar until i've asked other owners if i'm fine to let them play together before i let her go bouncing with other dogs - but that's only at leash free parks and I guess i've always figured people taking their dogs to a leash free park with a heap of other dogs are expecting them to be playing and running round like loonies.

It's not what I'm looking for in a leash free park.. which is why I won't go to them.

I think Suzanne Clothier's article "He just wants to say hi" should be compulsory reading for all dog owners.

Edited January 5, 2010 by poodlefan

[Aidan]

The dogs that cause me the most grief, funnily enough, are the dogs who are on-leash, but straining. I've asked people with pulling dogs to help me with some controlled set-ups, but inevitably the dog pulls on the first pass then relaxes. Which doesn't help me much.

Off-leash dogs are rarely a problem for me. My GSD doesn't put on a big display but whatever she does it works for her. I could count the number of close encounters with off-leash dogs on one hand accounting for the last 5 or 6 years (she is nearly 9), and we walk in off-leash areas almost daily. Of those encounters, all have been when I have had Sabella with me alone, for when Django my Golden is with us he expertly engages the other dog at a reasonable distance and settles them down with a polite greeting ritual. Even very reactive or very silly dogs are sent on their way peacefully.

He really is a very special dog.

[Diva]

when Django my Golden is with us he expertly engages the other dog at a reasonable distance and settles them down with a polite greeting ritual. Even very reactive or very silly dogs are sent on their way peacefully.

He really is a very special dog.

My old Belgian Shepherd was like that, huge calming skills. He was an entire male but I don't think he ever had a fight in his life, even other aggressive entire males could be settled by him. A prince of a dog.

My current girls are good off-lead. But I had to stop walking them on-lead together because they had so many bad encounters when on-lead, including a full on attack by a pair of unaccompanied GSD's, that they got a bit barky and reactive when together.

I've had to start walking them singly for a while - which is a pain time-wise but breaks up that feeding off of each other's excitment which had started to happen. Hopefully I can get them together and calm again soon, but it is annoying that other people's negligence causes my dogs good behaviour to break down for a while.

Edited January 5, 2010 by Diva

[poodlefan]

The dogs that cause me the most grief, funnily enough, are the dogs who are on-leash, but straining. I've asked people with pulling dogs to help me with some controlled set-ups, but inevitably the dog pulls on the first pass then relaxes. Which doesn't help me much.

Maybe I should ship Howard down.. he's friendly to a fault and will pull on the lead to get to a dog. That said, he's used as a point dog like your GR boy.. once up close, his behaviour is usually very appropriate to the dog he greets.

[Nannas]

A very sad story that happened recently in Canberra. An acquaintance was walking his dog aggressive GSD on-lead when a small terrier type dog who was off lead rushed at him and started to bark, snarl and generally be aggressive. The GSD retaliated and ended up picking up the terrier in his jaws and badly damaged (I'm not sure if it was actually killed) it. The owner of the GSD could not get the dog to drop the terrier and was verbally attacked by the owner of the terrier and by-standers, so he immediately took the GSD to the vet and had him PTS. The family were devastated, naturally, but the owner said he couldn't take the chance of it happening again and maybe to a child.

Hi leighw,

I almost seen the same thing in Queanbeyan a few weeks ago.

People who walk an aggressive (DA only I think) GSD were walking passed my house when another couple who own a JRTx (that is never ever onleash and just as aggressive) were walking by. The JRTx raced at the GSD barking and growling and the people with GSD turned to walk in the other direction and crossed the road but the JRTx just kept running in at the GSD trying to snap at it.

I ended up walking out and yelling to the people with the JRTx to "keep it on a lead like the law states they have to."

The JRTx was ignoring it's owners but pulled it's head in when I yelled. Once I noticed I yelled at it again and it ran back to owners who picked it up. The lady owner yelled back and told me to shut up, so I just said "well I'm calling the police now"

They took off and by then GSD was safely down the road but I was so scared it was going to turn out bad at one point.

The people with the GSD have been really trying hard and doing a great job. He looks great and his behaviour has improved since I first seen them walking a few months ago. (I think he is only young, maybe around 2yo to 3yo) I would hate to see something happen to him because the idiot JRTx owners are always walking offlead. (they don't even have a lead with them or a collar on the JRTx to grab him).

[Aidan]

Oh dear, I think Sophie is one of those "friendly" dogs. I do try and keep her calm and with me but at 19months she's pretty much still a puppy and just wants to play play play. I do tend to hold her collar until i've asked other owners if i'm fine to let them play together before i let her go bouncing with other dogs - but that's only at leash free parks and I guess i've always figured people taking their dogs to a leash free park with a heap of other dogs are expecting them to be playing and running round like loonies.

There's nothing wrong with being bouncy and friendly, it's how they respond when politely asked to back off by another dog that counts. If they don't get the message then one remedial action you can take is to spend more time walking with older, stable dogs. You can start off on-leash, let them greet politely then start walking straight away. Let the dogs stop and sniff things together but if they start to play, start walking again.

The idea is that they don't ALWAYS have to be bouncy and playful around other dogs. You can gradually allow more freedom, and introduce recalls during social encounters and that sort of thing.

If you know what you're looking for, encourage backing off when asked by another dog or if the other dog looks uncomfortable.

[leighw]

A very sad story that happened recently in Canberra. An acquaintance was walking his dog aggressive GSD on-lead when a small terrier type dog who was off lead rushed at him and started to bark, snarl and generally be aggressive. The GSD retaliated and ended up picking up the terrier in his jaws and badly damaged (I'm not sure if it was actually killed) it. The owner of the GSD could not get the dog to drop the terrier and was verbally attacked by the owner of the terrier and by-standers, so he immediately took the GSD to the vet and had him PTS. The family were devastated, naturally, but the owner said he couldn't take the chance of it happening again and maybe to a child.

A muzzle would have been a less drastic solution. Was the GSD human aggressive as well?

Yes I agree, but things sometimes happen very quickly with bad outcomes. He wasn't HA at all - in fact, my husband cleans their house and absolutely adored the dog and was very upset to hear what had happened to him.

[poodlefan]

A very sad story that happened recently in Canberra. An acquaintance was walking his dog aggressive GSD on-lead when a small terrier type dog who was off lead rushed at him and started to bark, snarl and generally be aggressive. The GSD retaliated and ended up picking up the terrier in his jaws and badly damaged (I'm not sure if it was actually killed) it. The owner of the GSD could not get the dog to drop the terrier and was verbally attacked by the owner of the terrier and by-standers, so he immediately took the GSD to the vet and had him PTS. The family were devastated, naturally, but the owner said he couldn't take the chance of it happening again and maybe to a child.

A muzzle would have been a less drastic solution. Was the GSD human aggressive as well?

Yes I agree, but things sometimes happen very quickly with bad outcomes. He wasn't HA at all - in fact, my husband cleans their house and absolutely adored the dog and was very upset to hear what had happened to him.

I think the owner blamed the wrong dog.

[PandaGirl]

Frankly the "friendly" dogs are often just as much trouble as the more aggro ones if their owners aren't on the ball.

I agree completely.

In fact I think abnormally sociable dogs can and do contribute to dog aggression problems in other dogs. They have poor social skills and lack boundaries or respect for personal space. I don't know how many dogs I've seen not back off when asked politely so the usually polite dog suddenly learns to become impolite, which leads to all sorts of problems if not handled with consideration.

Oh dear, I think Sophie is one of those "friendly" dogs. I do try and keep her calm and with me but at 19months she's pretty much still a puppy and just wants to play play play. I do tend to hold her collar until i've asked other owners if i'm fine to let them play together before i let her go bouncing with other dogs - but that's only at leash free parks and I guess i've always figured people taking their dogs to a leash free park with a heap of other dogs are expecting them to be playing and running round like loonies.

I take my girl to a leash free park so that she can run, not so she can be rushed by a million out of control dogs. So we only go during the say on weekdays or when it's raining because there's nobody there.

[Nic oh lah]

Frankly the "friendly" dogs are often just as much trouble as the more aggro ones if their owners aren't on the ball.

I agree completely.

In fact I think abnormally sociable dogs can and do contribute to dog aggression problems in other dogs. They have poor social skills and lack boundaries or respect for personal space. I don't know how many dogs I've seen not back off when asked politely so the usually polite dog suddenly learns to become impolite, which leads to all sorts of problems if not handled with consideration.

Oh dear, I think Sophie is one of those "friendly" dogs. I do try and keep her calm and with me but at 19months she's pretty much still a puppy and just wants to play play play. I do tend to hold her collar until i've asked other owners if i'm fine to let them play together before i let her go bouncing with other dogs - but that's only at leash free parks and I guess i've always figured people taking their dogs to a leash free park with a heap of other dogs are expecting them to be playing and running round like loonies.

I take my girl to a leash free park so that she can run, not so she can be rushed by a million out of control dogs. So we only go during the say on weekdays or when it's raining because there's nobody there.

I should have been clearer - she doesn't rush other dogs or i wouldn't have her there. She is one of the freindly dogs, but she's definately under control, as I said, when she wants to play play play, which is for about the first 5 minutes after we arrive, i have to watch her like a hawk. After 5-10mins of running she's calm and cool. She will saunter up, and have a sniff, and if she gets a growl, she backs off. And when i call her away, she stays with me. I walk up to people I see playing fetch or with a few high energy pups and ask them outright if she can join in with the pack or if their dog would like to play chase with her, and 7 times out of ten the response is "he / she'd love it!" and we stand chatting about our furkids while they bounce around having happy puppy times. I always ask though. If she see's an enticing dog she can't seem to resist (why is it always the golden retreivers? I think Sophie likes blondes) then i'll call her to me and grab her collar and have her sit or drop until she's exhibiting calm behaviour before i'll wander over with her and ask if they can play.

If someone say's "no, mine is a bit timid / older / just gets annoyed by it" then i usually tell them how lovely their dog is (cause aren't they all) and we go on our merry way.

Oh, and this is mainly at Kroll Gardens at Redcliffe which I think is like 5 acres of parkland with anywhere from 10-40 dogs there at a time, so there's plenty of room to move and not crowd the quiet ones. There's a little dog park for the little woofs, and usually the maltese / shih-tzu / daschund / cavalier club sitting under a tree, some diligent border collies doing agility or retrieving, and the big kids (GSD, Belgian Shep, Lab's, Staffies, Mastiffs, Dalmations) all bouncing around like idiots in the biggest clearing of grass chasing balls / each other - dog heaven.

We were there yesterday and Sophie was helping me with a freinds Dobe who is exhibiting fear agression with bigger dogs, she's always up for playing but is very calm in the way she relates to other dogs as when she gets growled or barked at etc she takes the hint and backs off. She's projecting calm all over the place, which is why everyone just pats her and cuddles her, haha - so much for guard dog she's got everyone there around her little paw.

Edited January 5, 2010 by NicGSDlover

[Aidan]

and if she gets a growl, she backs off.

Your dog is not abnormally social and you sound like a very responsible dog owner.

[Nic oh lah]

and if she gets a growl, she backs off.

Your dog is not abnormally social and you sound like a very responsible dog owner.

I think I just got really lucky. Sophie is quite possibly the best dog ever - sorry everyone else, lol. We adopted her not knowing much other than "she's destructive and has no training" and she's lovely - good with kids, fantastic with other dogs, loves the car, digs the lawn but i don't really care, and doesnt flinch at fireworks or storms or anything, and only barks when someone comes near her yard fence. She's a very good girl, and champ breeding, so yeah - she's perfect, absolutely perfect! In fact i'm scared to get another dog lest I have used up my perfect pooch quota and end up with a rascal next time, hehe.