People With Offlead Dogs In The Park

[espinay2]

I'm confused. You said: "You should always have your dog on lead in a public park!" but nowhere do you state that the park is on lead only. I would modify that statement to "You should always have your dog on lead in a public park THAT HAS ON LEAD ONLY RESTRICTIONS!" If it doesn't have restrictions then it's her right to walk her dogs off lead.

She sounds like a sensible and lovely person. She held her dogs back and warned you that she had her dogs off-lead, but that they were friendly, so that you could make the decision as to whether you wanted to let your dog mingle with hers. When you acted irrationally, she went out of her way to smooth things over and you were extremely rude to her.

Is there a reason you don't want you dog mingling with known friendly dogs? It could be a good opportunity for socialisation.

I would be embarassed too, if I had acted that way and I would definitely be giving her a call and apologising.

This is what I am confused about. The lady didn't let her dogs run up to yours she restrained them.

[Dame Aussie]

ugh...off-lead dogs in on-lead areas annoy me big time. For me it comes under the banner of a total lack of respect for others in shared spaces. I don't care if someone's dog is friendly or not; when a dog is off-lead and approaches me with my on-lead dog it's totally unacceptable and i'm not happy about it. If the owner doesn't call their dog back after being asked, they can expect their dog to be booted away. Sadly it's not the dogs fault and the dog will reap the punishment, but at the end of the day i'm not willing to put my dog at risk over someone else's lack of common respect.

There is a distinct lack of dog etiquette (including on-lead dogs) in public areas and we've been subjected to some very unsafe behaviours by some ignorant owners.

Totally agree. If we are approached and the dog is obviously friendly we stand there till the owner comes over, or call them over. If the dog is less than friendly, it gets a kick.

[JulesP]

Most people don't have a clue about dog body language so have no real idea about whether their dog is friendly or not.

This is true. I've even had people assure me their dog is friendly when all its hackles are up!

[Weasels]

Most people don't have a clue about dog body language so have no real idea about whether their dog is friendly or not.

This is true. I've even had people assure me their dog is friendly when all its hackles are up!

Hackles can just mean arousal rather than agression - my girl dog's hackles go up at the drop of a hat, and a pretty poor indicators of her state of mind. I use other cues to decide whether she needs to be recalled like her tail position and the speed/stiffness of her walk. If my boy's hackles go upon the other hand, I'm intervening immediately.

Edit - not that I would ever yell out that my dogs are friendly. They are polite, which I think is much more important.

Edited February 13, 2013 by TheLBD

[Blackdogs]

An on leash dog saying hello to an unknown off leas dog is never good socialization. Your dog can't choose whether to say hello or not and their flight defense is taken away from them. People with dogs who don't like other dogs in their face have the right to go for a walk without being mobbed by " he's friendly" dogs. Most people don't have a clue about dog body language so have no real idea about whether their dog is friendly or not.

First of all, this lady was an acquaintance, so I assumed she knew the dogs. Secondly, she was restraining her dogs. Where in the post does it indicate these dogs were mobbing her or her dog?

I don't agree with your first statement. If you know dog body language, you have assurances that the dogs are friendly and your dog is outgoing/not easily intimidated this can be a fine scenario. Of course there are never any guarantees, but I'm not a fan of cotton wool.

[Salukifan]

I don't agree with your first statement. If you know dog body language, you have assurances that the dogs are friendly and your dog is outgoing/not easily intimidated this can be a fine scenario. Of course there are never any guarantees, but I'm not a fan of cotton wool.

I have heard many assurances that dogs are friendly when their body language is signalling quite the opposite. Your average member of the public would consider any wagging tail is a sign of friendliness for a start.

I do NOT welcome offlead advances from any dog when my dogs are on lead for a number of reasons:

* if goes wrong, my dogs are at a distinct disadvantage in terms of self defence as their leads will inhibit them.

* one dog in the midst of mutiple dogs on lead is still a risk of entanglement and fall

* the offlead dog is out of range of its owner and it will be up to me to deal with any problems that arise. And I will, more often than not, do that with my boot.

There is simple ettiquette that I cannot fathom why people struggle to grasp. ASK if your dog is OK to approach. If it isn't don't just say "nah, it'll be fine" (as I have seen happen) nor should you take offence.

And if you cannot control your dog offlead in public then don't let it off around other dogs. It's really not that hard is it??

Roka, dont' walk your dog in a harness. They are hopeless for any kind of meaningful control and a significant number of them aren't wonderful for your dogs strructural health. You need to control the dog's head to control what it does.

Edited February 13, 2013 by Haredown Whippets

[sheena]

You can get excellent control of forward movement with a front attached harness. I use one on my 23 kilo BC boy & he is like putty in my hands & so much kinder on him than a head halter or a flat collar pulling on his throat. I must add, though, that after months of walking with a FA Harness, he now walks lovely on a loose lead (most of the time)

[JulesP]

What always baffles me is how do the loose dogs owner know that MY dogs are ok? They don't obviously. So yelling out 'don't worry he/she is friendly' is super annoying. I have to yell back 'mine aren't'. Sometimes I wish I had a pitbull!

[alpha bet]

The point is that we all have to teach our dogs (and horses) to deal with the unexpected. Sorry if i sound harsh but to some extent you sound as if you want to be a bit of a princess about it.... Not everyone is going to fit into what you want from life which is obviously why you don't like the small town environment, but this will also happen in the city.....

We have to cope with the society around us and what is presented, it is not about whinging about the rules or pushing the council to create more..... thats all we need is more rules and regs to limit where we are even allowed to take dogs - on lead or off. We all have to teach ourselves and our dogs instead of making excuses.

95% of our training is to cope with the 5% of the time that sh#t happens.

[Lady Flying Furball]

BTW,I don't see why you should be embarrassed to go back.

Loosing your cool is no big deal.Just tell 'em 'Yep.I did that' and why.No need for speculation. :D

I agree. There is something quite empowering about validating yourself and your concerns and not holding onto the incident. Let things move on and if you encounter her then as other s have said reiterate your concerns about dogs off leash running up to your dog. Don't cut yourself off from potential park area unless the off-leash thing is too much, then find an alternative.