I'm not ashamed to admit I'm an absolute coward and avoid off leash dogs and their owners like the plague. I've only to see them at a distance and I'll turn the girls around and head off in the opposite direction ... I can't be bothered with a confrontation.

That's a funny one Baxter. �� I wonder if it would work.

So far, all the dogs I have on my books are ok with other dogs. The collie plays very noisily and snarlily with Remus, but I don't let her play with other dogs because I think it wouldn't frighten some dogs....Remus just thinks it's funny and sprints away while she hunkers down and waits for him to come back round.

Actually I've just remembered that there's another dog I will let her play with. My dog walker friend has a collie client that I sometimes walk for her when she's busy. Barley doesn't fluke other dogs trying to play with him and will go out of his way to avid them coming near him with really good clear 'back off' signals, and he raises them appropriately too. I took him and Sheebie, my collie client out once. It as just me and them so I could concentrate on them. Barley is stick obsessed and will grab one the second he gets out the car and I presumed it would be me entertaining Sheebie for the duration....but she couldn't keep her eyes off him and was following him around and he didn't give any warning signals....and then play bowed at her! I was gob smacked but then they started playing and had a ball for the whole hour! His owners were over the moon because he'd never played with anyone ever. They've been out together three times since and they always adore each other.....but poor Remus is not allowed to join in playing at all, Barley makes sure of that. ��

Nowt wrong with that if you can avoid them. If I don't have to pass an iffy looking strange dog I won't either.

As Baxter said - true - I do get fed up with the rubbish some of these hapless owners trot out. Only wants to play. Well he's never done that before. Doesn't like 'little' dogs. Blah blah.

Most stupid ever - when I called out 'is he friendly?' Got the reply YES. Then it got really nasty with my cavvy. I remonstrate loudly. Idiot qualifies it by adding 'well he is friendly with people he just doesn't like other dogs'! Duh!

What an idiot!!!


I did use the "I'm so sorry he's never ever done that before the other day though"...... It as true but even as I was saying it I was thinking 'oh my god, listen to yourself!' I was walking just Tonks and Remus on the weekend and we went as far up the canal path here as you can go at the moment before it turns to fields. It was so muddy it was hard to walk on the really narrow path. Tonks was on lead and I was looking at my feet trying really hard not to fall over. I look up and see a women by herself, no dog, mmm bad sign, walking very gingerly along also trying not to fall over. ....carrying a handbag, also always a bad sign. She had a on the fluffiest, palest pink, cleanest fleece I have ever seen.

Now Remus never ever jumps up......and at this point was covered in thick black mud. He has no need to jump up because he's so tall! Now he had trotted up to her while I was looking at my feet and I called him back, but this woman was really intruguing for some reason.....so he went back....and I called him away and he got just within arms reach...and then he went back and she held her arms above her head and went "eeek" and I watch in horror as he jumped up, put his filthy paws on her shoulders and, as she stepped back towards the ditch behind her, slide his paws down her ultra pink, ultra pale, ultra fluffy fleece!

I was absolutely mortified! Bless her she got some wipes out and was dabbing delicately at the mud. All I could do was grab him and keep moving saying ' I am so so sorry. He's never done that before!!' I didn't even have any money on my to offer to get it cleaned or buy here a new one! Gutted isn't the word. I'm so thankful she was ok about it! Until today he is now always made to walk next to me when we see people approaching.

Yep everyone is safer once he's off lead. He deals with frustration, excitement, nervousness in one way.....sprinting. It's his tension release. He doesn't charge at other dogs, just runs in big circles or back and forth.

Swearing when I'm angry is one of my faults....or not always swearing but sounding angry and saying more than I need to. I have a fairly long fuse, but when it goes the adrenaline kicks in.

I wouldn't have let my dog off the lead and I would have immediately shouted for the woman to come get her dog.... NOW. You should not have been put in this position as the daft woman should have had her dog on lead .... simples.

I seem to come across these situations a lot, eg .. My dog is on his lead on way back to car, 2 labradoodles come running up, one starts barking, the other joins in. Woman eventually gets hold of them and, with one of them still growling, insists her dogs are friendly ...Huh?

Last night, walked out of my house up a narrow dark path and noticed a couple of dog walkers coming down hill from opposite direction. They stopped and so did I, told my dog to sit and stood in front of him, said "come on through".

The first one past was a man with a young husky which immediately started barking as it went by, my dog still quiet. Then his companion, a girl of about 18, came through with a Dogue de Bordeaux, who also then started barking, but worse still, lunged towards my GSD who had by this time started to bark back.
The girl could not hold on to her dog, he was just too strong for her, she shouted "so sorry" as she struggled with him. Somehow we all managed to get by. But I was left thinking that it could have turned very nasty.
My dog looked at me as if to say "what the heck was all that about"?
I am coming to the conclusion, after several incidents like this, that two or more dogs together mean trouble. What do you think?

I do know people who own two or more perfectly well behaved and trained dogs. I've never owned more than one dog at a time and don't consider I could handle it well (especially talking here about big dogs).

What I do think is that ANY dog whose owner just isn't physically capable of restraining - purely on account of the size and strength of the dog or the age or frailty of the owner is a potential danger if it is not on a lead, trained to walk to heel, unreactive to other dogs and people and all that. And it's why, as much as I've loved my GSDs (still do love 'em) I decided in my very early 50s that it was not a good idea to get another one (for the reasons above) just not strong enough and suffering odd bouts of arthritis in shoulder etc. And more so because I had a daughter who was then 10yrs old and dearly dearly wanted a dog and I wanted her to have a dog SHE could manage when out walking with it. She could pick it up easily. People weren't scared of the breed and the dog itself was known for being non aggressive. So I got us a CKCS (never regretted it for a second of her life either)

Wise words oh Tangy one. I do think certain dogs become fashion items and must haves, without people realising the strength and power they have. Any young dog needs lots of patience and training before it settles down but during this period an owner must be able to hold and restrain. This girl clearly couldn't do that.

Wise words there. We would have loved another Mollie (collie cross retriever or similar) but decided now (early 50's) was time for our other love (Chihuahuas). It is dangerous out there these days and we wanted a dog we could pick up if approached by dogs like OP had problems with and that we could control with our failing strengths.

Bit like everything else in life really Julie isn't it? Can't always have EVERYTHING you want! Or you find out that getting 'exactly what you wanted' turns out not to be the wonderful thing you thought it would be!

Yes Apache - strongly agree about the 'fashion' aspect. If that weren't true there wouldn't be so many numbnuts bringing Huskies and Akitas and dogs that look like they would be at home pulling sleds across snow, and other really woolly thick coated dogs to Cyprus where summer temps often stay around and above 40degs for months on end and humidity is v. high too. And, unlike other dog owners here who have their dogs clipped back for summer (even if they are the indigenous Cyprus Poodles) to help them cope, the owners of these big hairy dogs do not want to change the 'look' of them.

One roundabouts here - spoilt son of a local Taverna owner kept his Akita on a small verandah most of the time while he managed the taverna on the seafront - with his girlfriend popping in to walk it (quite funny seeing this dog taking HER for a walk) when the gf got pregnant she was no longer able to walk the dog at all then her 11 yr old brother took over the dog walking (a little dumpling of a boy - even funnier seeing him trying to hang onto it with both hands - on one of those leads that is just a leather 'handle' on a collar. Could hardly see this kid behind the dog! He then left for Greece with his parents and voila - now no one walks the dog again.

They have at least moved into a small house further inside town. Dog of course will be kept out in the yard now (like many dogs here are but a bit better than a 6ft verandah) and with the recent publicity given to an Akita here who killed a little 4yr old this year I should think they are not going to let it get ANYWHERE NEAR the baby. (Have to say nor would I - especially with an unsocialised and unexercised big dog) but then I'd never be in the situation of owning one in their circumstances.

But hey when you've got a new merc and the best designer watches and clothes - you want a 'dog that goes with it all' I s'pose? I will just NEVER understand why some people want a dog at all. If they can't spend time training it, can't spend hardly any time with it, don't need it to 'guard' anything, have to keep it outside because it's never been housetrained. Then have to virtually 'imprison' it thereafter because it could be a danger? Where's the ENJOYMENT?