Ohh poor Duke No fun having to share with strangers lol

'Nother one round here!
Out with just Frodo and we saw a woman coming the other way. Gave her a smile like I do with everyone I see because - you know - niceness costs nothing.
She gave me a look like I'd just insulted everything precious to her... then she took a look at my puppy (who was watching me, paying no mind to her whatsoever), dragged her little dog in right close and thrust her umbrella out at us!!

Maybe we should have a nation-wide time specified that only nice dog people can be out

Definitely! But, until both children are in school, I would bound to be late and miss my slot and end up with all the misery guts!

We went to the common in Southampton yesterday to meet up with a friend, and her friend as she had said she would like another sight hound friend for her greyhound to go on walks with. Bit of a mis communication but it turned out she doesn't let hers off lead, so Remus couldn't play with it but she did have two other dogs..one of whom was a fantastic long haired chihuahua who thought he was a big dog so Remus sprinted around with him. I didn't find the walk very relaxing as most other people didn't want their dogs to socialise, they just wanted to walk past....or only socialise with dogs that looked like their dogs. Two people stopped to say hello to each other, each with a working cocker, very close to us. Their dogs started playing so Remus went to investigate and was told in no uncertain terms to go away.. 'Shoo, shooo, no! Go away!' I just find it odd especially as their two dogs thought he was great fun! So back on lead he went AGAIN, leaving them to enjoy their spaniels playing and tut about Remus.
Then when were walking back along the road, which is lined with parking spaces, to our cars a woman pulled up with two labs and two vizslas in the back of her car. She smiled at our group (four children under four all walking, three adults...one of whom was walking with a stick with a greyhound, and two other small dogs on lead....me pushing a pram and holding Remus on lead, and my other friend pushing a pram. What do you think she did? Waited two minutes for us to pass her car? No the moment we drew level with her car she opened the boot! Four excited dogs about to start their walks burst out of the boot and sprinted through our group knocking children all over the place, setting off the greyhounds run reflex almost pulling over his owner and Remus went up like a kite on a string! What is up with some people!!

It was refreshing to get back to the forestry commission woods today with my dog walker friend. I had Remus and Tonks and she had a border terrier, a JRT, a cocker poo, a beagle and a little black mongrel. Tonks busied herself with logs and things but Remus and the others had a ball, just sprinting up and down just for the hell of it. They couldn't care less who was being chased or was doing the chasing...most of the time it was Remus being chased with at least one little dog underneath him...they just were loving running and had a great game! We met a ridgeback, two vizslas, a lab and a boxer and each of the owners stopped and chatted while their dog joined in the game for a while. Relaxed people really enjoying watching their happy dogs having fun!

It amazes me what people will allow their dogs to do!

A while ago we were walking our 2 on our way back home on the street, not in a park etc. When sprinting over the road comes a miniature dachshund who probably did just want to play. Guy shouts over 'it's ok he wont hurt them' now that great except I'm walking one greyhound and one big lurcher both of them muzzled!

The fact that my grey would have flipped the dog in the air trying to sniff it's bits (something she's done to a jack russel - much to the embarrassment to the jack of course) and my lurcher could have bounced on it and killed it didnt seem to entre the guys head!

Hi That really gets my goat,my dogs are often on the lead,and sometimes people with dogs are miles away from there dogs,and there dogs just run up,mine are a bit snappy on the lead,so then we think should we let our dogs off, to stop the situation escalating,and on some occasions we have,and they have had a good time,but I know one day we will make an error,and there could be a fight,but so far we have been lucky,as mostly our dogs are ok off the lead,but not on the lead.Gemini54

Madness! That reminded me that I used to walk dogs for the Blue Cross and more often than not it was lurches and greyhounds. One day I was walking two, one muzzled and one not but both on lead. A lady let her tea cup Yorkie run straight up to the dogs I was walking. Both ex racers, so I hid their heads behind me while the Yorkie dashed about trying to get to them with the woman calling, as she plodded slowly towards us, 'its ok he won't hurt them, he only wants to play!' in the end I shouted something like 'yours may want to play but at least one of these wants to kill yours!' She looked offended!