That is fair enough Archer but my point was to illustrate that whether your dogs are well behaved or great off a lead it does not help if the next persons is not and should the worst happen I can guarantee if your dogs are off lead you would have nothing to fall back on. I know a few dogs who have been attacked by on lead dogs just by owners carelessness and allowing their dogs to go up to unknown dogs on lead or off. Kip attacked a golden retreiver and a GSD on two seperate occassions because the owners were quite a bit away from their dogs when the dogs came bounding over, luckily both times I managed to get Kip off quickly before she did damage but whose fault was that? You can guarantee like Staffy mentioned if the papers were to report it would be the Stafford or Pitbull Cross

Like I said that is not to say that you should not walk your dogs off lead because of others but personally as an owner of a very aggressive dog, who is never off lead, I get so frustrated every day when others think its okay to have their dogs bound around mine and run up to them or circle them and get them even more frustrated. Its not a dig at those who choose to walk their dogs off lead, I walk Cassy off lead when I have her out on her own but I always put her leash on when other dogs approach just out of courtesey, it does not take much to do so therefore it does not bother me making the effort to take a few seconds and hold the collar or put the leash back on. I just wonder if people would view it differently had their dogs been attacked unprovoked by another dog and the law was not on your side?

I just see it as common courtesey, a bit like people with kids around dogs too, it bugs me when they let them run straight up to unknown dogs.

I must admit my two are very rarely on a lead and I don't tend to leash them when approaching other dogs either, unless the other dog seems aggressive. Pickles (terrier x) doesn't bother with other dogs he's just obsessed with people (strange considering he was badly neglected when I got him?) but Woody (lab) just loves other dogs and saying hello! They have been attacked a few times over the years but like someone said I'd rather have them off the lead so they have a fighting chance of escaping! The aggressive dogs always seem to be off lead anyway!

1/unfortunately you have very little recourse either way.I have had my dog attacked while he was on lead by an off lead dog...the police said basically they weren't interested since it was dog on dog!
I do not allow my dog who is 'dog freindly' to go off lead...I agree it is too risky to allow a dog to go off lead if he will approach other dogs...HE IS NOT LET OF AT ALL!
The other 2 have no interest in other dogs WHATSOEVER! They are too busy doing their own thing and not only do they not approach other dogs they don't even notice they are there...do you still think they should be put on a lead? I don't think so...if something is going to attack them I would rather they were free to 1/express their submissive body language freely and hence hopefully avoid confrontation 2/ if an attack happens that they can run/defend themselves as necessary ...as I said I've had a dog attacked while on lead and I know the damage that can be done.My dog tried to defend himself but being on a lead ended up exposing his belly and having it ripped open.

If I had a dog that I knew was overly aggressive with other dogs and I knew it was quite capable of really biteing another dog then I would think that it was my duty to put a muzzle on it or some restrant similar so it didn't get the chance. People with aggressive dogs have to take as much responsibilty as the other party and part of that would be aknowledging that other dogs do at times approach and to make sure that you can stop the situation from becoming out of control.

I guess the problem is that people with dog friendly dogs forget that the other dog that they are trying to greet may be aggressive enough to viciously attack because if you are like me and only used to an over friendly dog you tend to forget that other dogs can actually be aggressive I am like that to the point where I will go to 'pet' every single dog that wonders my way no matter what breed and one day this very cute looking old gal dog showed her teeth and lunged at me with a growl, I was shocked! But I still thought she was cute! I did nickname her 'horrible little teeth' after that though because as I walked off I laughed and said man that dog showed it's horrible little teeth at me, just as the owner came walking by! opps! (they thought it was funny though)...sometimes I do realise that one day I could actually get my hand bitten off for being so trusting!

I think perhaps I wrongly think there wouldn't be any trouble with my dog saying 'hi' because at the most I would expect another dog to give mine a sending off if her attention was unwanted and I just tend to think let 'dogs be dogs' and sort it out between them because I trust they have enough control over themselves not to turn nutty and start tearing off flesh. Mine has been bitten on the nose before, not to badly but still a small bite because she approached another dog (off lead) and she still walked off like nothing had happened and I just thought 'hmm, oh well'! I would be really shocked for another dog to be so aggressive that it actually bit into her with force and I would think in that case the dog was perhaps on the dangerous side and should wear a muzzle and so I guess I trust if an owner doesn't restrain the dog from biting with a muzzle then I trust their judgement and why would I think the dog was that aggressive.

The be all and end all of the whole deal here has to be that if the owner of the dog off lead that went to greet the other dog could see their was trouble brewing then they have to know they could recall their dog back to them to stop any further trouble and they have to know that their dog is not aggressive in a way to retaliate if an attack was made thus making the situation twice as bad and the owner with the aggressive dog needs to know they can control their dog to discontinue the attack and that it will stop on their say so. Just as it is said that an owner shouldn't let a dog off leash without an almost perfect recall then perhaps the owner of an aggressive dog shouldn't walk the dog without a muzzle if they know they can not call off the attack.

I actually think the GSD's would have been in for a bit of a hard time as well as the Stafford if there had of been trouble and it was written about GSD's have fallen victim to being portrayed as being aggressive also. Maybe if a toy poodle may have decided to tangle with the Stafford then perhaps the naughty Stafford would have been seen as the villan!

People take one look at my dog and think she is going to be aggressive when infact she would run a mile from trouble and would submit to a jack russell if it gave her enough of a telling off, the big soppy girl!

One thing that happened today though was...Keena is at the end of her first season and I had her on the lead for obvious reasons...We had walked through one feild and into another and a male dog from the feild we just came from came hurtling over and was like a dog possesed I had walked some way into this next feild away from where his owners were but I stopped insteasd of carrying on taking him further away from his people and plus we were heading for a main road but all his owners did was to keep calling him but he did not have any intention on returning and they never came after him to even see where he was so I ended up having to walk back to the entrance of the feild they were in because I just wanted them to come get him, it was no fun having him trying to get on my poor dog and a bit gross having him hump the air next to us because he couldn't get on her and I just wanted the situation over! but even after walking him back the owners didn't come and get him still...Grrrr!...They just kept calling him and nothing else, until finally after a long time one of them came to get him but was complaining because she had to walk over some mud first which was nothing because I had her dog and mine spinning and jumping all around me, Keena trying to keep her tail end away from him and him trying to get at her tail end and I had flippin mud all over me. Anyway I was mad!...lol...

I didn't want it to sound as though in my post before this one that I think it is fine just to let your dog go up to others and cause them greif but if you have a good re-call and you know it will work and you are willing to go and retreive your dog the instant that you see it being a problem then fine but these people just made me mad not really because the dog wouldn't go back to them but because they never bothered to come and get it.

Archer I think how you work it is great. I do think there has to be give & take, I appreciate that you do keep the "dog friendly" dog on lead. Very sensible imo. I have no real problem with well behaved dogs being offlead especially the ones who just saunter on past other dogs and dont show too much interest. Its the ones who are likely to come right up to my dogs that bother me (happens LOTS), and its these dogs who have in the past ended up being attacked by Kip, even though I have told the owner several times that if the dog carries on and gets too close Kip will "go" for them. She is just as capable off lead as on. Luckily though I am able for her and can usually pick her up before the trouble starts.

I think owners who are aware their dog will go right up to other dogs (on & off lead) whether it be to say hello or what not are actually being slightly irresponsible. To know that your dog will go & speak to other dogs even if your sure that he is friendly is putting the dog and possibly another dog owner in an awkward position because like I have said before it is not always a case of how friendly your dog is but others, because who is to say that their dogs are not aggressive and by allowing your dog to walk up you are causing the other dogs owner inconvenience that is unnecesasry and also to allow your dog to go right up to a strange dog may be putting the dog in a bad situation as he may run the risk of being attacked. All for the sake of putting the dog on lead for a couple of minutes. Perhaps even ask the other owner how their dogs are and then if its okay then let your dog off. I am not saying this because I think everybody should leash their dogs in public, just that it would be nice if people stopped to think what it would be like were the boot on the other foot for a change.

I just had Star at the park and she was on the lead and a dog about the size of Stars head ran up to her and started snapping and growling at her. Thankfully Star just tried to hide behind me.

The owner did not make any attempt to get her dog even when it nearly got run over by the parks department van (who were laughing at a boxer running from a dog smaller than a cat)