Dog agressive dogs in areas other dogs are off lead?

The other day I took my pup out into the park by my house, it's in a town but is more of a country park type park.
I had my pup on his lead and waited till we got into the park, looked all around and checked there was no one near by as he can be a bit over friendly and then let him off. I walked about 3 steps and a man with a walking stick came around the corner with his dog off lead, I waited a second to see if he put the dog on a lead and noticed the dog looked a lot like one I had seen wandering around the street the night before, he went to put the dog on a lead so I went to put Cooper on, just as I reached down for him he spotted the dog and ran towards it, tail wagging and wanting to play. I called Cooper and shouted sorry and then ran towards them to catch him. The man said she wasn't friendly to other dogs (although she was wagging her tail and trying to greet Cooper, didn't look particularly unfriendly to me) and the man was waving his stick at Cooper and shouting sit (I'm not sure who the sit was aimed at). I apologized again and said he was a puppy and a little over friendly (perhaps I over socialized him?) and the bloke said 'keep her on a lead love' in a fairly nasty way, I would usually say something back like 'keep a muzzle on it then' but I was still a little fragile from my other dogs death a few days before so all I said was 'HE' (I am getting fed up of people calling him a girl) and then waited till I was past him burst into tears


My question is, if you know your dog is dog aggressive, shouldn't you have the dog on a lead or long line and muzzled if you are in an area where dogs are known to be off lead?
I know it is my responsibility to keep my dog under control, and I apologized, but what would happen if his dog attacked mine? Who would be to blame?

Deja vu, wasn't there a post with a near exact account of this happening? Remember it turning into a big debate.

Edit:
http://www.dogsey.com/showthread.php?t=133428

At the end of the day, he had his dog under control, even if it wasn't on a lead or muzzled. Maybe it doesn't react to other dogs by biting them (you said it was showing playful behaviour) but has other issues with dogs, hence his warning but no lead/muzzle. I know you didn't intend for Cooper to run off, it was unfortunate that he ran over to this particular dog, but I don't think you can blame the man when his dog was next to him and not causing any bother. I think if he knew his dog was likely to bite then a muzzle would be a good idea - what I used to do was clip a muzzle onto my belt loop of my jeans so that if we were in a situation where another dog was approaching, I could stick the muzzle on so worst-case scenario and we were cornered, I had the reassurance that she was muzzled and I had taken every precaution I could, but I didn't feel comfortable having her muzzled all the time as it limited her panting and took a lot of the fun out of her walks, as she couldn't go off-lead to run around, sniffing around in the grass and leaves was a big part of her entertainment. However, as said, he knows his dog best and he may be more worried about his dog getting scared than attacking other dogs (and if that's the case then his dog would probably be less anxious off-lead, leads can increase tension in some situations as the dog loses its "flight" option and has to go with "fight")

Im sorry, I can totaly understand you are feeling fragile at the moment, and puppies are such friendly things
But I have to say if the guy had control of his dog and was able to get it back to him and on the lead he did nothing wrong other than be a bit rude to you

If your dog ran up to an onlead dog and got attacked then it is not the other dog or the other owners fault
If both dogs are offlead and one owner knows they have an agressve dog then it is their responsability if their dog attacks another dog
That said, some dogs are not agressive, just less tolerent, and an owner may just be warning you because their dog has had to put up with lots of rude dogs

But I know how you feel, the other week I was on a forest path, my pair were charging about, went round the bend and there was a guy there with an onlead dog
all 3 dogs barked at each other (I think they were startled) and the guy started yelling at me that my dogs had attacked his and that Mia should never be offlead (she was in a play bow but growling at the other dog till I got her moved away from them) I was v upset and totaly apologetic, havent walked there since and really thought about not letting Mia off the lead again
But now I think it was just one of those things, dogs are dogs and sometimes things go wrong, sometimes walks are not as great as they should be, sometimes other dogs, other owners, you or your dogs are having an off day
Its upsetting I know but no blood no foul

I totally understand, first of all Sadie was always getting called a He so I got her a pink collar instead of his army one

And Benjie is dog agressive or has the tendancy to be so is always put on a lead when around dogs and if the other owner is happy with it, we introduce them (if it is a small dog, I ask if I can pick it up so Benjie can sniff it's bum - gross but it's the only way he'll sniff)

I used to walk a GSD x Collie who also wasnt friendly - only with Black labs. So she was muzzled and always on a lead unless there were no other dogs around.

Some people just dont get it though

I agree that really aggressive dogs should not be allowed to run up to MY dogs, when my dogs are totally in control, right by my side, whether they are onlead or off, they're under control coz they DON'T go up to other dogs unless I say they can, that's how it is with me.

Liike Krlry has said there, this bloke was doing nothing wrong,in fact, he did everything right in my book. My youngster CAN be a bit bossy to other dogs if they give her an attitude, so maybe his dog is like that, so he thought the best thing to do would be to put his dog onlead,which is the very same thing I do when I dog comes charging up to us offlead. Of course you want to let your puppy run free, and meet other dogs, and like you say, this was an accident, and if the truth's known, it could also have been your lucky day for your pup's sake, coz you just never know what's around those corners, I've learned that to my cost in the past.

What would have happened had that dog actually attacked your little guy - would it have been HIS fault too even though he had put his onlead, in plenty of time to meet up with you had your puppy been with you, by your side, or onlead. You've constantly got to think about situations you might be putting your puppy into I think, don't restrict him, teach him a good recall so you always, always know he will come back to you if a situation arises like this again, but you know this anyway, at least you should have learned by this one experience.

You can't go through this stage thinking he's going to be safe because he's a puppy, and nor can you go through this stage thinking he can get away with anything just because he's over-boistrous, coz that just isn't fair to the rest of us IF our dog is by our side, or onlead, and your puppy chooses to hurf over to us. I have to say, from the experience I have with my own iffy dog, it's ok for babies to run up to her, but then that's MY dog, not every dog will be the same just because he's a baby.

Just put it aside, don't let his gruff remark get under your skin, and think yourself lucky you puppy stayed safe, and of course, that you might have learned a big lesson in the process.

'Get' what though? Life isn't black and white and we don't know for sure that this man's dog was aggressive to the point it would've bitten Cooper.
Yes, he's guilty of being a little rude but most of us have reached the end of our tether with some things and snapped at what seems, to that offender, like a little thing, but the reality is we've been in that situation so many times we're finally fed up and overreact.
Even if his dog was on-lead and muzzled, if the dog has fear aggression then does he deserve to have his dog stressed out by a dog rushing over to him? I've seen lots of recommendations to owners of dogs with fear aggression, from behaviourists/people with good knowledge on dog behaviour, to drop the lead if they're "cornered" by another dog running over - it gives their dog the flight option rather than fight and can often prevent a fight from happening, or to not use a muzzle as it gives the dog no chance to defend itself it its attacked unprovoked. And I've seen lots of dogs who are totally under control even without a lead on, so the man wasn't in the wrong for having it off-lead IMO, and if he put it back on-lead just to be sure then he's at least taking responsiblity there. Unless he knew for definately that his dog would definately bite an innocent dog that had done nothing wrong, in which case he should have a muzzle on it/with him, I think he has his dog under plenty of control for the situation.

i dont think this guy was out of order, apart from being rude maybe. but ive had a similar situation with a hyper chiuahua ( sorry prob spelt wrong again) and my Ronnie who isnt dog aggresive, i was extremely polite with the chiuahua`s owner even tho she was a total nutter who cursed at me and Ronnie??!! but seriously you have to be one maybe two steps ahead when it comes to letting puppies off lead, you never know whats around the corner, and your puppy getting injured by another dog really isnt worth the risk. i would use an extendable lead just to keep a bit of control, then you can react when/if needed. portioning blame is of no use to a puppy whos been bitten. dont mean to sound patronising its just my thoughts.

These posts always interest me , I have had my dogs only a short time although grew up with dogs. I have a problem with one of mine with agression. It is in certain circumstances only, he shares his home happily with my other dog and plays and shares food bowls , beds etc with my friends dogs, I have had all sorts of reactions when walking him when he reacts from downright rudeness to very nice people who take the time to stop and chat about his behaviour. I have done a lot of soul searching into why he behaves as he does on occasion and I am working with a behaviourist currently to help him overcome his issues. I just cant get past the thought though that they are all dogs and even the best behaved , best trained may have a moment that is out of character and behave in an unacceptable way . Maybe this is my inexperience showing or related to my current experience where although his training is improving the situation I am still not convinced that he wont react in this way in the future. All I would ask of other owners is to step back and think about the person on the end of the lead of a dog reacting ! We are not bad people, we love our doggies and are trying to get the best from them and in the main recognise how to deal with the situation by keeping them on a lead unless in a safe place and using a muzzle as required. I wish some of the people who have made me feel really bad could see my wonderful dog cuddled up on the sofa after asking permission to get on there. But I suppose thats life we are all different including our dogs and levels of tolerance differ and no doubt the debate will continue !

I have to say I agree with the above posts, the man was horribly rude but I see no problem with his dog being off lead if he could recall it when necessary.

Cain has some fear aggression issues, that's not to say he'd savage any dog that came his way nor does he need to wear a muzzle, equally I don't trust him off lead around other dogs. Cain is a high energy dog who needs to run and doesn't get to often enough. I'm now at a stage with him that if it's quiet around I let him go on his long line but recall him and put him on a short lead before the other dog gets close enough. It's not fair to expect him to have to spend his entire life on lead in all situations, there are times when it's managable off lead. Seems like the man though he was alone so let his dog off, then put her back on when he saw you.

Puppies that come careering over are mine and Cain's ultimate nightmare! Generally they have little recall as they are young and still learning and most owners (not aimed at you) think it's ok as the puppy is friendly. But puppies seriously unnerve Cain, they are all wiggly and get right in his face and under his feet and he'll pin them given the chance....and given how big and heavy he is that's not good!

I also see the other side, puppies should be able to run free and of course they won't always have perfect recall when they are young and learning, so I just let it the other way if I see a puppy!

Just spare a thought for the owner with a difficult dog, walks are not much fun and I spend half my time agonising that I can't exercise Cain properly on the lead, it's very frustrating.

I think perhaps you were feeling very sensitive at the time and it's always our natural defence to think our dogs are not at fault, like how we'd defend our children so I don't think the dog being off lead is a problem (I often shout that Cain is "not friendly" if I want an owner to call their dog off, but he's far from aggressive and I don't think he'd attack, so the phrase doesn't necessarily mean savage! It's just the quickest and easiest way to get the other dog owner to comply) however I do think the man was unreasonably rude to you....but saying that, walking a dog aggressive dog can be stressful and I'll admit I've lost it with a few people before now after one too many dogs have bounded up to us when we need to be left alone!

I am sorry I misread the OP.