It was unfortunate and an accident but I do think you have to be more careful for your puppies sake if nothing else.

I have an almost 4 month old puppy who already weighs 4 stone and I have to be mindful of him with small dogs, people and also for his health in as much as he isn't allowed to rough house with other dogs while he is growing due to damage to his joints. I allow him to meet other dogs big and small in a controlled enviroment harness and long line on and monitor the situation carefully. He is allowed to run along with dogs we have some friends we meet for walks but I have to know and teach him when to stop the play. I envisage this to get worse as he gets older and hits the kevin stage. But am hoping I will be on top of it.

Also try to see it from the point of view his dog may of been on lead for a reason .
1. It may of been dog aggressive.

2. It may of been ill.

3. It may of been recovering from an operation.

4. It may of been an elderly dog and not up to puppies bouncing all over it.
I don't think hitting your dog was a good move but I expect maybe if he was a bit shocked he may of over reacted.

I can see both sides, however I can totally see why you are upset. My dog is dog aggressive and I work very hard to keep him calm on walks. Nothing gets my goat more than dogs dashing up to him "to say hello", even if they are friendly. If that dog was jumping all over us and wasn't strictly supervised (you were busy with the horse), then I would be even less pleased. That said, there was absolutely NO reason for him to wallop your dog, that disgusts me Just keep your dog close and don't let him run up to random dogs without supervision, to try and keep everyone safe and happy Obviously just one of those things though so try not to take it too hard.

Smokeybear
Dim and unthinkable to me. Who has not only waded in and DRAGGED her own small dog off two bigger dogs who seemed to want to pull her in half, but inflicted as much noise and damage to them as I could in the circumstances, despite being mauled myself.

Geezus - I am fully aware that, if a big dog gets too 'boisterous' it could permanantly damage my small dog without mauling, biting, or savaging it. It would just have to jump down HARD with both front paws on her spine.

I think it is a mistake to assume all dog owners can 'read the situation' as well as you think you can.

THEIR priority is THEIR dog. If they think their darling puppy dog is in danger, they might not stop to apply 'logic' to it. Or assess the size, approximate age, body language and all that to it. They are probably just acting on basic protective instinct.

after it happened and i had checked rocky was ok and had calmed myself down a bit yes i thought it througg and in NO way am i blaming the man, i should have prevented it from happening...that im not denying and i no way am i not holding myself to blame, i feel guilty as h*ll that my pup got a smack of a stranger for my negligence, but i do feel that walking somewhere that is a well known walking place for dog walkers with dogs of all shapes and sized and ages the pups owner should have been a bit more open minded, not in the sence he should allow my dog to jump all over his pup, but at least be aware of the potential that other dogs may want to socialise with his puppy, and that also in the long run it may not be a bad thing for his pup to socialise with all shapes, sizes and ages of dog also....

with the comment about CYPRUS and dogs being kicked about, i know things like this go on as my parents live in corfu and iv seen it all before over there, there is a very narrow mind for dogs and cats over in these places, but in the uk which is avery pet orientated place surely it isnt acceptable for people to go about hitting other peoples dogs, especially when the owner is right there amending the situation, that yes could have been avoided, but as already said it is a learning curve with rocky at the moment, he wouldnt have jumped up had the man not lifted the puppy up, and the whole mess would have been avoided had he given me 2 seconds to gather up my pup.....

what worries me now is that i am anxious about rocky approaching other dogs in case of similar events taking place, which then makes me worry that all the time and effort i have invested in socialising my dreaded staffy type dog is wasted!!!!

HOW can i socialise my pup if he cant speak to other dogs??? he DOES not generally jump on people now a days as this is what he is learning not to do, he jumped because the man lifted the puppy......

Of course he can speak to other dogs just try to read the situation. If the other dog is off lead and body language is friendly, it's probably fine. If the dog is on lead, there's probably a reason so best to avoid or ask the owner. Watch the owner's body language too, if they are ploughing straight towards you then all is probably fine, if they are pausing, looking worried or giving you a wide berth, there's probably a reason to avoid them. if in doubt, give the other owner a cheery shout and ask if it's ok to play

I agree with this. Both my boys are polar opposites (or were until Benjie started to come along with training) Benjie doesn't know how to interact properly with other dogs - and will kick off, whereas like your pup - Louie will go and greet other dogs.

Like MM says, keep him close and socialise when people allow it..

This I agree with. After days and weeks of constant bullying, out of the blue threatening behaviour from out of control labs..look how my boy now reacts to their in your face ways. Had Rocky been a lab who approached my dog like this...
I have had a lot of time, effort, care and my dogs "temprament" spoiled by people who couldnt care less... I understand accidents happen but..

MD I think maybe you need to check that people don't mind Rocky going to say hello. It is difficult I agree and of course you need him to socialise with other dogs. Maybe smaller dogs it is best to keep him near you unless the people don't mind Rocky interacting with them. My previous Bernese was very good with small dogs he had played with them since first going out for walks. Dillon also a Bernese has some small dog friends but he is not so gentle at the moment so I have to keep an eye on him and help him to be respectful.

Not an easy task always.

"The straw that breaks the camels back" is very fitting here.

I have a small pup. She's five months old now and if she's on lead and another dog who is off-lead comes bounding over, I pick her up. I do so because it can be difficult to read a dog's intentions in a split second (and often that's all you have when a dog springs out of nowhere) and also, my dog is on-lead so cannot get herself out of trouble by running out of danger if necessary.

I will not risk having my dog's temperament ruined by an out of control dog.

However, after saying that, no I would not kick the other dog unless it started to attack and I had no other reasonable option. If the dog proved friendly and the area was safe to let my pup off to run and play with the dog, I would let her, but I would also give the owner some much needed advice on controlling their dog and why.