Picking up dogs...

The fair weather has brought every dog owner within miles to my nice beach at 6.30 this morning...

Sadly, every dog owner we saw picked their little dogs up and carried them away from Max "just in case".

Everyone we saw had smaller dogs (westie, scottie, yorkie, cavs) and without exception they all spotted Max and hoiked their dogs off the floor until we had passed

Max was generally off his lead, but I always call him to me and prepare to put his lead on if we see another dog. I let him off lead again if they don't call out or if they leave their dog off lead.

He is in no way aggressive and is ever so friendly to dogs and owners alike. Even if a dog snaps at him, he will go back for another play (but will play "submissive" and slink over to them)

No wonder lots of smaller dogs near us are snappy, if they never get a chance to socialise with anything larger than a westie!

They should let their dogs meet max and get socialised, my dog harvey is a cairn and is small and i always let him meet other dogs big or small so he gets to know them and is not afraid or aggressive, i never pick him up away from them, if they start to look a bit dodgy i just pull him away the other direction. I even have people picking there dogs away from Harvey but to be honest i think its their problem not ours.

If I don't pick Percy up (or put him on his lead which makes him worse) he'd do a runner. The type of dog that's present for me is irrelevant. If a dog nakes a move toward Percy he'd run. I do my best to socialise him but it only takes one dog to run toward him to put him back so sometimes it's better safe than sorry.
Becky

Is Percy afraid of other dogs Becky?

I can understand that, which is why I call Max to me and have him on the lead or stand and hold his collar.

I can't see how the 10 or so dogs we passed today could all have a problem like that though!

He is petrified of other dogs! He was 5 mths old when I got him and I don't think he'd even ever been for a walk so he missed out big time on the vital socialisation period!
I bet most of those poor dogs you came across hadn't been out all winter, amazes me how 'busy' my favourite walks are when the sun shines
Becky

My sister used to have a tiny yorkie who thought she was a rottweiler and so my sis used to pick her up to stop her starting on other dogs. Not ideal, but I could understand it.

I know where you are coming from, but when I see other owners picking their dogs up, or pulling them away from mine, I try not to judge too much as there could be a hundred different reasons why they don't want their dogs near mine.

As far as boxers go, I always get hold of Flame when I see one because she was badly scared by a very over-friendly, zealous boxer as a pup and she now has a fear/dislike of the whole breed My friend has two boxers and I tried socialising her with them afterwards but she was a bit unpredictable as to whether she would be friendly and play, or be grumpy with them, so I think it is better safe than sorry.

I have this happen to me all the time. My 2 are very socialised and always want to play, whatever the other dogs size is. One of the reasons I took them to dog training was for the express reason of getting them to be familiar with all types and characters of dogs, which has succeeded.
Unfortunately I think a lot of people with small dogs look on them as a sort of substitute child and whisk them away as soon as there is a chance they will get dirty!! I have even seen one woman take a hanky out of her pocket and dab at a mud splash on her dog!!! 9 times out of 10 these poor little things are on those flaming extended leads and have never been socialised and have had no training whatsoever.
One lady actually complimented on the behaviour of my 2 (they must have been unconcious or something), hers meanwhile was in a harness at the end of an extended lead. I asked her why she never let him off lead and she said because he wouldn't come back, asked her why she hadn't gone to dog training and she said she had someone come round once 'but all they wanted me to do was walk up and down and turn' - so I then explained that was the beginning of getting your dog obedient. So put her dog on one of my leads, and within minutes I had it walking next to me, not pulling, and sitting when I stopped. So she then said she would definately come to dog training, did she come - NO - what a surprise!!!!

Yes, most of them were "fair weather walkers" I think.

I'm out at 6.30am every morning, same place and never see any of them!

The majority of small dog owners around here are retirees, as we have a lot of retirement parks (static residential caravans) so I guess they want a companion dog and won't bother going to training etc.

Max is well behaved with little dogs, as my mum has a Yorkie and about 80% of dogs at Max's training classes have been smaller dogs (his first girlfriend was a Bichon called Tilly - they would lay on the floor and bit each others ears )

I think Boxers do intimdate/scare other dogs off. It's the "bounce" factor with them - most of the time Max walks like he's on a bouncy castle.

It just annoys me that they can't walk past with their dog on a lead (unless they are like poor Percy ) , or ask me to put Max on a lead. I feel its a bit of an affront to whisk their dogs away

yes my 2 have the bounce factor as well. But they do play with lots of small dogs and just get down for them (which is quite funny to see) but I think most owners are petrified of letting their small dogs act like dogs to be honest. They are more like an animated toy to them sometimes I am sure.

I have too pick Amie up because she will have a go at any Dog that comes near(she is always on a extension lead) she is only 5kg but she will happily go for a Newfoundland Greatdane the Bigger the better in her case and she was well socialized, she is just a trouble maker .

If the owner of the larger Dog says their Dog is OK with small Dogs I will let her go, as she will have a go(she makes lots of noise but does not bite) but once she sees the other Dog is not afraid of her Or does not have a go back she is OK.

She wont play but will stop being a pain.

I feel I have to pick her up if a Big Dogs comes over because if it went for her she would not stand a chance I really just wish people would stop letting there Dogs do it.

I do allow Amie too be a Dog its just until I know the Larger Dogs is Ok I will not allow it near her.