I grew up with a succession of Labs and looking back over all the years I've had dogs, Labs are the only breed that have ever knocked me over, the last time resulting in a broken coccyx!

My pet hate is owners who walk their small dogs on fully extended flexi leads totally oblivious to what their dog is doing some 5 metres ahead of them! Two years ago when Chloe and I stayed for a couple of days in a tourist town she was attacked twice, once by a JRT, then by a Highland Terrier both on flexi leads whose owners were too busy chatting to friends to notice what their dogs were getting up to. Of course it was me and my tiny Tibbie who got the black looks when she retaliated to being suddenly launched upon!

Yesterday I was SO cross! We'd just finished training and were sitting outside the club house having a coffee and a chat with some of the other owners. Georgina and Gwylim were sitting quietly at my feet when along the path comes a woman with a chi puppy on a 3 metre lead. Unless she was blind she must have seen she was walking towards several strange dogs and that my two were directly blocking her path and because the terrace was crowded there was nowhere I could go to get out of the way. But no, she did absolutely nothing and the puppy came to a halt about 6 inches in front of my two's noses! Georgina got up and stared at it (no doubt thinking the chi was a funny looking cat) and Gwylim gave a warning growl which neither the owner nor the puppy took any notice of, so he growled again and when neither of them moved he lunged at the chi. Luckily for them I was already holding Gwylim by the collar and Georgina on a short lead, so no damage was done and when eventually the penny dropped and she moved her dog I took mine and put them in the car.

Had my Hungarian been better I would have told her that had she arrived on the terrace from the other direction she'd have found herself confronted by an English Mastiff and a feisty Amstaff and the outcome might have been so much worse for her and her tiny pooch!

You've juts echoed exactly my thoughts on flexi leads, I was saying to someone only yesterday about it. I am so sick of it happening, and my dogs getting the blame, when they are on a short lead and minding their own business, when from round the corner comes a dog all done up in coat etc, all matching of course, owner is still behind the dog and doesn't even know whats going on, launches itself at us, my girls retaliate, but because they're big, and the little dog 'doesn't mean any harm' I get the blame. During Bank Holidays and weekends that is the reason the girls go on the river, out of the way, or just a short walk round and home again. Would love flexi leads to be banned, have heard so many tales of them snapping and even a dog having its eye put out when the thing snapped and rebounded in its eye

I don`t really get why you were so angry, you said yourself you were on a crowded veranda, with no space to pass, from what you say it would not have mattered if the chi was on a short led, it would have to eventually come near you and your dogs to pass with its owner.....

It was your dog that lunged at the chi, not the other way round, what do did you really expect the other owner to do, not walk her dog past yours!

Going back to the topic of the thread, I have been on the receiving end of jumping dogs, and have owned dogs that jump up, Figo being a pain for it at the moment, no I don`t encourage it and will stop the dog from doing it if I can, but these things happen, and I don`t get to upset about it.

Regarding extending leads, I use them daily, used correctly there is nothing wrong with them , I don`t let my dogs run up to other dogs, regardless of the lead they are on, in case the other dog snaps at them.

I'm a big fan of flexi leads used in the right way. I always bought the most heavy duty ones and checked the 'lead' part often for any ware. If it locked up a single time or didn't feel right for any reason I would chuck it and get another. And they should never ever be used on the road. I would walk Cookie on a short lead and swap to a flexi lead on open land if it was quiet. He wasn't allowed off lead to run for health reasons.
My Dad walks their lab on a flexi lead all the time, regardless of where they are. They are both horrible to be around at times and very arrogant. My Dad is one of those 'dogs will be dogs' people and see's no problem with dogs having a scrap and bullying each other. I refuse to go on walks with them unless I can get them somewhere that I know we are extremely unlikely to come across anyone.

Ive used flexi leads for over 25 years and Ive never had or caused an accident.
Rule one Ive always used flexi not a cheap knock off.
Rule two My dogs are kept on locked short lead when on the pavement or next to roads.

The flexi gives dogs who dont have good recall or in areas not suitable for of lead exersize a degree of freedom , sadly a tool is onyl as good as the person using it and many people who use the flexis are total idiots who make it difficult for senisble owners

Yeah some of the people with flexi leads are seriously hard of thinking!

There are some cycle paths around here and when you ding your bell its amazing how many people stop on the opposite side of the path to their dog with the lead trailing across, (that's if they aren't also plugged into their iPod and unable to hear your bell) and there are also the bad mannered ones who have loose dogs with no recall which run up to you when you are riding towards, necessitating swerving or emergency stops.

Phoebe, my lab/basset hound mix, only jumps up on me. She is now 6 yrs. old and I have been unable to break her of it. When other people approach she stands back as I trained her to do. When she sees me she goes totally nuts and can't control herself. I appreciate the love but she's a heavy dog and quite well trained except for that one thing.

To be honest I never had a problem with Cookie jumping up at me, and I suppose by greeting him and letting him do it I encouraged it, but as Manydogz said it was only with me (sometimes my OH and even rarer with other close family members) never with strangers or even people he was excited to see but didn't 100% trust. And usually while we are knelt down... He would knock me to the floor and cover me in kisses. Many might find it gross but I loved it every time.
We were once out at the park and bumped into a woman walking with her smaller dog and daughter. Cookie was super happy as he loved little kids and little dogs, he greeted both and all three began playing so nicely. It ended quickly as Cookie swerved to avoid the little dog and sent the little girl crashing to the floor. He stopped straight away and tried nuzzling her. The girl and her mum were fine about it being an accident but I was so apologetic and embarrassed. She showed no fear of Cookie afterwards which I was impressed by as it must of hurt.