One walk - two incidents!!!

Just had my youngsters out, by young I mean 4-5 yr olds, one of which does not get on with other dogs. As a precaution I always put him on lead if I see someone else with a dog or a loose dog - so why does a stupid woman with a young Jack Russell proceed to follow me up the field when there is so much other space she could have gone? I tried to avoid her but the d... woman followed me. To add insult to the injury that may have happened if I hadn't been able to hold my boy back, she then threw her dogs ball right to my dogs. That could have been such a bad incident if her pup had run into my dog - I tried to tell her her how dangerous that was and her answer was "Nobody should have those dogs anyway!" (A Dobe)

Incident no 2 was right on my own doorstep, less than 15 mins from first!!!

Two small children aged approx 7 and 5 out with a Staffie on a flexi lead, no control whatsoever. The dog had the full length of it's lead and run straight for my dogs. Luckily I was right at my door and managed to get my dogs in the door before a scrap happened. What are the parents thinking of allowing children of that age out unsupervised with any dog much less a dog as powerful as a Staff. It just beggars belief!!

Now had to take extra painkillers, my back just can't contend with that sort of pulling about. I now know why I put my dogs in my car and take them to remote areas!!!

OHH I can see why you are mad.. I have a small dog and deliberatly aviod people with dogs on a lead .. if they are on the lead in the park, to me , it means they have "issues" they don't like other dogs,people,men etc..
You had your dog under control .. she clearly did not .....
I hate to see children out, alone with dogs.. any dogs.. all breeds have the potential to cause serious problems!
I want to socailse my little Chi and prefer dogs that are on leads..because they are better behaved ....but I always check with the owner first!
Rachel

I can't help but wonder if you have a dog that does not get on with other dogs why he wouldn't be muzzled? It can work two ways, first of all people tend to stay away from muzzled dogs, second if an accident was to happen then you've done all you can to prevent it!

Paul

What a pain for you,surely if people see a dog on a lead they must know it might have issues with other dogs,or maybe it has been unwell or had an operation,Zanta had to be on a lead for nearly two weeks,I was grateful most people round here are sensible.
Young Children with dogs shouldn't be allowed unless an adult is with them,it is too dangerous.Hope your back is feeling better.

that is one of the things that makes me livid little kids with dogs,too many things could happen and be dangerous for both the person with the jack russel is obviously a bit nuts it is annoying when you are doing your best to control your dogs and the other person decides it is a great idea to let their dog run riot i hope you have a better walk later

What an awful shame you couldn't enjoy a walk close to home ;-(

Not necassarily, the dog may be on a lead because of recall problems rather than being agressive, the dog may have a health condition that means free running is not advisable or the owner may keep the dog on a lead to keep it away from other dogs who may not be so friendly.There are umpteen other reasons an owner chooses to keep their dog on lead.

I never assume any dog is 100% friendly but I also don't assume a dog is agressive just because it's on lead in a park.
I would be wary of letting a dog as small as a Chihuahua run free with other dogs no matter how safe, unless of course they are a similar size. Accidents can happen all too easily and larger dogs can so easily hurt a tiny dog without meaning to.

What a shame it doesn't half make you wonder

People never cease to amaze me how stupid they can be - and to comment that you shouldn't own a dog like that is so insulting and infuriating

As for the children with the Staffy, their parents should not allow them to be unsupervised if they are too young to control the dog. Staffies are great dogs, but powerful and by having it on flexi-lead like that could spell trouble. What is to stop the dog running in front of a car if it's lead was out full-length.

I hope your next walk is incident-free and more enjoyable

I choose not to muzzle my dog, he is never off lead where there are other dogs and he has no problems with people, adults or children of all ages. You may advocate muzzles, I don't. My dogs are walked on Dogmatics and good leads, in my opinion they ARE under control.

I have had dogs for 30 years and consider myself to be a responsible dog owner, all my dogs are well behaved and well cared for. The reason that my dog is not good with other dogs is because he was set about by someone elses off lead dog (Stafford male) whilst he was on lead, he NEVER had a problem with other dogs prior to that. Once introduced to another dog he is fine. The problem I had was not with my dog but with the idiot woman that followed me up the field when it must have been obvious to anyone with any sense that I was trying to avoid her and then to throw her dogs ball amongst my dogs.