Acceptable behaviour?

We were walking round a lovely lake-side walk the other Sunday and my husband said something that made me think and I thought he was wrong but wanted some more opinions please.............

We have 2 dogs and our female Kerry is dog-reactive but fine as long as other dogs don't charge up to her. She will ignore them walking past and has doggy friends she mixes with. We keep her on-leash as she will head-butt other dogs if gets stressed. We have just found out she is nearly blind so obviously that doesn't help as she can't read other dogs signals.

As we were walking round the lake there was a part where your dogs are supposed to be leashed so we recalled Parker. Coming up to us were a family with a large cross-breed, off-lead but muzzled. I stopped still and called to them to please leash their dog as Cherry was dog-aggressive, They did this and I explained to them that their dog should be leashed in this part of the walk anyway (there are huge signs up). The man said "have a nice day" sarcastically which I ignored.

later on in the off-leash area we had a very large Staffy try to come to our dogs (I had recalled Parker when I saw the dog as he is not keen on Staffys as we have a lot of dog-aggressive ones where we live). The owners couldn't get their dog back though they called it but my husband grabbed its collar before it could get to Cherry.

I did have a moan to hubbie on the way back in the car as I do find it annoying that people can see that I have a dog on the lead and they don't recall their dogs. He then said that it is because I have a reactive dog that I recall Parker and if we didn't have Cherry we would just let our dog approach other dogs anyway as we would think they were all friendly like him. He said it was because we thought other leashed dogs might be like Cherry that I recalled Parker. Is he right? I can't remember what I used to do with my other dogs who were all friendly when we saw other dogs leashed as it was a long while ago.

What do other people think? (sorry story a bit long....getting like Ronnie Corbett when he used to tell those long-winded stories on the two Ronnies!)

I think that is is common curtesy to put your dog on a lead if you see another dog on lead. The only exception is if you're 100% certain your dog will stay at heel and you're not going to be passing close to the dog on lead.

Just manners, which seem to be a thing of the past sadly

I'm not quite sure what you are asking (either I'm thick or it wasn't clear from your post, sorry!), but I think the reality is that when off lead, most people don't have complete control over their dog and that includes the ability to recall. Rightly or wrongly, that is just the way it is. Not only that, but your 'Average Joe' owner is not necessarily as dog savvy as (for example) people on this forum, thus may not even think twice upon seeing a dog on lead.

I agree that most people are not aware of the dangers, and basically don't even notice that a dog is on-lead whilst theirs' are off-lead.... only when you know there could be a problem do you see the approaching problem.... really annoying but true none the less.... doesn't make life any easier though... sorry

When I see an on lead dog I don't put mine on lead but I do call them back and get them to walk close to me until the other owner says it's ok or whatever, mine wouldn't approach without the ok from me anyway.

As our 2 doodles are big and exhuberant we always put them on a lead if we see other people without dogs ana dthose whose dogs are on leads; out of respect and responsibility I think. Our 2 are so friendly but at times they can be too "in your face" with people they take a real liking to, so we are always one step ahead to prevent this occuring. IMO if a dog is on the lead it is either becasue it is scared, unfriendly or like ours, and prone to being too boistrous so to allow our 2 to approach would be totally irresponsible. Ruby was attacked by a Rottie last year and goes into defence mode ie: barking and jumping if she sees one nearby - not to go for it as she would be too scared, but I just keep her on the short lead under control and if it is an owner we don't know then I explain why she is like it. WE are also cautious when there are smaller dogs off lead because they don't want 2 great hoovers like ours jumping on them - that said, Dyson, when he sees a smaller dog to play with, gets down on the floor and puts his paws round their necks which is great but he doesn't know his own strength. We've had people saying that the doodles are vicious because they wear head halters to control their pulling, but we always explain they don't know what aggression is - just too bouncy for some dogs and scary.

I also keep my dogs away from other on-lead dogs if I'm in a place where dogs are usually off lead. If another dog is on a lead in these places, I assume there is a reason so it's best to keep my dogs away.

However I don't bother if the other dogs are also off lead, & that I'm sure the other owner has seen me & my dogs & hasn't bothered to recall their dogs. On these occasions I assume they are happy for our dogs to meet & I'm happy for my dogs to meet other dogs too. I think it's a good thing for dogs to get used to seeing & smelling other dogs, doing their meet & greet sniffy things & sometimes having a bit of a play.

But I'm very sympathetic to those responsible dog-owners who can't let their dogs interact with other dogs, for whatever reason, be it fear, aggression, boisterousness etc. & they keep their dogs on-lead. I don't interfere with these owners & I don't allow my dogs to go near. It must be very frustrating when other owners allow their dogs to come to close to you & upset your dog. Unfortunately I think it is because those people have no idea that other dogs can cause problems with the on-lead dogs!

My friend has a dog-aggressive dog & is very sensible, avoids other dogs, keeps her dog on lead whenever necessary & walks in out of the way places as much as possible. If a loose dog looks like its going to come over to us, she will put her dog on lead & go in the opposite direction. I generally head towards the other dogs with my dogs in the hope that I can head the loose dog off. Very often I'll say to the owner that my friend is avoiding them because her dog is wary of other dogs & may bark & lunge. Inevitably the owner says "oh don't worry, it'll do my dog no harm to be told off ~ he/she is always over-friendly & needs to be put in his/her place!" What they fail to take on board is that my friend doesn't want her dog put in the position where her dog feels the need to lunge/bark & get upset! She's put her dog on a lead so that she can avoid the other dog, not just to keep the other dog safe, but so she can keep her dog calm. It does make me a bit cross sometimes that owners can be so oblivious to the damage their off-lead, over-friendly dog can cause to other dogs

Thanks Wilbar-your friend sounds like me with Cherry!
I had a large Weimeraner approaching Cherry head-on when we were on the park taking photos for my 40th birthday. I called to the lady to move her dog away please and she told me to kick it away! Unbelievable. I too try to keep Cherry calm so I can reward her for being near another dog and not kicking off which she can do if other people leash their dogs or not let them fly up to her. I want her to succeed and other people make it very hard for her at times, especially now she is nearly blind and therefore can't read other dogs to know their intentions.

Sorry if I wasn't clear Labradork-what I meant was do you think if people see a leashed dog they realise they need to put their dog on leash or call to heel or because they have friendly dogs think it is ok to let their dog approach the on-leash dog (as my husband says).

Thanks for clarifying. As I said, some people just don't care (those that have no problem in their dog running completely out of control ) and other just don't think. Then you have people that do try to recall their dog(s) but perhaps are not always successful, particularly if they are taken by surprise (me sometimes ) by a leashed dog in an on lead area.

I think someone in another thread suggested using a fluorescent vest? perhaps you could use one for Cherry. People generally assume dogs in fluorescent vests are working dogs of some description, so that might make the "non-thinkers" think and possibly recall their dogs.

I tend to advise that it's best to let a dog interact with another dog if the other is off lead. Calling back tends to increase tension ect and can be counter productive.

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