Layla - I'm younger than you and when I was a child this was the case also, dogs mingling etc.
Benjie is a little anti- social but is offlead when no other dogs are around - on lead when there is.

Claire - Sadie can look after herself but there are breeds I will not let her up against. There was once a DdB male, she ignored my recall bounded up and the man said that she was the first dog that he'd ever got on with - he'd bite others and I was like lol. I don't trust Louie - he's still silly and not able to read signs yet.

The Akita owner I met at my parents was saying it was nice for Echo to be able to play with others as so many people leash their dogs when she's around, thinking she's vicious...

I wish it went back to the onlead - unfriendly until known otherwise, offlead - friendly - end of! Would make my life a lot easier, wouldn't have all these dogs running up to Benjie and their owners oblivious to the fact that he was off one minute then when I spotted them - he's put on..some numpties..

On our everyday walk, which is down a public footpath, fenced either side, it is very quiet, and most people have their dogs off lead to start with. We very often don't meet anyone, but when we do, I'd say maybe half will put their dogs on a lead when they see us. If they do, I usually put mine on too. (The exception being if I have a ball or tug in my hand, in which case Jake will pass within 6 inches of a dog without glancing at it).

I would like to presume there is a reason for it, either their dog doesn't mix well, has had a bad experience etc. However, I think the majority just don't like the idea of their dog meeting other dogs.

What does drive me insane is people picking their dogs up for no reason. Very often we will see a small dog in the distance, on lead. I put ours on lead. Then, as we approach, they pick the dog up! What is that about? The dog that before was really boring, now becomes really interesting to mine, especially as it is usually yapping its head off at this point. Mostly the owners ignore us, or glare at our dogs.

The ones that do let the dogs meet are usually very friendly.

Yes-agree with this as Parker went over to meet a nearby Yorkie that was off-lead but the owner picked it up and then Parker thought this was a wonderful game and he was dancing around the owner jumping up and every time I tried to grab him he moved in the other direction around the owner! Fortunately the owner's little boy thought this was very funny!

If I can see the other person and their dog isnt phased by the sight of 3 erratic dogs coming towards them I just let the dogs get on with greeting. If either the other owner or their dog looks on edge or unsure or the other dog looks like it might have a go then I stop and keep my dogs off to the side out of the way.

Sometimes Flynn isnt bothered by another dog coming towards him but other times he'll growl and the hackles will go up so then I dont let them greet.

I just make a judgement call at the time and I do admit that it depends on breed whether I allow greetings or not. Generally, I sit my dogs out of the way and allow the other person and dog to pass, it's not often I just allow free greetings but thats purely because there are very few people who dont get into a mild panic at the sight of 3 sizeable dogs heading for their little darling.

You are lucky they found it funny. I've had it happen many times, and I usually get either glared at, or to "please control my dog". (Very often when my dog is on a lead, but showing a lot of interest!)

I think atleast here, people are probably too afraid to let their large dogs off lead in public. Atleast in highly populated areas. I live in the city, not suburbs...and not in a great area. Most of the dogs are major DA and quite a few are human aggressive as well. Up town I've only ever seen one off lead large breed in my life..a husky mix owned by a homeless man. The dog was perfect though...
Now..if only we could get people to be just as afraid to leave poop everywhere

Here, you're not allowed to let dogs off lead in the cities/towns, unless they are at specified off-leash parks... unfortunately, if you have a dog like my Oliver, who's Dog aggressive, then you have an issue, you cant let them off leash anywhere within town limits... but I'm lucky, I live in a very small town, I walk for 10 mins then am on a country road, where he will meet no other dog and can be off-leash

Dog parks are good for that, though. No one takes DA dogs to dog parks, and everyone there wants their dogs to socialize and play, but for few exceptions... I once met a lady walking an old beagle. I had my 2 dogs, one 13, one 15, the beagle was 12. My 2 (ESS x American Cocker Spaniel and small Terrier mix) walked up to the dog, the lady started screaming at me to get my dogs away, her dog was OLD! I was like, yeah? how old, after, of course calling and signing my dogs away. (patchie was deaf) she said 12... i told her the age of my dogs, and said that she should be careful, if she doesn't want 2 old dogs with good manners approaching, then what is she going to do when the Lab puppy behind us come bouncing? I told her she may just want to walk he dog in a place with no other dogs, if she's that worried about it!

She then screamed at the owner of the Lab puppy to get his dog, and of course the dog had no recall, and the lady started panicking... he went for my 2 first. patchie told him off, Benji sniffed at him, I grabbed the pup and took him back to his owner... and told the lady that she should probably leave... then I had a nice walk with the owner of the lab! LOL

I live in the countryside, so it's very rare for me to see a dog onlead, especially where I walk on the South Downs, which dog owners seem to have made their own footpaths iin the huge big fields, so if I see strange dog/dogs with no owners anywhere nearby, I tend to go off track and find another path coz I can't be doing with it all nowadays.

I'm more than happy to walk with dogs I meet up with if they're friendly, which I do most mornings, and I'm more than happy for my dogs to say a quick hello to passing dogs (if they're friendly) and move on. Neither of my dogs tend to want to play with other dogs, except their very best friends, and I don't know whether that's because they've learned over time that these are the only ones who can be totally trusted to play nice, afterall, dogs are smart.

I can look back 50 years here when I used to take my german shepherd out after school, and he never wanted to play with other dogs, he just wanted to be with me, but there was never anything nasty on our walks, otherwise, at that young age, I just wouldn't have been able to handle it I can even go back right up to 6 years ago, where I never had any worries about my dog getting attacked, but then I didn't walk in heavy, dog populated areas back then, it was more bridleways coz I had a horse, so who knows how long this current dog issue problem has been going on, I just wouldn't know, maybe it's always been like it.

My dog has been attacked so many times now I can't keep count of them all, and I'm turning quite paranoid about some dogs approaching us offlead, especially when I don't see that owner, coz my dog will have a pop at anything with an attitude and seems to me, there's quite a few of them around my neck of the woods now, but thankfully, I can time my walks to suit so that I meet the proper dog walkers early mornings.

I think a friend of mine summed it up perfectly, after her poor 3 month old goldie puppy had been attacked twice in one week by different dogs, when she said, the trouble now with the countryside is, so many people are moving into it, their first thought being, oh, let's go and get a dog so we can walk, without having a clue as to how to train/socialise their dogs that might never have been socialised properly in their entire lives They go and park up in a nice carpark in a country hillside, let the dog out of the car and off they go, totally ignoring it most of the way around

At this time of year, now that it's dried up, I can get well out of their way and find seclusion once more - ah bliss! My dogs don't need other dogs company every day, they have each other and ourselves, they're more than happy with that.

I feel that regardless of where you live, too many people simply do not take the time and trouble to train and socialize their dogs properly.

Countless times I've seen people with pups who they drag away from other dogs, if their dogs shows anxiety or grumbles, I see them pat them reassuringly (so compounding the problem by giving them positive reinforcement for being anti-social ), they shoo other dogs away from theirs and then they cannot understand why their adult dog has issues

They should be taking their dogs to puppy classes to learn manners and integrate nicely with other dogs and people. Nothing will be learned without interaction it puzzles me why they don't allow it.

There's a classic example here at the moment. A lady with a young GSD who is very nervous and is already showing signs of aggression towards dogs and people and she does everything wrong with it. I just know at some point I will be on here telling you all that this dog has attacked someone or a dog badly - you can see it coming. Even though it exhibits this every time a dog passes or a person approaches, she STILL insists on letting it off the lead

I know what you mean. When I was a teenager, I always used to take our Rough Collie to the local parks. He was off leash the second we got inside the gates - as was every other dog.

I don't ever remember a single incident when any dog was anything bar friendly and well behaved. And all the other owners were happy for their dogs to play.

Now I find it's very different. A lot of people just don't want their dogs to meet and greet at the park and I don't understand why - I love watching dogs interact and it's always lovely chatting to fellow dog lovers!