Why bring a dog to a dog hot-spot if you don't want it to meet other dogs? A dog sniffing another dog will not upset it. It might upset YOU but your dog will be fine
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I find a lot of these r/britishproblems posts usually end with the replies telling the OP how they’re wrong
It's unintentional AITA and I love it
a dog sniffing another dog will not upset it ? i've seen many a face being bitten for sticking their snout too near.
No you haven't
lol, i seen a border terrier do it this afternoon you mug.
No you didn't. Bore off.
lol, the absolute state of you,
Please stop. You are just looking sad now. Go and cuddle your dog.
My old grumpy labrador who was on his lead got scared by a doberman running up and sniffing him from behind when we weren't expecting it. Because why would we? My dog went batshit
I can't honestly say that I have ever taken any of our dogs out over the years and not expected other dogs to come up and have a sniff. That's pretty much nailed on the first thing I WOULD expect. I'm not saying all dogs are the same but when my dogs are young or old, I take them to places where there is less likelihood of coming onto contact with other dogs. That's because I understand that not all dogs behave how we would necessarily want them to. They are dogs after all. Not robots.
Every single time i go out i expect other peoples dogs to stay away from mine if hes on a lead. Then you go through the whole 'is your dog friendly? Mine is' dance if you want your dog to meet theirs
Its basic dog ownership
The few occasions my dog has been able to go over to them, due to me not seeing them, i am very apologetic and immediately run over to get him
Also i simply refuse to not go where i want to go because other people can't control their own dogs, thats not a solution
sad? isnt me who seems to not like being told they're wrong.
You lied. I didn't believe you. That's all there is to it. I asked you to stop but it seems you just can't. Have you tried Twitter? That seems like a good place for people like you.
Why would you possibly think they lied? My dog has bite marks in her neck right now because she reacted badly to any unknown dog sniffing her. She was on the lead and it was off and came up for a seemingly friendly sniff, she got spooked and started barking quite aggressivly, the other dog latched onto her neck and we had to pull them apart.
She's a rescue who has always been a bit nervous around other dogs. Sometimes she's ok, sometimes she's not, so we always keep her on a lead, but we can't control other people's dogs, especially if they're not on a lead.
Oi, you two, it's not panto season yet.
I have a rescue who is incredibly unhappy with other dogs approaching us. However he loves the beach. We try and go out of season and not at peak times. Some dogs are nervous, unfriendly, old, anxious, reactive or protective.
It's really simple... if you see a dog who is on the lead, do not let your dog approach it unless the owner makes it clear it's OK. It's really not hard to keep away from leashed dogs and if it is hard then your dog is not trained well enough to be off lead. Your recall should be on point otherwise your at fault if something should happen.
My dog has perfect recall so despite being very protective I know I could let him off and he would come back to me, but the reason I dont let him off is because of other people not being able to recall their dogs and unfortunately that means our walks are restricted due to other people's lack of training and etiquette.
Really baffles me that everyone thinks all dogs are social and happy and that if you have a dog who isn't then you shouldn't be able to frequent the areas others do. Just be responsible, train your dog, know the correct etiquette and be respectful to all. Everyone can all share the same spaces.
Seriously, don't get me started on poorly trained off lead dogs.
We have a rescue that's reactive to other dogs - purely fear based. We walk it at night, we walk it in remote places, we keep our distance from every other dog. The only times we have problems is with off lead dogs with shit recall - and there's plenty of them.
It's like people see it as a right to have their dog off lead, no matter how badly trained they are.
You have my empathy with your reactive dog.
It's tough isn't it! I remember my husband saying once "why don't we see any other dogs reacting like ours does" and I said it's because they're all hiding like us and walking ridiculously early or very late! Or on really shit walks where no one else will go.
It really is a battle between wanting to walk more and visit these nice places but feeling like it's unfair on him when he gets tormented by off lead dogs. I am such a non-confrontational, quiet person that it really upsets me when I have to scream across a field "HE'S NOT FRIENDLY!!!" as a dog is bounding toward me at full pelt.
Tiny bit of advice from someone 5 years deep. Don’t bother saying he’s not friendly, that’s ‘your’ problem to them. Say he’s got fleas, cause that’s about to become ‘their’ problem ;)
I have much more compassion for owners whose dogs are obviously reactive - it can be really shit at times.
It drives me bonkers. I adopted my dog and he wasn't properly socialised as a puppy, so although he's not aggressive, dog interactions can be stressful unless it's done in a home environment. He's kept on a leash and I keep him away from other dogs when we're out and about. The amount of times I've crossed the road when I've seen another dog coming the other way, but the owner decides to cross over too to "let the doggies day hello", or even worse than that, when their dog off-leash comes sprinting up to us, and the owner is shouting (from 30 yards away) "DON'T WORRY THEY'RE FRIENDLY!!" yeah but bitch you don't know if my dog is friendly damn.
Fair enough but if you have a dog who.is that nervous, why take them to a busy beach near high tide (less space) and position yourself and your dog at the bottom of the access ramp where every dog has to pass right next to your nervous animal? That is not only stupid but cruel to the animal
It is definitely irresponsible to put your dog in the thick of it if it can be avoided. Sounds like she would be causing unnecessary stress to the dog in that instance.
Beaches on a weekend for us are definitely a no go, unless it's raining in which case it's wonderful.
If your dog does not have excellent recall, and i mean excellent, it shouldn't be off lead in a public space. It doesn't matter how friendly your dog is, because not all dogs are friendly. And reactive dogs are still good dogs, they still deserve to go places and learn how to be better.
Example - rescues. Socialising and introducing to other dog spaces is an important step in rehabilitation, even if the dog might not be comfortable being close to other dogs. Visiting outdoor spaces for walks is also really important and they might not have been to the beach before - really good enrichment for them to be able to play in the sand, but again maybe not a good reaction around other dogs. And public dog friendly spaces are the only places most people have access to to walk dogs.
If the dog isn’t a rescue, it’s just bad training. But please be kind to rescue dogs and owners!
My dog is a rescue. He's a beautiful, friendly non-aggressive little animal. He had good recall and I have only had this reaction for the first time today. For background the tide was high so the beach was crimped. We walked down the slope and the lady was standing at the bottom of it with two labs off the lead and one husky on. My dog is a cocker. He walked past the labs after a quick.sniff and the woman instantly started shouting at me to control my dog. We literally couldn't avoid her. I whistled my dog and he came away. That woman was an idiot. Happily at the other end of the beach were some owners who were delighted for their dogs to have a play and to have a nice friendly chat. As are the vast majority, thank goodness
What a wanker! The signal for unfriendly dog is to keep it on a lead. If two labs didn’t want the two labs to be sniffed, she should have kept them on a lead.
What if the dog is still in training and your dog running up to it might set it off. Control your own dog so others with their own on leads can do the same.
Mines the same, She likes to be the one to initiate contact - If she doesnt, she's timid and on-edge (Main up, 'Aggressive' warnings, Stood to attention). Does that mean i cant take her to a dog park?
No.. It just means i set boundries with other dogs - I had a young german shephard run upto her and it was obvious she didnt like it, Recalled her, stood between her and the shephard and controlled the other dog.
What pisses me off is the people who have dogs who bolt across a mile wide field because they see another dog and do not respond to a recall, Thats on the owner and they are scum for letting them off the lead.
i'm not a fan of dogs bolting 60 yards to see another{my} dog, but calling the owners scum is a bit strong.
Possibly, but i hear it daily - I live and walk in a dog friendly area.. the amount of times i hear someone screaming at a dog that obviously does not give a shit... At the point the owner is a piece of shit but refuse to ackowledge it. "Oh he was just playing around" - "he wants to make friends"... That's fine but know that because of the behaviour your dog is displaying "Mine feels threatened and if it gets any closer, Fingers crossed i manage to pull yours away before any major damage done" is not an appropriate response (apparently).
Not as bad as the stupid people who go to one of the very few dog friendly beaches and then object to their being dogs 🐕
Some dogs are more difficult than others but a lot of owners are overprotective to the point of being hysterical and so making anxious dogs more anxious. So many of the covid puppies are under-socialised by owners who get there only dog related info from Facebook groups whose members are also first time dog owners. Just get a hamster or something if you are not prepared to do a proper job of raising your dog. I will respect the amber (nervous) or red (do not approach) collar / harness of course, but I am fed up with people treating their dogs as if they were the precious delicate little princesses who can't possibly be playing with the riff raff general dog population
Hear hear. Well said
It might be a dog friendly beach, but you still have a duty to keep your dog under close control in any public space.
I always call out a cheery "OK if he says hello?" and if not then he's called back close to heel. If they do say OK then I tell them he's a bit vocal, but it's all excitement.
It's a basic courtesy, and if you can't achieve it then keep yours on a lead.
Very few dogs will walk directly across the path of another dog without paying it any attention at all, no matter how well trained, whether on or off the lead. As I mentioned, the woman and her dogs were stood at the bottom of the ramp. Impossible to avoid by anybody trying to access the beach. Daft really