How would other people react to dominating dogs? My point is that when I got my pup ESS which is now just over 2 years old, he was attacked 3 times before he was 6 months old by the same fox red lab and was minding his own business playing on a field that is just across the way from me, the owner came up with pitiful excuses of things like ‘ he was attacked by a staffie’ , then it was ‘oh he doesn’t like jumpy dogs because he’s a springer ’ which he actually doesn’t do such thing, then it was well I’m having casterated and he’s going for boarding training for 3 weeks, but anyway no excuse for the way the dog was told off or recalled, ( it wasn’t!!) which my reply was on the 3rd time of pinning him to the floor was ‘ if you don’t control that dog and keep him on a lead I will report him to the authorities. Yes the dog did improve after it had been training but she didn’t keep it up and is a little blase about it. Now my problem is with a German shepherd that is twice the size of him yet again that bullies him when excerising and he’s running with a ball, the dog doesn’t want the ball but doesn’t want him to have it either and stands over him until he gives it up and runs away. This owner just whines at her dog and says oh you are naughty and that’s it!! I end up putting my dog on his lead and walking away from the situation. He is now getting to the point he does not trust other dogs that are bigger than him and I’m not wanting him to react in anyway by running away or just switching off from me cos he’s in a panic in case the dogs chase him or bully him. He is a typical spaniel and is very sociable with other dogs and is not aggressive by any way.
My personal rule is that my dogs do not "play" with other dogs unless I know the dog AND the owner well and have seen how they both behave. I just don't trust strangers to have my dogs' best interests at heart. And yes, I've experienced the "oh he's always so friendly", " I don't know what gotten in to her", etc, when their dog behaves less than polite. I also only let them off leash in controlled spaces where I can be sure another dog won't appear suddenly. And if there are dogs off leash in a public area, I go elsewhere. To me, it is not worth the risk. This limits my dogs to an extent, but it ensures they won't end up injured or traumatized. As I adopted a shepherd who had been attacked by another dog and is deathly afraid of dogs, I see exactly what I have been protecting my dogs from.
I dislike these people who think that their dog has the right to run up to a strange dog's face. Often they are Labradors or Frenchies. Tally wouldn't bother, but it was always a nightmare for Eddie. I would take him to one side - within his safe space - and shout to the other owner to call their dog back. Of course 9/10 times it wouldn't respond! I will often alter the direction of my walk to avoid head-on meetings with aggressive or over-friendly dogs. One well-known distraction tactic is to throw a small handful of treats into the offending dog's face but with my luck the other dog would turn out to have a food allergy!
He isn’t bothered by any other dog if he’s playing ball and just concentrates on fetching his ball as a rule as long as the other dog hasn’t got one, so if the other person has a ball on a ball thrower I will immediately put mine back on his lead as I know he will want that ball aswell as his own. But I just feel that people with ‘first time dogs’ have no respect over how their dogs should behave around other dogs and that I’m being the grump for walking off from the situation. I like it better when it’s rains as I know they don’t want to walk their dogs and get wet, which is great for me because I have the place to myself then. Win win in the winter months as they seem to be fair weather walkers too O
On one camping trip, I set up camp and had my two dogs on tethers. Within minutes of setting up, the schnauzers came running over and started barking at my dogs and marking territory IN my campsite just out of reach of my dogs. I never saw an owner the entire weekend. Then on my last day, I took my dogs for a walk around the campground (we had spent most of our time in the woods or the campsite). As we passed a trailer on a different loop that where we were staying, the two schnauzers came barreling out from under a trailer barking at my dogs. Bat-dog just ignored them as they were focused on Moose-dog, but Moose-dog was fed up. I told him to "leave them" and he just laid down in the middle of the road while the two dogs ran in circles around him barking. The owner, who was packing up to leave, came running over apologizing. But she couldn't catch her dogs because neither was even wearing a collar. It took her well over 5 minutes to catch her dogs - while Moose-dog lay there not making a sound or movement. I was so proud of him. But I promised I would never make him put up with that crap again. In hindsight, I wished I had driven to the ranger station and reported the dogs. They had spent the entire weekend wandering free and antagonizing all the contained dogs (and yes, there was a leash law at the campground). Having had shepherds and shepherd mixes for the most part, I am always aware that my dogs will likely get the blame for any altercation unless the other dog is a pit/bully. So I do everything I can to make sure that it is obvious that my dogs aren't the problem. That means they, and I, are always following the laws and rules. I've also watched friends with their dogs. One couple never put their dog on a leash - ever. At a campground, while taking a walk around, the camphost told them to put their dog on a leash. They immediately claimed that they had just let their dog off for a second and the dog wouldn't leave their side (ummm, then why take them off the leash???). The host went back in their trailer while the dog ran off and wouldn't come back when called. That stuff annoys me to no end.
It's not "first time dog owners". It's owners of all levels. They just don't have a clue that not every dog, or person, wants to be up close and personal with their dog. "But he's friendly!" "She loves other dogs!". "He just wants to play!" And so on. These attitudes are prevalent everywhere. As with most things, people expect others to cater to their wants above all else. And if you don't, you are a grump. So be it. I'm a grump. And for the record, if you come to my house (or my campsite), I do expect you to put up with my animals in your space. But I don't expect you to do so anywhere else.
My old springer never did walk off anywhere without me , if I stood and talked to someone I knew then he would lay down behind me and would wait until I was finished. He only ever wore a lead when we was out near roads and walking long distances near a road. But he would always wait at a kerbside and wouldn’t cross until he was told. He always like to say hello to other dogs and then walk away but if a dog growled and upset him he would never go anywhere near that dog again and walk a wide berth around it or stand and wait out of the way so he was nowhere near it
My childhood boxer was like that. The leash was really "just for the sake of appearances". She never ran off in the 11 years we had her - not for anything. But in hindsight, I realize how lucky we had been. I have since realized that a leash isn't just to keep the dog your side - it is to be able to pull your dog away from a situation. Whether it's an aggressive dog, a rattlesnake, a barbed wire fence, a car, a person, etc, that leash lets me quickly move away WITH my dog. A sibling's dog jumped into an aquaduct and was quickly being swept away. They had to run downwater and climb out onto an overhanging limb and grab him by the collar to rescue him. Had the flow been any faster and he'd have been lost. A leash would have prevented that.
That was his first suicide attempt. He had others over the years (he was the dog who ate the oak ball and almost died). I remember back when I was heavily involved with a local rescue group, we went to support a new dog park opening. As another volunteer and I were talking to a local dog trainer, we were watching all the people with their dogs running around the parking lot. I always remember his comment: No matter how well trained MY dog is, I would NEVER let him offleash in a place like this. I don't trust all those other dogs, or owners, with my dog's life. That really clicked for me. Here was a highly sought after trainer, whose dog was amazing and his dog remained on a leash the entire time - so that he could move his dog away from any situation that might occur. I'll add that all three of us left when we saw some idiot with a kitten on her shoulder walking through all those loose dogs. There is no lack of stupidity in pet owners.
Luckily my old springer wasn’t that keen on water, yeah he loved to paddle in leg height water where he could feel the floor as he got older but he was a working dog and did t mind the brambles nettles and anything else that would try and stop him, he would just barge through, he’d pick up dead birds and even baby fledgling that’s fell out the nest but always presented dead or alive and I’d put the babies back in the bushes the dead ones I would leave for the foxes as they had bitten the heads off them anyway. This pup just goes like a bullet through anything just to find his ball and none will stop him. This one is t worked as he’s to way head in front for anything and don’t listen . Will go where I point and doesn’t give up until he gets what he’s after (ball), I just can’t get over the opposite ends of the scale these dogs were to each other but saying that this one is partially trained. But going back to other dogs I now just sigh when I see a field full of uncontrollable dogs just running havoc and no one having control on what they are doing ( unbelievable )
