Am I doing things right?

Had a very strange conversation with a dog walker today, I'm sure what she was saying was wrong...but ever since its gone round and round my head. So I thought I would check with you clever bunch to see what you think

When Percy and I are out walking and if I see a dog approaching I always put Percy back on the lead regardless of if the other dog is onlead or off lead....so my reasons for doing this are:

1, it enables me to have full control of my dog
2, i don't know how the oncoming dog is going to react to my dog
3, it encourages my dog to greet other dogs politely, (as Percy really thinks everyone is his best mate who would love to play)
4,if the oncoming owner shows signs or tells me their dog isn't friendly, I can instantly react and make the situation safe (eg, move Percy to the other side of me, or what ever needs to be done)

Today we met a lady and her dog, so I popped Percy on the lead, she didn't put her dog on the lead and allowed him to run upto Percy. He ran up and didn't have any manners, straight into play, paws flying everywhere, barking, jumping at myself. So whilst the owner was "slowly" wandering over to us, I allowed Percy to say hello and then asked him to sit, but with all the nonsense from the other dog obviously he didn't just want to sit there whilst this lab was jumping all over him.

I asked the lady to control her dog and pop his lead on so they could be introduced correctly as by this point Percy was getting a bit pee'd off with the lab...her response was that I was creating an aggressive dog as I wouldn't allow him to play, and that putting his lead on when he's meeting another dog is the worst thing todo as it encourages him to be possessive and over protective of me

Am I doing things wrong? Is she talking nonsense? Any advice would be great

I would personally say you are doing the right thing in keeping your dog under control when others approach that you dont know. I do the same thing, Rocky is usually on his lead anyway which can be a long training line when my hubby is out with us or just his normal lead when it's just me. I will get Rocky to sit if a dog approaches that we dont know so they can be introduced correctly this will ensure the appropriate manners are maintained.

I cannot see how you would be doing things wrong in keeping your dog under control when meeting another.

I always put my 2 on leads when meeting other dogs as unfortunately Skye can be boysterous but we have had some run up and they have now scared buster so he's nervous aggressive
I used to put my 2 gsds on leads and managed to save them from a few aggressive off lead dogs mine however were never aggressive when introduced properly
I think the woman would be singing a different tune if her dog hurt an older dog due to being too playful or ran up to an aggresive dog
You are doing the right thing by making sure your dog is under control

I think common sense dictates that you are doing the right thing, every owner I have seen that knows what they are doing does that exact thing - and it's definitely what I do with Dexter.

I don't but that is by no means saying that your wrong. If I see a dog is onlead I will put her onlead, but otherwise no, she ignores them really unless the other dog initiates play and by this time either the dog has been yanked away from Moo, or the owner is happy for them to play.

I've read that dogs on the lead while a dog is off the lead is frustrating for them because they can't play. But outside of that, she's not right at all. I do the same thing, I put Loki on the lead as soon as I see another dog cos, quite frankly, he's like the dog you described, he has no manners and he can annoy other dogs. It's a ridiculously dangerous/risky situation to let your dog run up to other dogs. Her dog doesn't sound all that well-trained either. I mean, if you know your dog will come back to you, then by all means, keep it off-lead, but when you have an exciteable dog, letting it run up to strange dogs and people is asking for trouble, in my opinion. So no, you're not doing anything wrong. Loki's always been on the lead when first meeting dogs, and he's never gotten frustrated or done anything bad.

I cannot abide people who let their dogs run straight up to other strange dogs without so much as a by your leave (sorry Janey, that isn't aimed at you!). It's such bad manners! How do they know your dog isn't aggressive? How do they know you're not in a hurry & want to continue the walk without them playing? How do they know that your dog isn't in training?

I always put Dempsey on a lead if there's a strange dog around, and I expect (rather naively, I suppose) other people to do the same!

I think you are definately doing the right thing. It's the best way to ensure there are no bad incidents

In my opinion you are correct, I always put my boy on lead, if i see another dog approaching. This way I have control. If the other dog approaches in a calm non threatening way, I will allow Rolo to say hello. If i decide I don't like the shown behavior then I will simply keep walking. I have found with Rolo that if we stand around and allow the dogs to play, it gets to rough very quickly, I am happy to let Rolo off with another dog if the other owner doesn't mind walking along too, I just find that if we keep moving, it seems to keep them a little more grounded. But that's just what works for me... i hate standing around.

Caryll wrote:I cannot abide people who let their dogs run straight up to other strange dogs without so much as a by your leave (sorry Janey, that isn't aimed at you!).

I hope not lol! We walk in vast woods where I am quite happy to loose her, let her chase what she likes, and I miss it.

I agree with you and always put mine on lead unless we know the dog and owner. If the owner stands back or to one side to allow us past I assume they think there may be a problem with their dog and they are being responsible (though they may just be quaking because they assume my 2 beasts are going to rip their dogs throat out). If an owner approaches with a dog off lead then I have control over ours and either end up giving them a mouthful if the dog is overboard or getting extremely jealous if the other dog just walks straight past as if mine didn't exist

Dave wrote:getting extremely jealous if the other dog just walks straight past as if mine didn't exist

No your not wrong, obviously dog do feel restricted somewhat when they are on the lead and ideally wouldn't have any restrictions or anything which could make them react in a negative way. Unfortunately the world isn't perfect and you have absolutely no way of knowing if the dog you have let yours off to meet is friendly/healthy/happy to play/recovering from surgery etc.

I think it is much more sensible to keep yours on the lead until you can speak to the owner and ask her/him if their dog is friendly and if its ok to let them play. It is irresponsible to just let your dog run riot and do what it wants. She will learn when her pup goes and jumps on a DA dog and gets bitten, and thats the only way those sort of people do!

Thanks for everyone's comments x

Really good to see this thread. I normally put Tash on the lead if i see anyone approaching, but over the past couple of days i haven't if their dog is off the lead but this is because i know that tash will come when called (98% of the time) and leave the dog if it doesn't want to play. For me its about letting tash have offlead play which she hasn't had much of because i put her on the lead all the time and because of this she gets sooo over excited. So far so good, i always put her on the lead if they have little people with them as she does think everyone wants to play

It's normal manners to put your dog back on a leash whenever you see other people or dogs, I would do the exact same thing you did. She, however, has a point that you shouldn't let dogs be in this situation (being on a leash when being introduced, ESPECIALLY one being on leash, and one being off it) She did wrong by letting her dog run up to yours without asking you first, that is just plain rude! For all she knew, your dog could have agressive behaviour towards other dogs, regardless of being on or off his leash...

My dog looooves to play with other dogs, and I would trust her with any dog, chihuahuas and great danes alike, but I would never just let her run up to a dog off leash, for her OWN safety, and for plain politeness towards other dog owners... If that happened to me, I'd let my dog go free too, instantly. Once when my pooch was just four months, a great dane jumped a fence and came towards us like a big horse on the run, and my little pup was frightened to death, but the dane was just misunderstood because of her intimidating size, so I instantly let my pup go free so they could figure things out themselves... She would just have been more stressed out if I had held her tight on the leash while this big monster was chasing her... However that was NOT an ideal situation. But I'm just illustrating how I always let my dog go free if someone let their dog run up to you. If they had aggressive dogs themselves they would hopefully hold them back. However, they wouldn't know if YOUR dog was the aggressive one, and it bothers me to hear that she just let her dog run up to yours without asking!

If you feel greeting with your dog on leash first, that is OK as long as you does not show protective behaviour but is relaxed and the leash is not tight. You should know your dogs behavioural response to such situations. Some dogs doesn't like to be on leash while greeting other dogs because they feel threatened, but some dogs do it just fine. Pulling your dog back on a tight leash while greeting or feeling anxious may trigger this kind of behviour the woman was talking about, but just letting a dog run towards you like that could do the same thing. You could as easily get back at the woman correcting you by telling her to ask before she mindlessly let her dog run up to you...

I haven't let cassie off lead yet where other dogs are so i cant comment really, but i think your correct it's common sense, if they did have a bad reaction who will get bitten? i think it's akin to me running into a pub and instantly touching,jumping on someone and getting into their face without knowing them or their temperment

We do the same as you. The woman is talking nonsense. If your dog was off lead and an aggressive dog approached and they started fighting you can be sure the staffy would get the blame

She's an idiot

I always put Fiver back ON his lead when we see another dog approaching. It is just the responsible thing to do. If they look like they are going to get on OK then fine I'll take him off the lead but the last thing I want is for him or the breed in general to get bad press if it goes badly resulting in an injured dog.

Two weeks ago a right pair of numpties allowed their Rhodesian Ridgeback off its lead in a public place, to stalk then attack Fiver who was leashed. As it happened Fiver sorted the other dog out really quickly and it didn't escalate into a full blown fight bless him, two seconds later Fiver just wanted to play with him, but if he had been off his lead too it so easily could have ended badly. They started complaining about my dog grabbing their dogs neck (Albeit very briefly) until I reminded them that it was their dog who was out of their control and attacked Fiver. Numpties

I always put Pixee on lead, when ever any dog approaches be they are on lead or off lead, as I have control should a situation arise. I am lucky as where I go walking most dog owners when they see me put Pixee back on lead tend to do the same with theirs, unless of course we are in the fields, and further away, then we dont, I have got to know a fair few of them, except for one grrrrrrrrrrr, that still lets her dog run up to mine, one of those days.......... She has been told!
I dont agree with the lady, sorry.