incident this evening..........advice please!

i was walking Bruiser over the park earlier- hes always on a lead and has been since he had a fight with a dog a few months back ( the other dog jumped a fence into our garden and the fight was quite vicious- although we wasnt there to see what dog started it)
anyway out of knowhere a staffie off a lead comes running up to us- the dog immidiatley jumped onto bruiser back tryin to dominate him and it all kicked off- they both snarling and growling and standing up on their back legs trying to attack- both bruiser and the other dog tried biting eachother,, thankfully there was no visible injury to mine or the other persons dog.
the other dogs owner ran over and got his dog and leaded him, but had a snide comment saying hes dog just wanted to play, but mine got aggressive. i did say though hang on mines of a lead, your isnt- but what it comes down to is bruiser is usually ok with other dogs, but he likes to be in charge ans the moment this dog tried to dominate he started growling, i did try walking away and conrolled my dog the best i could but the other dog kept on at him till the owner could physically get hes dog.
Am i in the wrong? i dont see Bruiser as agressive- he is ok with dogs 90% of the time and would have played happily if the dog did not try to dominate.
Do i really need to muzel my dog?

not at all , you were perfectly right and I think Bruiser (love that name ) responded how he thought he should. The other owner should have enough control on his dog so that he will come back when off lead when situations like this arise, if he can't then his dog should be on lead in the presence of other animals.
Please don't think about muzzling him because of someone elses stupidity

Very similar thing happend to me earlier this week. Please have a read:

https://staffy-bull-terrier.niceboard.com/t20272-rocky-has-been-attacked-again

it does worry me though. i mean could bruiser been deemed a dangerous dog even thougbh hes on a lead and just retailiating?

you know what quote the law to him all dogs should be on a lead in a public area ( i know it is not followed as we all like our dogs to run free in the park) but at the end of the day he is in the wrong ...HE DID NOT HAVE CONTROL OF HIS DOG

Don't for 1 second believe you have done anything wrong or that Bruiser should be muzzled.
Your dog was on a lead. I believe all dogs should be given the chance to run off lead but it is important that even if your own dog has the best temperament others dogs might not. You can't allow your dog to run up to strangers dogs without checking first that its alright.
A dog should sniff each others rear ends (pleasant lol) not jump onto the other dogs back. His dog was trying to dominate yours and this caused what happened next....simple.

You are definately in the right. If you muzzle yours he won't be able to protect himself.

jstaff wrote:You are definately in the right. If you muzzle yours he won't be able to protect himself.

This is just how I feel about muzzles, but someone once said to me that if he has one on he cant do any damage either. Where do you stand then ??

i would deffo say you and your dog wern't in the wrong. our rescue dog buster does the same as the other owners dog did to yours when he met dogs off the lead and its dominating behaviour so we were in the wrong. now have to keep him on lead unless we know field is empty of other dogs or we know the other dog owners and explain the situation before we try and get them to socialise.

roz w wrote:you know what quote the law to him all dogs should be on a lead in a public area ( i know it is not followed as we all like our dogs to run free in the park) but at the end of the day he is in the wrong ...HE DID NOT HAVE CONTROL OF HIS DOG

Actually the law only requires dogs to be on lead on public highways http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/item/1052 although some local authorities do have similar laws for some public places. (Mine doesn't, it's perfectly legal for me to have my dogs off lead on my local park for example as long as they're under control.)

The best point of contact to find out about bye-laws in your area is your local council. This guy may have been breaking the law.

Whether or not there is a lead law in place, dogs do have to be kept under control which his dog wasn't so legally, I doubt he'd have a leg to stand on. Try not to worry

Allowing his dog to run up to yours and start humping is not only bad manners but dangerous too. Hopefully he will have learnt his lesson!

Hopefully it won't have any lasting effects on your boy, make sure you meet up with some of his friends soon so he can have some good experiences with other dogs soon

You were not in the wrong and you should not muzzle your dog bruiser did nothing wrong a strange dominant dog ran up and jumped on him its like someone running up too you and grabbing you around the throat, he just defended himself, the other owner was in the wrong it doesn,t matter how friendly you think your dog is you should not let them just run up too another dog especially if the other dog is on the lead, as that can be a sign that the owner is abit wary, i,ve had this happen too me and it makes me so mad

Galadriel wrote:

roz w wrote:you know what quote the law to him all dogs should be on a lead in a public area ( i know it is not followed as we all like our dogs to run free in the park) but at the end of the day he is in the wrong ...HE DID NOT HAVE CONTROL OF HIS DOG

Actually the law only requires dogs to be on lead on public highways http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/item/1052 although some local authorities do have similar laws for some public places. (Mine doesn't, it's perfectly legal for me to have my dogs off lead on my local park for example as long as they're under control.)

The best point of contact to find out about bye-laws in your area is your local council. This guy may have been breaking the law.

Whether or not there is a lead law in place, dogs do have to be kept under control which his dog wasn't so legally, I doubt he'd have a leg to stand on. Try not to worry

Allowing his dog to run up to yours and start humping is not only bad manners but dangerous too. Hopefully he will have learnt his lesson!

Hopefully it won't have any lasting effects on your boy, make sure you meet up with some of his friends soon so he can have some good experiences with other dogs soon

this is from the government website under controlling your dog

ut of control dogs
Report a dangerous dog to your council's dog warden service
Contact your local dog warden service Contact your local dog warden service Opens new window
It is an offence to allow a dog of any type or breed to be dangerously out of control:
in a public place - like a street, park, bus shelter or the common parts of a block of flats (like the entrance or stairs)
in a private place where the dog isn't allowed to be
Public areas also include fields, footpaths and beaches.


so if your dog does not stay by your side and has brilliant recall and runs up to someone and gives concern to another dog or owner of that dog then the person with the dog off lead is breaking the law .




somewhere in another thread was about dogs chasing or hurting cats this can also label your dog a DANGEROUS DOG

A court could judge that your dog is dangerously out of control if:
it injures another person's animal
the owner of the animal thinks they could be injured if they tried to stop your dog attacking their animal



i am all for letting dogs be free off the lead but unless your dog is impeccable and totally obedient then technically your dog could be labelled as such ....so i stand by what i said in my original quote , he was in a park, dog off lead , dog dominates and intimidates another ,the law has been broken

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/HomeAndCommunity/InYourHome/AnimalsAndPets/Dogs/DG_180008

thanks for the advice guys, since first posting this ive had another incident in which a beshion friche (no idea how to spell it) was off lead and ran up to me n bruiser- while he was leaded and was biting hes legs- this time i told the owner if u dont get ur dog off right now im reporting you- in which i got a load of abuse, but he did lead the dog. Bloody idiots!

It can be annoying. It can also be annoying if your trying to train your own dog to be a more dog friendly and you are unable to take small steps like starting from a distance from other dogs, when people just let their dogs run up to yours and set the process back to the start.

Galadriel wrote:Actually the law only requires dogs to be on lead on public highways http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/item/1052 although some local authorities do have similar laws for some public places. (Mine doesn't, it's perfectly legal for me to have my dogs off lead on my local park for example as long as they're under control.)

Although that's true, the definition of 'under control' is open to interpretation. A policeman friend of mine told me that the police only consider a dog to be under control if it has a propely fitted collar/harness and a lead (not an extendable one) of less than 6'.

You have not done anything wrong, your dog was on a lead and you can't help it if someone else is not following the rules and approaches your dog and then your dog doesn't like it. Don't muzzle him, no need at all. Also he's a cutie and doesn't look dangerous to me

you have nothing to worry about you are in the right i no my keyser is not good around other dogs so i don't take him to the park i take him to the forest but i still keep him on a lead and people with small dog's should do the same

I agree, you did nothing wrong.

if it was a human and a man come over started jumping and hitting another guy sure as hell they would retaliate doesnt mean theyre gonna go round hitting every male they see.. its the same with dogs i guess, he started so he retaliated, doesnt mean he wont be fine with other doggies which are friendlier

I'd never muzzle a dog while other dogs aren't - gives yours no chance to protect himself.

I do remember walking past a pub with mine on a lead ages back when some large hairy dog off his own lead bounded up to mine, had a snap, then got nipped back in return.

The owners of the hairy thing started ranting and raving about dangerous staffies.

I pointed out theirs was off the lead and initiated contact.

They blathered on about following me home and "getting me done".

The rest isn't for a family forum, but they removed themselves fairly sharpish.

Can't stand clowns giving it the big one.

Working dog wrote:I'd never muzzle a dog while other dogs aren't - gives yours no chance to protect himself.

I do remember walking past a pub with mine on a lead ages back when some large hairy dog off his own lead bounded up to mine, had a snap, then got nipped back in return.

The owners of the hairy thing started ranting and raving about dangerous staffies.

I pointed out theirs was off the lead and initiated contact.

They blathered on about following me home and "getting me done".

The rest isn't for a family forum, but they removed themselves fairly sharpish.

Can't stand clowns giving it the big one.

I like the cut of your jib young man

Similar issues with me and Marlon in the park a few weeks ago. I stressed massively until I got onto this board and realised, "you know what, Marlon was on a lead, other dog wasnt - not my fault".

Marlon basically reacted how he was meant to a boisterous and "friendly" dog that came up to us and was a little too excited- Aarlon was on a lead other dog wasnt.

Immediately people were shouting and swearing at ME! My dog was the devil, needed muzzling, etc. Parents were picking up kids and running away from us like we had the plague. And I was the one with the dog on a lead and under control!

You've done nothing wrong at all. It does make you stop and question yourself, but as long as you had Bruiser on a lead then you were in control. Other owner was probably panicked and looking for any excuse for it not to be his fault.

And we have friends with dogs and despite us being cautious, Marlon is fine with them all.

My friend has a severe apbt DA muzzled dog, and acts as responsible as he can. However he always carries a taser cause his area is bad with people/dogs. He stated he has tased more dogs in a few days than the few years he has been there against ppl.

If you have dogs off leads in your area it "may" be a preventative measure. I don't believe in animal cruelty at all, my buddy said it has saved his own life against a dog

Dave wrote:not at all , you were perfectly right and I think Bruiser (love that name ) responded how he thought he should. The other owner should have enough control on his dog so that he will come back when off lead when situations like this arise, if he can't then his dog should be on lead in the presence of other animals.
Please don't think about muzzling him because of someone elses stupidity

I totally agree with Dave.

Totally agree, you weren't at fault at all.
I really don't understand how people can act like that when their off lead dog has ran up to an on lead dog and gotten snapped at. If one of mine ran up to an on lead dog and got snapped at I would be the one apologising to the other owner