Another walking incident

For those that followed my New Year's Day walking thread about the guy who threatened to taser Roxy for being overly-friendly (typical "staffies are viscous" mentality)..we had another unpleasant incident on our organised group walk this morning.

We were told that one of the dogs was "a rescue and bottle fed and has puppy-aggression issues" as in it is aggressive towards puppies. Roxy being miss happy-love-me-play-with-me-now staffieness went up to say hello to it and it warned her off. Roxy is persistent but the dog then went for her (small nick above her eye).

We always control Roxy on her walks and if she is getting too much for people who can't handle the staffie love we put her on leash or take her away from nervous dogs etc. Which is what we did. The other woman? Shrugged it off and let her dog continue happily off leash. I was so sad for Roxy having to stay at the back of the group on leash so as not to bug the aggressive one. Rox didn't seem too happy with her walk either. Even little Vinny was growled at by the thing and all he did was walk past it.

At one point the woman was holding a gate open and holding her dog and told us to hurry up and walk. Um, no thanks, we'd rather open the gate ourselves.

I'm so tired of inconsiderate people and I hope that Roxy's last two incidents won't allow her to associate walking with negativity. She's only a pup herself (1 year this month ). What was sweet was since she wasn't enjoying the other dogs on the walk (her usual gang weren't there) she came and got Vinny from me so that she could take him off for a forlick.

Rant over :-)

May be an idea to avoid these group walks for a while for the sake of your blood pressure as well as Roxys.

Hope her cut eye heals very soon, sending big hugs your way >< >< ><

just what i was going to say walk on your own problem solved

Hopefully you'll be able to take her with some close doggy friends so you know she can have a good experience, without these silly intolerant people.

Hope her cut isn't too bad and heals quickly

I hope Roxy's cut heals well. What a shame that the agressive dog's owner just shrugged when she saw what her dog had done.

As above, I would avoid walking my dogs with these people.

Definitely avoiding!

You just don't need that sort of company on a walk !

You are probably all going to hate me for this but I think the other dog was probably benefiting from the off-lead time more than Roxy. As it has DA issues it would be benficial to it to socialise with other dogs. If it doesn't and there aren't a few blips then how is it ever meant to improve? I'm not sure though that putting Roxy on-lead and walking away from the other dogs is the best course of action, they have to get used to one another somehow. I know that it is sad for Roxy not being able to run about with her friends but to be fair at open group walks such as this you have to be prepared for dogs with issues to attend. If you aren't enjoying the walks maybe you could speak to some of the owners you roxy and vinny do get on with and arrange to meet a few of them another time.

Nosipho, I do agree that the other dog could benefit from off lead time. I don't blame the dog at all, more how the owner handled the situation. And yes, it was sad for Roxy to walk on leash at the back (as per advise of walk organiser)... they could both benefit : the other dog from exposure and Roxy from learning not to be so "in your face/space!"

We have so few open spaces to walk here that we thought these group walks would be great - but we will limit them to walking with those that Roxy and Vinny get on with, as you say (of course, Vinny does such a small amount of walking and a great deal of being carried since he is still so young lol).

The day prior to the above walk we walked with two greyhounds and a little sausage dog type of mix - all 3 were super calm and Roxy fed off that calm energy and was really relaxed and content for that walk which was great to see! On our way home from the horrid walk she had a quick play with two Great Danes who had the softest and sweetest temperaments - they even gave Vinny a few licks - he must've thought they were dino's next to him!

i walk gary alone, if i see another dog and hte owner looks alright then i ask if their dog is ok with others then let them have a little sniff about whilst we talk about our dogs.
i actually met somebody from of this forum on a walk a few month ago.

I can just imagine stumpy little vinny next to two massive great danes! Bless them, maybe make you own unofficial dog walking group. Set a time and place each week and only tell people that don't do you head in!!!

Nosipho wrote:I can just imagine stumpy little vinny next to two massive great danes! Bless them, maybe make you own unofficial dog walking group. Set a time and place each week and only tell people that don't do you head in!!!

Funny enough, was thinking the same thing! As a work from home writer I'm thinking of setting up a blog for local responsible dog owners in the area or something like that!