Dog etiquette?

Just bumped into a collie on our walk, both off lead and both happy, sniff and greet all fine, the other owner says "he might try and dominate" at which point he does. Lola takes offence, spins round, gives a low growl, they both take a step back and both relax again. She apologised, led the collie away and said "maybe see you next time".

A) I'd usually put Lola on lead, because of these mini reactions, I didn't expect to meet another dog there, are these interactions acceptable from an owners and dogs perspective?

B) if the other owner knew her dog would attempt to dominate, should she have called him away, or is interaction like this normal all round?

I know it might sound stupid and naive three years into taking a dog on, but I've always been apprehensive about letting her meet other dogs off lead because of the reaction she gives if another dog dominates. Am I wrong? Over cautious?

Darcy will be fine meeting a dog off lead but can be really unpredictable if she's on lead, not sure why perhaps she feels threatened on lead  The other owner should watch her dogs body language to look for signs that he'll dominate then remove him or not allow him to approach. I generally just say when Darcy is approached that she can be a little unpredictable on lead but I then watch her body language and reactions to stop anything happening hope this makes sense

If she's knows her dog will try and dominate then she should either put him on a lead or correct the behaviour before it starts, otherwise it could end up nasty with the wrong dog.

Chance is great meeting other dogs of lead, but woe betide another dog who tries to dominate him, i don't let him do it to other dogs, and i expect the same from other owners

ella wrote:If she's knows her dog will try and dominate then she should either put him on a lead or correct the behaviour before it starts, otherwise it could end up nasty with the wrong dog.

Agree with this

I agree that if someone knows that their dog is into domination, then they should restrain him if he meets another dog. He may meet his match one day and there'll be the most horrendous fight, so it is in the collie owner's best interests that she takes steps to avoid this possible situation.

Apart from which, it is just not fair on the other dog who may well be terrified by the domination attempt which could cause long-term physcological damage.

If you do meet this collie and his owner again, I would suggest that you put Lola on her lead and nicely ask Mrs Collie to do the same. Good luck.

This is exactly why Rocky is on a lead, he will usually try to dominate but when he is corrected he is fine. When dogs are on a lead they can feel restricted and not able to get free if they should need to this is why they are usually better off it than on.

That's the conundrum: the dog is better behaved off lead, but if good behaviour goes bad off lead, then it can be very very bad. If behaviour is bad on lead, it can be controlled but is more likely to happen.

In terms of the public perception of the staff, therefore, he is more likely to be judged adorable if he's free. However, if on lead he behaves like Satan's seventh slavering dog from hell, then, even though he's restrained from causing damage, prejudices can become confirmed. It's a difficult one to manage and, if he has his freedom, it’s not a judgment call that one can afford to get wrong.

In the interaction you describe, my dog would more likely be like the collie/whippet character, though I wouldnt describe his behaviour necessarily as needing to dominate. A big slice of fear and apprehension is certainly mixed in with it. Others may call it dominance – it depends what books you’ve read. In the other owner’s position, I may have judged that good behaviour was more assured if we just continued off lead, but I would have been super-alert to the interaction going bad (reading the signs). On balance, if I were she, yes I probably would have snapped him back onto his lead to pass you and Lola - just to be on the safe side.

It’s right for an owner to mention if their own dog is likely to behave in a certain way as that allows both to predict verbally what the outcome of the meeting may be. It’s a sensible use of our fabulous language powers. However, the owner of the potentially aggressive dog is particularly responsible for putting on the restraint if the polarities seem to be wrong. If I had been the other owner as well and had been able to discern that your dog was a female, that could have influenced a decision to carry on as we were.

By reading the signs I mean looking for the raised hackles, the high neck, the funny prancing, the stiff jabbing tail and all the rest that can occur before an undesirable incident. Action has to be quick to get back on lead, but here again it can be difficult to manage without over-reacting because the hackles can go back down again in an instant. Personally, I don’t worry about growls and sharp yaps in the face – that’s just part of the acceptable doggy repertoire. The completely unacceptable situation is the full-blown scrap.