Dog ettiquet

[Maze]

Okay ladies and gents here is another inquiry for you all. There is no right or wrong answer only justified and unjustified decisions.

When you walk your dog on a leash/lead, do you stop and redirect to another location when you see another dog off leash?

Let's say you live in an apartment complex and you're taking your dog to go poop near the provided poop bags, do you continue and hope the other dog off leash is truely trained or do you play it safe and go elsewhere?

Also whos the a**hole/inconsiderate one? The one taking up the big area for the dog to run around or the one on the leash invading the location?

Mind you, I choose to walk away due to avoiding an argument but at the same time I have full confidence in my dog that it will keep another dog at bay or the owner will learn his/her lesson of respecting the common area and keeping their dog leashed.

 

[jazzies mum]

Well, I have found that most off leash dogs in a public area are NOT well trained, so I find the owner to be rude to allow their dog to interfere with others, especially when the other dogs are leashed! This is something I feel strongly about and something that has caused difficulties multiple times for me! I choose to move away from the off leash dog if possible, but often by the time I notice it's too late and the dog is on it's way. Mostly the result is just an unwanted interaction but there have been times when the incoming dog is aggressive and requires me to fend them off my girl. This is just plain rude!

In the dog area described I would say the owner letting their dog loose is out of order, unless they call their dog in as soon as they see you heading for the same area. Common courtesy should rule.

 

[Ddski5]

When you walk your dog on a leash/lead, do you stop and redirect to another location when you see another dog off leash?

I most definitely turn and go the other way. With having a “perceived” mean ass looking Doberman, if anything went wrong, I don’t want Ragnar to be blamed. He is not friendly with new dogs at all, he requires 2-3 controlled meetings and then he is fine and friendly.

Don’t think you can stop people from taking up an entire area with their dog offleash, the only thing you can control is maybe getting there earlier next time and claiming the space before others get there.

 

[Oh Little Oji]

First thing: Is it a designated off-leash area with good signage? If so, you assume a certain risk entering that area whether your dog is on leash or off.

Otherwise it must be assumed it's on-leash only, and the other guy is at fault if their dog runs up to yours.

Some places have the law that dogs must be on leash or under voice control. I think it's that way where I live.

At any rate, I try to avoid the area if I see a dog off leash – both because you never know if the other dog will kick my dog's butt, and because I know Oji is a rather dominant punk and he (while not a danger of biting the other dog) tends to very assertively put other dogs in their place. That creates an uncomfortable social interaction for me.

If it will inconvenience me significantly to avoid passing by/through that area then I might just go ahead and go through with my Dobe on leash. If the other dog comes up to mine (which they almost always do) I have good confidence that Oji will hold his own and probably repel them, in which case I'm like: Whatever! My dog is on leash, and yours should be. Your dog came up to my leashed dog. You get what you get.

 

[PhilT]

When we come across a dog off its lead when out with King he comes to a stand still always in front off me , I request the dogs owner to recall their dog and put it on a lead , normal reply is "its friendly just wants to play", my normal reply is "he doesn't know that does he , he doesn't like dogs off their leads approaching him , so if he goes for your dog thats your problem ", it is the legal position in the UK that you must have control off your dog at all times in public areas, so if people don't take notice they can be charged if there dog is deemed to cause distress to people or other animals, I will not change the route or place I'm going to because other people can't obey the rules, plus they normally get the message if their dog bother King he is very good at putting them in their place.

 

[LifeofRubie]

We walk away to avoid the offleash dog

 

[Rits]

Walk away. Though the other night it was shortly after sunset and we were training in a public park using the playset. An off leash pitbull comes running across the open field and he was already on us when we heard the owner "recalling" him. I don't trust any off leash dogs, doesn't matter the breed because I do love pit bulls that I know. My husband picked Ripley up to avoid any interactions. I body blocked the dog; left, right, left and then the dog turned around and walked away. The owner finally gets to his dog and (probably laughing in his head at the sight of a doberman being held) says "oh don't worry he is friendly" and apologized. I simply don't want any negative interactions with dogs for my dog and I know one wrong one could ruin that and give us a lifetime of training issues, especially since she is a puppy going through fear periods.

 

[jazzies mum]

I simply don't want any negative interactions with dogs for my dog and I know one wrong one could ruin that and give us a lifetime of training issues, especially since she is a puppy going through fear periods.

Absolutely!!!!!

 

[Maze]

Thanks everyone. I was wondering if I thought the same way others do and feel how some of you do. There are not signs of an off leash area...so bottom line the off leash dog would be at fault for anything that transpires. Obviously I'm not going to taunt or agitate or instigate an encounter.

 

[NamVetJoe]

I find this situation happens with small dogs. I shout as they approach ." please put your dog on a lease, he or she may just want to rush me or my dog to play. My dog may take this as an act of aggression against him or me and that would be a bad thing for you dog

 

[Oh Little Oji]

On the unfortunate occasions that Oji runs up to other dogs, or another on-leash dog is allowed to get within our leash range, I have taken to saying "He's not dangerous." I used to say "He's friendly," but I usually wound up looking clueless as Oji gets snarly-snappy with the dog.

 

[Oh Little Oji]

Some of the no-so-brief things we have claimed to be in the repertoire here for shouting at strangers reminds me of:

 

[Lizbeli]

To the issue regarding someone playing with their dog off leash- I do this daily in a state park where dogs are legally supposed to be leashed. However, there is a particular area I go to so that there is no conflict with people walking by. Unless of course they just decide to walk in an open field randomly in our direction. I don’t consider myself to be the A hole for using the space, but it is kind of annoying when people have all the room in the world and decide to cut right into our play session. If this happens I just keep Jasper at a sit until the person passes.

Whenever I pull up and see someone in the field with their dog, I don’t intrude in their fun. I find another spot and leave them alone.

If we had large grassy areas to rent for off leash play I would. But there seems to be no such thing in New England. I thoroughly believe Jasper is happiest running free after his ball. Part of it though is that Jasper has excellent recall and wears an e-collar just incase. He doesn’t just run around with no direction.

I absolutely never walk him off leash on busy walking paths. Only empty grassy areas or the woods. Generally people around here are good and will leash their dogs when they see me approaching.

 

[Maze]

To the issue regarding someone playing with their dog off leash- I do this daily in a state park where dogs are legally supposed to be leashed. However, there is a particular area I go to so that there is no conflict with people walking by. Unless of course they just decide to walk in an open field randomly in our direction. I don’t consider myself to be the A hole for using the space,

I completely understand and that seems very considerate of you to do that regarding like you said its a "leash at all times area", however this area in particular is small enough to place a poop bag/trash can post and have several dogs poop and pee, but not play.

If it were me I'd go to a completely different section of grassy area around our apartment complex.

 

[jazzies mum]

To the issue regarding someone playing with their dog off leash- I do this daily in a state park where dogs are legally supposed to be leashed. However, there is a particular area I go to so that there is no conflict with people walking by. Unless of course they just decide to walk in an open field randomly in our direction. I don’t consider myself to be the A hole for using the space, but it is kind of annoying when people have all the room in the world and decide to cut right into our play session. If this happens I just keep Jasper at a sit until the person passes.

Whenever I pull up and see someone in the field with their dog, I don’t intrude in their fun. I find another spot and leave them alone.

If we had large grassy areas to rent for off leash play I would. But there seems to be no such thing in New England. I thoroughly believe Jasper is happiest running free after his ball. Part of it though is that Jasper has excellent recall and wears an e-collar just incase. He doesn’t just run around with no direction.

I absolutely never walk him off leash on busy walking paths. Only empty grassy areas or the woods. Generally people around here are good and will leash their dogs when they see me approaching.

I see no problem at all with dogs being off leash if they are under control, and agree that being off leash and free is one of our dogs greatest pleasures! Also agree that it is a bit ignorant to just walk on in where an off leash dog is playing unless you have a need to use that area. BUT, so many people DO NOT have control of their dogs. In the instance given above I am assuming that the area is actually set aside for dog owners to take their dogs for potty breaks from nearby residences, so in that case if someone was wanting to use the area I would be happy to leash my dog.
It is sometimes hard to find a good place to let Jazz have a good run around when we travel, and I do sometimes find a quiet, out of the way place to indulge her, but always with consideration for any other users of the area.