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kelpiegirl
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Julie,

I, too, have a fearful dog & am sympathetic with your situation (I've been there). Still, "it is unacceptable to have your dog unleashed" seems a pretty confrontational way to start the conversation. What about calling out in a calm voice: "My dog is fearful--would you please leash yours until we go by?"

It just seems it would be less upsetting to your dog and more likely to get the result you want.

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>Should I try and get my scaredy girl to realize >that with me she is safe, or should I bring my >other, who is not afraid of any dogs (loves them >a LOT)??

 

Hi Julie. How did your girl respond in this situation? My pup is not afraid of dogs but is very people shy. I've been working with this for 5 months, and it is getting much better, but I think it is always going to be an issue with him.

 

Are you exposing her to other dogs at a distance (while she's still comfortable) and hand feeding her yummy treats?

 

There was an older trainer who talked a lot about how our reactions contribute to our dog?s reactions. I think this was William Campbell. He advised using happy, silly talk when your dog's triggers appear.

 

I?ve also noticed that my pup is not afraid of people that my other 2 dogs are happily greeting. So maybe your other dog?s presence could assist with this?

 

In the presence of other dogs can you get her to do obedience skills? Will she heel and make right and left turns while remaining focused on you? If so, this can help to keep her focus on you instead of on her triggers.

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Eileen Stein wrote:

I'm trying to figure out why I get sad when I read threads like this. Maybe it's because at sheepdog trials (unlike agility trials, I guess) dogs are nearly always loose (even though most of their people are GOOD DOG OWNERS), and very rarely is there even a scuffle. It's a nice thing. I realize that these are usually well-trained dogs belonging to anything-but-clueless owners, and that gives everyone a feeling of security. But the fact is that most dogs are not a danger to others just because they're loose.

 

That's what we noticed first about the USBCHA Sheepdog Trial we attended this fall in Ann Arbor, MI! There were even 4 month old pups wandering about off leash. (Maybe that's how the older dogs learned self-control!)

Barb S

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Well, as I said, I was going back there today I brought my dog, her flexi leash, and lots of peanut butter dog treats. So, as we walk in, there is a family with a rottie mix on leash walking out, kylie bark bark barks with all hair up, and I keep walking, and tell the owners she is afraid. Then comes a poodle mix, same thing. As we go on walking, we get pretty far, and into that area, where you can see folks coming up- I let my girl off leash and we walked. Then we saw another dog/lady coming (kylie back on leash). Kylie started barking, but then I thought this lady looks nice, let's stop and say hello. So, Kylie started her thing, and I ask her about her dog- it is a goldendoodle.

Kylie quiets pretty fast, and I am feeling really good about this walk Then we start heading back, and I see a jogger coming. I have Kylie do a down, and she focuses COMPLETELY on my me, and stays down. Then a BICYCLIST, for those who have been reading the other posts :rolleyes: I have her do the same thing. Then another jogger, and she wasn't fazed at all (even had the jogger come from behind). Then, the coup de gras. We come to the gate, where we have to go around a post, and ahead are two dogs, one bc and a boxer. The lady is walking her dogs, and stops, sees us, and I guess decides to turn around. This was WONDERFUL for Kylie. She was NOT coming head on to other dogs, rather she was able to be behind them, and watch them. She was much more comfortable, and even started investigating things more. We made it to the car and we were BOTH reallly happy!!!!!!

It was a really nice walk. I think we will do this as MUCH as possible, so things that worry her now, will slowly become less scary. I was very good about telling her she was a good girl, and being relaxed when we saw the dogs, but she did end up running toward them with hackles up- this is where I don't quite know how to handle this. I truly think she is being offensively defensive.

Anyway, baby steps, and it was one nice walk today!

Julie

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Julie, bringing your more outgoing dog may be helpful. It depends, really. My first sheltie tended to go from hiding from other dogs to posturing at them when we had the Sassy with us. As the Alpha, he felt protective of her, I guess. My Lhasa who is sometimes standoffish (not really shy, more of a breed characteristic) is Mr. Social around Quinn who squirms with delight over everyone we meet. I think he sees Quinn getting all the attention and wants some of the action.

 

When I first started taking Quinn for walks he had some fears/concerns over things like garabage cans, leaf bags, lawn mowers,etc. Taking Sassy (who is the current Alpha) with us seemed to help him feel more secure with her steady, confident presence by his side. She's come a long way in the past 7 years. It's very rewarding to see.

 

Clicker training has been incredibly helpful with her fear issues. I find an automatic, default behavior of "watch me" to be one of the most useful things I can teach any of my dogs. With Quinn I can get his attention away from exciting things and help him calm down. Sassy went from shrieking at dogs and people on our walks to totally ignoring them and looking at me instead. We accomplished this fairly quickly through clicker training. She's now thrilled to come across her previous triggers for anxiety because she knows she'll get a treat (a couple tiny pieces of kibble) when we walk by them. It does help to have a food motivated dog.

 

If you're at all thinking about using clicker, you might want to get Click to Calm by Emma Parsons which has lots of great techniques. One of things I thought was brilliant was training the dog to associate your own "stress cues" (tightening the leash, your body stiffening, voice getting higher) with positive reinforcement. It's all well and good to try to stay calm and happy, but it's also great if you can teach the dog to not get set off by behaviors that we don't always control as much as we'd like.

 

Liz

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hi Liz:

Great stuff watch me is eh? I taught all my dogs this, and kylie is learning this. That is what I want them to do, when in uncertain situations- watch me. By the end of our walk today, at seeing the last jogger- she trotted back to me for her treat (she goes into a down). I am looking at doing this same technique when other dogs come up- since I doubt she will ever be a social butterfly- ignoring them to watch me will help, and make ME and her attention on ME her default behaviour when the trigger appears. I think we may finally be getting game plan. I am hoping that we can become more comfortable in our own skin )))

Julie

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Originally posted by kelpiegirl:

By the end of our walk today, at seeing the last jogger- she trotted back to me for her treat (she goes into a down). I am looking at doing this same technique when other dogs come up- since I doubt she will ever be a social butterfly- ignoring them to watch me will help, and make ME and her attention on ME her default behaviour when the trigger appears. I think we may finally be getting game plan. I am hoping that we can become more comfortable in our own skin

Very cool, Julie! Yes, I'm sure your girl can become more comfortable and confident. Sassy is miles away from the nervous, insecure fraidy cat she used to be. She'll always be soft and shy, but there are depths to her I never thought she had. As devastating as it was for both of us to lose the other sheltie, it's been a delight to watch her come into her own as Alpha.

 

As with any training issue (actually, as with much of life) it's a journey as well as a destination. Sounds like you guys are on your way

 

Liz

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I once had a GSD attack Chula last year. I had her on leash and the GSD was off leash, the GSD just ran up barking and attacked, luckily BC's are very fast so I let go of her leash and she started running and once she passed very close to me with the GSD in tow, so I could not give up this opportunity. Being a soccer player for many years, I'd say I have a pretty good kick, so I just took a shot at the GSD's head, not so hard, but just enough. The GSD staggered and just had a very stunned look on its face, and it went away. Of couse after that the owner came up to me and we got in fist fight which was stopped as soon as it started by other people that were watching the whole thing unravel.

I did feel bad for kicking the GSD and would never under any other circumstances hit a dog. But for me that worked and would do it again if this ever happened again. Which it almost did another time with Figo and the same GSD, as soon as the GSD recognized me he stopped and turned around.

 

So I too get pi**ed of with people that don't have aggresive dogs on leashes. I prefer to have my dogs off-leash, but there are other people around that don't like dogs, and some that are scared of them. I learned this one time at the park. The park I got to has a off-leash fenced area. Surrounding this area is a trail where people jog, bycicle, etc. I used to get out of my car and let Figo off-leash, cause he would always run directly to the dog area. One time as he was running to this area this woman started screaming her head off with a terrified look on her face and she passed out. I was so worried, I went up to her and gave her a couple of slaps on the face to wake her up, and she started yelling at me, telling me that as a girl she was attacked by a dog, etc, etc. So she was very scared of loose dogs, and I don't think its fair for people that don't like dogs to have to deal with "friendly dogs that only want to say hi".

So thats my story and why I keep my dogs on leash. As I said before BC's are very fast dogs, I doubt if a Rottie, GSD or many other generally aggredsive dogs can keep up with a scared BC.

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One thing to keep in mind - if you're working on a fear issue, going to predictable environments for the first stages of training is much more advisable than somewhere that has loose animals/unpredictable situations like the above mentioned park or dog parks.

 

My girl is good with dogs until they approach w/in striking distance, then she reacts. Even though she is good with a radius of 3 to 5 feet, we don't go to off lead areas or dog parks for the very reason that I cannot fully predict what will happen when other dogs are off lead.

 

We work in parks w/ enforced leash laws, empty dog parks, tennis courts, and with small groups of people I know and their leashed dogs - all places where interaction and obedience commands can be strictly controlled.

 

My goal is to prevent my girl from reacting and to avoid any situations where she gets in over her head - if I didn't, one incident could set Maggie back several weeks in her training. You might want to think about your choice of exercise areas at this point with your pup so you can set her up to succeed.

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It's not the lack of leashes that's a problem in situations like this -- it's the lack of control on the part of other owners and their dogs.

 

I break leash laws (obviously lax) all the time. I don't have a problem with other dogs being off lead around mine. Even Solo will totally ignore dogs unless they are right in his face (otherwise he would not be off lead). The problems only occur when I ask another owner to call his dog off, and the other owner cannot.

 

I have put in hours, days, weeks, months of man-hours (woman-hours?) training my dogs -- even and especially Solo -- to be reliable off lead. So it always steams me a little bit when Clueless Owner is over there ineffectually calling his dog and assuring me, "But he's friendly, he only wants to play!" -- especially when so many of the owners are wrong even on that last count. (Sorry, hackles up, posturing and strutting does not equal "only wants to play." But you'd be shocked how many people can't tell that Max or Rex or Fluffy isn't as harmless as they think he is.)

 

I feel like there is one requirement for owners and dogs to share off lead space with each other, and that is voice control. If you don't have it over your dogs, they shouldn't be loose, both for the sake of others and their own. The reason why things work out at sheepdog trials is that all the dogs are under control. This is unfortunately not the case almost everywhere else.

 

Once at Fort Funston I was yelled at by a dog walker who had twelve (yes, twelve) loose dogs with her at once. There is a narrow and very steep trail that goes down to the beach (a "sand ladder") that is used not only by people with dogs, but random humans, families with children, etc. Now, I absolutely hate having to leash Solo on that trail, because it's steep and would be easier to get up and down if he were loose, but he's Solo and so he's leashed unless the place is deserted. So I feel like I'm doing my part, and then here comes Dog Lady with the loose dogs. I ask her to call them to her because otherwise they're going to mob Solo, and she cannot. Then she castigates me because in her world, I am somehow inconveniencing her (a) having a dog on leash (!) and (:rolleyes: asking her to control the ones that are with her. Mind you, it would have taken us less than ten seconds to get past her and all twelve dogs if they'd just given us a tiny bit of space to get by. "Why is that dog on leash?" she yelled at me. "Dogs are loose here!" I said, "He's going to be off leash as soon as we get past your dumb ass, and if you can't control those dogs, none of you should be here." Meanwhile poor Solo is doing everything he can to hold his shit together while twelve dogs are trying to stick their noses in his ears and butt.

 

I almost reported her, but I don't want Fort Funston to go dog-unfriendly. That incident steamed me for the rest of the day.

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In reading the above posts, two things come to mind. First, are you serious when you say you carry rocks and a stick to "beat off" aggressive dogs? You have got to be kidding! When facing a strange dog, you would actually provoke it further by attacking it? You don't know that dog, you don't know its intentions, you don't know how it will react to a threat. Rather than "protecting" yourself you may only be provoking further attack against yourself. If I would see someone attack my dog for running up to say hi, I'm hauling your butt to jail personally, and I'll maybe beat YOU with a stick for good measure. C'mon, folks, we all love our dogs, but seriously...

 

Our own dog, up until about 6 months ago would have been seen by most non-doggers as aggressive. She loves to run up to people to greet them, but we've started to get this under control. We have a dog-friendly field right behind our house and we know most of the other owners who bring their dogs there...we've learned who we can play with and who we can't. We've also been all over Monterey County finding places where our dog can run free - leash laws or not. We know several secluded beaches, a mostly-empty forest, a nearby stream, all of which we know the environment and how our dog reacts to it.

 

All of this is to say that we feel like we know our dog's little quirks. We know how she reacts to pairs/packs. We know how she reacts (by ignoring) to small dogs. We know she'll ignore most children, unless they are loud (sounds like playing). We also accept a certain amount of risk in new situations. Sometimes dogs just don't play well with other dogs...it's just like people...and you just don't know why. I've learned to "suitcase" my dog out of unfriendly situations by grabbing the scruff of her neck and pulling her out of a tussle and into my arms. (She's about 50 pounds and some adreneline helps.) I don't actually worry about other dogs continuing the attack at that point because I'm the alpha in the area and I'm willing to risk a bite because I knew there was a risk going in.

 

The final point is this: dogs need to be used to being around other dogs, unless that's really not what you want your dog to be. If you are content to risk a bad confrontation every single time you take your dog out for a walk, so be it. But then don't blame other dogs for reacting the way they do to your dog. Other dog owners in our neighborhood know our dog, we know their dogs (in fact, we only know them by their dog's name), and TOGETHER we worked out the issues without raising the ugly spectre of a lawsuit or fines. There are still some owners who either don't like our dog or also know how their dog will react to ours. There are still bad owners out there, but they are less numerous than the ones who just want their dogs to have some fun.

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Pipi,

Sorry to disagree with you but what works for you in your locality with people who all know each other and each others' dogs can't be expected to work in public places full of strange people and strange dogs. The dogs in your area may all know you're the alpha, but that doesn't really translate to strange dogs in new places, does it?

 

You can't *expect* complete strangers or their dogs to know that your dog is friendly or "only wants to play." You may know your dog's little quirks, but strangers certainly won't. Why on earth would you think it's okay for your dog to run willy-nilly up to strange people or dogs (especially if, as you admit, your dog appears to be agressive and may in fact act badly toward children playing loudly) and then blame the recipient of your dog's behavior if they object to it? In my opinion that makes *you* the bad dog owner, not the folks who object to your dog's behavior.

 

My dogs spend most weekends at sheepdog trials off leash in the presence of other dogs. They are well socialized and basically trustworthy (and I, too, know their quirks, like the fact that Jill does not like puppies). But if I am out walking them off- or on-leash in public, say on the beach, my dogs are under control (that is, they don't go bother any other human or dog), and I think I should be able to expect that other folks would give me the same courtesy when we are sharing a public space, though sadly that is rarely the case.

 

It's a sad commentary on your sense of what's right that you would blame another dog owner for reacting badly to your own dog's bad behavior (and yes, running up to strange humans/dogs univited is bad behavior).

 

Oh, and your dog doesn't need to have fun at my or my dogs' expense.

 

J.

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It's a sad commentary on your sense of what's right that you would blame another dog owner for reacting badly to your own dog's bad behavior (and yes, running up to strange humans/dogs univited is bad behavior).

 

Oh, and your dog doesn't need to have fun at my or my dogs' expense.

 

Yup. When I take my dogs to the park, we are there so that we can play together, not to play with other dogs. We are always well out of the way of other owners who DO want their dogs to socialize, and it's always quite obvious that we are involved in a game of some sort. Why do people think it's appropriate to launch their dogs at mine, and then expect me to entertain their dogs for them?

 

Let's say I go to the park. I see a group of people having a fun game of Ultimate Frisbee or soccer or whatever. Would it be appropriate for me to run in unannounced and join the game? Say, catch the Frisbee in midair and start throwing it around, or run up and bear hug the guy who just made the goal who has no idea who I am? Of course not. It is no different when I am in the middle of a fetch game with my dogs, and some random dog comes running into the middle of it.

 

There have been times when, to get through to some Clueless Owner's idiot brain, I have had to say something like, "If you want me and my dogs to play with your dog and entertain it for you, I charge $40 an hour."

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J, you seemed to have missed my point here. That point is that if you know your dog's behavioral quirks, you take the steps to minimize risk - ie. you find the park that nobody goes to, the beach where your pooch can run free without having to worry about other people/dogs. You go to places where you can minimize the impact of running into OTHER people's dogs who you think may cause problems. For example, at one of our local beaches, there seems to be a high proportion of small dogs/unsocialized dogs (their owners believe them to be too precious to associate with any other dogs)/and various badly behaved dogs. We stopped going there because we know that our dog can be overprotective and doesn't like when OTHER dogs come sprinting toward us or when they are overly sniffy. Frankly, we have other options and people on that beach can have their little encounters. We go to places where other dog owners are smart about how to control their dogs and expect the same from us. BUT, they also seem to realize that sometimes dogs just don't get along...yes, we ask if we can let them both off the leash, or if it's okay to play...but sometimes, dogs just don't click. It's not the owner's fault, or the dog's fault, it just bloody happens. How many other dogs have been apparently friendly when they met your dog and it just went downhill? I can't tell you why it happens, even with dogs our BC has played with before.

 

Regarding playing with other dogs, if you are doing your own little training thing, that's cool. I'll keep my dog away from it. But some dogs are social, they like to interact with their environment, just like humans. Have you ever just started talking to someone in the check-out line at the grocery store? Feeling a little social? What's the difference? The only difference as I see it is that dogs have a different language to say "bug off." In my experience, people who don't understand dogs think that a little rough play is going to send their precious to the vet. Our dog is an alpha (as are most BCs) and likes to make that clear right away. But we've also seen that a quicker, faster, smarter dog and a few quick barks can make her behave in a submissive manner. From then on, it's happy-happy-joy-joy playing with no further problems. But they have got to have the opportunity to make that relationship clear. Dogs who bark and bark on the leash already feel insecure about being on the leash. Once we got Alka off the leash, she's a whole other dog.

 

You also seem to have missed the point about playing with children. Our dog doesn't have a problem with children, she just sees them as little humans or possibly two-footed sheep. She has never hurt a kid, and she's spent a lot of time around them. She doesn't nip, herd, etc. But it has taken some time to overcome the desire to just rush over and say hi. We have some tricks that we use to control it. For example, she loves to play ball...when we're on the beach, she's easily distracted with that. I use that to keep her concentrated on me and not the things around us. But I'm not opposed to playing ball with random other dogs. I love dogs, as I'm sure everyone who reads this does. But the difference seems to be that I love all dogs, not just my own. I'm an extrovert, my dog is the same. We like to talk to other dog owners, we like our dog to interact with as many dogs as possible so we can learn about how she will react and what we can do to help her. When kids come up to pet our dog, we use it as an opportunity to see how she'll behave, but we issue fair warnings beforehand...she likes to jump up, so we'll keep her on the leash. If they want to play with her, we try to let them know that she doesn't like when people stand over her. Every interaction is an opportunity to teach our dog, to learn from her behaviour, and to educate other people about how to interact with our dog.

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Originally posted by Pipi The Long Stocking:

We like to talk to other dog owners, we like our dog to interact with as many dogs as possible so we can learn about how she will react and what we can do to help her. When kids come up to pet our dog, we use it as an opportunity to see how she'll behave, but we issue fair warnings beforehand...she likes to jump up, so we'll keep her on the leash. If they want to play with her, we try to let them know that she doesn't like when people stand over her. Every interaction is an opportunity to teach our dog, to learn from her behaviour, and to educate other people about how to interact with our dog.

I think the important thing is that we treat each other with respect. My BC pup wants to play with every dog and person he meets, but it's important for us to get permission first. Likewise, I expect to be asked permission before someone lets their dog come up on mine. With my sheltie, the answer will always be "Sorry, she doesn't like strange dogs." With my Lhasa, it depends on the size of the dog and the dog's behavior(he prefers short dogs who are friendly but not too much in his face). Even with my lover of a BC, I might not like the way the dog is acting or I might be in a hurry, and would decline the offer. I think in a public place, if your dog is loose, it needs to be under voice control. Otherwise, it needs to be on a leash. And any play or interaction between dogs should be a mutual agreement between owners.

 

Liz

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Liz,

 

That's a good point...it's a mutual decision between dog owners and in a public place, it's best to ask and/or warn. My only reaction is that there are certain places that I know the other owners are not dog lovers, they are dog snobs. I tend to stay away because I don't want to put up with their yappy little dogs or poorly trained big dogs and I don't expect them to understand my dog either. I go to places where I know I can interact with my dog in a way that I want and that I know the other dog owners feel the same. Yeah, yeah, public places...public behaviour...equal access for everyone... It kind of falls on deaf ears to me. The first and last time I heard someone say to me "you'd better put that dog on a leash" at Carmel Beach after our dog (aged 6 months at the time) approached a smaller dog (without incident), I turned around and said "Listen, if my dog goes on a leash, your dog goes on a leash. We're both violating the law by not having them on." I don't go back there with our dog, as much as I love that beach.

 

I think I have to end my particular part of this thread by simply saying that I love the little quirks of my dog. I'm not going to teach her not to bark at the mailman. I think that it adds to her "watchdog-ness", a task that is appropriate for our dog. I like that she sometimes plays rough with us, the owners. It makes those Saturday mornings fun. Yes, I understand that my dog may transfer some of those behaviours to play time with other dogs, but I have accepted the risks. Basically, my dog isn't perfect, and I don't want her to be.

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Laurie, how true. Heck, the husband in that case is mor elikely to punish the wife for "letting" the guy even start! So we should be thrilled if our dog growls. I know I am. Lets me know what the situation is.

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I used to have a large dog that was aggressive with other dogs. For that reason I had to keep her on a leash (which goes against my grain). If another dog approached mine, unleashed, I did my best to keep them apart. I didn't blame the owner of the unleashed dog for the fact that I owned an aggressive dog. I didn't take her to places where she was likely to run into unleashed dogs because, well, dogs can be social...but mine wasn't. Once again, I'm always surprised to hear dog people complaining about dogs...and dog owners. I don't recall every reminding another dog owner that "there is a leash law." Sure, there are some clueless dog owners. But, per the comment above, dogs aren't perfect, and dog owners aren't either.

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yeah - I don't have a problem telling people with "overly friendly" (ie pushy or rude) dogs that "my dog doesn't really like other dogs in her face" and I try to keep my youngsters from being obnoxious to other peoples' dogs, too - but they are pretty handy at reading adult dog body language.

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No Pipi, I don't think I missed your point(s) at all. You seem to be saying that you have the right to let your dog go up to other people's dogs and that it is the responsibility of the other person to ask/tell you to keep your dog away. You then proceed to blame other people by saying that they think their dogs are too good to play with other people's dog or that they worry excessively that their dogs may get hurt. So it seems to me that you are still laying the blame at someone else's feet if they choose to not have their dogs interact with yours.

 

And you have overlooked *my* point, which is simply that I ought to be able to take my dogs out for a walk and mind my own business and not be bothered by any other human or dog. Despite the fact that you say you know your dogs quirks, my point, clearly stated, was that the person on the recieving end of your dog's friendliness doesn't know your dog's quirks and shouldn't be expected to make snap judgements about your dog's intentions.

 

Liz is right when she says that it is all a matter of respect (I believe I used the word "courtesy" in my original post). And while I never tell someone they need to put their dog on a leash, I do expect that they will at least keep their dog under voice control and not let it come up to my dogs without my permission (or if it has come up, then at least have enough control to call it off). That's simple respect/courtesy.

 

It's nice that you love your dog. I love mine too. And I simply don't want them mobbed by strange dogs if I happen to be walking them in a public area. You, as a fellow dog lover, should understand that.

 

GeorgiaBC,

No one is asking that dogs or dog owners be perfect. We are simply asking that they show common courtesy (and common sense) toward other dog owners and keep their own dogs under control. I don't think that's too much to ask of anyone.

 

J.

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Some dogs are well socialized enough to not have to greet and sniff every other dog they come across. No dog should be allowed to go up to ANY strange dog without both owners first consenting. It's common courtesy and anything else is rude. If you can't call your dog off going to greet another dog, then your dog shouldn't be off-leash. If your dog rudely invades my dog's personal space and gets bit, well that's your own stupid fault.

 

-Laura

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I sort of think of it this way:

 

If I let my child wander up to a stranger and my child did something to upset that stranger, or perhaps that stranger just did not like kids and did something not so nice to my kid I wouled initially be upset.

 

The same is true with dogs. I make it my responsibility to have my dog be polite and in control. I will not let my dog approach another human or animal on her iniation. She is supposed to come to me and then we establish if it is OK to approach.

 

I had a bit of a problem with this when I was at my parents house for thanksgiving. I was out in the front yard and my mother let Angel out the front door. Not a problem, but there was a man walking an very large male akita. I could just tell by his eyes that he was worried when he saw my dog. I put her in a down-stay and started to talk quickly with the man from a distance. I knew if she ran over there she would get mauled and it would be MY fault for not having her in control.

 

I understand that all owners can not be that considerate, but they should.

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>

 

I think it would be more accurate to say that some dogs are well disciplined or well trained enough not to greet and sniff every other dog they come across. Like it or not, dogs generally are social animals who like to greet other dogs they meet. It is humans (or some humans, anyway) who have decided that this behavior is not appropriate and should be restrained. But I think "socializing" is generally understood as accustoming your dog to interaction with other dogs, to minimize the chances that s/he will be inappropriately aggressive and/or fearful, rather than discouraging or preventing your dog from interaction with other dogs.

 

>

 

I think Pipi agrees with that -- it was what s/he meant by "I have accepted the risks."

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