So what would you have done? Walking Bramble and Benson..OH was on the same common but the other side with Casper. So it is a lovely well cut and level nature reserve, perfect for a quiet walk with Benson and Bramble, there are more rural fields and footpaths attached however, this area has a cycleway and most dogs are on lead. We normally head off to the bigger fields then let the dogs off. Benson has a great (well mostly!) recall and likes to stay close so that was fine. I was practicing some loose lead walking with both of them. Some lovely dog owners, so Bramble was able to say hello to one of them. Two young but large lab crosses bound up to us, Benson growls, as their approach was bullish and too fast. Pop him into a sit, the dogs both run off to some other dogs, also on lead, lots of shouting from the dog owners, probably not a good idea! Lots of growling /barking from both sets of dogs. The dog walkers in charge of the lab crosses are actually not bothered and chatting! Hubby thinks they may have been commercial as one was wearing a dog care T Shirt. At the end of the walk, they both bound over again, get too close, Benson is really unhappy, so I let him off the lead. At which Benson lets out a furious snarl, hackles up, and runs at one of the dogs, who then hightails it away. Benson trots back calmly when I recall him. There was no fight, just meaningful snarling from Benson, however I think though if he had remained on lead it could have turned nasty. The dog walkers gave me a filthy look, but at least they put the 2 dogs on a lead! I just don't know what choice I had, it is rare that Benson reacts but he hates dogs coming up fast and close, normally we would just walk away or he would avoid them, but hard when he is on lead. I was also concerned as I had Bramble, and really didn't want a confrontation. I do get annoyed with owners of dogs that are unruly with poor recall, especially the bullying types who are too fast and direct. There was no manners, which made me wonder whether they were both rescues. Calmed down a bit now!
You had no choice Kate and I think you did right , I would have done the same too . Millie hates other dogs invading her space and will growl , whereupon other owners will sometimes remark that she is bad tempered , unbelievable
It's so hard, isn't it? Benson is a lot better than Shadow, but I have the same situation with him in that he's worse on lead than off, and there's more chance of it turning nasty when he's on lead. If it's just me and him and another dog approaches without an owner in control, then I have to make a judgement call. Last time, my choice was to let him off. I can understand how this looks to another owner, taking a barking dog off lead, but (until I can fully address his reactivity on lead) it's most likely to give the best outcome, even if there is a big of "language". I don't like these situations at all, and try my best to avoid them, but sometimes they come to you and I think, in that case, it can be damaging to add the stress of restraint (and accompanying poor body language) to the pot.
I think having a dog on lead and others off lead is asking for trouble so you did do the right thing letting Benson off, but not sure why you would think the other dogs were rescues, there are some pretty badly behaved dogs that aren't rescues too x
I don't know...I know it's not popular to say but....I also dislike bad mannered dogs, but the world is full of them. I really would not be happy if Charlie growled at dogs that ran up to him, even if too fast and direct. I'd get into awful trouble if my dog did this, since my dog would be growling at every second dog that we met! I've never heard you say this about Benson before - could he have been protective because Bramble was there? If so, that is maybe something to watch out for?
Good point! What I noticed in these two was the lack of meet and greet etiquette, and impulsiveness which is usual in socialised dogs, and even minimally socialised dogs. I guess though, when you put more than one dog together social behaviors can change. They both also had good quality harnesses, which I also see a lot in adult rescue dogs.
If they were rescues it's a shame their owners/walkers weren't helping their dogs in this situation which we have to do all the time with Charlie who doesn't always have the best social etiquette but with training and treats he is learning
Absolutely agree, I would not be happy if Benson started growling more frequently. Lots of dogs run up to Benson, he is very mild mannered. Even if they are quite direct. It could have been Bramble or me, he has been very clingy the last couple of days. This was the third time the dogs had bounded up to Benson, each time he was getting more and more irate. The growling wasn't anything I would be concerned with, it was just a "I have REALLY had enough of you guys" I wouldn't normally walk Bramble with Benson, or Casper though, today was a bit of an exception. Looking forward to when she is a bit older!
It's not the dogs fault it's the lack of training by the owners. Dogs do have to communicate what they are feeling towards other dogs and they should be allowed to, it's natural to a degree. If someone repeatedly barged into you would you be able to stay calm all of the time? I know I couldn't
I agree you were at the mercy of the other dogs and owners. I would NOT put my dog into a sit. My dog asked to sit and be still when others might be unruly puts my dog in danger. It's almost the same as if he was on leash. My dog is trapped, he might give off aggressive, defensive or submissive body language as a result. Poor Poppy in the other thread was showing submissive body language but the bully dogs nailed her anyway. I want my dog able to react and avoid and evade if he can. Obviously there is no reason for him to put his faith in his owner since his owner has no control over the other dogs. I also would not want to inhibit a growl in an off leash situation. It's fair for my dog to give a warning. If both dogs were leashed then I would be working to get my dog to focus on me and would not expect a growl from him because clearly I am in control and so, hopefully, is the owner on the end of the other dog's leash. Suppressing a growl, a warning, might give the dog no choice but to act without growling or warning first. Far better to find the reason for the growl and work on eliminating that. When it's other loose dogs you can't.
Other dogs running up to a dog too fast to be polite is an everyday, run of the mill thing - it certainly happens to me all the time. It's not right, the owners are rude and inconsiderate, but it's just not unusual. I'm afraid I just don't agree that it's ok for dogs to be reactive to everyday run of the mill things, the fact that it's completely understandable doesn't mean that we should settle for it. I think there are too many people in the world that excuse their dog's behaviour because the other dog (or even child) ran up too fast/looked at their dog in a funny way/was white/has blue eyes/was humping/touched a toy....and so on. All of these things are to be expected when you are out and about with your dog. I don't think this is a characterisation of Benson, let me be clear about that - nothing that Kate has ever said about Benson suggests to me that he is a reactive dog, and that's why I asked whether something was different - eg Bramble being there.
That's interesting @Snowshoe, I wouldn't have considered that asking for a sit may have an adverse affect. I guess I am so used to managing my others dogs reactivity, and by using the sit cue gives him something to focus on. Those are very different scenarios where Casper is not in any possible danger, only that there is a trigger ie another dog, bike, etc..in the distance and I need to help manage Caspers response
I agree, I was refering to the other dogs running into Benson but surely Benson was just giving a warning that he wasn't happy which to my mind is acceptable so long as it's not all the time of course. Yes too many people do make excuses for all kinds of things in life and I know as responsible dog owners we try our hardest to tackle any issues we might have but not everyone will or does. Benson was probably protecting Bramble, I think @snowbunny has this sometimes with Shadow when Willow is around.
I do wonder whether it was that - which would be completely understandable, but probably undesirable in the long term. Particularly since Bramble shows all signs of rapidly being soon able to take care of herself!
Im assuming the first time the dogs ran over Bensons reaction was not as bad as the third time. Therefore he had gradually warned these dogs who, maybe because there were two or maybe because they hadn't been socialised properly, didn't get the message. I would say Benson felt he had no choice he was just being a dog. Unfortunately my dogs are reactive to everyday run of the mill things and reactive to things most dogs wouldn't be. I don't make any excuse for it though my dogs have a problem I know that. As far as I can see Benson does not have a problem he gave repeated warnings that were ignored and even when he lost his cool he returned on cue he had no aggressive intentions just telling them where to go.
Yes. Zaba, my friend's dog, is the most laid back dog I have ever met. He's an entire male. Last time he stayed with us this happened (rude dogs running up with no doggy manners) and he growled at them. I've never, ever heard him growl before - and he's nearly three, like Tatze. I think he was protecting 'his' girls. We did the same and let him off so that he felt more in control. He sniffed the dog, weed on a post and carried on walking. .
I have had this the other way round. A couple of years ago I was walking with a friend and her little male cross breed and Hattie loves this little dog. A Labrador that we regularly meet was pretty nasty to my friends dog. This particular day the dogs were trotting along playing when Hattie saw this Labrador approaching, my friends dog was moving forward to say hello when Hattie got infront of him and barked at him, he dropped behind her and stayed very close to Hattie until we had passed the Labrador that didn't react this time, Hattie barked at the little dog and off he went infront and we continued our lovely walk. It was strange but I think Hattie was protecting her little friend and she didn't have to say anything to the nasty Labrador at all
I think you did the right thing to drop the lead, it would defuse the tension somewhat. I do not see why a dog has to put up with a rude dog and is just saying 'go away', so I cannot agree with @JulieT there However, Julie has many dogs running up to Charlie, whereas most of us only have one occasionally and so Charlie has to be especially tolerant.
