......always to be ‘on guard’ when out walking the dog! This is nothing really but I have woken up this morning and it is niggling me. Last evening, took Red on our usual evening trot around the village. Think she loves this walk as much as I love being in her company so I feel relaxed. We get to a very grassy space and I say as always ‘go sniff’. I could see a man with a black labrador type dog across the way and noticed he was taking his time to get his dog to sit by kerb. Had I known his dog wasn’t on a lead, I would have got Red in a ‘middle’. All of a sudden the dog was in front of Red snarling, barking. Red stops her sniffing, does her usual throwing herself forward when she thinks a dog is saying hello. It wasn’t, it was aggressive. The man rushed up grabbed the dog, muttered a half hearted sorry and carried on his way. I am then left trying to calm a puppy dangling off her lead . So my message to self, don’t assume dogs are on leads when walking along paths, don’t assume they are all friendly and don’t assume all owners are in charge of their dogs.
Sorry that you had this nasty experience , assumption is a dangerous thing , I know because I`ve suffered from it numerous times ! x
I seem to be doing this a lot at the moment Yes. I think I am cross with myself and that is why it niggles. I have enough strategies now to deal with something like this yet it all went out the window cos I was just enjoying the walk.
It is frustrating This morning had an off lead dog run up to us from behind, totally caught us unawares and my lab got really freaked out. We were on a busy main road so it was pretty shocking to see a dog allowed off lead. Meanwhile the owner was sauntering along way behind, chatting on the phone, totally unconcerned and making no effort to recall her dog. Some people!
I think you put a lot of pressure on yourself @Atemas, you've done the most amazing job with Red. You truly are the poster girl (woman) for Labrador ownership! When you cast your mind back to your early post, the now famous 'puppy blues' and compare where you are now, well, there's no comparison. We can all expect the occasional off-piste moment with our labs, no matter how well trained or whatever age they are. You are an inspiration and should just forget yesterday's walk and get on with the next .
I think most nice people (like everyone on here) usually assume that everyone else's dogs are friendly and that their owners would be in control of their dogs, but unfortunately there are those that let us down by silly people that don't necessarily care . Keep your chin up, you've come a long way.
Fortunately I met a sensible dad with his daughter this morning when I was out with the dogs. The little girl spotted them (on their leads) and wanted to come over to see them. Her father said she must ask first, thank goodness, so I had the chance to say no. Tuppence would have been fine, but Wispa might have swung into full protective mode and barked or jumped up. She's brilliant with my grandchildren, but doesn't like being approached by people she doesn't know. If only all people thought first...
Don't be hard on yourself Atemas we have all had met people and dogs like this. Hope Red is Ok and your next walk is much better.
Poor Hubby had to learn the hard way that not all dog owners or dogs are friendly. Homer is his first dog and he'd go to say hello to every dog and its owner especially any dog that's Homer's fox red colour or anything that vaguely resembled a Labrador (four legs and a tail). Well, he's had some interesting encounters. He still gets upset when other dog walker don't look happy and smile and say 'good morning' when he's walking with Homer.
