Out on our usual run this morning, Hero was off leash on a really big field he knows and we were playing and doing some nosework and everything was going great guns. The usual other dogs were about but Hero was ignoring them and concentrating on what we were doing bless him. There are a couple of men who always have 3 Collies running loose and we've never had issues. But this morning, the youngest collie charged across the field towards us and for Hero the distraction was too much and he went to join the other dogs, totally ignoring all recall. Not being able to run across a muddy field in wellies, by the time I got to the group, one of the men had hold of Hero while 2 of the Collies still ran riot. I put Hero back on his leash and being polite apologised and the answer I got of was 'what do you expect it's a Lab and they're untrainable' . Then one of the men, holding the older collie told me to get him away or the dog he was holding would 'have him'. Not only was this a really bad thing to say about labs but I was speechless about the implied threat. It was his dog triggered the whole episode and surely having a dog that will attack other dogs, it shouldn't be off the leash. I found the whole thing very intimidating and Hero remained very unsettled until we got home. In the normal course of things my mouth would have gone into overdrive and I would have told them exactly what I thought of them and their dogs, but being on my own and no one else about for once thought better of it. I'm trying my hardest to train Hero. I just wish many of the idiots I meet would have actually trained their dogs. Just getting so sick of ' my dog doesn't get on with other dogs', and dogs that run about totally uncontrolled by their oblivious owners and then people having the nerve to insult and have a go about Hero because he wants to say hello and play. It's starting to have an effect on him. Sorry for the rant but what is usually a pleasure for both of us is quickly becoming a nightmare.
It is so annoying when other dog owners don't have control over their pets! Luna is nearly 6 months and we were down the park yesterday playing with her Frisbee and she was doing so well ignoring everything around her until another dog came running over to her. I said to the owner if it was okay if they played considering she is a puppy and full of energy he said yes. She wasn't too interested in the ball he was throwing so I threw her Frisbee and the other dog was closer to it so went for it, Luna was playing and went to get it too and the other dog was growling at her, barking and showing his teeth! Poor Luna came running back to me not knowing what to do and was so distressed. I struggled to calm her down as she was having none of it and all training was out the window. She was so upset she started jumping at me, biting and pulling at her lead growling at me. Had to head straight home and cut play time short making her think she was the one that was naughty.
People can have different standards and double standards when it comes to their own dogs. We have just had a couple of days by the sea and poor Toby had a real pain of a Leonberger spoiling his fun grabbing anything from him that he retrieved from the water. No correction from his owners who were walking behind us. All I can say is it’s a good job he didn’t fight back and nor would I want him too. We ended up changing direction just to get away and give Toby some peace. Toby with a stick (please don’t judge we forgot his ball)
We can't do anything about these other dog owners, we can only avoid them when necessary and ensure we have control over our own dogs. For dogs without a reliable recall, that means a 10m long-line being towed by the dog until you know their recall is reliable - away from people, other dogs and high distractions. If you run into other owners out and about - avoid, avoid, avoid. Use training classes and dog sport events, shoots (if you work your dog) and other household dogs owned by friends and family to provide social encounters. Walk in the opposite direction if you spot someone else on a 'regular' outing. I do this, even when it is a HUGE inconvenience to me (ie - I can't walk where I want to walk) and in Moye's entire 5 year life, she hasn't had a bad experience with another dog on a walk. And we live in quite a dense area for dogs. It's not bullet proof of course - there are situations you can't avoid or control - but when you can, do.
