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Dog Walking Question?

I guess it totally depends on the dog I'm walking. I know one of my dogs is going to pull and try to greet the other dog, so I just shorten the leash and pass by quickly. If you know YOUR dog is going to act inappropriately, you should be the one to cross the street. I don't like to do any "sniffing" or meeting at all when in public - dogs do not need to meet each other and in my opinion is a risky thing. Dogs on leashes can be very different creatures than they are at any other time.

I really really appreciate when other folks just give a polite hello and keep on walking to do their business and let me do mine. I find it SO annoying when peoples dogs are going nutty pulling on the leash wanting to greet my dogs and the owner just stands there! What are they expecting? What is the point of just standing there letting your dog bark and go nutty so I can't pass? I always want to yell "what the hell are you doing - get out of the way!"

So, I think the reactive dog should be the one to cross the road...
 
I hate when other people don't mind their dogs. We have leash laws in our area too but I notice a lot of people with small dogs don't mind the leash laws. I especially hate when they just stand there saying "Sparky, come back. Sparky! Sparky!" Get off your lazy a$$ and come GET your dog. My dog is pretty well behaved but I'm under no illusions that he's perfect so if you're going to let your dog chase after us, I'm not making any promises!

As for the dog park, it really is a necessity for us. Our dog needs the exercise and there's nothing like running around with the other dogs. He has pretty good instincts and stays away from trouble. Some days we'll notice he stays real close to us and I think it's because he's getting a vibe from another dog that isn't good. As a pup, he didn't pick up on other dogs' signals very well and, as such, I think he was a bit annoying to them but he's much better now that he knows when to quit.
 
Gee. Reading this thread has taught me that small dogs and their owners are bad.

Now I am ashamed I have small dogs. :nono:

More groupism.
Sigh.
 
Steal said:
Walking on the lead:

Bear in mind our dog (that we walk) is very well trained. So when she is on the lead and we meet another dog I always judge the situation by my dogs reactions, the other dogs reactions and the other owners face. If all is calm I pull her in to heel, switch hands to put her on the offside to the other dog; either on my left inside or right outside depending on the side of the other dog. So that I am between my dog and the other dog and speak calmly to her telling her to heel and that she is a good dog. If I don't like the situation I ask her to sit, praising her quietly, and I stand in front of her until the other owner passes by.

I haven't had any issues yet.
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Big ditto to Steal's post. That is exactly what we do with our pup.

My dog is extremely well trained, and if I'm using the lead while walking her she stays calmly at my left side and a bit behind me as we walk. UNFORTUNATELY, most of our neighbors have never bothered to train their dogs to walk, so we encounter a lot of people who are being walked by their dogs, and not the other way around.

If we're approaching an excited dog, or a dog that is walking in front of her owner or doing something that signals that she is obviously untrained, we do as Steal does. It's actually a very good exercise to train your dog to stay in sit while wild dogs pass them by. I never cross the street when approaching other dogs.

We often walk our dog off leash. We walk about three miles a day outside, and most of that is off leash. You can't tell she's off leash because she stays right at my left side, just behind me as we walk. It took a long time to train her to walk so well off leash, but it's nice to be able to do it. Our town law is that the dog must be under the control of her owner, and she is.

It makes me sad to see so many dogs who have never been trained to walk properly. They need to walk, and they benefit greatly from walking with a pack leader who is in control. I always feel so bad for the dogs who are walking their owners, and even worse for the dogs who are rarely taken for walks and just set out in the yard to wander around on their own. :nono:
 
kenny said:
Gee. Reading this thread has taught me that small dogs and their owners are bad.

Now I am ashamed I have small dogs. :nono:

More groupism.
Sigh.
Click to expand...
I've noticed that it seems like a lot of owners of small dogs figure they don't need to properly train them because they're so small so what harm could they do. Then you see them flying around at the end of the leash, yapping at everything that goes by. So sad for the dogs. ;(

That old thread from someone on here made me so sad. I can't remember who it was, but a poster never properly trained her small dog to not nip and bite, and then when she had children she gave the dog up because by that time they didn't have the time to train her. It's so sad to see people fail to train their dogs, and then give them up because of it.
 
Haven said:
kenny said:
Gee. Reading this thread has taught me that small dogs and their owners are bad.

Now I am ashamed I have small dogs. :nono:

More groupism.
Sigh.
Click to expand...
I've noticed that it seems like a lot of owners of small dogs figure they don't need to properly train them because they're so small so what harm could they do. Then you see them flying around at the end of the leash, yapping at everything that goes by. So sad for the dogs. ;(

That old thread from someone on here made me so sad. I can't remember who it was, but a poster never properly trained her small dog to not nip and bite, and then when she had children she gave the dog up because by that time they didn't have the time to train her. It's so sad to see people fail to train their dogs, and then give them up because of it.
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I suspect one factor is what I call small-dog syndrome.
Small dogs feel more fear and compensate by acting tough.

Yes this puts a little more burden of training and socialization on the humans but again I think part of it is the size itself.

As with all stereotypes I'd keep this one to myself since it does not always apply and is unfair to paint us all with a wide brush.

I'll refrain from mentioning my stereotypes about large dogs and their owners.
 
Sorry if I offended you by "stereotyping" small dog owners, Kenny, but I was under the impression that I'm as free to share my observations and experiences with this issue as anyone else is.
 
Haven said:
Sorry if I offended you by "stereotyping" small dog owners, Kenny, but I was under the impression that I'm as free to share my observations and experiences with this issue as anyone else is.
Click to expand...

Yes you are free, as I am to respond. :wink2:
 
kenny said:
Haven said:
Sorry if I offended you by "stereotyping" small dog owners, Kenny, but I was under the impression that I'm as free to share my observations and experiences with this issue as anyone else is.
Click to expand...

Yes you are free, as I am to respond. :wink2:
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GOOD point.
 
It's all good! :appl:
 
kenny said:
Gee. Reading this thread has taught me that small dogs and their owners are bad.

Now I am ashamed I have small dogs. :nono:

More groupism.
Sigh.
Click to expand...

I've owned both a bigger and smaller dog. My main complaint is when people own dogs but do not bother to train them, period. This happens among both big and small dog owners. But, I know when your dog is small and doesn't have the strength to drag you down the block, it is easier to let the small dog get away with stuff. My philosophy is to always get a dog in obedience classes after you get one, to help establish the bond and your leadership role. My dog instructor didn't let us get away with more than anyone else in the class, which had a mix of small and big dogs. She even held back a small dog because she felt it hadn't mastered the skills of basic obedience to let it move on to intermediate class. Our intermediate class stressed on how to make your dog wait to greet. Our dog still needs work with that, and I'm considering enrolling him in intermediate classes as a refresher.

I do notice a different mentality between big and small dog owners. If my dog gets a nip or reprimanded by another dog, as long as it's not serious I don't care, and I seem to see that more often with big dog owners. However, I notice small dog owners tend to freak out more at such dog behavior. There is acceptable dog pack behavior, and then there is over the top, inappropriate behavior. It's okay for my dog to give a warning bark if he feels a dog is too pushy with him. It's not okay for him to flip out after the dog and that's when it's my responsibility to step in and stop and prevent such behavior.
 
I keep Amber right beside me tightly and keep her away from any other dog. I'm not taking any chances as I'd be afraid that another dog would attack her.
 
It depends on the other dog/walker. If the other dog is dragging their walker and looking generally out of control AND the dog has our dog in it's sights, we typically will cross the street pre-emptively.

If the other dog/walker looks calm, is walking calmly, and our dog is calm as well we usually will keep walking...there might be some meeting and sniffing, then we move on. Most of the times in our neighborhood this happens.

Our dog is pretty mellow but she's also small so if a dog coming towards us seems in any way like it could be an issue, we might also pick her up as well as crossing.

Recently this one guy had this crazy small terrier (ours is a terrier too) and it got away from him in the schoolyard (where it says no unleashed dogs), and raced over to our dog, found a HOLE in the fence, got through it and started totally jumping on our dog. It just wanted to play but WOW it was totally out of control, the guy couldn't even follow it much less keep it under control, we were right next to a street with cars, it was stressful. All we heard was screaming of the dog's name (it was dark out at night) and eventually the dog abandoned us and ran off and then did the same thing on the other side of the school--again with a fence.
 
kenny said:
Gee. Reading this thread has taught me that small dogs and their owners are bad.

Now I am ashamed I have small dogs. :nono:

More groupism.
Sigh.
Click to expand...
Kenny what I am talking about is a very small number of small dog owners that think it is funny that there dog is brave and gets in the face of bigger dogs.
Many big dogs will take it or even turn aside, but if it happens enough the little dog is going to get hurt/killed when they do it to the wrong big dog and it is the little dog owners fault.
 
Even as a small dog owner, I agree with what Haven said above. *ETA: And what Karl said.
 
The only time I've ever avoided another dog while walking was immediately after Byron's eye surgery. Otherwise I just keep them on leash in a heel. Both have their Canine Good Citizen certification which requires your dog to greet another dog in a friendly manner, though that doesn't mean they're always perfect. Bosun can be overly friendly and I use a gentle leader on him to make sure he doesn't break his heel.

As Byron gets older I sometimes worry about him if he were to meet an aggressive dog. He's so laid back, though, that dogs never bother him. Bo is a very energetic pup, which can be overwhelming for some dogs. Even in a heel he exudes energy. Bo is very socially secure, though. Very confident. Even slightly aggressive dogs don't phase him.

I have to admit, though, that neither of my dogs likes small dogs--they completely ignore the small ones. I think they might be size-ist :)
 
Little dog syndrome is an owner caused problem. Small dogs don't act that way because they think "I'm small, I need to overcompensate" they act that way because their owners allow them to behave in ways that larger dogs are not allowed to. They are allowed to sit in laps, hop up on furniture, sleep anywhere they want, be carried around, etc. etc. Owners feel small dogs need to be protected and almost always allow them to get attention on demand - that creates insecurity. You then see acting out whenever the dog feels unsure, they have to try to control a strange dog on a walk because they are the boss. Little dog behaviors are nothing more than normal behaviors for a dog that thinks it is in charge of controlling it's environment.

Imagine an 80lb lab that gets physically catered to like a 10lb dog and then not give it any obedience training and try to take it for a walk - what a nightmare that would be!

So, don't blame little dogs - they are just as wonderful as big dogs - IF they get treated like dogs and not accessories!
 
Great post, Waterlilly.
 
waterlilly said:
Little dog syndrome is an owner caused problem. Small dogs don't act that way because they think "I'm small, I need to overcompensate" they act that way because their owners allow them to behave in ways that larger dogs are not allowed to. They are allowed to sit in laps, hop up on furniture, sleep anywhere they want, be carried around, etc. etc. Owners feel small dogs need to be protected and almost always allow them to get attention on demand - that creates insecurity. You then see acting out whenever the dog feels unsure, they have to try to control a strange dog on a walk because they are the boss. Little dog behaviors are nothing more than normal behaviors for a dog that thinks it is in charge of controlling it's environment.

Imagine an 80lb lab that gets physically catered to like a 10lb dog and then not give it any obedience training and try to take it for a walk - what a nightmare that would be!

So, don't blame little dogs - they are just as wonderful as big dogs - IF they get treated like dogs and not accessories!
Click to expand...

Perfectly said!
 
I have a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. He is about 20 lbs. When we were taking obedience classes, we all had our dogs on our left sides with the lead in our left hands. When I walk Charlie, I want him to be closest to the curb, so we are on the left side of the road. I do this so he isn't close to traffic. When I work with him off lead--at home or in my yard--he always heels on my left side. I guess that I am curious. Most people I know who have been through obedience training and had their dogs achieve their Canine Good Citizen Awards seem to do this. Theoretically, you shouldn't run into a dog coming from the opposite direction. What am I missing here?
 
I agree about many small dog owners. I call it the "scoop up". Nine times out of ten if I'm walking the boys, a small dog owner will scoop his/her dog up when we get close. I understand that 300 lbs. of dog coming toward a <10 lb. dog can be intimidating--but why the scoop up? We can both make room for each other.

RS, I don't remember Bo's CGC very well for some reason--I do remember that he was showing that day and we just did the CGC on a whim after the Best in Group session. I wasn't sure if he would keep his 3-minute stay with me out of site because he was only 6 months old, but the tester told me he fell asleep and that's all I remember. I do remember Byron's because it was the first time I'd done it and I was a little nervous. It was at a newfoundland event, so the only dogs there were newfs. I remember we had them both on our left and the dogs greeted each other on the inside. I shook hands with the other dog owner like we knew each other. I remember joking that we could barely reach each other's hands because both of our dogs were so big.

The majority of the time we are walking our dogs the dogs greet each other on the inside. Most people do keep their dogs on the left, so it's inevitable. Just this weekend I was at a local park and had my two dogs on my left and another woman had three dogs on her left, so all 5 greeted each other on the inside and it was completely uneventful. A couple of sniffs and everybody was on their way.
 
I do agility, so a dog that only does a one side heal is a big no no!

I teach them what the command means and I slap my knee with my hand on whichever side I want them to heal to...I never understood the point of only teaching one side.
 
That's actually interesting, Waterlilly, the agility classes I've seen only seem to use left-hand heels. Agility meets in the ring next to my handling class, so I'll have to pay closer attention!
 
You definitely can't complete a run by keeping the dog on one side of you - though some people will go to great lengths to try! :D

There are moves such as front/rear/reverse crosses that you do to switch sides on the fly and some times the dog will be on one side as it enters an obstacle and be on the other when it comes out.

If a course moves counter clockwise around a ring - you are starting with the dog on your right, some obstacles are done twice in one run from opposite directions, etc. etc. You have to be able to control your dog with hand signals and body positioning regardless of what side they are on.

You should try! I love to see the big guys squeezing through the tunnels! ;)
 
waterlilly said:
I do agility, so a dog that only does a one side heal is a big no no!

I teach them what the command means and I slap my knee with my hand on whichever side I want them to heal to...I never understood the point of only teaching one side.
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We have trained in agility, too. When we are walking, we don't use our agility commands. We use our obedience commands. Charlie is a little guy and it's pretty funny to watch him go up and over the A frame :)
 
^^^In agility, if I want Charlie on my left side I use the command heel and tap my left leg. If I want him on the right, I say side and tap my right leg. I always want the left side to represent heel. Of course, there have been times when I messed up a front cross and sent the poor guy through the tunnel from the wrong direction, etc. :oops: One of our trainers only ran border collies. Charlie would do anything for her and do it correctly. She asked me to take one of her dogs around the course. It wiped up the course with me, but prompty administered first aid ;))
 
NewEnglandLady said:
I agree about many small dog owners. I call it the "scoop up". Nine times out of ten if I'm walking the boys, a small dog owner will scoop his/her dog up when we get close. I understand that 300 lbs. of dog coming toward a <10 lb. dog can be intimidating--but why the scoop up? We can both make room for each other.

RS, I don't remember Bo's CGC very well for some reason--I do remember that he was showing that day and we just did the CGC on a whim after the Best in Group session. I wasn't sure if he would keep his 3-minute stay with me out of site because he was only 6 months old, but the tester told me he fell asleep and that's all I remember. I do remember Byron's because it was the first time I'd done it and I was a little nervous. It was at a newfoundland event, so the only dogs there were newfs. I remember we had them both on our left and the dogs greeted each other on the inside. I shook hands with the other dog owner like we knew each other. I remember joking that we could barely reach each other's hands because both of our dogs were so big.

The majority of the time we are walking our dogs the dogs greet each other on the inside. Most people do keep their dogs on the left, so it's inevitable. Just this weekend I was at a local park and had my two dogs on my left and another woman had three dogs on her left, so all 5 greeted each other on the inside and it was completely uneventful. A couple of sniffs and everybody was on their way.
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I can only imagine Charlie meeting a Newf! They are gentle giants. My dog's breeder's mother is a respected AKC judge. She told me that if I ever have any doubts about another dog. to pick Charlie up. She emphasized that it was my job to protect him. This situation has rarely occurred. We do have a larger dog on our block who doesn't seem to have a brain in his head. I don't think he would hurt Charlie, but his owners leave him in the front yard without a leash. We live in a quiet neighborhood, but, IMO, they are risking that dog's life everyday. We have talked them about it, but they are "sure" that nothing will happen. I think they are nuts. That dog runs out into the street all the time :nono: Large or small, dogs need to be trained.
 
Last night when I was walking my big scary black dog, we came across a Bichon who was barking barking barking. My dog just stood there and let the barking dog greet her.

The owner commented on how well behaved my dog was and asked if I had done obedience training. I was so proud of my "little" girl.
 
I do #3 and it really pi$$es me off when people with those extending leashes let their dogs get right up in my dog's face. She is a rescue with a lot of anxiety issues and she needs to really get to know another dog to become comfortable with it. I am responsible, I always have my dog on a leash, I pull her close to me, put her into a sit and put myself in between the other dog and mine on the opposite side of the road. If that's not enough of a clue to leave us alone I don't know what is. Even when I say to people, she's a little scared, or she's not really good with other dogs I still have had to wind up having to walk up in someone's yard or hold my dog around the neck and stand still waiting for the morons to move by.

Sorry....I know I sound bitter, but I've lived in 4 states and continue to run into this ALL the TIME!
 
It depends on which dog I am walking. I have a small dog and a big dog, I don't often walk them together unless I'm with my fiance because the larger one is a handful. The small dog is a rescue and she is well-trained (I think training dogs is important at any size), but very anxious, especially around large dogs she does not know. Normally I try to avoid such dogs, but in a way that does not attract her attention. If I make a huge deal that we're crossing the street to get away from the larger dog, she thinks it's doubly important to "protect" me from that dog. The big dog, a lab, is so easy going and has had nothing bad happen in his life, so it's easy to pick up the pace a little, tighten the leash and tell him to leave it. He's usually on to something else in 5 minutes anyway.
 
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