During walks do you let your dog meet unfamiliar dogs?

[NewEnglandLady]

I've had many experiencs like Deb's. Owning a giant-breed dog changes the rules when it comes to socialization: 1. Many dogs will become defensive when around a giant breed and 2. You have to have control over a 150 lb. dog--no training is not an option.

Like other posters, I watch to make sure the dog and owner are both calm. No pulling, no barking and no posturing. I look for a calm dog and wagging or low tail. Even if the owner of the dog wants to stop and talk with me about Bo, I keep Bo in a sit or a tight heal and don't have him engage with the dog.

Bo is not perfect when it comes to greeting. I have worked with him over countless hours in countless settings and in the end, I started using a gentle leader to he won't pull to greet other dogs. For a long time I considered this a personal failure on my part, but in the end the tool works very well for us and it keeps him in a calm state.

Bo meets new dogs every day (the dogwalker and I rotate walks between four parks). He's met thousands of dogs and will likely meet thousands more and not all of them are perfect, but for the most part we've had very few issues. The only time we had an issue was at the dog park. Bo was sniffing a ball and another dog ran over and bit him. Bo only needed a couple of stitches, but my real fear is that it could have been much worse. We've only been back to the dog park twice since.

 

[madelise]

I always let my furball meet strangers. I think it's important for him to socialize. There aren't too many dogs where I live now, so he rarely gets to meet any.. At my last city, there was always at least a handful of other dogs being walked at the same exact moment we were walking.

I think dog owners need to be blunt about how their own dog behaves, though. My poor love got his back grabbed and bitten by a larger dog that didn't like that he was getting too close. That dog's owner should have told me that his dog didn't like being too touchy. I would have pulled away earlier. Every owner knows their own dog's personality best.

 

[snoopkat]

I have no issues with my Jack Russell Snoopy meeting new dogs, the only times where I make an exception is if they are outwardly aggressive towards him and if the owner shows no interest whatsoever in socialising their dog. Snoopy is quite well known around our neighbourhood (more people recognise him than me!) and he doesn't react when other dogs bark at him. He does get super hyper when either of us come home from work and for the first 5 minutes into his walk, he will be pulling at his lead so we tend to keep him around the block until he's burnt off that pent up energy before taking him to the dog park.

Some crazy lady came up to Snoopy while he was at the dog park yesterday and pulled a Caesar Milan move on him (finger in front of his face and making a SSHHH!) I wasn't there, but apparently all Snoopy did was go behind her dog (an husky) and sniffed his bum. No dramas, no aggression apart from her. That kind of behaviour makes me

 

[woofmama]

As an owner of giant schnauzers, which are one of the boldest breeds, I often have issues with people not understanding why their friendly dog can't approach my male, Mojo. He is very guard dog focused and really doesn't want to be friends with other dogs, which is a known breed trait. He is my fourth giant. I am very into training and understanding canine behavior. The average pet owner doesn't understand why my dog won't be friends. Ummm because he has zero interest and doesn't suffer fools gladly. With his humans he is marvelous and I dare to say, the smartest dog who ever lived.

I thought all who replied in this thread might be interested in reading this article: http://flyingdogpress.com/content/view/42/97/
There are loads of other great articles on her site and she authored a great book: Bones Would Rain from the Sky. One of my favorite dog books. And I have hundreds, really I'm a dog geek.

It's by a renowned trainer, Suzanne Clothier. Her work is legendary in dog training circles. She really makes you think about how dogs minds work and how they communicate.

I own a dog business, have shown my dogs and have done extensive training. Nothing gets me going more than to hear people accuse dogs of "being mean". Growling is a way for dogs to tell other dogs or people to back off. It is a warning before teeth come into play and dogs should never be punished for growling. Thats when they learn to just bite and people are shocked, "He bit with no warning, what an evil dog, maybe he should be put to sleep!" He would have warned you if he hadn't been punished in the past for growling.

Anyway, off my high horse about all that . All I want to add is if someone tells you not to approach their dog, Believe Them.
They know best and are trying to prevent a confrontation. And I don't go to dog parks, ever, even with my two friendlier dogs. We take nice walks on 6' leads. Clueless owners cause so much trouble. Just not worth the risk.

 

[webdiva]

As an owner of giant schnauzers, which are one of the boldest breeds, I often have issues with people not understanding why their friendly dog can't approach my male, Mojo. He is very guard dog focused and really doesn't want to be friends with other dogs, which is a known breed trait. He is my fourth giant. I am very into training and understanding canine behavior. The average pet owner doesn't understand why my dog won't be friends. Ummm because he has zero interest and doesn't suffer fools gladly. With his humans he is marvelous and I dare to say, the smartest dog who ever lived.

I thought all who replied in this thread might be interested in reading this article: http://flyingdogpress.com/content/view/42/97/
There are loads of other great articles on her site and she authored a great book: Bones Would Rain from the Sky. One of my favorite dog books. And I have hundreds, really I'm a dog geek.

It's by a renowned trainer, Suzanne Clothier. Her work is legendary in dog training circles. She really makes you think about how dogs minds work and how they communicate.

I own a dog business, have shown my dogs and have done extensive training. Nothing gets me going more than to hear people accuse dogs of "being mean". Growling is a way for dogs to tell other dogs or people to back off. It is a warning before teeth come into play and dogs should never be punished for growling. Thats when they learn to just bite and people are shocked, "He bit with no warning, what an evil dog, maybe he should be put to sleep!" He would have warned you if he hadn't been punished in the past for growling.

Anyway, off my high horse about all that . All I want to add is if someone tells you not to approach their dog, Believe Them.
They know best and are trying to prevent a confrontation. And I don't go to dog parks, ever, even with my two friendlier dogs. We take nice walks on 6' leads. Clueless owners cause so much trouble. Just not worth the risk.

x10000! I love that article! Every dog owner should read it.

I volunteer with a dog rescue and you'll be surprised at how many dog owners can't read body language. It's a huge help to be able to read dogs. For example, when a dog "wipes" their paws repeatedly - they are marking the ground, as much as they would be if they were peeing on it. It could be seen as a challenge by other dog, so keep your eye on them. Or that when a dog shakes, they are releasing tension. You'll see it after dogs greet each other, for example. They will probably walk away from each other and that greeting has gone well.

Good reminder on the not reprimanding growling, I had to teach that this weekend.

Great poster: http://fripouilleetvanilla.ch/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/DogBodyLanguagePoster.jpg

 

[Enerchi]

What a cute poster! Thanks webdiva

 

[woofmama]

[quote="webdiva

x10000! I love that article! Every dog owner should read it.

I volunteer with a dog rescue and you'll be surprised at how many dog owners can't read body language. It's a huge help to be able to read dogs. For example, when a dog "wipes" their paws repeatedly - they are marking the ground, as much as they would be if they were peeing on it. It could be seen as a challenge by other dog, so keep your eye on them. Or that when a dog shakes, they are releasing tension. You'll see it after dogs greet each other, for example. They will probably walk away from each other and that greeting has gone well.

Good reminder on the not reprimanding growling, I had to teach that this weekend.

Great poster: http://fripouilleetvanilla.ch/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/DogBodyLanguagePoster.jpg[/quote]

Webdiva I love that poster! I am going to get a large copy of it and hang it in my store. If you haven't already read Brenda Aloffs book Canine Body Language, you should get a copy. It's pricey but well worth the money, especially in working with rescue.
I host a rescue group in my store twice a month and do lots fo fundraisers for several groups. Very rewarding!

 

[webdiva]

Webdiva I love that poster! I am going to get a large copy of it and hang it in my store. If you haven't already read Brenda Aloffs book Canine Body Language, you should get a copy. It's pricey but well worth the money, especially in working with rescue.
I host a rescue group in my store twice a month and do lots fo fundraisers for several groups. Very rewarding!

Thank you for hosting rescue groups! It's so important! Just in LA county alone, 17,000 healthy adoptable animals get killed every year because we can't find enough adopters. Posters like this, training for the owners and more responsible pet parents would cut that number down dramatically. I'll check out that book!

 

[AGBF]

Tail of an Untrained Giant Breed Dog​

While out proudly walking Griffin correctly this morning, him on my left, the leash a bit slack between us, but short enough for control, I saw a couple coming from the other direction with what (I thought) was an unfamiliar yellow Lab. I didn't see it at first, but the Lab had to have been off leash because I saw the man put the dog onto the leash as they approached us. (We have a leash law. I had been in compliance; he had not!) It was only 6:00 AM. I had Griffin under good control and we were on the sidewalk. The couple with the Lab seemed to be heading for the street to walk by us.

Suddenly Griffin gave a mighty pull and lunged towards the Lab (with obvious friendly intent). This is not his usual behavior! I had to let go or be pulled onto my face on the asphalt. I ran up to the people an explained that he was gentle, just intimidating due to his size. They said that, "Maggie" thought he was a bear. I was trying to step on his leash and he was pulling and I went down in a heap on the ground. The couple were asking if I was OK. They gave me Griffin's leash. They again asked if I was sure I was OK, because the fall was rather dramatic into wet grass and leaves. It wasn't until Griffin and I were underway again that I realized the man had said that, "Maggie" thought Griffin was a bear! Maggie is a dog he absolutely adores and whimpers for every time he passes her house! I have trained him to walk on a leash by Maggie's house without stopping, but I wasn't prepared to meet Maggie suddenly on a walk! There are ten thousand yellow Labs and Golden Retrievers in my area. How was I supposed to guess that Maggie would be out and he would recognize her and go wild? I should also mention that we have met Maggie's owners before, more than once. Griffin has annoyed her at her house!!! (My daughter used to let him stop to "visit" Maggie when she walked him! I think the owner wanted to shoot him...and my daughter!!! I put a stop to the "visits" when I learned of them.)

At any rate, that's my humiliating story for the day. I'm the dog owner that everybody hates.

Deb/AGBF

 

[kenny]

Wow, Deb.
Glad you're okay after that fall.

 

[Enerchi]

Oh dear!!! Hope you are ok AGBF/Deb and nothing hurt but your pride. That is a funny story, tho, when you are able to look back on it!

True love, eh??? There is no explaining what the heart wants and clearly, Griffin has a 'thing' for Maggie!!

 

[lyra]

I hope you didn't suffer any injuries Deb! I ended up in crutches once after a very short walk with my very big dog. He did nothing wrong. We were walking back from the mailbox up the hill, and for some dumb reason I stepped on his foot, which led to him jumping forward and to the side. I ended up tripping and tumbling off the curb and onto the street, badly spraining my ankle. I hopped on one foot as far as I could for the one block home. Then, I ended up crawling up my driveway. So embarrassing! Not the dog's fault at all, just that big dogs have a lot of pull power!

 

[AGBF]

Thanks for the kind words, everyone. I twisted my ankle in the living room about three weeks ago for absolutely no reason that I could figure out. I just, suddenly, went down. I was very lucky that-although it was swollen and sore-it didn't impede my walking!

Most of my falls, however, have been due to Griffin in the past year and a half. He likes to play "sack the quarterback" in the front yard, and often mistakes me for the quarterback. Once the two visiting vets we use (a husband and wife team) had gone to their car to get a receipt, leaving Griffin and me in the fenced-in front yard. While they were at the car (for about two minutes) he knocked me down, then decided to lie down next to me and nuzzle me, which is where the astonished vets saw us when they returned to our gate! I have decided I must have pretty good bones (knock wood) since I haven't (yet) broken any bones during all my Griffin-induced falls! Maybe he is going to keep me young. Or maybe I will end up crippled, like old football and hockey players!

Deb/AGBF