i know everyone always complains about unfriendly aggressive dogs....i have the opposite question!

what is the appropriate/best way to deal with off-leash dogs not under the control of their owners but friendly?

i've just been thinking - my bf and i were out with teagan and nebekenezzer monday for a few hours and were in a park. we were approached by a friendly off-leash dog, from the behind, which was about 400M ahead of it's owner. i immediately put teagan into a sit behind me, and my bf (who had neb) stood between the dog and neb. i firmly and loudly told the dog 'NO' which it completely ignored, and i yelled to it's owner, 'my dog is NOT friendly, please get your dog now'. she called it, and it ignored her. it was closer to neb, the dog wouldn't come that close to teagan - who was sitting very well, but she was 'ready', like she was about to spring - but i don't want friendly or unfriendly dogs approaching ANY of my dogs. after a few moments the dog took off down a trail near us after another dog (who's owner was coming from the other direction and did a quick turn when i'd called out that my dog wasn't friendly).

but this owner just kept sauntering along! she called her dog twice, it didn't come, and then she just stopped and kept walking slowly. !!!!!!

the dog came back, and was dancing around us, though more by neb. i moved, so teagan moved with me, and all of a sudden the owner started running (i realized that when i'd called out that my dog wasn't friendly, my bf and i were both blocking view of teagan, so she probably thought i was referring to little neb - but when we moved, and teagan was behind us and closest to her, she obviously saw her then and i'm sure that's why she suddenly started running), caught up to her dog, without a word put on a lead and then hustled off quickly.

we basically blocked the dog, and shoved it with our feet. i don't want to kick a friendly dog, but....how do you apppropriately get rid of them? most dogs won't come too close to teagan, but i do have luc (wimp) and neb (normal but a puppy) to think about. luc and i's trail run the day before was full of off-leash friendly dogs (i caught all by the collar, which is not an option if teagan is around). it also worries me, b/c teagan is muzzled, but i just don't want to take any chances with strange dogs getting too close. for their own sake and for mine, frankly.

eta: and it's not like i take teagan, or any of the dogs, into off-leash areas. and i'm not going to stop taking teagan out on walks b/c she's aggressive, she needs socialization all the more b/c of it.

Personally, I treat all unknown dogs the same- as aggressive threats.

Even if they aren't aggressive towards the dog or myself, they could be carrying disease.

I would do pretty much what you did in that situation- stand between my dog and the strange dog, and use my feet to keep the dog away.

Of course, I've usually got an ASP on me when I'm out with my dog, that works well as both a weapon, and as a way to hold the dog away at a distance.

 Quote: alyssa myracle

Personally, I treat all unknown dogs the same- as aggressive threats.

Me too. And you just never know how 2 usually-friendly dogs will react to each other. The signs that it's about to go to hell are so quick and subtle to my inexperienced eyes that I wouldn't ever want to chance it.

I think these off-lead owners are rude and irresponsible and I really resent having to deal with them and their dogs on my walk...however "nice" and "friendly" they may be.

I think you did the right thing...although Alyssa's ASP sounds like a pretty cool thing to have on-hand.

I agree with Alyssa and Sarah. Owners do not really know what their dog will do in all situations. I am very to the point in these potential confrontations. I always carry pepper spray and I have and will use it. I tell the owner to control their dog. If the dog is still out of control, I warn them that if they don't control their dog, I will and they won't like the results. This usually has a remarkable effect on their ability to handle the dog.

i had to google ASP....i've never actually seen collapsible batons before!

i agree mary, it's one reason why i'm not comfortable with it. luc trusts me now and stays calm when other dogs approach us, b/c he knows i'll handle it. when we were back at the trailhead after our run sunday, yet another dog (and to all appearances friendly) approached us while i was changing my shoes - it was actually on a flexi lead, so i stupidly thought the owners wouldn't let it come over to us. i got between the dogs and firmly stopped it while calling out 'sorry, my dog is nervous around strange dogs' which i thought was nice and explanatory. the guy said 'oh don't worry, my dog is friendly' and then stood there and left his dog next to me (and very close to luc). i said 'yes, but my dog is a wimp. he's scared of strange dogs' and only then did he take his dog away. i really don't get the 'all dogs must want to greet other dogs' but that the thing that really kills me is all these placid dogs i see in parks who seem to have no problem with it. but we had a couple of dogs on the trail as well approach us and the owners were all 'my dog's friendly' and - yeah, so i get to do my 'my dog isn't comfortable with strange dogs' schpiel, but how ignorant that you would assume all dogs want strange dogs to approach them. and right face to face to, luc does not like that. maybe it's b/c i have a fearful dog and an aggressive dog, but i just don't get it.

i will say, neb was good with the strange dog. he wasn't friendly, but he was completely unconcerned. i was really proud of teagan - i think being in a new place helped since it probably tempered her territoriality - we had a friendly off-leash dog come up to us in the yard once, pre-her attack and therefore pre-muzzle, and i kicked it fairly hard, but that was for it's own protection....she lost it when it entered our yard.

i'm pretty good with kicking dogs that are aggressive - that's always been effective for me. i guess i just feel guilty kicking a dog that seems like a goofy dog not doing anything wrong, albeit ignoring it's owner. i was so furious at her....i wanted to turn around and scream 'do you want me to take my dog's muzzle off? will you hurry up then? do you want to know what she did to the last dog?' but that obviously would have been incredibly inappropriate. but i was just like - for a long time, she wasn't muzzled. and most dogs stay away from her, b/c she stares them down, and this dog was definitely more in neb's realm, but i don't understand how people can be told there is a dog who is not good with other dogs and not care that their dog is by that dog. without them. which i suppose is more of an owner rant though....

i thought of trying to walk away with neb and teagan, but i was worried the dog would follow us. maybe i need to be more firm physically in the future....knowing my luck i'd drop teagan's leash grabbing a baton, maybe i'll stick with kicking for now, and maybe instead of saying my dog isn't friendly, i should say that my dog will attack theirs. hopefully that would prompt faster owner action.

This is a place where dogs are legally required to be leashed (or under control)?

Yes, it's not an off-leash park.

(I'd never take any of the dogs to one....I used to in the first few weeks I had Luc, so he could learn that he didn't need to be scared of dogs....even me in my complete ignorance quickly figured out that wasn't working. But Teagan and off-leash parks=very bad idea, and it's not what I'm interested in for Neb either).

And I don't think that I should not take Teagan to places where dogs are supposed to be under control and on leash - this is a large park, it's not like a couple of fields, it's 36.5 acres, which for in the city is a decent size. She needs exercise, and she needs to be socialized. I do as much as possible minimize meeting dogs - I don't allow her to, assuming they're leashed - but I don't know, I think she needs that. And it's good for Neb too. It's just a couple of kilometres from my house, it has trails through it, it's a nice place to utilize for the dogs. There's one area there where people do seem to have their dogs off-leash, even though they're not supposed to, and we avoid it.

 Quote: jennifer mullen

but i don't understand how people can be told there is a dog who is not good with other dogs and not care that their dog is by that dog. without them. which i suppose is more of an owner rant though....

Jennifer,

They're stupid. It's rampant. You'll never figure it out beyond that<g>.

IMO, you're being way too nice to go into such long explanations to them. Don't waste time trying to explain the nuances of Teagan's issues...just say your dog isn't friendly. Keep your dog away. Very short sentences they can understand. Even then, they will often ignore you.

One of my biggest pet peeves is when people ask, "Is your dog friendly?" which they seem to equate with, "Can my dog come up to yours?" Two totally different questions. I no longer try to explain...I just say "NO." "Keep your dog away." Period.

People who have their dogs off lead without having voice control over them always make me nuts<g>. That's most of the pet owners you encounter out in the world, regardless of where you are.

I know it can be a bit difficult for a naturally nice person to behave in what feels like a rude fashion, but these irresponsible owners don't get "nice" or "detailed." Just say no, and keep away<g>.

leih

I used to want to be gentle with the apparently friendly dogs that would approach us. You know, the nicely but persistently shoving them off with my leg kind of deal…

My neighbor (who is also my tenant) has a wonderful, friendly male chocolate lab. He is a sweet dog that I have handled on numerous occasions. Through our shared fence (six foot wooden privacy fence) he is a sweet heart to both of my dogs and has NEVER offered a bark at us. My dogs return the favor. Chance, the Lab, plays regularly at the dog park and with neighborhood dogs and while exuberant, is friendly with them all.

While getting out of the car from training my Quinn had his agitation harness on and was leashed and following me to my door. Chance, who was also leashed, pulled the un expecting owners leash right out of their hands and attacked Quinn. He grabbed the harness at the neck and would not let go through kicking hitting and ear pulling. I was able to keep Quinn from getting him, since Chance had only the harness. The reaction was, “He has NEVER done that!” I believe them, but it has now…

A month later, while returning from a 10 mile run (for the dog, I was on a bike ) Chance ripped through the screen door (bent the metal screen out) and again attacked Quinn; the “do not stop at go” kind of attack… We tried to separate them with Ed’s method, but Chance had grabbed a hold of Quinn’s Lead that was attached to the DD collar and prong. He was choking Quinn out. We tried the water hose, and nothing was working. Quinn got Chance pinned, and would try to walk away and Chance would attack again. It finally took me holding Quinn and FOUR people to PRY (literally) Chance’s jaws open and then drag him away.

I know this dog is friendly with other dogs. I have watched him interact with many; while I didn’t approve, it was their dog. He is a really good boy, but hates mine with a passion that none can understand. They are fine through the fence, and I have never allowed interaction outside of it for it to have been a bad experience kind of deal.

Now, even if the owner is screaming, “He is a friendly dog!” I behave as if he is vicious. Even friend's dogs…