@cobondservant Along the same lines as "don't worry, he's friendly !" would be "don't worry, he's a puppy !" for me. This is the 2nd time in the passed few weeks I've been chased by dogs while walking. 4 dogs in total, all 'harmless puppies' who also happened to be a huge, unleashed, and reactive dogs. Puppies can be just as threatening as fully grown dogs people !!
Monthly Off-Leash Dog Rant Megathread
- Thread starter cobondservant
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- reactive dogs
annaboleyn
New member
@cobondservant I have one that just happened today! I was at a public park that has access to a dog park inside of it. It’s inside of a mega shopping center/mall and a large number of luxury apartments. Saying that it is an on leash park as it gives access to different parts of the residential area and crosses into parts of shopping district.
My dogs reactivity is at a point now where I can walk him around the shopping and bar area during low traffic and the residential areas for a structured walk and end my training with some play at the park (on a line) and then train some calm and obedience outside of the dog park (I always stay a good 20-50 feet away and not directly in front of the entrance).
Well I go to the public park side and as usual there are two three dogs off leash spread through the park. It’s usually fine as they are at a distance and most people are recalling them back to them. My dog is not aggressive nor is he fearful of dogs. We actually train to work on his hyper arousal when he sees dogs and fixation to greet and play.
Usually I will politely tell someone if there dog is coming over, “my dog is training. He can’t play right now.” And everyone so far has understand that is fine especially since this entire part of the park is suppose to be on leash, like there are signs everywhere.
Well today I was sitting with my dog in the shade about 50 feet from the dog park hand feeding him his kibble while he calmly watched the dogs. I see this guy and his dog walks up and he looks at the dog and doesn’t recall it. So I say, “hey I’m actually training right now with food. Can you recall your dog. Mine can’t play right now.”
He immediately gets offended and goes, “well my dog is friendly, you shouldn’t bring an aggressive dog to the park. Dogs are going to play together.”
So I say, “I never said he wasn’t friendly, I said he was training and I have food on me.”
And he said, “well you can’t expect dogs not to go up to other dogs.”
And I immediately said, “yes I can, this is an leash park. There is a sign right next to you that says that.”
So then he goes on and on about how it doesn’t matter, everyone uses it as a dog park anyways, and the cops come by and haven’t said anything so it’s fine.
So immediately respond, “that doesn’t change the fact that the sign says that your dog should be on leash. I’ll asked was for you to recall your dog.”
And oh boy does he get mad. He tells me that I’m being mouthy and to go fuck myself and sends his dog to go sniff. Again my dog isn’t aggressive but I just grab his dog by the collar while restraining mine and move the dog back (the entire time I’ve been sitting on the ground while this dude tries to stand over me and get in my face). I very calmly tell him that was stupid because if my dog was aggressive and bot his it would be his fault since the dog was not restrained.
So he goes around again and tells me to go fuck myself and then has a pity party further into the park (it’s not a very big park). We are literally two of maybe five people there not counting the two people in the dog park.
After he tried cussing me out I just ignored him and continued training my dog, I think after I grabbed his dog and just calmly moved her, he realized I wasn’t going to feed into his bullshit. At the end of all of it he did end up going all the way to the other side of the park and eventually leaving quickly after. I do pity that dog though, as someone who lives super close and worked at bars in the shopping area there are actually a lot of reactive dogs, under socialized dogs put over threshold, and dog aggressive dogs living in that community. Eventually his dog is likely to get attacked by another dog if he doesn’t learn to restrain and at least ask to interact with other dogs.
My dogs reactivity is at a point now where I can walk him around the shopping and bar area during low traffic and the residential areas for a structured walk and end my training with some play at the park (on a line) and then train some calm and obedience outside of the dog park (I always stay a good 20-50 feet away and not directly in front of the entrance).
Well I go to the public park side and as usual there are two three dogs off leash spread through the park. It’s usually fine as they are at a distance and most people are recalling them back to them. My dog is not aggressive nor is he fearful of dogs. We actually train to work on his hyper arousal when he sees dogs and fixation to greet and play.
Usually I will politely tell someone if there dog is coming over, “my dog is training. He can’t play right now.” And everyone so far has understand that is fine especially since this entire part of the park is suppose to be on leash, like there are signs everywhere.
Well today I was sitting with my dog in the shade about 50 feet from the dog park hand feeding him his kibble while he calmly watched the dogs. I see this guy and his dog walks up and he looks at the dog and doesn’t recall it. So I say, “hey I’m actually training right now with food. Can you recall your dog. Mine can’t play right now.”
He immediately gets offended and goes, “well my dog is friendly, you shouldn’t bring an aggressive dog to the park. Dogs are going to play together.”
So I say, “I never said he wasn’t friendly, I said he was training and I have food on me.”
And he said, “well you can’t expect dogs not to go up to other dogs.”
And I immediately said, “yes I can, this is an leash park. There is a sign right next to you that says that.”
So then he goes on and on about how it doesn’t matter, everyone uses it as a dog park anyways, and the cops come by and haven’t said anything so it’s fine.
So immediately respond, “that doesn’t change the fact that the sign says that your dog should be on leash. I’ll asked was for you to recall your dog.”
And oh boy does he get mad. He tells me that I’m being mouthy and to go fuck myself and sends his dog to go sniff. Again my dog isn’t aggressive but I just grab his dog by the collar while restraining mine and move the dog back (the entire time I’ve been sitting on the ground while this dude tries to stand over me and get in my face). I very calmly tell him that was stupid because if my dog was aggressive and bot his it would be his fault since the dog was not restrained.
So he goes around again and tells me to go fuck myself and then has a pity party further into the park (it’s not a very big park). We are literally two of maybe five people there not counting the two people in the dog park.
After he tried cussing me out I just ignored him and continued training my dog, I think after I grabbed his dog and just calmly moved her, he realized I wasn’t going to feed into his bullshit. At the end of all of it he did end up going all the way to the other side of the park and eventually leaving quickly after. I do pity that dog though, as someone who lives super close and worked at bars in the shopping area there are actually a lot of reactive dogs, under socialized dogs put over threshold, and dog aggressive dogs living in that community. Eventually his dog is likely to get attacked by another dog if he doesn’t learn to restrain and at least ask to interact with other dogs.
@annaboleyn i need you next to me on my walks because I only panic and can't handle the situations very well 
annaboleyn
New member
@lpwillia I worked security for years and have been a bartender for many more. I unfortunately have dealt with way too many aggressive and belligerent people in my life and can tell when someone is just posturing. I also have an extensive background in competitive fighting of different mediums so I’m not scared of someone trying to physically threaten me because I will more than likely just hurt them be it physical restraining or a self defense weapon once my extensive patience is at its limits. Unless you have a gun and that’s still a toss up (I’m someone so crazy in high stress situations that I casually walked away from an armed robber and told him no when he wanted me to go into our office where he was holding my boss at gun point) I’m not going to be intimidated.
I’m saying that sometimes it is best to walk away and not even give the person your time of day. I try to just be proactive majority of the time and just leave when I run into assholes in the wild. But today I was sitting down and had all my stuff out already so by the time we started arguing I wouldn’t have been able to pack up my stuff and just leave.
If you have an active animal control calling on them and reporting the area for loose dogs will probably be much more effective. For aggressive people carry some pepper spray. No one deserves to be harassed by over entitled strangers and if someone is attempting to stop you from leaving and you feel endangered spray the shit out of them.
I’m saying that sometimes it is best to walk away and not even give the person your time of day. I try to just be proactive majority of the time and just leave when I run into assholes in the wild. But today I was sitting down and had all my stuff out already so by the time we started arguing I wouldn’t have been able to pack up my stuff and just leave.
If you have an active animal control calling on them and reporting the area for loose dogs will probably be much more effective. For aggressive people carry some pepper spray. No one deserves to be harassed by over entitled strangers and if someone is attempting to stop you from leaving and you feel endangered spray the shit out of them.
black_bear
New member
@cobondservant Oh god I just made a post about this, it happened today. My dog was leashed and this other dog was off leash with no owner in sight and came running at us, it got right up in my dog’s face and as I tried to pick my 65 pound dog up he redirected on me and bit my hand. I feel defeated.
littleangelic
New member
@cobondservant Not in the last month but I do want to share my experience I've had.
When we had recently adopted our reactive German Shepherd mix (her breed has relevancy to the story), we were doing the 3 3 3 rule. We had recently started implementing daily walks as part of her routine and she was enjoying her walks. One day we were leaving the house for a walk and all of the sudden I see at the distance my neighbor washing their car and I noticed her dog was off leash. Her dog ran towards our dog and my dog was getting ready to lunge and bark. My neighbor had no sense of urgency and wasn't trying to immediately get her dog. She was simply walking ever so slowly with no worries meanwhile my partner and I were trying to control the situation. What's worse is that when she picked up her dog she never apologized when we had mentioned to her please get a hold of her dog. Her dog was a tiny little shih tzu and I knew for a fact that my dog being a german shepherd was going to be 100% blamed all because of her breed.
The most recent one was an off leash dog ran towards my dog and I was walking her by myself. The owner's dog wasn't around and I want to say it wasn't a stray because the dog looked pretty upkept and clean. I had to carry my dog in my arms and I screamed for help and no one came to the rescue. I was so traumatized I didn't want to walk my dog for days after that.
When we had recently adopted our reactive German Shepherd mix (her breed has relevancy to the story), we were doing the 3 3 3 rule. We had recently started implementing daily walks as part of her routine and she was enjoying her walks. One day we were leaving the house for a walk and all of the sudden I see at the distance my neighbor washing their car and I noticed her dog was off leash. Her dog ran towards our dog and my dog was getting ready to lunge and bark. My neighbor had no sense of urgency and wasn't trying to immediately get her dog. She was simply walking ever so slowly with no worries meanwhile my partner and I were trying to control the situation. What's worse is that when she picked up her dog she never apologized when we had mentioned to her please get a hold of her dog. Her dog was a tiny little shih tzu and I knew for a fact that my dog being a german shepherd was going to be 100% blamed all because of her breed.
The most recent one was an off leash dog ran towards my dog and I was walking her by myself. The owner's dog wasn't around and I want to say it wasn't a stray because the dog looked pretty upkept and clean. I had to carry my dog in my arms and I screamed for help and no one came to the rescue. I was so traumatized I didn't want to walk my dog for days after that.
@cobondservant We were going for a walk with my dog and our new puppy when another puppy ran from across the street. My dog got a good latch on the little guy and scared him pretty bad. I think she was more reactive because she was being protective of the new puppy. Of course it was a neighbor up the street, so the whole block heard about it. I feel like my dog is probably being labeled as a monster. I don’t even like walking her around the neighborhood now because I’m afraid of people thinking she’s dangerous.
gourmetcandy
New member
@cobondservant I was out on a little used hiking trail on an early Monday morning (he loves hiking but we have to pick times where we’re unlikely to see other dogs out there). Things were going well until we got to the water and someone had their dog out there running around and weren’t even watching him. He comes running up to my dog and I’m trying to stay calm so as not to freak my dog out more but I’m also trying to get the owner’s attention. Sure enough the dog gets to my dog and my dog goes on the defensive. I had to break them up myself until the owner finally realized where her dog was. The lady had the audacity to act like it was somehow my fault (“MY dog is friendly”), whereas my dog was leashed and we were keeping our distance. Why can’t people understand that A. You have a responsibility as a dog owner to keep your dog leashed and to keep a close eye on them if they’re not and B. Just because your dog is friendly doesn’t mean you can let them invade other dogs’ space?!
onestrongwriter
New member
@cobondservant I live next to people who just let the dogs run amok so taking my dog for a walk or to the car for a ride is terrifying. I’m so tired of it .
@cobondservant I live in an area where people have a lot of large dog breeds, one particular owner has two beautiful cane corsos that he lets loose inside a certain area of the park. This area is not meant for dogs and there are multiple exists and I am always afraid to encounter them as they have tried to chase me and my dog more than once. The owner yells at them but one of them always seems particularly locked on my dog and has even tried to jump the three foot high fence to get to us before. Just yesterday a man on the street had a loose pitbull (nothing against the breed just irresponsible owners) and when I told him that my dog was reactive and he should leash his dog he not only did not react by doing so but just said “don’t you train your dog?”
A couple weeks ago we were walking through a park and a dog came racing towards us, we managed to run away (he chased us for half a block) and the owner finally caught up to her dog. I had told her to leash him but once she caught up she just stood there and I had to yell at her to leash him again. This caught the dog’s attention and we were chased AGAIN for another block. I left but never saw the dog leashed.
I’ve had owners of loose dogs tell me I’m the one reacting badly by running away from their dog AS the dog chased us with clear intent.
A couple weeks ago we were walking through a park and a dog came racing towards us, we managed to run away (he chased us for half a block) and the owner finally caught up to her dog. I had told her to leash him but once she caught up she just stood there and I had to yell at her to leash him again. This caught the dog’s attention and we were chased AGAIN for another block. I left but never saw the dog leashed.
I’ve had owners of loose dogs tell me I’m the one reacting badly by running away from their dog AS the dog chased us with clear intent.
firebird8080
New member
@cobondservant My stupid boomer neighbors think their small dogs running off-leash is cute. We have a park nearby and there's always a few idiots who have their pups running in a field without a leash. At least buy a 50-100 ft one or something.
Also, my neighbor a couple of houses down from us, has a bunch of small white dogs who often escape through the front door and run at my Sheepadoodle. He's reactive and while he's gotten better, he reverts at times.
Just yesterday, some kid was running behind their dog with one of those expanding leashes. He ran across the street to our house and wanted to playfight with my dog. My dog didn't like it and was shaken up.
Also, my neighbor a couple of houses down from us, has a bunch of small white dogs who often escape through the front door and run at my Sheepadoodle. He's reactive and while he's gotten better, he reverts at times.
Just yesterday, some kid was running behind their dog with one of those expanding leashes. He ran across the street to our house and wanted to playfight with my dog. My dog didn't like it and was shaken up.
@cobondservant Saw a giant dog wandering around unattended today with the owner nowhere in sight and he approached my dog. We quickly moved away but he started following us. I didn't know what to do. This dog was 3x the size of my dog. Then we turn a corner and there was the idiot owner holding a leash with a baby strapped to him. I told him, you need to leash your dog. He said "ok" and I cursed at him. I was so pissed, I don't care if his dog is "friendly". Your dog wanders up to the wrong dog or person something bad is going to happen. I am proud of my dog for staying calm though because he is terrified of larger dogs.
littleangelic
New member
dramatic444
New member
@cobondservant Some woman walking her chihuahua off leash. Jake and I were in training mode and he was doing well when all of a sudden I see him come to a halt and his ears perk up. Next thing I know I see this chihuahua charging towards us from a side street. To top it off there was a car coming down the street Jake and I were on. I was struggling to control Jake cause it totally caught me off guard and I was concerned knowing this car was coming, not very fast cause it was still in a residential area, but still. Then I see and hear this lady running after her chihuahua. The car slowed way down, Jake did get away from me as he is 95 lbs of muscle, the chihuahua ran out in front of the car with Jake now chasing the chihuahua. The lady is screaming for me to get my dog. Jake and the chihuahua just run in circles barking at each other. I finally get Jake, then she grabs her chihuahua. I yelled something like “keep your dog on leash” but with a few swear words. As the lady walks down the street and gets ahead of us a ways, she puts the chihuahua down on the ground again but she was far enough away and moving in the same direction that Jake didn’t really care as much. I yelled again “ put your dog on a leash”. That whole situation infuriated me but also thinking she not only didn’t have a leash with her but also no poop bags and you can’t tell me that dog didn’t poop in someone’s yard and she left it there.
Her dog could’ve gotten killed by the car or my dog could have gotten injured or killed or me. I haven’t seen her since that day and it is fine with me.
Her dog could’ve gotten killed by the car or my dog could have gotten injured or killed or me. I haven’t seen her since that day and it is fine with me.
@cobondservant My dog was attacked badly by my exes dog and ever since doesn’t like other dogs. I am still scared as well after seeing that - but I try to stay calm when other dogs approach and have definitely been more vocal about telling people to move or hey can you wait until we cross.
There’s one couple in my neighborhood who has two dogs, one on leash and one off. Every time I see them I try to avoid but unfortunately w e crossed paths and their dog off leash ran up to my dog. I said as he was coming over my dog doesn’t like other dogs and was attacked and is very afraid - dog still came over. Sniffed my dog and the owners say oh he’s so friendly. My dog doesn’t care if your dog is friendly or not - and then the rest of the walk she was totally over threshold. We have made a lot of progress and every time this happens - it’s one step back.
I have been doing some training with her in the front yard - always on leash but if I see someone with a dog out - we wait until I know they are at the distance she’s okay with right now and I keep her calm / she will sit and watch me.
Now one ladies dog got out the front door and ran up on my girl - she sat and I was holding her trying to calm her as I saw the dog coming - she did a warning bark to the dog - which the dog backed off and the lady actually said her dog deserved that - and apologized profusely as she could see my dog was terrified.
Edit - especially leash a dog in a neighborhood. If you want your dog off leash so bad, take it somewhere where it’s you alone.
There’s one couple in my neighborhood who has two dogs, one on leash and one off. Every time I see them I try to avoid but unfortunately w e crossed paths and their dog off leash ran up to my dog. I said as he was coming over my dog doesn’t like other dogs and was attacked and is very afraid - dog still came over. Sniffed my dog and the owners say oh he’s so friendly. My dog doesn’t care if your dog is friendly or not - and then the rest of the walk she was totally over threshold. We have made a lot of progress and every time this happens - it’s one step back.
I have been doing some training with her in the front yard - always on leash but if I see someone with a dog out - we wait until I know they are at the distance she’s okay with right now and I keep her calm / she will sit and watch me.
Now one ladies dog got out the front door and ran up on my girl - she sat and I was holding her trying to calm her as I saw the dog coming - she did a warning bark to the dog - which the dog backed off and the lady actually said her dog deserved that - and apologized profusely as she could see my dog was terrified.
Edit - especially leash a dog in a neighborhood. If you want your dog off leash so bad, take it somewhere where it’s you alone.
slowmarathoner
New member
@cobondservant Our dog is not really reacting in the agressive manner but she's definitely very interested every time she sees a dog, like fixating and not wanting to move anymore. I feel that every time an offeash dog runs directly at us every progress we've made in training since the last time that happens goes away. Because our dog doesn't bark/growl the other owners seem to think everything is perfectly ok. There are really nice walking paths around where we live (river, forest) which I feel we just can't use because of the off-leash dogs and particularly the owners that don't seem to care. Instead we most often keep to the paved paths that are less popular. I don't think it's fair that in order to use the nicer paths we'd need to jump extra hoops.
Note: I'm ok with my dog playing with another dog while both dogs are off leash and there was an acknowledgement from the humans involved, but dogs just running to us when on leash either ingoring their recall cue or the humans ignoring to even call them is beyond frustrating.
Note: I'm ok with my dog playing with another dog while both dogs are off leash and there was an acknowledgement from the humans involved, but dogs just running to us when on leash either ingoring their recall cue or the humans ignoring to even call them is beyond frustrating.
agedintheozarks
New member
@cobondservant People that walk towards a barking and growling dog, why?
@agedintheozarks Sometimes no other option. I’m all for avoiding conflict no matter what I think will happen I will make every effort to go another way even a longer one if necessary. People do this to me. I now have a small cute 12lb pup and she is very clear about her boundaries - don’t touch my mom and don’t come any closer. People ignore because they are overloaded by her cuteness . I have to explain she is not in the mood. Ofcourse I get oh she’s wagging oh she looks so friendly. Again she’s not in the moody know my dog.
tidius_cornelius
New member
@cobondservant The weather is beautiful out today so my husband and I were walking our 3 dogs around closeby streets. Some woman was in her yard doing yard work and my husband calls to me that her dog is running toward ours. The woman tries to recall her dog 3-4 times and the dog completely ignores her.
I am walking the two smallest dogs (and pregnant as well) and I immediately pull them away quickly while putting my body between the dog and them. My husband is walking our bigger dog and the loose dog runs right towards her. Our dog tried to nip at her but seems like she didn’t get her. The woman finally got her dog and apologized as we kept trying to walk away.
I can’t help but feel sad and shameful that my dog nipped even though I know it was that persons dog who ran toward us and left our leashed dog with nowhere to go. I especially feel bad because her dog seemed friendly and I am so scared it could’ve been hurt.
I am walking the two smallest dogs (and pregnant as well) and I immediately pull them away quickly while putting my body between the dog and them. My husband is walking our bigger dog and the loose dog runs right towards her. Our dog tried to nip at her but seems like she didn’t get her. The woman finally got her dog and apologized as we kept trying to walk away.
I can’t help but feel sad and shameful that my dog nipped even though I know it was that persons dog who ran toward us and left our leashed dog with nowhere to go. I especially feel bad because her dog seemed friendly and I am so scared it could’ve been hurt.