unreasonable behaviour???

Question

Yesterday lunchtime i drove my two dogs to a field for dogs. I let them off their leads. about ten mins after i got there a lady arrived with her dog on a lead. My lab went over to say hello and bounced around a bit. He did NOT bark, he did NOT touch the dog in any way. he was just asking it to play. The lady then began to shout at my dog and push him away because he was scaring her dog, i called him and it did take him about 30 seconds before he left to come back. Is this woman unreasonable?? surely if you don't want to let your dog play with others or off its lead then you should not go to a dog walking park??

Answer 1

I agree with the other dog owner. a couple of my dogs are not dog friendly so are on a lead under control if we are somewhere other dogs are likely to be.
there is nothing worse than a strange dog bouncing around harassing my dogs.
the dog could have been aggressive towards other dogs & your dog could have been bitten.

Answer 2

I can say for sure that her dog probably WAS scared - but only because she had it on a leash. Dogs do not like to be approached by other dogs while on a leash, because they feel trapped.

You did the right thing by calling your dog back, and I'm sure you were a bit frustrated and embarassed about the 30 second wait. Don't worry I know the feeling.

For her to shout at your dog is entirely wrong. That is your responsibility only, not hers. Perhaps she hadn't been a dog owner for very long and was worried about what your dog (or even hers) might do. But that is something she must get used to. I've had a dog for 8 months, and I was told he didn't get on well with other dogs. I have since socialized him with hundreds of others at our local park. Although I will admit, I was very worried at first.

At the end of the day, I will leave it to rights. Her dog had just as much right to be there as yours, and she should respect that your dog, unless he behaved aggressively, meant no harm whatsoever.

Basically, what happened here was just a mutual misunderstanding. She should have spoken to you, and told you that she was unsure of your dog. That way, you would have been able to prevent your dog from trying to make friends with hers. Instead, she chose to abuse your dog (technically it was abuse), and therefore you think she's unreasonable. In otherwords, the situation could have been handled differently on both sides.

Answer 3

You are the one being unreasonable! I am a dog trainer and I do a lot of work rehabilitating dogs that are scared of other dogs. Most of these dogs are kept on the lead so that their interaction with other dogs can be controlled. Having a big dog like a Labrador bouncing all over such dogs can undo months of hard work.

As a dog owner, you have a responsibility to have your dog under control at all times. If another dog walker asks you to call your dog off, then you do so immediately. 30 seconds is much too long!

At some point, your dog will get into trouble if you let him approach every dog which is being kept on a lead. Some of the dogs that I work with will bite if approached by other dogs. If such a dog is kept on a short lead then it will be entirely your fault if your dog gets bitten by one.

Answer 4

It really drives me mad when people keep their dogs on the lead and object to normal doggie behaviour when another dog asks to play - my youngest is currently 9 months old and suffers from park deafness and as he is a Great Dane we are getting a few similar problems even though we have walked in the same place with Great Danes for the last 18 years - so I am impressed if yours came back in just 30 seconds - she was at fault not you - and I get really cross if someone else shouts at my dogsand nobody has the right to push somebody elses dog - it is totally unreasonable - hope you meet some decent doggie walkers.

Answer 5

We have the same problem. Where I live, there is a medium-sized fenced-in dog park. If we take our Lab there when it's empty its fine but often there have been owners inside the park telling us not to bring our dog in, because theirs is off the lead! Also, if we are in there when its empty and someone else comes along with their dog they will often not come in, even when we've reassured them that Molly wouldn't hurt a fly! People seem to have either A) Got no control over their dogs, B) Have no faith in their dogs or C) Have not trained their dogs to be sociable at all. Its stupid and sad because the only ones that suffer are the dogs themselves. That woman most definitely overreacted, but she's probably too ignorant to put the effort in and train her dog. Poor dog, that's all I can say.

Answer 6

I would never take my dogs to one of these parks, when my lot are out they like to run and chase each other and have a good time. But having said that, all my dogs go to training classes when they are young and I keep them well under control. We go walking in a nearby forest, most of the other people who go there know each other and the dogs are mostly friendly. Maybe you should look for another place to go to where you and your dog can have some off lead fun without being told off.

Answer 7

When taking your animals to public places like this you must understand that there are crazy weird dog owners out there. In that woman's mind she thinks you are a horrible pet owner. You are not, but that is what she is thinking - that you cannot control your animals. I would not worry about it - nobody got hurt. You went to a park that is designed for dogs, and I am assuming no leash laws. Your dog obeyed you, and you did the right thing. It is that woman's problem to deal with - how can you expect to go to a dog park with your dog and not have others running up to you? Just remember her face and her dog and steer clear. I swear some people should not be allowed to own animals.

Answer 8

Not really. She must be scared and afraid. I had an incident when some other dog sniffed my little dashund and I got a start. What can I do if it bites my baby? I cannot rush to the vet all alone. I dont have a car to take me, I am not having the money and most of all if anything happens I cannot forgive myself.

Women are a bit careful as well. Of course you know your dog may not bite but she does not know that. Even so, you and her do not know how that dog of hers might react. Dont worry about this, its only a small worry. But asking this on answers is a bit too much!!!

Take care and have a nice doggie time

Answer 9

I agree she was unreasonable but you should not let your dog run up to others.

Some dogs are nervous of others and other dogs are aggressive-your dog could get badly bitten this way.

Maybe she has had bad experiences with labs before.Contrary to what people here say not all labs are nice-the 2 most vicious dogs in my area are a lab and a golden retriever.

Answer 10

iv had similar question posted on here..my grey was cornered by 3 labs in a park and the woman made no attempt at recall and that is my pet hate...by all means have your dog off the lead but have proper recall at least BUT the woman in question her SHOULD HAVE NOT pushed your dog away...you should of punched her hehe...plz dont get me wrong im not saying you are in the wrong at least you called your dog back i didnt have that pleasure when i had my experience last week she left her dogs 2 there own devices and my grey stressed out..im all for off the lead runs as long as owners have proper recalli cant excersise my 2 greys off the lead due to there hi chase drive so i have to keep them on the lead...but you should be able to walk your dogs on and off the lead in a park jus coz you are in a park doesnt mean you have 2 walk your dogs off the lead some dogs cnt be walked off the lead but everyone has a rite to use a park thats your personal choice just be aware of other dog owners coz there could come a time when another dog reacts badly to another dog and a fight could break out people dont no the temperament of other dogs running loose so its better to be safe than sorry iv lost count of the times my 2 greys have been attacked by dogs off the lead so im all for dogs being kept on the lead if you cant recall properly

Answer 11

Maybe she's only starting to socialize her dog? If so, she's doing it the wrong way - her dog isn't going to learn to like other dogs better if she reacts by yelling at them...

I think if you take your dog to an offleash area, you need to realize other people's dogs are going to be running loose, and getting excited to meet the other dogs there, including your own.

Sure, if your dog had been on best behavior, he would have come immediately after you called him, but the whole point of a dog park is to let dogs interact with members of their own species... I think the woman's the one who reacted badly.