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You may as well say all dogs should be on a lead in public places - in my opinion that would be going too far. If someone has a large but good natured and well trained dog off the lead but close to them that to me is fine - yes I'd probably be slightly cautious if I was running past them and maybe ask if it was OK - but that seems a fairly small thing and not really an inconvenience.
Like you Popsider I always try to engage with the dog "Hello mate", and assess the reaction. Its a fact of life though that some people just don't like dogs for whatever reason, and its important to be sensitive to that.
Normally I run with the dog off lead, and even if he's a couple of metres away from me I leave him when we meet other people, as I know he'll leave them alone. I've always thought that getting hold of him would make people more nervous, as they would then think I had reason not to trust him.
I'm now thinking that maybe I should grab him anyway - what do people think?
I absolutely take the point that no dog is entirely predictable, but I feel pretty sure of my boy. He's a reject guide dog, bred for lack of agression, and is such a wuss it's unbelievable. I have seen him be badly frightened by suddenly realising there was a person very close to him he hadn't noticed. His reaction was to run like hell to me, barking his head off, and to hide behind my legs (he's a big powerful lab cross). My hero!
On the odd ocasion I have come accross a dog which is clearly nervous of me running past them I will walk past them.
Part of it is reading a dog's body language, and even if you don't feel comfortabel gauging the interest/aggression of a strange dog, the owner has a responsibility to do so. I know when my dogs are tense.
I know what you mean, Slo Sho. I actually think grabbing them makes people nervous that weren't nervous before...but the ones who were nervous already will prefer you to take hold of your dog. So what's to do?
The other issue I have is that my dog, being a total wimp, instantly lies down when he sees another dog (even an elderly Pomeranian the other day, ffs). This is submission, but it is amazing the number of dog owners who look anxious and call "is he preparing to attack?". He's flat on his belly, pressing himself into the ground to make himself as small as possible - no, he's not going to attack! As other dog owners don't always seem to read his body language I now run along calling "he's just scared of your dog", at which they either look at their tiny rat and my huge lad and burst out laughing, or peer at me suspiciously as if they think the dog and I are performing some sort of combined sneak assault.
One morning I was out early on the heath and saw an unaccompanied dog coming towards me. As soon as it saw me it immediately sat. By the time I was there the owner had arrived and, in answer to my comment, said that the dog had been taught to sit as soon as it saw walkers or cyclists coming past. It seemed to me to be a sign of a responsible, considerate owner.
(got menaced by 3 black labs on last weeks 50k)
If a dog sat down i would be a lot less scared
Funnily enough, considering I'm definitely pro-dog, after reading this I went out and had 3 'doggy anoyances' in one run! Maybe getting faster does do something, or maybe I was just noticing more! Number one was a woman with two small dogs, one on a lead and the other free. The free one totally ignored me to the point of strolling under my feet so I had to side-step him, while the owner did nothing. Number two was a soppy spaniel who decided to follow me while his owner tried to call him back in vain. I took pity on the owner, stopped and told him firmly but not nastily to go back (he stopped so quick it was like he'd been jerked from behind: I don't think he was used to firm commands and definitely not expecting it from me!). Number 3 was a large alsation type mongrel who gave me a real 'inspection' look as I went past. Apparently I passed, but I did feel if I'd made a wrong move or given off the wrong vibes (as someone nervouse might have) this dog might have taken it further.
All of these dogs, in my opinion, should have been called by their owners. OK, number two needed a little training to achive this, but all of these situations should have been solved by a quick 'nudge' from the owners to distract the dog and tell them to leave the runner alone: doesn't even need a full recall or stressing out.
I think both sides should act responsibly. If runners can learn to understand dogs better, have a little tolerance for the fact that dogs may be young and need to be trained or may act unexpectedly, and don't do stuff to make situations worse, then that's good. But at the same time we do need owners to train their dogs, be aware of their body language, and considerate of other people. In my area there are a lot of muslims, who aren't supposed to touch dogs as part of their religion. While I think that's pretty stupid (sorry...) you've got to respect it, and if I had a dog I'd be training it not to aproach strangers, even if it does only want to be friendly.
The other mistake that a lot of owners is that they fail to make sure the dog understands its place in the pecking order. They swap the first and last letters of the word dog around. You don't ask a dog you tell it - its what it expects - leadership. Now don't get me wrong, its a privelage and pleasure to work with two such intelligent animals, but at the end of the day I make the fire, I provide the food, I give the praise. We work hard together, but I'm the leader.
dog goes out of gate
dog goes on lead end of story
Hope you don't mind waiting for your buy one get one free lamb chops - they'll be a while arriving....
The racing hound on a lead might be quite amusing too. I'll have to get some fartlek practice in ....
:-))
I've been drinking too much of Mrs FR's Rhubarb wine.....
4yo goes to school friends party. They are horsey types with acres of land. 4y0 and my eldest (8yo) get out, huge alsatian bounds up. 4yo OK, 8yo cowers behind me. (Dog btw was very docile)
Another 6yo screams and screams and jumps up on to her mums back.
Owner comes out with the usual 'he won't hurt claptrap' (hmm if a beast taller than me came bounding up I'd be less than placated by those words) then adds, 'sorry I didn't think to put the dogs away'. Errr no, you didn't.
However, sensible respect for them is quite a useful thing to learn early on.
As for their owners (the dogs' owners I mean) maybe we should carry copies of the Dangerous Dogs Act around, and hand them to any untrained dog owners when the opportunity presents?
popsider - how about an irrational fear of spiders?
Well, the very use of the word irrational shows failure to understand the issue. But the answer is - yes. Your dog, your responsibility, end of story. Even if you don't understand why others may, for whatever reason, be scared of a large dog.
Sorry I disagree. As a kid I was scared of them so have encouraged my two girls not to be afraid, so when we meet them, at the very least they don't scream.
My 4y0 copes ok with dogs, my 8yo is wary.
She had an experience of one of those massive dogs (we call them 'bear dogs')about 3 foot high bounding over to her when in a buggy (so I guess aged 2). Sure the dog 'won't hurt' but would that play on the mind of a child growing up?
Yeah, why do people have an irrational fear of spiders even in adulthood?
On the other hand I get other mothers who approach me with a nervous child and ask if they can use my puppy to teach their child about assistance dogs to encourage them to be less scared. I am always happy to oblige.
Mrs Fr's Ridgeback will not approach a visitor unless she is told she may (after Mrs FR has established the visitors bona fides and whether or not they like dogs). But she will stay at her heel. Now I'm sorry if anyone feels worried about her presence obviously, but the idea is that anyone up to no good should indeed feel intimidated.
With a child, obviously its different, and the dog is sent away if the child is fearful. But until that initial meeting its hard to see how one can second guess what the reaction would be.