Our local rail trail is usually rather quiet. We don’t often run into other people or dogs walking or running. If anything, we see more bicyclists when the weather is nice, and when we do we step off to the side of the trail and I have the dogs sit while they pass.
A couple of weeks ago when walking Cricket I saw a woman in the distance with a small black lab. As I spotted her I noticed she stopped and was holding on to her dog. Good! Cricket has had issues with off leash dogs in the past, so I’m always relieved to see dogs properly restrained when I have her. Next thing I know, that dog is running right at us, and Cricket starts snarling and pulling at the leash, trying to go after the dog. I hold her back as best I can while the woman comes running to restrain her dog. He comes towards Cricket more than once and Cricket continues to snarl and pull. The woman finally gets her dog under control, as I realize that Cricket has squirmed right out of her harness. Thank goodness I was able to grab a hold of her collar and hold on to her. This section of the trail runs along a fairly busy state highway.
The woman apologizes and so do I. Who’s in the wrong here? Her for having her dog running loose, even though – “he’s friendly” she says? I apologize because maybe I shouldn’t be walking a dog who acts like that in public. She quickly says that of course having a big dog running at her might scare my small dog. I’m thinking: OK, so why did you let him run at her? Why don’t you have a leash to put on him when encountering other dogs? Not to mention that she is now walking/running with her dog right along a busy highway, and she’s not restraining him? I can’t imagine. I’m just trying to get my heart to settle down and she continues on so I didn’t really say anything else.
I think it’s great if you have a dog that you can trust to walk, run, or hike with you off leash. When we had both of our dogs Shelby and Maggie we let them off leash when hiking or when walking away from a road. However, the leash was always handy and put on when we encountered others. At the least, we would step off the trail and hold onto them while others passed. Our dogs were friendly too, but what if the other dog wasn’t? Both times this has happened with Cricket, I am just grateful that the other dogs didn’t want to fight.
However, the bottom line is that I can’t control what other people are going to do with their dogs. I can try to walk Cricket in places where we’re less likely to encounter others, like in the fields in the photos here, but the conditions aren’t always good in the fields – they may not be mowed (meaning ticks) or they can be very wet after a lot of rain. When we’re on a trail like our rail trail, I can’t very well turn around and head the other way if I’m on my way home. I know that I need to work with Cricket so that she will learn not to react this way. Whether it’s my fault for not keeping her socialized as she got older, or whether it is just her personality to act this way (she has always been shy), if I want to continue to walk her then I need to deal with this.
Therefore, I’ve been researching ways to at least try to get her to not be “leash reactive”. She has always been very intense when walking. She plants all four paws on the ground, and just plows forward like it’s a race every time. She will not be distracted other than for the occasional stop and sniff. I started doing some reading for solutions to this issue, and I know the first step is to get her to let go of that intensity. I haven’t started working with her with treats yet, but now when we walk, I stop every so often, and call her back to me. Then I pat her and praise her profusely. At least I am starting to break her intense concentration, and that will be the goal….to get her to relax. Then I can relax too.
Walking your dog can be easy, but sometimes it can be a bit more complicated. Kobi is easy. Sheba is easy except for the fact that she’s a big dog and does pull some. Cricket is shy of people but when we took her hiking she had no problem with any of the people we met. The people were all respectful, and none of them went running at her! When a dog is on leash, they feel they have no place to retreat to, when another dog is running at them. You can’t really blame Cricket for reacting the way she does.
The point I want to make is that even though walking your dog can have some challenges, we need to take on those challenges and work through them. By doing that we can make the walk fun, and not have to worry about who we encounter out on the trail. This is exactly the point Boingy Dog is trying to make in starting a “Work the Walk Dog Walking Challenge” and this is going to be a great help to me to accomplish what I need to. It is a 21 day challenge with the goal of making walking fun. If you have challenges with your dog also, check out their blog and others and find the answers you need to make walking enjoyable as it should be. I’ll keep you updated on our progress!
Thank you to our blog hop hosts: Boingy Dog, Paws and Pedals, and Gizmo’s Terrier Torrent! Please visit them and other sites below for more walking tips and stories!
I sometimes have Donna leashless on her short pee breaks downstairs. I usually pick times when there is a high probability of there being no other dogs about. This is so that I can at least have some short periods of time practise offleash walking and recall with Donna in an environment with less distractions than at the dog run. Unfortunately, there are times when a dog pops up even when I don’t usually expect them to. – – One time I managed to grab Donna, another time Donna manage to run to the lab a distance away and of course I apologies profusely. I am always very watchful and I do cherish this short offleash loo break slots with Donna. I can safely say that it helps me alot with Donna’s training. She would not have progressed at all if I had not started doing this.
I really don’t have a problem with people like you having their dog off leash. You are responsible about it, and that’s the difference. This woman clearly saw us coming and deliberately let go of her dog, without knowing us. The other time it happened to us….I passed two women with two dogs once, Cricket did her snarly thing and the dogs backed off. Then I passed them AGAIN, and one woman held her dog but the other didn’t!! Luckily the dog had more common sense than the owner, and the dog backed off after initially running at us again. Just use common sense is all I ask! 🙂
It is annoying when people allow their dogs to run up. I’m always on a lead when there are other people or dogs about – I’m large and make some people and dogs nervous.
I wish I had a treat for every time I’ve heard, “he’s friendly” followed by, “oh, he’s never done that before”, when the other dog has shown fear aggression even though I’m standing calmly by my bipeds.
You have to wonder why it is that some people just seem to think that all dogs will just automatically like each other! Or will always act exactly the same in every situation….they seem to forget that you are not really furry kids, you are animals! 🙂
WE have issues all the time when we’re out and about and I’m sure that’s what stops people making the effort BUT like you say we need to take the challenges & work with them. That’s why we now bike together. Finally we found something that harnessed that energy. It’s worth a bit of trial & error occasionally
I wouldn’t want to even know the number of people that may not even walk their dogs anymore because they’ve experienced this. It’s too bad, but ignorant people often ruin lots of things for others! Not everyone is as determined as some of us are to not let that happen! 🙂
Off lead dogs running at us are always a concern. My dogs are very well socialized, but they will not put up with an aggressive dog running at them. We work on it, but I admit that it makes me think twice about walking them alone without hubby. Good luck with your walking.
If only I could talk hubby into walking with me more! It would be comforting for me to have him along. I haven’t even experienced this yet with the other dogs, so don’t even know how they would react! They are both calmer than Cricket though, but even so, having a dog running at them when leashed….I think it would bother all dogs to an extent.
You had no reason to apologize, walking Cricket, minding your own business. I hate it when big dogs come bowling over to us. They scare me not Mollie LOL xxooxxx
Mollie and Alfie
Thank you for the support! Yes, I think big dogs running at us can be scary for everyone! xxoo
You were absolutely in the right and she was absolutely in the wrong. If your dog isn’t controllable verbally, it should not be running around off leash. The fact that she had to run to catch it and get it back under control tells me that dog needs more training to be off leash, friendly or not.
Sorry you had that experience. We have a big problem in our area with loose dogs and it is all too familiar. Leah even got into a fight once, and poor Toby got attacked. I now carry citronella spray on all my walks.:-(
Thank you, Donna! I feel so much better knowing that dog savvy people like you confirm that I was right this time.
It seems like this is a common problem, which is too bad. That must have been awful for you with Leah and Toby. I will pick up some of that citronella spray, thanks for mentioning it!
I’m glad to hear that you are facing the challenge. I don’t back down either, if there is a problem we work on it and resolve it. Some people just don’t get it that not all dogs want to be approached by a wild off leash dog. Mom’s last dog, Trine, was never on a leash but she was always right at Mom’s side and had no interest in other dogs, she was unusually well behaved. We don’t want to be approached by unleashed dogs, but it happens all the time and the other owner always seems to be oblivious to the situation. Mom with three leashed dogs trying to get away from the loose dog and the other person doesn’t see a problem. Very frustrating!
I can only imagine how much more difficult it is to deal with that when having three dogs, compared to just the one that I walk at a time! It’s just amazing how ignorant some people can be, as you said, very frustrating!
Great post, I think the other person was in the wrong. You had Cricket on a leash and there is no reason she can’t be out there to try and over come her fear.
Thank you so much! I was thinking of getting one of those yellow ribbons for her leash….but if people don’t know to have their dog leashed, they probably wouldn’t know what the ribbon meant either!
Oh, that is such a HUGE pet peeve of mine – when folks yell “He’s friendly!” as their dog charges at you. I usually yell back, “Mine’s not!” Of course no dog on leash wants to be charged by an off-leash dog. I don’t understand how other dog owners can’t get that through their heads?!
When my brother in law is in that situation he always says, “Well, my dog doesn’t know that…” (I mean, really now – does yelling “he’s friendly help MY dog at all?? No, it doesn’t!) “… and he’s here on this rope like a tethered goat.”
But, yes, even though dummies often abound out there while we’re on walks – we keep on walking. I’m also trying to work with Rita, and sometimes she does really great, but other times… not so much. We’re a work in progress. Probably will be for years.
Thank you, Jackie! It’s so good to know that I’m not alone in this….but it’s kind of discouraging that this happens so much! It just seems like some people just assume that all dogs are going to like each other, leashed or unleashed. I’m glad you keep getting out there too….it wouldn’t be fair for our dogs to suffer because there’s so many stupid people out there!
Good post. This is a pet peeve of mine. People need to control their dogs, friendly or unfriendly. It’s not fair to allow dogs to go running up to leashed dogs, it’s a recipe for disaster, the leash restraint puts the second dog at a disadvantage. Jack usually ignore other dogs, but if an off leash dog comes up to him, he will no be happy and will react. Good luck with your walks and don’t blame yourself!
Thank you! It’s been great to read these comments and realize that I don’t have to blame myself here. People aren’t intentionally stupid, right? I have to wonder if that woman I encountered learned anything. I probably should have set her straight but I was just a bit stressed and not really thinking!
I totally agree–I am so careful to keep Sage on a leash in most situations. She walks really well normally, but there are times when she can be leash-reactive. And I have no idea what triggered it. But when we are in a place where she can be off leash, she’s great. There’s a time and a place….
It’s frustrating when you are doing the right thing by keeping Sage leashed, and then someone else is not! It puts the leashed dog at a disadvantage and that is not fair! Because two of our dogs are beagles I’ve never really let them off-leash because I don’t trust their noses. But I have with Sheba, but again, always keeping a close eye out for others.
Mr. N is leash reactive as well. I can send you a list of resources/books if you’d like.
We’ve almost been attacked several times by off-leash dogs. And both Mr. N and Onyxx are under ten pounds. They wouldn’t stand a chance. I shouldn’t have to worry about my dogs getting killed
Most of the dogs running up to us are friendly but even as a human, I don’t want a strange Lab or Pit Bull or German Shepherd running at me full tilt (all of which has happened).
No kidding, it can be even more scary for us than for the dogs!
I’d love a list of resources and books! I can never have too much information. If you see this reply, you can email me at jank@afarmgirlsfinds.com with the list. Or I’ll get in touch with you through your site. Thanks!
This is Torrey too. She is very intent when we walk, and is reactive to other dogs. I can now get her to sit calmly while other dogs pass us. If I don’t tell her to sit, she goes nuts lunging after the other dog, I know she is being playful…but still. As for walking off leash. I try to go places were they can go off leash, but like you, I always have it in hand, and ready. It drives me nuts when people let their dogs behave the way that dog behaved toward you guys. How on earth do we get away from that though?
It does seem almost impossible to educate the ignorant dog owners out there. Just asking people to use common sense seems like a challenge these days!
I’m glad to hear you have found a way to keep Torrey calm, that gives me hope I can accomplish that with Cricket too.
This is a great post and I think it’s wonderful that you could share the challenges you have on the walks – I’m sure many readers were nodding their heads in understanding while they read along (I certainly was!). Life changes when we have a hard time walking our dogs for whatever reason, so I’m excited about the challenge and seeing how it can help owners. I especially love your conclusion that it’s important that we take the time to work with our dogs and help them build confidence. Looking forward to reading about your journey with the challenge and I thank you for joining the hop!
I’m happy to join the hop, thanks for having it! This is apparently not an uncommon problem, so I think there are a lot of us that will be helped by the challenge. I look forward to not having to worry about when or where I can walk my dogs!
I am blessed to live in the country so this is not an issue. I have never given it much thought how some people just don’t have the best ways to walk their dog and it be safe. I don’t know if I would even trust a dog walker.
Judging by the other comments, this happens a lot, especially to those living in urban areas. We are lucky to have more quiet places to walk so it doesn’t happen too often.
Thanks so much for joining the Hop! After a lot of work I trust Gizmo enough to allow him off leash in safe areas, meaning no where near cars and hardly ever do we encounter anyone…but I always always carry a leash and either hold Giz or leash him when we do meet up with anyone…I had a similar experience a couple of years back … Gizmo was off leash but I heard someone approach and leashed him up…All of a sudden a large dog comes rushing around the bend in the trail, off leash, and the owner did nothing to stop him as he rushed Gizmo…I was able to grab the dog’s collar and hold him for the owner…Lucky for me he was a “friendly dog” although I really consider that phrase meaningless
I wish everyone could be more responsible like you and keep their dogs under control. I’m glad Gizmo was OK , but it is still scary to have it happen. And it just shouldn’t happen anyway!