Hello, friends! And welcome to another edition of: Maggie climbs up on a soapbox and rants about dog stuff! It’s been a while since I’ve been up here, and I sure do like this view…
Recently, we’ve had a bunch of run-ins with dogs around town that I wanted to discuss. You might be familiar with these scenarios. And if you feel called out as you read this post, I hope you’re willing and open to reconsider your behavior.
In our neighborhood, there’s an equal mix of fenced-in yards with physical fences and with electronic fences. There are two houses with a front-yard tie-out and a few houses with none of the above.
These houses are mapped in our brains, and we’ve created routes and routines for walking Cooper that either avoid or circumvent places where there are problems.
First court on the left? Skip. A tiny white dog isn’t contained and bops around the street.
Recently-remodeled grey house just past the white house with the slate front porch? Proceed with caution. There is a loose dog who sleeps in the yard all day and isn’t really a threat because she’s so very old, but she does leave the yard on occasion.
Guy with the two poodles? Avoid at all costs. One dog roams free and the other is on a flexi. Watch for and change directions!
And so on.
Those of you with reactive dogs probably have similar maps stored in your heads… the houses to avoid, the streets that are usually safe, the yards with dogs tied up out front.
But here’s the thing: It’s an imperfect system.
Why?
Well, because who knew the people across the street had a Basset hound?! The dog literally never once has been walked since we’ve lived here but wandered out the fence once when their yard crew left the gate open.
Or, another time, a dog hadn’t yet been hooked to his tie-out and charged Cooper and John, chasing them down the street.
Or, the time that old dog did wander after us down the road and came right up to the stroller, which thankfully allowed us to remove Cooper to the other side of the street.
Whenever something like that happens, the person who realizes their dog is loose or the person who leaves their dog off leash on purpose or the person who doesn’t yet realize their electric fence shorted out starts yelling:
“It’s OK! She’s friendly!”
Same goes for people who take their dogs off their leads on on-leash trails or in parks or open soccer fields. As the dog barrels down on us:
“Don’t worry! He’s friendly!”
Except.
It’s NOT OK. And I DO worry.
Even if you don’t have a reactive dog like Cooper, chances are you don’t appreciate an unknown pup rushing up to you and shoving his nose in your dog’s nose or butt. Who wants to be ambushed by someone they don’t know? I certainly don’t, and I wouldn’t expect my dogs to want (or even tolerate) that either.
For those of us who do love a reactive dog, well, we are generally very good rule followers. It keeps our dogs safe. We go to on-leash parks. We hike on-leash trails. We avoid known trouble spots… but I guess my point is that there shouldn’t BE trouble spots.
Everyone should follow the rules.
Contain your dog in your yard, and if you’re going to use an electric fence, make sure it’s operational. If you’re in an on-leash area, keep your dog on leash. Or, consider going to a dog park where your dog can run free and leash-less to your heart’s content. We sure as hell won’t be there to ruin your dog’s day, so don’t let him run off leash around us and ruin our day!
My dog is not “unfriendly.”
He is, however, anxious. He feels nervous around new people and dogs. He eventually warms up to both people and dogs, but not when they rush up to him unexpectedly and plow into his face or bottom while someone screams, “He’s friendly!”
Cooper does not like that. I do not like that. I do not like that on his behalf, on behalf of all the other sensitive dogs like Cooper, and I do not like that on my behalf because I’m forced into the position of yelling back, “My dog’s not! Get your dog!”
And then I feel angry–on top of the adrenaline of a loose dog rushing us–because I want to defend Cooper. “It’s not that your dog isn’t friendly. My dog needs space. He needs to feel secure, and he needs to be safe. We’ve worked really hard to create that space, security, and safety for him over the years, and your loose dog wrecks it for us.” Or something.
If you are someone who lets your dog run loose in on-leash areas…
If you are someone who lets your dog roam your yard–he almost never wanders off!–without some kind of containment…
If you are someone who relies solely on an electric fence, and you don’t often check to see if it’s operational…
Reconsider. Please.
Leash your dog. Check your fence. Let your dog run at an off-leash park. Simply follow the rules. Shouting, “He’s friendly,” is never, ever sufficient.
And if you’re someone who follows the rules, even though your dog isn’t reactive, THANK YOU! We are grateful for you!
Finally, if you’re someone with a reactive dog, what would you add to this? What else do you wish people would do (or not do) to keep you and your dog safe?
Stepping down off my soapbox for now. Packing it up in the closet for next time. (:
Read more: What I wish you knew about my reactive dog
Photo: Blake Barlow on Unsplash
Yes – it’s not OK. Until one has a reactive dog, one won’t really understand just how not-OK an un-restrained “friendly” dog is.
I would add: if you see someone leashing their dog up when they see you – leash your dog too, until you’re past. Cooper, Habi, Rowan and a bazillion other dogs will appreciate you for your consideration.
Once again it’s the owners who are at fault. I wish more people cared about their dog, it’s good for them and the dog.
Wow. Where to begin? I too know all of the areas to avoid on our walks and am fortunate that Ray trusts me enough that even if we are in a ‘safe’ zone and I see something he knows that if I say “Danger” that means we run home. He is super comfortable walking past and ignoring a fenced, barking dog but we CANNOT pass a dog on the street, even from the opposite side. ( I think-it’s been so long since we’ve had to.)
With Julius, his reactivity extends to excitement so people tend to avoid us, lol.
I’ll never, never forget though, the day I was doing a dog intro and several of us were parallel walking 3 dogs down the middle of a quiet street and a very excited Golden Retriever was sitting at the edge of his electric fence, watching us and absolutely quivering with excitement. Eventually the reward was worth the risk and he came bounding over to us in all of his “friendly” glory. No harm to anything but my knees and heart rate, but I definitely don’t trust e-fences.
I totally get this. I’ve been there. Years ago, while walking my Belgian Shepherd, we were attacked by an unleashed, free roaming lab. Needless to say, I didn’t expect this from a lab, but he circled and snarled and lunged at my girl. I kept pulling her behind me while I shouted and kicked out at him. The owner finally heard the yelling and called his idiotic dog back into the yard…..but I was forever shaken. I never walked my girl down that road again. And unfortunately, I still feel great anxiety when a loose dog sees me walking my current dog and rushes toward us. I have become quite good at bellowing “NO! BACK OFF!” – which usually puts them at a stand still. I live on 12 acres now and always walk my dog (a reactive BC) on our own property. We now have new neighbors who bought the barn and land next to our house, and when they bring their large dog out to the barn with them – they let her roam freely. I have already had to yell at her three separate times to “GET BACK!” and yelled at the owners to retrieve their dog. Their response always is the same….”She’s friendly and just wants to play!” Nope. Not going to happen. UGH! It is SO frustrating that people just DON’T GET IT!!! 🙁 I’m obviously going to have to have a Come-to-Jesus meeting with them…..
We were a couple who’d let their dogs off leash, but only with no one else around…like 100% certain no one else around. Also, the dogs we had, had 100% recall. When we encountered off-keash dogs, it was because other people’s dogs did not listen to them. However, we now own 2 reactive dogs, an American Bulldog (which we previously owned 3 ABs before) and a pittie. Both are reactive especially if the other dog (s) bark or have an “attitude”, and sadly, for some reason, during walks, if we encounter dogs, the AB tries to go for the pittie. She redirects her feels towards Izze which I think happens because the ABs has gone after Izze at home. I really despise irresponsible owners who let their dogs off leash in populated areas. Just a few days ago we had a horrible encounter. A little old 12 lb dog was roaming the front yard of his home. My husband and I were walking our 2 reactive dogs and our 6 week old son. The little dog kept coming to us, and especially wanted to see the dogs! My dogs would have destroyed that little thing. Frantically, I let go off the stroller to make the dog go home. Friendly little thing. I got a hold of the stroller, put the breaks and went to get the owner. He apologized profusely, and I just said my dogs are not friendly and fear for his dog. To many off leash dogs around here, too many. I wish I didn’t have 2 reactive dogs, and in fact, might be re-homing the AB, but hubby is not on-board yet.
I take care of my parents reactive dog. While she is only 11 pounds, we all know that the smallest often think they’re the size of a Dane!
I have marked out where a pair of Golden Retrievers live, and they are constantly off leash. Once on a walk this summer, one of the Goldens was in it’s yard, and when it saw my parents dog, took off towards us, heading into the street. The owners never announced he was friendly, but I noticed they really didn’t seem concerned that their much larger dog was running towards my much smaller dog.
They only reacted once I yelled at the dog to “go” and the man called for his dog to stop. After about three tries of giving the command to stop, did the dog turn around.
I was shocked to see such a disregard for anyone’s safety, even their own dog! They let him run directly into the road, without any correction until I showed distress.
Yikes! That sounds like a scary experience for your parents’ little pup. I’m glad you both were OK, but that is such a frustrating scenario. I’m glad you have a walking route that keeps you both safe!