Hello everyone.  Could you please advise?

What is the etiquette for putting your dog on the lead/taking him off the lead when out for a walk?

We live in a neighbhourhood with lots of open fields.  Our puppy is only 6 months.  He is a nightmare on the lead (he's an english springer spaniel) but we are quite adamant he stays on the lead until we are in open fields.  Once there, we take him off the lead, where he springs and roams.  His recall is OK but not perfect. 

If we see other people with dogs on leads, we put our puppy back on the lead.  If we see a dog off lead, we keep ours off the lead.  Off the lead, our dog is reasonably cautious (except with Labradors as his buddies are all Labs) and will not go bounding up to other dogs indiscriminately.  Of course, if we see families with young children or elderly people, our dog definitely goes back on the lead until they pass. 

So, I guess I just want to make sure what the etiquette is so that I won't offend anyone.

Many thanks.

vetiver

think it depends on many factors. i have a year old ridgeback who is far too friendly for his own good, and whilst generally doesnt bother with people unless they are very close by, he will run to see another dog regardless of how far away it is! he means no harm and just wants to play, HOWEVER, he weighs 45kg and charges at full speed full of excitement and i realise this is very off putting to many people, especially when he charges from a distance so i always put him on lead when i see another dog regardless of whether its on lead or not, until i can establish with owner if they are happy for their dog to play with my hooligan.
he gets let off lead every day, thankfully i live in a very quiet rural area and theres miles of fields behind my house that very few people walk on.

Sounds just right to me. 

I always have gone by the theory of if the other owners dogs are off then mine stay off, if they put theirs back on I call mine and put them on too. Mine have very much gotten over the running up to other dogs thing and normally pass by without much of a glance even when left off the lead. I walk in woodland where there are lots of other dog walkers and 95% seem to leave their dogs off and very rarely has there been any issues, the occasional grumble when an over excited young lab (always seem to be a lab!!?) runs at my grumpy boy, but thats about it. Sounds like you are spot on with it.

My opinion is:

Other dog on lead = mine on lead
Other dog off lead but walking to heel = mine on lead
Other dog off lead and wandering about = mine are free to choose to greet it, walk past, stop and play, etc

To be honest I rarely put mine on lead, I get them to walk to heel but if I don't think they'll be reliable (when young pups or new to me) then they go on.

There are lots of grey areas too, I might not let mine run forward to say hello if the dog looks vulnerable, old or nervous. Same if the owner looks hysterical-nervous (amazingly some dog owners don't like dogs).

Sounds fine to me, specially if you're not 100% on his recall yet, and of course he's young and bouncy! I have 2 I leave off lead as I know they are fine with all dogs, and won't go running up to them either, and the third one I put on lead if I see the other owner putting the dog on lead. You will get to know all the dogs if you walk in the same place and same time like I do, so I know which ones my boy is ok with and which can be a bit 'iffy'. :-)

Have to say I walk my 6 year old Staff offlead in the local park etc but always put her back on if we see another dog mostly because I am afraid to say whatever kicks off (if anything) I figure mine being a Staff would get the blame...So I err on the side of caution.

However when in the bigger parks/nature reserves etc if the dog appears to be under control ie not dashing about like a loon out control etc then I leave her off as she ignores them anyhow when she was younger I would put her back on lead but now she just ignores others she will also stop when told or returns to heel.  But I work on the poviso better safe than sorry. 

I wish all owners were as good as you lot, my 3 month old puppy was jumped on by a somewaht aggressive Chocolate Labrador today :-( the owner was miles away and the Lab just ignored her when she called, I ended up having to pick up my little boy as he was becoming terrified, I hope to show this boy and have been getting him to meet friendly larger dogs,he was doing fine until this, when I picked him up the Lab jumped at me growling, the owner finally got there and said "oh he never hurts anything" told her a bit more training might be a good idea for him and she got annoyed, stupid woman!.

I get really angry if my dog is on his lead and another dog comes bounding up to him - in play or otherwise. If he's on his lead I'm in control of his actions and I think owners of free dogs should respect that. He hates having dogs off lead charging up to him and it often causes upset. I've lost count of the number of times it's happened and the owners just say "He/she is very gentle, only wants to play".
I was once told off my a very arrogant man with a Rottie. Our walk was over, tennis balls away so I put his lead on to walk home. This chap let his dog off his lead as he walked towards us and obviously it ran straight over. A terrier on a lead against a playful Rottie - not ideal. It seemed to take forever to part them, me struggling with my dog getting wrapped around my legs, and all the man said was "You are wrong to put your dog on it's lead - he'd be better off free". Not a "Sorry for being unable to recall my dog ".

It just makes you angry doesnt it when you control your own and others dont bother, am going to take my boy to a different place tomorrow in the hope of meeting other large friendly non aggressive dogs, Papillons or any puppy I suppose can be frightened badly if something bad happens when so young, they never seem to forget easily :-(

I wouldnt get angry if mine was on the lead and another approached if the owner said 'oh sorry' and tried to get it back..

happens

You wouldnt get angry even if the loose dog was growling at you and your dog, hackles up all along its back, owner miles away, in that case sorry just isnt enough.

'Tried to get it back'.............................that's often the problem. They shouldn't need to try - if their dog doesn't return to the owner when called, or at least keep a distance from you and your dog then it's unfair.

> They shouldn't need to try - if their dog doesn't return to the owner when called, or at least keep a distance from you and your dog then it's unfair

I see this from both sides and think tolerance is the answer :-)

Yes, all dogs should be perfectly behaved or kept on leads but in the real world this isn't going to happen. Dogs need to run and young dogs in particular can sometimes forget their training when they see something exciting in the distance.

On the other hand I have a dog aggressive dog and am extremely careful with him, he has free running every day but only in remote safe areas and muzzled. If we see other dogs in the distance he goes straight back on his lead. A few times over the years I've had dogs running great distances to get to him, and coming right up to him despite him leaping about barking and growling. Interestingly they've all been young, over confident labs...while annoying at the time I don't blame their owners as they have been trying to get their dog back and at the same time of course trying to socialise, train and tire out a young exuberant dog.

I do think that if we all left our dogs to make their own introductions off lead from a young age the dog population in general would be happier and get on better :-)

i speak for the other side :) i have a young male over boisterous ridgeback, and i am very careful to try keep him under control, but mistakes sometimes happen! he is very friendly, and just wants to play, HOWEVER, i am aware that not everyone appreciates him running full speed to say hello to their dogs, friendly or not, so if i see a dog i do put him back on the lead. occassionally i have not been quick enough and hes off, i always apologise profusley, most people do realise by the time he gets to them that he is friendly and simply young and stupid :)  but several times people have gotten mad at me, and no matter how often i apologise they wont hear it. as ive said, this rarely happens as im vigilant, and i often walk in very quiet areas with hardly any dogs, but at the same time he needs off lead exercise each day and socialising, its bad enough having an overfriendly large breed, i would struggle if he was an aggressive/fearful large breed!

Tigger2 I think you are most sensible and realistic about your dog, I would agree it would be lovely if we could let our dogs off when young to get to know and socialise with eachother but as I have a very small breed I would not dare let them off with big boisterous or quite aggressive dogs as the ones that would get hurt are mine, I had one of mine bowled over recently by a young Shar Pei who really meant no harm at all but he was just to big for dogs of my size to play with, training really is the the key and knowing your dog of course, when I had Rotts and Shepherds in the past I knew who was good with other dogs and who was not a 100% and acted accordingly, my friendly loving Rott got on and played nicely with every dog she met my Shepherd was not a fan of Terriers so she was always back on the lead as soon as a Terrier came into view, being sensible and alert when your taking your dogs for their daily walk goes a long way towards a great walk for all.

> He hates having dogs off lead charging up to him and it often causes upset. I've lost count of the number of times it's happened and the owners just say "He/she is very gentle, only wants to play".
>

i'd reply "and what makes you think mine is?"

stupid people

HI Suz1985

I wonder if it a breed thing!  My male ridgeback is two and he is exactly the same.  Very friendly etc but if he sees a dog in the distance and i'm not quick enough - he's off - and at 100 miles an hour.  For the last month i've started walking him in a harness and a long line which he trails behind him - it now means i can stop him in his tracks if i we meet another dog!  I wish i could get a really reliable recall out of him but despite 2 years of training, i still dont trust him to come when he's called!  Having said that, he is getting a bit better now i can reinforce my call with standing on the lead!  Maybe, one day, he'll be obedient!!

Good luck with your boy.  Thank god they are so friendly tho!!

Liz x

Sounds about right for me, another thing I do is make them sit when a car approaches, I'll qualify that, we have little lanes and no footpaths so the sit when a car comes so the car can get past and they aren't dancing all over the place.
Most people wave thanks and I do the same if a Mum with small kids are trying to get up the lanes as they love kids so much they would be licked to death if they tried to pat them (the dogs not the other way around).
Re off the lead I do have to be careful with our Border Collie if he is "fetching" he can be aggressive to other dogs that might want to nick his stick. So I try to get the stick or ball in my pocket and he's fine, but stick in mouth he warns them off.

> "He/she is very gentle, only wants to play".

That is usually the ones that have a pop in my experience !

I go with the..

Them on Lead = Mine one lead etc

But I expect the same curtesy.

i think it is liz, ive spoken to quite a few people with males inc people on here, and they are all the same! as you say its a good thing they are so friendly. i tried the long line a few times, nearly broke my foot when it tangled and i hit it off a stone, OH then tried to grab it and almost broke a finger :) we were both in tears, havent used it much since haha

mine is a total pest, his recall when no dogs about is 99% almost perfect, he stays alongside me, always comes back because he knows i have treats, however, when he spots a dog, regardless of distance he would be off, and no matter what i do, once fixated i cant get him back until hes said hello and had a 5min runaround. nothing is more intersting to him than another dog, even though hes very food fixated that pales in comparison to another dog. if we go out walking with another dog, once the inital frantic 5 minutes has passed and hes playing a lot more calm and gentle,his recall is generally back to being good, i go walking with my friend who also has a ridgeback, and he comes back once the playing has calmed down a bit.

My 6 month old puppy is a very confident girl, with lots of energy. she gets a walk off lead over the fields where we encounter many other dogs. she is left off lead, but she occasionally barks at people when she is exited, and approaching. I know that it will be made worse if i constantly keep her on lead as it could turn into anxiety..

so in that case... i dont feel i need to apologise for my puppy approaching others.

It must be so nice to be able to take your dog off lead. Mainly for the exercise aspect for the dog.  Here, we have laws saying a dog cant be off lead, or its running at large, and can be taken away by the SPCA and the owner will get fined.  

But sometimes, it worries me, to see dogs off lead, because most people (here at least) dont seem to have the control needed to have a dog off lead. 

If I was to ever move to the UK, where its allowed to have dogs off leash, I dont think I would anyways. 

But if you are used to it, then I think the rules you set out are very good.  At least you have the right idea about when a dog should be onleash.