If the Rottie is a girlie the lab boy may be possesive thinking you and other boy dogs are after his girl.  it certainly is not a typical trait in a well bred Labrador.

Edit:
Oops just noticed the lab is a girl.  Could be that she feels she has back up now with the other dog and feels more able to be overtly dog aggressive .

Beign allowed to bully you like this is jsut not on and she ought to be kept on a long line so she can be stopped from doing it and retrained.

I have been going to the same beach with my Giant Schnauzers for almost daily for the last 10 years and in that time I have seen ONE rottweiler off lead, mingling with other dogs. All the others have been on a lead.
I love rotties and I know that with right breeding and right owners they are just as lovely as any other German guard dog breed, but I have wondered before why they are so rarely off lead? Is it because the owners are worried about other dog walkers? I know that when people see my 3 Giants coming towards them they start gathering their small dogs or put them on a lead. Even though it's 100% of time the other dogs that have a problem with 'big black dogs'. Once a rottie owner asked me how I wasn't scared of his dog..
Are these rotties aggressive because they ARE on a lead and would they be fine if they weren't? Are they on a lead because the owners are fed up with people thinking that their dogs are bad? So many people have a completely wrong idea of rotties as a breed and I bet if you'd look into a background of those dogs that have attacked people and dogs, you'd find something that has made the dog act the way it has. Inbreeding, lack of socialising with dogs and humans, d--- head owner etc.

Interesting post.  i had a bad experience today on my walk. i saw dogs ahead so put my two dog on their leads. as i got nearer i called to ask if the dogs (3) were friendly. i got the reply, these 2 are. then the other person called are they bitches, he is ok with bitches. i called back thanks but i dont take any chances with my dogs they are both friendly. as i got level with the two 'ladies' and three dogs the lady with the rottie said he is ok with bitches and again i said i do not take chances with my dogs thankyou. she said please yourself. then he huge male rottie pulled her over the path to me and my two dogs snarling. in order to avoid this dog 'getting' at my dog i ended up in the ditch. i was so angry, and snarled at the dog, DONT YOU DARE DO THAT TO MY DOG, which the owner replied, now, now, there is no need for that, it was only because he sensed you were nervous, i told her i was not nervous and it is she that should be nervous having a dog of that temprement that she had no control off. to which her 'friend' said. now now it takes two to which i replied she was talking a load of rubbish, my bitches were by my side and her friends dog pulled the owner over the path to get to my dogs/me. my poor bitch was traumatiesed bywhat happened. i have been told that this womans doesnt walk her dog in town because of his temprement. why she thinks it is ok to walk him in the woods is beond me. this was reported to the police and is now in the hands of our dog warden. 

my poor bitch was traumatiesed bywhat happened

I can certainly understand that..... I'm now extremely wary of any black dog until i'm close enough to identify it as not being the miserable sod next door!

which is a great shame... as I tend to love every dog i meet and all i want is to play and run about.

PiP PiP

Monty

What drives me absolutly bonkers is dog owners who put their dogs on lead when they see my 3 off the lead, but then let their dogs come and sniff mine when I've asked them to 'come around' and sit next to me to wait until the dog on a lead has passed! When my dogs are being obedient and waiting for their next command, the owner who's just put their dog on a lead should have enough sense just walk past and not let their dog pull across or indeed start asking me what kind of dogs do I have! This happened again today and I get really really annoyed about it hence I don't normally mince my words..

> What drives me absolutly bonkers is dog owners who put their dogs on lead when they see my 3 off the lead, but then let their dogs come and sniff mine when I've asked them to 'come around' and sit next to me to wait until the dog on a lead has passed

Those owners may want thier dogs to socialise with other dogs, but prefer they do so with dogs that are under control, rather than free-running dogs.

I personally don't mind the people that rush to get thier dog on a lead when they spot Buster (leashed), but then when they see he is under control they come over for a chat :) I wish there were more people like this.

Hello Monty!

It's nice to see lurcher owners on here and I will forgive the "poncy pedigree" references, because my dogs are neither. It is not a prerequisite of being a member here.

Lurchers are often dismissed as not being a breed as such but they are a Type. There are Lurcher shows, believe it or not, and many Lurchers take part in sports such as Lure Coursing and even Lurcher racing. They are an ancient type of dog which work closely with human peeps either to bring rabbits to the pot or assist in vermin control. Personally, I love Lurchers and always have done, and maybe I won't own one but I will always have an extremely soft spot for them.

There are a few special forums for your type,  but I would suggest Lurcherlink, where dogs of your type congregate and the hoomans seem to get on very well too. They are very experienced with your kind, so if you choose to pop in and see them, I don't think you will be disappointed.

They are also very well versed in the peculiarities and idiosyncrasies of your ancestry and background, that wot makes you wot you is.

I will be very pleased to hear of your progress, so do keep us informed :)

If somebody puts their dog on a lead, to me its a sign of either their dog being aggressive with other dogs or the owner being worried about his/her meeting my dogs, not a sign of them wanting their dog to socialise with mine. Either way as a good dog owner I will call my dogs back because I don't know their reason. [Of course 9 out of 10 times I get the 'he's not aggressive he just wants to play'. Yeah mate, I can see his back teeth and tonsils so yes he definatly doesn't want to play!]
And the other dog owner doesn't know whether my dogs are good with other dogs. They are, but just because they are well behaved and obedient doesn't mean that they have to be good with other dogs, so no, you shouldn't let your dog to come and sniff them when they are not in a position to sniff your dog!

In Response to FlyingFinn

I always put my boys on a lead when I see another dog walker because I am always worried about their reactions to them, not because my dogs are a problem but if they stop and talk and let mine say hello to them and their dogs ( more often than not their dogs will have a go at mine), they end up saying oh they are alright then and we have converted quite a few people to the fact that they are or can be just as nice as any other breed.  Its also good because if any body mentions them people say oh weve met them their fine, great big softies.

> I always put my boys on a lead when I see another dog walker because I am always worried about their reactions to them

Same here (well, Buster is always on a long-line not loose, but he's put on normal lead if I see dogs about). This is also due to other peoples perception, I want him to socialise & he is friendly with other dogs and a lot more socialble than most we meet in so much as he does not react in a negative way if he meets a grumpy/growly/snappy dog.
I have no worries or concerns about my dogs behaviour atall, but I:
1) do not want the sheer sight of him loose, frightening people
2) do not know the temperments of any loose dog we meet, so I'd rather have him near me and the greeting be under control so I can interupt any problematic behaviour from the other dog(s) & if need be defend him (just because he's huge and friednly, doesn't mean I don't fear another dog hurting him)

>we have converted quite a few people to the fact that they are or can be just as nice as any other breed

:) It's lovely isn't it when somebody can see that your dog is actually a nice, friendly dog, despite it's looks :)

in my book, it only good maners to put your dog on the lead when you see other people with dogs. unless you know them that is. My dogs are all well mannered, however i do NOT want other dogs annoying ME when I have been good enought to put my dogs on their leads. once i speak to the other dogs owners and assessed their dog/s then i am happy for all to say hello and play. as i say good manners. def NOT a sign of my dogs being aggressive.

If i'm walking about and see a fellow dog walker coming in my direction and they put their dogs on a lead i'll either do the same or hold onto their collars.. A friend of mine asked me why I did it as she always took it as a direct mark towards her boy who is a GSD, this maybe the case for some I said but not all dogs like each other, some are in training etc, many reasons and I said its only polite to at least keeping your dog away from theirs unless they say its ok..However if the fellow dog walker is walking a mix on and off lead I tend to assess what is in their pack as whether mine stay off or not..

I totally agree with what you do when meeting other dogs on lead Suejaw. I do the same with my 3 if someone has put their dog on lead when they've seen mine coming.

I think it's very good practice also for my dogs to meet others (usually off lead) and then come with me as I've usually walked on. This stops silliness with dogs careering about and under no control.

I find the biggest issue when meeting other dogs is that once they've said hi to my lot, they'd rather stay with them than go back to their owners. I've lost count the times I've had to wait for the owner to come back and retrieve their dog. This happened today with a young but grossly overweight black lab. It seemed an age before the owner caught up with her. By then she'd already side swiped my bitch & got a good telling off, and then proceeded to play with my other two. I asked her age (only two!!!) and said "she's a big girl!" I couldn't help myself, it makes me cross that people don't realise what a disservice they are doing their young dogs by letting them get like that... Anyway, she would have come with us if her owner hadn't come back for her lol!

Getting back to perceptions of Rotties, I met two offlead the other day. I couldn't avoid them, we were walking to the fields along a fenced path, and had a little chat with the owners, even had a stroke of the young male, the other was huge! When I looked back, the big boy was standing head to head with my girl. The owner walked on, calling him, and he followed. Still, no problems, and one step closer to finding a comfort zone around them.

I met the two same Rotties as in my first post whilst out today. we were crossing the path they were on (lots of undergrowth & almost bumped into them!). Funnily enough, it was the black lab who immediately went for my youngest. Perhaps they popped out of the undergrowth and startled it, I don't know, but when I looked up the path and saw the man with the other dogs, I smiled and said "We'll go this way". We walked across the path, back into the depths of the woods and didn't see them again.

Still, this is a pretty interesting discussion all round (still!).

Glad you had a good experience today with a Rottie.. If you live anywhere near me we can always meet :-)

I also think that some dogs have trouble reading black or very dark faced dogs, which then can cause problems, but had to say its probably a lot easier for the Rotts now to communicate with others as many have their tails.

> and one step closer to finding a comfort zone around them

Brill :)

Would love to walk with you sue, perhaps you could pm me your location?