Hi,
Ive just got in with my Labrador Ralph from our morning walk. We always see other dog owners with their dogs. Now my worry is this, I get a worried when other dogs come bounding towards us - I don't let my dog see this, I say 'Oh who's this?' in a soft voice because he's only four months old and just starting to come out from behind my legs when we see other dogs -thanks to excellent puppy training classes. However, I always have in the back of my mind what if? What if this dog has a go at my dog? What would I do to keep my Ralph safe? After all I don't know these dogs - so far most of them have been very friendly and put me and Ralph at ease. But today one growled and showed its teeth to us -

- I was just wondering what your experiences had been? Has your dog ever got into a scrape? and what do you do so you don't make matters worse?

Thanks Lisa

I don't know what i would do as luckily it's never happened to, luckily where we live most dog owners seem sensible and the dogs that we meet off lead are very friendly and well mannered.

Is he on the lead when the others approach ?

Yes, we do allow him off lead though- he is very good at recall, he always comes back to me immediately. I always put him on the lead when people approach though because he is a very big people dog and is still jumping up - most people don't like puppy paw prints on their clothes so I always put him on the lead when dogs/people approach us while he is still learning.

I know it can be worrying but you must try and stay calm.Let your pup have a loose lead so that he can express his body language.If you hold him on a tight lead you can cause him to give the wrong signals and this can cause problems.
Archer

Our 1 yr old sheltie had 3 dogs have a go at him in the park the other day (last time i go to that park on a sunday!) the owners didnt really seem to care, luckily they werent really nasty and didnt hurt him

Poor thing! I personally think that owners should keep their dogs on a lead when other dogs/people are around if they cannot recall them. I don't see why we should have to be on pins and stop going to certain parks.
Hope your sheltie didn't get too much of a fright.