The child well when I say child we are not talking a 8 year old he was a reasonable age was in full control of the mastiff and was just running up and down outside his mums caravan so the person in the wrong was my friends.  They are very laid back about their dogs as they are exceptionally good natured and dont think.  I personally think they have been very lucky that they have not had their dogs bitten. 

You are right if I saw you coming towards me I would give you a wide berth too ;)

If I've got my dogs with me I give everyone a wide birth :) Don't know what it is about Bruce but other dogs just don't seem to like him :) I think I read somewhere that other dogs don't seem to like boxers because of their face's and not been able to read what they are thinking as easily as some other breeds, don't know if this is right or not but i know Bruce is not very popular :) bless him :)

Hi Boxerluv

What you've read is correct - Boxers are often misread by other dogs because of the way they look.  One of the main features of aggression is a wrinkled muzzle, lips pulled back but Boxers have been bred to look like this and it causes confusion for other dogs. 

Another indication of how a dog is feeling, reacting or going to respond to something is by the way he carries his tail.  Again, unfortunately for Boxers they cannot signal their intention because, in the majority of cases, their tails are docked. 

As a result of mans interference, the poor Boxer is doubly disadvantaged and is unable to communicate effectively with his own species.  He then bears the brunt of his predicament by being avoided or attacked.

Hi Susieque,
Thanks for the info, thought I had read something like that but couldn't remember all the details :)

>I always work on the assumption that if someone is walking their dogs on a lead they are not trustworthy and to give them a wide birth.

I do too, especially if I'm walking my dogs off lead in an area where there are mainly off lead dogs. It sends a message.  We have an Akita cross that is always on an extendable lead.  I've never seen a dog go near it but it does a lot of staring and lunging towards other dogs.  The owner walks with a pram and stops every so often to reel it in.  I can feel the vibes from that dog across the field.  Even though it's on lead, I still give it a wide berth with my 2 at heel and depending on how close it is, on lead too.

Hi Spender,

>I always work on the assumption that if someone is walking their dogs on a lead they are not trustworthy and to give them a wide birth

ditto the above :)  Apart from the fact that a dog restrained on a lead may have a temperament problem which their owner is taking suitably sensible precautions to prevent harm to other dogs, they may have a poorly dog suffering from an illness or recovering after surgery and naturally don't want their own dog to be at the mercy of some who simply have no control over their pets and think every situation is resolved by shouting from some hundreds of yards back that their Fido "only wants to say hello"

Common courtesy costs so little in any walk in life but total lack of it can prove not just emotionally but financially very expensive and FWIW I firmly believe that owners who do their best to ensure their dogs have a good quality of life by putting in the extra pavement pounding often required with a stroppy dog should be commended for taking ownership responsibly and not have further demands put on them to muzzle dogs which they have already ensured they are keeping under control.

Regards,  Teri :)

Good post Teri, I'm in full agreement...... as always  ;-) :-D

Teri - totally agree with everything you said in your last post.
I have a rescue dog with dog aggression problems and people aggression problems (which we have managed to control, hes even got a few human friends now outside the family!)  It was touch and go at the beginning as to wether we would have to have him pt. to sleep. However we decided to give it a go. We had a trainer and worked with him for months (at considerable cost!). We got to a point where he would actually walk past another dog and not react. But all our work was in vain when an aggressive dog, off lead, came to him and attacked. My dog was on lead, wearing a muzzel, as we were in a place where there were children. He was unable to defend himself and the other dog made the most of it.
Since this incident he has never got over his problem again. So now he is walked away from other dogs as much as possible and I carry a muzzel with me. If a dog runs towards him showing any sign of aggression, I put on his muzzel and let him loose so he has at least got some chance of defending himself.

I completely fail to see where the problem lies, in simply keeping off lead dogs away from on lead ones.

Whether or not the on lead dog is or has a problem is irrelevant, anyone with an ounce of canine behaviour knowledge can figure out that being ON a lead limits a dogs fight or flight option to just FIGHT. Its no wonder many dogs, including those who are FINE off lead are iffy on.

But there seem to be a VAST contigent of dog owners who fail to see their dogs ARE dogs, and neither know nor care about any of this.

These are the foolish people id gladly wallop, who shout to me as their hound comes hurtling towards mine those immortal words 'he's friendly, hes come to say hello, he only wants to play'.....

Well, one of mine wants to play, but id rather he didnt right now, so thankyou for letting your dog wind him up and trip me up.
One of mine would prefer to EAT yours, he's been badly bitten by 'he only wants to play' dogs in the past, and has decided that pinning to the ground and dominating dogs is better than waiting and seeing what happens.
Another of mine is just a puppy, id rather he learned some manners and go through the experiences of the previous dog.
The last one is elderly, she doesnt appreciate being bounced on, she is scared of falling or tripping.

So theres four dogs when on lead who do NOT need or want off lead dogs hurtling up to them, only ONE of which has an aggression problem, caused by this very ignorance.

Then of course there is the even more ignorant fool, who thinks its HILARIOUS that their tiny little dog will 'take on' a much bigger one, snarling and snapping and getting in the way, underfoot and being generally obnoxious.

There was (note past tense, this tale does not end happily) one of these on my estate until last week.  A yorkie called Bruiser. Hahaha.
His owners walked him off lead round the estate, his garden where he resided, guarding his territory (the entire street) with all the ferocity on of only about 6lb can manage. His owner was asked several times by variuos dog walkers if she could keep him in, or on a lead. "Hahaha" she laughed "he's only little, he thinks he is a Rottwieler, he thinks he is hard".

She was warned on various occasions that some of us own dogs that are offended and provoked by this behaviour, and that also allowing her dog to run in the road and bite passers by and childred was not on. No response.

Mid last week Bruiser met his end. A very sticky end, he hurled himself in a fit of rage after my neighbours gsd Giro. Once too often, and Giro spun round, grabbed Bruiser and reduced him to a very very revolting bloody mess on the pavement in a matter of seconds. Nothing his owner could have done, and Giro is not known for behaviour like this. He was on a lead.

I have two dogs capable of that, the saluki x and Rocky the staffie x. Given the right provocation, they would both do it and ive pulled them out of situations before where it was a possibility.

However i am not,a nd i never will, make my dogs suffer and wear a muzzle (and yes, both find it terribly uncomfortable and spend their time trying to scratch them off) just because some MORONS cannot be bothered to train their dogs and keep them under control.

And like Mick says, if rocky gets into a fight on the lead, ill be letting him off to sort himself out, something he is well capable of doing. Im not getting bitten by someone elses loose dog again trying to protect my own dogs.

Em

Em, I could not agree more with EVERYTHING in your post.

It is a pity that one cannot legislate for a**holes! :rolleyes:

Great post Em - in total agreement with everything you say :)

Just a shame for poor Bruiser -- his idiot owners will undoubtedly get another little dog, and with the 'way of the council estate' instead of keeping it under control they will probably just threaten anyone daring to walk past their house (which is the main thoroughfare to the fields).

Why IS it possible to own an animal that is perfectly capable of doing damage to its own, and other species without ANY understanding of its mental needs???

Em