....with allowing dogs to socialise when out on a walk?

I remember the old days when I could walk mum and dads dog and she would merrily play with a load of other dogs in the field whilst the owners were all chilled out and happy walking. Now I am so paranoid about other owners that Willis doesn't go off the lead or be walked where other dogs are, and I get quite affronted when dogs run up to Phoebe (why do I? they are only dogs after all!).

There are an increasing number of threads on here from folk who have been upset by dogs approaching them - why? Is it really the dog or the infringement on your personal space you dislike? I'm genuinely interested in this so anyone who replies please don't get defensive :)

Are we making the nations pets aggressive by not allowing them to socialise?

Those dogs that get very excitable by the presence of other dogs - are they ones that would benefit from being allowed to play to get them used to it?

If a couple of dogs have a scrap - is it not natural?

Are folk becoming more and more protective of their dogs - and is that a GOOD thing?

*discuss* :D

A hard one to answer - for myself, I allow my dog to go forward and meet other dogs and play, but if I see the other owner looking concerned, or dodgy, or they have their dog on a lead, I will call Banya and have her under close control :)

I agree dogs need to meet other dogs and to play :)

A small scrap such as a mature bitch telling off a pushy male is fine - many get worried by this though. I think it's being able to tell what is a real problem (ie pushy dog scaring the daylights out of very scared shy dog) and what is just normal behaviour which is hard for so many.

Lindsay
x

I have nothing against dogs socialising - the park where I've moed to has at least half a dozen groups of people who meet up with their dogs each day - so long as it's okay with both owners.  Mine go on lead as soon as we see another dog, and I ask if he or she is friendly - if yes (or if they've asked me) then they play.  Fortunately round here they seem to be mostly friendly!  It's the uninvited dogs that irritate me, but I agree, socialising is so important.

I agree with Lindsay's latter point too - many owners just aren't good at telling what is (and isn't) appropriate behaviour.  A lot of dogs we pass like to follow Remy with their nose glued to his bum - unfortunately, that's the one thing that will make him get snappy above all else, try as I might to get him to be more tolerant about it.  The owners don't realise though.  I've noticed a lot of people don't seem to realise when their own dog is very uncomfortable - I leash Opi because I know she'll bounce on another dog if I let her run up to them, and has frightened dogs before, but the owners seem totally unaware and even laugh at their dog "playing"!

It's all down to common COURTESY. :) You dont' just allow your dogs to run up to others, you ASK. Not all dogs like other dogs, and some may be scared -simple as that.  "A couple of dogs having a scrap" has more than once landed me at the vets for stitches. If people ASK if they can let their dogs run up to mine, then that's fine. In my own case it would depend entirely on whom I was walking! In some cases it would be a definite NO as several of my dogs would never allow strange dogs to run straight up to them. Walk past closely yes, not a problem, run up to them, no way. Others of mine would love it, and one would turn and run. Back in 1988 my Cocker Spaniel was chased by a Boxer whose owner assured me "he's just playing" -my Cocker was terrified and ran straight into the road -thankfully she didn't get hit.

I honestly cannot remember mums dog ever getting into a fight that needed stitches. A few mild disagreements maybe...but this was years ago.

I wonder if there is a problem with breeding aggression these days? Or simply too many inexperienced folk owning the wrong breed...

Or is it a case of putting the cart before the horse and not allowing young puppies enough socialisation - which makes them aggressive adults?

A mixture of all 3 I'd say.

However I can remember back in the very early 1980's my Golden retriever getting attacked time and time again by loose running dogs, once he was bitten in the eye and had blood pouring all over his face and the other dog owner didn't as much as apologise, so I don't think it is entirely new.

Carla,

Well done for bringing this up.  My 3 are rarely on leads, all socialise wonderfully and I have no problems with them interacting with dogs.  Yes, they get into scraps (Mostly not of their own doing!) but that's part & parcel of dog hierachy amongst themselves.  Mine get plenty of exercise, lots of chances to meet other dogs and I rarely encounter a problem.   Sticking a dog on a lead or lifting it up creates a problem because the dog that is getting restrained will be more defensive.

If I see someone with a dog on a lead I just call mine to me and we walk into the undergrowth a bit until they have cleared the path.

You dont' just allow your dogs to run up to others, you ASK Excatly Marianne :)

I always shout ahead is you dog's ok to play ? I will also ask people to keep their dogs away if I have my two on a lead for what ever reason unless I want and can let mine off the lead to have a run around :)

The key is being in control of your dog and the situation as you should be ready and able to react in every situation :) If you are not then you should be walking somewhere else :)

I haven't got a problem with my dogs playing with others and they do if other people are happy with that happening.

A lot of dog ownersI think are the same but I have always put mine on the lead when other dogs approach just in case the other dog is unfriendly. 

I posted the other day about a dog approaching mine but we were on a road/bridge over a dam which cars do use so from my point of view it was a dangerous area where dogs should be on a lead.

I have no problem other dogs being off the lead in quiet areas if they don't mind my dog running up to them but they usually do even if their dog is off the lead.

I honestly don't know what's wrong with it. Afterall, public spaces are public spaces for all to use. People pass one another and say hello (well they do here, anyway!) when they're in the street - they don't stalk past giving one another a wide berth as if their 'personal space' is being violated! They don't ask "Is it all right if I speak to you?" - you just chat.

Likewise our dogs. If you take a dog out in a public space you expect it to meet and greet others. Nine times out of ten they'll be fine. And by being allowed to use their own species' body and vocal language, they understand each other. Not allowing them to socialise handicaps their development, and yes, that's when you get the ones that are overexcited when they at last see another dog. If they interact with other dogs every day it becomes almost boring, so the dog is calmer.

In essence I'd agree that many people are too over-protective of their dogs. I wonder if these are the same people who don't allow their children to make their own friends, or do they have it organised for them?

People pass one another and say hello (well they do here, anyway!) when they're in the street - they don't stalk past giving one another a wide berth as if their 'personal space' is being violated! They don't ask "Is it all right if I speak to you?" - you just chat.

That's VERY different JG, because people don't POUNCE on one another to speak, and this is what many dogs do -they have no manners. (And if a STRANGER approaches you in the street, they usually say "Excuse me" first, which equals asking if it's okay. :) ) Even those of my dogs that generally do not like dogs they don't know will accept a dog approaching them sensibly, using proper dog body language etc, but NEVER one who charges up and jumps on them and THIS is what so many seems to do.(And then when they snap, THEY are the ones blamed!) I don't think it should need to be a question of wide berth either. My dogs will be told to heel or sit and that's that -other dogs can pass at a distance of inches and it will be fine. So I still say it is manners, from both the dogs and their owners. :)

I agree Goldmali.
I had put both my dogs in a sit position as my Goldie was getting a bit excited on the road and expected the others to pass by but the dog off the lead approach my Goldie and growled which then set him off barking.  I didn't get an apology for this dogs action.  I personally think that the owner was at fault for letting her dog doing as it wanted.
If the dog had been at heel I wouldn't have had a problem but we were on a road and not a quiet area.

>will accept a dog approaching them sensibly, using proper dog body language etc,

And how do dogs learn this? From being allowed to mix freely with other dogs and to learn from their own species, not by human interference. ;) The dogs which charge up need to mix more, not less. :)

Well yes, thats my point. When I was socialising Willis the worst owners were the ones who got cross when a bouncy puppy approached their dog with me in hot pursuit. His recall wasn't 100% - but you don't find that out till its too late, and the glares I got were a bit OTT!

>His recall wasn't 100% - but you don't find that out till its too late

How true!!!!!

Hare'em Scare'ems best bud at 9 months was a totally out of control Wolfhound of the same age - a sight to see :D  He only visited the park on two afternoon's a week and was a complete handful but after several weeks of going balistic with my youngster and being suitably toed into line by the older dogs, he was much less excitable :)   He hadn't had any interaction with other dogs off lead before then so didn't really know how to tone down his behaviour with older and of course considerably smaller dogs. 

IMO, in most instances, dogs teaching youngsters is THE optimum training - they read one another far better than we can :)

Incidentally - it is well known in the horse world that an orphan foal raised by humans will lack respect for those humans when it realises its own strength and that the ONLY way for a horse to learn boundaries is by learning from other horses. Infact, a foal raised by humans can make a very dangerous horse - and if not allowed interaction with other horses at a young age is clueless on herd dynamics - very very dangerous for the horse. Humans are simply not capable of teaching horses horse language....

A thought for the dog world I wonder? :)

And... horses learn from other horses on how to interact with humans... :)

>A thought for the dog world I wonder?

Certainly for those with dogs the size of ponies   How is Willis???? :D :D :D

Seriously, I agree :)  The only experts at fully reading doggy body language are in their own species!  OK, every now and then they'll meet up with the class dunce but that's part and parcel of life for any of us ;)

Willis is emotional :D

He and Archie are currently obsessed with each other. Archie spends 99% of his time at the baby gate grinning at Willis. Willis spends half his time hanging over the gate trying to lick Archie on the top of the head, or opening the cereal cupboard and throwing the boxes around the room because he's not allowed to play with Archie. I've lost count of the amount of coco pops I've swept up this morning and every packet of crisps the kids open is crushed to a million pieces with a dane print on the packet. He even ate my M&S rolls yesterday - grabbed them off the top and played tug of war with Phoebe with them. I couldn't eat one - even after I let it dry out a bit :D

> A thought for the dog world I wonder?

I would say so - after all puppies learn from their mother as soon as they are old enough. I knew someone with a Westie that they had hand reared from 2 days old (owners were going to put it to sleep) but with NO canine contact as they had no other dogs. And I have to say it seemed  bewildered and clueless when faced with other dogs - and once attacked mine when he was ASLEEP and bit him (this did not help with his canine interactions!!). How can another species learn their own body language from a human?

How I agree with you. 

I own a breed that will never be 100% recall wise, they are an independent hunting breed that don't stick close enough fr a stat to have them instantly by your side, but they av and easy going nature. 

So I work hard o their social skills with people and dog, so when they are 100 yards ahead of me I know they won't jump on a person or dog, giving me enough time to reach them to either send on past 'walk on' or recall, or for me and the other dog and owner to interact.

I have  at times looked after a bitch who is a half sister of one of mine.  She is a first dog and an only one.  The first time she came to stay as an adolescent.

She had no social skills and was very brash and over confident and hence had no respect for other dogs and got their backs up.

Mine were quite shocked at how rude she was and gave me looks as if to ask if they were allowed to put her straight (they have been taught to be politeth visitors).  I did have to help them out a bit by not allowing her to overwhelm them, but they soon put her straight.

When I had my last very timid rescue foster staying she came to visit and poor rscue found her larger than life attitude overwhelming so I did have to tell her off to get her to be less pushy and within a day or two they were best freinds as of similar age.  Now the timid one needed the interaction too, to learn how to cope.

A sensible owner will realise that dog's aren't perfect and predictable (that's one of the traits that makes them fun!), and they need time to learn. Big puppies should be allowed to act their age, not their height! :D If owners don't want their dog to meet other dogs it's a little silly of them to take them where they're likely to meet other dogs. After all, it's the owners who decide where to walk the dogs, not the dogs!  Maybe the people who want a robot dog should stick with a Nintendog! :D :D

If owners don't want their dog to meet other dogs it's a little silly of them to take them where they're likely to meet other dogs. After all, it's the owners who decide where to walk the dogs, not the dogs!  Maybe the people who want a robot dog should stick with a Nintendog! :-D :-D

With all due respect JG you are clearly talking as a dog owner who has never lived with a dog that doesn't like others, and the comment above is extremely unfair! I see threads on here all the time where people agree that certain breeds do best on their own and are known not to get on well with other dogs, or are known not to get on with their own sex, so surely you must acknowledge they DO exist. It isn't always the fault of the owner, there can be a million reasons. WHERE exactly can you find somewhere to walk dogs where NOBODY else walks any? Christmas Day springs to mind but that's one day of the year, what about the other 364 days? Come on, at least try to put yourself in other people's position here. How would YOU feel if it was you that had a dog that didn't like others rushing up to it, and would you be happy to never walk it in public again? Where would you go? We don't live in a perfect world where all dogs and all owners are perfect and we never will. I find your attitude here very belittling.

None taken! ;) In fact our first family dog was a fighter so yes, I do know what it's like to have an unreliable, dog-unfriendly dog. His temperament changed after he was left in boarding kennels for a week; the other dogs barking scared him and he had to respond the only way he could think of. He was only let off the lead if we could see there were no other dogs around - we tended to walk him mainly on the streets early in the morning and late at night. It can be done. :)

He was only let off the lead if we could see there were no other dogs around - we tended to walk him mainly on the streets early in the morning and late at night. It can be done. :-)

That's how you make a dog dislike other dogs MORE -by keeping them away altogether. I cannot for my life see why those of us with well trained dogs should suffer because of people with untrained dogs?!

What are your own dogs like? Do they approach other dogs sensibly? If not, would you be willing to meet mine and teach them what happens if they are not sensible in approach? ;) Dali vs Mali -I know which coat is the thick protective one....

Walking a dog-aggressive dog is really very similar to walking an in-season bitch. Where there's a will, there's a way. :D My dog, my responsibility - not the responsibility of other owners to put their dogs on the lead because I want to walk there too!

>I cannot for my life see why those of us with well trained dogs should suffer because of people with untrained dogs?!

Which is why we kept him away!

My own dogs are pretty good. We walk in large open fields where you can see others for miles - they don't rush up to others because they're so used to it. Some dogs they like, some they ignore, some they don't like. We walk them quickly past the ones they don't like, because problems are likely to start if we stop to talk. Some dogs, which are rumoured to be 'nasty' are fine with ours. :) :)

Walking a dog-aggressive dog is really very similar to walking an in-season bitch. Where there's a will, there's a way. :-D My dog, my responsibility - not the responsibility of other owners to put their dogs on the lead because I want to walk there too!

But JG my point is why should there be seen to be a problem at all when the dog or dogs totally 100 % ignore others UNLESS approached rudely -then the problem isn't with that dog but with the approaching one. It's a bit like saying why can't my child walk in the middle of the road without looking, all cars should move out of the way as the cars are the only ones that can do damage?

And you're forgetting the scared dogs, what about them? Or the very small ones that can get injured and even die by a large paw being put across the back in play -should all of those too only walk at night? At this rate we'll have to confine entire breed groups to night walking only. :D

I think general understanding and tolerance seem to be very thin on the ground in all walks of life these days. :(

I have no problem with dogs running up to mine while they're on lead, if anything the problem is they don't run up to mine.

I have three springers two are well socialised, the youngest is 18 months old and he spent the first 6 months or more of his life locked in a shed with his mother and sister, so his socialisation has been limited, he came to us and socialises well with my other two springers but that is it.

He's bolshy but harmless, he needs  another dog to put him his place, but how can he be taught not to run up to strange dogs and start playing with them if owners insist other dogs are kept away from theirs.

Its the chicken egg scenario, people want well socialised dogs but don't want their dogs to socialise.

And how do dogs learn this? From being allowed to mix freely with other dogs and to learn from their own species, not by human interference. ;-) The dogs which charge up need to mix more, not less. :-)

Yes but that should then by under controlled circumstances -eg. at training club. Surely you aren't seriously saying they should learn by approaching other dogs wrongly and getting bitten as a result?! With the other dog often getting injured as well as of course dog fight BACK.OR even worse injuring or terrifying dogs that have had bad experiences? I for one will NOT accept my dogs being used as training aids without even being asked first. And, I can recall one incidence in the past where I kindly asked a couple to please call their Staffy away from my dogs and they refused.  So I let go of the grip I had on my Golden bitch's collar and she attacked the Staffy. (After all, it was annoying her by jumping at her and snapping at her legs etc.) Needless to say all I got for that was a load of abuse.

As is so often said on here by the training and behaviour specialists, dogs don't generalise. A dog will often obey all instructions perfectly at a training class, but until its been taught them in the home, in the garden, in the street, in the park, on the beach etc as well, it won't assume (that's a human characteristic, not canine) that it has to behave the same everywhere. A dog socialised purely at training classes is only partway there. It's vital that the learning continues in the outside world. Yes, there are risks involved - but that's part of the territory.

Yes, there are risks involved - but that's part of the territory.

So if you have a happy, friendly, outgoing Chihuahua that is running up to other dogs to play, you would be willing to risk it running up to say a German Shepherd or Rottweiler that didn't like it? To ensure that it learnt -even though it may be the last thing it ever did in life?

What about the fact that a bad experience may well change a friendly dog into an aggressive one? Running up to the wrong dog will the not create more friendly dogs that know how to act but more unfriendly ones.

I don't agree, as in my experience how dogs earn to interact with other dogs at training classes DO work the same anywhere else with just one exception, and the one exception is your own home.

The answer is still so very simple -just be courteous and ASK and it will all work out.

>that should then by under controlled circumstances -eg. at training club.

Unless a training club has different dogs every time you go, your dog won't be learning how to interact with strange dogs. It'll be brilliant with the ones it knows, but new ones are a whole different ball game! :D

Willis was fine at Training - he was used to it there. It was out on a walk I would discover that our recall was not as reliable as it should be - normally as he was playfully approaching someone who would scoop up their little yapper and allow it to bark down like mad at Willis. This made him think that all small dogs are ankle biters and made the small dogs even more badly behaved as they suddenly grew 6 foot.

The very best playmate Willis had was a 9 month old weim. The second best was a 10 month old flatcoat. Neither owners minded him playing at all - infact they encouraged it :D

A Q on training: In asking your dog to sit when strange dogs are approaching - is that not removing their usual body language and possibly causing the problems in the first place with strange dogs? If your dog is allowed to use its body language to display whether "visitors" are welcome or not - would that not eliminate most of the problem?

A good point on the sit request; it depends on the body language your (generic 'your' - not singling you out! :D) dog's displaying to the approaching dog. If it's up on its toes, hackles up and tail high, then it's likely to cause at least unease in the approaching dog, however friendly! In this case a sit would eliminate those challenging signals, and if you can also get the dog to look at you instead on the approaching dog then even fewer unnerving signals are being given.

>dog's displaying to the approaching dog. If it's up on its toes, hackles up and tail high, then it's likely to cause at least unease in the approaching dog, however friendly!

Wouldn't the approaching dog be less likely to approach in that situation then? Also, maybe the owner might suss that it *might* not be such a good idea to allow pampered pooch to roll up to anyone :D

Aren't you more likely to get an unwanted approach if the dog is sitting and looking at you?

I was thinking more of the situation when you're walking along the street and someone approaches on the same side of the road with their dog, where there's no option but to pass in close proximity:D

Aaaah, see, that never happens to me. Folk always cross over LOL :D

LOL! :D

Unless a training club has different dogs every time you go, your dog won't be learning how to interact with strange dogs. It'll be brilliant with the ones it knows, but new ones are a whole different ball game! :-D

Yours don't? Ours certainly does. Roughly 8-10 new dogs per week so yes there are always new dogs around. :)

No, when I went to training classes you saw the same dogs, in the same situation, each week.

*

Could'nt have said it better myself Jeangenie - I have noticed a HUGE difference in the way that people walk their dogs now - hardly anyone allows their dogs to behave like dogs and socialise - how can they ever learn doggy manners if they are never given a chance ? - if you look at feral street dogs in third world countries they are not forever fighting with each other -they learn from an early age how to co-exist and socialise with their own kind. It is becoming really difficult to do this in our so called 'civilised' country because people are so afraid to let their dogs meet and greet naturally so youngsters hardly ever get to mingle with well adjusted properly socalised adults - just those who are hastily put on leads when any youngster approaches them. So sad :(

Yvonne

Also the dogs belonging to homeless people and those begging in town are so easy going and obedient. They never bother anyone o each other and don't run into the road.

Ooooh Carla - you are norty :D :D :D

OK, IMO, (hair billowing and totally hat free in the gale blowing through the French doors :D ) society as a whole is becoming worry worted (a word not sure :rolleyes: )

Anyways, probably different neighbourhoods have different problems on the dog front - going by some posters experiences, some may be over run with nasty dogs and equally nasty owners - a shame :(

Where we are, being adjacent to bridle paths but also built over public parkland, we have a myriad of differing breeds and owners and lots of dogs "visiting" the area for off lead exercise.  Due to this I think most of the local dogs are REALLY good with others simply because they see and interact with so many.  Occasionally a "newbie" joins and sometimes their owner is more than a little uptight at letting their dog off lead with others about but we generally wear them down before long :D

I think in around 20+ years that we've lived here, I've known of three genuine dog attacks on other dogs - two of which were by the same dog, now long gone (dead), and another around a year ago - by a "visiting" dog which I'm assured has been seen only rarely since, leashed muzzled each time.

My dogs *occasionally* do belt off to see a dot in the horizon - the youngster more often than not :rolleyes: and *personally* I don't find it a huge concern although TBH it's currently being worked on (long project then :D )  Many's the time a strange dog has rushed mine when still on their leads - my dogs are not dog to dog aggressive so either are delighted by this or don't react much anyway.  Again, the youngest, may go a bit OTT but I don't blame the other owner(s) because as far as I'm concerned dogs will be dogs - they're not robots!

If I go into the park and see a dog on it's lead, I do keep mine leashed until I'm either well away from it or had the OK from it's owner - after all they may be working on a rescue dog with undetermined issues or have a poorly dog.  I think that's basic common sense and good manners.  BUT if my dogs are off and playing either with each other or other doggy friends, I certainly don't get my knickers in a twist at the sight of an "outsider" - IMO, if a new dog enters the area with it's owner where other dogs are clearly in view and playing happily, they should only do so if they are comfortable that their dog will not be distressed, disgruntled etc by the other canines presence :)

Phweeeeww, needing a coffee now :D 

[iWhere we are, being adjacent to bridle paths but also built over public parkland, we have a myriad of differing breeds and owners and lots of dogs "visiting" the area for off lead exercise.  Due to this I think most of the local dogs are REALLY good with others simply because they see and interact with so many.  Occasionally a "newbie" joins and sometimes their owner is more than a little uptight at letting their dog off lead with others about but we generally wear them down before long
]

Ooh tell me where you live and I will come and walk my dog there :D

We have a 15 month old GR who loves to play with all and sundry. I find this aspect of his training  really hard to get the right approach to. He is a bouncy, lively and very friendly dog but he has now learnt that, on some occasions  when I call him back to me or make him sit and wait, it must be because another dog is on the horizon so  he is scanning all round for a sight of the other dog. Being slap bang in the middle of his teen stage a couple of times he has then ignored me completely and run off towards the other dog - knowing that some owners hate this it makes me quite nervous of the reaction I will get from them. If he has gone back on his lead and they say it is ok for him to play I let him off and he will play with them.

I am now wondering if to keep putting him back on his lead is actually causing  a problem because once on the lead he gets really excited and by the time I have checked if it is ok to play he is so excited that he is like a bull in a china shop. If it is someone whom I know from past experience doesn't mind him being off lead then  I don't put him back on his
lead at all and he has a quick play and then goes on his way quite happily having played sensibly. If I walk with another dog owner (once in a blue moon) he again has a mad five minutes and then just gets on with his walk with just the occasional interaction between the two dogs.

Interestingly  the dogs I see in town who are living on the streets with their homeless owners don't seem to be dog aggressive at all - so perhaps they are just so used to meeting and getting on with other dogs that it isn't a problem. The majority of these dogs are never on a lead and they don't seem to take any notice of other dogs at all.

>Interestingly  the dogs I see in town who are living on the streets with their homeless owners don't seem to be dog aggressive at all - so perhaps they are just so used to meeting and getting on with other dogs that it isn't a problem. The majority of these dogs are never on a lead and they don't seem to take any notice of other dogs at all.

Exactly. This is the attitude (of dogs and owners! :)) that needs to be cultivated, not the 'ooh, keep away' unfirndly, intolerant attitude.

>when I call him back to me or make him sit and wait, it must be because another dog is on the horizon so  he is scanning all round for a sight of the other dog.

SNAP :D :D :D  Unintentionally I've taught the resident Young Pretender the cue for "something's coming Mum doesn't want me to see" :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:  I'm riding this one out in the hope that because restrictions are rare she will EVENTUALLY settle down

Sings "Dreams can come true ....... la la la la la  la" :P  

I let my dogs socialise freely UNLESS the other dog is on a lead or I read from the other dog or owner's body language that they are wary, in which case mine goes straight back on lead.  I think you need to be fairly relaxed about dogs meeting though to avoid actually affecting your dog adversely - round here, if you put your dog back on lead every time you saw another dog, the poor thing would hardly ever be off lead and would miss out on lots of doggy enjoyment.  He would also maybe start to see all dogs as a potential problem.  

When my dog was a pup I allowed her off lead straight away and she was an angel and didn't run off, just explored within a few feet of me.  Unfortunately, 4 times she was chased by other off lead dogs.  Since that time and even though she has attended training classes she is iffy around dogs at certain times.  She is fine if the dog is walking with us, she is fine with dogs at the training clubs but if a dog approaches her she will get nervy and turn away only to be followed by the other dog (naturally I think).  Unfortunately when the other dog turns away she will chase it and will 'go' for the back legs.  Now, when this has happened I can see it is not serious but I can't help remembering that being on the receiving end of this type of behaviour is the reason she is the way she is and so I feel guilty.  I refuse to keep her on the lead and she is quite happy in the park with other dogs about so long as they don't approach her, I can easily keep her away from them.  If a situation arises where there is no alternative but to come into close proximity of another dog then I put her on the lead. 

Should I just let her do her thing?  Do you think she would improve?  What about the other owners getting the hump?