Until now I have taken Marley on walks where we will not meet anyone else, today I decided to take him on a walk where we would meet other dogs and people (with my fingers tightly crossed he would still come back to me)  We met 6 different dogs and he loved it, we met two springers who looked just like big versions of him even though hes a working cocker! :-/ every one thinks he a springer!  I thought they were cockers as they looked the same as Marley :-)

Anyway, he still came back to me which was a big relief and every dog walker I met stopped for a chat and was really freindly!  I think thats wonderful :-) 

I was a bit nervous when we saw other dogs approaching but think that if a dog is off its lead in a public place and its owner is present it must be friendly-right?

Not always good assume this as my friends dog was attacked by a dog that had slipped its lead.  Not wanting to scare you but just make you aware.

With time I got to know most of the dog walkers on the park I go to and also which dogs could be a bit iffy. 

I always get mine close and put them on a lead if I see an unknown dog on a lead just in case, but there are two dogs on the park I go to that are only on their leads as they run off and are perfectly happy to have a play on their leads.

I think the best way to learn about other peoples dogs is to chat to them but you will always come across at least one total grumpuss ;-)

Glad it all went well. I wouldnt assume that about dogs off lead and owners present.
When my dog was quite young we were walking one of our usual routes. Fred was on the lead and there was a "normal looking" family with children and 2 dogs off lead playing. the dogs were playing and chasing a ball as we approached but as soon as they saw us the dogs rushed over & began sniffing and it soon turned nasty. The staffie bit my dog while the larger (GSD Cross) just growled. I bent down and picked my dog up and they dogs continued to have a go and were jumping up trying to get to fred who was in my warms. I was very shaken up by this & now approach all dogs/owners with caution. Better to be on the safe side. 9 times out of ten you meet lovely people with nice dogs but there is an element of risk to always be alert for.
I personally wouldnt let a dog off lead unless i was happy its recall was good and its temperment was excellent. Unfortunately not everyone thinks the same and there is a small risk you will meet a dog thats not so friendly and is off lead - therefore harder to control or recall.

Thats great that you had a positive day.

But just be careful and I dont want to put you off after such a good day but we had a bad experience of "friendly" dogs off lead bullying my 6 month old pup and not letting her get back to me which was all she wanted to do.  I was not best pleased and said so to the owner, who said they were only playing. It was no fun and she was terrified of dogs for a long time after, we manged to work her through most of it but she wont tolerate another dog near her and never plays off lead. Sad beause we put in tons of good work as a little pup and she was perfectly fine til then.

Its a shame that there isnt a website where we could post to meet up for friendly walkers.

I'm also glad you had a great day, there's nothing better than talking to other nice dog owners and watching your dogs play together, it's great. I do agree with the others though on what they say about never assuming that just because a dog is off lead it's friendly, sadly there are a lot of irresponsible and just plain idiotic owners out there and you're always better to be safe than sorry and give a quick shout out to the owner to ask if they're ok with other dogs. Some adult dogs are also really fine with other dogs but don't appreciate lively puppies bounding up to them (not saying that Marley does this but a lot of puppies do!) and they may give them a telling off. Marley looks lovely though, my working cockers often get mistaken for springers too, especially my blue roan boy, people always think he's a black and white springer. Do you go to puppy socialisation or training classes with him? That can be a really good way of meeing other friendly dog owners in your area.

Agree with the others you can't assume all other off lead dogs are friendly, but you're doing the right thing letting Marley off. If you're a bit rubbish at reading other dogs body language you'll have to learn :-)  you can still be taken by surprise though.

I can't believe how many people actually stop and talk when you have a dog when usually they wouldn't bother. Theres a some lovely people near me though, several who are retired and want to stop and chat as I'm taking the dogs out before work and I'm usually running late and don't have time to chat. I always try and be polite though. When I take them for their long evening walk and have time to chat I never see them! Typical!

Yeah you do meet some lovely people on walks, i have actually made some really good friends from my local park, you get to know them and their dogs over a few years, we've actually done things socially without the dogs! all different ages of people and dogs.
But i do agree with other posters, that just because a dog is off the lead doesn't mean they are friendly or their owners!! my girl was attacked by dogs off the lead when she was on the lead in a public place.
Glad you had a great walk and met some great people, and Lot's more fun walks to come.........

Hayley

I will defo be asking if dogs are friendly in the future then!  My friend has two labs (3 yr old) Marley enjoys playing with (even though he has to be quick as they occasionally squish him with their big paws)  and he plays nicely with a 6mth old show cocker and a little X at training class (only been 3 times).

yes K92303, It would be good to get to go on walks with friendly people and dogs so they could play! :-)

Please don't just assume that all owners of unsociable dogs are bad either. One of my dogs can be a lottle frightened of otherdigs as he is a rescue and was totally unsocialised. He's come along way and is ok with most dogs but not all. Hes fine off lead and will not go up to other dogs, and his recall is good, but equally he doesn't want bouncy dogs running up to him either and will tell them to go away. (He doesn't fight though, just chases or puts on a short aggressive display.) If i see dogs approaching or have to pass cose by i will put him of lead or call him to heel, but if the other dog is over the other side of the park he is free to go off lead as he is under control. Unfortunately other people take that to mean it is ok for other dogs to come bombing over to pester us and not even bother to recall their dogs. :-( He's find with most well mannered dogs and puppies though. My other two are fine with other dogs. I don't want people to think that people like me are iresponsible owners just because we want to do the best for our dogs so i let my slightly unsociable dog off lead under control.

oh how I miss my sociable dog walks - before we moved out to the sticks I walked my dogs in the local country park and a large group of us used to meet up regularly in all weathers and at all times of the year- we would just mooch about watching the dogs having a great time together and just chat over stuff usually 'doggy' but sometimes not - each year we would have a Christmas meal out (all glammed up  without the dogs !!!) and everyone would come to my place for a pre -Crufts party.

Here we have our own land to run the dogs on and our stretch of river bank is usually deserted especially in the winter so I never get to meet up with anyone for walks ...and I really miss it....I do know that there are loads of other dog folk in the village but I hardly ever see them - perhaps I'll put an ad up in the local shop and start a walking group !.

Yvonne

Yep I love the social aspect of dog walking and it seems the more the dogs get to meet in a relaxed manner the fewer the issues, and if a youngster gets told to sling their hook by a grumpy they shrug it off, or learn to ahve better manners, because most of their interactions are positive.

The vast majority of dogs are OK or at worst a bit grumpy, very few would attack a dog for no reason, and one would hope most owners of such would avoid busy dog walking areas, and/or keep them on lead.

Because a dog is off lead is no way meaning that they are a good dog, or the owner is responsible.

It pains me to say it but we were mobbed by 4 off lead staffords one day, our poor girl (also a SBT) didnt know what to do and they were litrally roaming free while their owner was somewhere else.

I would always approach with caution and I now assume every dog is a bad dog until proven otherwise, its sad but saved Mitz from a fair few run ins, as ones who have lookd friendly off lead a little way away have turned out to be snarly horrible dogs with no discipline or training, but then some have been lovely and very friendly.

Just be careful and dont assume they are nice till you are close enough to see body language etc :)

there was a cavalier at the park near our old house who was like that, all waggy waggy till right up to my old boy then a snarly little b**tard. odin used to hide behind me he'd get such a fright. he was a mastiff btw, bloody wimp lol. though i'd rather they hide than get shirty!

Theres something about walking a dog or pushing a pram that makes people want to stop and talk. If im out walking on my own (this rarely happens) i get from A to B without speaking to anyone but if im out with my niece & nephew or walking the dog people want to stop and make a fuss of them (dog and children!) Not sure whaty it is - makes you seem safer?i dont know but its really lovely and a great way to chat to others in the community you wouldnt normally get a chance to

For me as a Lone Parent this social contact has been very important.