My husband was walking our two dogs last night on their usual walk up grass land then into the woods. Most of the dogs they meet are regulars and all get on fine. Anyway my husband noticed a man with 3 dogs off the lead and one of our dogs went to investigat but came back on recall. The stranger then proceeded to shout obsenities and verbal abuse at my husband that our dogs should be on a lead as his dogs would tear ours apart as his dogs were"mental"! The stranger put two of his dogs on a lead and ours just got on with their walk. My husband pointed out to this man that if his dogs were that dangerous(owners admission) why were they allowed to be off the lead at all and they constitute as being danderous dogs and should be muzzled in public. All my husband got was more abuse from the owner. I have met these dogs before during the day but they were with his wife/partner and these dogs have tried to have a go at ours and she admitted they were "funny" with dogs.I now stay clear of them but is there anything that can be done about these owners as I would hate this to happen to other people and their well behaved dogs. Not going to name breed of dogs the man had but does not do the breed any favours with an owner like that.

Sounds as if the owner needs a muzzle too, Jennifer!

I would have a word with your local dog warden ........he should be able to monitor the situation - if by the owners' admission the dogs are aggressive you are correct - he should have them on leads and muzzles!

Margot

Thanks for your reply, it was appreciated I will note down the wardens number incase the man is aggresive again, although we will avoid him. My hubby commented that just as well he(hubby) wasn't an off duty police man as the owner addmitted his dogs were dangerous and dropped himself right in it! Regards.

I personally don't like owners that let their dogs run up to other dogs 'to investigate' :rolleyes:.  How close to his dogs did your husband let your dog get before he recalled him?
The dog owner gave you a warning that his dogs may bite yours and he put them on a lead.  He may not have been polite about it but at least he was being responsible about it and his dogs were obviously under his control or yours would have been bitten.

I have to agree with Lara  I am afraid, yours was the out of control dog,  it does not matter how near your dog got to the others. Yes he may have been a little overly rude in his response to your husband and dog, but maybe he is fed up with out of control dogs running loose.   it sounds like his dogs where under control whether they where on or off lead,  because if they were`nt they may have attacked your dog, for invading their space.

No our dogs were not out of control as were recalled immediately. Our dogs only get to play with dogs they know and never allowed any where near dogs they don't, hence immediate recall(as said in origional post). It was the owner who approached my husband not vice versa and was threatening towards him. I find it interesting you have taken the side of an a man who admitts his dogs are "mentil" and would "tear" other people dogs apart wether they were on the lead or not. My husband is more than qualified in the dog world as he shows and trains dogs in various disiplins. I have contacted the dog warden for advice  on this matter and found out that several dogs have been attacked by described dogs and they are investigating the matter already. Thankyou to the other posts for their kind constructive comments.

believe me jennifer, i do not take the side of anyone tht sounds "Mental" or is "offencive" but I can see it from  his point of view, I also have a dog aggressivw dog, that I take out for walks (she does not wear a muzzle)  that is another story!   and I get so tired of people allowing their dogs to come and "investigate"   her, I have shouted to people to "recall their dogs, and sometimes when you dont have much time , you may shout a little louder  than you normally would, to get  the point across quickly . but you did say your dog ran over to his , as you had to recall him, the chaps dogs did not run up to yours... so by going by your post it was your dog that was out of control......... it happens to us all at some point(no matter how much experience we have)  so it is just another one to chalk up to experience,and I am sure you or your hubby wont allow your dog to run up to strange dogs again.  P.S  by the way she is always on a lead.

No i did not say my dog ran over to his, what was said was she went to investigate and was recalled immediately(so she got about ten yards before returning) bearing in mind the man was about 50 yards away. So she was fully under control and our boy at all times. As i have said our dogs don't get to run up and meet other(strange) dogs they are recalled. The point I am making is this man lets his dogs run free knowing that they are aggresive (and looks like they have attacked other dogs who have been on leads, according to the warden) and shouts and brags his dogs are "mental "and will "tear" ours apart.  But if you think it was our dogs at fault that is your own perogative its a free country after all.

Sounds as though the man is as 'mental' as his dogs. Something similar to this happened to my daughter. She was very frightened by a lunatic who threatened to shoot her dog. Her dog wasn't doing anything wrong, she was simply walking on a public footpath across a field, on a lead. The man sceamed at her that he owned the field and it was illegal to use a public footpath unless you are actually going somewhere, (shows how barmy he was). We reported him to the police and he was prosecuted for threatening behaviour. He was found guilty and fined and also had to pay my daughter compensation.

i dont think anyone is "at fault" its just one of those things that happen. if your dog returns to you when you call it then you are in control, if his walk of lead by his side and do not go up to other dogs then he is in control, its irrelevant if they are "iffy" with other dogs if he is in control of them, they shouldnt have be be leashed and muzzled just to suit someone elses insecurities.
what wasnt in control was just a few high tempers probably as a result of previous experiences and expectations.
jus avoid them infuture for an easy life.

Thats terrible! There are some extremely unrational people out there aren't there? Good for you and getting it sorted out by taking action. I spoke to other dog walkers today about what happened and some of them had similar verbal abuse and threats. So we now know it is just not us, makes me feel better in a way.Regards