Why oh why do people with badly behaved dogs have to take them OFF lead in public parks only to then attack your own well behaved dog who is on a lead?

I am sick of this, 3 times now i have taken Lucy out for a walk and 3 times a dog off a lead has rush up to her to attack her.

This morning it was a mixture rottie who was quite a way from us, and he came over charging with heckles up and growling. I put my walking stick in between the two dogs to stop the dog from getting to Lucy, and this WOMEN, came rushing up shouting DONT HIT MY DOG with your stick.

God i was mad. I told her if she kept her dog under control we wouldnt be having this conversation, and I had no intention of HITTING her dog i was merely using my stick as a barrier.

To be honest IF this dog had attacked my Lucy who is a tiny minature Jack I would have used the stick and suffered the consequences. There is no way I am having my animal torn apart by badly behaved mutts.

What is wrong with people when they know their dogs have a problem they have a duty of care to keep them under control surely?

Any advise you can give me as this is serious stuff i need to take my dog out, its the closest place just across the road as i am disabled and cant walk far, actually i normally use my scooter and scoop Lucy up when these things happen but this morning I could cope with a little walk.

How do you cope with this or dont you have this problem?

Maria

Maria hi, this happens very frequently almost all over the world!!! (well, where dogs are loved as pets, that means Christian countries and white folk)
There is no way you can correct it, either! Supervised Parks is a solution, where everyone entering with a dog will be obliged to keep it on leash!!

I go for walks at odd times when chances are you'll meet nobody else, I keep it rare and ask my intuition if it's safe enough to take my dog for a walk!

You can't really defend yourself or your dog either. Not by any legal means, not without consequences.

Considering your circumstances, stay home it's safer.

I feel your pain! My old dog was actually quite agressive and the opposite would happen to us. I'd walk her with her harness on, she was completly under control, but then someone's dog would rush up and she would attack it. I had to stop walking the poor girl and just run her in our yard, because a muzzle wasn't an option and nobody would control their dogs.

It is my observation that unless there is an important reason such as searching for food or water or a mate, dogs never leave the den full of their supplies and family, for aimless walkabouts.

Originally Posted by Anubis

It is my observation that unless there is an important reason such as searching for food or water or a mate, dogs never leave the den full of their supplies and family, for aimless walkabouts.

How strange, i love to be ABLE to walk my dog, she loves it too, head up ears pricked, and its good for me as well. Its an enjoyable pastime for both human and dog.

I wouldnt think it was aimless as dogs need to get rid of energy just as we need to exercise LOL.

Well, almost everytime I take my dogs for a walk they look at me like asking "what for good earth's sake have we come here to do, when all food is left unattended back home!" . My hunting dog always assumes we're out hunting.
We're hunters by instict, but not anymore. Your dog will come with you wherever you go to guard and protect you, and that's what it does. They'll always be happy you take them along wherever you go, for this reason, they love you!! They trust you have a good purpose for moving out.
It is true our ancient body needs exercise. There are other safer ways to do this than abandoning the den.
Besides, a walk on leash for some dogs is like no walk at all, not unless they can run in their full stride for as long as they please (and that's superhuman long)

Wow, what a negative perspective on life! (It is sad that we live in such a sue-happy world) Walking around, either on-leash, or off, is my dog's absolute FAVORITE thing to do. What does she do on our walks? She stuffs her head in every single shrub, rushes over to every light pole, and stops to sniff every weed, blade of grass, and rock. She's "reading her pee-mail!" In fact, today we just got back from a weekend camping trip. We were all thoroughly exhausted, even the dog. In fact, she was acting so lethargic, I was worried about her. So as a test I asked her if she wanted to go for a walk. Let me tell you, her lethargy disappeared instantly-- I ended up having to take her out. And it's still 100 degrees outside at sunset where I live!

As for the problem of irresponsible owners who can't control their dogs: Sometimes, when owners are inexperienced, and haven't learned to establish themselves as the pack leaders, they find it is just easier to let their dogs off-leash, rather than fighting with them, even though they know it is wrong. Still others have a strong philosophical belief that no dog should be on a leash, ever-- and yes, they are wrong too. I'm sorry, I don't have any solutions for you though. I'm happy to report my own dog is well-behaved, both on and off-leash, and has good recall. I know Cesar Millan gives some advice for handling an aggressive and unknown dog on his website, maybe you could take a peek over there?

Originally Posted by Mydogiscute

Wow, what a negative perspective on life! (It is sad that we live in such a sue-happy world) Walking around, either on-leash, or off, is my dog's absolute FAVORITE thing to do. What does she do on our walks? She stuffs her head in every single shrub, rushes over to every light pole, and stops to sniff every weed, blade of grass, and rock. She's "reading her pee-mail!" In fact, today we just got back from a weekend camping trip. We were all thoroughly exhausted, even the dog. In fact, she was acting so lethargic, I was worried about her. So as a test I asked her if she wanted to go for a walk. Let me tell you, her lethargy disappeared instantly-- I ended up having to take her out. And it's still 100 degrees outside at sunset where I live!

As for the problem of irresponsible owners who can't control their dogs: Sometimes, when owners are inexperienced, and haven't learned to establish themselves as the pack leaders, they find it is just easier to let their dogs off-leash, rather than fighting with them, even though they know it is wrong. Still others have a strong philosophical belief that no dog should be on a leash, ever-- and yes, they are wrong too. I'm sorry, I don't have any solutions for you though. I'm happy to report my own dog is well-behaved, both on and off-leash, and has good recall. I know Cesar Millan gives some advice for handling an aggressive and unknown dog on his website, maybe you could take a peek over there?

Chuckling like mad here PEE MAIL, thats really funny thanks for cheering me up LOL. I shall use that again.

I love my walks just have to be a bit quicker on bring back in the flexi lead and lifting lucy up out of harms way.

Thanks for the message.