# How do you even respond to poor dog owners?!



## germanshepowner (Oct 26, 2018)

We were walking at a large park near our house. My dog was with another German Shepherd and her owner. My dog was on leash. A woman came up to us with her pit bull off leash and the dog knocked my puppy over. The dog isn’t violent, just too rough. He was snarling. My puppy is six months and luckily, very confident after a lot of work so she wasn’t phased. The pit bull owner says, oh it’s just in play! We both turn away trying to leave. She grabs her dog, puts him on leash, says sorry. She then lets the dog run up AGAIN on leash at both our dogs. We both are actively walking away at this point and I’ve grabbed my puppy (which was a feat since she’s 50 pounds) and she just starts letting her dog follow us like we were interested in letting our dogs play with hers. The dog is straining on his harness and being very vocal.

Personally, I don’t let my dog snarl in play so I did not want her dog playing with my dog after my puppy had ALREADY been knocked over and her dog was very vocal. Not to mention, both my German Shepherd and my friends were not interested in playing.

But I didn’t know what to say. I was kind of at a loss that someone would behave so poorly. I was speechless. But also annoyed at myself that I didn’t reprimand her. What on earth do you say in this situation?! I’m still angry and we’ll definitely see that dog owner again.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

I am way past the point of being nice to these people.


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

Dogs that rush over to mine, are not given any chance from me to meet mine. First I step in front of my dog, then blow a referee whistle (my dog associates this noise with the best treats so she doesn't startle) straight at and as hard as I can and as long as needed at 'that' dog. At the same time I make myself as big as possible and tell that dog, "GO HOME!" and point to wherever that is. Has always worked (so far).
I ignore the owner and move away. Has always worked as well (so far). You can't reason with people like that.


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## Magwart (Jul 8, 2012)

Jax08 said:


> I am way past the point of being nice to these people.



Yup. I have noticed that the same gruff, bossy voice that is effective at telling strange dogs to go away works just as well on their people. *shrug*


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## middleofnowhere (Dec 20, 2000)

What would I say? "GET YOUR DOG AWAY!" yes, I would yell it. I have yelled similar stuff in much less threatening situations with dogs. So people think I'm an unreasonable old woman. So the heck what. 



In one instance, the dog was on lead and rushing us - owners "He just wants to play.." my response "She doesn't!" 



I see no point in being "polite" in cases like this.


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## wolfstraum (May 2, 2003)

I do not put myself in a situation where this can happen. Too many nasty pits in my area, too many idiot owners. Hypothetically, well - I can be pretty blunt. It would not be pretty, pleasant or in a modulated tone of voice.....I may use some negative words to the owner of the other dog....and the dog would NOT get NEAR my puppy! In the old days, I had a pretty strong leg from booting horses around....the dog would get a good kick if it got near enough...today, I would have a can of something or carry a stout stick if I was in some sort of area where this could possibly happen.

Lee


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

If they aren’t touching us or charging us, I walk away and leave the area. If their dog is aggressive or won’t leave mine alone, I tell the owner firmly to keep away from us and to get their dog under control NOW! I’m not rude, but I’m firm. If they persist, I tell them off, briefly and why. Then I leave. It has happened too often and now my younger dog has become reactive toward some dogs in some situations. My concerns are my dogs’ safety and behavior, nothing more, I will say anything I need to to protect my dogs and myself.

Once the situation is diffused (dogs are separated, preferably back in the car or the house) I will go back and look for the person for a quiet chat if possible. I explain that dogs don’t read situations like we do and they are setting their dog and mine up for a dangerous encounter. Then I hand them my trainer’s card.


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## germanshepowner (Oct 26, 2018)

LuvShepherds said:


> Once the situation is diffused (dogs are separated, preferably back in the car or the house) I will go back and look for the person for a quiet chat if possible. I explain that dogs don’t read situations like we do and they are setting their dog and mine up for a dangerous encounter. Then I hand them my trainer’s card.


I love that you hand them your trainers card. Maybe I’ll do that. So frustrating. I guess I need to work on being more vocal! I hate myself for not saying anything in the moment. It happened so fast and my dog is still the size I can pick her up so I just grabbed her instead of yelling. 

I haven’t had a dog in five years and I’ve forgotten how awful bad dog owners can be. I feel like I’m going to scream at the next one I interact with because the frustration has been increasing fast. Yesterday we were walking on a small sidewalk with a busy street. I pulled my puppy over to let them pass. And she let the dog just run over to my puppy. The small dog was NOT friendly and she acknowledged this. We live in a busy city right now as well so I can’t avoid dog interactions. At all.


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

germanshepowner said:


> I love that you hand them your trainers card. Maybe I’ll do that. So frustrating. I guess I need to work on being more vocal! I hate myself for not saying anything in the moment. It happened so fast and my dog is still the size I can pick her up so I just grabbed her instead of yelling.
> 
> I haven’t had a dog in five years and I’ve forgotten how awful bad dog owners can be. I feel like I’m going to scream at the next one I interact with because the frustration has been increasing fast. Yesterday we were walking on a small sidewalk with a busy street. I pulled my puppy over to let them pass. And she let the dog just run over to my puppy. The small dog was NOT friendly and she acknowledged this. We live in a busy city right now as well so I can’t avoid dog interactions. At all.


It’s best to avoid a confrontation if you don’t know how the other person would respond. Handing someone a card should not threaten them. If the person looks like someone who might respond with violence, I would ignore them and leave.

Some owners surprise you by being reasonable about their dogs.

I was accosted a few weeks ago by a neighbor’s dog. It was a breed we can’t discuss here by name. The dog was butting my leg and would not stop. Luckily I didn’t have a dog with me. I stayed calm, did not raise my voice but told the owner to get that dog away from me instantly. The owner refused to bend down to put his dog on a leash. I stood still and said, I don’t know what your problem is but control your dog. He called and the dog finally left and went inside. I told him his dog has ruined the neighborhood for everyone else with a dog. He said I’m sorry you feel that way. I thought maybe he would stop walking that dog around the area, but the next week there they were, blocks from home, dog totally out of control. I have see that dog try to attack a German Shepherd in its own yard. That other owner won’t walk her dogs anymore. It’s bad.


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## Stevenzachsmom (Mar 3, 2008)

Jax08 said:


> I am way past the point of being nice to these people.


What she said!


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## tim_s_adams (Aug 9, 2017)

My 2 cents...

There are some belligerent, repeat offenders out there, but from the sound of the OP here this sounds to me more like a person who is just clueless. For this, I would have just asked them nicely to "please give us some space". 

For @LuvShepherds repeat offender I wouldn't hesitate to call animal control. 

I like to periodically test my dog's obedience, so I'll open up the back of my mini van with the dog inside and walk away. The dog has been trained to stay there until released, no matter who or what walks by. That being said, I did this in a park parking lot the other day, and a lady with a smallish doodle mix of some sort came walking by with her out-of-control dog (of course on one of those retractable leash monstrosities!).

They were parked 2 spaces from my car, and my dog sat there and let them walk by no problem... The little doodle dog kept pulling toward my car though, and reading the lady I knew I'd better move back closer LOL! Sure enough, after maybe 30 seconds of strong pulling she relented and decided that having this little dog come up to MY car for a meet-and-greet would be a good thing...after all, that's what precious wanted LOL!

Fortunately I was able to body block her dog about 4 feet out...my dog didn't move. The lady was quite upset though, with me for being so rude LOL!

I tried to explain to her about possesiveness over territory (the car) but I'm pretty sure my words landed on deaf ears. Ah well, at least her dog was able to go home with his face intact, and we didn't have to spend hours explaining why her dog was so terribly disfigured >

OP, try to relax and calm yourself a bit out in public...your dog will definitely pick up on and react to your frustration and tension! Clueless people just need gentle guidance, they typically mean no harm...


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## ausdland (Oct 21, 2015)

"Keep your dog away"
"Don't give your dog that much leash"
"Correct your dog for that behavior"


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## germanshepowner (Oct 26, 2018)

tim_s_adams said:


> My 2 cents...
> 
> There are some belligerent, repeat offenders out there, but from the sound of the OP here this sounds to me more like a person who is just clueless. For this, I would have just asked them nicely to "please give us some space".
> 
> ...


Unfortunately I found out from someone else that this was a repeat offender. ? and yikes! I find it funny how it’s almost always the small dog owners or poodles..... hahaha

And I do! I actually act too calm in situations like that which is another issue since I don’t tell someone to get control of their dog haha. I just immediately handled it without reacting so my dog wouldn’t think it was some big attack. She’s fine but now I’m pissed haha


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## germanshepowner (Oct 26, 2018)

LuvShepherds said:


> germanshepowner said:
> 
> 
> > I love that you hand them your trainers card. Maybe I’ll do that. So frustrating. I guess I need to work on being more vocal! I hate myself for not saying anything in the moment. It happened so fast and my dog is still the size I can pick her up so I just grabbed her instead of yelling.
> ...


Definitely agree.. I’m a woman and tiny so I usually tend towards silence if I’m paranoid about personal safety. 

Sigh. We have those types of dogs around as well. A lot of dog owners make me very very sad with the lack of consideration they have and lack of care for training!


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## GSDchoice (Jul 26, 2016)

We were attacked five times by neighbors dog. They had a habit of casually tying their dogs to deck ( dogs would pull loose and come hurtling at us) or simply tying them together and letting them run offleash. After attack 3, I warned them...after attack 5, I filed a report with animal control. The AC officer called me and said she had no record of these dogs...not even a rabies vaccine. Dogs are unneutered. So the fine for not vaccinating for rabies here is $200, the fee to register an unneutered dog is almost $100. And they had TWO dogs...I got a little revenge, I think...

My dog was never hurt. He is the kind of dog who would die fighting, rather than submit...every attack was met head-on, with bared teeth. Meanwhile I would be screaming and trying to drag him away up the street. Horrible experiences. Any way,..for some people, it actually takes a fine from animal control before they make a serious attempt to control their dogs.:-(


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## tim_s_adams (Aug 9, 2017)

> I’m a woman and tiny so I usually tend towards silence if I’m paranoid about personal safety.


This makes me want to scream! What kind of a world is it we live in where a person, anyone, can't walk their dog without being concerned for their personal safety?! For me this is a very personal topic...

But for many people, little frustrations build up. When you "explode" finally, it can be all over the map. It's much better to learn to be "up front", honest but not condescending or too authoritative. Your dog is your dog, so letting people know your boundaries without getting angry or emotional is a good thing! And in my experience most people are pretty good about respecting that. 

For those that aren't, carry pepper spray, a whistle, or even something more convincing depending on the laws in your specific area >

That all being said, there are also some good classes out there that can teach you *how* to be assertive, without being condescending or confrontational...might be worth considering ?

And in the meantime, find a buddy to walk with that you can count on to stand up...


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

I like less confrontation. It is up to me to protect my pup. It is not up to me to teach other people dog-owner-etiquette. So I generally will step in front of my dog and say sternly "Get Cher Dog!" if the dog is running unabated toward mine. 

Otherwise, if someone is trying to control their dog, I say nothing, and maybe change my direction not to look as though we are retreating, but veering to give a little more distance if possible. 

But if someone is coming toward me because their dog is friendly and they think dogs should play together, and I have to say something, I will say, "My dog is in training." It's non-confrontational. It's legit. Those of us who are training for the ring, or for anything else really, need to train around dogs, but we don't want our dogs to interact with other dogs. We don't want our dogs thinking it is play time whenever he sees other dogs. 

Really, having dogs out and about while we are doing are thing is good. Our dogs need to be under control whether there is a dog or a hundred dogs around. 

And the other person can believe whatever they want to about your training. They can be offended, but really it is a lot less offensive than teaching them that everyone isn't interested in interacting with their dog.


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## CometDog (Aug 22, 2017)

I have zero problem being stern. If the other dog is off leash and is charging/coming in fast I spend more time gauging the situation getting ready to react and may say " get your dog" loudly but I reserve a tongue lashing for when the situation is neutralized. One time, I did engage with the negligent owners and realized after the fact I should have paid more attention to the dogs and yelled after neutralizing the situation. I was in an argument, and the dogs were exchanging phone numbers lol Had it broke bad I would have better served the situation paying attention to me dog and being ready to intervene. Once another dog is off lead and on your dog yelling at the other owner just distracts. If the dog is approaching in a meandering or being pulled by lead towards us (even if smiling and saying they want to play)way I will yell at them to control your dog. 

I carry a break stick, and I made sure I read good articles on breaking up a dog fight even when you are alone. It's all you can do. Head on a swivel lol

My suburban outings are not bad. There is enough traffic and short blocks with lots of crossing where people always have their dogs leashed. It is more at parks, on hikes, and at my friend's more rural homes where it comes up.

So I don't to the park really (6 mile runs through the neighborhood and into the next town keep him quite happy). I work OB into our runs, or I'll go to Lowes for OB with distractions. On hikes I make sure I have my safety tools. If there is a place where you are constantly approached by off lead dogs, avoid it. Urban/suburban parks are NOTORIOUS for fur parents to think it's ok to let Spot run.


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## germanshepowner (Oct 26, 2018)

tim_s_adams said:


> > I’m a woman and tiny so I usually tend towards silence if I’m paranoid about personal safety.
> 
> 
> This makes me want to scream! What kind of a world is it we live in where a person, anyone, can't walk their dog without being concerned for their personal safety?! For me this is a very personal topic...


Yeah I hate it. last month, a tiny dog was super aggressive towards my dog while we were on a walk with friends. The owner reprimanded ME for letting my dog out in public and said “your dog can’t be like that.” My dog had just sniffed his dogs face when HIS dog off leash RAN up to my puppy. His tiny dog was aggressive and snarling and clearly wanted to fight. My pup just looked up at me like, this is funny. I walked away and loudly said, Come on girl, we only play with NICE dogs. It was passive aggressive but I didn’t say what I actually wanted to say because I was afraid he might come after me since I’m just a woman and tiny. It made me really sad to realize I didn’t reprimand him for HIS dogs behavior because I was scared for my safety. 

We’re moving from this area soon luckily. Sigh. 



CometDog said:


> I have zero problem being stern. If the other dog is off leash and is charging/coming in fast I spend more time gauging the situation getting ready to react and may say " get your dog" loudly but I reserve a tongue lashing for when the situation is neutralized. One time, I did engage with the negligent owners and realized after the fact I should have paid more attention to the dogs and yelled after neutralizing the situation. I was in an argument, and the dogs were exchanging phone numbers lol Had it broke bad I would have better served the situation paying attention to me dog and being ready to intervene. Once another dog is off lead and on your dog yelling at the other owner just distracts. If the dog is approaching in a meandering or being pulled by lead towards us (even if smiling and saying they want to play)way I will yell at them to control your dog.
> 
> I carry a break stick, and I made sure I read good articles on breaking up a dog fight even when you are alone. It's all you can do. Head on a swivel lol
> 
> ...


Going to have to google a break stick! I completely agree with fixing the situation first. In the moment, my first instinct was to fix with the dogs first. And then I was speechless that someone would let their dog behave so poorly. Guess I should get used to it! ?


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## Kyrielle (Jun 28, 2016)

Hmm. For the situation with the OP, I'd probably have said "Can you stop following us and give us some space, please?" Just sounds like a dumb, clueless person. There are lots of dumb, clueless people, including myself from time to time. So, I'm not going to get confrontational unless they're so incredibly dense they do not understand simple directions--then I'll get annoyed.


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## McGloomy (Mar 13, 2018)

Walk AWAY


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## Sabis mom (Mar 20, 2014)

wolfstraum said:


> I do not put myself in a situation where this can happen. Too many nasty pits in my area, too many idiot owners. Hypothetically, well - I can be pretty blunt. It would not be pretty, pleasant or in a modulated tone of voice.....I may use some negative words to the owner of the other dog....and the dog would NOT get NEAR my puppy! In the old days, I had a pretty strong leg from booting horses around....the dog would get a good kick if it got near enough...today, I would have a can of something or carry a stout stick if I was in some sort of area where this could possibly happen.
> 
> Lee


Same page.

Horses do build leg muscle and I will boot your dog into next week if it touches me or mine. Shadow was a target for loose, aggressive dogs as a pup. It has done lasting damage. I avoid other people and dogs like the plague, and I don't care who or how big you are I have zero issues with confrontation, and an amazing vocabulary.

Sabi was more then capable of defending herself and had some pretty unique methods for dealing with rude dogs. (She liked to pin their heads with her paw)She seldom got the chance. If your dog is not in control then it, and you, deserve whatever I opt to dish out.


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## MineAreWorkingline (May 2, 2015)

Good breed stewardship starts with an owner that is well behaved and well mannered. The first thing I do when I see a loose dog is to compose myself and assess whether an approaching dog is intent on ignoring us or interacting. If the intent is ignore, I follow suit. If the intent is interact and that is not what I am choosing at the moment, I then focus on my dog and ensure that my dog's behavior is what I want and expect. If the other dog appears to be a non threat, I ignore and monitor my dog for appropriate behavior, nothing like a free distraction to work with in a real life scenario. If the dog is a distinct threat, I will loudly tell the other dog's owner to get their dog. I may or may not block access to my dog dependent on which dog I may have with me. If I am with one of my softer dogs, then I will body block. If I am with one of my more dominant, bolder dogs, I will not put myself in the middle of that mess and I will let the dog step up while I have his back.


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

McGloomy said:


> Walk AWAY



Once a dog is charging, walking away will trigger more aggression. I like to be one step ahead of the game. Never turn your back to a dog who is coming at you.
One example during horse back riding; a dog would charge the horse from behind. I turned the horse, facing the bully and the dog ran home. End of story. Most pet dogs are not that courageous and will defer to a lot of hoopla because they don't expect it.


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## Heartandsoul (Jan 5, 2012)

If in your own town and their dog is on leash: Nicely, firmly and loudly "Don't approach, we are in training, thank you". Then jog for a few yards for distance. 

It gives a good impression of you and the pup and the owner will get the "looks" from bystanders if she pursues. I have found that the word "approach" for what ever reason makes the person stop. 

My very first experience was a kook who let her Jack Russell off leash in the town park. That dog charged, I scooped up my pup and the JR was jumping up to get to him all the while the woman stands there begging me not to call animal control. I was new to this stuff and literally speechless. Didn't say a word when I really should have said or done something. So don't feel bad, I'm sure that the next time you won't hesitate to do or say what needs to be said or done.


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## DaBai (Aug 13, 2017)

Next time you see them and their offleash dog, try taking off your phone and starting to record, this seems to do the trick for me. People tend to leash up their dog asap and be on their best behavior when they realize they are being recorded.


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## germanshepowner (Oct 26, 2018)

Phew! Update!!! Today some jerk had his huge aggressive dog off leash. Mine off leash. He’s calling his dog off repeatedly and the dog won’t stop running towards us. 

I shamed him instead of staying quiet like I usually would. I used profanity and said, oh come on! She’s a puppy. He didn’t even respond but ran over and out his dog on leash. YAY! Meanwhile my poor puppy got knocked over. But hopefully he realizes his poorly trained aggressive dog shouldn’t be off leash


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