It finally happened

I feel for you. I have a mix breed who resembles a pitbull - if she actually has any in her is up for debate because she resembles at least 5 breeds in various ways. My other dog is a shepherd/dobie mix so he has that black mark also simply due to his looks.

When I'm out camping, I know it's just a matter of time before there's an incident and my dog gets the blame regardless. If I see a dog off-leash in our vicinity, I stop, sit my dogs, and ask the owners to get their dogs. The owners always get b**chy with me about it, but I just stand there and say "take hold of your dog NOW". When they finally grab their dog and I walk by, they make comments about my dogs - I simply respond with "and there was no problem here was there - once you controlled your dog as required".

If the other dog is on a leash, I simply step off the trail and put my dogs in a sit while they walk past. That's usually enough for the other owner to get that I'm not interested in doggy interaction.

One suggestion I would make is to not use the "small dog" areas regardless of her actual size. Always use the "large dog" areas. Owners of small dogs are usually more nervous about dogs that may resemble pitbulls and that can lead to complaints like this. Many don't see their dog's growling as a threat because they're so small - but see your dog's growling as a threat because of her looks. Owners of larger breeds tend to acknowledge that both dogs had a bad reaction and just move away (they may justify to themselves later that YOUR dog was obviously the issue, but they usually don't make official complaints about your dog).

It wasn't a small dog area just a small grassy dog area, dog was her size. It was getting dark and were looking forward to settling in for the night. Best part of the weekend was after this when the other RV park asked if we were "bringing our baby", needed that one. Along with her play date with a mini bull terrier.

Ah, thanks for the clarification. :)

I hope the OTHER camper was asked to leave also...takes two to tangle...just sayin...Dennis

I like your take away lesson - not to put your dog in a position to fail. We try to follow this advice with all our kids - animal as well as human!

My clue is: my dog is friendly and just wants to say hi. I just keep walking. Sorry for your pooch getting the blame.

Your reactions to the situation shows a real understanding of dogs and dog behavior. Too bad everybody doesn't have that and that many of the people that make and enforce the rules don't have a clue.

Most people keep their distance from our dogs due to their size. An English Mastiff and an uncropped pitty. However, we have had dog owners approach us , so the dogs could become 'friends'. Going through the trouble of explaining dog behavior is lost on some people. I've started telling people to stay away, because my dogs were exposed to 'canine ebola', they're asymptomatic, but we have to be careful. That sends them on their way.

Executive wrote:
I hope the OTHER camper was asked to leave also...takes two to tangle...just sayin...Dennis

What's that saying? The squeaky wheel gets the grease. Unfortunate though...

My two Scotties are "dog friendly" only if the approach is correct. If another dog is straining at the leash and the struggling owner quips: "She just wants to make friends" I say, "Mine don't. They don't like other dogs." The truth is that if the other dogs are calm and no one is tightening up on the leash, all is well. But most dog owners in campgrounds don't seem to train their dogs at all and don't know how to greet other dogs. In one case, a dog off leash ran up to my one girl and she got nailed. She was small and had tons of hair, so mine got no skin. We were walking by on leash when this dog ran out. I'm not apologizing for that one. Another one off leash and the owner said, "It's okay, she's friendly." Much bigger dog and I said, "Well, mine aren't." So she walked over to get her dog and said, "Come on, Buddy, they're not nice dogs. They don't want to make friends." Grrrr. We told her campground rules require a leash or tether at all times and then reported her to the campground owner.

Sorry you had that experience. Glad all worked out for you, though, and you had a great weekend.

Dale