It finally happened

[Karfae69]

We took off for Memorial Day weekend to our local favorite spot. We got checked in and took our dog over to the dog walk area. Our dog a Amstaff with already a flag(because of how she looks) on her met another dog on a leash. There was growling and both dogs reacted, no bites but stage was set. Next morning heading to the beach ran into the 2 week new hire who asked what happened. Had a talk on how both dogs reacted but no harm. Made a great effort to explain that the dogs just did not get along. Was told that other owners stated that "dog was distraught all night", here we go. Fast forward an hour call from local manager as we have had a incident. Again try to explain was nothing serious, our dog has a history there over 3 years of great behavior and both dogs acted up. Letting dogs meet on leash nose to nose was our mistake(both owners). I knew where this was headed and next came the "what if it was a small child?" line and your dog is a pit bull, went downhill from there. So from a grumpy moment at a dog walk we went to your dog may maul a child. I asked if we needed to leave which was requested. Luckily a place nearby that knows us and our dog welcomed us and had space. So this Army vet packed up and moved on. The lesson here is to not put your dog in a position to fail. I should have recognized that the other owner was letting his dog too much in my dogs space rather than letting dogs do what they do, sniff rear ends first. Everyone wants their dog to be buddies with other dogs, do it right.

[dks]

I did not know a ribbon on a leash was a warning either, is this something common?

[PRodacy]

imadtchmn wrote:
I have a yellow ribbon on my lead that lets others know he is not friendly and not to approach. Never had any issues with this. I do sometimes have to explain the yellow ribbon, but once they hear it, they know for future reference. BTW, she does love kids, but not other dogs or grown-ups.

Never heard of a yellow ribbon being a warning. Perhaps a skull and crossed-bone would he better?

[toedtoes]

Happytraveler wrote:
What amazes me is people with extra large dogs like a Mastiff and they don't have the strength to control their own dogs on a leash.

I am more amazed at people with small dogs who don't have the ability to control them on a leash.

[Happytraveler]

dspencer wrote:
The DW and I were at a state park in our area over the weekend and I was out walking our little Boston Terrier on a leash of course when a family had there mixed breed dog came running towards us not on a leash growling. I immediately picked our dog up when the owner comes out saying people shouldn't be walking up the road in front of there camper as there dog will most definitely bite and doesn't like other dogs or people around his area.

Keep in mind this dog isn't on a leash and is under no control. Some people never cease to amaze me with there stupidity. :h

What amazes me is people with extra large dogs like a Mastiff and they don't have the strength to control their own dogs on a leash.
Last month a Mastiff on a leash came into our campsite because the owner of the dog couldn't control her dog. My dog Charlie doesn't like other dogs and so here comes a dog fight, even Katie our other dog joined in the fight and she's not a fighter. I trip over the curb and fell on my butt while all this was happening. What a fiasco!!!!!
By the way Charlie and Katie gets along great with kids, people and strangers.

[dspencer]

The DW and I were at a state park in our area over the weekend and I was out walking our little Boston Terrier on a leash of course when a family had there mixed breed dog came running towards us not on a leash growling. I immediately picked our dog up when the owner comes out saying people shouldn't be walking up the road in front of there camper as there dog will most definitely bite and doesn't like other dogs or people around his area.

Keep in mind this dog isn't on a leash and is under no control. Some people never cease to amaze me with their stupidity. :h

[imadtchmn]

I have a yellow ribbon on my lead that lets others know he is not friendly and not to approach. Never had any issues with this. I do sometimes have to explain the yellow ribbon, but once they hear it, they know for future reference. BTW, she does love kids, but not other dogs or grown-ups.

[Hondavalk]

My two Jack Russels don't want to be friends with other dogs. It drives me nuts when people continue to approach mine after I've already told them they don't play well with strangers. They look at you and say "It's ok my dog gets along with everybody". Well its not OK and just because your dog is 4 times bigger than mine they are still gonna want to have at it. I have literally had to pick mine up because people insist on having our dogs greet. Mine don't bark, pull at there leases, or act aggressive passing other dogs on the trail. If the approaching dog is on a loose leash I will heal my dogs off to the side of the trail. Just my pet peeve.

[xteacher]

My boxer is not dog friendly while on leash - especially towards other big dogs (he loves little dogs), but is fine at our local doggie day care with all sorts of dogs. The fact that they're leashed on a walk makes them feel at risk and vunerable for attack by another dog, especially one who's off leash - can't blame them really.

I usually walk Jackson at times when most other dogs are not out to avoid potential problems. I cross the street well in advance when I see another dog approaching, and I never allow an interaction to take place. Better safe than sorry, IMO.

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

To the OP - we pathetic humans don't understand what dogs are saying. We can read their body language if we're astute, but there ARE occasions when a dog is strutting out and saying "I'm going to take you out, Buster - then I'm going to chew up your stupid owner, too". So of course, our normally-friendly dog steps in to protect us from a threat.

And I agree with everyone else - dogs don't need "friends", especially when they're leashed to their owners and might be picking up vibes from them, too. I like the "ebola" comment - I'll have to remember that....LOL!

[4X4Dodger]

This is a sad case of the OP suffering because of another Dog owner who wants to control everything.

Dogs on leashes as most of us know are generally pretty territorial. If you took the same dogs and let them run around unleashed either in a big field or a fenced area they would be fast friends and playing.

As dog owners we should be helping each other fight the increasing tendency of RV Parks to be Dog unfriendly. We should not be needlessly escalating minor issues to the parks. If this behaviour continues then pretty soon parks just wont allow dogs.

So even though little Fluffy got growled at by that big bad Labrador just relax. Work it out amongst ourselves and dont escalate this kind of thing to the park. Deal with the other dog owner. It's in all our best interests.

[Scottiemom]

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

[Quahog]

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...

[Go_Dogs]

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.

[dturm]

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.

[computerbug]

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