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I do not feel like my leashed small dog was close to the couple, we were 4-5ft away(think middle of like 20x10ft grassy patch). I feel like they should've either turned around and went back around the building or just gone by us. There was no need to stand there and panic. Which in turn, only got Maddie going more(she loves attention, even negative).
They both can ignore people, its only Maddie who will want attention *if* she acknowledged. If they just walk and ignore she doesn't give the second thought. The problem is she doesn't understand the difference between positive attention and negative attention. Which is why I keep her leashed at all times, cause she's too friendly for her own good lol
I do agree that some people can be extreme and they also need to use common sense as well. seems more like a person who just doesn't like dogs if they can be bothered by a leashed dog 4 to 5 feet away.
**side story - When I first adopted Maddie years ago she slipped out my apartment door and wandered down to someone else who was bringing in groceries, they asked if she was mine(I was headed down the hall to grab her) I said yes. They patted her on the head and apparently that's all it takes to win her over. She walked INTO their apartment with them and laid down on *their* couch. Luckily they thought it was adorable and it hasn't happened again, but it gives you a sense of how trusting/friendly she is lol
dogs truly are remarkable.
The jogger is not supposed to know, no, unless of course he knows my dogs.
But jogging head on towards a strange dog seems like a poor decision to me. I can speak for my dogs, but as for everyone else's? Someones dog is going to see that as a threat and try and lash out.
my husband is a jogger and has been bothered by dogs before. he does jog the other way when there is an unleashed dog. with that being said should everyone have to go out of their way or around because there is a dog. the owner should make sure their dog doesn't lunge or jump out at a passerby, running or walking.
I appreciate all the responses. I do plan on standing between Bailey and joggers from now on, and attempting to block his response. I hope in turn that maybe some joggers will be considerate of us and slow down. As for Maddie, we'll just continue to leash and let her relish in the attention she does get from strangers
standing between the dog and a jogger is a great plan. I bet after awhile she won't even be bothered by it anymore. thankfully it seems there are more dog lovers than not.
First instance, not your issue. Some people have dog issues. Second instance, kind of on you but still, not a huge deal. The guy just wasn't a dog person clearly. Fwiw, when I'm walking my dogs like you describe, I have them both sit as people pass and I grab the one by the collar. He's 115+lbs of bouncing joy but refuses to be trained and won't hold his sit reliably. I don't think its reasonable, as a previous runner, to assume a runner will walk past your dog. But as a dog person if I'm walking/running towards a dog I can get a good vibe on whether or not the dog has "issues" and that will determine if I walk or run past. You're right though, its hard for lots of dogs to not chase or get excited by moving objects.
You shouldn't expect someone running to start walking as they pass you just because you have a dog. When I'm walking my dogs, I am aware that they may get excited when people run/bike/whatever past us so I make sure I have control of my dogs. I don't think it's acceptable to allow your dogs to jump on/at other people you don't know whether they are running or not.
It's also unreasonable to expect everyone not to be afraid of your dog just because she is little or whatever. Some people have irrational fears, not necessarily their fault.
So I hate to say this but yes, you are somewhat inconsiderate because you don't seem to have concern or regard for the rights or feelings of others
Sounds like a couple isolated instances with people that aren't into dogs, and you did nothing wrong. I have the same issue sometimes living in NYC being around thousands in my neighborhood. Some people are going to react like that no matter what you do. I've even had a couple instances where people WITH dogs seemed annoyed that my dog was excited to see their dog. In my building there are a few kids deathly afraid of all dogs, and they freak out whenever they see me in the hallway with my dog, even if she is on a very short leash and we wait for them to exit/enter before going anywhere ourselves. I see them do the same thing with a neighbor that has a chihuahua.
Don't take it personally.
As for the last poster - I don't think OP let's the dog jump on the person. I think the leash is shortened but the dog may still jump up, not touching the person but moving towards them.
And if someone has irrational fears of the dog, then they should jog down the street the other way. Similar to some orthodox men in my neighborhood, who cross the to the other side of the street when they see a unaccompanied woman on their side. They don't expect the woman to cross or give her a dirty look for walking on the sidewalk.
OP, you did all the right things. The girl may have been "showboating" a bit for the boyfriend, and the jogger was somewhat agressive IMO. I used to jog quite a bit, and you move around things and adjust your path. Sounds like the jogger was being a bit of a jerk by running so close.
As for the last poster - I don't think OP let's the dog jump on the person. I think the leash is shortened but the dog may still jump up, not touching the person but moving towards them.
That is correct, I did shorten his leash, but he did jump "up". What I did not do was place myself between him and jogger(which I mentioned is my new plan) Even doing that it would have still left the 2 dogs, me and a jogger on a normal sized sidewalk. I got my dogs out of the way the best I could but with a fence and street I couldn't move them away. The jogger was close enough to brush against my shirt, so quite close.
Its a just a pitfall of living in a big city that is known for not being "walkable." Small sidewalks, no bike lanes and this particular area floods real bad after hard rain, so even the sidewalks are sometimes just small rivers.
I don't expect the jogger to get in the street either,(certainly not with the crazy drivers around here) but we have to share the sidewalk and for their safety and dogs safety, I hope they can find a better way to approach leashed dogs.
Last edited by kaelti12; 01-27-2015 at 02:50 PM..
Reason: spelling
Some people are afraid of dogs or just dislike them. I respect that. All I can say is poor them, they don't know what they're missing lol!
You did all you could to help the situation and that's about all you can do.
The next time any joggers come towards you, I suggest you ask them to slow down and walk past because you are training your dogs. Explain that if they run past, they are a distraction and it excites them. Hopefully they'll listen and will quietly walk past.
You were somewhere you had a right to be, and your dogs were under your control on leashes.
The drama queen could just walk around or go a different route. The jogger was a jerk. Too bad your dog didn't bite him LOL. If he had, I think you'd have a good argument if it went to court, that the dogs were under your control, and the idiot jogger ran right into your space - when he had the option of avoiding the dogs.
I mean, sheesh! What if you had 5 children around you, would he barrel through them, too?
Just carry on - and enjoy your new home when you can get one!
My mom is terrified of dogs. To some she appears to be overreacting and overly dramatic. On the one hand, she was bitten as a child (fear explained). On the other, she certainly doesn't voluntarily go near dogs.
You did nothing wrong. People who don't have dogs don't know boundaries when it comes to dogs...and it's worse when you live in a tight community like apartments and townhomes.
We had a border collie who would sometimes snip at people, so I would try to only walk him in areas where there weren't many people. It was never a problem until we moved to a townhome, and he would go insane with everyone around. We have a yorkie too, and she would egg him on. Once we moved to a single home with a fenced in yard with more room & privacy, life was so much better.
There was one day when we went for a walk, I was walking the yorkie & my husband had the collie. A girl walks by me, and as she approaches my husband she literally leans over sam and just puts her hand out...a big no-no...sam grabbed at her sleave. My husband was actually pulling him away from her before she got there but she ignored it. He told her sternly 'that's why you don't reach out at strange dogs!'
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