05/02/2023
As a dog walker for many anxious and reactive dogs as well as owning an anxious dog myself, I really love this photo!
Only this morning I had a dog run straight over to Louie and stand over him, the dogs tail was wagging but Louie was not comfortable with the closeness. I called out to the owner that my dog wasn't comfortable but he wasn't paying attention to his dog at all and didn't hear me. Louie ended up reacting; barking at the dog to get it to go away. This takes us steps back in our training, his dog was fine but Louie was not.
The owner was not happy at all when I mentioned his dog could become seriously hurt by approaching on lead dogs in that manner. He said nothing came of it so what's the problem? The problem is that the situation could have easily escalated into a dog fight.
Please teach your dog to be calm around other dogs and to greet or play with others without wrestling. This can be done through lots of training and there are lots of sources online to help you get started. Behaviourists and obedience classes can also help.
Do not let your dog off lead if they're going to run over excitedly to every dog they see. Even the most friendly dogs can be intimidated by another dog racing towards them to play.
Your dog may be friendly but others may be anxious or scared of your dog. Your friendly dog can get badly hurt or cause a fight by running over to on lead dogs.
This is neither dogs' fault, it just happens. We need to take steps to avoid it as much as possible!
