greeting dogs on walks

[cairnsby3]

Now I remember why I usually don’t let mine greet other dogs, instead I cross the street. I went for a walk tonight and my neighbors were coming up the sidewalk with their small dog, not any bigger than mine. I allowed Shiner, who has never even growled at another dog, to approach. My neighbor said "oh, Gizmo wants to play" and with that he jumped Shiner making him scream. I immediately pulled away. This was a dog I knew had been to class and I thought pretty socialized. They didn't even correct the dog. I'm probably the neighborhood crab now!

[Hawkeye]

You should not accept that title cairnsby3! Your neighbor was in the wrong, she should have had better control with her dog on a first meeting. I feel the same way and will cross the street rather than walk by another dog, you just never know. In my case Radar may be the one with the poor behavior so I am on guard. (This is something we are working on and making great progress.)

[Dempsy's Mom]

You write "neighborhood crab" like it's a bad thing. Not necessarily - dogs need their personal space too and Gizmo needs a little correction. Sometimes you need to be a little crabby.

Why did the Cairn cross the street?

[cairnsby3]

Lori, I mean't I usually cross the street to avoid running into other dogs, when I see one coming, but for some reason I decided to be sociable last night, won't happen again. Shiner is the least aggressive dog in the world, he loves everyone, I felt bad that I let that happen to him. He's fine and I'm sure has totally forgotten it.

[Lynn in TN]

That is something I'm a little concerned about myself. Most of the owners where we live let their dogs out the door no leash and a few of them have run into our yard to growl and bark at my

children to the point that I carry a baseball bat outside when we go just in case.(these are not small dogs) I would hate to have to use it but I will. The thing that scares me the most is not knowing if the dogs have had their shots. If they are not obeying the state leash law then they probably aren't obeying the vaccination law.

I am small 5'3 tall weigh about 112 lbs. not sure how well I can protect them and puppy.

[lindasue]

Lynn a baseball bat is a good idea; I carry dog mace (bought on line) w/me. We had a mean neighborhood shepard grab Pegi when she was a pup, then jump me once. When my daughters (17) walk Pegi they also carry the mace and stay away from the "bad dog house".

I let Pegi go up to most dogs; but do keep her away from small ones as she tends to be mean to them. The bigger the dog,the more she wants to play....

[Dempsy's Mom]

I do the same thing too - cross the street to avoid animals or sometimes people. I am sorry that your encounter turned out to be exactly what we avoid.