Off I went with Zada, Rainbow and Saska for our afternoon walk, got to the bit that I let Rainbow and Saska off and this woman with her daschund/jack russell/corgie type dog seen us and quickly grabbed her d/jr/c and put it on the lead. I called Rainbow and Saska and put them on the lead (btw none of the dogs were nowhere near eachother).
She kept looking round at us and I got this sneaky feeling, so I called on her to ask her if her dog had any behaviour problems (even though my sneaky feeling was telling me it was not this, even though her own behaviour could easily rub off on the innocent dog).
Anyway, she shouted back at me that her dog didn't but she didn't know if my dogs did and to keep them away. My feeling had been right she had seen Zada and Rainbow and assumed they would attack.
I tried to explain to this ignoramus about how gentle my dogs are and hounds in general but she rushed away.
Now let see who's dogs going to have serious issues with other dogs because of their owner's behaviour?.
I know what you mean - it really frustrates me the number of people that put their dogs on the lead or pull them away from Tilly when we're out walking. They just assume she'll have a go - she gets frustrated when she can't speak to other dogs as she is such a friendly girly and talks to the other dogs which sometimes can sound like she's growling a bit - am sure you know what I mean and they pull their dogs away even more. Though once they actually get to meet her and realise that she isn't going to savage their dog they realise what a big soppy lump she is!
I'm lucky most of the time but my worst was when I took Tigger to the vet one morning and this STUPID man was sitting with his Jack Russell in the waiting room. The minute Tigger came through the door he snatched his dog up and held it as far away from her as was humanly possible and then asked if she'd had her breakfast!
Hmm it does pee you off. Things seem to be getting better though. Now when I say Blue is friendly as others put their dogs on the lead most say "I know it is my dog thats the grumpy 1". We had a few problems visiting my folks south of the border. Greyhound resuce seems to be getting through there as well. On boxing day I met a man with a Jack Russell who said he lived in the north of Scotland and his dog had 2 Gal dogs as best friends!.. The message is getting through albeit slowly at times!
The trouble is, there are greyhounds like Harry who do have a problem with other dogs and can react by lunging. You and I know and understand that it's due to fear caused by no socialisation whilst a pup, but on first meeting the other dog owners don't! Most people are fine if we can have a chat about it. It's not fair to tar all greyhounds with the same brush but, if I'm being honest, I wouldn't take any chances myself if I had a little dog, no matter how ill-informed my behaviour. It's a toughie.