# How to deal with rude dog owners and their dogs?



## NinaN (May 13, 2013)

I've had Pixie for exactly a year now (yeah! time goes by sooo fast) and I already had my fair share of rude dog owners and their sometimes equally rude dogs. In the vast majority of cases it was nothing too out of the ordinary and people were quite understanding. But yesterday's incident left me stunned and a little shaken. First of all, nothing actually happend. Both dogs are fine. But the owners were so rude I have no words for this. 
The dogs were both off leash, a couple were walking their dog, I was sitting on my blanket on the grass when they approached us. Their stunningly cute Pekinese-Chi mix suddenly charged towards us and almost bumped into Pixie. She was less than thrilled and growled at the dog. I placed Pixie next to me, separating both and tried to shoo the other dog away. Instead of calling their dog back they snapped at me that their dog wouldn't eat mine. I replied that my dog just wasn't in for a game and dogs don't need to play with any dog coming along. Then the name calling began all while I could watch their dog charge at another dog. Again not the slightest try to call their dog back. After that I soon left as I couldn't enjoy anymore being there though the couple and their dog left. I kept watching for dogs off leash which was not very relaxing. :foxes15:

What do you reply when you are confronted with such behavior? I was so shocked by the ignorance and rudeness of this couple. I want to be prepared next time...


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## Hollowaysal (Mar 7, 2013)

Hi, this has happened to me too, many times. Why is it that most owners who let their dogs off leash have this attitude of not caring what the dogs up to or don't even have good recall? Take your dog to training so you know that you can call it back successfully and if you can't don't let it off. So many times at the park I go to, people let their dogs go, they either chat, talk on the phone, play with kids, basically do everything but watch their dog. It really bugs me. I've had a few choice words with people, but it's not worth it. I either stay away from the park or I go with the hubby, so then he can sort it lol. Sorry, not much help .....


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## susan davis (Mar 25, 2011)

sorry, that is exactly why I don't go to dog parks. Too many people just think "oh good, a place for the dog to run free". No idea that their dog may not be comfortable around other dogs, or be aggressive to other dogs.


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## NinaN (May 13, 2013)

Dog parks are a relatively new thing in Germany and we have very few. I think that's not really what dogs would want. Pixie enjoys walks off leash much more than being in an enclosed area. She's not a very playful dog but loves to walk with me and sniff here and there. She gets very excited if we get up and move after we stayed in a spot for a longer time. She thrives being on the go. I've never been to a park like that and really don't like the idea very much. 
I was sitting in a regular park area by the river were dogs are actually _not_ allowed off leash but many do so anyway. Pixie was off leash too so I don't complain. But I think if you cross rules you should be extra careful not to bother anyone. The city doesn't enforce the rules too much and by bothering people this might change. It's really a hassle to find areas close by were dogs are allowed off leash - as there are none... but you can find ignorant people everwhere. :/


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## doginthedesert (Oct 10, 2011)

I think your right on with dog parks. I live in the US where everyone is into them and they are just a disaster waiting to happen in my opinion. Except maybe the huge ones with lots of trails and stuff- but those are more like parks where dogs are allowed off leash, not just doggie free for alls. I do use one near my house to play alone with my dogs during the day when no one is there but I leave when people show up.

As far as rude owners, they are just everywhere. I was just reading a blog post about dealing with them written by my favorite behaviorist- http://www.patriciamcconnell.com/theotherendoftheleash/how-to-talk-to-other-dog-owners. Not sure how usefull it would be in this circumstance, but reading the comments at least made me realize everyone deals with this! 

Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## pigeonsheep (Nov 8, 2008)

Oh man! That's so wrong. Some owners are just so rude. If that was me I would've told that owner off. Ignorance of so many surprise me. This reminds me of what happened on memorial day when we went to the park by my relatives place. It was by the shore and my pups plus my aunts dog was off leash...minding our own business and they were all happy. Then we see a group of people with their bulldog...offleash already so we all put our pups on leash again and was walking away to leave...that bulldog came chargin twds us and went to bully my relatives dog which was a mini schnauzer..almost the same size. They both began to fight and that dog bit her dog...belly was all bloody but we didnt see it till we got home. After that happened that owner never apologized...wow. I was thankful it wasn't my kids who fought...esp. KC since she likes to growl at other dogs. They were next to me the whole time.


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## AnnHelen (Nov 29, 2010)

Some people are just so rude, and believe me, over the last 7 years soon, of having Baby, I have had my share too  I tell them how I feel, and I*m not affraid to tell them to go to H*** and then I call the police, it*s the best thing to do..people are not alloud to not respect other dogs and owners..that is against the law and it*s harder for us with small dogs, that can*t defend themselfs with BIG dogs, so it*s ruff...I get a lot of hate from people with bigger dogs, for telling them the truth, but I don*t care, I have to speak for my boy..just call the police and report them !!!


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## Yoshismom (Jul 6, 2005)

I would have told them if they cannot control their dog then they need to put him on a leash and maybe take a lesson in responsible dog ownership and while they were at it a class in manners ;-)


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## coco_little_bear (May 30, 2012)

I'm not sure what more you could have said. It sounds like you clearly and politely let her know why you didn't want her dog around. I would have probably had a go at her about the name calling and told her how irresponsible she is letting her dog off leash if she can't (or is not willing to) control it, but it's hard to reason with these people. I walk my dogs off leash (when it's safe) so I have nothing against others doing it, but why is it so hard for some to respect other people's space? If my dogs were to approach people/dogs who are upset about it, I would call them back or go get them right away and I would apologise. That's what most owners do, but some people are just rude. 

Most people I meet on walks are nice, but I've had my fair share of bad encounters too. There are some weird and rude people out there. I try to ignore them when I can... but for example, this woman approached us and asked us what we feed our dogs the other day. She's convinced dogs should eat a vegetarian diet wouldn't leave us alone, despite all our attempts to politely disagree and walk away. :foxes15:


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## NinaN (May 13, 2013)

I was just completely stunned. I can handle rude people but the name calling came out of the blue. I fear if I had called the police on them nothing good would've come out of this. The live somewhere in my neighbourhood as I've seem the woman with her dog before. And I guess the cops would've laughed at this. No one was physically hurt, just my ego. I'm also hesitant to address the off leash issue as I let Pixie off leash too in areas where this is not allowed. Pixie also not perfectly trained but I always apologize if she misbehaves or bothers someone. 
@AnnHelen
I actually had more issues with owners of small dogs (like this couple). I'm under the impression that owners of bigger dogs see it as necessary to properly train their dog because of safety and other reasons. They also seem more educated about dogs in general. The dog of that couple was so cute he probably gets away with everything and they were hurt I didn't acknowledge its cuteness. I would've hadn't he annoyed the hell out of me. He absolutely looked like a fox cub. So adorable. But that mustn’t mean he can run up to people and dogs especially to his liking. 

@coco_little_bear
After thinking about this incident I guess there was nothing else to do. I didn't fall for the name calling but made my point clear and the couple embarassed themselves but sreaming profanities. The promenade was full of people... 

Don't get me started about vegan food for dogs.


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## KrystalLeigh (Aug 17, 2011)

In my opinion, recall means nothing if your dog runs up to strangers. Those dogs should be on leash at all times, even for their own safety. We have a HUGE hiking park here that allows off leash dogs, but of course I always have Odie on leash because of so many reasons. That last time I was there, a big dog ran up to Odie so I picked up her as I always do when there's an unknown dog running loose. The owner told me her dog was friendly, but I could tell that he was younger and very rambunctious, as he was half jumping up to try to see her. He ran away so I put Odie back down and we started walking again and the dog ran back, so I picked her up again. The owner was OFFENDED and told me again that the dog was friendly. LADY, I don't really care if your dog is friendly or not. I just smiled and walked away holding Odie until we were in the clear. I think the best thing to do with people like that is to not engage with them, because it fuels the fire. No one is going to convince them that their dog should be on a leash or that there's no reason to be offended. 

As far as dog parks go, we have an amazing one here! It is small dog only so there are height and weight restrictions. It's where we have our local chihuahua meet ups, so we basically take the whole thing over. Haha. It's the only place we have now where Odie can run off leash, which is her fave thing to do. However, I don't want to be a size-ist, but in the big dog area, I see tons of dogs that have no business being at a dog park. I've never had any issues in the small dog area. Strange.


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## MaddiLovesDogs (Jan 16, 2014)

I agree with everyone. Some people are just rude, and like Krystal said above, trying to convince an ignorant person of something is just a waste of time. Socializing my dogs was always easy because I used to be a groomer so we _really knew_ the dogs that were OK for our puppies/new dogs to socialize with... but now that I'm not, I'm having such a hard time finding a place for my new chi to play. The only time she ever met a strange dog outside the grooming shop, it was in a local holistic pet store and she was attacked by another chihuahua lol. The owner said the dog was nice, too. It was offleash in the store.

IMO there are just SO MANY dogs nowadays. They are meant to thrive alongside us (evolved to, in fact,) and now there's so much industry surrounding them that there are probably 3 times more dogs in the past 30 years. I'm not kidding. Just like you're aware that you probably shouldn't trust any random stranger to hold your wallet for you or watch your kids, you should be aware that there are dogs and owners out there who really are a danger to those around them and don't even know it. 

The bright side about this is that there are a lot of great dog owners out there, like all of us! :laughing6: They're never too far away. Just gotta know where to look.

... now if only I could find a little dog meet up somewhere


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