Would you of said something?

[kalem]

We had another lovely walk through Blaise yesterday evening  Lemmy had got soaked so we went up to the top field for a kick about of leaves to dry him off a bit, OH and DS were sat on the Bench and me and Lems were playing leaves,

Spotted a woman coming towards me with her dog off lead looked like a Collie x now bearing in mind we are stood in about 4 acres of grassland, so she could of gone any way her choice though its a free world, but nope she walked right past us.

Well Lemmy being a puppy and a very friendly one at that went over to say hello, I gave him a second then called him back, before he had chance to turn around the dog turned nasty floored Lemmy to the ground and Lemmy screamed like he was being murdered, and ran back to me, there was no warning the dog never growled or anything just lunged at Lemmy, he never drew blood or anything but Lems was quite shaken 

The woman called her dog and said "leave the Puppy alone" though she had carried on walking he went to her and as she walked past me and Lemmy I was checking him over by this time and all she said was "He dosent like other dogs" 

If that had been me I would of been mortified and apologised or at least of asked was the Puppy okay 

It takes a lot of courage on my part to have Lemmy off lead and I was doing really well being calm and allowing him freedom his recall is getting really good and he was on his way back to me, and now im really annoyed, sorry rant over, am I wrong to feel like this 

[Crazy Cocker Gang]

No your not wrong, I would of been very annoyed to.
Stupid irresponsible woman 

Drives me mad when another dog approachs and the owners stands there going "be nice" just before it throws your dog to the ground

[x-n1kk1-x]

So if he doesnt like other dogs, then why let the dog off the lead?!
Espically a puppy, as you obviously knew! 
Oooh, some people wind me up.
Glad Lemmys ok! 

[debrand]

Aw glad poor Lemmy is ok. 
Personally my Milly has turned into a grumpy old lady with dogs that approach her- although she prefers to ignore them if possible. However I don't take chances with her and give her a leave command as soon as we see another dog. If the dog looks likely to come over or we have to pass close by it I do put Milly on the lead.

[Sarah.H]

Oh dear, poor Lemmy! What was he doing with the other dog? Millie will tell puppies off but only if they pester her  its all noise really. And I do always shout out to owners that she will do this as their puppy approaches us, most people want her to do it as they want the pup to learn some manners  . Although I'm not for one minute saying Lemmy is bad mannered  .  Not nice of the woman to not ask if he was ok though  .

[Ninasmum]

You have every right to be annoyed and if a similar situation occurs again, then if you want to say something to the owner then you have every right to, and perfectly justified in doing so.

If her dog doesn't like other dogs, i can't understand why she chose to walk past you    when you were obviously in an area large enough to avoid you.  It is extremely rude of her to not even ask if your dog was o.k.    I hope Lemmy doesn't get scared of other dogs because of this incident.  I have had a problem with one of my girls, mainly because of 2 seperate incidents with irresponsible dog owners.    I never blame the dog! 

[kalem]

Oh dear, poor Lemmy! What was he doing with the other dog? Millie will tell puppies off but only if they pester her  its all noise really. And I do always shout out to owners that she will do this as their puppy approaches us, most people want her to do it as they want the pup to learn some manners  . Although I'm not for one minute saying Lemmy is bad mannered  .  Not nice of the woman to not ask if he was ok though  .

Thankyou Sarah was wondering if maybe I should of stopped him going over to the dog at all, but the woman could of said if she knew her dog wasent sociable 

Lemmy approached the dog bum going and tail wagging and just wanted to play he thinks all dogs want to play  but I wouldnt of said he pestered the dog, he gave the dog a sniff and thats when I called him back but as he turned to return thats when the dog lunged, if he had given him a warning I would of called him in a stern voice to move him away.

Is it bad manners to allow your dog to go up to any dog, if it is how do you prevent this from happening Lemmy usually approaches Dogs but in a friendly way and as soon as I say Lemmy come which is usually straight away if we are walking he will come away from the dog immediately he is not really that interested anyway in other dogs just wants to say hello me thinks 

[Sarah.H]

Oh dear, poor Lemmy! What was he doing with the other dog? Millie will tell puppies off but only if they pester her  its all noise really. And I do always shout out to owners that she will do this as their puppy approaches us, most people want her to do it as they want the pup to learn some manners  . Although I'm not for one minute saying Lemmy is bad mannered  .  Not nice of the woman to not ask if he was ok though  .

Thankyou Sarah was wondering if maybe I should of stopped him going over to the dog at all, but the woman could of said if she knew her dog wasent sociable 

Lemmy approached the dog bum going and tail wagging and just wanted to play he thinks all dogs want to play  but I wouldnt of said he pestered the dog, he gave the dog a sniff and thats when I called him back but as he turned to return thats when the dog lunged, if he had given him a warning I would of called him in a stern voice to move him away.

Is it bad manners to allow your dog to go up to any dog, if it is how do you prevent this from happening Lemmy usually approaches Dogs but in a friendly way and as soon as I say Lemmy come which is usually straight away if we are walking he will come away from the dog immediately he is not really that interested anyway in other dogs just wants to say hello me thinks 

Does sound like the dog has a problem she really should have warned you  . In my experience with Charlie they gradually learn to read the other dogs body language and then can gauge whether or not they should approach themselves. Unfortunately many people don't seem to care that their dog may be causing other people grief  . Perhaps recall him and give him a fantastic treat when you come across another dog and then ask the owner if its ok for them to meet? .

[Lilly's Mum]

OMDog, I hope Lemmy is alright, Lills is sending over an extra large batch of cocker kissies just in case. (well that's her excuse and she's stickin to it )

My instant reaction to the comment "he doesnt like other dogs" would have been "neither do I now", but its always easier after the fact.

I think if this woman knew her dog has issues with others, she should have had him on a lead, but as it was the other dog gave a warning, which was sensibly heeded by Lemmy! Obviously her dog has more intelligence than she does!!!

[ollie1]

This happened to me when Ollie my cocker was three months old . he was always allowed off leed from day one and his recall is 2nd to none . He ran over to a Scottie the Scottie grabbed hold of him through him into the air then tossed him to the ground .. luckily my other dog chester a 3 year old parsons Russell was also off leed as soon as she heard Ollie scream out in pain she went into attack mode she laid straight into the other mans Scottie dog ... Ollie had two puncture holes on his belly I'm not to sure how many the mans Scottie had after my Russell had it . but my Russell was looking after her little friend (Ollie) she has never attacked a dog before or since . I think people who have dogs that aren't social towards other dogs should be muzzled or walked in less social places it's a joke ...some people have no idea ! hope your puppies OK and that the incident hasn't upset him to much . 

[smartietopdog]

It p****s me right off when people who know they have an agressive dog let them off in any situation where there are other dogs. Glad your baby is ok.
On a lighter note, when Smartie was a little younger, she used to like chasing cats. We were out for a walk and she was doing her usual nosing in hedges, when a cat popped out and started circling her, hissing. She also screamed like she was being murdered, even tho the cat never touched her!!
Has it stopped her chasing cats?? NO!!( even tho she has been bought up with 6!) although she won't stick her head in that bit of hedge again!!

[Cob-Web]

It p****s me right off when people who know they have an agressive dog let them off in any situation where there are other dogs.

There is a difference between grumpiness and aggression, though - and it is unrealistic to expect all dogs to get on well together 

Is it bad manners to allow your dog to go up to any dog, if it is how do you prevent this from happening Lemmy usually approaches Dogs but in a friendly way and as soon as I say Lemmy come which is usually straight away if we are walking he will come away from the dog immediately he is not really that interested anyway in other dogs just wants to say hello me thinks 

It seems to depend on the area you walk - here on the IoW, the etiquette varies from beach to beach    On some beaches, dogs are running and socialising freely, but on others, it is expected that off-lead dogs will keep to themselves 
I prefer to keep my dogs with me until I "release" them to play/greet another dog - but I tend to walk away from popular dog walking areas so it is not a hassle to call them back to me when we meet other dogs, which I know may not be possible in busy urban areas 

[carol b]

I can't help myself but say something.  I was once walking Maya on the lead coming out of the meadow across a bridge and onto the golf course where there is a footpath directly up the middle and dogs should be on a lead.  I saw this couple coming towards us with a labrador taking them for a walk when they did no more than let it off presumably becuase they couldn't hold onto it.  I told them I couldn't beleive they had done that and they said he wouldn't hurt her and only wanted to play.  I said I hoped I was around if a dog three times the size of theirs was let loose and they had the fright of an out of control dog running towards them.  She doesn't even say good morning any more but she was totally out of order as far as I'm concerned.

[Harveypops]

The last dog I fostered was a fantastic little staffie cross girl (don't let this put anyone off the breed-they're fab and she was and probably still is a little gem). She came into our care as she was suffering badly from kennel stress. She had attacked another dog with the previous fosterer (I don't think this is actually a word??)  who put a straight back in the kennels same day, so they were desperate to find another fosterer.

She just did not like other dogs. The scary thing about her, like the collie mentioned by OP is that she would give no  obvious warning or signals when she would attack.

I had the misfortune of experiencing this when we went to visit a prospective owner who had another dog. I stood in the background while the rehoming coordinater and possible new owner slowly introduced the dogs. It did not go to plan and she locked on to the other dog's nose. She was wagging her tail right up to locking onto his nose. It's an image that will always haunt me. Luckily the poor other dog was fine. 

We never let off the lead in public places prior to this event, but afterward if any dog went near her I would pick her up and warn the other dog owner. Whilst she was in my care she was my responsibility. This is my personal opinion, but if you own a dog aggressive dog letting your dog off the lead in a public place where other dogs will be around is irresponsible. Especially if you have no control of that dog, which sounds the case of this collie owner.

So in answer to your question, hell yeah I would have something. 

[JennyBee]

This is my personal opinion, but if you own a dog aggressive dog letting your dog off the lead in a public place where other dogs will be around is irresponsible. Especially if you have no control of that dog, which sounds the case of this collie owner.

I totally agree with this - my last cocker had some really bad behavioural problems and there was no way I would have let him off lead in a situation like that.  I would not have been able to live with the guilt if something had happened