Dog owners avoid public walks due to dog behavior
19 posts across 3 communities in the last 30 days; 68% from r/reactivedogs.
“I have a 10 month old, 60lb bernedoodle. We got him around 16 weeks from a breeder. He’s a really sweet, velcro boy with SO MUCH ENERGY. He gets plenty of play time and multiple 30 minute sniff walks a day. He’s exhausted by the time he goes to bed so I know his needs are being…”
“There are quite a few very irresponsible dog owners who walk their dogs in our local park. We walk our dog there everyday, he is always on a lead and is a gentle giant. He loves other dogs and has never barked or growled at another dog. There are a few dog owners who walk their…”
“So yesterday I and jojo (my dog) went for a walk as usual which he is always excited for but sadly yesterday was not a great day because while we were crossing the road he saw a street doggie caught into an accident I tried to avoid it but I can't as I was standing on the…”
Owners are modifying their dogs' walking routines, avoiding public spaces and times, because of aggressive or unpredictable behaviors. They feel the need to isolate their pets from other people and animals.
SOURCES (20)
“My 11 month old labradoodle is a nightmare on his walks, picking up and eating anything he sees on the path, whether that be a leaf, stick, rock, or bug. However, immediately upon coming home, he becomes an angel and is the sweetest. Does anyone…”
“My dachshund saw a squirrel while on a walk. He starts pulling to try and get it. Usually I can get him to refocus but he was just overexcited the whole walk. For context I took him to a new large open field that has an enclosed dog run in the side. We trained in the field and well 5 of the dogs in the dog run got into a brawl. He didn’t bark and still took treats but I think it stressed him out. Anyway while I was pulling him away from the squirrel some guy was like “ wow you’re just doing to l”
“I’m quite new to this so I’m not sure if this is the right subreddit to post in? If it’s not please redirect me! I walk a senior dog three times every week, she’s not reactive to humans, just animals. Anything from other dogs to birds. (She has no bite history as far as I’ve been notified) Despite being a senior dog she’s always excited to go out and very energetic. But there’s one thing that really irks me. Before I say this I would like to clarify that I 100% believe that this dog is my respon”
“I walk the sweetest girl a couple of days a week, she’s an absolute angel to walk, but she is reactive to other dogs and animals. She’s the absolute sweetest towards other humans and as far as I’ve know she’s never bitten anyone. But there’s one thing that really irritates me, I understand that it’s not their fault at all but it just irritates me, I think my anger is misplaced because I do get very embarrassed when she reacts. Today we had a very good walk but at the end this lady walked past me”
“My 7mo Aussie girl is reactive towards people and especially dogs. Because of her fear of people, I always joke that I don’t have to worry about strangers or creeps sneaking up on me during walks because she will no doubt try her best to ward them off. She is constantly on alert, scanning ahead and behind her, and knows when something is out of place—like a traffic cone that wasn’t there before. We went on a late evening walk today which I never do as I’m a woman and there are some creeps wander”
“I walk my dog twice a day at the same times every day: once after I wake up in the afternoon, and once after I get off from work late at night. This routine has really helped with her reactivity in that she doesn't bark at the sight of strangers (given that there aren't many out) and generally can walk without feeling too anxious about seeing a trigger. Today however, I had to walk my dog a bit early since I'm going out with friends during our usual after-feeding walk hour. I knew th”
“I have a 10 month old, 60lb bernedoodle. We got him around 16 weeks from a breeder. He’s a really sweet, velcro boy with SO MUCH ENERGY. He gets plenty of play time and multiple 30 minute sniff walks a day. He’s exhausted by the time he goes to bed so I know his needs are being met. He still bites on occasion when playing but is never aggressive. When he does bite, play time immediately ends. The issue is, he’s super aggressive when we go on walks. We live on the fourth floor in an apartment bui”
“Dog doesn’t have a history of bites, but is horrible when walking on a leash in terms of chasing animals. It was about 11pm when my dog suddenly whipped around on a walk, maneuvered out of his harness and ran straight after another dog on a leash across the street. She has barked at other dogs before, sometimes has tried to lunge at one across the street, but this was something else. The other dog owner walked away from the incident without a word said, so I’m not sure if my dog actually bit the”
“I have a dog. A small dog. Everytime I go to take her out for a walk one of 3 huge dogs come running at her .off leash. I live in an apartment complex. When I leave I have to pick her out. And she's scared! The barks she makes. She's not happy. I spoke to one of the owners one time and she was complaining about that her dog gave her cat fleas? I don't want her off leash dog running at mine. Mines treated but still. People, put a leash on your dog in a parking lot! submitted by”
“There are quite a few very irresponsible dog owners who walk their dogs in our local park. We walk our dog there everyday, he is always on a lead and is a gentle giant. He loves other dogs and has never barked or growled at another dog. There are a few dog owners who walk their dogs off lead in the park and these dogs for some reason just hate our dog - they will come over the entire park diagonally to make sure they can come and growl in his face and trying to nip at his legs / paws. He never r”
“So yesterday I and jojo (my dog) went for a walk as usual which he is always excited for but sadly yesterday was not a great day because while we were crossing the road he saw a street doggie caught into an accident I tried to avoid it but I can't as I was standing on the signal. This led to jojo not coming for walks now and he sits throughout the day in a corner in his own thoughts and his behaviour has changed a lot. I'm too feeling sad seeing jojo in such a way what should I do? Pleas”
“Got my senior 5 months ago, she’s around 9. She LOVES people. When walking she doesn’t try to attack dogs, she’ll pull a little and try to sniff with tail wagging. But when I’m at the park and try to introduce her to a dog she’ll pretend she’s interested go and sniff tail wagging then randomly start growling and charging at them. Is this something I should just accept, maybe she’s just an old lady and likes her space? submitted by /u/Ok-Supermarket4885 [link] [comments]”
“My 90lb adolescent dog has somewhat recently decided that every time we turn onto our street he should plant himself in the nearest patch of grass and stay there. He definitely can wait us out - yesterday he stayed in the same spot for almost 15 minutes before moving 5 feet and repeating this. We’ve probably made this behavior worse, as the first couple of times I assumed he was overheated/exhausted, and ended up having my wife pick us up in her car. Now this happens every walk and it’s very uns”
“Worst situation thats ever happened to me while walking my dog. I just started walking my dog (not even a minute from my house) when we turn a corner and a brown lab with its owner was there. I use an extendable leash which i had unlocked, as soon as she saw this dog (before i even saw it) she lunged at it and used the full lead extension. I tried to grab the lead but she still got inches from the other dog and i even cut myself on the lead trying to get her away. I was tired so i started cursin”
“I usually feel really guilty/ bad when my dog reacts to other dogs while walking （even though hes 1000000 times better than a year ago today.) But if we’re in our OWN back yard that is mostly blocked by foliage/trees/fencing and while walking your cats you stand in the only TWO holes in our densely covered yard. i literally dont care. Do not start looking at the stars???? No i genuinely dont care youd keep walking if it was a big deal 🤪 submitted by /u/Reasonable-Bike1036 [link] ”
“how do you guys walk your dogs without worrying out about others fertilizing their grass? usually they put flags up put but mine walked into / sniffed the grass with those white pellets i didnt see them until after she went bathroom. are they usually harmful or really toxic for them to smell the area & step in ? Edit: the grass in between the street and the sidewalk with trees is not owned by anybody but the district it’s not private property submitted by /u/ToughQuiet4414 [link]”
“Someone please tell me if I was too much in this interaction: Walking my reactive dog down a path, see a lady with a pug, walking in the same direction as us. Pug sees us, stops, starts barking excessively. My dog actually was fab and didn’t react at all. Lady stands there with her dog on a quite a long lead, no attempt to move, so I wait. Lady then says “oh he won’t bite”. I say, “aw but mine will”. She then says “well they are both on leads”? I say “but unfortunately mine will still go for you”
“I walk my dog at like 5am and 10pm just so he doesn’t have to encounter other dogs or people. Sometimes I’ll walk him when it’s raining because less people walk around when it’s bad weather, but then there will be somebody walking all 18 million of their dogs and I have to turn right around. Do yall do stuff like that? I feel like he’s my evil little prisoner guy that I have to hide from the public. He’s like my baby Frankenstein. I take him out in the yard during the day but for big walks I hav”
“My two year old female suddenly attacked my three year old female today. Both are large dogs. The one who was attacked is of a gentle nature. She was laying on the floor facing the complete opposite direction as the one who attacked. The whole energy of the house was calm. My attacker walked towards her, got incredibly stiff, and when the other turned to look at her she attacked her. This wasn’t playful at all. I snatched the attacker by her collar and she bit me. I was damn near choking her out”