Dog Walking Etiquette
If a dog on a lead is coming towards you I believe it is good manners to have your dog under close voice control or pop him back on the lead. The incoming dog may be injured, aggressive, hearing or sight impaired or the owner may not have control of their dog. Give your dog the "walk on" command and walk briskly past the dog or, if you feel it is appropriate, step to one side, get your dog's attention with the "Look/Focus" command and let the walker and their dog pass by.
To get your dog back to you when there is an incoming dog on a lead you may find that asking your dog to "Stand" or "Wait" works better than asking him to turn his back on the incomer and recall to you. Your dog may want to keep the incomer in sight and will feel vulnerable if you ask him to turn his back.
If the incoming dog is off lead but bounding towards your dog you need to make a judgement as to whether to let your dog off the lead so that they can engage with the incomer, take avoiding action or otherwise exhibit canine body language which tells the other dog that he's not a threat. If your dog is generally well socialised and has learned to read and exhibit good canine body language, dogs are normally better able to defuse a situation than when humans get involved. Dogs have evolved over time to not seek out battles or engage in risky behaviour.
If you are walking in a group it is courteous to all step to the same side of a path even if you keep walking so that the incoming dog walker can pass by without having to "run the gaunlet" through the middle of a group of people and dogs that they don't know. So if your lead walker and dog steps to the left of the path, everyone behind should do the same. I have seen an incoming walker go through a mass of people and dogs only to find that their dog has refused and run, tail between their legs, back the way they had come. This results in anxious feelings for both the incoming dog and the separated owner and possibly a frightened dog running who knows where and into what trouble.
If your dog is ahead of you and you recall him but he keeps on going forwards, don't follow him - this will herd him forwards. It is better to stand still and do a Sight, Sound, Touch, Treat recall with all the body postures and signals I teach and which your dog will (hopefully) automatically respond to. Or alternatively you could ask your dog to "This Way" which he may find easier than recall under certain circumstances or use "Touch" or "Look"
Above all, try to do the important commands at the beginning of the walk with a high value treat which is effectively saying to your dog "this is a reminder of the important stuff you know and hey, look what I've got to reward you". Hopefully, when the proverbial hits the fan, your training will kick in for both you and the dog because you have reminded yourselves at the beginning of the walk how it should be done under controlled circumstances. If you switch off from your dog on a walk, is it any wonder he switches off from you.
An important reminder : In all my years of walking my dogs and others, I have only ever encountered two aggressive dogs (it was actually a pair of dogs) so the percentages are low. I have found that the more remote the walk the more likely it is you will come across people walking "dog averse" dogs. In a well known dog walking area it is unlikely that people with reactive dogs will take the risk (unless they are some kind of weird freak) and pretty soon the word will spread in the dog walking community so you will normally be on the look out for that person and the described dog.
If a dog on a lead is coming towards you I believe it is good manners to have your dog under close voice control or pop him back on the lead. The incoming dog may be injured, aggressive, hearing or sight impaired or the owner may not have control of their dog. Give your dog the "walk on" command and walk briskly past the dog or, if you feel it is appropriate, step to one side, get your dog's attention with the "Look/Focus" command and let the walker and their dog pass by.
To get your dog back to you when there is an incoming dog on a lead you may find that asking your dog to "Stand" or "Wait" works better than asking him to turn his back on the incomer and recall to you. Your dog may want to keep the incomer in sight and will feel vulnerable if you ask him to turn his back.
If the incoming dog is off lead but bounding towards your dog you need to make a judgement as to whether to let your dog off the lead so that they can engage with the incomer, take avoiding action or otherwise exhibit canine body language which tells the other dog that he's not a threat. If your dog is generally well socialised and has learned to read and exhibit good canine body language, dogs are normally better able to defuse a situation than when humans get involved. Dogs have evolved over time to not seek out battles or engage in risky behaviour.
If you are walking in a group it is courteous to all step to the same side of a path even if you keep walking so that the incoming dog walker can pass by without having to "run the gaunlet" through the middle of a group of people and dogs that they don't know. So if your lead walker and dog steps to the left of the path, everyone behind should do the same. I have seen an incoming walker go through a mass of people and dogs only to find that their dog has refused and run, tail between their legs, back the way they had come. This results in anxious feelings for both the incoming dog and the separated owner and possibly a frightened dog running who knows where and into what trouble.
If your dog is ahead of you and you recall him but he keeps on going forwards, don't follow him - this will herd him forwards. It is better to stand still and do a Sight, Sound, Touch, Treat recall with all the body postures and signals I teach and which your dog will (hopefully) automatically respond to. Or alternatively you could ask your dog to "This Way" which he may find easier than recall under certain circumstances or use "Touch" or "Look"
Above all, try to do the important commands at the beginning of the walk with a high value treat which is effectively saying to your dog "this is a reminder of the important stuff you know and hey, look what I've got to reward you". Hopefully, when the proverbial hits the fan, your training will kick in for both you and the dog because you have reminded yourselves at the beginning of the walk how it should be done under controlled circumstances. If you switch off from your dog on a walk, is it any wonder he switches off from you.
An important reminder : In all my years of walking my dogs and others, I have only ever encountered two aggressive dogs (it was actually a pair of dogs) so the percentages are low. I have found that the more remote the walk the more likely it is you will come across people walking "dog averse" dogs. In a well known dog walking area it is unlikely that people with reactive dogs will take the risk (unless they are some kind of weird freak) and pretty soon the word will spread in the dog walking community so you will normally be on the look out for that person and the described dog.