every time we take our rottweiler out in public she is muzzled, this is to re assure people and in my opinion just a responsible thing to do.
a large dog of any breed can cause a lot more damage than a smaller one and although in my heart of hearts i would like to think lola would not bite anyone i cannot be 100% sure.
unfortunatly it is pretty much a no win situation with regards to the muzzle. if she did not wear one then people cross the road to avoid her and when she does wear one she is accused of being vicious{espcially mums telling thier kiddies that} which then gives off an even bigger misconception about the dog than before.
so what do you think when you see a muzzled dog and do you think they should be made to wear one?

If it's a proper muzzle I think they're ok, but I hate to see them with those wraparound velcro things on when they're being walked. They're bearable for a short time, say during a vet's examination or being treated, but not for walking. A dog needs to be able to pant to sweat and if it's got one of those forcing its mouth closed, it can't do that.

I saw some kids with a labrador type muzzled like that a couple of weeks ago, on a really hot day. They were dragging this poor creature along, it was obviously feeding pups too as its dugs were nearly trailing on the ground. If ever a dog portrayed the expression 'hangdog look' that was it. I wanted to say something but I didn't, I'm such a wimp :(

small dogs can do a lot of damage too

Any animal powerful enough to do harm to others should be treat with caution, but also I think people need to educate children especially to not run towards animals they don't know.

Also I find dog owners assume other peoples dogs are going to be as freindly as theirs is, and this often is not the case, so shouting ' it's ok my dog won't hurt you/yours' does nothing as they are running towards what might be a nervous/aggresive dog.

Maybe people anthropomorphise their pets too much and forget they are mainly muscle and teeth.

The problem I have with muzzles is the effect it can have on the dog wearing it. Their teeth are their defense, and for me to muzzle Takara would, in my opinion, ruin her completely. She doesn't use her teeth but I feel she needs to know that if it came to it, she could.

When she's offlead she gives dogs that frighten her (in this morning's case a juvenile labrador and a GSD puppy :rolleyes: ) a wide berth and will take flight rather than the fight option.

When on the lead, she can be snappy because she knows she can't get away but we're working on that and it's improving gradually - she hasn't bitten (though I agree you can't say they never will - they're animals) but she has fantastic communication skills and gives off all the right signals before baring her teeth. I don't know how wearing a muzzle whilst on a lead would affect her because she would have both fight and flight taken away which is in my opinion unnecessary - she is 'large', but not too large for me to handle and I can control her so she wouldn't get the chance to bite but I am actually working on making her comfortable enough not to feel the need.

I also agree fully with BFY - the amount of times people have let their dogs run upto Eddy and say 'oh it's ok, he's friendly' and Eddy really isn't! Eddy was from a rescue aged 11 and dog aggressive - he makes a lot of noise and looks scary but that's his lot and he is very good at upsetting other dogs :rolleyes: Usually this backfires and he has come off worse because as soon as a dog retaliates he decides he's not so big and tough afterall so is kept on a lead - the difference is, he would go upto other dogs to start an argument whilst Takara avoids any confrontation.

Neither of them wear muzzles (although I have considered it for summertime when people leave food in the park!)

Edit: That said, if I felt either of my dogs were likely to bite or I couldn't control them without a muzzle, they would be muzzled regardless of the above concerns. Plus, if I felt that way, I probably wouldn't be confident walking them without a muzzle so they would get even worse due to the way I was feeling.

If it's a proper muzzle I think they're ok, but I hate to see them with those wraparound velcro things on when they're being walked. They're bearable for a short time, say during a vet's examination or being treated, but not for walking. A dog needs to be able to pant to sweat and if it's got one of those forcing its mouth closed, it can't do that.

I saw some kids with a labrador type muzzled like that a couple of weeks ago, on a really hot day. They were dragging this poor creature along, it was obviously feeding pups too as its dugs were nearly trailing on the ground. If ever a dog portrayed the expression 'hangdog look' that was it. I wanted to say something but I didn't, I'm such a wimp :(

Completely agree it does need to be a proper muzzle

This is a very interesting question and I don't think that there is any easy answer to it, to be honest I think that anyone responsible with a dog that is not friendly will not put it in the position of 'failing' anyway, but yes maybe for park trips and the like where dogs can appear from nowhere a muzzle is a good idea just in case.

If however the dog is people aggressive then yes obviously it must be muzzled all of the time when it is out, I would however give any dog a wide birth if it was muzzled and I would presume that it was vicious, so if it was not vicious and you muzzle the dog then I do not think that you are doing the breed any favours as most people will just get out of the way and not ask why the dog is muzzled.

With any dog I would not muzzle it for no reason, if it is a friendly dog and under control I don't see the point of a muzzle, the muzzle is the last resort as far as I'm concerned, and you have to bear in mind that a dog can still do harm even wearing a muzzle (although it obviously cannot bite), so to sum it up I think that people should just be sensible with their dogs if there is doubt then yes muzzle if there is not then don't.

Good post moonbird.

Can I remind people of this horrific injury? http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44339000/jpg/_44339217_chloe_grayson203.jpg

Chloe Grayson was left scarred when a rottweiler jumped up at her, catching his dew claw in her cheek. (Thankfully, justice was reached and the owners got their dog back, vowing to take his training more seriously).

I too would usually avoid a muzzled dog that I didn't know, I would also keep my dogs away although I tend to ensure they don't approach onlead dogs unless we know them as well.

I had considered muzzling my two in the summer to stop them picking up all sorts of rubbish in the parks but was concerned that allowing Takara off the lead wearing a muzzle would upset passers by. Such a shame we have to think like that but since she's become afraid of other dogs, I chose not to muzzle her anyway - she relies heavily on her ability to communicate using dog language and often to us, dog language looks a lot worse than it really is, their snarls and teeth baring is only like a harsh word between humans and very necessary for Takara sometimes to tell another dog 'back off now, I'm not happy'. I don't worry at all about what she would do as she communicates so well and avoids confrontation if possible so I do not feel she needs a muzzle - like moonbird I see them as a last resort.

only one of mine is muzzled, i always have him on lead and under control but as an ex racer hes certainly not small dog friendly and will try lung if one runs past us, lots of people dont stop there dogs approaching us and i cant take the risk as he would kill given the chance. all my others are fine with other dogs and arent muzzled, i know of another ex recer whos muzzled, hes fab with all dogs but will nip when off lead whilst playing so hes muzzled to stop accidental injury, both dogs get exactly the same reaction from people even though they are both muzzled for totally different things. Just an example of how people react to muzzles.
Arthur my small dog aggressive mentioned above though is fabulous with people and sighthounds, therefore i take him muzzled on lots of fundraisers to show that even though hes muzzled hes not aggressive, this way i hope i can educate people a little more about greyhounds and muzzles. anna.x.

' it's ok my dog won't hurt you/yours' does nothing as they are running towards what might be a nervous/aggresive dog.... and they don't even stop to consider that your dog may have an injury that may need protecting either!

I've found that shouting something random about kennel cough makes them suddenly more able to control their dog :thumbsup:

I'd be more than happy to comply with a law which stated every dog must be muzzled in public, if the trade off was that they aren't banned from everywhere and can learn to cope with the outside world better than we're allowing them to currently - that way everybody would win - dogs being less nervous and aggressive in the first place, but restricted if the worst happens

I agree with Rubes though - it needs to be baskervilles not the fabric chop clamps, and not something like a Halti head collar which can often be escaped from

I'd be more than happy to comply with a law which stated every dog must be muzzled in public, if the trade off was that they aren't banned from everywhere and can learn to cope with the outside world better than we're allowing them to currently

I would too - I've often thought trips to the park would be FAR less stressful for many dogs and owners if indeed all dogs had to be muzzled.

If we weren't all so damned 'cutesy' about our dogs 'making friends' and generally being so fussy over them, none of this dog to dog behaviour would be an issue

Show dogs are supposed to pretty much ignore each other. Countries on the continent, where you can take dogs almost anywhere, bring their dogs up to ignore other dogs... It only seems to be this country who have such a massive issue with dog aggression and interaction (well, and the americans of course - where most of our modern thinking on dogs seems to come from :rolleyes: )

Takara wouldn't need to tell a dog she's not comfortable with it in her space if all dogs were brought up to behave themselves and not to seek attention from other dogs. She'd have learned that going out means wearing a muzzle only in the same fashion that a lead means walkies too

If it was a toss up between compulsory leads in public and compulsory muzzles in public, I'd be voting for muzzles myself

I would too - I've often thought trips to the park would be FAR less stressful for many dogs and owners if indeed all dogs had to be muzzled.... and kids, and parents, and picnickers, and anybody playing ball games....

... ah, I can't see any spaniel or collie owners liking muzzle legislation then

I don't like the idea of being forced to wear a muzzle. Sorry but I really don't!

Takara does play with other dogs, but she also leaves dogs alone if they're not happy or if she's not happy (and if she doesn't, I keep an eye on her and call her away).

Takara's reactions to other dogs that she's unhappy with are not that subtle. Her head goes down, her tail goes between her legs, her hackles go up and she does as many look aways as possible. It's pretty damn obvious that she's not happy.

Problems arise when owners are too busy chatting and not watching their dogs or can't even see their dogs because they've allowed them to run off.

Okay, sometimes owners do their best and the dog won't come back. I don't take offense to this. You can have a brilliantly trained dog who's recall is normally A++ and one day they decide 'nope - not right now'.
Puppies especially, often haven't learned that when an adult tells them to go away they mean go away.

If a dog comes up to Eddy, I know I can distract him with food - otherwise, he'd be muzzled, he doesn't go to bite, but it'd be fairer on the other owner if he was definitely unable to.
I know that if a dog comes up, it can sniff Eddy's bum, willy, even his face if Ed has food in front of his nose!
Doing it this way, shows owners that Eddy is not happy because I'm distracting him, but it keeps him comfortable and it actually gives him a chance to get that little bit of socialisation with another dog because he's ok while they sniff him if he's being fed for it.
He's improved massively with this - he certainly wouldn't have if I'd decided it was easier just to pop a muzzle on and get on with it, which is what I'm afraid many people would do if muzzles were compulsory.

She has been attacked a few times, but look at it this way: The first time was in our own house. The dog wouldn't have been muzzled anyway - she was 10 weeks old and was bitten on the face.
Then she started a fight with a dog that ran at me barking madly, she expected to see off the dog but it retaliated. I walked off and called her away and she came. Okay I wish it hadn't happened, and yes she got a little nip but it was a lot of noise and teeth displays and very little contact - and she was clearly defending me.
Finally, the recent one while she was on lead was an offlead weimeraner that took offence to her fear displays (which was just look aways but still keeping her eye on the dog) and leapt on her. No tooth contact was made.
It was very frightening but no biting occured. It definitely shook her up though and she's been worse since.

So in all of those instances, what good would muzzle legislation have done?

As far as ignoring dogs goes, nah - she's taught to ignore onlead dogs and to come back when called - there are consequences if she doesn't and she tends to listen. She's naturally attracted to more nervous dogs because she feels more confident with them but if they are afraid of her, she is called away before she even gets to them really.

Just my opinion, I'd hate to have my dogs muzzled at all times in public - I see it as a quick fix and I'm not sure how helpful it would really be.
I know that it's sadly unreasonable for all owners to learn how to read their dogs, keep an eye on them to stop them terrorising others and to attend classes with them to get some basic recall and obedience from them, but I sure wish it would happen!

Edit to add: And even if she was muzzled to prevent picnic snatching... I'm not sure how happy people would be to eat it after she'd trampled it! Easier to keep her on the lead and be aware that given the chance she will always be a tea leaf!

I don't think all large breeds should be muzzled if theres no reason! Obviously if the dog is a threat to the public and other dogs then yes it should be muzzled and for muzzling your rott if shes a danger than yes if she isn't then dont! Your are just making people more frightened of our breed imo. Aslong as your dog isn't a threat and its on a lead and under control in public then theres no need to muzzle it, plus i'd rather address the problem than hide it.

I am not sure how i feel about dogs being muzzles at all times my dogs are so quiet i see no need but i have seen it firsthand when we went to prague.

Dogs were everywhere and on the underground system all ignoring each other and i couldn't believe how well behaved they were and the majority had muzzles on. I believe you pay a license to own a dog in the city and their are rules and regulations to dog ownership (I could be wrong though). They did however not seem like dogs as i know them. I am used to seeing my waggy happy lad bouncing along at my side talking to me when he wants to and looking interested about the surroundings. These dogs weren't.

I do think it comes down to individual dogs and people being aware of their own dog and the potential to cause harm. Any dog can be aggressive big or small and they should consequently have the appropiate training and precautions taken and if that means wearing a muzzle so be it.

Alot of this comes down to education and understanding crikey alot of dogs would not be dog on dog aggressive if owners understood the importance of socialisation proper introductions and had control. If all puppy owners went to classes and started training and recall from the beginning we would have a much more friendly dog population. If people didn't use dogs for status sympbols or pick breeds and encourage the negative characteristics then we wouldn't have the fear factor we have now.
I knid of think i have answered my own question lol i don't think all dogs should be muzzled i think we need better dog owners who understand their dogs and their dogs breeding better.

I followed a man on my way to work last week he was at the other end of street to me and i saw him kick the dog in the head and drag it along :rant:. I wanted to find out where he lived so i could report him i sadly lost him round a corner. But this is a typical example of a awful dog owner. Now your not telling me that this idiot would muzzle his dog if it was aggressive i imagine he wouldn't give a monkeys. Its' the owners we need to do something about.

Great post Adz :thumbsup:

Josh is dog aggressive, but I dont muzzle him when he goes out. He has a muzzle, not a baskerville, because the design of them means he can easily get them off, its one I sent for from the Leerberg Kennels in America, he looks like Freddie Kruger in it but its well designed and has lots of breathing space . The only time he wears it is for vet visits as I know for a fact he will show off.

If it was complusary for all dogs to wear them, I would go with it but in honesty my main problem is when we are at our caravan in Skeggie, theres so many little dogs who are horrendously badly behaved. Josh is trained to walk with me and I give him a 'leave it 'command as the little dogs approach, 85% of the time he will obey and he gets his reward, a tug of his toy or a tit bit, but I would say 90% of these little b's are lunging on the end of a lead, snapping and snarling. For my big dog aggressive boy to ignore that I think is really good and a real test for him.

I know for a fact if I let my boy act like those owners let their dogs act he would be having a hearty breakfast!!!! But as a responsible owner I have worked really hard to train him and ensure he is under control at all times when he is out.

So in my opinion thats what is really needed, people to train their dogs to ignore others and not think its funny when they go for other dogs, especially if the dog is much much bigger.

People need to realise that they have a potentially lethal weapon on the end of their lead, even if its only 7 inches high it can cause damage. I would not muzzle Josh on normal walks because if something came up to him and attacked he could not protect himself. I have been in a situation where two staffies attacked my old gsd, they just ran at him and got beneath him, I have also had two staffies xs on the beach run at us and ended up falling down and lost the lead, Josh went for them and they backed off. I was covered in mud and furious. The owner then went on about my dog being aggressive, he got full force of my tongue as you can imagine..

I've been thinking about this all day :rolleyes: That's what happens when a subject gets to me! :lol:

I have to admit I'd be concerned. Obviously if dogs had to be muzzled, I would follow the law but I am concerned about the sorts of owners who would bother to do so - would the people who actually cause problems, bother to muzzle their dogs?

Also - as a child I was told not to approach an unfamiliar dog and certainly not to wind a dog up otherwise I'd get bitten.
I meet lots of little sods when out walking but seem to hear more and more of them ask 'does it bite' before they approach - which is good, imo.
If dogs were muzzled, would they have an even harder time from children? If a child isn't worried about a dog biting them, are they going to think about the consequences of wandering straight up to a dog and maybe even tormenting it?

Not only would I be concerned about the dog in this case but if children randomly walk up in the park and greet any dog they see and maybe upset it to a degree with no concern because it's muzzled - what happens when they're no longer in public with a dog? Afterall - most of the attacks we hear about are dogs belonging to family or friends that occur in a residential property.

so basically the problems we encounter as dog owners are as a result of the same disease that inflicts the rest of society - lack of respect for the people we share our town with!

It's all about 'my rights', and 'my dog' this, or 'my dog' that, rather than asking how we can ensure we have minimal impact upon everybody else!

I really don't think licencing dogs is of any use, but perhaps licencing people to own dogs would be of use, though it'd have to have some severe penalties for non-compliance...

... but is more legislation the answer?

Isn't it about time we all treated each other with a bit more kindness and consideration?

Isn't it about time we all treated each other with a bit more kindness and consideration?

It would be nice wouldn't it :) and i do think one of the biggest problems we have in this country

Isn't it about time we all treated each other with a bit more kindness and consideration?

Nice thought, isn't it :(

I blame insurance companies

without insurance we don't have a 'blame' culture, and arguably pet insurance has massively increased the pressures on pet owners thanks to the impetus to steal dogs purely so they can be returned for the reward, and to allow your child to go prodding a strange dog as you can just sue if the dog rips a kid's nose off in retaliation to having an eye poked or an ear grabbed and pulled - or the thing kids do sooooooo well - really pierce ear drums with one of those evil squeals!

It's society in general - I mentioned several aspects of society that I blame (I think that was in the dog training clubs thread) one of which included our blame culture but it's lots of contributing factors that just give us dog owners no chance!

To be fair, people regularly take kids food shopping but how many dogs would you see picking something up and screaming the place down when they're not allowed it? (Except Takara ;) )

Again - I'm not saying I hate kids, and you can't just leave kids at home but I do think even the best behaved dogs and their owners get a raw deal whilst our precious children are allowed to run amock!

I have never complained to restaurant staff about out of control children, for example, but I wonder how many parents would happily complain about a dog being in the establishment?

We were in Lincolnshire camping last month and i saw a sign on a childrens playing field banning them and saying no dogs as a health hazard. I never seen a sign saying that and thought it was disgraceful. It's owners who don't clear up that are the health hazard and ruin it for the rest of us. I think the same applies to this conversation.

I have never complained to restaurant staff about out of control children, for example, but I wonder how many parents would happily complain about a dog being in the establishment?We need some tips of the parents of the 1980s as this is the group of people who brought this ludicrous situation about

prior to then, any parent would have been mortified at their children causing any sort of disturbance, or being accused of not being able to keep their kids under control

problem is, they all seem to own dogs now and are causing the same problems with them and getting the rest of us barred :suspect:

We were in Lincolnshire camping last month and i saw a sign on a childrens playing field banning them and saying no dogs as a health hazard. I never seen a sign saying that and thought it was disgraceful. It's owners who don't clear up that are the health hazard and ruin it for the rest of us. I think the same applies to this conversation.dogs are only a health hazzard if they have worms :rolleyes:

Lincolnshire? This isn't some Lincolnshire hermetically sealed bubble I have not yet heard of is it? :confused: Isn't Lincolnshire pretty much all rural, and consequently covered in the excrement of it's wild animals?

what happens if a kid has an 'accident' in that field (as young children often do). Will they ban kids too and replace the sign with 'adult football players only'?

I'm not sure that size has much to do with it, temperament is more important.
My parents dog has never had a muzzle, he's 8 now and has never attacked another dog, nor even barked at one. He's quite big, but basically he's a coward.
Since my parents live in a village it's quite normal to only see one or two other dogs whilst out walking, and often the dogs have met before and the owners recognise each other. Muzzling these dogs all the time would be completely unnecessary. The few dogs that are aggressive are normally kept on their leads by their owners (as they should be) the non aggressive ones are allowed to run around as you'd expect (as I'd expect anyway).
Maybe being in a city and having to walk in a busy park is a bit different though. But maybe that's an argument against owning a dog when you live in a city.

There are lots of arguments against everything that everybody does Cyclone, and owning dogs whilst living in the city is no different to living in the countryside

We see far more dog owners walking their dogs in my mum's village than we do locally here, and considering the size of the place, my mum seems to have managed to take in as many lost dogs as I have done - so clearly those in the countryside are far less responsible about not losing their pets to wander into passing traffic - which btw moves faster through my mum's village than it does in any part of Woodhouse

I dont think that all dogs should be muzzled just because they are big, many large breed owners are responsible and can control there dogs which is the issue. If you can keep the dog under control, why should it be muzzled?
Going back to Adz post about the playgrounds, there arnt many playgrounds that allow dogs in, I have this problem owning three dogs and a three year old son.

I do think though that gangs of running, screaming children, over protective parents and dogs are not a good mix. I have lost count of the number of parents who sheild their children and run for the hills when they see my dogs (three small breeds), it has happened a lot at Clumber Park and Sherwood. It saddens me that those children will fear dogs because of the parents actions. I came across a 8 year old at Rother Valley who was rigid with fear and hysterical, her mother had to coax her past me explaining that the dogs were on a lead and couldnt hurt her, the mother apologised and said "I dont know why she is scared of dogs".

The DDA section on "keeping dogs under control in a public place" is a bit scary for dog owners in the fact that your dog does not have to be doing anything but if someone feels threatened by your dog off lead then you can be prosecuted.

I dont think that all dogs should be muzzled just because they are big, many large breed owners are responsible and can control there dogs which is the issue. If you can keep the dog under control, why should it be muzzled?

I agree with you. My dog is muzzled when on walks where other dogs are offlead . The reason is that he is dog agressive and would quite happily do a lot of damage if allowed to. I owe it to others to ensure thier dogs are safe.

Muzzles don't stop a large dog doing damage though, he is powerful and will still try to attack with the muzzle on so he only is ever offlead when nothing is within sight. We are trying very hard to overcome his aggression and have got to the point of ignoring some sitting dogs and can get him to go down if he sees a dog then we can walk up to him and place him on lead.

He got attacked himwself when wearing his muzzle and being on lead a month ago which resulted in a bite on his back legs, and on his neck. I had to kick the other dog to get it off which was also a large dog. I would love to be able to walk him on lead without a muzzle when other dogs may be around as I know then he could protect himself, unfortunatley so many owners allow 'nice' dogs to come up to him it would only end up costing me a lot of money :lol:

I do get fed up with owners who have no idea their dog isn't nice though

I'm sick of hearing 'I think he must be gay or something' as theirs tries to mount your's, and then they get all snotty with you when your's snarls his objection to being treated in this fashion

when you inform them that mounting is a dominance demonstration, they're always surprised and half of them don't believe you. I've found that pointing out that the male rape that goes on in prisons (which everybody seems to understand the psychology behind these days) is all to do with dominance and nothing to do with sexuality bangs it home for them

boy is owning a dog hard work :rolleyes:

There are lots of arguments against everything that everybody does Cyclone, and owning dogs whilst living in the city is no different to living in the countryside


Except for the massively restricted options for walking, the increased number of pedestrians wherever you go and increased amount (if not necessarily speed) of traffic. Other than that, almost identical.

Except for the massively restricted options for walking, the increased number of pedestrians wherever you go and increased amount (if not necessarily speed) of traffic. Other than that, almost identical.you can wander over less of what appears to be open land in the country, dogs have to stay on leads due to livestock, the peak district is a pedestrian motorway on its footpaths, and the nose to tail traffic in Hathersage is only comparable to the M1 being shut round here and the local-knowledge bypass being through Woodhouse

No comparison :P

The problem with sweeping regulations regarding anything like muzzling a specific breed or size dog means that prejudice and preconceptions judge all dogs in the same way.

My parents have a huge German Shepherd Dog (and I mean HUGE) but she's as daft as a brush and twice as soft, but not all GSD's are as docile or well trained. For her to be muzzled at all times in public would be so sad.

I cringe when the media starts pushing for breeds such as Rottweilers be classed as dangerous dogs, as I've known many Rotties. Some have been badly behaved and aggressive, whilst the majority are complete pushovers and excellent family pets.

We never know when a traditionally mellow family pet may react aggressively, but surely we shouldn't condemn a type or breed due to horrific examples by a few.

you can wander over less of what appears to be open land in the country, dogs have to stay on leads due to livestock, the peak district is a pedestrian motorway on its footpaths, and the nose to tail traffic in Hathersage is only comparable to the M1 being shut round here and the local-knowledge bypass being through Woodhouse

No comparison :P

We must have seen a very different type of village life, I wasn't talking about the peak district though.

I think the cure for all societies ills is to throw out the law book, and just have a panel of five judges to sit on any case based on common sense

Anybody found to have committed a lack of common sense (given that ignorance is no defense in law, so that works basically the same way, as we can't all be experts in law), can be dealt with on the basis of how much malice they intended by their actions, or the impact upon their victims

Insurance is the main driving factory in how our laws are currently made - which just doesn't make for a balanced society

My dog is dog agressive and I don't muzzle her, i keep her under control. What I find annoying is when I see another dog I put her back on the lead and we stand out of the way so that the other party can walk by without a problem. What gets me is that other people see me put my dog on a lead and move to one side but STILL let their dog approach mine!!
I always tell the other dog owner that my dog is grumpy/agressive with other dogs but some dog owners don't seem to care about their own dog's safety or my stress levels lol.

I know some of you are probably going to say that I should muzzle her but i've never let her bite another dog and funnily enough off the lead she'll play with them!! I don't see why I should muzzle my dog when I can keep her under control, it's the other dog owners I worry about!!!

I have the exact same thing with Eddy. We'll stand out of the way on the lead, and yet dogs are still allowed to come up.
I'm stood there distracting him with food and telling him 'good boy' gently and they seem totally oblivious!

Again, I can control him and I don't muzzle him because he hates anything on his face (he had to wear a halti on his way to the vets this morning to stop picking up anything to eat from the street and he hated it!) but the worst he does is turn and snap/bark/growl - even when he was worse than he is now he never bit but I still don't risk it, I just keep him under control.

My dog is dog agressive and I don't muzzle her, i keep her under control. What I find annoying is when I see another dog I put her back on the lead and we stand out of the way so that the other party can walk by without a problem. What gets me is that other people see me put my dog on a lead and move to one side but STILL let their dog approach mine!!
I always tell the other dog owner that my dog is grumpy/agressive with other dogs but some dog owners don't seem to care about their own dog's safety or my stress levels lol.

I know some of you are probably going to say that I should muzzle her but i've never let her bite another dog and funnily enough off the lead she'll play with them!! I don't see why I should muzzle my dog when I can keep her under control, it's the other dog owners I worry about!!!

My dogs exactly the same as yours and I have the same problem.
Amber is soft as a brush with people, but is dog aggressive.
No matter how many times you tell them that "My dogs grumpy/mardy and won`t like it", they still let their dogs come up saying "its alright, he won`t bother", No, he won`t but mine will!!!:rant:
I never let my GSD off lead in a public place and she is always under control, so why should I muzzle her in public?

My dogs exactly the same as yours and I have the same problem.
Amber is soft as a brush with people, but is dog aggressive.
No matter how many times you tell them that "My dogs grumpy/mardy and won`t like it", they still let their dogs come up saying "its alright, he won`t bother", No, he won`t but mine will!!!:rant:
I never let my GSD off lead in a public place and she is always under control, so why should I muzzle her in public?

Yeah, or better still - 'it's okay, he needs telling' :shocked:

Now fair enough, I know Eddy will only 'tell' but they don't know that! If someone told me that their dog was grumpy/aggressive with other dogs, I wouldn't want to risk my dog's safety by saying 'oh it's ok - she needs telling anyway'

I should also point out that we do also see some people who are really good about it and get their dogs away as quickly as possible - even if they have to come and collect them! I can't blame any dog for hanging around us - the only thing I can distract eddy with is food, and unfortunately - it also distracts a lot of other dogs!

this is why I have the perspective I do have

dogs aren't randomly dog aggressive - they have become that way from experience

if all the dogs who have been allowed to get in your dogs face had been muzzled (boot on other foot here) then there would be no need for your dogs to feel so threatened and go through the whole 'stay away from me' display to anywhere near the same extent

this is why I have the perspective I do have

dogs aren't randomly dog aggressive - they have become that way from experience

if all the dogs who have been allowed to get in your dogs face had been muzzled (boot on other foot here) then there would be no need for your dogs to feel so threatened and go through the whole 'stay away from me' display to anywhere near the same extent

I don`t even think they should be muzzled, I just think they should be either on the lead or under proper control so they are not allowed to approach other dogs.
Perhaps Alldogs(no matter what size or breed) that are off lead, should be muzzled?:suspect:

I still don't agree. Takara's only been bitten once and that was, as I said in the house so a muzzle wouldn't have been in use.

Okay - so I don't know Eddy's past and he has been bitten by a terrier while I've had him but that's it. I believe his problem is more of a lack of socialisation with other dogs due to being allowed space to run on a farm and less walks - thus no chance to socialise with other dogs. He's fine with dogs he lives with and will let any foster dog in the house - but out on walks, he is dog aggressive (I think it's territorial due to only being exercised on his own land and a touch of insecurity).

Most confrontations that occur between dogs don't involve teeth at all, and if they do it's usually the showing of teeth as opposed to contact.
The most tooth contact I've witnessed is in play.

I don't have a problem with dogs coming upto my dog. No dog is 100% responsive 100% of the time and we all have set backs. I don't like people sending their dogs or kids to see my dogs without asking first and I hate blase attitudes such as 'oh he's only playing' or 'he needs to learn' but I certainly don't hold a lack of attention span against anyone! (I own dalmatians!)

I think if we all had a bit more patience for each other as well as control over our dogs we'd all be a lot happier.

Perhaps Alldogs(no matter what size or breed) that are off lead, should be muzzled?:suspect:

I'd be happy to agree to that, ie: ALL dogs, not just large breeds or those that are deemed "dangerous"

Perhaps Alldogs(no matter what size or breed) that are off lead, should be muzzled?:suspect:Well that is what I said ;)

I think if we all had a bit more patience for each other as well as control over our dogs we'd all be a lot happier.You can't legislate for patience though ;)

No you can't.

But what a sad state of affairs it would be if we were all forced to muzzle our dogs :(

The whole country's going mad.

Who would really make sure all dogs were muzzled anyway? Only those who cared would muzzle their dogs, and those that are a problem wouldn't bother - like with everything. (How many people get a fine for not picking up poo?)

I would not be happy taking Takara out muzzled whilst other dogs that are more likely to be a problem belonging to the wrong people are wandering about not muzzled.

muzzling is much easier to police than picking up poop though. A toilet stop only lasts for seconds, but a walk is much longer and requires a greater risk of encountering the authorities

In reality my stance on any further legislation for anything is that insurance companies should be better regulated, and ambulance chasing itself should carry a 25 year sentence :P Law should be enforced by common sense and judged by a panel of 3-5 judges (not a bunch of hysterical jurors who have no idea what they're being asked to assess)

Well I still truly believe it'd be a knee jerk reaction with very little benefits.

You'd have dogs with defense problems, people who distract their dogs from other dogs using a ball would no longer be able to because the dog can't get the ball so many of these dogs who are fine if they have something else to do would be focussing on other dogs instead, then there are people who exercise their dogs using a fetch game - dogs would become understimulated due to a lack of time and no way of speeding up a walk and heavily exercising their dog to tire them out.

It wouldn't fix problems with dogs that snap at other dogs or attack them - okay, less dogs would end up in the vets, but dogs would still attack, and still snap and most dogs don't bite in that situation anyway.

Dog training would be a nightmare - you certainly wouldn't be able to practice what you'd learned in your gundog training class anywhere public - presumably training classes such as agility and gundog training which uses toys a lot will be exceptions to the rule? And if so, where would you be licensed to train?

So you wouldn't have kids coming upto dogs and getting bitten (although as I stated before, most dog attacks on kids happen at home or a friend/neighbour's house), they'd just be able to walk straight up and do what they like because they can't get bitten.
And less dogs would get bitten, but I've seen plenty of confrontations between dogs (not just my own dogs) and very rarely is any contact made with teeth - it still freaks the dog out and it still causes behavioural problems.

I think keeping dogs onleash would cause the same problems in many ways - anyone who owns a dog with problems due to never being allowed to socialise will tell you what damage it can do.

Eddy stays on the lead, and he gets pestered but I expect it, I make sure I have something to distract him and if I don't feel upto coping with it, he goes for a road walk so we can avoid other dogs.

would strongly object to Ailsa being forced to wear a muzzle- she loves to carry her ball when we're out and would hate being prevented from doing so. She's always under control and has a head halter (dogmatic- a sturdy buckled one- I wouldnt trust anyhting else) and we're very careful to walk her away from small children or anyone else who has an irrational fear of dobermans (the ones that automatically give us a wide berth for fear our devil dog will eat their child). If she was known to be unpredictable or in any way aggressive, i guess we would have to use one, but that's not an issue with the dobermutt and i would be mightily naffed off if the do-gooders dictated she must wear one simply by virtue of her being a large dog. It's the little ones (terriers normally) that usually have a go at her, not the big ones!