I’ve heard in the past that it is unwise to let a dog off the lead go up to a dog on the lead. However, I have never had a problem with this. My dog likes to say hello to dogs on and off the lead, regardless of if she is on or off the lead herself. My problem is when there is a person who pulls their dog away and won’t let them talk to mine. If they say, ‘I have an aggressive dog’, then I will stop my dog straight away - I guess they also may assume that my dog is aggressive and be fearful she will attack?
My question is: if a dog is well socialised, shouldn’t they be okay saying hello to another dog no matter whether one or both is on a lead?
In my opinion (I am not a vet, but have been a vet tech) it is never wise to let your dog go up to a strange dog - leash or no leash. Not only do you not know if the other dog is aggressive, but you don’t know if the other dog has been vaccinated and some diseases (such as kennel cough) are very contagious.
It’s a done thing here in NZ, especially at dog parks - it’s how to socialise the dogs. I would reconsider if in a dodgy low socioeconomic neighbourhood.
What SnakesCatLady said. Some dogs are friendly until your dog gets close, even if it’s the other dog who walked up. Then they change their minds and attack out of fear. Some dogs are aggressive towards certain kinds of people (women, men, martians, whatever the dogs has a prejudice for), and may attack you all the while being perfectly nice to your dog. Also, you have no idea what sorts of contagious diseases or parasites they may have.
Just because you haven’t had a problem yet doesn’t mean you never will.
It’s your call. Socializing the dogs is good, just know what you are getting in to and make sure your dog is protected. Good neighborhood just means the owners have fewer excuses not to keep up on vaccination, not that they actually get it done.
And it makes no promises about the behavior of the animals.
It’s been a while since I’ve owned a dog, but my thoughts as the dog owner walking a leashed dog would fall along the lines of “hey, s/he isn’t following leash laws” / “wonder what else s/he ignores, maybe vaccinations or dog training.” I would also worry because if the dog did decide to attack my dog or me, you wouldn’t have it under the control of a leash and I might be unable to get away as a result.
My husband is a letter carrier (who loves dogs, has many dogs on his route who adore him, and grew up owning dogs) and he hears from so many people how their dog doesn’t bite/is friendly but the dog obviously does not count the mailman among the good guys and lashes out. You can’t be sure who a dog will think is a threat.
So just because you think your dog is friendly and that dog socialization is a good thing, that doesn’t mean that those you encounter automatically know that your dog is friendly, and believe that as well.
Agree with you all - but my question is: if a dog is well socialised, shouldn’t they be non-aggressive to other dogs? (that is ofcourse if the other dog isn’t acting aggressive to them) whether or not they are on or off the lead.
In theory, but it’s not the case all the time. They are all individuals. Some dogs are insecure enough that they only feel comfortable socializing when their owners are around. They might be okay at first, but then they reconsider when your dog gets closer and lash out.
Another senario: Your dog is pefectly nice. Other dog is perfectly nice, but is older and a bit arthritic in the hips. Your dog goes to be friendly, but that makes other dog turn around suddenly, hurting the hips. Other dog assumes that your dog made the hips hurt and bites her back in misplaced self defense.
Socialization decreases the risk of attacks between dogs and from dogs to humans, not eliminate it.
Making sure both dogs are on a leash when they interact insures that humans can safely seperate the dogs if needed.
Rather than going to the dog park, it would be safer to make a few dog buddies with dogs you know are well socialized and healthy and that get along with your dog and just go play with them off the leash in someone’s yard.
But I’ve even seen cases of housemates attacking one another after years together. It’s all calculated risk.
I’ve seen dogs at our local dog park behave aggressively with our very friendly beagles. While we usually will have a talk with the owner at that point, and they are generally very apologetic about their dog’s behavior and rein them in appropriately, it’s not always safe to assume that dogs will get along in any given scenario. One of our beagles is very food-protective (we adopted her at 12 years old from a rescue organization and it’s a habit that was probably acquired during her time as a stray or shelter dog) so she’s fine meeting other dogs in any situation except when there’s food, even treats, involved. I’d never take her to the dog park off-leash and assume that she’s safe, even though she’s 14 and arthritic and deaf and genrally apathetic to what other dogs are doing, because the second a biscuit comes out, she’ll attack other dogs, no matter the size, because there’s food involved. Never assume that’s it’s safe to associate your dog with other dogs.
My dog was dominant but very well socialized back in Russia. When we moved to California, she pretty much ran into some sort of a language barrier and did not adjust. Every time she would see another dog, she would happily approach, they’d wag their tails, do the whole sniffing identification bit, maybe even play a little and then the American dog would touch my dog with her paws (it’s hard to describe, I’ve seen dogs here do it to each other routinely, it’s kind of like putting a paw on a shoulder, and only one paw, not the usual dominant two-paws and the behavior with other dogs seems reciprocal). At that moment my dog would completely flip out every single time and seriously and aggressively go for the other dogs throat.
We don’t let her interact with stranger dogs anymore.
Now about the leash, a dog that is on a leash is in a serious disadvantage when it comes to any sort of conflict. Not only does that immediately involve the owner and can result in the leash twisting around your arms and legs, possibly even breaking them if your dog is big enough, it can also seriously hurt the dog as well for obvious reasons. When both dogs are on a leash conflict can be avoided by the owners by pulling the dogs apart at the first sign of trouble.
The most important thing to remember is that it’s better to overestimate a dog rather than underestimate it. Large dogs are large predatory animals, and while domesticated, still know exactly where the throat is.
According to my dog training book, a dog on a leash will feel at a disadvantage to a dog off a leash and may get nasty.
When I visit my parents, my dog stays on his leash, and their dog runs free, and Voltaire seems ok with that. However, I get REALLY annoyed if I’m walking him and someone has their dog OFF leash in a NON-off leash area (ie - where a leash is required) and the dog approaches us. Voltaire is a sweety and has never been agressive with any dog (my nephew is a whole other story - the story involves humping - I’m not going to tell it - oops I just did) but even if he was a bit more agressive, I can haul him in.
However, when some strange dog comes up to us, and the owner is yelling “Bowser, Bowser come here” and the dog is ignoring them it tells me that a) the owner does not have the dog as well trained as they think they do and b) that dog could be a risk to my dog.
I always scoop Voltaire up and walk away. If your dog isn’t trained keep it the hell away from my dog, unless it’s on a leash and you can haul it away if it gets snarky.
It’s actually upsetting me a bit to think about it. BUT - we don’t go to off leash dog parks, so Voltaire should NEVER encounter an off leash dog except for mom and dads.
Alice…Voltaire is one of the coolest dog names I’ve ever heard. 
It’s fairly common for an otherwise friendly dog to be aggressive to other dogs when on-leash. Here’s a good article on the topic.
That article said what I came in here to say - that many times, it’s the person at the end of the leash who is the problem. Seeing an unleashed dog causes one to tense and pull back on the leash. What this does, however, is put your dog in a relatively aggressive posture as the collar pulls up at the dog. The unleashed dog sees the other dog “rear up”, it gets nervous, and then all hell breaks loose.
All because (mostly) the owner doesn’t understand how dogs react to visual cues and posture.
And don’t forget that both dogs are very concious of you - if you act nervous, the dogs WILL pick up on it. Most dogs will assume that the human is the Alpha in any social situation and take their cues accordingly.
Thanks guys - some of this interesting.
I guess I am very lucky to live in a country where there are many off leash areas and dog owners are very relaxed on the whole about dogs socialising and problem dogs stay on the lead and the owner warns you not to come near. (this is not the case in the low socioeconomic areas where dogs run free and un registered, un-vaccinated.
I feel very sad for dogs who don’t get to run free regularly, but it seems a reality for many in the US.
When your dog is on a leash and the other dog is not, you are poentially in the middle of a dog fight. When I owned a dog, I was all for having him meet other dogs provided they were on a leash (and my dog aways was).
Yes I have heard people say this before, hence my original question - why?!
The article linked here is spot-on. I’m not a dog expert by any means, but I live with someone who is, and my dog has benefitted enormously from practicing much of what is suggested in the article. Great link there, porcupine , thanks.