Reminder to dog owners
As dog lovers and owners our animal warden team are only too aware of the joys of letting your dog run free and play with other dogs. However it is necessary to remind dog owners that there are many dogs who do not like to be approached.
There can be a great number of reasons why a dog walking on a lead may not want to be approached by another dog. They might be a nervous dog because of past traumas, they might be feeling unwell or they just might not want to be approached.
If your dog runs up to another dog who is on a lead, it is your dog which is out of control if a fight occurs.
It is also worth mentioning that not all people, and certainly not all children like dogs approaching them. So unless invited do not let your dog approach other people.
To avoid conflict or stress to all parties the best practice is to only let your dog run free where you know it is 100% safe to do so, and where they can’t approach other dogs and people uninvited.
