A lot of these dog stories would never exist if owners simply used a little common sense.
Odin does not like other dogs getting near me after we had a mishap with a guy and his insane Golden who jumped over hubby and nearly onto my lap at the vet’s office.
He has not forgotten what he perceived to be an ‘attack’ upon me and probably never will.
[in less than 20 seconds, he went from generally ignoring other dogs to being constantly hyper-vigilant of them. I hate that Golden’s idiot owner]
When people come rushing up to us, I inform them of that fact.
I do not allow Odin near other dogs in public and politely request that others do the same.
[but usually people yank their dogs away in a hurry when they see him anyway...even Pit owners]
I’m glad your girl suffered no terrible damage.
She sounds a lot like my Portuguese Podengo Medio, Gypsy.
She’s never seen a dog or person she didn’t instantly love so I have to be very careful around larger dogs with her.
Some dogs are put off by her over-exuberant displays of affection.
So, rather than have to jump into the middle of a dog fight to save her, I keep her held far enough back until I have the chance to accurately assess the other dog’s body language.
[and the owner’s intellect] ;]
mine isn't over-exuberant except to a couple of big male doggies that she LOVES :)
I'm still learning to asses the other's dog's body language, so my rule is to hold her back (she's highly obedient, so I just say "stay" and she stays back) and I look for the owner of the other dog to be close, see if he/she is ok and then look at the dog if it growling or teeth curled or one of what I call dangerous breeds (note to all -- this is my own personal position -- and I'm sure I'm wrong for many dogs, but hey, I'm just looking out for my dog) and then wait for the tails to wag.