dog off leash follows us home and marks our property; puppy response & guidance needed

[Wendy and Sophie]

I erred yesterday in walking my puppy, and would love some guidance.  Sophie, who is four months, and I were walking through our neighborhood when we came across a dog off leash.  I have since learned that I should have not allowed Sophie to interact with this dog, but at the time, and in general, we are trying to have her meet as many dogs as possible.  The dog came over, was playful and friendly, and that was fine.  But then the dog followed us home, running ahead of us, and marking everything along the way, including the front border of our property.  When my husband took Sophie out to walk this morning she was reticent.

I will try to walk her later today, but my larger question is this:  if you meet a dog off leash, and the dog follows you and continues to interact with your dog, how do you keep the dogs separated?  Should I have stopped, put Sophie in a sit and turned my back to this dog, hoping it would go away?  What's the best way to handle this situation?  There was no owner in sight.

Thanks for your insights on this.

Wendy & Sophie

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

If I'm walking my dog and I see another dog off leash with no owner in sight, I turn around and walk the other way or do anything else in my power to prevent the other dog from getting near mine. Every dog is not friendly and some of our dogs have been bitten by strange dogs who were loose in the neighborhood. In addition, stray dogs can be carrying any kind of illness or parasites and you don't want your pup to be exposed to that. The best way to handle the situation is to avoid it completely, IMO. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

In fact, even if the owner is present, it's not a good idea in general to allow unleashed dogs to approach your dog when she is on leash, and vice versa. Dogs react differently to other dogs when they are on leash then they do when they meet another dog off-leash. The leashed dog is put in a vulnerable position and that may trigger a "fight or flight" response. 

In the situation in which this dog was following you, I would have put myself between Sophie and the other dog, held out my arm with my palm forward in the "stop" signal, and calmly but confidently told the other dog to take a powder, lol. 

[Wendy and Sophie]

Thank you so much!  I will follow this advice in the future.  There was a woman near the dog getting into a car, and I thought it was hers.  But when she left, it became clear the dog did not belong to her or that house.  I appreciate the advice, Karen.  Just wasn't thinking in the moment!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It happens to all of us. Much easier to think what to do when it's not actually happening to you on the spur of the moment, lol. 

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

OMD...this is my biggest pet peeve in the whole world. LOL I get so frustrated by owners who think it is ok to let their dogs off leash. This happened to me yesterday at the park and I have encountered this problem many times. Luckily, in this case both dogs were fine. Our Fudge is reactive on a leash and Vern takes his cues from her and weighs 110 pounds, so when a stray dog approaches us, someone could easily get hurt. When I see the owner, I am NEVER friendly, but always announce, "your dog is supposed to be on leash." I don't care to hear that their dog is friendly. My job is to protect my dogs. Period. 

In this case, maybe the dog got out of his/her yard, but I think you did fine. Nothing bad happened and I don't see how you could have prevented anything without seeing an owner. I do always try and put myself between the approaching dog and my dogs. I would have probably tried to see if the dog had tags or something and if you could identify the owner AFTER your dog was safely in the house, but again, you do need to be careful when dealing with a stray dog. 

Can you tell you touched a nerve? I just get so aggravated by people who think the rules do not apply to them. Don't get me started on the huge poop I saw yesterday on the soccer field because someone was too lazy to bend down and pick their dog's poop up. This makes it hard for all the responsible pet owners. Rant over...LOL.

Glad you and your dog are fine!!

[Wendy and Sophie]

Thank you, Laurie!  Appreciate the insights.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Laurie, I'm right there with you on this rant!  I've stopped walking my guys in many places for this reason.  I especially love it when the owner shows up and says "oh don't worry he's friendly".  I always say "good, but mine isn't so you better leash him up and get him out of here".  I get some nasty looks, but I really don't care.  They are breaking the law.  We have off leash parks which is where I go when I want G & M to walk freely, and that's where they belong. Wendy, it sounds like the interaction between Sophie and the other dog was fine, so you were lucky.   Next time I agree that I would try to keep the other dog away....especially since you don't know anything about the temperament. 

[Wendy and Sophie]

I certainly will, Jane.  Our puppy kindergarten trainer also mentioned the idea of throwing a treat to the other dog in another direction to distract them; she said this can work as well.  I will definitely be diligent about keeping Sophie away in the future.  Thanks for all the guidance.

[Laurie, Wally & Charlotte]

It sounds like this dog was probably not off of his or her leash on purpose. I guess I would have headed home, trying to keep the two dogs separated as best as manageable. Then, once my dog was safely inside, I would have gone back out to see if the dog was wearing identification, and if so, I would have tried to contact the owner/s. Without tags, I would have tried to put on an extra collar and leash, and then called the local animal control folks in the hopes that they would see if the dog was microchipped. If one of my dogs was out roaming the neighborhood, I would hope that someone would try to do the same. Unleashed dogs who are out WITH their owners . . . well, that is another story entirely!

[Wendy and Sophie]

Good thoughts; thanks!  The dog had a thick metal box around its collar; I'm thinking from an invisible fence?  but evidently jumped the borders or it was not turned on.  I did not get closer to it than that to see tags, but will be very proactive in the future about keeping my sweet puppy separated from off-leash dogs.

[Ginny Nightingale]

yes, it sounds like an invisible fence collar and when they go thru it, they get shocked when they try to get back in to their yard--he was probably hoping you would call his owner--haha! 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Animal Control officers/facilities can be iffy, because most of them are government agencies that operate for the welfare of the public and not the animals. If the dog doesn't have a chip and the owners can't be contacted and don;t think to look for him there, he can be euthanized after a "hold" period of 3-5 days. So depending on the area and the conditions at the A/C facility, (if they are overcrowded, they are usually high-kill), the dog might actually be safer out loose in the neighborhood. :( 

On the other hand, county animal control facilities in suburban areas can be very safe places for stray dogs; it just depends. 

One option for a dog who seems friendly is to take him to any vet's office, even the ones in Petsmart, and have them scan for a chip. If there is a registered chip, the owner can then be contacted right away. Many private vets offices have employees or volunteers with ties to local rescue groups that might help.