Should you let your dog greet other dogs on leash?
Rylan Dach
2025-06-19 11:05:30
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If you’re unsure of the other dog on the lead, it’s wise to keep your dog well away. You have no way of knowing if their dog is friendly towards other dogs, and if you approach them too quickly, they may not have a chance to explain to you to keep your distance. In certain situations, a normally placid and friendly dog may take offence at another dog, and let them know, in no uncertain terms, and become angry and irritated. Your dog feels trapped Most dogs, while off the leash, have quite happy temperaments but put them on the lead, restrain them and the uncomfortable feeling will make your dog reactive to situations. He may pull towards other dogs and bark if he feels trapped. A doggy greeting, when both are on leads, can quickly escalate and increase the tension between the dogs. If you do bump into an owner walking his dog on the lead, remember that he’s doing this for a reason. Don’t approach by shouting that it’s OK, your dog is friendly– theirs may not be! Our advice – if you don’t really know the owner and the dog, keep walking by, don’t risk a dog-to-dog meeting.
Pat Lehner
2025-06-19 09:24:56
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The number one reason why we discourage on-leash greetings is due to the unnecessary social pressure that it creates for the dog. Being on a leash is very restricting to most dogs. They are stuck within a 4-6 foot radius of you at all times and are very aware of it. This puts them in an innate position to tap into their fight or flight responses. Since they do not have the ability to flee, we see them find alternative ways to deal with the stress. The big thing we want to avoid with a social dog by eliminating on-leash greetings is conditioned excitement. We don't know the other dog. You could have the most social dog in the world but if your social dog says hi to another dog that doesn't like it or isn’t quite as social as the owner may say, you could wind up with your dog being attacked.
Rocky Haag
2025-06-19 08:14:04
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There are about a hundred reasons that I could list that about why your dog should not say hi to other dogs on leash, I could even advise you to never allow this. But, we live in NYC and there are dogs like Fluffy and dogs like Ben everywhere. What we should all aim for are appropriate on-leash greetings with other dogs. For some dogs, it is ok for them to say hi to dogs once in a while. Once in awhile means saying hi to only 1 out of every 10-20 dogs. Not every dog wants to say hi and they need to respect that. If your dog is insisting on saying hi to every dog they see then they might be friendly, but they are not being polite. A calm, confident, respectful dog will not be approaching copious amounts of random dogs for no reason. If you are unsure if your dog is about to have an appropriate or inappropriate on-leash greeting you should air on the side of caution and opt not to stop and say hi. Remember, just because your dog is friendly does not mean he is being polite. He needs to not only be friendly towards other dogs, but also be respectful of other dogs.
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