FAQ: How do I stop off-leash dogs from approaching?

Answer: You can’t! But there are other things you can do.

Recently a client of many years ago reached out with just this question, and I wrote her a long email about ways to address it. (Clients ask this question on a regular basis, but this is the first time I’ve written down the response.) I’m going to go ahead and paste my response here! You can all see what a terrible person I am when I’m in A Mood. 😉 Ugh, off leash dogs that don’t listen. If I had emojis on my computer, I would add a lot of unimpressed-looking ones. XD There are some hilarious memes and posters about just this problem!

So, first, we do the difficult thing: teach our dogs to ignore other dogs running around off leash. I can’t remember what form of reward/correction we used on Mochi, but I know Taiwan dogs are often fearful, so I doubt it was much! The thing to remember is to practice with all dogs, so that when it’s an off-leash dog, Mochi and Kermit will have a set of known behaviors to fall back on. I would start positive; when there’s another dog and they start to look at it, call their names and reward with treats. Let them look back at the dog, but immediately call their names and reward again. Repeat until they’re looking at you rather than the other dog. Practice on every dog you see, whether or not they’re off leash, so it becomes easy for the pups to ignore other dogs. Eventually, just give them a treat once you’ve passed the dog, then just say, “Good dogs,” when you get past. I STILL praise my dogs when they walk past a barking or off-leash dog. It’s hard not to react when someone is talking to you!

If they’d rather look at the other dog than get a treat but they’re walking beside you, take a sideways step and bump them. It’s a little bit “Oops, I stepped into your space, better check in” and a little bit of a body block (which would be a faster bump). If either flinches or looks stressed, try tapping them gently on the top of their head. Like, “Hello? Anyone there?” When they tune back in, reward with praise/pets/treats, whichever they’ll take.

If they’re walking ahead of you, reach forward to give the leashes as much slack as possible, then jump two steps backward. The goal is for the dogs to pivot quickly to face you. It’s a surprise tactic, so it needs to be quick! (Plus, if you do it slowly it gives them time to brace, and then they drag their feet across the ground. Ouch! Quick is actually safer.) When they’re facing you, praise and reward, shorten your leashes, and head past the dog prepared with treats.

Dogs communicate visually, with their bodies. Just by having your dogs look away, you’re halting the conversation. 80-90% of off-leash dogs won’t approach closely if the other dog is ignoring them. (They might come within ten feet. If it comes closer for a treat, toss a few toward it and keep going.)

While you’re doing all this, be aware of where your gaze is settling. If you’re watching the dog to see if it’s coming over (which, of course, we all do), you’ve just about guaranteed that it’s going to come over. As soon as you see an off-leash dog, glue your eyes on your dogs. Not only will looking at another dog attract that dog, but if your dogs are tuned into you they’ll see where you’re looking, smell your stress (easily!), and think, “Ah! She’s stressed about that dog! We’d better be stressed, too!” We can’t control our scent, but you can control where your eyes are looking. Look at your dogs! Seek out their gaze, too. Then they’ll think, “We know you’re stressed, but… about us? Why? How can we help make it better?”

Now, of course, some dogs are still going to come running over. (Especially the ones with the idiot owners.) When I’m approached by off-leash dogs, I check what my dogs are saying. If their tails are up and wagging in a relaxed, floppy manner, then I know I can let out a lot of leash (the goal being for my dog to feel like he’s off-leash, so he doesn’t get stressed at being restrained when meeting another dog) and let them say hi. I rarely want my dogs to say hi on walks, but sometimes that’s just easier. Then I can scold the owner at length, if I’m in the mood. 😉

If my dog’s tail isn’t wagging or it’s low, or if it’s pinched against their butt while wagging at the bottom (anxiety), then I know my dog doesn’t want to say hi (even if he’s going over there; he might feel he HAS TO say hi to keep from being attacked). In that case, I’m going to bodily haul my dogs behind me and shorten up their leashes to keep them there, and I’m going to step between my dog and the approaching dog. Then you can do things the nice way, or the frustrated way.

The nice way: continue blocking the dogs. If possible, free one hand to pet the other dog. This helps distract it from your dogs, shows your dogs that it’s safe, and gives you the ability to subtly grab its collar and/or push it away. Do this enough, and the dog will retreat… eventually.

The frustrated way: pull yourself up tall and big, even puffing out your chest and spreading your arms, and — your dogs still behind you — charge several steps toward the approaching dog, bellowing something. Anything will do — you could recite the ABCs — but I usually say something like, “No! Go home!” Most dogs, even aggressive dogs, will slam on the brakes. Occasionally one will still approach slowly and I have to do it the nice way, but usually they decide I’m crazy and they either watch from a distance or go back where they came from. This has the added benefit of getting the owner’s attention. Granted, while they collect their dog they’ll probably say something like, “Don’t yell at my dog! He’s just being a dog! He’s friendly!” but if you’re a really Good Person you’ll ignore it and move on. (Sometimes I am, sometimes I’m not.)

In California all dogs have to be on leash unless they’re in a specified off-leash area. I’ve been known to point this out, repeatedly and obnoxiously, if I’m in A Mood. It goes something like,