No. NEVER. Unless having a reactive dog is something you desire.
Allowing your dog to meet/greet/interact with other dogs when they are on leash can lead to reactivity to dogs.
How? I’ll explain below.
When we allow our dogs to meet other dogs on leash we are setting them up for a routine that whenever they see a dog they will meet or greet them. This can lead to one of two things: A dog that gets overly excited whenever they see another dog or a dog that gets overly anxious whenever they see another dog.
Let’s talk about the overly excited dog first. These dogs typically love other dogs and want to play with them. If your dog has met other dogs on leash even just one or two times, your dog now has a picture in his mind of what it means anytime they see another dog when they are on leash. So from that point forward, whenever they see a dog, they will begin to get excited, anticipating a meeting. Whether you had the intention to go and meet or not, your dog will start to become so excited that frustration will build because the leash is holding him back. This frustration then turns into aggression.
So now let’s talk about the dog that gets anxious. These type of dogs typically don’t care to meet other dogs, they’re a little intimidated. So if you have put your dog in that situation even just one or two times, now your dog has a picture in his mind of what it means when he sees a dog on leash. The only difference is, this dog is not going to show aggression because he’s excited, this dog is showing aggression out of fear- he too is anticipating that he will have to meet the dog and starts to become nervous about it-he figures he might as well start barking now and getting it out of the way so the other dog stays away.
So let’s help them lose that expectation and instead show them a new norm that whenever they are attached to a leash we will always just walk past dogs. If you want them to interact, they should be off leash in a safe place that either allows off leash trained dogs or a fenced in area.
The quality of these dog treats is second to none. I feel so good knowing I’m feeding my dog 100% grass fed beef! He deserves only the best and Patriot Pup delivers!
