28/06/2026
"Don't worry, he's friendly" isn't a recall command.
After recently experiencing an incident whilst walking a reactive dog on lead, I wanted to highlight the importance of two things:
⢠Your off lead dog shouldn't be approaching dogs that are on lead.
⢠If your dog does not have reliable recall, they shouldn't be off lead.
A dog may be on lead for many reasons. They may be reactive, nervous, in training, recovering from surgery, elderly, injured, or simply not want to interact with other dogs.
Whether your dog is friendly or not is irrelevant. Responsible dog ownership means having control of your dog at all times to keep dogs, owners and members of the public safe.
Not every dog wants to say hello, and that's absolutely okay.
We all have the right to enjoy the same walking spaces. By respecting other dogs' boundaries, using reliable recall, and keeping our dogs under control, we can help make walks safer and more enjoyable for everyone.
So don't be part of the "Don't worry he's friendly" crew.