09/08/2026
Yes!!! 🙌 💯
Derek Cox nope. You’re being incredibly smart, practical, and safe. The amount of negative interactions which create lasting behavior problems due to owners who feel their dogs need to make friends with unknown dogs are uncountable. My personal dogs are super friendly with other dogs (except for one of the seven), and all are awesome with people. Yet, we have extremely clear rules that our dogs NEVER interact with other dogs on walks or hikes, ever. And same goes for humans. The truth is, you have no idea as to what kind of responses you’ll get from the unfamiliar dogs or humans, and that’s a terrible gamble to take. So if we’re out and about, first we simply avoid everyone. That’s the easiest approach. But if we DO encounter someone (we can’t avoid) who wants their dog or themselves or their kids to say hi, there’s a very polite “Sorry, we don’t allow our dogs to meet dogs or people they’re not familiar with. Thanks.” And if that doesn’t connect, we become far more “clear” and “direct.” And if that isn’t honored, lol, let’s just say it’s a contest between my Eastern European wife and my barely concealed cantankerous self to see who will put the conversational smack down on them the firmest. Our dogs’ safety and our own peace of mind are not up for grabs simply because someone else wants something. And we will protect that stuff quite harshly if need be. (It rarely is.)
As for your suggestion about setting up something that is highly controlled and structured—that’s totally up to you—but you and your family are more than enough to satisfy your dog’s needs and fulfillment. And trust me, our dogs are quite the happy dogs. In fact, at this point, they have no desire to meet other dogs or people—they’ve become as aloof and selective as we are. And that’s just how we like it. :)
