Incident between 2 dogs - who's at fault?

There's a pet store I take my dog to a few times a month to purchase the usual goodies and toys. There's no sign on the door that says all dogs must be leashed like some stores, but since I walk there my dog is always on his leash.

The last time we were there, a lady came in with a tiny little Maltese X. Absolutely adorable little dog that couldn't have weighed more than 10 lbs. This little dog was off leash and running around the small store like crazy. I'm always a little wary of my dog around little dogs (especially when they're running) because he has a high prey drive. He has met little puppies and was fine meeting a little chi X, but it's still something I'm aware about. I kept Ranger closer to my side and we walked towards the counter so we could quickly pay and leave since the little dog wouldn't leave Ranger alone.

So the dog comes up to Ranger again and starts jumping in his face then play bowing (dog owner is way at the back of the store) and jumping at him again. Ranger is a very playful dog so he play bow backs, then goes to "play" with the little dog. I'm not sure what exactly happened as Ranger blocked my view, but the little dog screamed. I think Ranger pawed at him and pushed him to the ground. The owner of the little dog comes running up and starts yelling at me, telling me to get better control of my dog. The little dog had no marks on him, certainly wasn't bleeding, but everyone at the store was giving me a look like my dog had attacked viciously. I was incredibly embarrassed and left.

I know I should have prevented my dog from playing with the other dog. Ranger is a big guy and doesn't always know his own strength (though he plays great with my bro's 25 lb puppy). But if something had actually happened, like Ranger had bitten the little dog, who would have been at fault? Me because I am responsible for my dog's actions or the lady who was letting her dog run around the store off-leash and kept getting in my dog's face?

I haven't gone back to the pet store since...still too embarrassed.

The owner of the little dog comes running up and starts yelling at me, telling me to get better control of my dog.

Control of YOUR dog ? But it's her dog that was unleashed ! :confused: SHE is the one that didn't have control of her dog.

I was a the vet last week , this guy was there with his GSD , unleashed , I took MY leashed dog back to the car and went back in to talk with a friend. The GSD was trying to get to one dog ..... I was keeping a close eye on him , he didn't seem too friendly. :frustrated:

I can never understand why people do this.

I totally agree, your dog was on leash and you were the responsible owner following city leash law. I would assume it's the same in Canada, but in the US, the unleashed dog would be at fault if something had happened. I'm so sorry you had to go through that. SO frustrating when other idiot owners have to ruin it for everyone! Some people, especially those with tiny dogs it seems, think the law doesn't apply to them. Drives me nuts.

I feel your frustration :mad:
My really pain point comes from the unattentive owner, who walks over and accusingly wants to know what "your dog did to my dog"? Um, if you were looking or caring you would have seen exactly what happened!
I have had that happen a few times when my dog was leashed and we were approached by dominant dogs with an attitude!
Sheeeeesh.

The lady who let her dog run around the store unsupervised was totally at fault. Too bad you felt embarassed because you could have told her your dog was under control and on leash while hers was running around getting in other dogs' faces. If her dog had gotten hurt it was still her responsibility, her dog was unsupervised and considered running at large which in our town is against the law.

The other woman was absolutely positively at fault. You had control of your dog while she allowed hers to run around like a little hooligan.

I hate it when other people always blame someone else for their dog's poor behaviour. For example, there is one retired guy in our neighbourhood that has a dog that I'm sure has some pitbull in her. This dog is agressive and will attack another dog if they so much as blink at the wrong time. She is never muzzled even though she is supposed to be and I have seen her get into at least three fights and I know of several more. The owner blames the other dog every time because "your dog did something to provoke my dog". :frustrated:

My mother and I walked my two dogs to the park for some exercise about a month ago and I saw him there so we waited far back until he started to go in the other direction. I took my dogs into an enclosed bocce court to wait until he left. He didn't and came right over - this was the first time he saw our puppy. His dog started to go under the gate and he let her. In about 2 seconds flat his dog went after the puppy and my other dog got involved before she had a chance to touch the pup. He didn't pull his dog away even though she was on one of those retractable leashes, but came in as well! :mad: Ever see two wolves fighting on tv? Well, that's what it looked like with my White Shepherd and this pit cross. Thankfully, my girl is very agile and a fair bit taller and could take care of herself until we (read I) could slowly separate them since they were both on leashes. A soon as the fight started, I told my mother to take the pup to the other end of the enclosure so he wouldn't get hurt or distract Pandora.

I'm sure the reason he allowed the fight to take place was because he knows that the one was just a pup and the Shepherd isn't a fighter and will usually let things slide. What he didn't realize is that Pandora is very attached to the pup Loki and really watches out for him.

Thankfully, no one got hurt and he tried to blame my White Shepherd for his dog going after the puppy! Boy did I give him a piece of my mind!

The store owners/managers would be primarily responsible for not making it clear that leash laws apply in all public areas, including stores. Then, of course, the owner of the other dog should really know better :wall:.

You have nothing to feel embarrassed about. If the employees made you feel uncomfortable, that would be bad business on their part. They must have forgotten it's the customers who pay their salaries. I'd be finding another place to do my shopping :2cents:.