Mindful Walking: Why we skip on-leash greetings

Here are some reasons we skip the leash greetings and why. Many dog owners think their dog must meet every dog they see on a walk and that is part of good socializing. This isn’t always true. Letting dogs greet each other while on a leash can cause fights, bad behavior, and weaken your bond. Keeping distance from other dogs is actually best.

Diminishes Your Leadership - If you often put your dog in uncomfortable situations, they will stop trusting you as their leader and protector. Your main job is to keep your dog safe. Forcing your dog to meet strange dogs can cause fights breaks your bond. Without a strong bond, your dog won’t listen, won’t respect you, and may act out by growling, lunging, or starting fights. If your dog ultimately behaves badly, it’s not their fault.

Tension causes reactivity - When dogs are on a leash, they can’t move away from each other and must stay close. This can cause stress or anxiety, often leading to leash reactivity. On-leash greetings make dogs feel threatened. If they can’t run away (flight), they may choose to fight. Dogs try to make space by barking, lunging, growling, fighting, or biting.

You don’t know the other dog - Parents teach children about stranger danger, so why do we force our dogs to trust strange dogs? Untrained dog owners let their dogs pull them straight to you without asking, invading your space. Rude! These are the same people who let their off leash dog run up to you while shouting “my dog is friendly!” While these dogs may have good intentions, they are poorly mannered and dogs learn from each other and I personally don’t want my dog learning poor manners from someone else. You also don’t know if that dog is current on vacations or flea treatment or even just got over kennel cough or other things.

Leashes Don’t Allow Dogs to Properly Meet - Dog greetings follow a special pattern, like a dance. Dogs meet by approaching from the side, not face-to-face, since direct eye contact is rude and threatening to them. They circle a bit and sniff each other's rear ends. After that, they either move on, play, or fight. When on a leash, dogs only have about six feet to move around, depending on where their owner stands. This limited space can confuse dogs and cause mixed signals. As they circle, their leashes can get tangled, making greeting harder and raising tension, which can lead to fights.

It teaches your dog to value others - If you allow your dog to meet other dogs whenever they please, they learn to value the greeting over you, the handler. Now, when you say no, they protest or when you say yes, they don’t listen. You need to be the most valuable thing in the world to your dog. Devaluing yourself damages your relationship with your dog and leads to frustration on both ends.

Dogs don’t need to make dog friends all the time - Dogs are social, but they don’t always need other dogs. Some don’t like other dogs or are more shy. You don’t greet/shake hands with everyone you meet, right? Forced greetings on leash make many dogs uncomfortable, but owners often think meeting all dogs is good socializing. This can make them miss signs of stress or fear like growling, lip licking, staring, tail tucked, cowering, panting, showing the whites of their eyes, avoiding, or barking.

Dogs Respond to Human Stress - The tightness and tension in the leash says a lot. Nervous dog owners pass their stress to their dogs, making them lunge, bark, or bite. When this happens, you pull the leash to move your dog away, which only makes the tension and reaction worse. It’s a never-ending cycle.

It doesn’t help your dog become social - On-leash greetings don’t help dogs become more social because the leash restricts their natural communication and can cause tension. This tension can make dogs more excited or frustrated, increasing the chance of bad reactions. Leashes also stop dogs from fully using their body language and sense of smell.

On-Leash Greetings Undermine your Training - You’re encouraging bad habits like pulling and barking instead of teaching your dog to walk on a loose leash. We prefer structured walks where the dog pays attention to the handler, not distractions. These walks strengthen the handler and dog bond, shows the dog that the human is the leader, and helps us practice ignoring other dogs.

On-Leash Greetings Reinforce Poor Behavior - Imagine you let your child choose a treat from the checkout line every time you shop. One day, you say no to the treat to limit sugar, and they throw a tantrum. Dogs act the same way when a behavior is repeated. For example, your dog gets excited meeting new dogs and pulls you toward every dog they see because you’ve let it happen before. When you’re in a hurry and don’t want them to greet, your dog barks and acts out. Now you have a problem behavior.

How to Properly Introduce Dogs

There are a few different ways to properly introduce dogs. I make sure that the owner (I pick a lot of friends and family that have similar structure for their dogs) of the other dog and I are one the same page regarding ground rules (explained above). I try to prevent introductions with unknown dogs as much as possible. This may seem restrictive; however, it’s just not worth the risk to me.

Structured Dog Walking

When I meet a new dog, I choose a wide trail or park where dogs and owners can walk side-by-side, with the dogs on the outside. This keeps the dogs moving and prevents them from becoming reactive.

Single-File Hikes 

If we are planning to allow the dogs to hike off leash at some point, I make sure to communicate clearly with the other dog owner prior to meeting to get an understanding of their dog’s skill level off-leash.

Start by walking the dogs in a single line with plenty of space between them. Let them sniff around but keep the distance at first. When both dogs are calm, allow the dog behind to briefly sniff the dog in front, then switch places so the other dog can sniff. If they stay calm, you can let them off leash, as long as both owners can call their dogs back and stop fights if needed.

Group Training Classes

Another good way to introduce new dogs is to train them separately in the same area, like a park or a big room. Group classes, is a great way to do this! This helps your dog learn with distractions and get used to the other dog nearby. Dogs don’t just socialize by playing; just being together matters too.

What about Off-Leash Greetings?

While dogs usually greet better off-leash, I don’t let my dog meet unknown dogs for the reasons above. I want my dog to respect and trust me. I also don’t trust other dogs and owners; I don’t know them. If you do let dogs meet off-leash, here are some tips:

Avoid dog parks. Dog parks often spreads disease. Giardia being the big one, spread though water. Your dog can contract it even if they walk though it and lick their paw afterward. Its really big in the PNW. They’re also common places for dog fights and can make your dog ignore you. Plus, there’s usually not enough space for a dog to get away from other dogs, or they can be too big and you may not catch your dog.

Keep moving. If a non-aggressive off-leash dog surprises you and your off-leash dog on the trail, try to fend them off by saying “NO!” in a firm voice and keep moving with your dog in the opposite direction. You can also body block the other dog from getting at your dog. I personally like to carry ‘Pet Corrector’ it makes a Hissing sound to scare away unwanted dogs or even wild life.