I guess anyone reading posts on the allaboutdogfood forum is interested in dogs… as am I 8)
Curiously, as in other walks of life, there are the ‘good’ and the ‘bugbears’ of being with a dog, in dog world so to speak! And I thought it may be fun to have a thread on what sorts of things make your heckles rise?
I’ll start off the thread with my views of badly emptied and or badly maintained dog bins!! …grrr.
It’s never a pleasure to be faced with an overflowing bin nor a bin that has lost control of it’s simple mechanisms for sufficiently opening to receive another bag to swallow…
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…here’s another of my gripes …apologies…
So having bought a beautifully engraved dog’s name tag which danced in the sun in tune with the dog’s gait, with all the necessary and legally required details…some 3 days later the split ring broke and said tag remains missing to this day!!.. grrrr
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My current dog is my first and I was pretty ignorant when I first had her. She was reactive to pretty much everything. We have done a lot of work and got to the stage where she is reasonably calm most of the time when we are out. She still reacts to noisy vehicles and some other dogs. It doesn’t matter what I do in terms of working with other dogs, all the work is undone by dogs who are off lead and allowed to come over to her. She is always on a lead as her chase instinct leads to hearing loss and because of her reactivity. Anytime we go places where dogs have to be on the lead, we have no problem at all, (except narrow crossing points). I have tried a yellow vest which is supposed to alert people that the dog needs space but it was ripped off by a dogs who’s owner was nowhere in sight. People say ‘oh well it will teach him/her’ when she barks but it isn’t helping my dog!!! Too many incidents on a walk can really stress her and set us back. It can sometimes be a day or two before she is ready to venture out again.
Most people are considerate and put their dog on the lead when they see that she is on hers but I wish people would realise that some dogs, like some people, need more space
http://i.imgur.com/c9UlgGqm.jpg
This is the vest that is now in tatters!
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Tinyplanets - it can be overwhelming if a dog arrives unescorted by it’s human and causes unwarranted stress to us and/or to our dogs. I really wish there was a “dog & owner etiquette” booklet for owners to read when they first get their dog ; detailed yet light enough for popping into a pocket when out with their dog.
Something you might try to help divert an approaching dog away from yours is to stand in front of your dog and use a quick spray of Pet Corrector spraying into the air at arm’s length, with your arm up above your head, when that dog is about 10 feet away.
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Coaster - may I say what a number of bugbears you have on your list! Some of which are indeed an irritant to many dog owners who hopefully will appreciate your mentioning them.
I wonder if anyone might contribute with answers to help us with our bugbears? So that we may enjoy our time with our dogs in a more positive way?
So for example we could (& perhaps should) report an overfull or not-working-correctly dog bin. Or request more frequent bin emptying. Or simply request more bins!
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4. Dogs regularly off lead with known & untrained aggression or serious recall issues.
Absolutely agree with the difficulty we may experience should a dog come hoofing over freely with menace in mind…compounded by no owner in sight >:( Each situation is different but faced with this scenario much of our initial reaction will determine how the next few seconds will take place. We can influence calm, or we can remain neutral or… dare I say sadly we can unwittingly increase the levels of menace… and yet we are not the cause of the situation.
Serious recall issues are also exasperating , not least because you may end up with an extra dog in your ‘pack’ which you are then effectively dog-sitting. 
Dogs at times do get lazy at recall, just because they can, they do!! Mostly younger dogs are having too much fun to recall on cue. ‘Teenage’ dogs are of the ‘can go deaf when I want’ brigade. And of course dogs have differing hormonal swayings and differing levels of confidence, both affecting their obedience levels in the moment. All these are mostly ‘normal’ in dog world and these behaviours are ones I expect and don’t have any issue with.
It’s when the serious recall issue puts the dog in danger that it becomes an extremely important matter.
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Although I listed my top 10, (in no particular order), I should add that I actually get more positives than negatives out of dog ownership & being out & about with our dogs. Doing so most certainly helps me unwind…Despite odd moments, ours are relatively pleasurable to own, walk & be with.
I do report overfull dog waste bins but generally have enough pouch space to take waste home if needed.
Pet corrector spray is an interesting one. I have never used or seen it used or carried. I suspect that if I were to even present a cannister towards another dog that the greater conflict might be between owners rather than dogs.
I used to be more reactive to dogs that show aggression or snappiness. Our dogs here are well socialised & thus fairly good at backing off, giving wide berth or ignoring unstable dogs.
I am very lucky as where I walk most local owners & dogs are typically quite easy going. Day trippers with under socialised dogs or hyper dogs usually stand out resulting in me &/or our dogs casually staying calm & carrying on. With volatile humans &/or dogs it can be wise to casually give a wide berth &/or ignore unwanted behaviour when able.
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Yet another respected and successful Company of Animals product:
"The Pet Corrector™ emits a hiss of compressed gas which produces a broad spectrum sound (white noise) varying from a low frequency rumble to a high frequency hiss to interrupt a dog’s unwanted behaviour.
The overall effect is to grab the attention of a dog. Dogs exhibit a wide range of reactions according to their hearing sensitivity and prior conditioning. Nevertheless, almost all dogs initially react to the Pet Corrector because the sound is genetically programmed to be associated with danger, such as from the hiss of a snake, an angry swan or the buzz of a dangerous insect."
Here is the link:
http://www.companyofanimals.co.uk/brands/pet-corrector
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…Forgot to add…yes I too at times mention the dog bins overflowing as especially in the wind it’s greatly advisable to stand several yards away…and we don’t have that luxury when we are trying to responsibly use one!! A true health hazard in a red unlidded box… :
It is courtesy for the owner to attach a lead to their dog if they see other dogs who are being walked on a lead. That being said, if the off lead dog ignores mine then that’s OK. My only big bugbear is folk who don’t pick up after their dogs. It’s disgusting.
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I would worry about the owners response if I produced a deterrent spray too. They are often angry anyway, that my dog has had a fear response to their dog. I used to end up apologising. I don’t now, If I they can hear through the barking, I take it as an opportunity to calmly inform them about assuming dogs on leads need space. I have got to the stage where a simple ‘be nice’ is enough for a quiet passing, even when the other dog is too close but once her fears take over, she isn’t able to hear. I made some mistakes with her listening to others and trying to fit her into a box. Now I accept her as she is and work with her. It has gone a long way to making her a happier dog. I will not apologise for her again (unless it is my fault) but often people just don’t realise. The conversation usually goes like this, as a dog is running over
‘its okay he/she is friendly’
‘She is not and needs space’
‘Oh well he will learn’
Yes but she is fear reactive and other dogs make her stressed, we are working on passing without her becoming anxious’
I usually get an apology or a dirty look. If it is a dirty look I have to remind myself to ‘be nice’ 
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Mindful we are going a little off topic. Mods please split thread & start nee topic if an issue…
Tinyplanets,
I imagine that it must be quite stressful walking a dog reactive dog.
I am not for one minute suggesting a lack of effort, however, I am sure you are fully aware that the ideal would be for the dog to be less reactive…
Depending on history & factors I know how I might approach the problem but I am curious to know more…
You say it doesn’t matter what work you do with other dogs as she still reacts to approaches by off lead dogs. Just wondering what work you have done,…
Is your dog is fearful aggressive, dominant aggressive or just plain anxious/scared ?
Any event(s) that trigger, have triggered or have built up to this ?
Any difference if she is walked by another handler ?
Dog ever been badly injured or attacked ?
Socialisation class history ?
Dog familiar walking in high density dog walking areas & from what age ?
How is your dog with friends dogs or non aggressive dogs ?
Any behavioural specialist work done ?
Appreciate this is your issue with your dog so totally understand you may not wish to discuss/share.
Meg, Thanks for the link…will bear in mind if my right foot becomes less functional 
Another bugbear of mine is the situation when there is unacceptably misplaced anger, when the animal with 2 feet effectively tries to embarrass (and at times intimidate) the other animal with 2 feet!
If I may explain further… we dog owners are a diverse group and yet it occasionally doesn’t seem to take much provocation for owners to become confrontational, their target being the ‘innocent’ other owner.
Each situation is different … for example, if walking a dog on lead and another dog comes near causing stress to the dog on lead (no matter what the type of stress) then the other dog is the catalyst for the dog reacting as it is. Therefore if the owner of the other dog grumps and postulates they are making a poor attempt to deflect their failure to behave responsibly, by acting with hostility. grrrrr.
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My bugbears in dog world include the owner of the dog who is nowhere to be seen when their dog runs off with belongings that do not belong to their dog. :o :o grrr
Picture the scenario if you will… a group (of humans) playing and have left a few garments on the ground, maybe a top, a cloth bag, a shoe, and whoosh! in an instant ‘opportunist’ dog arrives… sniffs… grabs… and he’s off… with the object of interest!!.
Let the ‘I’m-having-fun-you-gotta-chase-me’ games begin.
Where I walk most locals owners are relatively laid back with off lead walking. As a result most local dogs are fairly chiiled, the well socialised dogs often sorting things out between themselves well enough.
If one of our two makes an unwanted approach & gets barked at I get over it, smply recalling our dogs if they don’t take initiative to move away or head closer to me. Usually ours are pretty good at weighing up other dogs & deciding if an interacton is worthwhile or not.
My castrated Lab usually with excellent recall can still occasionally try to hump other dogs. I deal with this pretty firmly. I accept this is not ideal & could lead to a dangerous interaction. He never barks or shows teeth doing this. We usually go weeks or months without this issue & then he might do it twice in a week. Usually he does this to other similar colured Labs, so I usually leash or distract him if I spot one in our vicinity. If he got bitten doing this i would not take issue unless other owner failed to intervene during a sustained attack.
Sure we have had some unwanted moments but locally I find Instances of aggressive dogs unexpectedly running up to ours with teeth out are a rarity. I have certainly never seen either of ours do this & would be very firm in the moment at first sign of it.
If things do go wrong I do accept the owner/handler to make some sort of effort to deal with the problem. I certainly find it unacceptable when dogs that are clearly aggressive step out of line with little or no intervention.
Oh and yes I have ended up dog sitting on walks…usually because the dogs concerned have found it more interesting to tag along.
Right…enough typing time for another dog walk - hopefully I have not jinxed it.