We’ve all been there. A person walks towards you and your dog goes crazy. Surely they will give you space…. Right? Nope! They walk straight on giving you no help whatsoever even though they see you are struggling.

It’s easy to become angry or frustrated in a situation like this. I see it all the time in Facebook groups: “why are people such a** h***s!?!”

I get it, and I would lie if I said I’d never been angry at another dog owner.. But it’s just not worth it. You can’t control other people. Period.

Don’t waste your own energy caring about someone that so clearly doesn’t care about you. It’s not worth it.

Instead, let’s have a look at all the things we can control:
👉 Where you walk
👉 What pace you walk in
👉 What treats you bring
👉 How you hold the lead
👉 How you talk to your dog
👉 How you train your dog beforehand so they can handle stressful situations
👉 Your own body language
👉 If you bring spare treats to throw at loose dogs if they run up

There’s lots you can do!

So instead of wasting energy on others, let’s make sure you set yourself and your dog up to succeed. Then you don’t have to feel upset about other people’s behaviour. And if you get upset that’s fine too, but try and shift focus from “how annoying that person was” to “what can I change so this doesn’t happen again”.

Save for a day when you are struggling.