Wildlife and nature photographers - what do you do when dogs are off lead?

[Fuju]

I love dogs, especially my Sprockers, but it makes me pretty uneasy when I'm out in the field and off lead dogs decide to run at me, it's become quite common to have this happen where I live. I suspect the dogs aren't used to seeing people carrying the gear I use and maybe feel intrigued or threatened as some have jumped up and snagged my scrim off my lens or grabbed my windjammer from the mics I'm holding, others just run up and start barking.

Do you get this happen? If so, do you wait until the owner appears or slowly backup?

 

[AndrewFlannigan]

I've been the subject of unwanted dog attention a few times.

What has worked for me on such occassions is to shout at the dog, as loudly as possible. That seems to persuade the dog that elsewhere is a better place to be.

 

[Dave Canon]

I have had many wildlife shots ruined by dogs off the lead. More seriously, many years ago I was with my then 3 year old daughter in a local children's play area when a dog leaped at her and knocked her over. I was furious but the owner a man did not care and did not like my attitude. It was one time I almost punched him and I am sure it would have received applause from all the parents around. He had no business letting a dog loose in a children's play area and indeed there was a notice stating this but he did not care and said he could do what he liked. My daughter is over 30 now but still scared of dogs.

Dave

 

[AndrewFlannigan]

he did not care and said he could do what he liked.

This is exactly the sort of "entry level criminality" that the PCOs were created to handle.

However, back to dogs: I am impressed by how well trained most dogs in our area are, although they sometimes have an exagerated sense of their own importance and block narrow gangways "just because they can", relying on their cuteness to fend off criticism...

 

[andya700]

I have had many wildlife shots ruined by dogs off the lead. More seriously, many years ago I was with my then 3 year old daughter in a local children's play area when a dog leaped at her and knocked her over. I was furious but the owner a man did not care and did not like my attitude. It was one time I almost punched him and I am sure it would have received applause from all the parents around. He had no business letting a dog loose in a children's play area and indeed there was a notice stating this but he did not care and said he could do what he liked. My daughter is over 30 now but still scared of dogs.

Dave

Back in 2020, when my wife and I went for a walk in our local nature reserve, a dog charged at us, barking and baring its teetrh. I shouted at the owner to keep his dog under control and on a lead and he told me to f off. He was in his thirties and just had that look about him. The problem with these owners is that they will never admit they are in the wrong, which is exactly why there are so many attacks. I said the other night, that any dog which attacks a human should be put down and if it kills someone, the owner should get a hefty prison term, the same as anyone who is guilty of death by dangerous driving.

 

[Sky]

Mostly, when a dog approaches you it's looking for attention and interaction. You must deny it both by just turning your back on it and ignoring it - no shouts, no eye contact, nothing.

If you shout at it or push it away, you're just playing the game it wants to play (and is expecting) and will continue as long as you do so. By ignoring it, it will quickly lose interest and look for someone/something else.

In my experience, a very high percentage of dog owners are ignorant idiots that have never bothered to learn how to train their pets let alone do so. This also applies to their children, but that's a different story.

What this country needs is an IQ cull . . . wait, they're doing that to themselves aren't they?

 

[Nod]

 

[Don Fischer]

If I was geting ready to take a wildlife photo guaranteed to bring me in ton's of money and a dog came along I'd stop to pet the dog! In the Bi Mart yesterday and bumped into a dog on a leash, wasn't an accident, and it turned around wanting attention. lady that had the leash got upset with the dog because it likes to jump on people. Truth is I was hoping for something like that!

 

[Sky]

Truth is I was hoping for something like that!

You (and people like you) wanting to pet the dog is why this is a major behavioural problem with so many dogs. The owner letting you do so just exacerbates the problem.

I'd hazard a guess, that short of biting them; this is the one behaviour that most people dislike about dogs.

When someone goes to pet my dog (an Assistance Dog), I'm the one that bites.

 

[LCPete]

I’ve mentioned it on here a couple of times before out of control dogs are a real problem in some places, especially parks and along the river , the sort of places near to town where owners walk their dogs
unfortunately a lot don’t seem to be able to train their dogs to heel, in my opinion all dogs in public places should be on a lead, if this was made law and enforced then most of the problems would disappear
as to the best defense I don’t know but I do carry a monopod with a large ball head if I expect to see dogs where I’m going

 

[Dale.]

Thankfully, rarely in my case do I ever encounter dogs when I'm out photographing wildlife but I'm mostly a fair way from civilastion by the time I set up. To be fair, most dogs I do meet are fine and I now know some of the owners too. Most owners call their dogs in if they see me.

However, I would never trust a dog I don't know and this is something we've drummed into our 11 year old daughter, as she has in the past, walked up to unfamiliar dogs to pet them. Safe to say, as parents, we soon stopped that.

I'm not keen on Bull Terriers, I tend to give them a wide berth if I encounter one, That's not having a go at them, I'm just not keen on them and I'm sure, in the majority of cases, they are fine and well behaved but I will remain cautious around them, to be safe.

A trick my father taught me when I was a lad was that if a dog is approaching you and it looks like it could mean business, bend down as if you're picking up a stone or rock. Most dogs seem to instinctively back down and most turn on their heels. I'm not sure why or how it works but it seems to, in most cases.

When I have had a bad exprience whilst out, and I could probably count them on one hand, it's not really the dog that is the problem, it's the way they're handled. For example, a dog off the lead in a play park is asking for trouble, even with better behaved dogs. I've only had one bad encounter I can recall whilst out photographing wildlife and it happened this year. Long story short, I was heading back to the car along the river, I heard a commotion around the corner in the water and a Border Collie was chasing a female Mallard, who I had seen with 8 chicks earlier in the day. The owner was running along the riverbank after the dog, shouting at it. I can't imagine any dog would go back to a ranting owner. I said to the guy that there were youngsters about and I got a tirade of abuse, as he ran past me, still ranting at his dog too. Why would he let his dog off in the first place if the dog was prone to chasing wildlife? Sums it up in a lot of cases.

On the other side of the coin, last Saturday, I was set up on the river, covered in scrim, with a perch out. A guy I regularly speak to turned up with his black Labrador, saw my perch, shouted was I there, I showed myself, he called his dog to heel and left. That was the end of it.

In all honesty though, some of the folk I meet on my adventures worry more than any dog I've ever come across.

 

[hunnymonster]

"Don't worry, s/he won't bite"

"No, but I will"

That usually gingers them up...

 

[the black fox]

As a dog owner I would not trust any dog , people often try to fuss our toy poodle but I wouldn’t trust the little varmint the only one he listens to is the wife .and he’s a nasty little sod .. but as to other people’s dogs either ignore them or moan about it on Facebook is the general trend