Yes I understand where the responsibility would lie, however off the lead he rarely approaches other dogs on a lead, and is trained well enough ( or is himself obiedient enough ) to follow my instructions to come away from overly boisterous or indeed agressive dogs be they on or off a lead

As I said all dogs are different, but consistency in behaviour of their owner is part of the key, if he shows signs of displeasure ( the raising of his ' mohawkan ' hackles ) on meeting an off lead dog my instructions to " come away " are followed instantly

Just how much ' under control ' does somebody have of any dog that is dragging them along a path?

Rarely, but sometimes he can? And does any dog have 100% recall because mine certainly don't. Your dog, by approaching mine, may undo weeks, possibly months of training I have been doing, all because you won't lead your dog. Not only is it irresponsible, its arrogant too. For the sake of other dogs as well as your own (who can get seriously hurt by approaching an on lead dog) lead your dog if you see another approaching on lead.

How many times have we seen in the news an off lead dog running to a dog on lead and doing serious harm and the owner looking totally bewildered saying he's never done that before. Dogs are unpredictable and its not worth the hassle and upset it can cause.

So I lead my dog, who then becomes aggressive, leading to quite possibly the other dog becoming aggressive, that is a satisfactory situation?

He will generally only approach smallish dogs or ones he is familiar with who are leaded, any that show any signs of aggression or over boisterous bahaviour are ignored and given a wide berth, his nature is quite simply when attached to me he is defensive leading to aggression, that is of no benifit to any other dog ,leaded or not, or their owner, all it does is raise the stress levels among all concerned

As I said, all dogs are different, and require different behaviour from their owners

Yes as both parties will have full control of their dogs and both equally as liable instead of one party being libelous.

All this talk about whether dogs are aggressive on a lead, or off it, is quite bizarre.... Why bother owning something that is a ticking timebomb??..... I doubt you would buy a car if the seller pointed out that there is a small chance that the brakes may fail??

I'm quite apathetic about dogs, but I do it find it strange that people want to go out for a walk with something, knowing that, at any point, you could be involved in something a bit stressful like a dogfight, or worse, a dog attack on a human.... It must be the similar feeling to going out on a Saturday night with a group of friends, knowing that a couple of them get a touch aggressive after 5 or 6 pints - It kind of takes the edge off what should be a pleasurable evening out?

When confronted with an aggressive leaded dog, how does your animal react?

In that case I suggest you never leave your house, never cross a road or never attend a sporting event, as all those have a risk to them

May I suggest you then take out 3rd party dog insurance for when someone sues you when their on lead dog gets injured by your dog (oh but your dog has never done that before, has he and he has 100% recall). I'll say it again, you never know why the dog is on lead in the first place, maybe it is that dog that is totally petrified because of a past experience and your dog will undo months of work. It takes two seconds to recall your dog, put it on lead, pass the other dog, and unlead once passed. I'd rather have a few secs of scuffles and trying to get past then an injured party. I do it everyday, why can't you?

They are sat, looking at me waiting for the treat I have in my hand because I train them when we see an on lead dog to look at me and they do it automatically now. We sit with my dogs backs to the leaded dog so they are not distracted. By the time the dog has gone past we have walked on, still with treats and when far enough they are let off lead. Its not rocket science, just common sense and decency.

Yes, I appreciate that there is a risk to most things in life, but at least I have an element of control over most of the things I choose to do..... If I have an animal, which I am legally responsible for, and I choose to let it run loose in a public park, where there are other animals, then I'd suggest that my element of control of that situation is a lot smaller than crossing the road?

Because I dont have to, it is uneccessary, it removes the potential of a confrontation every time I meet another dog owner when out walking, I have never had my dog attack another, neither has he been attacked , neither have I had any other owner request as such, maybe the dogs and their owners are more unpredictable in Hull

As I said, different dogs present different problems, if I had a rotweiler I perhaps would behave differently, if my jack russell X decides to lauch itself at the next doberman it meets and attempts to rip its throat out then I'll be proved wrong

I'd suggest with idiot humans behind the wheels of cars your element of control isnt as good as you think