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AIBU?

To be annoyed at other dog owners comment

66 replies

Doublemint · 31/07/2016 17:24

We've just got back from the dog walk. He gets walked regularly and today we were out as a family having a stroll.
Dd1 aged 2 started running across the parks field so me and DH were calling her and walking fast trotting. DH was managing buggy and I had Dd2 in her sling.

DD1 almost disappeared into the bushes when we caught up. A lady dog walker with 3-4 terriers was there and dd1 approached. I told her to wait and see if the lady's dogs were "friendly or cross". I then briefly said that we were trying to teach dd1 to wait before approaching unknown dogs. Our dog was now playing with her dogs.

The lady's response was "that should be the least of our worries and walked past to where DH was. She then very rudely imo said to DH "so are you going to clear that up then or do you not care about your children/others children" or something like that.

We said sorry? Why has our dog done a poo and she said "yes, right there [he did it] in front of you" (back where we had just trotted from in full view of her) "aren't you going to pick it up, it doesn't look like it". I was all Shock and DH produced our usual was of poo bags and picked it up (of course).

This is the second time we've had a bitchy comment out of the blue from a dog walker. Only happens when we are out as a family and I can't believe the rudeness! The assumption that we are deliberately leaving dog poo around and the nasty tone we are made aware of it.

I am fully aware it's our responsibility to pick up poo but why be such a cow about it! I've let other owners know if they've missed a poo and I've always been pleasant. You can't have eyes in the back of your head.

Contemplated lobbing the poo bag at her head for the rest of the walk and that made me feel so much better.

AIBU?

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OurBlanche · 31/07/2016 17:26

Oh dear! ...

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DeathStare · 31/07/2016 17:27

So your cross because she assumed you were just going to leave the poo? But you just had left the poo? Albeit unintentionally but you had still left it....

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PeekAtChu · 31/07/2016 17:28

Yes YABU. If you can't watch your dogs and children at the same time dont take them out together. People who don't pick up their dogs' shit are scum.

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Sirzy · 31/07/2016 17:30

So neither of you had noticed your dog had done a poo? So yes I can understand why she got annoyed!

And saying your teaching your toddler how to act around dogs is great but she wasn't being closely supervised and started to approach so that probably got the other dog owners back up to start with as I doubt most dog owners would be happy at a random 2 year old unsupervised approaching them

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Atinybittiredandsad · 31/07/2016 17:30

This sounds a bit arse about face as it's usually people with young children who are the most militants and vocal poo scoopers. Grin

Ignore it op you know you pick up and mistakes happen.

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Doublemint · 31/07/2016 17:30

No she thought we had seen it and were ignoring it! I am annoyed at her assumption and the way she spoke to us about it!

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OiWithThePoodlesAlready · 31/07/2016 17:30

Well if the dog did do it in front of you then I can see her point!

When I take the kids and dog out at the same time I always have him on the lead. One less thing to worry about!

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TheWitTank · 31/07/2016 17:30

I expect she has probably had a gutsfull of avoiding piles of poo while she picks up after her dogs. I know I do! You clearly hadn't noticed so presumably would have left it had she not pointed it out to you. Still, no need to be quite so snappy though.

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NeedACleverNN · 31/07/2016 17:30

Yabu

She was rude yes but you should have been watching your dog..

The dog poos, you pick it up.

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MajesticSeaFlapFlap · 31/07/2016 17:32

Neither you or dp could see the dog?

Yabu.
Watch your pet and clean up the shit

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Newes · 31/07/2016 17:33

She's probably tried the polite "Excuse me, but is that your dog's poo?" and been ignored.
She was a bit snippy but it's understandable as so many dog owners do just walk on oblivious or pretending to be

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Newes · 31/07/2016 17:35

And as a dog owner, yes, you do have to have eyes in the back of your head, because a pile of shit left because the owner is genuinely unaware is just as unpleasant as one that has been left deliberately.

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DeathStare · 31/07/2016 17:36

No she thought we had seen it and were ignoring it! I am annoyed at her assumption and the way she spoke to us about it!

But it's your job to make sure that you see it.

If taking your DCs out at the same time as the dog makes it so hectic that you miss seeing the dog doing a poo then you need to sort out a different arrangement.

Good on her for pointing it out to you. Someone else's child could have fallen in that.

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Flossiesmummy · 31/07/2016 17:36

YABU

It is your job to pick up your dog's shite. As a Pp mentioned upthread, if you can't watch your dogs and your kids at the same time, perhaps you shouldn't have the dogs. You have a responsibility to other users of the space in which you exercise your pets.

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Doublemint · 31/07/2016 17:36

She saw the whole thing, she could see our attention was on our dd1 so should have realised it was an honest mistake.
our dog was to the side of us but when dd1 started running away our attention was of course on stopping her disappearing. If she hadn't been running off we would have seen him do it I think but he wasn't in front of us so in that moment we missed it.

I'm annoyed at the way she spoke to us

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Sirzy · 31/07/2016 17:37

Sounds like you need to control both your child and dog better then so you don't 'miss' things!

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MajesticSeaFlapFlap · 31/07/2016 17:37

Yeah well she was annoyed that two adults couldnt clean up after their dog

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LyndaNotLinda · 31/07/2016 17:39

Why should she have realised it was 'an honest mistake'? Why did it need both of you to run after your DD1?

One of you should have been watching your dog to see where he crapped

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DeathStare · 31/07/2016 17:40

She saw the whole thing, she could see our attention was on our dd1 so should have realised it was an honest mistake. our dog was to the side of us but when dd1 started running away our attention was of course on stopping her disappearing. If she hadn't been running off we would have seen him do it I think but he wasn't in front of us so in that moment we missed it

And that's all your problem to sort out not hers. Whether you have one children running off or twenty, if you have a dog you have to make sure you watch where it poos and clear that poo up immediately. If you can't handle that with the kids there then you have to take the dog out separately when you can give it your full attention. Or not have a dog.

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BertrandRussell · 31/07/2016 17:40

So it took two of you to manage a 2 year old -!: you therefore didn't know where your dog was or what he was doing?.

Somebody in this scenario needs to be on a lead.............

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Doublemint · 31/07/2016 17:41

Just to clarify- I was annoyed at the way she spoke to me. Not about us missing a poo. That was our bad.

And great suggestion about us not all going out as a family to walk the dog. Pure madness.

And have you ever had a toddler Sirzy?

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Wolfiefan · 31/07/2016 17:41

Sounds all rather chaotic. One child runs off. No one notices dog crapping. Perhaps rethink dog walks.

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NeedACleverNN · 31/07/2016 17:42

Either put the toddler on reins or the dog on a lead if you can't watch both of them

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Sirzy · 31/07/2016 17:42

Yes I have had a toddler. Doesn't mean I don't take responsibly for him or my actions! You seem to not like taking responsibility yet expect everyone else to realise your "mistake"

With both children and dogs you need eyes in the back of your head. With two of you you should be able to supervise and control both if not perhaps you need to rethink tactics for walks!

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OurBlanche · 31/07/2016 17:42

So... have you got it yet?

  1. You missed your dog pooing and, had she not pointed it out would have walked on, still not knowing.
  2. You were distracted by your child toddling off... well, that's no defense in law and only adds a second string to your issue...
  3. As others have said, if you can't cope with kids, buggy, dog and the vaguaries of life, cut some of them down, simplify your life.
  4. It is you you have been told so by 2 individual people now.
  5. You can be as annoyed as you like. You were in the wrong. Deal with it!
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