A question about dog friendly beaches

[SusieOwl4]

If you had a child that was obviously terrified of dogs would you take them to a dog friendly beach ?

Just asking because I had an experience that made me feel embarrassed and stressed . My dog is a lovely dog and having training but does get a bit over excited . We were on a dog friendly beach with him on a lead and lots of other doggy people with all their dogs running about said to let him off . So I did and he was fine coming back every time I called him. He played in the water and with other dogs . Then I saw him running to my right towards a family on the beach . I immediately called him and he came back to me and I put him back on the lead. But in those few seconds the girl was picked up by the father and was literally screaming and the mother was waving and shouting at my dog . Trust me I was mortified and almost in tears even though my dog had probably not got within 40 feet of them . But the child screaming obviously meant she was petrified of dogs and trust me there were a lot of dogs on the beach . And before you say yes I am taking my dog for more refresher training and I do feel bad .

[Chocolateisfab]

Imo there needs to be dc free beaches....
We live at the beach and have this all the time.
Prefer out of season when the little snowflakes are indoors.
*I have dc +ddogs.

[bengalcat]

I don’t think it was just the child who was scared of dogs

[yearinyearout]

No, I wouldn't take children to a dog friendly beach if they didn't like dogs and I had no intention of trying to overcome their phobia. Idiots!

[TrendyNorthLondonTeen]

You'd need to be a complete fucking moron to take your dog phobic child to a dog friendly beach.

[DizzyPhillips]

I’ll be honest I don’t like dogs (and I loathe their entitled owners) and wish they’d stay the fuck away from me.

But I don’t think you’re being unreasonable here. Not at all. I don’t like dogs so I don’t take my kids to dog friendly beaches or cafes etc. It’s not hard.

[Chocolateisfab]

There are ddog free beaches so should be ddog lover ones too.

[Hiddenaspie1973]

Would love dog free beaches.

[Cherrysherbet]

How ridiculous. The parents must be teaching the child to be scared of dogs. It’s sad. I see it all the time.

If your children are irrationally scared of dogs, take them to a beach where there are no dogs allowed. Simple.

[Chocolateisfab]

Our beach has the summer season ddog free in the middle section
Ddogs allowed on the dunes all year round.

[Lockheart]

@Hiddenaspie1973 there are tonnes of beaches where dogs aren't allowed. Between May and October it's difficult to find a beach you can take a dog to.

RE the OP, if you have a dog-phobic child, don't go to a dog-friendly beach. Stick to the dog-free beaches. The two don't mix!

[DizzyPhillips]

I just couldn’t bear the poo. If people have the actual neck to leave a steaming pile of shite in the middle of a pavement (and so many of them do round here) I can’t imagine that they’d be any better at picking up after their dogs on a beach.

[BMW6]

Most beaches ARE dog free!
Some are dog friendly all year, most are totally dog free all summer.

There are always signs at beach advising where and when dogs are allowed to be. If a person is afraid of dogs I'd expect them to take note and not go to that beach if dogs are allowed!

[SusieOwl4]

There are more beaches that don’t allow dogs than do . Especially from May to Sept . It’s quite hard to find beaches where you can take your dogs , hence why there are usually a lot of dogs there . Like I said I accept responsibility because he was running towards them although the screaming and waving probably was an invitation to go in that direction , but the child was terrified not just nervous . By the way my dog is not a Rottweiler or anything . I immediately put him on a lead and walked away .

[cardibach]

The OP’s dog didn’t do any of those things, Weary.

[SusieOwl4]

I always pick up after my dogs and most responsible dog owners do even on a beach . But even I am extremely annoyed when some dog owners hang the bags of poo up in trees which I saw in Cornwall which was disgusting. This beach was clean of poo though 🙂 and that was not the question.

[adaline]

Ridiculous.

If their child is so scared of dogs, they should go to one of the millions of beaches that ban dogs!

[Lockheart]

@Wearywithteens none of that happened in the OP though, so why bring it up?

[TrendyNorthLondonTeen]

"But does a ‘dog friendly’ beach mean dogs are entitled to go sniffing, licking or jumping up every child, adult or picnic? Padding wet paws or drooling over every blanket or towel? Surely dog owners should still respect other people’s personal space and property?"

Didn't take long for the usual MN shite about dogs to appear...

[BMW6]

I've never seen dog poo left on dog friendly beach.

And to the person complaining dogs get too close to picnic etc - go to (much bigger and usually nicer) the area where dogs aren't allowed?
(Unless you are having a beach picnic between October and May, which would be odd but not impossible)

[FudgeBrownie2019]

So chocolate - small children who are frightened of dogs are ‘snowflakes’?

Children whose parents react in such an overdramatic and outrageous way are absolutely going to grow into snowflakes because they'll never be taught to remain calm and work through their fears. And parents who take a dog phobic child to a dog friendly beach are crevices. Massive ones.

[SusieOwl4]

I had lots of dogs running up to me and my dogs , all very friendly that’s why I guess I was a bit shocked. I would have apologised to the family but obviously did not want to approach them with my dog to make things worse.

The one saving grace is that he is whistle trained and could hear the whistle abouve the sound of the sea and wind . It was the only thing I was feeling good about.

[BMW6]

You see it's not so much why are others letting their dogs be a problem to you, as why are you in the wrong area?