...to expect dog owners to use leads in a park - I got bitten today and am fuming!!!

"I think all dogs should be muzzled in public". nice sentiment but it really isn't that simple is it?

I have a guide dog. I have two actually. one retired, and one working. I walk them down a local cycle track (rarely used) which leads into fields so no issue with loads of children etc. But they are off leads. If I muzzled those dogs I can already hear the distressed phone calls to guide dogs complaining about the obviously agressive guide dogs they had put out as these dogs were wearing muzzles.

people see a muzzle as a sign that a dog is agressive. And not all dogs are agressive. yes some are, but most aren't. Some owners are irresponsible, most aren't.

I would have kicked the little fecker if that dog had bitten me, and that absolutely should not happen to anyone. but I think dog owners get a very unaiir bashing on here.

sorry you got bit.
i have a severe allergy to dogs and have ended up in hospital too many time when one has come to close to me.
my two girls have autisn and are really really frightened of dogs one off them has run acroos a busy main road off he school bus cos she saw a dog heading her way.
we are very limited where we can go as a family. if dogs were on a lead and DD's can see they are on a lead then they are not as upset but we have had too many occasions where dogs off leads have ran over to us, we were feeding the ducks at the lake when a dog ran down for a drink it took me and DH to hold onto them to stop them jumpimg into the lake, the dog owner was no where to be seen for ages. most parks say dogs must be on a lead but there are far more off the lead than on.

truthfully? i like dogs very much, and i don't want DD to be frightened of them. but i don't want her just to bound up to them and expect them not to bite her either...

if i see dogs in the park, and see her making her way over to them and their owners then there is often that tense moment when i hold her back (because i don't know the dog from adam) and the owner says huffily 'it doesn't bite/loves kids/ very friendly etc'.

there follows an even more tense moment where i have to do what... insult the dog owner by disbelieving them? let dd go pat the dog, which she is too young to do with any control so am i putting her in danger?

fact is, i don't have a clue whether the dog is a therapy dog or a psycho killer - all dog owners say the same thing 'doesn't bite etc'. until the dog does bite when they say 'doesn't usually bite'.

what you might not understand is that even the parents of the children who play ball with your dogs are feeling anxious about it and rather wish that your dogs were on a lead and muzzle. even if they are saying something completely different to your face, because your dogs have not harmed their child so there is no reason to say it. MN may in fact be a fairer reflection of what non dog owning parents actually think but are too polite to say.

Its ok Bitzer. We are not all dog haters. Im a big dog lover and will always have one. my dd of 2yrs adores our dog, climbs all over him and cuddles him. You cant seperate them.
He is a very big german shepherd so obviously some people automaticly judge him and are afraid, Which is sad but its unresponsible dog owners that make people think like that!
I do keep him on the lead in a park but let him off up the downs. He is a good boy.
Its good to be warey of dogs especially with kids but I wish some people would be a little more open minded that there are lovely dogs out there too. Very sad

This thread makes me quite depressed really. Obviously it goes without saying that badly behaved dogs are A Bad Thing. It's funny though, it's only on MN that the world seems to be populated by fervent dog-haters.

I guess I am one of those 'vain' city-dwelling large-dog owners, though our local walks are woods and meadows where we can walk for hours - such things do exist even away from 'the countryside'. The idea that I'm being cruel to them living in a city is... well, just wrong. They are way fitter and more active than my IL's dog, who lives on their farm. Stereotypes...

On our walks when we do go to the public park we are greeted by smiles and lots of requests to stroke the dogs. Random children often spend a while playing ball with them and when they don't have their own pets, it makes their day. Clearly none of these people are members of MN. But perhaps it is because we don't cause trouble for anyone (though they are often off-lead and always unmuzzled) and mine aren't allowed to approach anyone without my say-so. They're registered therapy dogs and IMO give a lot more back to our local community than they take. Would I keep them on lead in parks if I had to? Of course I would. Makes me sad that a few crap people with their shitty dogs manage to turn normally peace-loving lentil-weavery types into knee-jerking Daily Mail readers who look at me and label me another crap person with (two) shitty dogs.

elasta mum - ds is 3 and usually i am fast enough to run up to him when he approaches a dog - i would NEVER put one of those harness things on a child, it isn't natural to have a child on a lead and as some parents seem to pull and push the child on a lead i think it looks very cruel, but i agree that ALL dogs should be on a lead, dogs are animals, children are not

Thats terrible

I have a jack russel pup, when he is old enough go for walks he will be on a lead & will wear a muzzel, You just never know. I think all dogs should wear a muzzel when in public, it would save alot of problems & make others feel alot more at ease in their presence too.

It should be on a lead. I would have reported them to the police. We have a lovely labradoodle, soft as anything but I wouldnt have her off the lead in a park full of kids because she is continually mobbed by them (she looks just like a cuddly toy) and I am responsible for keeping her under control. She will happily lie on the ground whilst kids crawl all over her ( whilst I hold her collar) and has never bitten anyone but I still only let her off if there arent loads of people around. Not all dogs are vicious but I am continually amazed by how many parents let their kids mug unsuspecting dogs.

mrsgumby - i have loads of very vicious looking dogs with no tails roaming around were i live sometimes the owners look far more scarey than the dog, but that is a dfferent story.

i am absolutely petrified when my son runs up to a dog (he is 3 and obvioulsy thinks all dogs are cute !) and i was once shouted out and told to "get a grip" by some stupid woman who said she was "training" a puppy that jumped up and down repeatedly trying to grab my ds when he was around 1. i told her to train the dog on a doll not on a real child ! no wonder some dogs are vicious, the owners don't train them properly, so really they shouldn't be ALLOWED to own a dog if they are that stupid and child unfriendly. also if a dog isn't "fully trained" should it be allowed to roam freely on Hampstead Heath, which is where this dog was being trained ?

i had a thread a few days ago on what do if a dog actually attacks a child, i would do absolutley anything to get a dog off my child. anything. i would consider carrying a knife, although i know it is illegal. i would rather go to jail than have my child killed by a dog some bastard hasn't trained properly.

there are also many dogs being owned illegally in this country such as the dog that killed that beautiful 5 year old girl. the grandmother has been convicted for owning an illegal dog and illegal drugs. fecking stupid woman.

i don't hate dogs. i hate some of their owners.

No, not the same here at all! But sounds like a bloody good idea! Especially with kids getting bitten. I would go crazy if my dd got bitten!
We should write to the PM!!
Probably would do sod all though!!

In Ireland afaik you must have a license for a dog(costs about £30) and if they bite more than once they are destroyed. This means ime that people are really careful with their much loved pets because if they bite they are history.
I just presumed that it was the same over here.

I am a responsible dog owner. my dog is a huge soppy arse! But he is still on the lead in a local park (mainly bacuse he would chase balls kids are throwing and he has no raod safety awareness!) He is only let off up the downs and loves it!
One day up the downs with my dh, dd of 2 yrs and our big stupid dog, there was a women with 3 staffies. (not taring all staffies with same brush btw) 1 of which was visious and she shouted at us to keep our dog away! Hello!! use a sodding muzzle or at least a lead ffs! Stupid cow! i told her straight! Our dog wasnt even that interested, just sniffing grass near him!

tutu100..ds is ok .but very scared to leave my side when we are out and if he does as soon as he see a dog he runs and hide behind me.he is 8 so he is at the age when he doesnt really want to walk with his mum all the time.
i reported it to the police but didnt really get any of the womans detail as i was more worried about calming ds down at the time.

I know there are useful dogs LoTF - I'm not that stupid.

And I don't pass on hatred of dogs or hysteria - the dogs, and their irresponsible owners, that frightened my 2 year old did that all by themselves.

I'm actually very positive around dogs with the children as I don't want them to be frightened. Friends have dogs and I sit and stroke them and act like anyone else so I'm not passing on any feelings about them at all. My other 2 children aren't frightened of dogs but then they haven't been down on the ground or up against a fence by one like ds2 has.

I had a setter from a puppy and it was soft as shite, never hurt a fly and all that, BUT even so I would never have let it off the lead when there were other people around.
We moved from the country to the city so she had much less space to run in but that made no difference, I just had to take her out very, very early or get my mum to drive us into the country if she wanted a run.

Def report it.

I would report them, thank god it was not your child that got bitten.
Hope your feeling better today.
(love the salad dodger bit )

Yes...and i would report them.

It should have been on a lead in a public place.
hope your leg isn't too bad Mrs Gumby...have you had a tetanus recently?

As a dog lover with 2 snappy yorkies I think it's outrageous when dogs are not contained on a lead. I think you certainly should report it as what if you were a child? I don't think there is ever any excuses for dogs being free to roam around anywhere apart from their own front or back yards.

My boss & his wife has a dog, who goes to training school every week, she and the dog have recently been awarded the Kennel Club Gold award, which is given when the owner can demostrate certain obedience tasks. Generally they always have him on a lead, and they often use a muzzle. Dogs definitely need lots of space to run around but if it is in a place that is used by kids, then they ought to be muzzled.
Deffo report the dog to the local warden. It is a shame that a few irresponsible prats who don't look after their animals properly sully the good name of responsible dog owners.

Isn't it the law that all dogs should be on leads in public places. I would report them.

ogs shu be on leads

but on a weekend he probably does at least ten miles exercise some on the lead and some off. Again definetly not linked with laziness no room for laziness with a springer in the house.

My dog needs exericse of th lead, has nothing to do with my laziness - we are usually right behind him -but I have a springer who would go mad if he were kept on a lead all the time. But I don't let him loose in a park.