for wanting to walk in the park without being bounced on by giant b*stard dogs?

The park that I take my dog to has areas where the dog has to be 'under control' and areas where the dog has to be 'on a leash', and even an area where dogs are not permitted.

I let my lovely little cocker off the leash and all she does is run in and out of the rhododendrons and sniffs other dogs' bottoms. She ignores other people totally (apart from us).

Dogs aren't the only hazard in parks - I find the rollerblade/ipod combination much worse.

FFS!

Dogs are hardly a public health hazard. Well perhaps not the dogs themselves but there is a risk to public health and that is
toxocariasis.

Toxocariasis

Toxocariasis is an infection of the round worm Toxocara canis. It is a zoonotic disease that is spread via unwashed vegetables and dog faeces. Young children in particular are at risk due to their weaker immune systems and because they are more likely to expose themselves by ingesting the eggs. A puppy can pass as many as 15,000 eggs per gram of faeces, and they are a major source of environmental contamination.

Each T. canis female can lay up to 700 eggs a day. These are passed out when the dog defecates and can survive for up to three years in soil. After two to three weeks of warm weather the eggs develop into an embryo state, containing larva - this is when they become infective to dogs and people.

The larvae try to migrate through the human body as they would in a dog's, but the human body treats them as foreign material, which causes a reaction and tissue damage.

There are two types of toxocariasis: visceral larva migrans (VLM) and ocular larva migrans (OLM).

In VLM, the larvae reach the liver, causing inflammation and symptoms such as abdominal pain and pyrexia. Most people recover spontaneously.

OLM occurs when a migrating larva reaches the eye. It causes a granuloma to form on the retina, causing significant visual impairment and in severe cases even blindness.

There are about 12 new cases of OLM diagnosed annually in the UK.

I have relatives who bought a pair or Tibetan terriers on the basis that they would not set their son's numerous allergies off. And they don't.

But they sure as hell set mine off! Probably not quite as bad as some other breeds, but a visit there still involves inhalers, antihistamines, a compulsory shower and complete change of clothes afterwards. Just as well it's only once or twice a year.

My DS was licked in the face by an over-enthusiastic dog that came bounding up to him with the owner calling after for it to stop. He's only 2 and the dog was bigger than him. He was scared and started crying, regardless of my reaction. He's also immunosupressed due to a transplant and could have caught something from the dog. I just wish that owners would take responsibility and if they can't keep control of their dogs, they should not take them to places like parks. I also get really pissed off with the amount of dog s**t all over the place - why can't people pick it up????????????

I recommend Sue Townsend's book "Queen Camilla"!
One of the storylines is that the Prime Minister tries to ban dogs in the UK; it is a parody of the nanny state, but I found myself agreeing with the PM a lot of the time!

Untrained dogs on the loose probably are a health hazard. Not least because they don't have opposable thumbs to aid poo scooping.

Dogs are hardly a public health hazard.

If people know nothing about dogs they should make no judgemental comments either.

Children first dogs second surely

Connie, nothing in life will reduce the risk to zero, but I'm telling you that it would significantly help.

If people are more important than dogs, then when dogs are in parks , they should be on leads.

Worrying sheep gets a dog shot.

Worrying children gets the dog lovers of MN up in arms. Go figure

Haven't read the whole thread but IMO bringing back dog licences, but making it compulsory to attend dog (or should that be dog owner) training classes before it is issued would be a big help.

When we had our dog (RIP ) we made sure he was well trained before he was ever let off the leash. We could allow him to run free because he would freeze or return to us at a single command and never went more than 20 yds from us anyway. He was trained not to approach people.

Yellowrose, my point is that if you honestly feel the need to carry a weapon around in the event of a dog attack you are obviously traumatised by earlier events. It is this fear that needs to be dealt with not how to kill an animal.

I tell my children that we don't approach an animal we don't know - not that all strange animals are not safe - don't instill fear but instill respect and caution.

MB, not sure what the answer is but I walk my dogs on leads down some tight alleyways/footpaths so no doubt being on a lead doesn't prevent your son inevitably coming into contact with animals as part of everydaylife.

Finally, I think the attitude towards dogs is pretty horrible on this thread, supposedly from a nation of animal lovers. Yes, dogs have been involved in horrible events with children but every case I have ever read involved a careless and irresponsible owner and often previous incidents of the dog biting. It is not your average labrador going for a run in the park.

What about all the good work dogs have done for people? Guide dogs, companions for the elderly and other vulnerable adults, police dogs and PAT dogs?

i agree with MB. ALL dogs need to be on a lead in public places. let them run around in places that are private, your garden, not in parks full of small children. it is irresponsible to let them loose and obviously most councils think so too, as most parks i go to have signs to have a dog on a lead, which is more often than not ignored.

i

I am loath to do this. My SIL tried, and her asthma became so bad they had to get rid of the dog to a friend.

Now, the dog is still very much loved, and well cared for, but BIL and SIL are gutted that they 'lost' the dog.

I don't want to do that to my son.

Better not to have one, than to get one and to have to later give it up.

He is so allergic to cats btw that simply being in the car with someone who has a cat csn set him off.

connie - if i hadn't been attacked and scared to death by dogs when i was small, do you think i would have what you call a dog phoia now ? yes, i am serious about wishing to carry a weapon. have thought about it often, even as a lawyer i feel absolutley no need to hide this desire if it will mean saving my child or another child from getting killed. what is wrong with knowing how to deal with a vicious dog, even if it involves something as unpleasant as putting something up it's backside ? i would say it is unreasonable to think that such a thing will NEVER happen to a child you know. that would be like saying ALL dogs and their owners are ok, which we all know is just not true. better safe than sorry.

no i don't wish ds to have a phobia, in fact he is always going up to dogs in the park and i have to make sure he doesn't touch them. i just want him to know that it is not safe to approach or touch dogs whose owners we don't know. judging by the terrible story of the little girl who was killed by her grandmother's dog, i would say that even dogs you DO know and whose owners you DO know may not always be safe.

they are dogs, not cute little rabbits. even cute little rabbits bite, i was bitten by a hamster at school and bled quite badly. small children need to be told that not all animals are safe.

martianbishop I'm sure you've looked into this, and this is just an honest question not a dig or anything, but did you know there are loads of breeds that have a different type of coat, and don't affect allergies? My friend's brother has terrible asthma, had to use a nebuliser at night when he was a child etc, and they always had dogs, mainly Maltese Terriers and Tibetan Terriers as he could live happily alongside them. I believe that also poodles are the same, plus the new "labradoodle" if you can put up with the funny name!

I don't instil fear in him.

We are all rather fond of animals. He'd love a dog, but it would put him in hospital.

We sponsor a guide dog, ffs.

I'm not anti dog. I'm anti selfish dog owners. I have no problem with them being in a park, but they should be on a lead.

martianbishop I said harmless clearly your child has different, special circumstances than many others. But are you going to give any thought to how you are going to teach your child to respect, enjoy and understand animals if you instill fear into him from an early age? Or do you not agree that he should respect, enjoy and understand animals?

I don't think anyone takes precedent over anyone else, not dogs, not children, not anything. It is about sharing space together responsibly and with thought to others. Of course you get irresponsible dog owners who don't pick up after their dogs, don't train them well enough, let them off the lead in the wrong place etc. But you get just as many irresponsible parents who let their children get away with doing some truly antisocial and disagreeable things.

Its not just people who can get in to trouble when a big dog comes running up to them.
Dogs can also attack other dogs as well. My friend's labrador was attacked by three dogs running in a pack - all of these particular animals were off their leads with no owners in immediate sight. The dog that was attacked needed a vet.

I have no problem at all with dogs being on leads in parks, at least such animals then are supervised. I certainly have a problem with dogs who come bounding up to my child (not just to say myself) baring teeth. Invariably as well the owner is nowhere in the immediate vicinity but when said owner does arrive drags the dog off saying, "Don't move, he's just playing!". Yes this has been said to me. These people also forget that some of these animals can look enormous, not just to say terrifying to a small child - my aunt was certainly not aware of this. They treated this animal like another person - small wonder dog was confused because it did not know who was boss (i.e the owner).

I would think employment of dog wardens in parks would be a good start.

mb: is it worth getting one of those electronic gizmos that emit a noise painful to dogs ears at a certain distance? I remember them being advertised a while back and some posties having them. Wonder if they're still available?

Connie, why should the needs of a person ie my son, come second to a farking dog?

And where do you suggest I take him for a walk? Since dog ownders often ignore signs, and none of the parks locally ban them?

I can think of a rather nice beach in Scotland, but that is a 7 hour drive?

Why do dog owners take precedence over my child?

and they could use the bloody park ,just keep their animals on a leash!

MartianBishop that must be terribly difficult to deal with. Can see that you have a major problem there. So are you supposed to keep your kid inside so they get really fat so Connie can walk her dog unfettered?

I agree with zoned dog areas myself, if you go into them, you take your chances, but in a public park, surely those up the food chain get to make that choice. Most of us like humans better than dogs.