Or are dog owners getting worse? The useless ones used to be a small minority, now they're everywhere

I’m not sure if they’re worse as don’t really have a baseline to compare but as a dog owner I find all the dog poo in the city disgusting. I actually put my hand in some the other day when I was climbing up a retaining wall thing in the park 😫. Sometimes I’ll pick other poops up while I’m picking mine dog’s poop up, but the only thing grosser than warm dog poop in a bag is cold dog poop in a bag from a dog that’s not yours. 🤣

My dog is beautifully trained with great recall and ignores other dogs and seems to assess human faces and only approach the welcoming ones to say hi (very politely will give these ones a sniff and the opportunity to pat her) and ignores the humans who ignore her or who aren’t smiling down at her. But I’m pretty sure that’s mostly a fluke and 80% her nature rather than anything we did differently to other dog owner.

People generally are getting worse. More selfish, more entitled, more angry.

Yes, the after effects of people deciding that getting a dog during lockdown was such a good idea. Then realising later, that the dog would be with them for a long time and would need training and caring for, when it stopped being a cute puppy.

Dogs on leads please, unless you’re in a designated fenced field, where they can run freely without affecting anyone else. I’d like to walk along the seafront or on the beach, or in the local fields without negotiating dog poo and off lead dogs.

I'm a dog owner, have been my entire life, you're absolutely right. There's been a massive increase in shit owners the last few years, exacerbated by lockdown I think.

Dog shit everywhere is a huge problem that never used to be a thing and does my head in. And putting in a bag and leaving it on the ground, wtf is that all about? Great idea, extend its shelf life.

Badly behaved dogs absolutely wind me up, especially when the owners expect you to find it funny and cute that their abysmally trained cockapoo just jumped all over you and got muddy paw prints all over your trousers. I think they expect because I've got three big dogs that I won't mind. I mind. I worked very hard to train my three to keep all four paws on the ground no matter how excited they are, and to lie down with heads on paws when approached by children or small dogs. It feels wasted when Bailey and Alfie and Luna do everything in their power to cover both me and my dogs in whatever crud they've been tracking through and their owners do piss all to stop them.

And dogs being taken literally everywhere like children. Train your dogs to be comfortable home alone for a few hours, it's really really not difficult and better for the dog than being dragged around crowded shopping centres and supermarkets which is stressful for them.

That's my big rant for the day I think, apologies

Absolutely agree with this.
I have a 7 year old dog who loves people but hates other dogs 'in her face' - so she will leave dogs/humans when I say 'leave' and 'wait' politely on the far side of me.

Then an unruly dog and owner comes over to 'say hello'.
No she does not want to 'say hello' - if she was a human she would be an introvert.

Every open space , including nature reserves and people parks - now seem to be de facto free 'dog fields'.
I can't see it ending well - these dogs will still be with their 'could not care less' owners for at least 5-10 years.

Haven't seen a "friendly" dog for a while, with all the stormy weather. Anyone would think that these owners didn't walk them if it doesn't suit them...

I am a dog owner/trainer & I absolutely agree. No dog should ever be off lead unless they have impeccable recall. The problem I have encountered with (stupid) dog owners is that they expect the dog to suddenly grow out of bad behaviour & miraculously start being obedient without any training. I cannot stand dogs that approach mine & relentlessly follow on my walks, I tell the owner immediately that they need to call off their dog & most can’t as no recall. I take great pleasure in reprimanding them & pointing out what a crap owner they are.

I agree with you. I have 3 dogs who all have excellent recall. I drive to quiet places to walk them off the lead at a time when I know I am unlikely to encounter other dogs. I would also never dream of taking them into a shop, pub or restaurant.

I think it should be the law that all dogs are kept on leads at all times unless in specified dog walking parks and fields.

Even a well trained dog can decided to ignore you

My partner has a dog who is well trained. We had her take extra recall classes and her recall was strong. I took her out once in what I thought was an empty field and took her off. A runner appeared. I called her to put her back on the lead and she bolted. Then spent 20 mins shouting for her to come back and trying to get her and her running off. Then a walker entered the field who she bounded over to who turned out to be scared of dogs and went apeshit and kicked my dog in the face and then got all up in my face shouting at me. Was awful. Finally managed to get the dog back but I was really shook up by it all. I have never taken her off lead since.

My partner still does take her off lead and her recall is 99% perfect. But he's had it happen twice in the 2 years since my stressful incident where she just randomly decided for no reason not to come back and thinks she's playing some weird game where you have to catch her.

Tbh the whole thing has completely put me off the "well trained dog" thing. She is a well trained dog. We get compliments about her training but even she just occasionally decides to do whatever she likes.

Should be mandatory to keep all dogs on a lead.

Yes, I went for a walk yesterday (I’m
6 months pregnant and just wanted to some gentle exercise) only to be ambushed by a pack of dogs running round me (luckily all friendly) being in walked by a dog walker. I just want to go a walk in peace without feeling on edge because of bloody dogs and irresponsible owners/dog walkers letting them run up to you! We don’t all love dogs! And don’t get me started on the dog shit everywhere that I have to navigate.

Yes and many of them post on MN.

They don’t know how to behave around people and just bleat: ‘I prefer dogs to kids’.

Lockdown. Many stupid people bought dogs because it was a reason to go out, and they were bored.

We are now stuck with a lot of hopeless dog owners.🙄

I'm a dog owner and have begun hating being a dog owner, it's just awful

Absolutely. Also an increase on complaining about complaining and commenting on things that don’t interest them just to make a point.

Don’t worry OP. They’ll all disappear over winter and only the more decent dog owners will remain.

I am a dog lover and owner, and I agree fully with you.

I wonder if it's partly down to more people having dogs. As the number of dog owners increases, so does the chance of running into a crap one. Same with cars, the more cars on the road the more we run into shit drivers.

Add in a seemingly ever decreasing sense of personal responsibility and a reduction in community spirit and responsibility.

It's not just dog ownership, it's the amount of litter, bags on seats, watching/listening to things without headphones, and so much more. More and more I find people don't give thought to, or care, about the impact they are having on others. Everyone is becoming increasingly individualistic, and it's a snowball affect. The worse it gets the less people feel inclined to make an effort to act in a community minded way, and the circle goes on and on.

Addicted to complaining about anything and everything is also problem in the Uk.

I'm a dog owner. Mine doesn't like to be bothered by off lead dogs. He's always on his lead unless in an empty field with his tennis ball.
We try to avoid the off lead annoying dogs with even more annoying "he's friendly" owners.
He was great with other dogs until two little yappy ones ran round his legs barking with no owner in sight. 🙄 now neither of us have the patience for politeness.

This issue with dogs is a problem for society in the UK currently.

The good dog owners acknowledge it and see the problem. The bad ones defend it.

Soon the bad owners will be on this thread, either yawning about another dog thread, or comparing dogs to children, and saying how much they hate kids/people and love dogs more.

To not understand that there is a major problem with dog ownership right now, makes people look a bit dim.

I'm sorry this happened to you! When you said "little barker" I expected a dachshund as I have the same!

I hope he's okay.

Simply because so many owners can't be bothered to train their dogs. They think socialisation = allowing their dog to run up and play with every dog they meet etc.
Also a lot of entitlement ie they don't see why they should train their dog.
Pure laziness and dogs which have never been given any boundaries or guidance.
Training a dog takes more than 6 weeks in a basic puppy class in a village hall yet most people stop at this stage.

YANBU I feel exactly the same, especially about the dog shit, and something needs to be done to stop idiots owning dogs.

I think a lot of dog owners just expect everyone to love their dog as much as they do. I had a bull terrier type run up to me once and even through I froze on the spot and shouted out 'I'm scared of dogs', the owner made no attempt to put the lead on, just sauntered over, smiling. Felt like booting the thing into the middle of next week.

I'm a dog owner. I took my two to the park early this morning. Small yappy one stays on a retractable lead as he barks a lot and has no recall. My elderly retriever is off lead but she stays by my side and is well trained and reacts to commands.

While in the park a regular group of 4 or 5 owners turn up who walk around together. All their dogs off the lead. I try to keep my distance due to my little barker, but one of their dogs is a lurcher and decides my dachshund would be great to chase. The lurcher is dancing around me and trying to get my dachshund to run. Dachshund is barking his head off and tying me up with his lead. The owner of the lurcher can see what's going on, and that I'm using a walking stick, but does nothing except watch. Eventually I shouted to him to get his dog away and only then did he walk over and put it on a lead. No apology or anything, just totally ignored me. I really hate when groups like this walk around chatting and not keeping control of their boisterous dogs.