Are people actually insane?

I know a secondary school teacher who has a massive cane corso rescue from abroad. Came with cropped ears and no idea of history. She either was pregnant/had a newborn at the time and a 3 year old. She's going away for a week and leaving it alone, with someone popping in to feed it and let it out in a small garden.

Some people really are insane.

We are very lucky around here generally but I still am amazed that one of the brightest women I know has a big black lab that jumps up on my legs. It's extraordinary that people don't train their dogs.

But I think it's a psychological blind spot. A lot of people have dogs to meet an emotional need in themselves just not looking hard enough at the rigors of responsible dog ownership. It's a huge commitment to train a dog properly.

Another friend who is one of my favourite people has a huge dog she cannot control so he yanks her around and hysterically digs random places up sending showers of earth everywhere. Also you can't pick up diarrhea dog shit can you? And he always seems to have the runs 🤦‍♀️.

I love cats but I am uncertain about the ethics of having a pet that inevitably shits in all your neighbours' gardens. How is that ok? 🤔

Well I live in London and I absolutely have seen a parent with an XL running loose in the children's play area, it was the reason we turned and left before we'd even opened the gate.

Unsurprisingly, we were not the only ones who took one look and thought "fuck that"

It might be hard for you to comprehend but more goes on in the world than what you happen to witness.

Families always used to bring their dogs to sports days when my kids were at school. It was a full day affair with a break for picnic lunches so could hardly leave them at home all day. Nobody owned that kind of dog though

Weird. I've got 3 kids all five years apart. And have attended loads of sports days over decades. Nobody, anywhere, ever, brought a dog along.
I never had a dog, so obviously I didn't have one to bring.

If other families had a dog, they most definitely did not bring them.
In all the sports days, in all my life, my sports days experience must span over 40 years, my own children, my nieces and nephews and my grandchildren. I have never, not ever, seen a dog at a school sports day.

And to be honest, I put that down to most people in my area having a modicum of common sense.

I think you were incredibly unlucky to have two such similar incidents happen in a two day period

Well perhaps you don't get out much. I've had similar incidents in a period of 4 hours.

A gated playground, with a bit sign saying NO DOGS,

So a young lad about 18ish brings his small siblings to play there.
And the family dog, which he lets go of.

I say to him "The dog is not allowed in here, really"

He ignores me. Another woman comes along and says "This is a kids playground. Dogs are not allowed in here"

He ignores that too.

Then, a huge 18 stone tattooed beardy bloke who had erstwhile been leaning against the fence watching his daughters going down the slides, and who had obviously been watching, comes up and says.. . .

"Get that fucking dog out of here. NOW!!"
Not in a friendly manner.

Brave ignorant 18 year old scuttled off shitless.

Neither me or the other woman persuaded him. It was only the threat of a big burly bloke and possible violence that sent him off on his way.

So then I went up a local footpath, and a woman was walking 2 dogs.
They were untrained and hurled themselves at me and my husband.
They were not unfriendly. I wasn't worried that they were in attack mode.
But their enthusiasm was unwelcome. I do not like dogs and am allergic to their snot.

They actually "hurled" themselves at us. Their dog bodies actually hit my husband's body above his waist. It was MAD! I stepped back. My husband took the brunt of it. I turned away and escaped the worst.

I go for a walk, and I don't mind at all well trained dogs walking by. Having a sniff. A well controlled dog having a sniff at you. All fine. But when they see you from a distance, go into alert mode, and then make a beeline for you, and then hurl themselves at you, barking, then you have to start to wonder if their owner has any control at all.

Clue: They don't

So to be honest, I wouldn't find it at all surprising if the pp had 2 dog incidents in two days. I've had 4 and more in just one day.

Bought my house in the 80s. Lots of field walks. The occasional person with a well trained dog.

Now: The fields are full of barky dogs. Farmers complaining that the dogs are responsible for their sheep miscarrying. Fewer lambs being born. A random dog just running about loose and barking can trigger abortion.

Some dog owners are idiots.

I've nothing against dogs I just dont think they should be left alone in a room with young children

I know some really nice lovable dogs. I've had one. I've known them turn on a threepenny bit. Our own lovely family dog went nuts and bit my brother. It was a small dog. There seemed to be no reason it turned on him. It just did. After 7 years of being just an ordinary family dog it just took against my brother suddenly.
We got it off him. It wasn't big enough to do a massive amount of damage.
It was just like it suddenly hated him. He was the one who fed it and took it for walks. He fed it and it followed him everywhere. He was its main person.

But on this one day, he moved his foot when the dog was laying on it and it went berserk. Dog was fine with everybody else. Once we got it off him, and him out of the room it was fine again. But you can't live like that, can you?

A dog is a dog is a dog. It's not a person to reason with. It's not a fur baby.
It's an animal. And even after a 7 year spell of calm, it can be unpredictable.
Anyone allowing a dog near their baby or toddler is taking a huge risk.

I don't really give much credence to claims that "my dog is a big softie. Wouldn't do that" They can, and they absolutely bloody well do.

I loved my dog. Don't know what made it turn. Could have been an illness or anything. One thing I do know is that I would never EVER have a dog alongside young children. Not ever. Not with my experience of knowing how quickly they can turn.

Apologies, not sure what went wrong there- hopefully these ones work?

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/dog-walker-mauled-dalmatian-horror-31479988 - 51 yo man

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/2846739.stm - toddler

Families always used to bring their dogs to sports days when my kids were at school. It was a full day affair with a break for picnic lunches so could hardly leave them at home all day. Nobody owned that kind of dog though 😕

The other 5% are dead 🙈

Not many people are fucking morons.

Although probably over 95% of Bully XL owners are fucking morons.

God! No good whoever it is, but a child just starting out in life to be mauled to death 😩

Can all the gaslighters and wind up merchants leave the OP alone?

Some of you are

1. Pressing her to check if she actually saw an XL bully, as if she keeps a copy of the Kennel Club's Breed Standards in her handbag
2. Questioning whether media hysteria on XL Bully dogs has led to "people like the OP" not being able to tolerate dogs in spaces
3. People claiming that if the dog wasn't a bully, then what is the problem with them being in a child's space?

This is all whatabouttery designed to wholly discredit an OP because you , or people you like, own dogs.

NOT EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE TO TOLERATE DOGS. Children in spaces dedicated for children, should not have to tolerate dangerous dogs.

The worst thing is that if that dog turned on the child, the owner would promptly disappear. The child may have to have reconstructive surgery, it might die, but the owner would probably get a fine or a suspended sentence.

So you dog owners want us to run all that risk? No thanks.

I think a lot of dogs shouldn’t be in the room with a child full stop and some breeds shouldn’t even be in the same household. Perhaps a law around which breeds you are allowed to own if you have children as people don’t seem to have the sense. More dog breeds should have to be muzzled in public.

My ‘it happens round our way’ was in particular about dogs, including powerful looking ones, being taken into enclosed playgrounds, which a pp had disbelieved.

What do I do personally about it? I may or may not challenge directly (I have done) depending on how likely I think the dog could kill me if the owner allowed. And I am not a meek person, and I am not exaggerating or being melodramatic. I have also responded to our LA’s consultation on antisocial behaviour involving dogs.

NO dogs are «soft as butter» and I include my goofy, super laidback labradoodle here.
They are animals and they should be allowed to be in places suitable and enjoyable for dogs; NOT in sports day or in gated playgrounds or in small waiting rooms - each of which may be filled to the brim with overexcited little kids!

How hard is that to understand?
Breeds that are bred to be protection and/or aggressive even less so - in fact they should never be in such places.

How do you know this dog wasn't an XL bully?

Jesus. I’d flip. Disgusting selfish owner. Ask him to leave. Prick

Wrong on lots of levels. I don’t dislike dogs but am not really a dog person. Also hate when peoples dogs jump all over you getting their hair, saliva and god knows what else on your clothes and skin while the owner thinks it’s endearing. I’d have to get up and tell staff about this dog at the ballet class. Entitled arseholes.

I can only assume the people that own XLs (besides the status symbol idiots) think they have this massive scary beast, yet they have smothered it with so much love, it will only know how to be gentle and soppy.

You cannot remove breed instincts. You might be able to curb them and hopefully you'll get lucky, but they're always there. That's why retrievers carry stuff around gently in their mouths (originally used to collect game etc) and greyhounds chase small furry things. It's ingrained into them.

What are people doing to challenge dogs being taken to primary school sports days and ballet classes?

I don't have any children at primary school now and it's a long time since my oldest was at ballet classes so I'm a bit out of touch. I am aware that the primary school does remind parents not to bring dogs on school premises, and ideally not bring them to the school gates either.

Yes another one here saying this is definitely happening round our way. Anyone coming on here to say it’s made up is either trying to be difficult, or parading their good fortune and lack of imagination because they live somewhere where it doesn’t happen. Either way, a deeply unhelpful contribution!

God I don’t believe people can think those dogs are as soft as butter- my brother has those French bull dogs- I hate them as they jump up at my me ( I know you can’t compare them to those XL bully dogs) but pain in the arse all the same.. so I would be terrified if I passed one of those XL bullies in the street

As a dog owner I don't understand people like this, twats is a understatement. My dog goes nowhere near places children play, sports fields and the very idea of taking a bully type dog in a room with babies & toddlers is beyond stupid.

A woman in her 50s near me was eaten by an XL. No idea if she's a granny but she has a trampoline in her garden. Thank goodness it was her and not a child.