To have commented on an unleashed dog

I'd have kicked the bloody thing if it'd knocked my child over, and to hell with upsetting the owner.

If a dog knocked my 2 year old over it would have a swift kick to it. I don't even know how you managed not to completely lose it at the guy either

Absolutely bloody not unreasonable. A massive lab came bounding over to my 2 year old the other day and knocked her spark off her feet. She absolutely loves dogs but was obviously terrified as it was bigger than her. Owner just told me how much the dog loves kids and carried on her day. I told her that her dog should be on a lead and she just laughed nervously.

I like dogs, I really do. But I don't want to have to run interference for lazy owners.

You are completely right - it doesn't matter there was no harm.

For a dog to be off lead you have to be completely confident they will not approach a dog on lead (or off lead) or another person with permission. I have a dd4 and the dog is 10 so he has grown up with her and they play - he still knows he can never approach another child unless I say it is ok.

I had a bizarre experience today with a lady with a blind dog off lead who she kept telling me might approach my dog and snap as he can't see him. I said multiple times that mine would go nowhere near without permission and would back away if he got close but she wouldn't pull hers back and kept getting nearer (despite plenty of space) I ended up leaving as couldn't cope with the lack of sense.

Any dog has to be under control on lead or not - the one you encountered wasn't .

I'm sick of these people who think everyone loves their dog just as much as they do and want to be jumped on by muddy paws.
I tore a strip off a chap whose labrador ran up to me and left paw marks up my leg and could not believe it when he replied "she's just a puppy, she wants to play ".
If a dog is in a public place then it needs to be under control of the owner. That either means on the lead or with impeccable recall.

My small super friendly dog loves young children. She thinks all little ones belong to her and need a slobbery kiss. For this reason she is on lead when small children, push chairs are around. She is a small dog but would definitely knock over a toddler with her exuberant affection. Other people shouldn't be expected to deal with my dogs bad manners however well meaning.

My dog is trained to not approach dogs who are on a lead. If I can train her when she's my first dog then everyone can.

I hope your DD is okay.

You did nothing wrong btw.

If enough people open their mouths with people like this dog owner, maybe they will learn! I was once walking around a local reservoir without my dog and a boxer puppy was running around completely out of sight of the owner (had great recall but he wasn't calling it often) and an elderly lady was walking her tiny dog, on lead. It went right up to them and as I was the only person in sight she thought it was mine. She was terrified. I was watching in case it kicked off. When the owner came round the corner I told him - he said his dog was fine and had zero understanding of how this could have been a problem.

Then it ran at our two year old daughter jumping up to her face, knocking her over on the second jump causing her to fall in mud and become upset.

Husband then said I was a bit harsh as the dog only jumped up and wasn’t aggressive.

Your husband is wetter than the last wet wipe in the packet.

You should know you're not being unreasonable. It sounds as though he's chipping away at your common sense.

But that's not the case. And many many owners are responsible and have put their time and effort in with their dogs to ensure they are suitable to be let off lead.

The people who don't give a shit now would still not give a shit even if lead laws were in place and the only dogs that would suffer would be the ones who weren't a problem anyway.

I would have been raging.
so sick of these “friendly” dogs jumping up!

Dogs should be on a lead in parks and public areas. Fenced off dog paddocks and their own homes are the only places they should be off leads.

Out of control dogs are awful. DH recently got a written warning at work - he's a park keeper - because he told someone to keep their dogs under control after they ran over barking and growling at him, twice. The member of public made a complaint as DH said something a little sarcastic when she said she was going to report him for telling her to keep the dogs under control. If your dog isn't under recall, it shouldn't be off the lead.

YANBU OP.

I'd have been furious if that happened to my child. Dog owners need to take more responsibility when their dog behaves like that. I also don't think any dog should be off lead in public areas.

My adult daughter still remembers being knocked over by a Jack Russell when she was two and how it frightened her and put her off dogs for years. A terrier can do a lot of damage too, one jumped up at my DH and bit him on the thigh. The owner denied it was serious, not what the nurse at the GP said when she dressed the wound and gave him a tetanus jab.
Honestly, I grew up with dogs but these days my general attitude towards them is one of loathing!!

Your response does sound a little OTT. We had a bomb proof dog (mainly because he's so clingy) who would come back at command, but I only knew that because he'd been exposed to the situation.

I never let him off until I was sure he was a softy, but when we started off lead training I wasn't 100% sure he would come back (he would in a dog park when another dog came in) if faced with a kid who wanted to cuddle him.

When DS was little if a dog came up to us I would expect the owner to shout he's friendly then wouldn't have batted an eye lid if he got knocked over as ours floored him more than once trying to cuddle.

I can see why people are scared of the bull breeds but in the 90-00s people weren't anywhere as near bothered by normal dogs.

Same here. This usually happens with young and high energy dogs. The owners should have some understanding of canine behaviour as well as training recall daily, for ever. No dog is perfect but in a park with children, they should be on leads.

The husbands response would put me right off him - what a wet lettuce!

A bloody Labrador jumped up at me and left muddy marks all over my coat 🙄. Was not happy.

Dog walking protocol is if you are walking your dog off the lead and see someone else with a dog on a lead, then you put yours on. No you are not being unreasonable to have expected that man to put his dog on the lead.

I'd be furious with your husband

YANBU
Your poor daughter. I hope she's ok

Nope, YANBU. I'd be really pissed at that.
The owners 'reaction' too is shocking

Dog not under control and could have caused injury. You were more polite than I would have been. And yes. I have dogs.

YANBU I would have been far more rude and pissy than you were OP. That's unacceptable and so ignorant of the owner what a twat!

I spend a lot of time minding my niece's dog, who is extremely well-behaved. She has trained him very well. He is on lead in public areas, always. He will not approach people, has no interest, but has also been trained not to.

Children should not be harassed by dogs, nor should adults. It really irritates me when I see a dog jumping up at people. Owners need to do better.