To ask dog owners to keep there dogs away from my my children?

That's still not answering the OPs original point though.

Ok sometimes kids approach dogs. But put that to one side, because it's a different discussion.

Should dogs that have a tendency to approach children in a boisterous/rapid fashion and don't have good recall be kept on a lead?

Whether dog has good or bad intentions, no one knows really. And a toddler/small child certainly wouldn't know. So that is irrelevant.

A PP posted the law regarding out of control dogs. If someone feels that a dog might injure them, that is an out of control dog and against the law.
A child is a 'someone'

I'm a huge dog person and I completely agree with you. It was my choice to have dogs and part of that is taking on the responsibility to make sure they are trained and under control. My dogs are friendly and well trained with a great recall and I will always pop them on lead to walk past children.
Yes children can be unpredictable but surely thats even more of a reason to pop your dog on lead round them, not an excuse to let your dog do whatever it wants. I don't understand that point of view at all

I've only had one child who was old enough to know better, run up to her squealing and try hugging while my dog was on lead. My dog, was still a puppy then, jumped back and paws up, her nail caught the girl, who burst into tears..her mum just gave her an earful 'I've told you before to never run squealing to a dog, stop crying it's your own fault' The mum said hello to my pup. I obviously apologised, I felt guilty even though we weren't actually guilty of anything. The mum was completely reasonable, and clear that her daughter shouldn't do it.

She is now a middle aged dog.
My dog is kept on lead unless in an enclosed dog field.
She doesn't jump at children. Generally, she isn't interested in children.
With adults usually, she swings her bottom round for a back rub.
Mostly, older children do ask if they can say hello, and I always thank them for asking. She will let them pet her, I know from her body language when she has had enough or isn't in the mood. We move on or don't stop. The ones that try grabbing are usually toddlers and just above, who should be directly supervised by parents. If they aren't, that's on the parents.

I completely agree. I've always liked dogs. Always had one as a child and teen ((well, my parents did.) And I think they can make lovable, endearing, and faithful companions.

But this past 5 to 7 years, dog owners have turned into absolute cunts (many of them.) Every time I go for a one and a half to two mile walk around my village, I encounter anything between 2 to 6 dogs on the loose, as people are just letting them run along the country road ... At least a third of the time they jump up me with their muddy paws, or run towards me barking. (sometimes aggressively.)

I've had times when I've seen 3 or 4 dogs loose in a particular country lane (as I am about to enter the lane,) and have had to double back and add an extra mile onto my journey to get home to avoid walking past these 3 or 4 loose dogs ... There's one person, maybe two. There's no way in hell that they're going to be able to control them if they come at me.

Then you've got the absolute fucking morons that have got these extendable dog leads ... They (and I) are walking in a 12 foot wide country road, and they have 1 to 3 dogs on these stupid leads, and the fucking dogs just come at your legs! Many of the owners don't pull the leads in properly, if at all.

One woman the other day pulled her 2 dogs towards her (by pulling the extendable leads in,) as I was walking past. Then when I was literally just 4-5 feet away from her, she started to extend the leads again. So the dogs just came at my legs, and nearly sent me flying into the hedge. (I had tripped on the fucking leads.) All the silly cow did was tut, and pull the dogs back. So it was MY fucking fault was it?!

And this is a common occurrence. Stupid fucking, inconsiderate, entitled dog owners. There is also at least 3 dogs 'missing' in our village in any given month, because people can't be fucked to keep them secured properly. And they have the lead off so often when they're off the property! The vast majority of the time they end up back home after someone finds them and takes them back!

Seriously, you should have to go on a university course to own a dog these days.

Of course there are good dog owners, but the shitty ones seem to outweigh them these days. Never in almost 60 years of life have I known so many bad dog owners, and unruly, badly behaved dogs as I have seen in past 7-10 years.
Oh, and the fucking dogshit! Everywhere! If these useless dog owners can get away without picking it up/if no-one sees the dog do its shit, they will leave it there.

As for the 'maybe you can call your child away from my dog' posters. Get a grip FFS! This thread isn't about badly behaved children being a nuisance, and attacking your dogs - (and as if THAT happens waaaay more than dogs attacking people!' ) Start your own thread - and quit the ludicrous whatabouttery! You sound ridiculous. This thread illustrates that there are waaaaay too many shitty dog owners, stop trying to pretend it's not true because YOUR doggo is soooo perfect! 🙄

And yeah, the 'oh but he's just being friendly' owners can fuck off too! People are not interested in your dog!

,

I don’t understand why dogs can’t be required to be on a short, non-extensible leash in public at all times in urban areas.

It would be easy to do. The local council would just be made to put up signs saying “all dogs on leashes”. The councils could be specified in a schedule to an Act.

Such a weird post!

YANBU.

A Jack Russel jumped up onto my toddler in his stroller in Waitrose last week and the owner seemed annoyed when I asked them to get their dog off… this was Waitrose STORE not the cafe and it didn’t appear to be a service dog (no bib, badly behaved etc).

I also loathe the "oh he's just being friendly" type of owner.

I don't want to be friends with your animal and it's pure arrogance on their part to think I might. You are besotted with your animal - fine. But why on earth would you even think everyone else might feel the same way? Most people are entirely indifferent to your animal. Many actively dislike it.

Like I said, keep it to yourself. I never taught my children to ask before approaching dogs. I taught them not to approach dogs owned by strangers, ever.

I think it's reasonable to point out the flaws with that reasoning, when dogs are often approached. Of course dogs being under control is important, I don't think many would disagree, although I do find the whole mentality that people are not to be inconvenienced by others in any way quite weird.

Kids approach dogs sometimes, show them gently how to do better if they get it wrong.

Dogs behave badly sometimes, but not listening is not the same as being a massive savage. The vast vast majority of dogs mean no harm at all. Ask the owner to call them back, nicely, while saying hi to said dog would be a much better approach for encounters between both sorts of people to be less negative and more cooperative?

Is a little bit of good faith and understanding too much for everyone?

What has this got to do with people keeping dogs on leads?
Are we putting small children and dogs in the same category when it comes to behaviour in public?
Yes, the parents of that child should not have allowed that behaviour, but what has that got to do with a dog running up to my child?
Are some dog owners thinking it's fair game for their dog to run up to children because a child ran up to their dog?

Haven't read the thread yet but have to agree with this comment. A few days ago we encounted two women both with dogs that had no recall and which were pestering us. We asked them to control their dogs. Their response was to tell us that the dogs meant no harm, one was a puppy and that we shouldn't be walking in such places if we don't like dogs. Oh and apparently we are old and miserable and should be setting a better example to younger people like themselves. They were both in their 50's.

I think we can take OPs comment in good faith to mean that the dog has approached them.

If just waking past and dog (and child- I do agree) are well behaved and basically pass each other without approach then all is fine.

I'd say both are well trained then and that's how it should be.

Poor dog owners are EVERYWHERE. It's really basic. It is your job as an owner to keep your dog to yourself. If it can be trained to reliably walk to heel or come back instantly when you call it, all well and good. If it can't then you keep it on a lead.

You should not ever let your animal run up to other people, bark at them, jump on them, get into their personal space in any way at all. Because it is your animal and they more than likely don't want it anywhere near them.

This is so basic. Keep your animals to yourselves and away from others.

And just to follow up my last post, I do agree kids (even adults) shouldn't approach dogs without checking/permission.

But it isn't a reason not to keep your dog under control, the two aren't binary.
So why it keeps coming up here in the context of this discussion I have no idea.

Just feels like an excuse.

Remember an unknown dog approaching a small child at head height is like an unknown pony or maybe even small horse doing it to you. Please remember that when you laugh off the interaction as harmless. I guarantee you it has caused harm.

Dogs should be on lead unless they have good recall. They shouldn’t ever be bouncing up to strangers. But. If my dog walks past you and ignores you completely it shouldn’t matter if they are “close” to you. (We often walk on paths.)

Equally perhaps parents should be teaching their children not to run up to random digs without asking the owner. My late dog was not brought up around little kids and whilst he never approached them kids would run up to him, he didn't bite but he would simply move away and they would continue to approach, i didn't want his patience to be tested!

That's not what the OP says though. Dogs should never be closer to her family than their owner is what OP says. That can be because the dog has approached the family or that the family have approached the dog, surely.

My dog was always on a lead (because his recall wasn't reliable) but I have still had a little kid run up and kick him for no reason whatsoever. Fortunately the dog was not aggressive, but if he had reacted would it have been my fault? In the eyes of the parent, probably. This is what some of us are up against, particularly with bigger dogs.

That would be a great idea. It would also be nice to see some enforcement in areas that are currently supposed to be dog free - I’m thinking if the beach in particular where there are areas for dogs and areas where there is supposedly a fine if you take your dog there yet it’s always got dogs on it and they’re always off lead.

I agree with you, dogs should be under control at all times. I have a dog and if she wasn’t under my control she wouldn’t be off lead. However, many children approach my dog and try to touch her. Parents need to make sure they tell their children to stand back and ask a dog owner if they may stroke or pet a dog. My dog is 11 and has never shown aggression but if I child grabbed her tail or hurt her and she reacted I’m sure people would put the responsibility on me and my dog even though the child was in the wrong.

And the whole point of this thread is, please can dogs be kept on a lead if they have poor recall.

So we aren't discussing the scenario you posted.

We are discussing dogs re leads/poor recall.

So without yes butting anything, do you agree with the OP?

That isn't what I am saying at all.

What I am saying is it is absolutely not my responsibility to protect children who aren't under the control of their parents.

If your child is running up to my on lead, under control dog then sinfully expect to be able to yell at you to control your child and get it away from my dog.

My dog’s never off lead in public but I must admit I only encounter well behaved children, who always ask if they can stroke him. He’s absolutely huge so I’m not sure if that makes a difference.

THEIR dogs. Not THERE dogs.