Sick of ‘little dog’ owners.

Lack of training and the opinion of the owners that it's cute/adorable etc etc

Same as allowing them to jump up on people.

I have a terrier and I haven't noticed any patterns with the type of dogs that cause us problems. The problem is the ignorant owners.

I have a little dog who is walked daily. She doesn't bark (let alone 'yap'), she walks beside me, she doesn't take a second glance at any other dogs, I pick up all of her poo. My previous dogs were also small, very well behaved dogs. They were set upon by a Retriever and Alsatian who were being walked by their owner, one nearly died and both needed extensive vet care for the rest of their lives due to the trauma. So I would say not all small dogs, but rather clueless dog owners.

Does it? Every time you go out?

Decent dog owners hate bad ones as much as the next person but lying and exaggerating about incidents is pointless. I walk my dog 3 times a day. Possibly approached by an off lead dog once a month and I may see a discarded dog poo once a fortnight. Its once a fortnight too many but it’s not EVERYWHERE. The exaggerations dilute the points being made and make it hard to sympathise with the poster.

Dog owners who let their dogs near my pram piss me right off. I have a stacked double buggy, and the amount of times a dog has tried to shove their nose into the bottom bunk. First thing the owner says: "Ooh I didn't see you had another one down there!". No, how about you keep your damn dog totally away from my babies?

My little dog is absolutely aggressive, especially toward larger dogs. It mostly stems from fear of getting hurt (he has arthritis) but it’s still not allowable. We are working on minimising his reactions, but in the meantime, he’s on a lead, close to me, and I always apologise. He’s not near enough to bite, but his bark must be scary for other dogs. OP, YANBU.

one of my biggest peeves on a dog walk is people who can’t control their dog, even more so when they yell ‘its ok, he’s friendly’. 🙄
One of mine isn’t friendly - which is why he’s on a lead and under control. He doesn’t need a dog barrelling up to him and I don’t want my dog to be stressed and react because of that.
I do wonder if owners of small dogs think people won’t mind them approaching because they’re small and fluffy.🤷🏼‍♀️
I do find owners of larger dogs I’ve met tend to put them on a lead, but I’ve had all sizes approach me and my dogs and I now warn the owners that my dog isn’t friendly and ask them to put them on a lead. Just annoying, regardless of size of dog.

There are so many terrible things going on in the world and you choose to get your undies in a twist over this?
A sense of perspective is needed here I think.

Using this logic would make MNs redundant!

I love dogs but there are just too many shit owners now.

Your dog chewed through a harness in a matter of minutes?

I agree I have a lab who is still excitable (work in progress) so annoying when dogs (and yes it's always little ones) come over and rile him . Some are aggressive, I dont want a reactive nervous dog. And if my dog retaliated he could kill them .

Having a small dog seems to excuse poor training.

YABU just because you've clumped all "little dog owners" together. It's like saying 'all men are dicks'.

I have a dachshund. He's never off the lead because he has no recall and, being so small, he can be a bit barky at anything bigger than him (basically most dogs). For that reason he's kept on a lead on walks and at the park.

Inevitably, it's big dogs that harass him. Even though people can see my dog is on the lead and I'm keeping him close, they'll let their off-the-lead dog bound over to mine, which sets him off. "Oh they're friendly, don't worry" is the usual comment. I'm sure they are but I don't want him sniffing my dogs arse and getting in his face. It's not all dog owners. Some are very good at controlling their hound, but 98% of the time it's labs, lurchers (who think my dog is prey), German shepherds, labradoodles and other dogs of similar size.

It's less about the size of the dog and more about the owner imo.

How can any of that be an exaggeration

It all happens

@User67556 I do keep them on a lead if there are other dogs about, they are snack sized and at grave risk of harm from other dogs due to their size. The whole anti dog thing on here just makes me so sad.

Came here to say the exact same thing! But we usually get shouted down for this viewpoint.

Also at least if it’s a small dog they are no real threat to me or my children.

Totally agree , I have an aging lab , who has no interest in other dogs just likes to plod along on walks sniffing and pottering
a woman in my neighbourhood, ( who has seven plus dogs , two of which are jack Russell’s , they are crazy barking aggressive
and completely out of control,
she can’t manage them even on leads when out walking, she called me to say keep your dog on a lead !! Mine walks to heel not a problem, she said my dog bites!!and is dangerous !!!
honestly she is nuts I suggested she muzzled her dog when out with her uncontrollable pack
they pull her around etc

I find this a bit offensive and upsetting. I have a smallish dog, a Cavalier king Charles spaniel. He has many many faults and behaviour issues, but he is LOVELY when meeting other dogs. Never barks or growls or lunges or anything, just sniffs. He is always on lead and I am very careful with him.

I have found it can be any size dog that can act badly. My dog has been 'attacked' so many times by bigger off lead dogs.

Thank you @Porcuporpoise that is exactly my point.

@blossomtoes you have demonstrated the issue with many dog owners. They do not consider the impact their dog has on other people - those who have allergies for example. More generally, how would you feel if I took a massive shit, didn’t wipe my arse and sat my naked bum on a bench? Would you happily sit on it afterwards?

The OPs problem is not with “small dog” owners it is with the increasing number of dog owners who cannot be bothered to train their dog properly or set boundaries and think of it as a furry human baby with the same access and participation rights as a person and fuck anyone who feels uncomfortable.

I feel the same but about big dog owners. They let their dogs come running over to my small dog. He has been attacked three times by dogs bigger then him and now if a dog runs over his first response is to snap at them as he gets scared. Those dogs are also very friendly and playing apparently. My dog was socialised as a puppy, he was always fine with other dogs but years of dickhead owners have left him nervous. He's not reactive, he just will walk past and mind his own business but other dogs run over to him.

My little dog will shriek at bigger dogs if they come too close but mostly because he's been lunged at by so many bigger dogs he's just terrified. They're just playing but please remember little dogs are little - for my chihuahua it's like a human being lunged at by a giant, it'll always be scary. Big dog owners brush it off as my dog having "little man syndrome" when in reality he's terrified. He's always on the lead, he's always close to me. He will never approach another dog. Yet when a bigger off-lead dog sneaks up on him and tries to play-pounce on him, the big dog owners will act surprised when he shrieks. Poor little guy :(

Ultimately, the real villains here are people who let their dogs approach others without looking out for their behaviour. Doesn't matter if they're big or small. But I do get that it's easier to pick on us small dog owners sometimes.

I voted YABU because it's not a size thing, there are shit, entitled owners of all dog sizes. I have a dog and I love dogs but I do believe they should be on a lead in all public places and muzzled if reactive.

Bet you'd not be so calm if your "little yapsters" were the ones being bitten or lunged at.

The only dog I've ever been afraid of has been a Yorkshire Terrier - the family thought that her being aggressive was cute and funny, right up to the moment it launched up at me as I sat talking to my best friend (I was 8) and was literally hanging off my face by its teeth. The fuckers were still laughing then, too.

Bastarding thing attacked every morning when I knocked for my friend to go to school and I never sat down in her house again in case it came for my face (it apparently jumped onto the back of the sofa to go for people as well - also said laughingly). And because I wouldn't sit down to let it scar me for life, it would constantly snarl and yip yip yip snarl yip yip yippety yip yip, looking for the chance to go for a careless hand within leaping range - I kept my arms up and folded away from it and tried to keep the thing always within sight, standing on the first step of so of their stairs so it couldn't sneak up and bite my lower leg in yet another attack. Nobody took me seriously because I was so relaxed around other animals, all the way up to and including Shire horses - they thought it was even funnier that this kid who would cheerfully interact with 17 hands of solid muscle and every other dog, cat, bird, wildfowl, lizards, insects, spiders was scared of a pound or so of hair and rage.

It took until I was about 13 to realise that actually, as it was smaller than my cats, never mind my Beagle, I could sweep it aside with my foot without causing any injury to either of us when it attacked. One non damaging hoofing with a muttered teenaged 'Fuck off!' later when my friend went upstairs to get her schoolbag and the little furry shit kept eight foot away from me at all times for the rest of its life.

What's the problem with a dog on a bench?

Why the f would you put a dog on a seat meant for humans? Does your dog not sit on the floor like normal dogs? Do it's paws not get muddy?