Sick of ‘little dog’ owners.

I think a lot of people get little dogs thinking they will be easy and dont train them. The last class I was in, there was a woman with a dachshund which was the most aggressive dog I have met. Even when she had been redirected by the trainer, she would start gossiping with someone next to her, and her dog would be lunging and snapping at the dogs nearby. Everyone with a dog should be required to do a training course with them, or prove equivalent skills. Should be part of a license scheme for dogs. And yes, I have dogs, have always had dogs, have had big and small dogs.

Agreed! I find this post to be bonkers, but also a bit nasty.

As an owner of a bouncy, adolescent big lab, who believes everyone loves her as much as she loves them, I regularly have to keep her on a short lead and make her wait for other dogs to pass. She's not off lead until we can guarantee her recall and/or it's where nobody else is about, and is categorically not allowed to greet other dogs unless I say so. However there has been the very rare occasion that she is too excited and tries to get to another dog to say hello. I've corrected her and then apologised profusely, but every owner has been lovely.

I would be really upset if someone spoke to me with the level of vitriol that some posters are speaking with here.

Yes, some dog owners round by me don't train their dogs, and some have reactive, yappy dogs, but it's no big deal to cross the road when you see those dogs coming, yet still say hello and be pleasant to their owners.

I don't have a dog, but can see what you mean. It's those dogs that put me off running, because even on a 6km stretch over a farm track there will be at least 4 or 5 of them at any time of the day.

We've had a giant breed for almost 50 years and while I do think small dogs sometimes get away with murder, medium/large dogs can also be a problem. We rarely let ours off the lead in public these days - they've all been placid and calm but their size is intimidating. Over the years, we've had several unprovoked attacks on them, and a couple of injuries. It's not always the small dogs or the ones you'd expect. We've had issues with Labradors, GSD, Springers and Border collies as well as the assorted terriers and toys.

As regards day-to-day on the lead walking however, it's a different story, and yes, definitely predominantly tiny dogs (on extending leads) that are yapping and snapping at our girl. Cockerpoo's can also be an issue lately. The two worst behaved dogs in our neighbourhood are a dachshund and a pug, but thankfully we haven't encountered either of these particular dogs off the lead.

My small dog has been attacked twice - once by an off lead XL bully, who thankfully was muzzled or that would have been the end of this story, and once by a rottweiler that jumped the fence of his house to get to my dog. On that second occasion I discovered that the phrase 'i pissed myself' is something that can actually happen to a person who is frightened.

My dog has never been attacked by a small dog.

It doesn't mean I need to go ranting on the internet about big dogs and their owners. It doesn't mean I hate big dogs and their owners. It's just a bit silly, isn't it?

In my 18 month experience of having a larger dog, I would say that dog owners and wider society in general judge bad behaviour of larger dogs more sternly than the bad behaviour of smaller dogs. People seem to think that a smaller dog cannot / will not do 'much harm'. There is inequality in the judgement there, time and again. I voted YANBU and think there is a tinted cultural lens on the situation with smaller dogs overall. Smaller dogs often bark too much in public, and more often, than bigger dogs, who often have better training or management.

We live next to a small terrier type dog that’s a nuisance and regularly chases our cats, breaking into our garden to try and get at them. I live in fear that one day the dog will catch them and seriously injure them (and before anyone tells me to keep the cats indoors, no, they are rescues from a feral colony and it would be cruel to make them indoor cats at this point). The neighbour just laughs every time his yappy little shit of a dog runs into our garden.

we also live near a popular walking / dog walking spot. Most dogs are well behaved but there is a small but annoying group of owners who let their dogs off lead with no recall or manners, who cause havoc for everyone else. I don’t like dogs, if I’m being honest, I’m slightly allergic and I really don’t want to be jumped on or barked at by a mis-behaving mutt whose owner just thinks it’s funny or doesn’t give a shit.

i do think there’s been a rise in the number of dog owners with badly behaved dogs who seem to think they are powerless to do anything about the dogs behaviour. That it’s acceptable because ‘what else am I meant to do?’

Dog version of short man syndrome.

Small dog owner here! It is very annoying how reactive small dogs are. I can’t stop my dog from reacting (I’ve tried), all I can do is mitigate it. If I see a big dog approaching, I pick my dog up. She’s a lot calmer in my arms and even if she does still bark, she is safely away from the dog. I don’t think she would ever bite or attack, but can bark quite aggressively and I’d rather not take the risk. I think the majority of dog owners really are trying their best, even if they get it wrong sometimes.

I have always had terriers, which can be the worst for this. I currently have two. One is very laid back and wouldn't ever start on another dog. The other is pretty reactive, mainly out of fear of larger or 'playful' out of control dogs. He's not as reactive with dogs his size, he just tends to keep an eye on them. While I know he has an issue, it is not entirely on him (or me). IME some owners let their apparently well behaved dogs run up to him off lead, saying 'it's OK, she's friendly' or 'he just wants to play', to which I respond that mine isn't very friendly and really doesn't want to 'play'.
We've done extensive training classes and I know how to distract him from other dogs, and to respect his need to keep a distance. He has never attacked or bitten another dog, nor has any other dog hurt him because he doesn't get close enough for that to happen.

My advice would be to look out for your own dog. Keep them on lead anywhere you might encounter other dogs, and keep your distance from any that you consider could be an issue. It doesn't absolve other owners of their responsibilities, but it's your responsibility to keep your dog safe. They should not be close enough to be bitten, particularly as you perceive all small dogs as a risk.

I'm a little dog owner and agree with you. Pisses me off that shit behaviour is allowed by so many owners due to their size.
Not on my watch.

My partner told a woman to put her snarly dog on a lead to be told 'she didn't need a lecture'. Just this week I used my physical presence to protect by dog from 2 dogs, one of whom is known to bite. There are arseholes eveywhere.

It never ceases to amaze me the hostility that dog owners can throw at other dog owners. Yes, there can be idiot dog owners, but retaliating with tuts and eye rolling or worse outright aggression doesn't help anyone.

Everyone who owns a living animal can find themselves levelled pretty quickly, even the best trained can have a slip up, and training inevitably involves the odd mishap, they are living creatures, not robots.
My recent hound was jokingly called part kangaroo by the vet, it has taken months of work to teach him manners, so while it's easy to point fingers, just bear in mind that your next dog could well be the one to teach you the most.
No wonder dog owners are hated when we can spout such vitriol at each other.

Mumsnet is mad.

Dogs are terrible monsters, all dog owners are shite, we have dog owners complaining about dog owners based on their size of dog. There are rivers of shit flowing in the streets and most of us carry bits of our dogs that have been bitten off home in a poo bag.

In reality things are sometimes a bit of an inconvenience but mostly fine aren't they? I can't imagine many people are surrounded by terribly behaved dogs every day. We live somewhere fairly average and find dog owners to be nice people who generally stop to say hello to our dog while I say hello to theirs.

A little dog bit my husband. He still has the scar several months later. He's a sweetheart so did not tell the owner as didn't want to upset them.

What makes this worse is that the owner of the little dog is part of a small group of dog owners that gossip about my large dog. My large dog is a big softy when off the lead, but snarls on lead, so he appears aggressive even though he's not.

We have a little dog as well as out big dog. So I'm not anti little dog! But I am anti judgemental owners who don't think their own pooch can do any wrong but will merrily criticise others.

Small dogs can't do that much damage

As someone who’s had a Dandy Dinmont literally hanging from their hand by its jaws I’d strongly dispute that! I haven’t taken against every small dog as a result.

2 large reactive huskies. Many yappy little dogs have leant the hard way.

Completely agree with you. Owners of small dogs generally do not bother to socialise or train their dogs properly and allow them to yap, snarl, lunge and even bite big dogs. Because of their lack of socialisation the little dogs are often fearful of big dogs and decide to get in their first, hence their yapping and snarling. If a big dog acted in the same way the owners would be reported to the police! My large springer spaniel has been attacked 3 times by small dogs, one was hanging off his bag leg and wouldn't let go. There are several small dogs that are lead walked around our village and they always try and go for our dog, even when we cross the street. Luckily my dog has been well socialised and trained and is very laid back - he just ignores them despite previous attacks.

Yes! Even if the dog is just playing, if my (very large but very tolerant) dog takes to it unkindly or even just 'plays' back, your dog could get seriously injured and whose fault would that be? I think a big part of it is that big dog owners know what a huge responsibility it is to have a big dog so (generally) have to take things a bit more seriously. Small dogs can't do that much damage so some owners can get away with not really training them or taking it seriously. Inexperienced owners don't seem to really understand what the repercussions could be of letting their dog run up to others.

The superiority of big dog owners is irritating and ridiculous. Dogs, like humans, have different personalities and character traits which have been bred in to them over many, many generations. Small dogs have been bred as lap, companion dogs. They believe that they will be loved and welcomed by people. Training them not to be over friendly is really hard, so they should always be on a lead outdoors. Big dogs, which are usually bred from working dogs ,will have been bred from generations of animals kept outdoors with a completely different and lesser experience of interacting with humans. They are just as capable of hurting other dogs and people as small dogs, the difference is they don't expect everyone in the world to love them.
Next time you see newspaper headlines about dogs mauling a toddler to death check how big the animal was. I can't imagine it will be a tiny dog.

Too true. Friends had 2 big black Flatcoat Retrievers, and one little white Westie.

Guess which one could never be trusted around strangers or children?

The two Flatties were as soppy as you like.

Small dogs certainly seem more likely to have an attitude problem. My mum's westie is a classic yappy miserable dog. Everyone in the family kids included hates the dog, except mum. Her other dog the Labrador everyone loves. In short summary, small dogs are twats.

I've only had my (medium to large) dogs ran up to a handful of times by small dogs, one of which is extremely aggressive and it's always been fine because I can restrain my dog against a small dog and scare the little dog off, or sometimes if I only have the none aggressive two they will sniff it quite happily because it's so none offensive and harmless.

On the other hand I've had 30+ bad experiences as someone who avoids loose dogs from medium to large dogs, and I've had 5 separate bites/dog fights from a GSD, a GSD staff mix, a boxer, a bull lurcher and a lurcher. Other than the actual fights it's been daft lab/spaniels who are bored because their silly owners buy a working dog and take it out to run fields like it's a pet breed who persistently bother us and won't leave us alone when shouted at

If you own a large dog who can do damage if adequately annoyed by companion breeds acting like normal annoying pets, you should have it muzzled and work on your dogs desensitisation or take it to secure fields. Part of living in society means other people won't be perfect, you should plan dog ownership accordingly.

Get real. The police aren’t interested if you’re burgled or your car’s stolen.