To dare to think that the Cult of Dog has gone too far?

Dogs losing their minds on beaches does ruin the beaches for other people and wildlife, though.

And all the dog-friendly zones do is encourage owners to push their luck and treat the entire coast as dog-friendly.

Shingle beaches where I live, and the amount of dog poo camouflaged on the stones is unreal. The worst was when I was swimming last summer and realised some foolish woman swimming near me had brought her dog and left it loose on the beach, where it merrily shat everywhere while she pretended not to notice.

Indeed. There is a certain type of dog that looks happy and able to rip you to shreds, and I definitely wouldn't be getting close enough to tell you the precise breed with any certainty.

The owners of the dog are permitting it to wander streets and your takeaway is that you shouldn’t upset the owners by mistaking an XL bully for another relatively dangerous breed of dog?

This is why people think many dog owners are on glue…

The overwhelming smell of dog shit every time you pass a grassy area is the final nail in the coffin for public spaces. The dogs have won.

can’t even sit on a park bench without smelling poo, playing hop scotch dodging poo piles on the street. At dinner and a dog decides to shake itself off and now you’ve got dog dust in your food.

nowhere is safe

I had a dog in the family in the early 90s. My mum was supposed to train it. It was some kind of mongrel with some sheepdog in it. It was beyond her powers. I think now the sheepdog part was too strong. It would escape and run for miles. When it died, my mum vowed never to get another dog.

I would like a dog as a companion but my circumstances don't allow it at the moment. These threads and social media inform me on how NOT to look after dogs. It's good the threads are started because people are pissed off.

I hate the fur baby phenomenon too. When we had our family dog, it was a dog. You did what you did to keep it healthy and happy. Now dogs are treated like babies. Eurgh, no. It doesn't serve them well. They need to get dirty, to explore and sniff and get wet. Dressing your dog up is just stupid. I would never take a dog into Peter Jones or a posh restaurant, I'd leave it at home. I might take a (well-behaved) dog to a pub garden but not inside the pub itself. It's a dog! Not a child!

In my part of the world there are designated dog beaches and dog parks. There are clear signs saying dogs are allowed off-lead in these spaces. There are often water bowls kept outside cafes/restaurants/gyms, etc., where dogs must be tied up. Generally works well!

no worries, just noticed myself that she only quoted part of my post.

Sorry, my mistake.

yes I do, you mustn't have read my first post that pp was replying to.

The pay off with children is that they are our future. They will be workers and taxpayers, they will be out medical teams, politicians, teachers, lawyers, bus drivers, care home workers. With the exception of working dogs, there is no comparison.

Yawn

I moved carriages on a train and got verbal abuse. No regrets.

If you're just going to "nip in" to a shop, can't you tie it up outside? Like people used to?

I love my dogs but hesitate to take them out due to the behaviour you describe - off leash mongrels who obviously get their poor temperaments from their shit owners. Where I live dogs are required to be on leash unless in designated off leash areas. Of course their owners don't care and dogs without manners run wherever they like. I went off like a banshee at one owner - her off leash mutt rushed my two small, on leash dogs. Went right off because we were quite literally standing outside an off leash park (fenced). If she wanted her dog to run around off leash, that's where it belonged not harassing people and dogs minding their own business on the footpath.

I never used to care until my, again on leash, dog was attacked on a morning walk. My current dogs would not have survived that attack, so I am very alert to anything that could possibly harm them and have zero tolerance for those who think by-laws don't apply to them.

I very much doubt it is a XL bully and just your uneducated mind that every bull breed is XL bully
If it was roaming free the police would have picked it up.

Educate yourself on the different types of bull breeds and mastiffs before you spread rumours about someone else.

I love dogs, or used to - I find myself becoming increasingly more scared of them due to things happening.

Dogs randomly jumping at you when you're minding your own business, dogs randomly running up growling and nipping at my father's dog and his ankles (dad's dog was being a good sweet girl, and on a lead). Dogs being let free roaming out of houses - there's an XL bully around the corner who the owners just let out to wander the street outside their home. No mishaps yet, besides barging into people and knocking them over.. It's "just playing". Dread the day when it snaps. Kids play around there.

It didn't used to be this bad. You'd go for a walk in the park and there would be dogs walking nicely on leads... Or if the dog was off lead, it didn't bother you and was well behaved (which I'm guessing is why the owners let it off, because it was a good dog). I remember walking around asking people of I could pet their dogs, it was lovely.

You go for a walk in a park now and get a dog chasing you, jumping at you. They snap, bite, bark, nip, chase. Owners let their dog off lead when they have zero control, or zero desire to exercise the control they do have - don't know which is worse. They don't give a shit if their dog comes and bothers you, or worse. The dogs are badly behaved and unpredictable.

It's really exasperated my agoraphobia, as the moments I catch myself thinking "right, I can go on a nice walk to the park right now!" I remember "oh I can't, the dogs". It's the same just walking through the town, because people just let their dogs wander about. As a result I just don't leave my house really.

Absolutely same could be said for children.

Kids running up and down restaurants, shops, buggies blocking lanes of shops, buggies in disabled bays, kids chasing birds, cats and stabbing eachother.

Selfish society is the problem and everyone is entitled or thinks their fur babies, children, cars, life is more important than others

So rather than complain about it live and let live because I am sure there are things we all do which someone else will complain about.

Dogs should be allowed at beaches but there should be half dog beach half no dogs allowed. I don't agree with dogs in cafes but outdoor pubs/restaurants yes.

this is just my opinion though I don't rule the world so live and let live.

Dog continually barking in the pub last night. No attempt by the owner to quieten it - he was seemingly oblivious. Everyone else glaring.

I got called an arsehole for moving on a bus..I'm a bit funny about an XL bully being on the seat in front of me and it was level with my face facing me.

I can't stand big dogs on buses or other public transport (except assistance dogs).

They are usually lying across the aisle and everyone else on the bus has to try and jump over them if they want to get off. If I was scared of dogs, vulnerable or a frightened child, it's like getting past Cerberus! They honestly shouldn't be allowed on buses as it is a closed environment where no one else has an option to move away from them.

yes I mostly do but sometimes if we are out and about i occasionally want to nip into a shop, it's not very often but have done it a few times.

Why on earth would you take your dog into John Lewis? Is it giving an opinion on summer seperates? I saw one in Clarks a little while ago, just running round, sniffing the shoes.
People used to tie dogs up outside shops. This co-shopping is a new phenomenon.

There was a woman with a dog in John Lewis the other day. JOHN EFFIN LEWIS.

I dislike dogs in general, I don't want to be around them, and I don't want to have to worry about possibly stepping in shit while I'm perusing expensive clothing or whatever.

I would suggest those people who have never seen dogs being badly behaved are blind to it as you are dog people!

You know there are fish, seals and shellfish in the sea? Living, eating, excreting, mating?

Dog have a bit of a swim - i don't see how this can be unhygienic, the sea is very big! I think people are lots more likely to wee in the sea than dogs too.