Dog ate my picnic

Extendable/retractable leads are a nightmare because the dog can still run up to other animals/harm to themselves/cause others harm. They are not adequate for keeping the dog under control.

However, they are still better than off-lead. Dogs can become spooked and bolt. Other dogs may not react well to being approached by them and then we also have the situation that the OP has experienced.

Dogs can make great companions and are usually great pets but a lot of responsibility comes with it. These are my general rules for owning a dog:

*Must have a garden where it can play off lead
*Must be on a lead when out in public
*Mustn't be left outside shops barking and annoying people/at risk of being stolen
*Must be muzzled if a dangerous breed (Certain breeds just should not be bred at all such as XL Bully.)
*Must be kept indoors at night and not left out in the cold, barking and whining and annoying the neighbours

Other than an XL (which I completely agree with you on) I don’t think it’s necessarily which breeds to be aware of per se, much better to have a quick read up on doggy body language.

Any dog can be reactive and they’re most reactive when they’re scared. Dogs (apart from the XL) who are afraid have a hierarchy of warning signs you need to learn to pay attention to. They can escalate quickly if you don’t heed their first warning. Good thing to teach children too.

For example, a Jack Russell terrier with a bad temper would be more scary to me than a clearly placid Rottie. Granted, you could probably have half a chance to fight off a JRT but I still think it’s worthwhile to spot signs of dog temperament in the first place.

ETA Labs are my favourite but I still wouldn’t 100% trust one if it was displaying signs of aggression. Badly behaved labs can also do a pretty serious amount of damage if they’re heavy and jump up at you.

How odd.
My mastiffs AND lab have been/are the sweetest dogs, bomb proof, velvet mouthed, soft as muck.
My greyhound is meek but can be slightly temperamental with other dogs.
And I remember the woman I knew as Rotty Lady, lived down the road from me, tiny white haired lady but her rotties (she had one after another, rescues) were INCREDIBLE. Trained to an inch of their lives.

On the other hand, my sister was bitten quite badly- by a lab- lots of blood. And the two times I've been bitten (without any provocation, I may add), it's been two separate fluffy little Westies.

Good luck with your snap breed judgements, and with the small fluffy snappy ones 😄

Just listen to yourself “if the police try it on” when the police are stretched to the limits struggling to cope with serious crimes you want to go to an incidence of a dog stealing a picnic. The crime is having a dog dangerously out of control does not cover stealing an unattended sandwich! Christ on a bike.

Sorry we couldn’t attend your domestic violence incident we were too busy tracking down the dog who ate a cream cheese sandwich lying on the floor in the park

Picnics are the one reason I don't take our dog on the common during the day.
I am sorry this happened to you and she shoud have made reparations.

Having your dog on a retractable lead is a terrible idea. Far better to be off lead and trained properly.
www.petmd.com/dog/general-health/are-retractable-leashes-bad

XL Bulldog
Staffordshire Bull Terrier
American Staffordshire Bulls A.K.A. Am-Staff
Cane Corso/Mastiff
Shar Pei
Rottweiler

And then we have the ones that pose less physical danger but are often of a bad temperament such as Akita, Alsatian.

The Labrador breed is one of the sweetest breeds you could ever meet, great with children, great with meeting new people and other animals but still, they are dogs and don't understand human boundaries or indeed the danger of running off near busy roads etc so a lead is a must.

100%.

The law says that dogs should be under conytol at all times. Report it to the police. Clearly this dog is out of control. Next time he may take a bite out of someone rather than a breadstick. Don't take no for an answer with the police if they try it on, get a log number. If your local authority has a dog warden, speak to them as well. Restorative justice needs to be used more in cases of irresponsible dog owners, they need to experience what others feel dye to their actions or not have a dog.

No, very normal in today's world.

We all have an opinion of what breeds to be wary of, yes.

Personally I go by the premise that I never approach a dog I don’t know, regardless of the breed, unless the owner says it is ok. Rather than tarring all owners of a certain type with the same brush.
My personal experience is the one that own the Mastiffs, GSDs, Rotties etc are the ones that are the most sensible as they know their dogs could do serious damage. The people I know who have the smaller, designer type breeds don’t tend to bother.

I do not include an XL Bully in any of this though, I would never trust one of those in any circumstance.

Well, it sounds like the owner temporarily lost control of her dog and you’re right to be annoyed it ate your food. The owner should have offered to pay for it. She should also have enquired what was in the food it ate.

But you need to address you fear of dogs too, picking up your child and panicking, hiding behind a tree. You will be passing on your fear of dogs to your child. It didn’t sound aggressive in the slightest, I would have just grabbed its collar/harness and told it a firm no til the owner appeared. If you are going to share areas where dogs are, it’s important you learn to understand and react to incidences where issues happen.

Anyone wishing harm or “karma” for the dog for eating highly toxic food as some in here have done are worse than any dog owner I’ve come across - it’s disgusting

What are the breeds to be wary of, out of interest?
Anything bigger than a lab, regardless of temperament?

The owner should have had the dog on a lead. It was shit the OP’s picnic was ruined. That’s the crux of it.

However I think photographing, naming and shaming, running in to the woods etc is a bit over the top. It was a dog, not a brown bear.

Meanwhile, IRL most people are sensible with their dogs in picnic areas and most picnic go-ers would at worst be mildly disgruntled by the errant dog.

It is in my opinion. We all know what the breeds to be wary of are. The owners tend to be of the same ilk too.

How am I supposed to know that when I am in the park? I don't know what her dogs are going to be like. Dogs can be very unpredictable, even well-trained ones.

Perhaps her dogs have excellent recall and have earned the privilege to be off lead in suitable areas but he keeps them on lead in busy parks etc

Yep, a mastiff is NOT the same ‘ilk’ as an XL.

That is completely unconnected to your first sentence, which is what I objected to.
To quote you:
"Those Shar Pei dogs look quite aggressive and tend to be owned by people of the same ilk as those who own XL bulldogs, mastiffs etc."

Why can't your husband just walk them on a lead as he is supposed to?

I’m a dog owner and keep my dog on a retractable lead just in case - it makes me furious when people have their dogs off the lead and have no control over them at all. In my experience, in rural and urban areas, about 1 in 50 owners have control when their dog is off the lead. Some owners even let them run among sheep at lambing time or chase children in playgrounds or parks whilst they feebly shout at their out of control dogs.

Surely you realise that, for someone who doesn't know much about dogs, one massive dog running toward them is much the same as another? Anything bigger than a small lab can be pretty intimidating for an adult and more so for a child.

You're embarrassing yourself by naming all those breeds in one breath.
Signed, owner of mastiffs.

So many people clearly haven’t had or looked after dogs. I’ve had to pull tinsel out of a dogs arse because he ate it. Ditto peperami wrappers.

theyd absolutly eat chocolate foil and all given the chance. Ditto grapes.

friends dog ate a whole snack box of raisins card and all.

dogs are stupid and do things that will hurt them. This is why we leash them in public. This is why we train them. This is why as owners we’re responsible for their actions. Because dogs are dumb and will do dumb things.

so yes a greedy dog will easily polish off all the grapes, chocolate and sandwiches and then some. Probably throw it all up after a little while then eat some more.

You can't have well-behaved dogs without actually teaching them to ignore things like loud noises and children and other dogs and unfamiliar circumstances. You can't have well-balanced dogs without exposing them to those things.
So essentially you want a dog that's well behaved, but with zero opportunity for an owner to train it so that it is bomb proof.
Make it make sense.