Parking when there are dogs around

Must admit I didn't know not parking near other cars in an empty car park was a 'thing'. I regularly stop off with my dogs at a local playing field on my way back from the school run and just park next to the other dog walkers right by the entrance, even though there's a whole empty car park I could park in. It never occurred to me that that was in any way weird.

But she wasn’t safe. If she was you wouldn’t have been hitting the car in misplaced anger. Why did you allow her to be off lead in a car park. Why didn’t you react sooner as it approached.

I have well behaved dogs with excellent recall but they go back on leads well before car parks or roads so I’m never in this situation.

he can park wherever he wants. Can’t believe you slapped his car!

It is genuine. I just don't know if I was right or wrong.
You were wrong, HTH.

You can't go round smacking peoples cars and telling them to fuck off when they have parked in a parking space they are completely allowed to park in! You are sounding increasingly unhinged.

Do you really think that the driver selected the best space to park in? For HIMSELF perhaps. Not for the pedestrians.

I also wonder how your friend felt in this scenario. You should apologise for dragging them into this situation through your lack of self control. How embarrassing!

You can't dictate where people park or how they drive because you have dogs. The onus is on YOU to keep them safe, not drivers.

This post is mad. I say this as a dog owner who loves walking dogs off lead. When I'm in a bloody car park, they're on a lead.

A car park is a car park. Not an extension of the dog park. One of my dogs is also older but I always have her on a lead, especially where cars can potentially drive. Also why the hell did you hit his car? No wonder he was angry.

Saying this as an extreme dog lover.

No problem with men. This one was obviously an entitled lazy idiot, though.

If you think your dog is at risk of running in front of a car you need to keep them on a lead. My DS has no road safety awareness, I keep hold of him rather than expecting cars to not pull up near us.

1. No 'maybe' about it, you were completely in the wrong.
2. . Its a car park, he can park where he wants.
3. Your dog should not have been wandering around off lead in a car park. If it had been injured or worse, that would have been on you.
4. Hitting his car and telling him to fuck off...? You got off lightly.

This can't be real. How entitled, rude and frankly stupid would someone have to be to do that and then post on MN, clearly expecting to be told that she wasn't being unreasonable at all.

Eh? Can you not see you're the entitled one in this scenario?

You think your dog is entitled to protection from other road users, but don't provide that protection yourself by putting it on a lead.

You think you're entitled to park next to the entrance of the park, but that other park users aren't.

You think you're entitled to take out your irrational aggression on a stranger, possibly damaging his car and very likely frightening his children and ruining their trip to the park, because you're upset that your dog is getting old. You have no idea what the other people in the car might be going through!

You sound awful, OP. I'd be furious if someone had ruined my children's trip with this behaviour

The guy did nothing wrong
Besides in your eyes being a man

And that allows OP to be violent (banging on someone’s car) and verbally aggressive in front of children?

If she was stood in the middle of a road chatting with her dog wandering around off a lead (that incidentally can’t hear cars) would you think the same? She could have stood chatting on a path with her dog on a lead like a normal reasonable person

No it isn't. Read the OP and it's clear the driver was an entitled idiot. Could have parked anywhere in that car park but chose the space closest to the skate park despite the fact that people (and dogs) were congregated there. Nothing assumed at all. Lazy, entitled driver.

@TheQuirkyMaker if you love your dog as much as you say you do, why wouldn't you have him on a lead in a car park? You say he can't hear cars approaching - that in itself is a strong reason to have him on the lead when you are anywhere a car could be.

You were in the wrong and you have also massively over reacted. You are displaying out of control anger - hitting a car, swearing at someone in front of their children - which you need to address.

Almost everyone on this thread is telling you you're in the wrong, but you're not listening.

I’m sorry you are so distressed about your dog, it’s so hard to face the loss of someone you love. However you cannot hit other people or their belongings because you’re sad and cross - it’s completely unacceptable regardless of what age you are. You need to get therapeutic input to think through how you manage your emotions.

I've realised this is a reverse.

I had to report a scummy 2 x weimaraner owner to the dog warden in North Hampshire as he always had his beautiful, bouncy dogs off lead dashing around in a community park / school car park. The only reason I didn't confront him was because I had to drop my child off and I wasn't sure what level psycho the bad dog owner was. He clearly had money as he drives a nice people carrier van.

So was it an empty car park? Or were there other cars - it can’t be both. And it’s a public car park - they can park wherever suits them, it’s got nothing to do with you

Get your dog on a lead and under control - that’s your responsibility

Keep your hand off other people’s property

Don’t bang on someone’s moving car as that is going to piss them off, make them jump so could cause an accident and actually hurt someone or even cause a dent that YOU would be paying the cost of repairing

I would be beyond furious if you banged on my car roof for parking in a space I was entirely entitled to use.

The delusion is real, with every new post it’s getting more batshit. Your dog being old and deaf etc is not the fault of anyone else. HE CAN PARK WHERE HE WANTS IN A CARPARK! can we all say it any louder?? Jesus tonight love, get a grip. I called troll on page 2

Tbh, there is a hint in the name. It's a car park. It's up to us, dog owners, parents and ourselves to keep an eye out in a car park for moving cars. That's what car parks are for.

Slamming on a car roof in a car park for the car parking where you don't want it to park is entitlement.

You can’t go round hitting peoples cars. It often baffles me why in an empty car park people will come and park next to me but they can do whatever they want.

I have been told that people feel safer by parking in groups.

Why are you policing where people park? Of course he is entitled to park near to where his kids are.

My mum is disabled, I always park as close to I can to her destination, if you have told me to fuck off I would have given you both barrels. You got off easy. Horrible behaviour from you.

I would have my dogs on a lead in a car park cos there are speeding nutters about but having said that I can't stand people who absolutely have to park next to my car when there tons of other spaces and they just don't want to walk. Lazy CF.

Weird that you couldn't sleep last night for worrying who was right, but now are insistent that the man was a cunt?! Where was this strong sense of right last night when you couldn't sleep eh?