AIBU to think dog owners should actually be responsible for their dogs in public spaces?

TRAIN YOUR DOG!

If you can't stop your dog from running at people and jumping up then it should never be off lead in public.

Lazy owners give dogs a bad name.

"for some crazy reason people always seem to prefer the bit of beach where dogs are allowed to the bit they aren’t then complain when a dog runs up to them!"

Listed as one of the 'issues' they have when they let the dogs off lead

I love dogs, though I've never had one, I'm a cat person really, but well behaved quiet reasonably small dogs are a joy, and so are their owners usually. It's the dogs with owners who can't be arsed to train them i feel sorry for, also really dislike men who have deliberately aggressive dogs and don't keep them on a lead in public spaces, see a lot of this in my neighborhood.

"My dog is very friendly and so does run up to people just to say hello."

But.... why would you assume that I, or others, would want to be 'run up to by your dog' so he can 'say hello'?

Train him out of this 'running up to strangers' and abandon this frankly bizarre assumption that everyone will be delighted.

I'm sure your dog is lovely. I love dogs. I still don't want them 'running up to say hello.'

I agree OP.
There are loads of great dog owners obviously but a load of selfish idiotic ones.
I’ve had dogs jump up at me a number of times and I have been knocked to the ground twice. Luckily I’m not elderly or unsteady on my feet but there isn’t much you can do when a dog launches into the back of your legs.
If people can’t control their dogs then they should keep the dogs on leads.
I also can’t stand people that let their dogs bark. It’s so selfish and lazy. An occasional bark is ok but anything more is annoying. Either people are lazy and selfish or they are incredibly thick for not realising how annoying their dogs are.
Ive a number of neighbours who let their dogs bark and bark every day. One person dog goes out in the garden and barks every single morning - it wakes me up every day. Selfish idiots.

Lots of dogs! U cannot get away from dogs anymore, they are everywhere. Even if your dog is friendly, we have no idea a random dog is friendly, I, and many other people do not want to be jumped on by them. Imagine if i let my toddler jump all over random people. I was in the Drs surgery a few weeks ago and someone had two small yappy dogs with them, one was running about. Eventually they were asked to put them outside, so the owner stood outside with them and kept shouting in to check if she had been called yet.

I think what a lot of dog owners don’t understand is that the reason dogs exist is down to their individual decision to get one. If you got a dog from a breeder, that breeder wouldn’t produce dogs if you and other owners didn’t decide you wanted one. If you rehomed a dog they dog would still be in a home or would have been PTS if you hadn’t decided to give the dog a home.

So that person walking through the park would be unaffected by dogs if you and other owners hadn’t made the decision to get one. Their enjoyment of the park shouldn’t be affected as a consequence of your lifestyle decision.

Where does this post say they allow their dogs to run up to people? Your frothing is getting in the way of your reading comprehension.

So many people - even those who own dogs - don't understand dog behaviour.

Dogs are not babies, or children. They're dogs. They need to be treated as dogs.

Dog training isn't like human parenting, so training a dog isn't about being "strict". It's about understanding your dog's needs, meeting their needs for physical exercise and mental stimulation, feeding them a good diet and being consistent with force free training. Force free positive reinforcement training takes a LOT of rinse and repeat work, but it is worth it and training builds a better bond with the dog than spoiling them. Most owners don't put the time in when their dogs are puppies and then they wonder why they have an adult dog with poor manners.

We have a rescue puppy who is almost 9 months now and he has a lot of bad habits from the previous stupid owners who took on a puppy they blatantly didn't have the capacity for, they had young children. They were "strict" - meaning they yelled at him and used to forcibly drag him by his collar instead of doing proper force free training, and they left him alone for long periods while young because they thought that would train him not to be needy, which again is not "strict", it's neglect, and it's given him separation anxiety. He can now spend 15 mins alone without whining and howling, which is progress.

Then the equally stupid foster home was permissive in dog ownership terms and allowed their children to roughhouse with him a lot. Undoing all this is taking a lot of work. As a large working breed dog he will be in adolescent phase until he is 2. Puppyhood lasts that long and most people also do not understand this, a dog may not look like a pup, but technically still will be.

There are some things you can train and others you can't. Dogs will pee where they want to pee, for example. You can train them to pee outdoors and not indoors, but you can't train a male dog to pee less frequently when out walking.

Of course people should be responsible for their dogs, just like their kids, the impact of their win behaviour etc but many people are selfish, thoughtless idiots so what can you do….

I do however wish people wouldn’t pet or encourage my dog though, really unravels the training when people are patting their legs to get her to come over and be fussed when you are teaching them not to do that.

Yanbu op. We have always had dogs and currently have 2. I have noticed a change over the years and definitely worse since Covid.Dogs left to basically run riot,owners have zero control,dog mess everywhere,aggressive owners. Ours are walked now in an area where we can see all around us so know what/ who is coming.Fed up with dogs running up to ours when ours are on leads and their owners are nowhere in sight.

One potential bit of good news on the way

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy0dxzz0pzro

All dogs should be on a lead in public unless it is a designated dog area which is fenced off and contained.

If you are allowing your dogs to run up to people then they need to be on a lead Or at an enclosed dog park.
People are allowed to walk wherever they want..

“Insist on going places where there are lots of dogs”

This is stunning!

I have to walk every day as I am rehabilitating an injury. It is impossible to describe how vulnerable you feel about a huge dog jumping up on you.

Dogs are, since Covid - everywhere! They’re so intrusive. I met up with an old friend recently and she brought her lab with her to the pub (!) it was bashing into my legs the whole time and when we were walking he had a piss on every building. It was horrendous but they’re not strict because he’s obviously “their baby”. We have neighbours whose tiny dog ysps constantly which is grim. Another lovely friend has a huge lab who she can’t control so I can’t walk with her; the psychology is so evidently self indulgent and the rest of us have no choice but to just avoid those people now or see them where they won’t bring the dog - I wonder where that could be? hospital? An operating room? A church? A five star restaurant? Give me strength for these people with their “PUPS” they are not pups for long.

Having a large dog who is ever out of control is like driving drunk ‘just this once’ an out of control dog is a weapon and should be treated like that & never ever be off the lead. If you can’t control a big dog it should immediately be removed from your care because you’re a menace to the community.

Responsible dog owners with well trained dogs don’t let them run up to people or jump on them. If your dog doesn’t have reliable recall, it should be on a lead or long line. This is as much for their safety as other people’s. It’s not acceptable for them to be running ahead out of your sight/recall in public spaces. It doesn’t matter if there are lots of dogs around or if they are friendly. They could end up approaching a reactive dog on a lead or someone who is frightened of dogs or worse, capable of giving them a kick if they approach them (not saying op would do this, but I have seen it happen).

Dog owner here. You do not let your dog off unless they have perfect recall. End of.

Our dog is a utility dog/ sled dog so needs loads of exercise, off leash running and ferreting around so DH tends to walk heras her as he has the best recall and can chase her if she’s being selective in her hearing! She’s pretty good and only runs up to people who seem interested in her (she’s a stunning dog so gets a lot of attention) I however can’t catch her so tend to keep her on a lead or take her to a dog paddock of DH is away.
I do feel there should be more dog areas where people who don’t want tone bothered by friendly dogs can avoid … unfriendly dogs should bee on a lead or muzzled IMO

Not unreasonable at all. It terrifies me as a parent too, that there are dog owners with no control of their dogs, no recall, no general awareness. I come from a family where we’ve had multiple dogs at all time, so I’m not anti dog.

I LOATHE people who own dogs that have the capacity to inflict life changing injuries on my child, who walk them while on their phone, with no awareness that the dog is leading them (pulling on the lead), on alert mode etc. such a person could not prevent their dog attacking a small child (which dogs can regard as threats and unpredictable).

when I have had my baby in the baby carrier, I’ve even had a strong bite force kind of dog lurch toward me, forcing me into a busy road (!) to escape it while the owner did …. nothing.

A few days ago, a man was walking his mastiff, at school pick up time, the dog tried to attack a little Pomeranian. The dog was in front of the man, significantly stronger than he was too. There’s no way he could hold it back if it wanted to pull away completely. I had to duck into an alley with my baby and toddler who were about to come 1-2 feet away from the dog.

When I turned back to check the dog had gone, I saw the man putting the muzzle on it ?! which he surely should have done BEFORE he left the house at school pick up time.

I've 3 rescue dogs and the younger two don't go off lead in busy public places because they are really sociable. Middle dog has good recall and will come back, but puppy doesn't yet. I'm also aware they're big and might seem scary running at full pelt towards someone. The older one doesn't really bother with other people or dogs much, just wants his ball. YANBU not to want random dogs running up to you.

I do think dog owners and non dog people need to be a bit more understanding and give each other a bit more grace. It's not unreasonable to expect dogs to be under control, but absolute perfection isn't always possible. Animals aren't people and aren't always 100% predictable, and even responsible owners can have lapses or a dog may respond in an unexpected way to something. Likewise, it's not reasonable to expect that everyone will love your dog and dog owners should respect that.

Dogs also have to be trained in real life situations. People often want to come and pet our rescue pup, but I always explain that we are training him not to jump up and please don't pet him until I've got him in a sit and calm. So many people don't listen and go pet him straight up anyway and then he jumps up. I've then had people moan that he isn't well trained, and I'm there just thinking I literally just told you he is being trained and you did the very thing I said not to, and you've actually reinforced the very behaviour I am trying to train him not to do!

This is such an ignorant post. People may be allergic to your dog. People may be mobile but have joint pain or conditions which mean they can’t move easily or are painful. People should be able to walk around without being jumped on.

We have very high energy dogs who have to be allowed to be off lead sometimes otherwise that energy can turn into bad behaviour. They’re extremely well trained but, of course, they’re dogs and not perfect. We live by the beach so walk them there regularly and have had lots of issues with other dog owners who let their dogs harass ours and for some crazy reason people always seem to prefer the bit of beach where dogs are allowed to the bit they aren’t then complain when a dog runs up to them! The other issue we have had though is parents who will allow their toddlers to approach our dogs when they’re on their lead. They have no idea if they’re friendly - luckily they are - but we’ve had a couple of toddlers hit our dogs. What would happen then if the dog retaliated?

We do take them in to cafes/pubs etc too and can hand on heart say our dogs are usually better behaved than most of the kids in there. They sit by us watching what’s going on but don’t make any noise or fuss and don’t leave any mess behind them!

I was going to say this, it was hammered home to us at puppy classes. Also it is basic etiquette but sadly a fair few dog owners seem unaware of this or just don’t care.

I'm amazed that you think total strangers would want to be greeted by your dog.

Well don’t let them off lead on narrow paths obviously! This is a YOU problem. You are the issue. Runners and cyclists are allowed to use paths without being impeded by your dog.