Dogs off leads everywhere!

[Peterbear]

Did dogs used to just be on leads more or am I just getting old and intolerant,? Literally everywhere we go for a walk, outdoor swim , park,cafe the place is swarming with dogs off leads. Great if the owner is 'switched on' and aware but really bloody horrible to be licked/sniffed/trampled on/food wrecked if you really don't like them and owner just oblivious. It seems standard now to not have them on a lead.Anyone know why?
If one more person says 'oh they're friendly' I honestly think I will trample on their picnic/ lick their face/sniff their genital s and say 'on well so am I' .Rant over.really pisses me off though.

Dogs are off lead in our local park (the field but, not the flowery bit) year round.

They dogs are behaving no differently now in the summer than they do the rest of the year

I am utterly sick of picnickers making impossible for dogs to be let off (because no, we don't want them eating unknown human food) - not just when the people are there, but also the chocolate, chicken bones and grapes/raisins which get left behind.

Remember, the dog walking regulars see it as their park, just as much as you do. And as they are there year round, possibly more so.

And I’m with pp, regular dog walkers probably take far more care of parks and public areas as they use them all year round

Plenty of people use parks and public areas all year round - walkers, runners, cyclists, people out with their kids, local community groups - and take good care of these areas. Dog owners don't have the moral high ground or any more right to those spaces than others, and they certainly don't 'earn' the right to inflict their dogs on others just because they pick up some litter (any more than any other user has the right to inflict their behaviour on others because they pick up litter or use the space regularly)

Three ponies and their riders were chased on a bridle way locally the other day, two ponies and riders (one a child) went into the brook. Huge rescue operation to get the ponies out and the child could have drowned because her pony was panicking. All caused by a dog off lead.
If you can’t guarantee total recall and best behaviour, your dog shouldn’t be off lead around other people or animals.

I knew someone would say 'live and let live' .I kind of get that but also no I wont because it's bloody horrible I hate being slobbered on.

@Simbacatisback

Live and let live

As a dog walker I pick up the debris from the picnicers and BBQs and drinkers every morning- 365 days a year- rain and shine. Without us you would probably be sitting in a field of detritus.

My dog does the walk 365 days a year- very occasionally on a sunny day there are people sitting on the grass.

Everyone has a right to use the park- not just fair weather visitors.

This. I walk my dogs every day, twice a day, rain and shine. The crap that's being left all over the parks and fields by picnickers is doing my head in. I'm part of a local litter action group so have the kit to pick it up, but it really pisses me off. I don't start threads about it though.

@Simbacatisback no lol but they looked like they should have been.They were stunning.

What I particularly don't like is walking in the countryside where dog walkers think their dog has more rights than me. If your dog bounds up to me and barks, they are not under your control, even if you then reluctantly recall them (assuming your dog even has recall).
Keep your dog under control if other people are around and don't let them both other people. Easy really.

*bother

And don't get me started on the superior rights of dogs at the seaside, with humans being relegated to big toys to chase, jump at and bark at.

We have plenty of dogs off the lead in my area at the lake/fields.
Never had a bad encounter tbh, I walk with my 2 year old and they always recall and put on the lead until we're past, I always thank them!

I let my dog off lead all the time. He has recall. Dogs without recall piss me off. Like a lot of things.

Fenton

@Elderflower2016

Fenton

😂😂😂😂 Love this video

Fenton was not funny in the slightest - he jumped on some of the deer and bit a couple of them on their backs. I'm glad the owner was banned from walking him in the park. Dog attacks on deer in Richmond Park (and the other Royal parks) have significantly increased with deer being killed or injured while their owners have no control over them whatsoever

@Simbacatisback

Live and let live

As a dog walker I pick up the debris from the picnicers and BBQs and drinkers every morning- 365 days a year- rain and shine. Without us you would probably be sitting in a field of detritus.

My dog does the walk 365 days a year- very occasionally on a sunny day there are people sitting on the grass.

Everyone has a right to use the park- not just fair weather visitors.

And its always dog walkers who find dead bodies, which saves on police time and cost

Yes and it's horrendous. My dog can't handle dogs off leads and it makes every outing difficult for us. Doesn't matter how nice or well behaved their dogs are, ours isn't and if it gets too close there will be a problem

Hmmm maybe they had more freedom in the 'olden days' I honestly couldn't say.But I think there's been a culture shift in that dogs aren't really seen as animals anymore more the new Dalai Lama by some people. I do have dog owner friends who ' get' that not everyone likes being slobbered on/mauled so keep them on leads. Is it seen as cruel now not to let your dog be free and to keep it on a lead?? Also well done to anyone picking up litter I applaud you and do same.I hate litter almost as much as slobbery dogs tbh.🙂

Agree that dogs were more free range in the 70’s. One of our friends had a lovely golden retriever and he knew the way to our house and would come and visit. It was a 15 min journey by car! We’d just say go home after a while and he’d bugger off! We knew all the local dogs wandering about and the houses they came from but not really their owners. I got bitten once by a free range Doberman pincher by accident playing with him and just went to my doctor neighbour ( not the dog owner) who gave me a tetanus jab in his kitchen, no one mentioned it

I am a dog owner and agree with you OP. My dog has good recall, if I call her she comes back and I can easily call her away from other dogs and people. It took quite a lot of effort and time to train her like this and I reiterate her training all the time. But in my eyes that's what responsible owners do.
I spent 30 minutes the other day waiting for a man to try and catch his dog because it had pinched my dogs ball and we wanted it back. In the end I asked him if he was unable to call his dog back to him and he said he couldn't and his dog just wouldn't do as it was told. Just so inconsiderate. I've also had dog owners shout at me to stand still so their dog stops following us, My reply is always that it's their dog they should be giving the command to not me!

All those free range dogs in the 80's shitting all over the place and no owner in sight to pick it up 🤢

Yes there was a lot of dog shit in the 70’s and white too

As a dog walker I pick up the debris from the picnicers and BBQs and drinkers every morning- 365 days a year- rain and shine. Without us you would probably be sitting in a field of detritus

Yep. I agree! Also the polystyrene take away cartons thrown on the grass and path about 5 steps away from the bin 😕

Not to mention the mass clean up of beaches by dog walkers, every morning, all through the Summer months (whenever we get enough sun to bring the masses out - to throw their rubbish everywhere)!

But let’s blame dogs and their owners for al the Worlds problems 😵‍💫

There were so few dogs compared to nowadays though, they weren’t roaming all over the place. In fact, can’t remember dogs free roaming in the 70s and 80s, anyone I knew who had a dog (and they were few and far between) were walked as they are nowadays

You’re not wrong. It’s become almost unbearable this summer. I’m so fed up of dogs and their owners ruining public spaces. Yes I know people can be arseholes too and leave litter and that also infuriates me but I’ve never yet been showered with another person’s saliva while their friend runs along weakly behind them telling me “he’s friendly!” Or had a random stranger run up and start rooting through my picnic. Or had to clean human shit off my DC’s scooter wheels.

However because I don’t go to the park 74 times a day in all weathers that doesn’t entitle me to expect to be able to take my DC to the playground without them being terrified by some smelly, slobbering large mutts, apparently.

On all these threads you get extremely defensive dog owners, nobody is personally accusing YOU

It isn't even the dogs. Intrusive, entitled OWNERS with allegedly "friendly" dogs are increasingly a problem and it must be increasing and it must be national because this is about the third thread in as many weeks.