Man down the road intimidating my kids

[Malteser71]

Weird issue I know.

My children sometimes walk our dog. Like all dogs, he sometimes stops for a poo. They pick it up in a bag and bring it home, or dispose in a dog bin.

There a man a few roads away who comes out shouting at them if the dog stops for a poo on the edge of the local field opposite his house. It’s not somewhere he’d normally have a poo, but equally - if he needs a poo, he needs a poo.

He is of the opinion that dogs should be trained to poo in their gardens, or kept in the garden and never walked.

I know this because he’s been out intimidating me with the same issue and same opinion on several occasions. He literally thinks dogs should not be allowed out.

Over the weekend, he was out in the street shouting at my 12 year old daughter and she came home in tears. He’s very, very aggressive. My kids are very good, law abiding children, I’m getting increasingly fed up of this man intimidating them.

WWYD? I’m inclined to report him to the police for his behaviour. He’s quite threatening.

Could it be that they aren’t always picking it up? So many owners don’t bother if they think no one is around

You should.

Is it only women and children he hurls abuse at or does he do it to men?

Do you have to walk down his street? As well as asking local community police to have a word I'd be giving that street a miss if possible

Definitely ring the police for advice. You and your DC are most likely not the only ones he's intimidating and it's quite possible he's already on the police radar.

A grown man squaring up to a young girl? Not at all acceptable. And make sure to tell the police your daughter felt threatened and came home in tears. He needs his card marking!

It’s definitely not because they aren’t picking it up. He’s shouted at me when I’ve been standing there picking it up. We don’t have to walk that way, but it’s the most convenient way to walk, for lots of reasons, and I don’t want my girls thinking they have to avoid places.

Woukd I just speak to the PCSO?

So I’ve had this happen too with a man down the road (not about dogs but something similar). He does NOT try to intimidate men but unfortunately he didn’t reckon on me being sick to death of men. My daughter (9) came home saying he has shouted at her and her friend so I went to see him & explained that he was never to look or speak to my child again. I wasn’t pleasant in y delivery of this message and you what, I don’t care. He has been absolutely vile to me on the past but I am beyond tolerating this from men.

Of course you should call the police without delay.

Call the police.

Hopefully they will speak to him and warn him not to be a dick.

I'm 100% with you AgathaMystery. My patience for arsehole men is gone.

My neighbour tells me he’s intimidated him as well, so it’s not just women.

He’s quite old (70 ish) and I think people just put up with it, but it’s really not on

You should video him whilst he's doing it. That might stop him or at least serve as evidence.

What does he do and say?

I’d be going straight round there, knock on his door and tell him in no uncertain terms that if he shouts at my child again he will be reported to the police, he’s nothing but a bully, and it has to stop. Then I’d walk away. If he does repeat his behaviour, then I’d go to the police.

He comes out, comes up and shouts that the field is private property and we obviously can’t read the sign that says ‘private property.’ It’s an open field. . He then launches into a rant about how our dog should not poo outside our own garden, that dogs should not be allowed out.

This is a very calm dog on a lead. Who just needs a poo.

I'm with the going round and telling him in no uncertain terms to stop shouting at my dc brigade.
Your dc are not doing anything wrong and he should not be intimidating them
If it continued after that, I'd be calling the local pcso

I expect he is fed up of random dogs pooing near is house. Vile. Take your dog a different route.

Oh stop it, Viv!

Yes, @Malteser71 your PCSO should be abe to handle it quite easily.

If your dog poos there all the time, which it sounds as though it does, I think he may have a point. Is there really no way you can distract it with a biscuit do it poos a bit further on.

The shouting at kids isn't on, but this really could be avoided without it being a police matter.

If my child came home in tears and told me a man had shouted at her ( and I knew he had also done it to me previously) I would be at his door pronto.
I wouldn't be on MN asking for advice🤔
Get down to his door and tell him straight.

Go and knock and tell him he is behaving in a way that is threatening and intimidating and if he continues to do so you will be reporting to police.

It is an offence. Public order. As well as ASB.

I have a similar situation on our street. My father is disabled and likes to walk his dog down the street. There's a proper witch lives a few doors down and even if a dog stops to sniff out side her gate ( which is still on the public road) she comes out and abuses people. Police have been to her but she puts on the sweet old lady act and they swallow it. A few years back my father was away and I was walking his dogs and they stopped to sniff outside her house and she went off on me. I gave her a taste of her own medicine and lost the plot at her. She's never opened her mouth to myself or my father since.

I agree you go down there and give him what for. Even better if you take your DH or partner with you.

Bullies need to be stood up to and no way would I allow a grown man to shout at a child of mine.

I've also had enough of arsehole men. I respond very aggressively now to any off colour behaviour or comments.

Dogs often need to have a bit of a walk before they can have a poo and they like to have regular poo spots. As long as the poo is being picked up it doesn't matter where the dog is going.

My dog does not regularly poo in that spot (to the person who made that point). Perhaps every couple of months. Much prefers the privacy of the woods!

We live in an area where you never (or rarely) see dog poo - unlike where I work, where you really have to dodge it, gross - so I’m guessing that the nice folk round here, like me, pick up after their dog.

So I’m guessing also that the guy doesn’t have a problem of dog poo outside his house, or indeed across the road. I think he actually stands on the window waiting to intimidate people, as every time my dog has stopped there he appears. It’s irregular for us, but every single time.

He’s shouted twice at my daughter now. This is the first time he’s brought her to tears.

Looks like the PCSO surgery is the best way to deal with it.

Exactly the point I was saying, I can see why he doesn’t like it, it does sound annoying and honestly I doubt the kids are picking it up every single time, I’ve seen grown adults walk off and leave poo thinking no one is watching

You’re kind of judging my kids there. And me. Like I said, I’ve literally never seen a dog poo problem in our area.

I don’t think that imagining that I’m lying, or that he sees poo left there (when I don’t) is really justification for his behaviour. He actually just seems to be a bully who thinks he can behave any way he pleases.