There are far too many dogs in the UK

[habibihabibi]

I am a huge dog lover but dog ownership is out of hand.
Growing up, dogs were the exception rather than the norm.

In the past dogs were..
Working dogs and nippy little raters,
on farms or in the countryside where they could be active throughout the day.
Or
In town or city houses, the odd mid sized low energy doggies with at least one adult at home e.g parent or retired person and a garden.
Or
If in small cottages or flats, small dogs.

People who didn't have time for dogs didn't have one.

They thought long and hard about whether they could afford, exercise and had the lifestyle for a dog and not pick one up off Gumtree..

They did not leave dogs alone for hours getting bored, lonely and aggrevated.

They did not have to sub out dog walking to someone who has so many dogs to exercise that one or more maul her to death.

They did not get a dog if they couldn't afford it because they are costly and time consuming.

They trained their dog using a book or going to kennel clubs.

Shelters housed lost dogs ( whose owners came and got them) and poor dogs whose owners had died or went into care not dogs that people couldn't be bothered looking after anymore.

Far too many, absolutely everywhere inc. food places & every single owner without fail says don't worry they're friendly (yes Bob, but I still don't want them jumping at me with muddy paws)
Dogs & owners should be licensed & have to attend compulsory training & public liability insurance.
I am so distressed that my office is going to be running a dogs in the office trial - not therapy dogs, or getting an office dog that becomes part of the company family just Jim from the workshop's jack Russell & Jo from Marketing's pitbull. Waiting to see the details but I can't see a way in which it is appropriate. We're a large multinational not a single office everyone knows everyone's pets anyway kinda place.

Dogs did these things in the past, just without the owner there which was far more scary.
I did used to love the excitement when a dog got into school though 🤣

I agree with the op and it is supported by statistics because I’ve looked into it. Dog ownership has increased significantly and is the highest it has ever been. Also dog attacks requiring hospital treatment - there are stats on that and it has also increased. Most injuries are on young children. I hate the dog culture. Dogs are everywhere there is no escape. We don’t bring our other pets out to restaurants and pubs and cafes so why dogs? Parks are primarily for dogs now -and the children are fenced off in small areas . In other countries it’s the other way round, there are dog parks and the rest of the main park is for humans.

The dog-worship in this country is so weird.

I have French family so understand the worship but the dogs in France are much better behaved!

Nothing is never all. But as I dodge shit all over the pavement on the school run with my 8 children and shouts of watch the poo multiple times you can probably understand why that caveat was missing!

Me too @Banbigdogs2023 my toddler is now scared of them because of the amount that come bounding up to her, then when I stand in between her and them or pick her up I get the slightly offended 'oh he's very friendly' yes I can see that but I still don't want your dog licking my child's face, plus 'friendly dogs' are the reason she's terrified of them. How about a bit of consideration for others and how your dog might make them feel rather than this apparent blanket expectation that everyone loves dogs and enjoys being jumped on by them or otherwise accosted.

If you don’t have a garden, don’t get a dog!

If you don't have time for one, can't be with it much don't get one either

Also you can’t picnic anywhere near a lake without some dog going into the lake and then coming out shaking water into your sandwiches while some cheery lady smiles likes she’s proud that her dog has ruined your picnic (because she’s friendly) and doesn’t even apologise when you have to say something.

Same here, my 6 year old does not like them one bit. He used to scream in terror and try to climb me like a tree.

He has gotten a bit better with some hard work because he can't do that every time a dog walks past, but people just don't seem to appreciate that some people just don't like dogs. A lot of them are bigger than him! (he's small for 6)

I do agree with this. I dont understand why you would get a dog if both adults work full time out of the house. A cat would be a much more suitable pet.

The past was not some golden age of dog ownership in working class areas. People used to bring them home from pubs after buying them for a few quid. There used to be dogs about the streets on their own without owners anywhere.

100% this has happened to me . Too many dogs

Can I sideline?
Obviously far more people have dogs and cats. Does the same apply for other pets? When I was young, lots of people had budgies and tortoises, in fact it was the norm. And also rabbits, guinea pigs and hamsters. I wonder how pet owning behaviour shifts.

I can remember a horse once getting in the playground (early 90s) and the teachers didn't know what to do. In the end a pupil who was obsessed with horses (she was a traveller and lovely person) calmed it down. We had dogs in the playground too, at the time very funny but looking back not so.

With dogs, we need owners to know how to train dogs and give the pets adequate attention. I see people with no idea. I love that programme where people are told how to stop their dog misbehaving. It amazes me how clueless some are. Letting a little dog rule the roost. I love dogs but it's head over heart. I won't get one. I think they are unpredictable and I couldn't deal with the pooing,eating poo and all the rest that comes with a dog.

There are definitely loads of dogs everywhere and lots of people with more than one dog. However, I remember the dangerous dogs act in the 90s which followed followed concern over the number of dog attacks on children. Going back further, I remember dogs roaming around by themselves which was scary and dog muck everywhere which you don't see so much now. Things weren't ideal then either.

I do think people get dogs without thinking too much about it. I also agree that importing rescue dogs from other countries is ridiculous when there are so many unwanted here.

I've got a colleague who wants to get a dog now we can WFH 3 days a week. She lives in a flat without a garden and she explained the dog would probably be alright in a cage for the 2 days she's in the office when asked. Luckily she had second thoughts. A lot of people just want a cuddly ball of fluff when it suits them.

Ahh there's nothing quite like a good old fashioned pair of rose tinted glasses.

"Back in my day..."

Again this is irritating and an example of ignorant owners but you're not citing this as the genuine norm are you? It was a one off bad experience?

I think the pandemic made things worse. People got puppies because they were bored. Puppies were badly socialised / trained and now everything is back to normal they’re dumped in rescues.

Also puppy mill dogs and backyard breeders are hideous.

I say this with a rescue mutt sleeping on my foot- what a cutie!

I can remember in the early 90s my sister got bit by a free roaming alsation. My sister got told off for being near him as it was well known he was a biter. Now the dog would be put down quite rightly. There are a lot more rules and regulations now which is better.

My parents live next door to a person who still lives like hes in the 80s and when his dogs get sick (yes he has many) he just takes them outside and shoots them. I for one do not want to return to this behaviour... drowning puppies in bags and shooting dogs in backgardens. Dog ownership is getting better.

I also think the rehoming from other countries should be banned.

I grew up in the 70s/80s and almost all my friends had a dog- as did we. A lot of dogs just roamed off lead with the kids (ours didn’t- we walked him on the beach).

I think dogs are more reactive now because they’re always on lead. They feel trapped when another dog approaches them, if they aren’t confident enough in their owner.

Interestingly, when we holiday in Funchal, the dogs roam in a similar way to how they used to in the U.K. when I was a child. I’ve never seen a dog fight there, and we’ve spent a lot of time there.

Sadly, a lot of dogs are now bred to be status symbols, rather than the better natured mongrels we all had, so dog temperaments are different too. We can’t go back to those days where fewer dogs were problematic (some still were)- things have changed too much. We need more confident owners now. There should be compulsory dog training and licensing.

If people want a wfh pet I can't recommend fish highly enough. My betta fish is such a sweety, he's like a water puppy.

Some of what you have said in your op is entirely contrary to my experience. Perhaps it depends on where and when you grew up.

I grew up in the 80s when it was very much the norm to have a dog. most were mongrels - there was nothing of the middle class obsession with pedigree and most were not paid for at all. People have puppies away and the breeding industry was limited to a small bunch of eccentrics whom we viewed as snobs in the pedigree Kennel Club set. Most tookthemselves for walks, it was very common to have stray dogs roaming the streets and piles of dog muck baking on the streets were everywhere.

I will agree that certain breeds are very much more common - bulldogs of any form used to be very rare. Those animals are bred as fighting animals, and we all know or should that excessive breeding for pedigrees means trouble. Why have they become so common? Because Britain has become a disgusting culture of status symbols, and the chosen status symbol is one that perpetuates aggression and bullying. Those being the only values that Britain has nowadays.

Your problem op is not with dogs as such but with the culture around them: with particular breeds and the values that underlie their selection.

People gave puppies away. Stop trying to think for me, machines, you can’t do it!

I remember a dog coming onto the school field during the 1976 hot summer. It was a very friendly border collie. It played with us, running around having a real old game until teachers spotted it and shooed it away. I became obsessed with having a dog after that. My first dog at 21 was a collie x spaniel.

I would be interested in the stats around the % of dog attacks against the size of the dog population and the relative % in the 70s. I wonder if it is all relative.

The biggest negative environmental impact is made by humans, climate change ?

Go into any A&E on a weekend. You will see the outcomes of badly bred creatures, untrained, feral..the humans.

That said, I do agree that as dog owners, we have a responsibility to ensure our dogs are well cared for and controlled. We do need to remember that dogs are not machines. Training is great, but they are sentient beings with brain they think they do what works for them and use dog reasoning, not human.