Sick to death of dogs

[SwordToFlamethrower]

Went to the beach today with dh and dd1.

Got jumped on by a dog off its lead. Owner said "oh. Sorry"

Two dogs ran up to us and started growling and snapping at me and dd who was playing on the sand.

Another dog ran up to us, had no idea what it's intentions were!

All off lead, all owners using their baby voices "don't do that Fido darling!"

Dog shit bags everywhere despite their being loads of bins and even free dog bags!

Absolutely so fed up of entitled dog owners and their nasty little dogs.

I'm sick of dogs too op. A stupid woman let her puppy run around a pub play area yesterday and had no clue his to control it. It hurt my 5 year old and I confronted her. No apology or anything, just 'he was just playing'. No he was NOT just playing, he scratched my son on the face and now he has a mark on his face and is crying his eyes out! I told her all this and made her apologise. She reluctantly did but there was no sincere remorse, she didn't ask if ds was ok or anything, just kind of skulked off. It's infuriating!

I just think there are too many of them. Anecdotally growing up rurally in the 80s only a few “doggie” families had dogs. It was quite a notable thing to have one. Now in my broad friendship group in a small city most families we know have a dog - only a minority don’t. Most of my parents retired friends have them too. It’s mental.

Certainly not a dog hater just pretty indifferent to them can see many people love them and that’s a good thing. Just don’t want them encroaching on me though that’s where my generosity ends.

I was jumped on by dogs and my dd and me were snapped at by another 2. What part of that makes me out of order?

Mumsnet: If you don't want you or your 1 year old to be attacked and growled at by dogs, try never going out! Because children are awful anyway!

Hang your heads in shame.

These are dogs that were off lead, out of control, and had zero recall, but the answer is that I must be either lying or we should avoid areas where dogs are present.

So I can't take my own kids to a day out at the park, the beach or even a fucking cafe then?

Sure. Right.

When I was 6, I was pushed into a park pond by a dog and had to be rescued from drowning.

Was that my fault for being an annoying kid who should have stayed home?

They were snapping at my 14 month old baby. What a nasty comment. Shame on you

I used to very much like dogs but as iv gotten older I think dog owners have changed and I avoid dogs now. I just think it's the lack of respect for anyone else's space. They think there dog is so adorable everyone should just put up with their dog.
I don't remember dog owners being so inconsiderate. Also dogs being so badly trained or not at all.
Im certainly not scared of dogs even big dogs but I highly dislike being jumped at especially when they have wet paws. Sniffing to come say hello I don't see as an issue well not for me but when someone is visibly upset/scared it doesn't matter if your dog is friendly you should act accordingly and call the dog away. Have to say in the summer you see dogs on beaches ect but the owners are either soo far behind or chatting and just not paying attention to where there dog is. It is really annoying and not fair on ppl who don't want to have to interact with a dog.

Sat on the beach, looking at pebbles. Two sausage dogs ran upto us and started snapping and growling at us. But sure, I'm a liar.

Oh God could your posts be any more patronising? It's not your job to tell people off. 'Shame on you.. hang your head in shame.. ' no I'm good thanks.

I've noticed an increase in the numbers of dogs being walked by an owner/ walker at a time. 2-3 is pretty common, but 4-5 is not that unusual. It just becomes unmanagable to ensure good control of all dogs at any given moment when there's too many.

Another problem is owners not paying much attention to their dog/s, often involving a phone. When I was jumped up and scratched a few months ago, the owner responded to her growling dog and me sternly saying "down" by continuing her phone call and grasping ineffectively for the dog single-handedly. About 5 years ago I was jumped up and scratched by a dog's teeth. The owner barely looked up from his phone to give a limp "sorry". I suppose I should be grateful that he didn't have a go at me like a few others have done when I've challenged their dog's behaviour and made outrageous suggestions like putting it on a lead.

Sometimes it's owners being sociable with each other and not paying attention to their collection of dogs.

Another factor is the "it's not the breed" mentality. Dogs have been bred for different purposes and too many people get dogs with the wrong energy level for their lifestyle/ homes. There's a lot of Cockerpoo types near me and the spaniel genes need to burn a lot of energy and small suburban yards and busy parks filled with other users are not great for burning that energy off without disruption.

Maybe dog are less likely to bother other dog walkers- they approach the dog not the human. I get less bother now my children are older and bigger. Dogs had more interest when they were little. The consequence of dogs in faces and being pushed around, and sticks being taken out of hands is that one child is nervous but can tolerate calm dogs, and the autistic child just loathes dogs completely. It's taken years of training to get my children to stand still and be quiet so the dog loses interest, and overcome the fear reaction of squeal and run that dogs and their unsocialised idiot owners interpret as being playful.

Feckless owners are a public nuisence to the dog-free and the responsible owners that also get tarnished, or endure unwelcome advances.

Dog friendly means dogs are tolerated, not that owners can abdicate from their responisbilities or that people not accompanied by dogs are excluded or should be approached.

I don't hate dogs. I like well-trained dogs that are under control, and their responsible owners.

It isn't a dog beach, are you on crack? It's a beach and it was busy with dog walkers and families alike.
I live at the seaside ffs

Dog beach 🤣

I own three dogs and I completely agree with the OP. Dog owners over here always sound like gun owners in America to me. I take them to an enclosed dog run (that I pay £10 an hour for) or they are always on the lead. Whilst they are tiny dogs and I would not think they would ever hurt anyone, I would never take the risk. But you are on a losing argument here OP. People think they have a right to own a 70-100lb dog that can maim or kill an adult let alone a child and let it run around off lead. And if your child is scared so what? Your fault for having a pathetic whiney child or actually having a child at all.

It is exactly like the gun owners mentality.

How do dog owners sound like gun owners?

That's very unusual for a dog to come up to you and start growling and snapping at you whilst you're sat minding your own business on an open beach. Did you mean that the two dogs were growling at each other? If a dog, let alone 2 started to attack me whilst I was sat down with a vulnerable toddler next to me, I would have immediately confronted the owners, taken photos of the dogs and reported to the police.

Replace the word ‘gun’ in any argument made by gun owners with ‘dog’ and you will see what I mean. For example:

It is not guns that kill people, it is irresponsible owners

It is the parents fault for not teaching children how to be safe around guns

I am a responsible gun owner. It is irresponsible owners that are the problem.

I need a big gun for safety.

I just like owning guns.

For big dog owners, the arguments are similar for Americans who want to own semi automatic rifles. ‘They are fun’ ‘I love how they look’ ‘They make me feel safe’

Oh FFS, dog owners being compared to gun owners now? I've heard it all now.

If you choose to own an animal that was selectively bred to be able to harm another animal or a human then the analogy to guns fits.

🙄 most dogs don't kill anything. They are usually happy to do their own thing. But yeah I get it, some people think every dog running around is actually running towards them- it's a fear reaction.

And if some people want to treat them as their babies, just nodd and smile.

9000 dog attacks that resulted in hospital admissions last year. Over 3000 were emergencies.

Oh and at least 99.98% of guns in the USA will never be involved in a shooting. So most guns don’t kill anyone

This sums it up really!

I agree with you people are far too obsessed with dogs. I can't stand it. I took my cat to the vet recently and even there dogs take priority. "Oh my dog does not like cats or children, oh dear would you mind hiding round the corner while my dog passes through" Said dog was a Labrador ffs, not some poor helpless poodle. It really is truly pathetic, people really have lost the plot.

Same. I hate it now (was a dog owner for 20+ years)

That's very unusual for a dog to come up to you and start growling and snapping at you whilst you're sat minding your own business on an open beach.

Unusual? How could you possibly know that? I don't go to the beach much, but swap beach for park and I can categorically assert that it has happened to me a few times. And I'm just one person. But maybe I looked at the dog the wrong way. Or my sandwich was just too tempting. Or I spoke to my child too loudly. Pick an excuse. There's always an excuse.