Sick and tired of being jumped on by random dogs in the park

[strawberrycheesecakey]

So I walk every day in our local park. I can go at various times in the day but whenever I go there is always a dog walker or two there and 9 times out of 10 I will get a dog running up to me and putting its muddy paws all over me. It absolutely ruins my walk; I'm not a dog person and I don't want someone's muddy dog putting its paws all over me when I'm trying to have a quiet walk. I don't know why but I've never seen it happening to anyone else ! Dogs seem to go crazy when they see me. Whilst I'm not afraid of dogs and don't mind them being in public places, I really don't want them coming and jumping at me, wanting to play, running themselves against my legs etc. if I wanted that I would have a dog of my own! The owners are usually apologetic and I can get irritated and ask them to keep their dog on always if it can't be trusted. But it's always a different dog every time.

How do I stop random dogs from approaching me in the park? It's starting to completely put me off going for a walk!

But not the end of the world either though I'm sure you have always acted impeccably

Well I don't generally jump up at random people, no.

Look if your dog jumps up then just have it on a lead.

My dog is 4 years old and has only ever done it about 3 times and that was when she was a pup I walk her twice a day and have not been jumped up on in a long time maybe it's your scent attracting them.

Ha ha but then your not a dog though are you ? I'm sure you have done other things

As I stated the dog could be over excited etc and might not normally jump up so unless it's a constant problem then leave it alone

Humans and dogs don't get equal rights.

TBH I think half the issue here is that dog owners think that they should.

The rights of human people to walk around without dogs jumping up at them trump the rights of dogs to walk around not on the lead.

There's really no excuse. If your dog jumps up, is human or dog aggressive, or doesn't have perfect recall, then it needs to be on a lead.

Also if I'm a random stranger walking along and a random dog jumps up at me how am I meant to know or care if it usually does it or not?!

How about NO maybe you need a muzzle

@Melacke76 if you think it's not the end of the world then imo it's showing that you have absolutely no understanding of the upset that a jumping sniffing dog has on a person who is afraid of the dog. Say for instance the person jumped out into the road to avoid your jumping dog and twisted their ankle, or ended up being hit by a car - it could be the end of their world.

Bit of an over reaction from being sniffed or jumped on if it was coming toward you barking growling etc then I could understand you might be scared I had some Asian woman scream and run away the other day my dog only walked past her and she was on a lead 🙄

Personally I think the owners should be charged with assault if their dogs lick/bite/touch another person in any way/shape/form. Society wouldn’t tolerate another human doing these things, why should those who don’t like dogs have to succumb to dog assaults every time they take a walk or run in their local park? Might focus the owners’ minds a bit!

I wonder what her being Asian had to do with it? 🤔

Says a lot about the kind of person excusing shitty behaviour from dogs and their owners, if they think that's something about a person that needs mentioning in this context.

Mind you that particular person couldn't even write a coherent sentence so not really unexpected.

Water spray or pepper spray if that not working

I live on a lovely road (supposedly private) so everyone with a dog walking up and down it with a dog or otherwise who is not a resident is already a rule breaker and trespasser. There are clear signs but still they come and come and come. I scoop up waste regularly from my verge - which is a massive grass area and opposite is a 200 acre wood so you can see why it is dog walker heaven. People are saying those of us who don't like dogs must be making up dogs touching up - that is not true. Dogs regularly do this - not all but some and we even had one in my garden about 3 weeks ago - the owner came into my garden. I said my son would bring it to her (he likes dogs) and I made sure he shut the back door as it was trying to enter my house. It might have had a very cute face but that did not stop the trouble it caused. My son helped it find its trespassing owner who returned to her trespassing dog walk up the private road.

When I go out each morning with waste and into the street I have a large plastic container so I use that as a barrier against the dogs and put it in front of my legs making a mind of 3 foot barrier in case they get close. One dog walker in the woods with 7 dogs even caused or a dog did biting my adult daughter's bottom right through not just the leggings but the knickers under neath which had holes in after the attack in the woods opposite. All she did was jog in the woods. I would like to ban dogs from the woods entirely. Of course the professional dog walker did not offer to pay for new leggings and underwear. That is just one of many many incidents over the years.

Ñot a dog jumping up at me but a man with a Dobermann got on the bus and I just knew they would sit in front of me. He manoeuvered the dog so it was half sitting half standing so he was looking at me. His face really inches from me! actually like Dobies but I did not know this one and it was a bit of an uncomfortable journey.

This is why I prefer cats!!!

And then what do you do when the dog owner takes umbridge because you have dared to spray their fur baby, wrestles you to the ground and pepper sprays you?
Horrible dogs tend to have horrible owners, that's why I'm not keen on challenging either.

I really can’t see why all pet dogs shouldn’t be required to be on short leads at all times in public places

I definitely think they should be in certain areas like narrow pathways (alleyways, canal towpaths, pavements on busy roads) where you can't get away easily. I always peer down our canal towpath to see if there are any off-lead dogs before I run down it, but of course I can't see round corners, so I just have to hope there won't be any further down.

In parks I don't think it would be that difficult to have fenced off areas where dogs could run around off lead.

The problem is you get very entitled dog owners who won't obey the rules anyway, like letting their dog into fenced off play areas.

I agree. Any sort of touch or lick is a bit over the top, but I definitely think pursuing them for assault would concentrate the minds of the ones who always say "he won't hurt you" when he's knocked someone off their bike and they have a broken collar bone.

People go on about cyclists being licensed and insured, I think all dogs should be licensed (to pay for dog wardens) and their owners should have compulsory insurance to pay for injuries the dog causes. The burden on the NHS is increasing - we hear about the serious incidents where someone is killed by dogs, but not all the lesser incidents which take up medics' time.

owners should have compulsory insurance to pay for injuries the dog causes. The burden on the NHS is increasing - we hear about the serious incidents where someone is killed by dogs, but not all the lesser incidents which take up medics' time
I'm in favour of compulsory insurance, although it's difficult to see how it could be monitored and enforced?