Bloody nightmare dog walk this morning, literally got screamed at

[Whatabloodyday]

Out walking in the park with my 3 dogs, offlead, as I do every morning.

Bumped into someone I knew so stopped and chatted for a few minutes, dogs sat by my side as they always do.

A lady comes down the path and literally starts screaming and jumping about, I wish I was exaggerating, so my younger dog (tiny breed, only 2kg) got up to see what the fuss was about, she got about a metre away from me before I called her back and popped her on lead. The other 2 never moved (they are large breeds) so I didn't feel the need to putbthem on lead since they didn't move an inch.

This woman started screaming at me to keep my dogs under control and get them away from her. 2 were sat right at my feet and didn't move, and one went a metre away before I got her on lead because I saw the lady was scared.

I told her to just keep walking, my dogs were all under control, and she did, I waited until she was well ahead and took the pup offlead again and carried on.

10 minutes later a man came up and started shouting at me, I couldn't really make out what he was saying to start with, but then I saw the lady again a little further down.

She had told her husband (I presume) that my dogs had jumped all over her and she was terrified and I did nothing about it. They were nowhere near her, not even the pup who got up, she was still a good few metres away from the lady by the time I got her on lead.

Because he was screaming at me and close my dogs stood in front of me, so I went to put them on lead, went to move away from him then slipped because he was following me still shouting, while I was trying to explain I did nothing wrong and my dogs weren't near her at all.

I hurt my knee, the couple went off laughing, my dogs were stressed.

While walking away the guy took photos of me and my dogs, and I'm really scared he's going to put them online, I can't have my photo online.

They arent local to here, I think they are tourists from a different country so I won't have to encounter them too much again thankfully.

Just an absolute shit show honestly. It was awful and now I'm scared that my photo and location is going to be online.

I have trained my dogs so well, everyone we encounter says how well behaved they are, and I am a considerate and responsible owner, so why this woman felt the need to fabricate something that never happened in order to get her husband to shout at me I don't know.

It was scary at the time, and I'm scared about the photos now, and my bloody knee hurts.

Too early for a vodka?

Urgh what a horrid experience! They sound dreadful, how's your knee?

Aw am so sorry. What a horrible experience. Your dogs sound very well trained. Was the other person you were chatting with still with you? I bet most locals would vouch for you that your dogs are well trained. Probably a bit too early for vodka, maybe with lunch? 😂

That's so horrible, @Whatabloodyday . Last thing anyone needs. Cant imagine in what context he could get them seem much online, especially if not local.

Hope you can have a relaxing evening and forget about such stupid people.

1. It’s never too early for vodka.
2. Your dogs sound lovely.
3. Intimidation, which is what they were doing for whatever reason, should always be reported to 111. They were taking photos of you which is really really weird.
4. Enjoy the vodka!

I can pretty much guarantee that someone would have security footage of this. Why don’t you knock on some doors around where she was shouting at you and where you fell and ask? Then you have proof.

They sound nuts.

Hope your knee is okay?

I have to ask, were you in a park where dogs have to be on leads? Our park has signs up. Just because you do it every day, doesn’t mean it’s ok.

You have two large breeds - if she has a fear and had a legitimate expectation that dogs would be on leads, would that explain it? You know your dogs - she doesn’t.

If dogs don’t have to be kept on leads - ok, OTT from her. But if they do, then try to see her pov?

Contact the police and report the harassment and intimidation. If they are doing it to every dog walker the police will be able to build a good picture and timeline of them. If you see them again and they start on you then mention you've already made a police report about them - they will soon leave you alone.

Thanks all.

My knee is pretty swollen, gives me an excuse to sit with my feet up tonight I guess 🤣

There won't be security footage unfortunately, it was in the middle of a massive park, although the person I was speaking to would be witness to the fact my dogs were nowhere near the woman.

The area I was in was in the dog walking area of the park. There is a section where dogs aren't allowed, but as she isn't local I don't suppose she would know that and possibly couldn't read the signs.

We were nowhere near her and not paying attention to her at all until she started jumping and screaming. There were several paths she could have taken that avoided walking past us at all as well.

I totally get phobias, and how irrational they can be, but why she went back to this guy and blatantly lied I'll never know.

I'm not even on social media so lord knows if anything will be uploaded on Facebook groups or whatever.

Some people are crazy. I was once walking my dog on a big patch of land, where dogs don’t have to be on leads, when this woman about 80ft away started screeching at the top of her lungs ‘omg that dog’s not on a lead, put him on a lead, put him on a lead’. Then her daughter who was about 6 starts joining in, screaming/crying ‘mummy the dog, the dog is not on a lead’ They were both hysterical at this point. Crazy.
My dog is a very mild mannered shih tzu.

Try to put it out of your mind, OP. Nowt so queer as folk, as they say.

Are any of your dogs quite popular breeds? Just wondering if earlier on she was approached by a different off lead dog, which looked very similar to one of yours. To someone who isn't into dogs all black labradors or all apricot cockerpoos for example probably look identical.

That sounds horrible, I’m sorry you had to deal with that. Those people sound vile.

None of my dogs are popular around here at all, all 3 are unusual breeds. Unless she's been elsewhere and had a bad experience with one of them and had a flashback or something. As I say I do sympathise with phobias, if a spider came hurtling towards me I would be off. The issue I have is with her lying to her husband(?) when I literally did nothing at all.

Tabitha I cannot imagine getting freaked out by a shih tzu at all, no wonder the kid started kicking off if the mum was like that too. You're right though, nowt as queer as folk.

Glad its the weekend and I can rest my knee a bit, its nice and swollen now. On the plus side I am getting continual cups of tea from my teenagers, might push my luck for a sympathy fish finger sandwich too 🤣

Wow vodka and fish finger sarnie ❤️ Can I come to your house please when I've had a bad day? Aw hope your knee feels better soon xxx

Of course, I meant call 101 🙄.
( 111 if your knee gets worse!) but hope you’re feeling better now.

I would definitely report it to 101. It sounds to me like she was deliberately antagonising your dogs. Give the police details of the person who witnessed the event, and full descriptions of both the man and the woman.

If you have a local dog owners or area group on social media, you could also post in there anonymously if you wish - perhaps just a brief overview saying you had a strange experience, woman came screaming at you and your dogs (who didn’t move and/or approach her), and then you were approached by a male who was intimidating.

I wonder if they have done this before/may do it again? Call me cynical but it seems more than just anxiety around dogs.

Sorry that happened. Next time anything remotely similar happens get your phone out and start recording immediately. Or if you're worried clip a go pro on for dog walks.

Oh god they sound awful. Entitled and insane.

It sounds like you can’t be on social media, I’d get people to look out on certain local groups and if it comes up request the admin pulls the post. How unfair if they do, but they probably won’t, they were probably just trying to intimidate you. Horrible people.

Same thing happened to me a couple of months ago, walking our dog with a friend with her dog - both off lead - and this older lady appeared out of nowhere - having walked across the farmers field (so not on the footpath) and immediately starts shrieking like a banshee - honestly, it was like someone was attacking her - of course this then made the dogs want to investigate what she was bloody screaming about so they starting going towards her but we called them back and put them on leads.

I have never heard someone scream like that that wasn't being attacked, it was ridiculous - it was full on screams and "control your dogs" being shrieked at us (despite the dogs not being anywhere near her and they only noticed her when she started shrieking!). Turns out she was walking her newly acquired rescue dog and it didn't like other dogs so she randomly decided that shrieking like she was being murdered was the best thing to do?!

We told her to stop bloody shrieking and walked off - turns out she is the local councillors wife and is known for her dramatics - haven't seen her walking the dog since but her behaviour was so ridiculous!

I’m sorry to hear this - genuinely feel angry for you! How awfully intimidating and cruel of her. I’ve come across a couple of people over the years who have shat themselves for no reason whilst I was walking my parents dog. He is very small and sweet and never went near them… also, one man stopped my dad not that long ago and asked if their dog was an XL bully (he’s a small pug………), pissed myself at that for days! He wouldn’t hurt a bloody fly. Some people…..

While I have never screamed at anyone, I have been tempted. I am absolutely not putting OP in this situation, but I have a giant breed spitz dog that was attacked by two xl bullies when she was a pup. As a result, she is terrified of dogs. (She is 60kgs and terrified of the two dachshunds a few doors down, if that says anything.) She has potential to be aggressive if a dog comes into her space. I tried the yellow lead thing, plus I walk her with a Halti for better control. (Because I weigh about the same as she does.) The number dickheads with off-leash “oodles” strolling around our streets with a fucking coffee cup bigger than their dog in one hand and a phone in the other, while their dog runs up and bounces in my dog’s face… eventually they notice and say “Oh, don’t worry - he’s just being friendly” while my dog tries to evade theirs by hiding between my legs and knocking me over in the process…. I’m so tempted to get a t-shirt staying “Not friendly” (referring to me).

They needed hammering ( the couple) !!!

Some overseas tourists in a group went mental at a friend of mine. Her house is on the beach so she walks them along the path. Full grown men were screaming at her. She was very shaken at the time. They're Lhasa apsos btw

Some folks are batshit.