to be sick to death of having to put up with other people's dogs

[WriterofDreams]

I am not a dog person. I think they're nice but I don't want to pet a dog or be anywhere near them really. This partly comes from being attacked by a dog as a young child.

This was never a problem when I lived in Ireland, where a dog is a subservient pet that is to be kept in line. In busy areas dogs are generally kept on a lead at all times and IME if a loose dog ever came up to me the owner always apologised and pulled the dog away. In the park where I used to go walking any dog that wasn't on a lead was taken away by the pound, whether the owner was close by or not. This was to protect the wildlife in the area.

Since moving to England I have come to hate dogs, not really through any fault of their own. There is a common near me where I often go walking with DS, who thankfully is still in a pram so I don't have to worry about him. On every single occasion, often more than once, a large dog has come up to me, often running. On a couple of occasions a dog has jumped up on me, scaring the absolute shit out of me. On practically every occasion the owner has either not been anywhere in the vicinity (as the dog has run far ahead of them) or has smiled indulgently and uttered the immortal phrase "he is very friendly!" before feebly calling the dog and offering no apology for the fact that dog invaded my space and scared me. On a few occasions I have been scared witless by dogs viciously fighting on the path.

AIBU to think the owners have a responsibility to keep their dogs close to them and not allow them to harrass other people?

Overcooked as Val says im just a meagre dog owner but i hope i have gone someway in you being able to tell your husband that most staffs are not vicious , just make sure you ask the owner first though as i dont to be responsible for you being mauled off a wrongun

Hep - my mams husk was fine with my 3 dd's wasnt that interested in them, had a sniff and off he went. It did used to guard its possessions though but i believe other breeds do this.

Breeding dogs on the basis of good looks over performance has been the undoing of many, many breeds we know today

Very true, Heph. Thanks for the info... very interesting!

Hear hear. Health and tempremant seem to come second in some breeding circles.

Hence the reason we got a farm collie. He's beautiful anyway, but health and tempremant were far more important to us and a farmer wouldn't want a wimpy, neurotic, snappy dog to work for him. So we got our beautiful dog who is 100% collie, just not pedigreed. And I've never had a minute's regret

Dogs blah in parks blah off lead blah biting blah risk blah not children blah outside a school shock horror

You wouldnt believe what ive seen 2 of in the past month, staffie x chowowow. Dont know if its a staffowow or a chowaffie. Ridiculous.

PINK!!!!!!!

:)

It's good to see you!

Hi!! At my parents house, internet is cut off at mine. Bloody Virgin Media. Glad you're still doing what you do best!!

My vote is for chowaffie. A much better name in MVHO. Though, how you achieve that x has got to be eye watering. And why on earth would you want to?!

YANBU, this type of thing makes me furious .

Recently me and my sister went to the park in our hometown with our 3 year old niece and my 4 month old baby in his pram. We had just rounded the corner to enter the park when a massive big mutt came flying out of the back yard of the house on the corner and came running at us barking aggressively. This dog scared the shit out of me and my sister which was bad enough, but our niece was crying hysterically. We ended up having to leg it and climb over a fence at the far end of the park to get in. Just as we were climbing the fence an auld doll of about 70 came tottering out of her house to call the dog in, wtf use she would have been even if she had of came out straight away I don't know .

If I hadn't been shaking and so far away at that point she would have gotten a right bollocking .

babybythea said...

"Can I just ask that you don't take my dog off with you Nijinsky?

She's barely out of puppyhood and although I am 99% confident in her recall now, if someone actively encouraged her away from me, I suspect she'd find that much more exciting than coming back to sit by me. Even though I carry treats and balls etc, she'd want to go along with the person who was telling her it was ok to run away from me, and making it sound like a fun thing to do. She's not normally that interested in joggers - she might start to amble over to try and intercept but a word from me and she wanders back to me. But I also do all my walking with a toddler. If I didn't spot you at the right moment because my child was occupying my attention, and you decide for me that it means I don't have my dog under control and start calling her away, then I am going to be faced with trying to decide whether to a) leave my dd on the path while I chase you as you make life fun for my dog running with her (something that I can't do because of my dd) or b) just letting you run off with my puppy.

I have to say, she has never ever run after a jogger, although she does watch them go by with interest (from her sitting position at my side where I ask her to be when I see joggers). But I am now aware that the one time I don't spot the jogger in front of me in time it might be the one person who decides to engage in a bit of vigilante dog training having made a stupid assumption. And all you'll have done is shown her that hey, people jooging are FUN FUN FUN."

It's so interesting that nijinsky's next post is in such a different tone; frantically trying to justify her unacceptable behaviour, and garner support for her views. I am that noone bothered to reply to her either. nijinsky I don't think any reasonable person would disagree that what you discribe in that post in unacceptable, nor that some dog owners are crap at training their dogs and don't care when their dogs make a nuisance (or worse) of themselves. But that doesn't make your attitude or actions ok. At all.

Theres nothing frantic about me ILoveYouToo. I couldn't give a flying fig whether I "get support for my views or not" (which are not exactly radical). Its not as if theres going to be a vote on it or something. I do find though that the merest suggestion of luring someone's loose dog away has a startlingly galvanising effect on inept owners, many of whom appear to be represented on here. If your dog follows me when I'm running, its not my fault. Its your fault. For not having it under control. Your dog. Your responsibility. As per the Animals Act.

Vigilante dog training. Whatever next. Heres a suggestion. How about some bog standard dog training. Of your own dog.

ps I don't think people who can't train their dogs and keep them under control in public should have dogs. Theres a radical view for you.

stewiegriffinsmom Val - I love Huskies and their hybrids but I always wince when I see people with them in this city. They are powerful dogs who need to run; not be pranced about a city

And thats the main problem. Too many people buying large dogs as status symbols and thinking giving them a tiny walk twice a day and the occasional run off a lead in a park is sufficient. Most of them were bred originally as working dogs, not as status symbols. At the very least they need their minds occupied by some proper training. So many dogs, usually the ones that go frantic when let off the lead, are totally under-exercised and bored out of their poor minds.