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?

LOL at emptyshell!

Yes, couldn't we leave it till Fridays like the bumsex?

8WriterofDreams*... I'm chagrined at my geographical incompetence... of course it isn't.

I'd say that the best way forward is to always ask the owner, then stand still and let them sniff and when it's ok, pat the shoulders, smooth along the back. My dogs love that. DCs should never approach a dog they don't know, stick to accompanied ones and they'll be fine always. :)

If you're

Empty I don't really have anything against dogs, it's their owners that annoy me. If a dog is well-behaved and doesn't run up to me then I don't have any problem at all with it.

I am not afraid of dogs, i just dont like them and would rather not have them sniff me so they can "get used' to me.
i only have 2 friends with dogs and they are well controlled and are not the you must love my dogs if you want to be my friend type.

Ignore that odd 'If you're'... I can't think what I was going to write?

FWIW if I knew you had difficulty being around my DS because of something that happened with you (as is the case with my friend whose DS died very tragically) then I would ensure DS was around as little as possible when you visited. Yes it is DS's house too, but he doesn't mind having to go elsewhere (as in, off with DH or into another room) so I wouldn't mind making that accommodation for you. It's what considerate friends do for each other IMO.

Vallhala, you always say about not removing the dog from the room. One of my most uncomfortable experiences (an NHS healthcare worker on a home visit) was when a lady would not or could not -she didn't try very flippin hard- remove the excessively large dog from her lounge. It stood between us then was coaxed onto the sofa where it looked down on me.
If I'd had an ounce of sense I'd have left.
P.S.not a dog hater

In that situation Lord, I think it was totally inappropriate for her to leave the dog in the room. You were there to do a job, not out of choice, and the dog was preventing you from helping the lady you were visiting.

My friends child died tragically, she does not expect any of us to remove our children or pretend they don't exist, in fact she would be very offended if we did such a thing.

Lord I would remove my dogs if someone was coming to do a job, rude not to imo.they would only be allowed in the room if the health visitor or whoever was comfortable to have them in the room....they wouldn't get on the sofa though they aren't allowed.

That's fine Samc. I said if the person had a problem with my DS being around. My friend does.

Hmmn, I know Ireland has its faults, but if they can train their dogs like they train their excellent horses, they won't go far wrong.

Here in Britain, why do people let their untrained dogs off the lead? Even if by some stroke of luck, the dog is not malevolently intended, I don't want licked/sniffed/scratched or pawed by someone's dog. Actually, its not bad around where I am, its still semi rural and people generally have a bit of common sense. But when I go elsewhere, its noticeable how badly some people let their dogs behave.

And if they're not ineffectually continually shrieking at the poor things (so that the dog tunes out), they're watching it bound up to some poor passer by ie the dog's lack of manners mimics that of the owner.

I have now decided to deal with this in my own way to teach the owners a lesson. When out running, if approached by a dog, I now encourage the dog to come with me on my run. Often the dog will do so. I bring them back after about 10 minutes. Now if a person's dog will follow a total stranger, it is because it views me as a more confident, authoritative and therefore safer leader than its owner. The funniest thing is when you bring them back, and the owner ineffectually tries to get the dog's lead on and the dog won't let them. By this time, the dog is listening to me and will stand still for me to do it. I'm no dog expert btw. But I'm not half as ineffectual as many dog owners out there.

But seriously, why buy a dog if you cannot be bothered with training it to follow basic commands?

Of course people are different in different circumstances, my friend finds it very difficult to be around other peoples children but still wants them around her, if she couldn't have dd around her then I'm sure I would send dd to her gps for the afternoon.

but op I think you need to realise not all dogs want to go near you and not all dog owners would allow them to go near you. I said if you came to my house I wouldn't put the dogs out, I wouldn't because they would lie quietly on their dog beds showing no interest in you unless you spoke to them and called them over. If you read through my posts you'll see I've agreed dogs should be controlled and not be allowed to jump all over you. I also agree people shouldn't think it's ok to run up to any dog without first asking the owners permission.

My mum (newly recovering from leukaemia) was knocked over by two large dogs while walking near where she lives. They jumped up, knocked her down... and the owners did not apologise. In fact, they were over the other side of the park, chatting. She was furious and confronted them (the dogs had run off again by then) and they told her she was being over sensitive and she should 'get over it'. Ugh.

I love dogs and can't wait for when my DCs are old enough for us to give a lovely greyhound a home. But the attitude of some owners really sucks.

It does annoy me when i'm on a common / hill and people without dogs disapprove of mine running round. Two of our local country parks have adopted a 'dogs on leads' policy - why don't these people go to them for a nice walk?

I even got told off once by a woman as my dog had splashed her new white parka....a white parka!!! Up a hill....???

Well said Nijinsky all dog owners should have to train their dogs properly, and if they are unable to do it themselves should take them to dog training classes, that way we wouldn't have these threads every week the sun shines.

I don't think we're really disagreeing with each other at all samc :) I have no problem whatsoever with quiet, well behaved dogs minding their own business in their own home. It's boisterous dogs who approach me when I don't want them to that I have a problem with.

Folk I wouldn't disapprove of your dogs running around as long as they didn't approach me. If your dog jumped up on that woman and dirtied her then I think she had every right to complain.

YANBU - some new neighbours have moved into our condos and they have two large dogs - an oversized golden retriever thing and a pitt-bull looking thing. Both are clearly very, very friendly - but both bark loudly and run full-speed at anyone they see. Several times we have been going up the stairs to our apartment and these beasts have almost knocked the toddler over in their excitement. It is very intimidating (particularly with the scarier looking dog) to have this beast run at you barking and the pathetic 'oh rover, you naughty dog, did you scare that baby? He's just being friendly you know' will not make amends if they actually succeed in ramming my child down the stairs. Why in hell they can't put a damned leash on the buggers, I don't know. Even just until they are down the stairs...

Writer - he just ran passed her - there was a muddy puddle - but she was in a new white coat....

On the dogs in homes issue, my Grandmother in law is 93 and quite frail. Any time she visits her daughter her daughter's black lab jumps all over her and bruises her. Her daughter seems to be oblivious to this and it's really unfair on Grandma who is afraid to say anything. Others have said something to the daughter and she promises to do something but never does. It's incredibly inconsiderate.

shinyrobot - all dogs on leads in public at all times???

Whether the coat was white or new isn't really an issue Folk, that's her choice. But I agree that she shouldn't really complain about the dog splashing her, I wouldn't mind that really (but then my clothes are mostly tatty old rags anyway).

Fair enough Writer (and maybe she was there under sufferance and not really into the whole up a hill thing)...

....it's just that there are so many town / urban parks and walks that you can't let your dog off these days (Bradgate Park in Leicestershire, Stiperstones in Shropshire to name a couple) - i'm not sure why people who don't like dogs walk on the few available to dog owners....