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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To wish this country was more dog friendly?

358 replies

lesley33 · 01/11/2011 09:35

I know some dogs are badly behaved, but surely not all dogs should be tarred with the same brush? My dog is a very well behaved labrador. On the continent dogs are allowed into lots of pubs and cafes and in places like Paris dogs are regularly walked along City streets. But in the UK, lots of people do not seem happy to let dogs share their space anywhere, which I think is vvu.

OP posts:
ChickensHaveNoEyebrows · 01/11/2011 20:30

I don't think we have any specific dog parks around here. Our local park has a large field, and a children's play park area which is separate. That said, if I saw someone on the field having a picnic, I wouldn't let my pup off lead. Likewise I didn't let him charge across a football match last weekend, although judging by the tugging on the lead he really wanted to Grin

Avantia · 01/11/2011 20:32

Don't see how special enclosed dog parks stops dog shit on street ?

Anyway special dog park would have to be pretty big to keep my lab happy .

ChickensHaveNoEyebrows · 01/11/2011 20:32

He is going to training sessions, and he does run about in the garden. I suppose what I'm saying is that at some point there has to be a first time where the dog is, for want of a better word, tested. The only alternative is to never let him run off lead, ever. Which seems rather unfair on a gun dog.

coffeeinbed · 01/11/2011 20:38

I will not going to get sucked into another dog thread again...I will not..

Original poster
lesley33 · 01/11/2011 20:39

squeakytoy - Training dogs is not like doing the same with people. Dogs think differently to us. They don't generalise from one person to others, unlike humans.

For example, you take your puppy to a friends to meet their DCs and make sure they know how to behave with DCs. Puppy learns these DCs are friends and not to be afraid of them or bark at them. But the puppy does not generalise this to mean that all DCs are not to be barked at. If it barks at DCs, it will now not bark at friends DCs, but will still bark at other DCs.

So with a puppy you have to have them around lots of different DCs to learn not to bark at any DCs and to meet DCs in lots of different situations. A puppy can not be socialised and trained properly by just having them mix with others at a dog training class and with friends, because of thsi difficulty dogs have in generalising.

OP posts:
Avantia · 01/11/2011 20:39

Chicken I see where you are coming from - my big thing about some dog training classes was that all was hunky dory in a church hall , little distraction etc but out in the real world all is very different . You could use a long line and keep up with recall and have some extremely tasty treats .

Also look for some gun dog training classes in your area that are for gun dog breeds but for the pet kind not working dogs.They will work outside and in more real life situations.

I started doing gun dog classes with my lab before her eye trouble started.

Original poster
lesley33 · 01/11/2011 20:46

Also some dogs are much easier to train than others. For example, I knew one dog who cute but quite stupid. It was very very difficult to train her as she seemed to struggle to understand what she was being asked to do.

Another friend has 2 dogs - has done the same with both in terms of socialisation and dog training classes. One is very well behaved. The other is a nervy little thing who growls if strangers come near him and sometimes refuses to return when shouted. My lab is very well behaved, but would not return on call if there was a sausage on the ground that he wanted to nab first.

They are dogs, not robots, so not all dogs will always behave as they should.

OP posts:
Avantia · 01/11/2011 20:56

Another dog is always far more exciting than me !

I call mine back with a tasty treat = she comes - gets treat then buggers off anyway to play with other dog anyway Grin

Dog always on lead if picnic in sight and football match ! Our lab once decided to join in a game of rounders that the guides were having on our local common last summer - much to my DH horror - he was walking her at the time !

rupert1 · 01/11/2011 20:57

I must say as a dog lover i was horrified at the sight of all the dogs on south devon beaches soon as they are allowed on them, it was overcrowded with them as if owners were excercising a right to go make dogs go beserk on the beach .sticks ,balls thrown dog poo everywhere no place for any family it was more like a battle field.On reflection i would like to see beaches closed for dogs now ,and as you say paris streets welcome them maybe they should be more regulary taken there for there walkies and poo sounds very fitting to me.

GrimmaTheNome · 01/11/2011 21:03

I've just had a week in Paris - just about all the dogs on the streets were tres petit and trotting along on leads. The big 'uns were to be found larking around off lead in the Bois de Boulogne.

Avantia · 01/11/2011 21:03

Beach bans are in place until end of September , so people have them exclusively through the summer - why ban them rest of year - where do you draw the line with banning dogs - shall we ban them from Royal Parks aswell and forestry ?

ChickensHaveNoEyebrows · 01/11/2011 21:10
SixStringWidow · 01/11/2011 21:20

you all sound fucking barking to me

tobyrat · 01/11/2011 21:30

Re the beach bans - we went to Bournemouth just before the beach ban started and there was a dogshit on the sand, near the sea. I was in my swimming costume with bare feet and I was disgusted. No wonder dogs need to be banned from the beach in summer - one dog can spoil a beach for a lot of people. I would like to see beaches where dogs are banned all year round - the behaviour of irresponsible owners necessitates it IMO.

coffeeinbed · 01/11/2011 21:30

My dog is lovely.
he should be allowed everywhere.
[I know this is not the best contibution to the thread, but just wanted to get it off my chest]

Brynn · 01/11/2011 21:32

About 10 pages late to the discussion since my previous post, but alas I've been occupied with my poorly trained 3 yr old. Funnily enough I have to keep him on a lead outdoors most of the time, except at parks where I let him run free to harass other children.

DS does love dogs though, if that redeems him in any way. He quite happily spends aaages watching them chase balls/sticks across a field. Then again, he would also spend an equally long time watching buses pull away from a bus stop. Or trains going through a level crossing. Or even just cars driving over a speed bump.

DBF - But my anecdote doesn't sound so good if I replace Alsation (mean sounding) with German Shepard. Then it becomes I got chased by a sheep dog and just sounds like I was herded. Come to think of it, I did escape through the garden gate. Also, Fish is a good name for a dog. As is Dog and Cat for a pair of goldfish. /approve

CocktailQueen · 01/11/2011 21:41

Dogs are fine. So long as you pick up their poo and don't let them off the lead when they should be on one, or don't let them jump all over children while saying 'it's ok, he's soft as butter/he just wants to play' or similar , then you'll fine. Unfortunately, 99% of dog owners n this country have shown themselves completely unable to do the above so... that'll be why we're not dog friendly!!!

ChickensHaveNoEyebrows · 01/11/2011 21:52

I think there's some truth in that, CocktailQueen. You don't remember the dogs that just pass you by, minding their own business. Likewise, you don't know if someone has picked up their dog's poo. What you remember and see are the fuckwits who show no responsibility and act all offended when called on it. I am a dog lover, but always hated the 'It's ok, he's friendly!' bollocks as some unknown dog stuck its face in the pram. None of this is the dog's fault, of course.

GrimmaTheNome · 02/11/2011 08:15

, 99% of dog owners n this country have shown themselves completely unable to do the above ...
as Chickens implies, its 99% of the dog owners you notice who are irresponsible. The vast majority (IME) do exactly as CQ prescribes.

Adversecamber · 02/11/2011 08:24

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

ZZZenAgain · 02/11/2011 08:25

I liket he puppy on the treadmill scenario with the steak dangling in front of him. I should try that on myself although a steak might not cut it for me

Original poster
lesley33 · 02/11/2011 08:30

I think the sticking point is "don't let them off the lead when they should be on one". my definition of this and some others on here, I suspect would be very different.

My dog is an artritic old lab so although he wouldn't, he can't physically jump on anyone, bound up to people, etc. But some people on mumsnet seem to think a dog should be on the lead if the dog would otherwise be anywhere near them. I think if my dog isn't doing any harm or bothering people, then he is fine off the lead.

I actually have more issues with other dogs. For some reason my old male lab is very attractive to other male dogs who frequently try to mount him if they get the chance. Unsurprisingly he gets scared of this. So I try to avoid all but very small dogs. Most owners are fine and try and get their dog back. But a few will insist they are only playing as I chase off their dog and try to comfort my frightened dog. And honestly, all but extremely timid dogs try to do this!

OP posts:
Sirzy · 02/11/2011 08:34

Dogs or no dogs should surely be at each establishments discretion? I have been to plenty of pubs which happily have dogs in, clearly stated outside and everyone is happy!

With regards to beaches banning dogs from them altogether is daft, surely having dog friendly beaches and dog free beaches again clearly identified is the best plan?

AnotherEmptyNest · 02/11/2011 08:34

"ChickensHaveNoEyebrows*

I agree about the pram scenario. Some owners think their dogs are squeaky clean. They are not. They might have baths but they put their paws anywhere and everywhere, have mucus dripping from their noses and dribble from their mouths.

If a dog put its face into my pram, I would knock it off, not only for hygienic reasons though. It might be after my baby. We know that dogs attack children and it's no argument to say that you only get two or three incidents a year. They are two or three too many

ZZZenAgain · 02/11/2011 08:36

what I have noticed this past year or so is that a lot of dogs who are off the leash seem to like weaving in and out of my legs when I walk past. Now, I don't know what this is about, is it a kind of skill training or something? They do manage to not trip me up and not get stood on in the process so a certain skill level must be there. However I wonder why they do this to a complete stranger and if it a good idea to let your dogs do this. If I were unsteady on my legs or say old and fragile, I could easily fall with this going on. It is not that I really mind it but I have noticed it happening quite a lot lately and then they trot along beside for a bit before falling back. It isn't aggressive, I just wonder if they do that with an old or disabled person, what would happen.
I think it would be unwise but maybe they just know not to ? I never heard a dog owner call a dog off who is doing that either.

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