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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To wonder what parks would be like with out dogs?

93 replies

longjane · 29/12/2011 08:13

Who else goes to park to at least 2 times a day come rain or shine?

Would their people camping/living there?
Would there people having sex there ?
Would there be people there doing illegal stuff there?
Would want to walk/run there on your own if you were a women?

Do you think dog walkers stop any of the above?

Just wondering really how long our parks would last with out dog walkers?

OP posts:
TheAnnoyingSatsuma · 29/12/2011 08:44

wmmc - you have exactly described the parks I was thinking of. Cross the crapzone to get to the kiddies cage in the middle.

Actually there is a design solution. A fenced route around the perimeter so the dogwalkers can walk in the crap and set their snarling beasts on each other instead of the children.

JaxTellerIsMyFriend · 29/12/2011 08:45

whomoved I was praised the other day from a group of runners because my dogs went into a down and waited until they had gone past before moving.

You can leg it all you like, my dogs will get you! Grin

TheAnnoyingSatsuma · 29/12/2011 08:45

This isn't just about toddlers though, it's about all ages. My 10yo won't go to the park because of the dogs and their arrogant owners.

whatstheetiquette · 29/12/2011 08:45

I am not dog bashing. I love dogs! I just can't see how you can conclude that I am dog bashing because I don't want my young DC to get their shoes in shit (or their hands when they fall over).

TheAnnoyingSatsuma · 29/12/2011 08:46

it's the minority that spoils it for everyone, as in most aspects of life.

JaxTellerIsMyFriend · 29/12/2011 08:48

If you mean play parks with swings etc then YANBU - as far as I am concerned dogs shouldnt be in there.

If you mean thousands of acres of woods and open spaces then sorry, I am there when your toddlers/DC arent and my dogs are trained not to shit on paths. They will only go in scrub areas - and I always have poo bags with me.

Dustinthewind · 29/12/2011 08:48

One of the country parks I live near to, and visit most Saturdays, has a high number of walkers, dog walkers, joggers and families.
They all coexist beautifully, I've been going for around 5 years now and rarely seen an altercation. The ones I have seen have involved dogs pissing off the swans, but they see their error pretty fast.
Mutual respect and thoughtfulness allows a lot of happy lifeforms to share the same space.

ditavonteesed · 29/12/2011 08:50

sorry then Blush I have a lovely park at the bottom of my road, a fenced in playground and lots of open space, I get in the car and drive elsewhere with my dogs as one doesnt like other dogs approaaching her. The park is usually just dog walkers, on the 3 nice days we get here there are lots of families. I have never had a problem with dc and strange dogs though, most people in rl keep their dogs under control and clean up after them. I have to admit I have never come across either the rude dog owners or the petrified children which mn often talks off. In fact parents generally look at me really oddly when I ut dogs on a lead when i see them.

nicenivea · 29/12/2011 08:50

No dogs in parks here, it s fabulous (Dubai). Would love just one doggy zone for our two canine pals, however.

Lizcat · 29/12/2011 08:50

I never go to the park as it is really boring for the mobile mop as in the Park I keep him on the lead so he does not interfere with the hundreds of other people. He likes to take to the countryside where he can find dead rabbit to eat and he can run around like a loony without having to dodge people.

LoveInASnowyClimate · 29/12/2011 08:52

True, Satsuma. Where I live, the huge majority of dogs are well behaved and their owners pick up after them. But I would be happy to see them banned from parks in order to get the irresponsible owners and their alarming, crapping dogs banned too. V unfair on the first group, I know, but the second group have a much bigger negative impact than the first do a positive one.

LePruneDeMaTante · 29/12/2011 08:53

There are many parks which have a no dogs rule.
I used to go to one regularly. It was huge. Big duck pond, lovely lawns, great herbaceous borders...
People used it for sport, parties, meetings, you could play petanque, they sat by the river reading, they ran, took toddlers for walks - no dog shit, no dogs jumping on you, that was the only difference really.

Original poster
longjane · 29/12/2011 08:53

well there will be shit in parks even if you ban dogs

who will stop people camping in parks?

were i lived you have random people just thinking a park/ river bank is good place to camp they soon change there minds when dogs arrive at 4 in morning
who will stop people having sex in parks in daylight ?would you be happy if you walk along with your toddler she wonders off and finds 2 people having sex
who will stop the drug dealers using the parks? would you take your toddler there

these are thing that go on in parks i go to and because there are dogs and people there in daylight time it soon stops

who will stop all of the above if dogs are not allowed .

OP posts:
amerryscot · 29/12/2011 08:55

I don't know what kind of parks you go to, OP. People having sex?

Original poster
longjane · 29/12/2011 08:57

yeah i know place like that

hated it men sitting on bench watching school kids

lots of people camping there over the summer

big areas nobody used half the time
did not feel safe there at all

OP posts:
ditavonteesed · 29/12/2011 08:57

I have to say until I got my dogs I had never noticed the dogs in the park (well obviously I knew they were there but they never impacted our lives at all), the kids were toddlers, we had picnics, and fed the ducks etc. now I go in the same park with my dogs I realise how many dogs there are.

LoveInASnowyClimate · 29/12/2011 08:58

Bloody hell, OP, where do you live? Have never seen anything like that in our local parks and pretty sure this is not down to dog walkers!

Grumpla · 29/12/2011 09:00

Hahahahaha OP you are super stubborn aren't you?

Please do explain how dog walkers in your area have trained a special squad of canine Moral Enforcement Ossifers to crack down on public sexing, pooing and drug dealing.

Because I think the message you are ignoring here is that DOGS DON'T STOP CRIME. The presence of a dog does not soak up all naughty behavior in the vicinity. Owning a dog does not make you a better person.

I'm not saying dogs should be banned from all parks, but your argument that without dogs parks would be post-apocalyptic wastelands of immorality is BOLLOCKS.

TheAnnoyingSatsuma · 29/12/2011 09:01

longjane - if that is your park it sounds horrendous and dog vs toddler is the least of your problems Sad

Dustinthewind · 29/12/2011 09:04

You don't live in Greater Manchester by any chance OP?

pooka · 29/12/2011 09:05

I'm actually mind-boggling at thenidewnthat anyone would choose to camp in our local park. Is a nice enough park, don't get me wrong. But in suburban se London. Not really a camping destination of choice. Plus there are security patrols of all our borough parks overnight and throughout the day.

When I think of no dogs in parks, I think of not having to screech at kids about looking out for poo all the time. Sounds good to me. Though I suspect we'd end up with the same fuckwit owners letting their dogs poo all over the pavements in the area which would arguably have a worse impact. I know lots of very responsible dog owners with well trained pets. However the irresponsible idiots ruin it for everyone.

ChristmasCakeOclock · 29/12/2011 09:06

All the parks in our town are dog free, I thought most were now. Lots of reservoirs, woods etc where people can take their dogs though.

chibi · 29/12/2011 09:11

i love the idea of the dogs of britain as a thin hairy line between order and total societal breakdown

i am going for a run imminently, i will be sure to salute any moral guardians i meet (if they don't leap up at me first, that is)

whomovedmychocolate · 29/12/2011 09:30

I tend to go to Starbucks to score crack these days to avoid being mauled by dogs Grin

Sudaname · 29/12/2011 09:30

I am a dog owner and DGC owner Grin. I clean up after my dog always - even when he does his trapeze artist impression and does it in the most awkward place in the middle of a load of shrubs etc. I tell my DGCs what l am doing and why its important. l think its important to educate our little ones - most of whom would love to have a pet if possible - that its a non negotiable part of owning a dog. It angers me so much to see families or one adult with DCs with family dog that they dont pick up after. Those DCs will no doubt grow up thinking thats acceptable. Its certainly not a generational thing - l know of a few old folk on our local park who dont pick up after their dogs as well as younger people. The idea of their walks seems to be to 'empty' their dog to save mess in their own garden.

OP l am with you in part - that we should reclaim our parks from unsocial behaviour by using them as much as possible but am only with you on dog owners of my variety am afraid. Also why do people have to have these bloody savage dogs - l live in a nice semi rural town and there is one chap who owns two huge french mastiff something or others - cant remember what the breeds called - and they have caused £100s of pounds of vet bills to one ladies little dog - bit another man on the hand when trying to rescue his dog from one of them and bit a young lad on the shin who was jogging. Now l know some people will say its the owners not the breed etc etc and l personally used to own a lovely staffie bitch who was very gentle and never attacked anyone in her 11 years but l never let her off lead in public places. But to see these type of dogs running towards you that you know are capable of tearing your child apart makes a walk in the park nerve wrecking for a lot of people.