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AIBU?

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Original poster

Warning... It's dog related.. Owners should keep better control over their dog/s

102 replies

MamaMaiasaura · 14/05/2012 14:11

Lovely sunny day so dh, me and 3 dc went to highcliffe beach. It's a really nice beach and families go there as well as many dog walkers. This is fine of course.

However, we had our towels and windbreak up, baby's pram and buckets and spade and picnic. Normal stuff.

So we are there, I'm looking after baby and boys playing with dh in sand/stones.

Dog comes up and pisses over bucket. Owner is horrified and washes bucket in sea. Ok, owner dealt with it.

Bit later a couple of women with 3 dogs, one a standard poodle. The standard poodle comes and pisses over windbreak (picnic bag the other side) owners dreadfully sorry but ffs couldn't they keep dogs closer to them.

And later still family with 2 smaller dogs. Dogs come bounding through our picnic and then one goes to piss on pram. Dh shouted at dog and owners said said "oh they just love kids"... "I said if you can't keep your dogs to yourselves you should keep them on leads"

I have to say there were lots of people with dogs there and most of them just went past and no issues. Oh and the poodle owner quipped "that's dogs for you".... [hmmm]

Sorry I know this seems anti dogs. It's not, it's the feckless owners (minority) who think everyone should love their dogs and not mind them pissing on their belongings.

OP posts:
CakeMeIAmYours · 14/05/2012 15:21

I live in the same area as you and get so cross with people like you.

Humans have miles upon miles upon miles of beautiful sandy beach in this area that they can access all year round.

Dogs only have very limited access to the beach from 1st May-30th Sept.

So many people pitch 'beach camp' in the dog friendly section of the beach (because it's less crowded) and then get annoyed by the fact that there are dogs there.

I agree that dogs should be under control, but the combination of child and picnic is often too much for even a well trained dog. This is why dogs are banned from most of the beach during the summer months.

If you don't like/are scared of dogs, then FFS use the dog free section of the beach. (in Highcliffe, this is between groyne H8 and H11)

Selfish woman.

CakeMeIAmYours · 14/05/2012 15:26

Sorry, that was a bit harsh - I retract my 'selfish woman' comment.

This issue just makes me so angry - the dogs have little enough beach to run around on in the summer, and still those who dislike dogs complain about it.

AllYoursBabooshka · 14/05/2012 15:29

Well said Cake. :)

MousyMouse · 14/05/2012 15:29

cake So many people pitch 'beach camp' in the dog friendly section of the beach (because it's less crowded) and then get annoyed by the fact that there are dogs there.

I think you misunderstand. no-one was saying you shouldn't be there with your dog. just that you should have it under control and not let it damage other people's belongings.

gomowthelawn · 14/05/2012 15:30

Totally agree with the OP, and I speak as a dog owner. If there are people around, mutt goes on his lead. This is not because he doesn't have good recall (he does), or that he is aggressive (he's not), it is because he is a dog, and therefore by definition a bit unpredictable. I assume that other people do not want him to say hello, or jump on them, or eat their picnic, or pee on their belongings, and because he could at any moment decide for reasons of his own to any of these things he is on his lead.

I could rant for hours about other dogs being off lead, and bothering him. He doesn't want to be bothered by other dogs either.

MousyMouse · 14/05/2012 15:30

I agree that dogs should be under control, but the combination of child and picnic is often too much for even a well trained dog. This is why dogs are banned from most of the beach during the summer months.

then the dogs are not trained well enough and the owners are not responsible dog owners for not keeping the dog on a leash.

BigBoPeep · 14/05/2012 15:32

yanbu - I'm a dog owner, but would be mortified if my dog pissed on someone else's things/chased them/annoyed them in any way etc.

it works both ways though, people should also keep their kids/themselves under control! I used to have a dog who needed careful handling, I kept him on a lead close to me at all times, but was STUNNED at the amount of people who saw nothing wrong with approaching the dog, or allowing their children to approach the dog, without a word to me, sometimes without the dog even seeing them first, to pat him!? One time after he barked after this, the police were called and I was the one who had to prove my dog was under control or face him being confiscated, even though THEY had approached US - grrr!

It's just asking for trouble, I think we should all keep ourselves to ourselves Grin

squoosh · 14/05/2012 15:32

But why choose the dog friendly section of the beach if you don't want dogs around you?

saintlyjimjams · 14/05/2012 15:34

Do you think the original dog pissing encouraged the rest? My dog loves to piss on the same spot as other dogs.

LST · 14/05/2012 15:35

Bored to tears

CakeMeIAmYours · 14/05/2012 15:35

If you don't want a dog to come near you, don't set up camp on one of the (very few and well signposted) dog friendly sections of the beach.

saintlyjimjams · 14/05/2012 15:38

My dog tries to crap on sandcastles (he likes to crap against lumps of things) - rocks are favourites as well. Luckily he spins a million times before dumping so I can grab him and pull him away providing ds1 isn't doing something hideous (his recall goes a bit if he's concentrating on pooing, he's not very good at multi-tasking).

Must admit I prefer winter at the beach (both in and out the sea).

CakeMeIAmYours · 14/05/2012 15:40

squooh It's usually less crowded, that's why.

VivaLeBeaver · 14/05/2012 15:41

As a dog owner I agree with you. Someone's dog once pissed inside my picnic bag all over the food while he was busy chatting to someone and not watching the dog.

VivaLeBeaver · 14/05/2012 15:42

The owner was chatting, not the dog. That would actually have been fairly impressive if the dog had been chatting.

bochead · 14/05/2012 15:45

I'm a dog owner.

If you can't control your dog, you shouldn't own one ffs!

OP that's disgusting - the dog owners should have offered to PAY(££££) for the ruined items.

The right to bring dogs to public places is totally dependant on the goodwill of the general public and should be appreciated, not abused.

If it doesn't come when called then keep it on a leash in public places, especially if there are young children or frail old folk around. Take it out at 5 am & midnight every day to a place that's secure & quiet to train the damn thing properly! (Yes I've done that with 2 rescue dogs now).

Utterly fed up with stepping in doo doo on the school run and am now giving out poop bags to offenders! As far as I'm concerned it's the owners that are filthy dirty fookers, not the dogs and I'm at the point where I don't mind telling em so! Hopskotch is a game designed to be played with chalk, not poo and I can't stand the thought of kids treading it into school carpets etc.

CakeMeIAmYours · 14/05/2012 15:54

bochead Whilst I agree with your sentiment, training recall when there are no distractions is a good way of training your dog to come when there are no distractions.

The problem is, there are always distractions in real life.

IME experience, there are very few dogs with 100% recall in all situations. This is clearly recognised by our local authority, which is the reason there are dog friendly/dog free sections of the beach during the summer.

ItsAPublicForumWhine · 14/05/2012 15:55

I think dogs should be kept on leads at all times when not at home in the garden.

squoosh · 14/05/2012 15:59

All dogs on leads at all times?

Well, you can dream!

ItsAPublicForumWhine · 14/05/2012 16:00

Yes. I can dream indeed. It's a good dream.

MousyMouse · 14/05/2012 16:01

I like that dream.
wouldn't need to dream that if owners started being more responsible and keeping their dogs under control.

D0oinMeCleanin · 14/05/2012 16:02

We have those kinds of people at our local beach Cake. The ones who tut and roll their eyes at all the dogs who are generally minding their own business and then make a such a fuss flapping and moaning and yelling that they inevitably end up attracting the dog's attentions, all the while there is a dog free section but yards up the beach

I have come to believe that they do it on purpose so they have something to moan about, so I actively encourage my dogs to eat their picnics and shit on their sandcastles. That last bit might not be true

Since we are sharing "A dog once..... stories" I once walked a past a pack of three GSDs and they ignored me completely. Fact. It happens often, unfortunatly, dogs walking past me under perfect control and ignoring me. It makes me Sad, especially when it's the staffies.

SeaHouses · 14/05/2012 16:05

Cleanin, I will add that as there are so many stories about badly behaved children, I was at a train station came up and asked if she could please stroke my dogs. I said yes, and she stroked one of them calmly, then said thank you and stepped back.

So the world is not full of small children intent on winding up and poking out the eyes of strange dogs.

D0oinMeCleanin · 14/05/2012 16:11

I have met such children, SeaHouses, unfortunately, I have also met the other kind of children, the ones who just fling themselves at your dog, while their parent natters away on the phone oblivious to the fact that their child is hanging around the neck of your child tolerent terrier -note tolerent not friendly-

Although I do admit the I meet more of the pleasent, well mannered children than I do the others. The others stick in mind more clearly because it scares the living shit out me when I see them make a beeline for my dogs. I wonder if the same is true for dogs? The few ill mannered ones stick your mind more and give the good ones a bad name Hmm

ChickensHaveNoLips · 14/05/2012 16:15

bochead I hand out poo bags too Grin Dirty gits.