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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Dogs on beaches. Why?

306 replies

Chickensarmpit · 20/07/2013 17:23

Today i took my 3 young kids to the beach for a rare day out.
It was ruined by dogs!
They shit all over the place, one pissed up my icebox and one bloody stole my sons ball.
We moved twice and eventually gave up and went home

Why do people insist on taking dogs with them? Grrr annoyed!

OP posts:
curlew · 21/07/2013 12:10

"Probably because you are blaming the dog rather than the Owner and making out that the vast majority of dogs are allowed to shit everywhere and run riot.
Probably because you place the cause of bad beach experiences squarely at the feet of dogs when they cause only a tiny minority of problems."

Well, if you read the thread rather than thinking you have you'd realise that's not true. Of course it's the owner's fault. Nobody is suggesting that dogs pick up their own poo!
And I have said repeatedly that I would be happy to join in a thread about litter- BUT THIS THREAD IS ABOUT DOGS!!!!!!

SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius · 21/07/2013 12:14

Ahem - ddog1, a brown lab, does pick up her own poo, of we don't get to it first. Fresh and warm is good, cold is good, and frozen poopsicles in winter are good. She is a vile and disgusting hound! GrinEnvy

D0oinMeCleanin · 21/07/2013 12:16

One of my dogs picks up other animal's shit Envy

curlew · 21/07/2013 12:19

And my friend wonders why I don't like her dogs licking my face!

SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius · 21/07/2013 12:20

Ddog1 is something of a shit connoisseur - sheep poo, cow poo, horse poo and her own poo - all have been devoured and savoured. Fox poo is equally loved, but for rolling in, rather than consumption.

Someone local has been doing some gardening, that involved a truly disgusting-smelling mix of well rotted compost and horse shit. They dumped the leftovers by a path through the trees round e back of the houses, where a lot of dogs get walked - both of ours had to have showers on Friday night because they got to this bit before dh, and rolled luxuriantly and extensively in it.

SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius · 21/07/2013 12:21

Nope - I am baffled too, curlew!! Grin

cornyblend37 · 21/07/2013 12:21

I saw a jellyfish on a beach once. That's really taking the piss.

saintlyjimjams · 21/07/2013 12:27

Mine will munch the contents of the cat litter tray at times. I have managed to train him to leave random shite alone. Thank God he doesn't roll in it (our collie used to). Although give him a muddy puddle and.....

God yes jellyfish should be banned or fined. I saw the tide destroy a sandcastle once as well.

quoteunquote · 21/07/2013 12:34

available on line, for those people with access to a computer Wink,

A list of dog free beaches for each area, and a list of dog friendly beaches.

If you don't like dogs go to a beach which has no dogs, lots available.

Personally I like human free beaches, unfortunately it is impossible to find one that doesn't have human litter on it.

I run a beach fairy group, one of many, dogs are not the problem humans are.

saintlyjimjams · 21/07/2013 12:35

Of course it can be the fault of the child or parent if the child has never been taught how to behave. Ds2's arm flapping around dogs got him in all sorts of unwanted situations with them. That wasn't the dog's fault or the owners. And as someone who doesn't think the works revolved around their child I saw it as our job to teach him to behave in a way that didn't make him stand out as a willing plaything to every hound in the vicinity.

Likewise when ds 3 was kicked by the horse. It was unfortunate but it was not the horse or owner's fault. It was his and/or mine. He behaved in a way the owner (and I) had told him not to. Yes it was unfortunate (and tbh bring kicked in the head can be life changing - he was lucky) but the fact it happened doesn't make it suddenly not his (or my) fault. He listens now to instructions around horses luckily.

Buttercup4 · 21/07/2013 12:38

OP it should more have been "why do they insist on bringing unruly dogs with them?"

I have spent many a times on the beach and at times it has been unruly children ruining my picnic. Shock

My dog is well behaved and I wouldn't dream of letting her go anywhere near someone else's picnic.

The problem is respect. I respect someone else's right to enjoy their day, I expect the same from others.

curlew · 21/07/2013 12:39

As you sadly know, you can teach a child til you're blue in the face how to behave around animals, but in the heat of the moment, they can forget. So it is up to dog owners to make sure their dogs don't frighten children.

curlew · 21/07/2013 12:40

"The problem is respect. I respect someone else's right to enjoy their day, I expect the same from others."

This.

ArgyMargy · 21/07/2013 12:43

So many dog threads!! Bored with this topic there is nothing new to say about dogs!! Oops sorry I'll go & read something else before I'm told to f-off.

saintlyjimjams · 21/07/2013 12:59

I disagree curlew. I felt it was very much up to my son to learn to behave around dogs. It's up to dog owners to keep unsafe dogs away fom children/other dogs, but it's not a dog owners fault if a child over reacts & then causes problems for himself. My son couldn't even act sensibly around friendly family pets & so the invitations to visit friend's stopped. He/we HAD to sort that out, that was not the responsibility of the dog owners. Ditto if on the moors or beach when he'd start flapping every time he saw a dog - not the owners faults if their dogs took that as an invitation to play.

Likewise if his younger brother cannot understand 'stay away from that horse' (which was tied up) then gets kicked (as happened) then it is most certainly not the horse owner's fault.

saintlyjimjams · 21/07/2013 13:08

And I do see it as my job to help my children through their fears - especially when they can't be avoid. This time last year ds2 was terrified of swimming. So he had lessons & this week was dunking friends in the sea after a (flat) surf lesson. His younger brother who was the same has just taken part in a swimming gala.

Ds1 has at various times been terrified to walk through doors, disturbed by light aircraft & driven to screaming distraction by people sitting in their cars & not getting out. He had to learn to deal with those because telling people minding their own business to get out of their cars wasn't acceptable & we live in a world of doors & light aircraft.

I haven't bothered to do too much about ds2's fear of heights because it doesn't affect him socially & has only been a problem twice. If he was in a position where it was more problematic we would have to try & find a way to deal with it.

Lazyjaney · 21/07/2013 13:27

From this and other threads on here I've come to the conclusion that many doggy people have a sort of reality distortion field in their heads, and are completely unable to conceive of a world where their dog isn't loved by all, and doesn't take priority over all others' interests (and all people who don't also have this view of course labelled "dog haters").

And they will dogmatically assert that they are being rational in this dogma no matter how overbearing the contrary evidence - they are barking mad IMO Grin

curlew · 21/07/2013 13:32

I see it as my job to teach my children how to behave around animals too. But unless a child actually does something to provoke an animal by hurting it or something like that, it is the dog/dog owner's fault if a dog scares/hurts a child. Children sometimes forget/are too scared to do the right thing.

Threefurrymonsters · 21/07/2013 13:35

It is basic common sense to teach your kids how to behave around animals, and especially dogs. Because they are everywhere, and this isn't going to change. I can't tell you how many times unruly children have literally launched themselves at my dogs because they are big and golden and hairy and look like huge teddy bears. Now, if my mutts weren't the most laid-back dogs in the world, any one of those incidents could have caused serious trouble for me and my dogs despite us being totally fault-free because guess who would have gotten the blame if one of them had snapped at the child in fright? Mutual respect please. Responsible owners teach their dogs good behaviour and in turn, teach your kids how to behave around animals.
Oh, and I firmly believe that any and all species have the very same rights to the space on this planet that we humans do. Probably more so actually.
And one more thing. Humans, pick up your damn beach litter please.

GoshAnneGorilla · 21/07/2013 13:41

It's not the dog's fault if the child overreacts - what sort of victim blaming rubbish is this?

Also, no dogs do not have equal rights to humans in anything. Unless I'm on a thread with a load of Jain vegans, I'm pretty sure most of you do generally view animals as having fewer rights then humans, so stop pretending otherwise when it comes to dogs.

Also dog poo is a filthy, disease laden waste product, most litter isn't.

curlew · 21/07/2013 13:42

"can't tell you how many times unruly children have literally launched themselves at my dogs because they are big and golden and hairy and look like huge teddy bears"

And they absolutely shouldn't. And in that case, if the child gets bitten, it's the child's fault. What we were talking about was so- called "play cues"- like running away. A scared child should be able to run away from a dog without being chased.

GoshAnneGorilla · 21/07/2013 13:46

Mutual respect?

If your dog is at risk of biting someone, then they should be muzzled in public. Problem solved.

We generally believe in society that it is the onus of those with the violent impulses to control themselves, not for other people to avoid "provoking" them.

babybythesea · 21/07/2013 14:10

From this and other threads on here I've come to the conclusion that many doggy people have a sort of reality distortion field in their heads, and are completely unable to conceive of a world where their dog isn't loved by all, and doesn't take priority over all others' interests (and all people who don't also have this view of course labelled "dog haters").

And they will dogmatically assert that they are being rational in this dogma no matter how overbearing the contrary evidence - they are barking mad IMO grin

Alternatively, dog lovers may be saying that there are options to go to beaches where dogs aren't allowed, so if you are not fond of dogs choose these beaches instead of insisting you can go wherever you want and then getting huffy when you find dogs there. I take my dog to the beach. I keep her away from the beaches where we are not allowed, even though I chose to live by the sea in order to be able to enjoy the beach. I just travel further to the dog-friendly beaches. There is plenty of space for non-doggy folk. I'd be pretty pissed off if I was left with no beach to go on because non-dog folk want access to all beaches all of the time with no dogs on. A compromise has been reached which should keep everyone happy. You choose a dog-friendly beach, there will be dogs. You can do something about it - but it's much more fun to keep going there and just moan isn't it?

curlew · 21/07/2013 14:13

The issue is that many dog owners- not mumsnetters, obviously, regard dog friendly as meaning dogs can do anything they like. Thus giving Mumsnet type dog owners who do pick up poo and stop their dogs running across picnics a bad name. Sad but true.

Threefurrymonsters · 21/07/2013 14:14

Gosh I think you may be extrapolating there, in both of your posts Hmm