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AIBU?

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Original poster

To think this dog should have been on a lead

248 replies

Doginthepark · 26/12/2014 17:39

Took DS to the park today and we were kicking his new Frozen ball around. A dog came charging up and grabbed the ball and popped it. DS cried. Aibu to think the dog should have been on a lead?

OP posts:
TheRealAmandaClarke · 27/12/2014 10:14

Of course the dog was out of control.
Unless the owner had trained it to grab the ball.
Who has said the dog went on a killing rampage or that is was a national tragedy?
I think you are overreacting.

mytartanscarf · 27/12/2014 10:14

I'm overreacting?

Grin
TheRealAmandaClarke · 27/12/2014 10:20

yes I think so tatrtan
Its your suggestion that people have accused the dog of going on a killing rampage and that this was a national tragedy that makes me think you are overreacting.
When all I have said is that the dog should have been on a lead, without a lead it was not under its owner's control and that people who think it is Ok for any dog to charge up to a child is a fuckwit.

AskBasil4StuffingRecipe · 27/12/2014 10:29

Do people think that a dog has to kill toddlers to be out of control?

That's a terribly low bar.

Hmm
KatieKaye · 27/12/2014 10:29

I don't think you've understood OPs posts about what happened, Amanda:
The dog did not charge up to the child, as OP made clear. She had kicked the ball ahead and was carrying the child. The dog was therefore some distance away from the child and appeared only to be interested in the ball

There is no indication from OP that the dog was out of control - they were on different sides of the hill and she had kicked the ball ahead of herself. The dog ran up to the ball. For all we know, the dog could then have been immediately called and returned to its owner.

It was an unfortunate accident, for which the owner apologised and offered to replace.

A dog running up to a ball is not an out of control dog. Any more than a child running after a ball is an out of control child. Both are perfectly natural behaviours and are no indication of control or the lack thereof.

midori1999 · 27/12/2014 10:33

Katiekaye, unless the owner knew the dog was approach the ball and had given it permission to do so, the dog was out of control. If the dog was out of it's owner's sight, it was out of control. If the dog was out of it's owner's sight, then it could have approached a child, or an adult for that matter, who did not wish to be approached by a dog. Allowing our dog to approach people you don't know is bad manners at best.

Dogs should be under control at all times. This means in sight of the owner and the owner having full control over what the dog is doing, which includes not allowing it to approach or infringe upon other people, their balls, picnics, or in fact, other, on lead dogs.

midori1999 · 27/12/2014 10:34

Oh, and I wouldn't let my child randomly run up to someone else's ball unless they had said it was ok, either.

mytartanscarf · 27/12/2014 10:44

Agree Katie

KatieKaye · 27/12/2014 10:45

A dog outwith the owners sight is not out of control - it is out of the owners sight. You cannot equate the two things. Some dogs outwith the owners sight may be out of control - others, like sheepdogs, will not be. There is no hard and fast rule that can be made to apply to all situations.

There are lots of "could haves" that can be conjectured - but none of these happened. Equally, there could have been no people in the park other than those who had dogs until OP appeared over the hill.

It was a ball that got punctured. Sad for the little boy. But nobody was in any danger here as the dog was only interested in the ball.

And while you might not "let" your child run up to someone else's ball, if you were engaged with another child/tying your shoelace etc and your child ran up to another kids ball, then it isn't the end of the world. these things happen, even if you don't mean to "let" them. There are very few parents whose child has never slipped out of arms length reach during their entire childhoods.

GraysAnalogy · 27/12/2014 10:51

Some people on here FFS.

My dogs have good recall, but there is the odd time when they'll completely either 1. ignore me or 2. not hear me properly. They aren't robots and nor should anyone expect them to be. And how on earth are they ever to learn if people are demanding they're never let off Confused

It's getting more and more difficult for me to find somewhere safe to walk my dog, not because he;s dangerous but because people try to impose rules based on their own personal feelings.

midori1999 · 27/12/2014 10:56

Katie, this wasn't a sheepdog. The fact is, there are a large number of people who strongly dislike dogs. Incidents like mentioned in the OP add fuel to the fire and risk people like Elephantspoo deciding to kick their dog.

People have a right to go about their business without being bother by others. Other adults, other children and their dogs. (Or cats, horses, whatever!)

mausmaus · 27/12/2014 11:00

dog out the owner's sight is out of control. how can they call thm back from a situation if they can't see what dog is up to, not o mention not seeing where they shit to pick it up.

KatieKaye · 27/12/2014 11:04

midori I did not say it was a sheepdog. Read my post.

There are a lot of people who do like dogs, just as there are some who do not.

Neither of which is particularly relevant to this occurrence but FWIw I strongly dislike people who advocate meaningless and brutal violence.

MiddleAgedandConfused · 27/12/2014 11:11

My son was attacked by a dog when he was about 2. The owners reaction was to blame my son for provoking her dog - he hadn't and a witness came over and told her so.
I was then subjected to the owner wailing on about how her dog had never done anything like this before and how it was a one off - blah blah.
Since then I view any unknown dog approaching me or my kids as a threat.

Backtobedlam · 27/12/2014 11:25

Agree totally with KatieKaye-well put. The paranoid attitude of some adults on here is exactly why there seem to be an increasing number of young kids who scream at the glimpse of a dog! It's unrealistic to expect you can go to a communal place like a park, and never be approached by another dog, child or person. It was an unfortunate incident, but that's it. In the same way if your child knocked a drink over and smashed a glass in a resturant, it would be an accident, not necessarily a wildly out of control child.

KnackeredMerrily · 27/12/2014 11:29

What makes me laugh is the amount of people who wouldn't let their dog offlead unless it had absolute robotic obedience.

If course, dogs are so easy to train at home, in their own environment, with no distractions and if you work really really hard, when you get to the park he'll never leave your side or so much look at another member of the public Hmm

A bit like how people would never take their DC to a restaurant unless they knew they wouldn't drop a crumb or make a noise.

Practice makes perfect everyone. A responsible dig owner would come right over, apologise and offer to replace. Exactly what the person in the OP did - so YABU

Sunna · 27/12/2014 11:44

A responsible dog owners would always have the dog on a lead where there are children.

This is the way forward -

www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/new-council-orders-could-see-7418413

A shame to punish responsible owners for the behaviour of others but if people can't behave they have no choice.

GraysAnalogy · 27/12/2014 11:51

A responsible dog owners would always have the dog on a lead where there are children

I wouldn't be able to walk my dog then.

No matter what time I go to walk my dog, there are either too many dogs on the park or there's children. My dogs deserve to be able to have a run around properly.

I've had to start locking him in a basketball court (on the park, it has railings and a big metal door on it) to keep him away from children and allow him to run, but still parents come with their children to 'look at the big doggy'. We can't win either way.

Sunna · 27/12/2014 11:55

People matter more than dogs and it's tough that you have to keep your dog on a lead but that's the ways the law is moving. I think that's a good thing - or maybe muzzled if off the lead.

mausmaus · 27/12/2014 12:00

if you can't excercise your dog properly on lead maybe you should consider not having a dog at all!

SamCroClaus · 27/12/2014 12:03

perhaps the op should not having been kicking a ball, when she had already seen dogs running around.

GraysAnalogy · 27/12/2014 12:07

if you can't excercise your dog properly on lead maybe you should consider not having a dog at all!

Sorry but, that's hilarious. So because I want my dog exercised properly, I shouldn't have one? There are so many health benefits to allowing your dog to have a good run, some that are behavioural - so I go out of my way to allow them to have a run as well as a long walk.

Don't shove your dog insecurities onto owners that care about their animals very much and do everything in their power to keep them, and other people safe.

SirChenjin · 27/12/2014 12:08

Nope - people trump dogs every single time.

Like the Coventry idea - I'm sick and tired of 'friendly' dogs bounding up to us when we're out on a walk because their owners either can't control them or can't bear the thought of Fido on a lead.

GraysAnalogy · 27/12/2014 12:11

I'm sick and tired of 'friendly' dogs bounding up to us when we're out on a walk because their owners either can't control them or can't bear the thought of Fido on a lead

This is why I put mine in the basketball court thing. Because I know how annoying it is to have a dog come running over to you, and despite mine only wanting to play it can be pretty intimidating for someone to have a big dog come running over.

I do sometimes wish there were just 'dog people' parks and 'people wanting to walk without being bothered by dog' parks. Is that a thing?

GraysAnalogy · 27/12/2014 12:14

Nope - people trump dogs every single time

I sort of understand this but then this ends up manifesting into the attitude that people should be able to do what they wish around or to dogs.

Like my friend who thinks her child should be able to ride upon the back of her dog or pull his tail.