Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Flip

1 2 3 4 5 6 ··· 12 13

Original poster

To shout at this dog-owner?

308 replies

AnotherNC · 09/01/2016 10:44

Surely if your dog jumps up at strangers it should be on a lead?!

Walking in park, 4-month-old baby in baby-carrier (with his feet dangling in furry bootees) a Westie started jumping up at me, scrabbling at my leg and making grabs at baby's foot when he jumped! I yelled at dog to 'get down then shouted at owner to 'get your dog under control' (she responded with a cheery sorry!)

Did I overreact? I wouldn't care so much had I not had baby strapped to me. I get it that baby's bootees might look like toys but I don't want a dog tugging on them or getting mud/slobber everywhere. And I don't want dogs running round my feet particularly when ground is slippery.

Why can't people keep dogs on leads?? It's not the first time random dogs have jumped up in the park.

OP posts:

GoldenBlue · 09/01/2016 12:16

I am a dog owner. A responsible dog owner should be in control it their dogs and ensure they are back on the lead, sat or under tight control when others pass. It is never appropriate to allow a dog to jump up.

But it isn't right to expect a dog to be on a lead all the time, it would be vurtually impossible to provide sufficient exercise to larger dogs under those limitations.

I agree it is also highly inappropriate to allow children to approach and touch dogs without express permission from the owner.

The best way to deal with a dog about to jump up is to sharply raise a knee. It does not offer the same risk to the dog of kicking, but it does offer a disincentive to them jumping up as it will slightly wind them.

My pet dislike is the assumption that little, horrible happy dogs don't need to be kept under control just because they're small

We all need to be responsible

FairyFluffbum · 09/01/2016 12:16

And this saying a baby was in no danger around Westie because it's a small dog, what if the OP had tripped over it?

ArmchairTraveller · 09/01/2016 12:20

Compulsory microchipping.
Dogs on leads in public spaces unless permitted and signs posted to say that they are off leads.
Designated dogparks.
What I want to see is compulsory insurance linked to the microchip, so that if a dog damages property or harms someone, the owner is liable and traceable. Non-microchipped dogs to be taken and held.
I don't have a problem with kill shelters either, it's dog owners that fill them with traumatised and unwanted dogs that have been acquired without thought, neglected and dumped. And will keep on filling them.

Andrewofgg · 09/01/2016 12:20

I can appreciate that dog owners need places to exercise their dogs

They do and they are called gardens. If you haven't got one or it's not big enough you should not be keeping a dog. Parks are for people, especially the small people, the future of our species, whom we all want to see grow into big people, and who are part of a family, unlike pet dogs which are not necessary and are not part of any well-balanced adult human's family.

WaitrosePigeon · 09/01/2016 12:21

My dog wouldn't behave like that anyway, but in places commonly used by dogs then of course he will be off the lead. He's very polite and so am I though, so I would be in like a flash if he was disrupting anyone. He's 12 years old and a bit blind though..

AnthonyBlanche · 09/01/2016 12:22

Absolutely golden but if you want to keep a big dog you need to consider whether you have a sufficintly large private space for it to run around in before you acquire the dog.

I am pleased that from April all dogs will have to be microchipped. Hopefully this is the start of sensible dog control measures being introduced and it won't be long until we have a law that dogs must be on leads at all times in any public place.

WaitrosePigeon · 09/01/2016 12:23

They do and they are called gardens. If you haven't got one or it's not big enough you should not be keeping a dog.

People say that about cats too. Currently there is no law enforcing that so dog owners are free to walk their dogs wherever they wish, but hopefully they will be keeping them under control and away from places that will have lots of people and children around.

ArmchairTraveller · 09/01/2016 12:23

' Nobody said small dogs can't be aggressive.'

Several people have wittered on about westies being small as a reason for not being a risk.

WaitrosePigeon · 09/01/2016 12:25

it won't be long until we have a law that dogs must be on leads at all times in any public place.

It's never ever going to happen. Really it won't.

Seryph · 09/01/2016 12:26

A garden is not an appropriate area for exercising the vast majority of dogs.
And all those saying kicking a dog is appropriate, I take it you won't mind when the dog defends itself by biting you because you attacked it rather than staying calm.
People need to accept animals exist in the world, and there are some very simple basic steps to coexisting. Do not scream at dogs, or run up to them, do not touch a dog without asking the owner first. Don't try to stare a dog down. Don't make excited gestures or pick up your child is a rapid motion because that will encourage the dog to jump.
You wouldn't let your child pull a cat's tail and expect them not to get scratched so why do you let your screaming toddlers run over and thump my dog on his head or back? It terrifies my Labrador, who would never jump up (you can't convince him too at all) and is terrified of loud noises and just wants to hide. Letting children see you be hysterical encourages them to be hysterical and thus not learn how to behave around animals.

ArmchairTraveller · 09/01/2016 12:26

'it won't be long until we have a law that dogs must be on leads at all times in any public place.'

I don't trhink it will be long either, dog owners have had years to self-police and yet there are still problems, everything from dogg shit to a spoilt coat to a dead child. The legislation has increased since I was a child in the 60s, and will continue to do so.

WeAllHaveWings · 09/01/2016 12:27

I am a dog person and I'd never let my lab jump up on anyone.

If it has happened to me and the dog was barking or aggressive it would have got a push/kick away, I know westies are small, but they can jump and if it was getting anywhere nearly my babies dangling feet it would have a kick (not hard enough to cause anything more than a fright) and the owner would have had a few choice words.

If it was just inquisitive and playful, I would have made sure the owner knew I wasn't happy with it jumping up and making my clothes dirty and that she should have it on the lead.

WaitrosePigeon · 09/01/2016 12:27

I remember a while back about someone saying they sprayed cats with bleach so hopefully any posts advocating animal cruelty towards dogs will be pulled up on too.

Blu · 09/01/2016 12:30

I like dogs , in general, but am so sick of incompetent / inconsiderate / arrogant dog owners.

Owners need to know that it is not OK for a dog to be jumping up at people, and that If the dog is not well trained enough then it needs to be on a lead.

hollyisalovelyname · 09/01/2016 12:31

I love dogs but they should be on leads in public places.
There is a lovely esplanade in a town near us, sadly some people let their dogs off lead and they race off and poo. Dog owners may not know and it is left there.
Or their dog goes up causing annoyance to other dogs (on leads) or people.
Can (some) dog lovers not understand that not everybody feels
the same about dogs as they do.

AnthonyBlanche · 09/01/2016 12:32

What makes you so sure there will never be a law that dogs must be on leads in public places Waitrose? All it needs is for there to be sufficient public support for the idea. As there are many more people who don't own dogs than do, I think that support will come in the next few years.

Andrewofgg · 09/01/2016 12:32

Seryph please.

Children, especially if they come from a home without a dog, often don't understand these "rules" and may act in a way which the dog instinctively sees as "aggressive" - especially if the dog's owners have no DC.

In that case all that matters is the safety of the child - all that matters. That the owner is upset, that the dog is "upset", is not important. If you must take a dog to the park (and I make no bones about it, I don't think you should be allowed to) it is your responsibility to see that no child comes to harm from it. Not even a child who does not know your "rules".

if that means you can't give your pet the exercise it "needs" that is JTB. You don't need the bloody animal.

GruntledOne · 09/01/2016 12:33

Certainly dogs need to be kept under control in public places, but I can't really see why you shouted. It looks as if a simple request would have had the same effect.

Noofly · 09/01/2016 12:33

What is a public place? Our dog is walked every day through the fields and woods and local trails and so on. Part of the walks are usually along dual cycle/walking paths. Our dog is off lead as soon as we are away from the roads and during an hour long walk we'll usually run into say 6-12 people, most of whom also have a dog but the odd one doesn't (he's made to heel or put on lead depending on the situation). Are these public places? If so, and all dogs need to be on lead at all times, I suspect we'd end up with loads of of dogs with behavioural problems. A run around the garden isn't generally enough stimulation for a dog.

pieceofpurplesky · 09/01/2016 12:33

I always keep my dog on a lead. He is small and gets lots of running about in my garden. As he is a pug lots of people want to come and stroke him or coo over him - he is great but will jump up when someone strokes him because he thinks they have treats

WaitrosePigeon · 09/01/2016 12:33

I think there so should be some mandatory training or license though to own a dog. I see some dreadful behaviour from some dogs and their owners.

I am usually pushing the pushing with my dog and the amount of other dogs (sometimes walking through town with no lead - yes really!) that bound up to us all wet and muddy is infuriating.

It makes me a better dog owner though as I am always so conscious of my sdogs behaviour and making everyone feel safe and unaffected. Sadly not everyone is like that..

Andrewofgg · 09/01/2016 12:35

Noofly Park and streets in towns are public places.

WaitrosePigeon · 09/01/2016 12:35

What makes you so sure there will never be a law that dogs must be on leads in public places Waitrose? All it needs is for there to be sufficient public support for the idea. As there are many more people who don't own dogs than do, I think that support will come in the next few years.

I mean in regards to fields and the like. I don't know how it would be enforced. We may end up having out of control dogs if they aren't able to be walked properly.

I agree with them being on leads through towns and busy places though, definitely.

AnthonyBlanche · 09/01/2016 12:36

A public space is anywhere where there are members of the public noofly, so includes the places you describe. Better 6 million dogs with behavioural problems than one human attacked by an out of control dog.

AnUtterIdiot · 09/01/2016 12:37

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Flip

1 2 3 4 5 6 ··· 12 13