To shout at this dog-owner?

[AnotherNC]

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.

Well this thread is going well .

I'm so glad I don't live in MN world, where every dog is a fatal attack predator who must be tied up like Hannibal Lecter before going out, and every child has been bitten or threatened by an out of control dog while their owner cackled and urged them on in the background.

I live one minute's walk from a park, have three kids and a dog, and no one has bitten anyone. We have met many other dogs and kids, avoided the unpleasant ones and had a lot of fun with those who want to play with us.

There are always going to be things you hate in a public place. The cyclists who tear through the footpaths put dogs, kids and old folk at risk, and are not following the Highway Code by being out of control on a footpath. I don't like them, but I wouldn't knock over their bikes or spearhead a campaign to have them banned, because that would involve me expending considerable effort to undermine someone's freedom. If I found myself doing that, I wouldn't be very happy at the kind of person I had become.

Coffee thank you!!! A sensible post!

I'm leaving this thread now safe in the knowledge that it is only a matter of time before further dog control measures are introduced. Compulsory Microchiping is just the start

Bye Anthony!

Let us know how you get on with your 'No Dogs in Towns or Cities' campaign. I'd say it will be right up there with 'Let's Make Pubs Illegal' in terms of things that appeal to the UK populace's imagination.

mitzy don't engage.
Mitzy I'm actually for microchipping. Hopefully it will stop people who aren't going to take care of them having one?

Definitely. I'm absolutely pro-microchipping.

Enormous lab jumped up at me the other day mud all over coat. Owners response? "He never does that". Errr he just sodding did!

I was walking once with Ds in a sling and an German shepherd up at me and was snarling and snapping at Ds legs. My reaction was to knee the dog as hard as possible. Luckily there was a gate that I managed somehow to get over but the dog was snarling and trying to get at us. Lucky for me a couple of community policeman turned the corner towards us and they managed to get the dog under control but it was going crazy barking and trying to get at them. Turns out the dog had bitten twice before after escaping from owners garden and was put down. Love to know how I should have handled that differently as oppose to kneeing the dog. I defended myself and my baby the same way I would have done against a human being. But maybe i was cruel and should have just let the dog have us.

Icey - children can have a massive phobia of dogs without it having come from their parents. It also very difficult to get rid of in children with asd and sld. Ds isn't scared of dogs unless they are noisy and jumpy but he doesn't understand what they are and he may well make a lot of noise around them or behave in an unpredictable way because that is how he is.

To me if you don't want your dog pushed of kneed to get off people then teach them not to jump up and if they can't be taught have them on a lead and if you still think your dog need to go off the lead walk them early in the morning or late evening when as few people are about as possible.

I don't understand the mentality of parents who allow the children to be scared of ridiculous things like a dog walking past them

Iceyrider you think it's a choice?

Do you think I was happy to see my daughter so terrified that she would run into a main road (and I am a reins user BTW so she wasn't at risk of getting away from me) rather than face a dog?

My older DC is 100% fine with dogs. Her fear didn't stem from anything we did.

But hey , I must've enabled her eh?

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.
andrewofgg

Seriously!?!

Dolly you had a horrible experience and did the right thing in that situation. You were attacked by a dog and escaped.

If a small dog was jumping up at you in a playful, non-aggressive way and you had the same response that would be a bit different. I'm glad both you and DC are/were okay and unhurt.

I'm not a big fan if dogs but don't like the thought of everyone having to be on a lead at all times.

I appreciate most jumping dogs are trying to be friendly But dogs approaching me make me wary.

I've had a "friendly" jump by a Rottweiler change to an attack almost ripping my f face off in seconds. I've been slightly on edge around dogs running at me ever since.

Now, whenever I see one coming at me I ask the owners to recall them, sometimes I'll say I've been attacked in the past and am wary, mostly they do so and smile and say good morning. But sometimes they totally ignore me, say the dig is being friendly, try to make me stroke the damn thing thinking they can " cure" me, that if I show fear when their dog jumps at me, it will sense it and attack?!? Yup, that puts my mind at fucking rest.

I'm sorry but my past experience makes me want to kick dogs off when they jump at me, esp big breeds, the only thing that stops me is worry that it'll make the dog become aggressive.

There are places that I expect to see dogs off leads and I avoid them, because I know I'm unreasonable expecting them to never be off the lead. But I don't think I'm unreasonable for wanting to pop to the shops, take dd to school etc and not have to plan for a dog jumping at me.

Also, a non aggressive dog jumping up at people can still cause harm, esp to an eldery person or a child, a large dog could knock them over, and small ones are a tripping hazard.

Like I say, I don't want all dogs on leads at all times, but I wish that some owners would put them on leads esp if they have bad recall in places like high streets, outside schools etc.

Our local park has a fenced and gated play area and a fenced sports area where dogs aren't allowed........and Guess What!
That doesn't apply to all dog owners . Nope.

Bit like the drivers who don't think a Right Turn Only sign doesn't apply to them. But they put arrowed signs up for them to ignore too.

My dad instinctively kicked away a dog as it went to bite my sisters face (she was strapped into a buggy at the time). The owner was "upset" but honestly if your dog attacks, people, especially parents of under twos, are obliged to fend them off whether you like it or not.

Ignore him SheSellsSanctuary, previous threads have shown that that particular person to be anything but a well-balanced human when it comes to dogs.

Dogs aside I take issue with the idea that parks are 'especially for small people'. Such a nonsense idea.

I don't understand the mentality of parents who allow the children to be scared of ridiculous things like a dog walking past them

Do people really believe stuff like this or do they just post it to be inflammatory? Do you really think that parents can control what their children are and are not afraid of?

ALL dogs can be dangerous. My mother had a friend whose dog went for her after 8 years of peaceful living. She was painting, dropped a paintbrush and the dog flipped and bit her badly. She had a 8 year old granddaughter at the time so the dog was put down. You can NEVER tell if your dog will flip or not. Therefore it should always be under control at all times. For most dogs that means being on a short lead (the long extendable ones are a menace in their own right). For the odd one, they will be under absolute recall and can be let off lead. That will probably only apply to police dogs and similar very well trained dogs. If your dog needs to be off-lead then you need to run with it. If you are not fit enough, have a lap dog.

And yes cyclists on pavements are annoying, but they don't jump up at me, or knock me over, or lick me (having licked another dog's bottom) and they don't bite.

Dogs are expensive to keep so they are a bit like status symbols. Therefore some of their owners think they are somehow more important than anyone else. It's a bit like having an expensive car in a way.

When I was in Berlin last year I was in the Gruenewald in the west of the city. They had different zones - dog-friendly, dog-on-lead-friendly and no dogs. I wish we could do that too.

I liked dogs, but they didn't like me. I find them unpredictable. But, like people, some dogs are very nice, and others are not. I've been bitten several times in my life. It was my fault.

My cousin had rescued a greyhound after it had been hit by a car. She recovered physically, but she would be spooked by sudden movements. My cousin gave me fair warning about this, but I was about 11 and I didn't think when I ran through the living room. The greyhound chased me to the end of the garden, and bit me on the arse. She turned round and trotted back in. It was my own stupid fault. I don't know what the point of this post was supposed to be.

Dollymixtureyumyum
You did nothing wrong, the dog was attacking you defended yourself x

Oh I didn't know Anthony had form, I shall ignore all the silliness from now on

Yeah Anthony always pops up on dog threads to have a whinge.

Sorry that happened to you Stanky.

Maybe I need to make a spreadsheet, Maryz style!

Another yes I do believe that you can teach your children how to behave around dogs. I also think that the moment immediately after any type of incident determine how someone reacts in the future. If you laugh and act like it's ok (even if your fuming inside) the child is far less likely to be scared in the future than if you get cross, scream shout whatever. That reaction isn't helpful to your child and increases their fear. If you expose children to dogs from a young age (in controlled environments) and teach them what to do if a dog does approach them (idle not screaming or running). A parents role is to equip their children for life not wrap them up in cotton wool and allow them to be frightened of everyday occurrences.
As a kid our extended family all had dogs. My sister was jumped on by a puppy once and it scratched her. She got upset and my mum cleaned her up gave her a cuddle and then took her through to where the dog was to make friends with him. The next time we were due a visit my sister was worried about going. Mum sat her down and explained how to behave, as we walked in the door my aunt held onto the dog and my sister held my mums hand. Once we were sat down the dog was brought through and all was well. Over the next few weeks my mum deliberately set up situations where my sister would come into contact with dogs so my sister had lots and lots of positive experiences with dogs. My sister now is the one who spoils my dog rotten and is currently curled up on the sofa with her.

Icey makes some good points.