to report these dogs?

[lunar1]

I walk my children to school and back every day. Due to a road with no footpath on one side and a canal on the other there is only one way to go, the only alternative is about a 4 mile detour.

Part of the path we walk down is about 1.5m wide with fences at one side to the house and railings to the other where the stream that runs off the canal is. I'm just giving the detail to highlight that there is no way to move further away from these dogs without swimming to school!

One of the houses on the corner/start of the path have removed their wooden 8ft fencing and replaced with iron railings. They have two huge dogs, and every time they see anyone they continuously bark and growl. They always seem to be in the garden with no owner in sight.

My children love dogs, but these two are starting to terrify them. My youngest is 4 and is asking not to go to school and crying. I reassure them that the dogs are fine and can't get out, but honestly they scare me too!

Would I be unreasonable to report them? And who too? They are going to have to either keep there dogs in or put the panels back up so they can't see the path.

Yes, but you and me do actually have dogs and kids, so get the problem.

For avoidance of doubt, it wasn't the op I considered to be a special snowflake. If that were the case I'd have said so straight off and saved myself both time and effort.

I think this is the first time in 4 years I've been accused of being a troll though

Do you need a music score for that change of tune?

It's not 'special snowflake', it's irresponsible of the owners to allow their dogs to cause a nuisance by barking aggressively at a fence which borders a public footpath. My dogs bark if people pass the front window and if someone knocks the door, I don't allow that to continue unchecked, it's noise nuisance to my neighbours for one thing and alarming to people going about their business. I don't leave them barking in the garden either even though it's securely fenced and not overlooked. Being a responsible dog owner means ensuring your dogs don't cause a nuisance to others and these owners are at the very least walking a tightrope with noise and antisocial behaviour laws and sections of the DDA. Just from the perspective of keeping the dogs safe from overzealous application of the DDA legislation it would be best if the owners either kept their dogs away from the fence or replaced it with a solid one but I can see it from both sides tbh and don't think the OP is being unreasonable in not wanting her children to be barked at so aggressively when walking past either. It's not a good situation all round but the implications for the dogs are far worse than some people realise, I've seen cases where totally friendly, well behaved dogs have been pts for less than the behaviour the OP describes. Please ring the dog warden OP, if the owners care about their dogs they will take the wardens advice to keep the dogs away from the fence or replace it with solid panels and everyone will be happy.

Not at all Tit, but if you wish to provide me with one along with the troll insinuations, be my guest

Please do NOT throw food at them, or bang a stick along the fence, or any of the silly suggestions on this thread that involve trying to interact with the dog. For one thing, feeding someone else's dog is an absolute no-no. Secondly, the stick against the railings will just rile them up even more. Foolish suggestions.

Please don't bang on the fence with a stick If they are aggressive then you risk making them 10 times worse. Sometimes dogs look aggressive but are just bored and have nothing else to do and it's become a game to them.
Also feeding them is a stupid idea for a million reasons, the first being that treating a dog is a recognised method of positive reinforcement, so you are treating them for barking at you.

Just walk past and ignore them. They can't get out. They are not dangerously out of control- they are behind bars they can't get out. As someone who works with dogs the council its unlikley they would act on this. If they were running wild outside then that's different but they are secure on someone's private property. The law about people being worried is not set in stone, what if someone just takes offence to my dog and reports It? Obviously it won't be destroyed unless it has good reason, evidence and proof it has actually done something. These cases go to court and take months, it is NOT just a case of that dog scares me so destroy it and I wish people would stop scaremongering that this is the case. No dogs have been destroyed for barking through a fence. The dogs haven't actually done anything wrong, plenty of dogs bark and it does not make them worth of euthanasia

It would annoy me too but I would just use this to explain to the children that some dogs we don't touch or interact with but We don't speak to them and move on.
I personally wouldn't leave my dogs barking at people but it's a fact of life that not everyone is responsible (trust me I try and educate these people every day!) and we have to learn to deal with it and honestly there are worse things than a dog barking through a fence to get mad about.

Tit Leash laws in the US are not federally mandated and in many places are determined at town level. There are lots of places where there is no leash law and instead dogs need to be under the control of their owner. At the other extreme, the Massachusetts town where I grew up, for example, has no leash law and dogs are free to roam so long as they are not a nuisance.

It is possible that the dogs are acting as a deterrent to burglars and trespassers and help the house occupants feel safer in their home. There might well be lots of other people that use the canal tow-path that the dog owners might wish to deter. The dogs could well be like many dogs and bark/growl at people walking past their territory and lovely at all other times. The times that the OP walks down it might also be the same times that the dogs are out too. I really don't think it's a 'reporting' issue really - although I do sympathise when dc are scared.

If they were smaller dogs would OP and her dc be so scared?

Regardless of the size of the dogs, I think it's inappropriate to let them intimidate people on a public footpath.
I would find out the address and write to the owners, suggesting they put up a double fence or a solid fence.
It sounds dangerous, what if a child put their hand through and got bitten?

Thank you everyone for your replies. I'm going to think over the options this weekend. It's not the size or breed of the dogs, it's their behaviour.

This morning we walked past 14 dogs, 4 we knew and they petted 8 we passed without incident and these bloody two! Their behaviour was the same this morning. As we were approaching I pointed out all the railings to show my children that there is no way for them to get out. And we talked about different dogs and behaviour and training. I said that they may think they are protecting their home.

I won't be going round to the house under any circumstance. I run the risk of being branded hysterical, giving my children a fear of dogs and there is nothing wrong with their dogs behaviour. I have no choice but to walk past them 4 times a day, if I complain it will be anonymous. I'm doing pickup at a different time today, it will be interesting to see if they are out then too.

That could easily happen anotherNC, the railings are plenty wide enough for an arm!

Report them for what?

YABU

They are fenced in their own garden.

If a person was behaving in a threatening way from their own garden would that be ok?

But a person can make a choice to leave the garden and cause harm. The dogs are locked away and can't physically get out so they can't do anything but bark? It's annoying but not dangerous as they can't get to you!

They're not people OP. They are dogs. It's not a valid comparison.

Dogs bark,my parents dog goes batshit every time anyone approaches their house - it's their protective instinct. The fact that once she gets to anyone she wants to play and be petted is besides the point, she still sounds aggressive to people passing.

Dog owners have a duty to ensure dogs are kept secured, and it sounds like the owners do this as they are fenced in. I appreciate that you may not like the noise, but there really isn't anything anyone would do in this situation.

Work with your kids to conquer their fears, it will be good for them. It does no good to avoid things kids are afraid of, they must face them or you risk breeding a lifetime of fear when there really is no need.

Make a game of it, get them giggling about the dogs and they will be fine.

It's a few seconds twice a day, it really doesn't need to be a big deal!

A stray dog came out of nowhere when my ds was about 2 years old, while we are walking down a road with houses on both sides. The dog wasn't aggressive but by jumping on to him, the dog nocked him down to the ground. He is not scared of dogs in general now, but he would have gone into panic if he saw two dogs barking at him when he was 4. So, I think YANBU.

Irvine that's also not a valid comparison. These dogs are secured.

these dogs are not loose Irvine, they are secured in their own garden! Ridiculous comparison to make!

It wouldn't surprise me at all if the local dog warden already knows about these dogs. Since they are by a public footpath other people may have reported their behaviour, and the neighbours are probably sick to death of the barking. The owners could help matters a lot by re-instating the solid fence - the dogs are clearly very stressed and it can't be doing them any good at all to get so worked up every time someone walks past.

We walk along a pathway where there is a gate into a garden with a dog. It is a small, friendly dog, but it sticks it nose under the gate and barks when anyone goes past. There is no danger, but my son was terrified and did not want to walk that way, it has also made him afraid of other dogs.
I spoke to the owner (who had heard DS scared and crying), and they put something across the gate to stop the dog getting there.

I agree there is no real danger from the dogs in your situation OP, but can understand why it might cause fear and upset in a small child, and also lead them to develop a fear of all dogs.

I don't think the law will apply in this situation, as there is no risk, but it may be worth speaking to the council, if they have a dog control officer (many do) they may be willing to pop around and have a chat with the owner.
It could also possibly be classed as antisocial behaviour? The council may already be aware of the animals.