To demand people keep their dogs away from me on the seafront

[TigerPath]

I'm sick of random dogs coming up to sniff me and DS or getting under my feet. All dogs make me nervous even small ones. And I hate it when they cock their leg on my pram wheels

So now when a dog comes up to me or just before it reaches me I shout to the owner (politely but firmly) 'please keep your dog away from me/my pram'
Most oblige but a number are rude! Yesterday a woman retorted crossly 'but it's the sea-front'. I replied 'they should be on leads' and got a mouthful of abuse. There is a bloody great sign saying 'dogs should be on leads on the promenade'!! I wouldn't care if people kept them to heel but I don't want them touching me, my pram or tripping me up

AIBU??

whats with all this accusing posters of hating dogs?
it's irrelevant, it's not like being racist or sexist you know, disliking dogs is not a moral failing

I get that that they feel an intense love for their dog

I have noticed that many dog owners are creepily in love with their pets, preoccupied with the dogs bodily functions, all that billing and cooing, pillow talk stuff

merry i'm not a dog owner, i just don't find any dog scary or intimadating and i'm sick of the same sentence being trotted out that's all. Some people do feel scared or intimidated, which is fine, but don't say that all big dogs are just because you think they are because not everybody feels that way.(not you btw).
*can't yes agree with you there, same as not everybody finds other people's kids adorable.
However we all have to exsist.

Shining if you can make it a 'dog hater' problem you can ignore the fact that a dog that is allowed to run up to every living thing it meets will also be annoying sheep, horses, cows, deer, other dogs, other dog owners, farmers etc. etc.

Creepingly in love?! No.

What because I acknowledge they deserve to run off lead?

Some of you on this thread need to seek professional help for your anxiety and hatred towards dogs.
It's not healthy especially of whom have children and could quite easily pick up on thisz

Shining, Maybe that's why they probably get offended and defensive about their dog when people talk about how they don't like dogs.
I have family members and friends who are actually obsessed with their dogs. If I was to tell them I don't like dogs including theirs, they'd probably fall out with me and fiercely defend their dog , as if I am not allowed my own opinion about dogs. It's that bad.

Of course I defend my dogs.

Why wouldn't I? If I don't nobody else will. But I don't dress them up and have pillow talk with them FFS.

They are my dogs not substitute children.

I don't need professional help just because I don't like dogs. I don't like spiders either, as lots of people don't. Why are dogs any more superior that I need to seek help because I dislike them? Why would I waste my money on trying to make myself like your dog?

Some people do feel scared or intimidated, which is fine, but don't say that all big dogs are just because you think they are because not everybody feels that way.(not you btw).

It is right to be wary of strange dogs though - and strange horses and strange cats. Children need to be taught not to be unreasonably frightened of animals, but also that you shouldn't touch strange dogs and that you need to respect dogs and understand their body language.

As much as many people are scared of dogs to the point if phobia, many people are overly confident with strange animals (and even their own animals) when they shouldn't be.

However all a dog owner needs to do is whistle their dog back and they have both shown that they are in control and moved their dog out of the way of harm. It will quickly become apparent if other strangers/dogs want to make friends with the dog.

they deserve to run off lead?

They don't have any right to run off lead. They are allowed off lead if kept under control. Why would you want your dog to approach random strangers who haven't shown any indication of wanting to have anything to do with your dog?

Exactly what mardybum said.
And to all the dog owners who act hoity toity about restricting off leads further in public places, I say you should have lived in a country where there are NO off lead spaces- as I and my dog have- and see how that works out for you.

I have family members and friends who are actually obsessed with their dogs.

If I was to tell them I don't like dogs including theirs, they'd probably fall out with me and fiercely defend their dog

I have seen similar, to them the dog is a sort of partner, child, and extension of their own body all rolled into one, all their emotional needs are met by the dog, no wonder they leap to it's defense at the slightest sign other dont hold it in such high esteem

Of course they deserve to run off lead.

They aren't misbehaving in any so why would I deny them that?

I haven't seen any dog owners that disagree with you Hands. Its the view that all dogs are a potential killer in waiting and should be muzzled at all times incase they have a brain seisure that I am struggling with

Merry you seem obsessed with this notion of dogs running up to people. I've told you more than once my dogs aren't interested in other people. They don't run up to people.

In actuality it's the other way around. People want to know about them and stroke them.

Imagine that.

However all a dog owner needs to do is whistle their dog back and they have both shown that they are in control and moved their dog out of the way of harm

I'm unconvinced of the ability of most owners to actually recall their dogs, yesterday I saw 2 terriers came running full pelt out of a park and into the road chasing after a fox, the owners followed shouting at the dogs to come back.

How much attention did the dogs pay to the owners?
exactly none at all
they were totally consumed by the exhilaration of chasing that fox, their instincts kicked in and they joyously did what dogs do, giving themselves over completely to the thrill of the moment.

I expected to hear screeching of brakes followed by agonised yelping, luckily there were no cars
Dogs dont have very good impulse control....thats why they need to be kept on leads

Of course they deserve to run off lead
sure, only not in a public place where they can harass people, do it in your own garden
dont have a garden big enough?
then dont have an animal that needs to run freely
end of

they threw a strop and cried
cried?
really?

I think this is a case of extreme anthropomorphism.
Your relative see's the dog as a human trapped in a dog's body, all the thoughts and feelings of a human but unable to express them.
She imagines how that poor trapped human must feel when it learns that it has been excluded from a social occasion and then she empathises with her fantasy of what the dog is feeling
she feels those feeling herself and cries.

It's like she doesnt have proper boundaries, she feels that she and the dog are somehow one being

No sorry Shining. They will run off lead where appropriate.

YY shining we have a relative like this. They have a dog who is aggressive, has bitten, generally not under control etc. they threw a strop and cried when I said they couldn't bring their dog to a family BBQ where my DC would be last year. Apparently their dog is their child and I should be sensitive to that. Funnily enough I wasn't going to chance it that the dog may have attacked one of my DC, but hey what a bitch I am for banning that dog.

I would have done exactly the same. They sound far too up their own arses to see your POV. If they want to see their dog as their child then whatever, they can if that's what they want to do. But not everyone else will and they shouldn't have to.

I don't visit my mum because she has dogs.

Well of course Hands - walking through a field with any livestock means dog on lead however well trained they are. That's a given.