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??

Oh my word. People are truly mad!
I don't own a cat but I'm very fond of them.

this is my first dog thread, I think I'll keep off cat threads, I dont really have much of an opinion on cats

I quite like cats. I wouldn't have one as a pet, but cats are cute and I'd happily sit and stroke one if I was visiting someone who owns a cat. Again I'd be a bit at someone who is deeply obsessed with their cat though.

cats are what dogs ought to be
all small and relatively innocuous, if some domestic cats were the size of pit ponies with panther sized jaws then we'd have reason to complain about cats!

It would be helpful if dog owners could appreciate that many of us do not want a 'friendly sniff' or the like from your dog and asked others if they minded their dog approaching them.

I wouldn't dream of letting my chidren annoy other people - or approach animals without speaking to the owner first - and would appreciate being afforded the same courtesy.

I know several children who are terrified of dogs. In all cases, this has been caused by having strange dogs running up and barking at them when they were very small, and in one case, the little boy seeing a random dog run up and bite his dad's leg for no apparent reason.

'I don't know why he did that - he's been lots better lately' said the owner.

That's okay then.

She claims to not dislike dogs, yet has yet to demonstrate any understanding of them or any affection.

yes I like dogs if they are polite, and I am not generally frightened of them, large dog make me feel a bit wary though

fwiw my (adult) children also both like dogs and are not generally frightened of them, my daughter is probably more of a dog person than I am, we had dogs as pets when they were younger

I especially like scottie dogs

yes, I was Shining12 my account wouldn't let me in so I had to make a new one

Sheep killer

Never Lynda
Gorgeous face!

Here is my carnivorous potential toddler killer. She is absolved of the accusation of pram-spraying as she does not, obviously, cock her leg.

I was joking! He's never met a sheep but I doubt he'd try and kill one. He tries to lick the cat.

But this thread has been bugging me all day because I've realised that I've lived 50 years on this earth before getting a dog. In that time, I've never had one run up to me and paw me, never been sniffed, never had pram wheels pissed on. I've run and cycled hundreds of km and never had any trouble.

I have had one negative experience when DS was really small and some greyhounds came bounding over on the beach, he freaked out, I picked him up and they jumped up. And their owners just shouted (from a long way away) 'don't worry - they won't hurt him!' I was really fucking angry because that wasn't the point. The point was that they had no control and didn't care that my baby was scared.

So I totally get that. But there is a lot of hyperbole on this thread.

I'm in the gin and dog camp. Would prefer treats rather than tears

These threads always go the same way - people post pictures of their cute pooches as if they could ever hurt a fly - when the reality is, some cute dogs do kill and harm people, and it doesn't matter how cute yours is, it's not unreasonable to fear dogs and not want them in your space on a promenade, where they should be on leads.

GinAndDogCamp.com

I can see that catching on

Pinky - there has been no case of a Boston terrier killing anyone ever. But that s not the point.

The point is that there is a huge difference - nay, a veritable gulf - between dogs being a bit sniffy and irritating (and I totally agree) and being mad slavering killers. And most dogs are neither.

Like I said, I've one bad experience with dogs in 50 years of life. I'm not sure why the OP and some others on this thread have had such bad experiences but I don't think they're the norm.

I don't find any photos of dogs cute. They're just dogs.

I had two little rescue Yorkies, but had to have my lovely 16 yr old blind boy put to sleep at 12.30am, Sunday. He's been a comfort to me while I've went through court to make sure my nephews, that lived with me, maintained contact with their sister, as I've nursed my husband through terminal cancer, become parental figure/carer for the same niece and lost my darling husband.

He was ONLY a dog, but...
he didn't abuse my niece and nephews, unlike their parents,
He would climb up beside them and nuzzle them, giving them comfort, unlike their parents,
Quickly forgave them if they hurt him
Never ran up to a child and annoyed them, unlike numerous children
He lay beside my dying husband and gave him comfort,
Cried and howled when my husband's body was brought home, then would barely eat/move for the next few weeks.

Do I like dogs more than some humans? Fuck yes! They've never hurt me the way humans have. If that makes me weird, then so be it. I'd rather be thought if as a weirdo than some paranoid dog hater.

Oh Poverty, your poor little yorkie, I'm so sorry.

Oh, and I can 100% say my yorkie never has and never will attack anyone. Well, he definitely won't now as he only has a few teeth. Oh and he's definitely cute, no doubt about that

In fact all these doggies are just lovely.

Fuck the moaning myrtles!

Gorgeous dogs.