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??

Marking place so I can come back for a good laugh when I'm bored.

PMSL at the idea of calling the police because a dog is off a lead

Personally, I'd rather the police were focusing on CRIMES like murder, rape, burglary - and lesser crimes such as bullying in school etc.

Dogs know when someone doesn't like them or their attentions. All you have to do is turn your back, or say NO, firmly.

And if a random stranger started yelling at me because my dog was not on a lead, but happily engaged elsewhere not bothering anyone I might be tempted to call the police myself and report a disturbed, verbally aggressive person... far more dangerous than a dog IMHO.

[running like the wind and waiting for shouts of GF from all sides] Lighten up OP

Definitely report any irresponsible behaviour! I think we can all agree on that.

Fucking lol at give yourself an ulcer

Farrow, as I said in my OP, the dog was approaching my pram. It was off-lead (despite sign saying all dogs should be on leads on promenade). Nor was it walking to heel, it was trotting from person to person weaving all over the place. Then it made a beeline for me and DS!

I don't have a problem with dogs that walk to heel. But IME very few dogs walk to heel, they zig zag all over the place, sniffing strangers and getting in the way! And some jump up.

Once they start sniffing round my legs it's hard to stop them jumping up, weeing on pram wheels or trying to sniff DS! So I would rather they didn't approach me in the first place.

If your dog can't be trusted to walk to heel, put a lead on him! It's that simple.

I wonder what would happen if I let my horse walk by himself along the promenade, sniffing everyone and running up to say 'hello' to strangers. He's very friendly and impeccably trained, excellent recall. He won't hurt you. He might rub his sweaty head on your chest but don't worry, he's just showing affection. You're worried he might knock you over? Oh but he has a right to roam free! Can't you jump out of his way? He loves to gallop along the beach then circle around you, kicking sand into your face and over your picnic. What, you find him intimidating? Oh you must hate horses!

In the 70s, it was a lot worse than it is today - lots more dogs (because more women stayed at home), far fewer neutered/spayed dogs and many more strays, no culture of picking up dog mess, no poo bins, no laws against dog fouling. But the biggest difference, which is quite funny, was the quality and consistency of the dog food. As tinned dog food was basically bone meal, it used to just turn white on the pavement. Nowadays, with a much higher meat content, it's much more - well, more as it is now. Just saying!

My mum was an early adopter and I used to die of embarrassment when she insisted on picking up dog mess. As a teenager I always tried to walk a few paces behind her, but it was in vain as it was a tiny village so everyone knew we were together..

m.youtube.com/watch?v=x2RJN9a_jdM

Now how could you be frightened of that ?!

NeedAClever I love that clip always cheers me up also contains Boxers and I am most definitely a boxer fan

I do not believe that every do that walks past you off lead either sniffs you, jumps up at you or wees on your pram.

I have never seen a dog wee on a pram.
EVER.

I'm sorry OP but I don't believe that these things happen to you as often as you say they do. I see many dogs every single day, three times a day and don't see the things you complain about.
How can that be OP?

Oh and I love horses too and am not out out by them one bit.

I'd love to meet a horse walking along the promenade.

I'm an animal lover, see.

Put out not out out.

It's mind blowing to me that people can become so bitter about those sort of incidences.

It's mind blowing to me that anybody would assume that a random stranger would want to be sniffed or touched by a dog any more than they would assume that stranger would want to be sniffed or touched by a person. It's not even as though all dogs like to be sniffed or touched by either random people or dogs.

I wouldn't be upset that a dog/sheep/pony/rabbit doesn't want to have anything to do with my dog, so why would I be upset that a person thinks this? I'm not going to start telling next door's elderly collie that she is a spaniel hater because she likes my jumpy young dog to know his place, or call her a gf because she growls or show her YouTube videos. I respect the fact that she likes to keep boundaries. Why wouldn't I show the same respect to people?

It makes it so much harder for other dog owners when people complain about 'dog haters' rather than accepting that dogs can be a problem - it just makes the 'dog haters' more anxious because dog owners appear not to have a clue.

That's the thing Merry I don't believe that there are that many dogs doing all this sniffing and jumping up.

I don't see it and you'd think that I would seeing as I'm out every single day of my life meeting many many dogs.

Oh, do bugger off with your stupid horse analogy.

As usual with these stupid outraged of anti-dogshire threads, there's no acknowledgement of the world of variation out there. A big dog that jumps up at people - or any dog that is aggressive to other people or dogs - should not be off the lead. Aggressive dogs should be muzzled. A dog that has attacked other dogs or people should be put down and NEVER be rehomed.

A dog that minds its own business and can be called back/ which walks at heel - totally fine to be off the lead wherever.

For those suggesting you should ring the police - I've rung the police twice to report dangerous dogs. Once when a pitbull cross (on the lead) went for my dog and then dragged its owner across the pavement to leap up and go for me - snapping and snarling. Police took a report and my details and that was the last I heard of it (owner had long since walked off swearing at me as she went and claiming "he was only playing" - lol). Then again when another enormous pitbull cross (off the lead) went for my dog and spent about five minutes chasing him when my dog ran away, while his retarded dog walker called after him. I took the dog walker's name (after much abuse from the dog walker and, again, claims that "he wouldn't hurt a fly", "he's only playing" etc. etc.) and rang the police. The police basically laughed at me and said they weren't interested in dog on dog aggression - told me to ring the RSPCA. I rang the RSPCA, who told me to ring the police.

So good luck reporting dogs off the lead!

The RSPCA are shit.

Re: horses, where I live ponies do wonder the streets. They don't usually come up and sniff anyone (because it is normal for them to be wary of people) unless they have become accustomed to being fed by strangers. They then tend to become a nuisance and it isn't good for them for a variety of reasons . It's only really safe for the ponies (and other animals) to roam around because they generally ignore other animals and people.

Most animals know that you need to read body language before you sniff another animal, and if you get it wrong they will quickly make their feelings known.

I was really surprised that the RSPCA were so useless! I thought they had inspectors they sent out?

No experience with them when it comes to dogs, but when it comes to investigating suffering and/or mistreatment, they're shit. All they're interested in is their PR and fundraising for their wage packets.

For those suggesting you should ring the police - I've rung the police twice to report dangerous dogs. Once when a pitbull cross (on the lead) went for my dog and then dragged its owner across the pavement to leap up and go for me - snapping and snarling. Police took a report and my details and that was the last I heard of it (owner had long since walked off swearing at me as she went and claiming "he was only playing" - lol). Then again when another enormous pitbull cross (off the lead) went for my dog and spent about five minutes chasing him when my dog ran away, while his retarded dog walker called after him. I took the dog walker's name (after much abuse from the dog walker and, again, claims that "he wouldn't hurt a fly", "he's only playing" etc. etc.) and rang the police. The police basically laughed at me and said they weren't interested in dog on dog aggression - told me to ring the RSPCA. I rang the RSPCA, who told me to ring the police.

I've had a terrible time with pit bulls but someone will be along soon to tell you that they're lovely dogs.

I've personally had my bottom shredded by a pit bull when I picked up my dog to protect her from charging pit bulls and I've had a dog with her jaw broken in 14 pieces from a pit bull, but I'm sure that's all coincidence.

I tried to put my fears aside and let my dog co-mingle with a pit bull having a very naice owner at the dog park but he bit and drew blood from my golden retriever puppy and then pinned her down, snarling.

I am terrified of pit bulls.

But back to the subject at hand - the UK is a nation of dog lovers so I can only assume this thread is not representative. I agree that people who don't like dogs are entitled to their dog-free spaces, but at the same time dogs need exercise and those with good recall should be off-lead in suitable places.

And yes the police will absolutely be useless when it comes to dogs that are not under their owner's control. They can't do anything about them in London, so how are they going to do anything about them in these remote outposts?

I agree that a good proportion of dogs don't care about people, don't approach them and are under control, but it only takes a few to make everyone else look bad.

some dog owners clearly don't accept that you shouldn't let your dog approach somebody unless it is clear that they are welcome and you shouldn't let your dog off lead if you can't recall it. These are the people who cause there to be dog restrictions in public spaces, not the so called 'dog haters'.

I'm not concerned about people arguing that even clearly well trained dogs should be on lead at all times because it's not a strong argument. However, when you say that nobody should mind being sniffed by an unknown off lead dog (and that if they do they are a dog hater or need to deal with their phobias), you argue the 'all dogs on leads' case for them.

The bottom line is that if a dog owner can't control which humans and animals their dog approaches it should be on a lead.

Why are every bull breed referred to as a pit bull?!

American bull terriers aka pit bulls are illegal in this country. That's not to say they aren't here, they are. But the chance that every dog attack is by a pit bull is slim.