AIBU?
to be angry when a staff. bull dog wanders into my garden with my DS playing
daisycat01 · 03/04/2007 16:57
I am quite angry, but also shocked at how unconcerned the owner was. We live about 2 fields away from a farm. My boys were playing in our garden, at the end of the garden is a hedge and behind are fields. I had just finished hanging out the washing and was inside when I noticed a white staffordshire dog wandering in the garden. I got my 1.5yr old and 4 yr old inside and shut the back door as the dog started running up to us. I had no idea where it came from or what it would do if I tried to touch it. I am not a doggy person, I dont mind them but dont know how to deal with them. I went to get my neighbour and when we came back it wandered into the field. I went onto the field to see a lady calling it (the dog just ignored her) I went up to her and asked her if it was her dog, yes she said, I said that it was in my garden and she just said "oh she is always wandering off!" I was really annoyed by that, especially given the breed. I said "can you make sure it doesnt again as it was in my garden with my 2 ds who are very small" she said "oh she wont do any harm, she loves children", How am I suppossed to know that. If I see it again I am reporting it to the police!!! Is that unreasonable??
wannaBeWhateverIWannaBe · 03/04/2007 17:03
yes. the woman walked her dog in the field, fair enough the dog maybe shouldn't have wandered off but why is your garden not enclosed?
What do you expect the police to do about it? Presumably this woman is perfectly entitled to walk her dog in the fields behind your house, and from your op she did call it so it's not as if she'd left it to wander where it wanted, the dog doesn't know that is your garden if the garden is essentially part of the fields. if you don't want dogs wandering in/out of your garden then build a fence and get a gate.
maxandmonty · 03/04/2007 17:09
I disagree - it is unacceptable for a dog to be of its lead if the owner can't control it - especially a breed like that - I am a dog owner and constantly get peeved with out of control dogs and owners not picking up their dog poo - especially when kids are always around. So many people should not have dogs.
daisycat01 · 03/04/2007 17:11
no, the lady wasnt walking her dog in the field, she had let it wander out of the farm and into my garden. The dog had been in my garden wandering a sniffing for a while and the lady was from the farm, she wasnt walking it and wasnt appologetic.
My garden is secure enough to keep my boys in, they cant escape. It isnt secure to keep dogs out, but I think that is the responsibity of the owner. I also wouldnt have been bothered if it wasnt a dog that was on the dangerous dogs act. The dog owner has, in my opinion, a responsibility to keep the dog under control. What would have happened if my DS2, who is 1.5, ran up to it and tried to hug it and it bit him.
With regard to the police, I will report a dangerous dog that is not under control or being supervised.
maxandmonty · 03/04/2007 17:14
i woulod report it anyway - as i said it is up to the owners to be responsible - our dog was attacked by a staff last year - i was P with DS2 at the time and nearly went into labour - when i spoke to the police the owner was well known! He hasn't been back to our field since...
wannaBeWhateverIWannaBe · 03/04/2007 17:20
hmmm not sure that stafs actually are covered under the dangerous dogs act are they?
ok so the dog actually got out of its own house/garden, but at least the woman was looking for it? it may just have bolted out of the door/gate? my dog got out recently, I was standing at my front door chatting, he saw a cat and bolted after it. It only took me about five minutes to get him back, but I would be mortified if someone reported me to the police - these things do happen, and the dog is under control all of the time, I am only human, and he's only a dog.
as for the security of your garden - I disagree. Generally you wouldn't expect a dog to come wandering in it's true, but what happens if a fox wanders in? they are far more agressive and carry more diseases than any dog, and if one came in your children could be playing in its excrement. It's not just dogs you need to keep out, but wildlife as well IMO.
lucyellensmum · 03/04/2007 17:23
this is a difficult one, I think that dogs should be under control at all times. No matter what the breed. However, i can imagine in a farm situation the dog wandering off might be less easy to control. I would have been horrified were it me though and i love dogs and have always had rotties, another dog much aligned because it is often owned by idiots. I have to say that staffs are lovely dogs who do tend to love children, its other dogs they have issues with. Saying that, i would have been unhappy were it to wander onto my property - not knowing its nature etc. I do think its the owners responsibility to make sure the dog cannot get out, it may be a lovely cutesy fluffly bum of a dog who just loves children but your children might be terrified or it may wander onto a road and cause and accident.
DeviousDaffodil · 03/04/2007 17:25
There is an offence of a dog being out of control in a public place/ and a public place.
So she was in the wrong.
It is her responsibilty to stop her dog going into your garden.
Not yours to build a proper fence( like DUH?).
You can report it to Police but if you don't know the owner they won't do much.
You could report it to the local dog warden they were really good when I complained about a neighbours dog that was always wandering in our street/coming into our garden.
KathyMCMLXXII · 03/04/2007 17:25
But Wannabe, I'm guessing that if your dog got into someone's garden you'd be at least a bit apologetic?
What bothers me about the woman in the OP is not that the thing happened in the first place (like you say, we're all human and he's only a dog) but that she didn't seem to have any sense that she shouldn't be allowing her dog to do this willy nilly.
After all, it's not just whether the dog might attack children, it's also whether it might knock something over, break a plant etc.
wannaBeWhateverIWannaBe · 03/04/2007 17:27
"it just looked like a "fighting dog"". what a generalization.
I don't like staffies, but I certainly wouldn't be running to the police if one entered my garden, I'd be securing my garden to ensure it didn't get in again. I expect burglers to not break into my house, but that doesn't mean I leave the door open anyway - I take steps to ensure that my house is secure.
tbh I imagine the police will pay no attention - especially if the dog hasn't bitten anyone.
It does sound as if the owner needs to secure her property to ensure the dog can't get out, but in her defence at least she appeared to be out looking for it when it wandered off.
Hilllary · 03/04/2007 17:28
No not at all, a strange dog on its own in a your garden, private property with your dc's, you dont know if this dog is dangerous, bites or what, any animal is unpredictable, just because it has never bitten anyone it doesn't mean he wont.
I would expect any dog to be acounted for not to be wandering on its own.
We have a jack russell, he has his own pen in the garden, does not come into childrens garden. I would complain to the farm, you cannot be responsible for an animal if you dont know where it is.
JolieGirl · 03/04/2007 17:28
This is so hard - it's not about the specific breed of dog per se it is about something that raises every maternal hackle you have and which presents a possible threat to your children - not helped by all the media attention this has received recently. This particular dog may not be on the dangerous dogs act but neither are rottweilers, alsations etc and as a mother I would do my utmost to keep any child away from them. How could any of us live with ourselves if something did happen and we had not taken action. I would consider having a formal conversation/writing a letter to the owner expressing your concerns and then if you get no positive response then perhaps have a chat with the police or get advice from your local council, they all have specialist dog wardens.
wannaBeWhateverIWannaBe · 03/04/2007 17:32
Kathy yes of course I would be apologetic, is it possible though that as this dog lives on a farm the owners are more relaxed about it - farms generally aren't that close to other properties, and often the farm dogs wander wherever they want. It's not necessarily right but people with dogs in the country do seem to act differently to those of us who live in more built-up areas.
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