To be upset at a woman kicking my friendly 4 month old golden retriever?

[Marshmallowpops]

I am so upset. I've just come back from a walk with my puppy. She's a lovely friendly golden retriever. I've been letting her off leash in the local park as the trainer said it's best to do it early. She is really friendly and loves to play with other dogs- she often meets them all for a play date in the park in the morning- there are always lots of dogs off leash in this park. Normally when there aren't other dogs she trots along beside me, sometimes going off to sniff but coming back when called. She's not too bothered about people but will say hello and sit down (not jump up) as she is trained to do. Today it was dark at 8pm and I let her off as normal, she just trots along and comes back when called. But today she saw two women, one with a baby in a carrier) so went over to say hello (she's normally not bothered but today was a little hyper), but she just trotted over like she does, really gently and not aggressive at all. I said to the woman 'don't worry she won't jump up she'll just sit down and say hello', but before my puppy had even reached the woman, the woman started kicking her away! I could understand if the dog seemed aggressive but she's the sweetest thing. She kicked her repeatedly, my puppy came back to me, I put her on the lead, and the other woman started having a go at me asking if I thought it was acceptable for my dog to go over and attack her baby. She was smoking a cigarette. I wanted to say that is going to cause more harm to the baby than my dog ever would but I didn't. I know of course that as a mother you are very protective of your baby but I just would never attack a friendly dog. Maybe they've had bad experiences in the past. I'm just very upset. I know not everyone likes dogs but that park is so dog busy that I thought everyone was used to it by now. I think I'll keep her on a lead at night until she's really 100% with recall. She's about 90% now. So I know there will be people who say I'm in the wrong letting her off but if she had an aggressive bone in her body I would never let her off.

To give a balanced perspective, I find smokers and dog owners almost equally anti social and I wish we had a decent amount of pleasant outside space where neither were allowed for the rest of us to enjoy.

Hear, hear!!

puppy play date
Vom.

Just please keep your dog on a retractable lead or a training lead until it's absolutely 100% trained and doesn't get bursts of excitement where she ignores all commands.

I just get the impression you are going to walk away and ignore the advice given to you on this thread because your head is in the clouds.

If she actually kicked and hurt an animal which was not being at all threatening my reflex would be to kick her myself.

Just please keep your dog on a retractable lead or a training lead until it's absolutely 100% trained and doesn't get bursts of excitement where she ignores all commands.

Just total bollocks.

It's horrible she kicked your pup and sounds very disproportionate but it really and truly is unacceptable to allow your dog (no matter how gorgeous and good natured) approach people you don't know.

Lots of people don't like dogs and to assume that they will welcome her 'friendly' advances is rather egotistical. I'm sure she's lovely, but you have no business letting her go up to people when you have no idea if they welcome attention from a dog.

I've also had my dog attacked by another who was off lead and the owner claimed 'he's never done that before' when i suggested he needed to keep his dog on a lead. Dogs are animals and by their nature are unpredictable - just because she has never jumped up at someone yet doesn't mean she never will. If you were close enough to call over to the woman to 'reassure' her then you should have called your dog back to heel. And until your recall is absolutely 100% - extendable lead

'Just please keep your dog on a retractable lead or a training lead until it's absolutely 100% trained and doesn't get bursts of excitement where she ignores all commands.

I just get the impression you are going to walk away and ignore the advice given to you on this thread because your head is in the clouds.'

I have a training lead already but my partner said she doesn't need it. I'm going to try with that. Retractable leads are terrible, the trainer said you shouldn't use these.

Op. The woman didn't actually kick your dog did she. From your updated account Slshe fended him off with her foot - a perfectly reasonable response given her hands were full of baby.

The only dog that ever bit me was 'just coming to say hello'.

As fair warning (because a large number of dog owners don't know this ) if your dog is caught in the act of worrying livestock it can legally be shot. Recall is important.

ITS NOT A FUCKING DOG, ITS A TINY PUPPY

What do you think a puppy is if not a dog?

OP's full of shit anyway, story doesn't even make sense. You can't kick a dog that hasn't reached you yet, it doesn't sound like the woman touched the dog at all.

I don't agree with extendable leads they encourage pulling on the lead since the dog has to use some pressure to extend the lead and this is rewarded by being able to get ahead. Extendable leads also get tangled up easily. If you do want to use a lead I suggest a long training lead.

They way people on here talk you would think dogs are made of glass. It's a dog, she can't have kicked it hard unless she had it cornered. The puppy was fine and the woman probably thought it was an adult dog and more of a threat because of its size and because it was dark.

I don't think the woman was wrong to push the dog away(with her foot).

I don't think op was wrong to have her dog off the lead, the dog needs to learn.

I do have issue with people having dogs in public that a aggressive though. My dog is hardly ever walked on the lead. I believe dogs should be able to run free. If your dog will eat or kill or attack other dogs(as pp have said) , it's not my dog that needs to be put on the lead, it's your dog that needs to be muzzled or put down. If your dog is that badly socialised that it will attack any dog that says hello, you have failed as a dog owner and shouldn't have a dog.

Wow, that ops got everything hasn't it? hmm

Glad you said this. So many things to comment on. The cigarette smoking, smoking near a baby, smoking outside, dogs, on leads and off, people who are afraid of dogs, puppies violence towards animals ... arrrgh to much to comment on. I'll have to go lie down.

*too and I missed a comma in my confusion.

Can't believe the amount of people advocating kicking a small puppy

Travis, that’s because this kind of thread always attracts the dog haters to pile in with their vitriol.

Did she kick her legs towards your dog or did her legs or foot actually come in contact with your dog? If she was using her legs to frighten your dog away as opposed to trying to hurt your dog that's a totally different thing. While I don't agree with her behaviour - I don't agree with your's other. You have admitted yourself the dog is not 100 percent trained to return to you - if she was then this would not have happened. You may know your dog but both you and your dog are complete strangers to other people - you telling someone who has never met you before.... that your large dog who has not gone back to you when you have asked it to...is not going to hurt their baby....I'm a bit surprised if you can not now see that that would not be enough reassurance for a mother with a vunerable child.

OP you sound like a great puppy/dog owner and have been more than reasonable on this thread. Ignore all the snarky posts, it feels like 75% of posters nowadays feel the need to be arseholes.

I'm totally with you OP, anyone who thinks a golden retriever puppy is going to hurt them or their baby is an idiot. A word of warning though, even when grown up don't expect your dog to remember it has ever had any training at all if there is food around. My goldie once slipped her collar and stole a sandwich from a baby in a buggy - very embarassing and the parents were understandably quite cross.

ittakes did you miss the part where this is a 4 month old puppy? My fat bastard cat is probably the same size as a four month old puppy

It's awful to kick and animal and I never, ever would. However I have been bitten by a dog and am therefore terrified of them getting close to me or my baby. Totally unacceptable behaviour from her though.

I had an excitable puppy run at me once, it was so excitable it ran into my leg and caught it with a tooth, just grazed it and took the top layer of skin off. Didnt hurt, barely bled. Well less than a week later it had grown because of the bacteria to a really nasty bacterial skin infection (cellulitis) prompting me to have to take 2 lots of antibiotics for a week.

So yes you need to get your dog 100% recall if she is off the lead around people and respect that

My DD is scared of dogs because a puppy jumped up at her when we were out walking. Guess what the owner said? "He doesn't normally do that, he's only being friendly". Well, I'm now holding a sobbing child who isn't going to be reassured by your words because she sees a dog that from her height looked like it might attack her.

I wouldn't kick a dog unless it was being aggressive but you need to consider how other people might see your dog. You might think he's being friendly but others would interpret it as aggression.

I'm glad you've taken on what's been said OP, you sound like you're doing great work with your pup.

I love dogs. We'd have one if DH and I didn't both work. Lots of my friends have dogs. Both my children are terrified, even of dogs they've met before. Nothing I have done has changed their minds or will stop my 3yo daughter screaming when a dog approaches her. Even my boss's tiny little French Bulldog who is the softest creature I think I've ever met.

I've lashed out at a dog once that was not being controlled by its owner and was very close to her face and barking, because I had no idea if this dog was capable of harming her. It still didn't back off until I lifted her off the ground and she was above it. Then it chased someone else. I know for a fact that this dog has since harmed people and other dogs but the owners have not changed their stance because he's friendly/misunderstood/people should just ignore him, and there hasn't been enough evidence/people willing to press charges to affect a change.

Conversely, there's a woman in the village who owns a massive German Shepherd. She's said, directly to me, while I was hurrying my children past her garden while he barked and growled over the fence, "Sorry, he doesn't like children". They have high fences/netting, thick bushes within the perimeter and the dog is never off the leash when they're out walking them.

Guess which set of owners is liked and respected within the village.

You have a legal responsibility to keep your dog under control. If it had been under control, it would have returned to you too quickly for anyone to have been able to repeatedly kick at it.

An unfortunate situation, but your fault OP.