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.

This HAS to be a goady troll comment! Nobody can be this fucking ridiculous?!
Pei sadly I dont think it is deliberate trolling, this is how many dog owners think, they are in love with their dogs and see them through rose tinted spectacles, so smitten that they just cant see that others dont care for their pointless furry shit machine

Most reasonable people can identify a puppy, recognise that labs are a friendly breed and key point, know that to kick a dog is the most stupid reaction which will potentially elicit the dog's fight response. Numpty woman.
I really think basic animal awareness issues should be covered in PSHE lessons at school.

Not all labs are friendly ffs! How do you come to this conclusion?

Maybe basic animal management should be taught at school too before anyone buys a pet? And before someone with a dog thinks its is ok to let them bound up to strangers and they should be happy they are privileged enough to have the dog notice them? My son was terrified of dogs thanks to a collie puppy who repeatedly jumped up on him raking him with his sharp puppy claws and licking him before I could pick him up.

Pretty much all parks have a grassy public area used for exercising dogs and an enclosed dog free zone for children, why the dog haters or those with small children cannot just use the enclosed areas l don't understand.
No they dont, none of ours have we dont all live in the middle of a city!
And as for suggesting PEOPLE should stay out of parks to let DOGS have free reign in them...wtf?
That is the dumbest thing I have heard in a long time. Keep your dogs on a lead if they cant leave other people and dogs alone. They are your responsibility not ours.

I used to have dogs and would again if I could but they do not come before people in a public space.

What really fucked me off was her instant attempt to blame my DS. Not apologise. Or ask how he was. Nope
this is appalling behaviour is sadly the norm from dog owners...dogs do tend to reflect their owners, a badly behaved dog will tend to have a similar owner.

To anyone who is attacked dont be surprised if the perpetrator wont give you their info, after all if you were mugged in the street you'd not be surprised if your attacker wont give his or her name.
I would suggest getting your phone out and filming them, you could do it covertly whilst pretending to message someone?

Wtaf do you mean you could say the same about kids? Since when do kids crap fucking everywhere on every path and open space in sight, rip toddlers' faces off and endanger joggers and cyclists? Get a grip.

As for parks should be the sole preserve of dog walkers ... fine. Just as soon as you build them and pay for their upkeep. Until then, do your best not to ruin civic amenities for everyone else. By keeping your stinking shitting biting stupid animals on a lead.

@bicnod

You don't know what your dog is capable of. You don't actually know that your dog won't hurt my child. I don't find your dog cute. Keep your dog away from me and my kids, and if it is not well trained enough to recall immediately, keep it on a lead.

@Tobeythecat

I could say the same about your kids...

You have GOT to be kidding.

@blueskydreams

sadly I dont think it is deliberate trolling, this is how many dog owners think, they are in love with their dogs and see them through rose tinted spectacles, so smitten that they just cant see that others dont care for their pointless furry shit machine

Hmm yeah.... There are definitely some people who are taking the piss on here!

Quite sad really, coz I genuinely do not dislike dogs and I know they can be lovely pets and great company... But the entitlement of some owners, who think they have the right to let their dogs off their lead (even when they have little or no control over them,) is breathtaking.

And as for the comments that have come from a few posters, that anyone who doesn't like it should stay out of the parks, is laughable Fucking cheek!

I am not going to stop going places, because of entitled twats and their badly behaved mutts! As has been said, they don't seem to be able to get it into their dense skulls that most people DO NOT WANT their muddy, hyper-active mutts jumping up them, and charging up to their children. And as I said, no fucking WAY should people have to stop going to parks because of entitled twats who think everyone should arrange their lives around other peoples dogs!

My husband regularly cycles on a designated cycle path where lots of dog owners think it is good idea to walk their dogs off the lead - and lots of dogs think it is a good idea to chase cyclists. The dog owners think how nice it is that their little darling is playing with the cyclist and being friendly. Awwww - so cute!

So my husband now has to cycle with a stick to stop the dogs giving him a friendly little bite or pushing his bike over. It's not cute - it's bloody dangerous.

Wtaf do you mean you could say the same about kids? Since when do kids crap fucking everywhere on every path and open space in sight, rip toddlers' faces off and endanger joggers and cyclists? Get a grip.

Agreed! These entitled-to dog twats think everyone should bow to their mutts, but then have the audacity to slag off children.

Un-fucking-believable.

Quite. Also, children are people. Unlike [puke] fur babies.

She is two years old. She was sat on the sand with a towel wrapped round her minding her own business eating a ham sandwich. She was not teasing the dog!!

Meand there are several cycle paths I've stopped using for that reason - with flea ridden shit machines either running along snapping at me or else just running around all over the place so that I was constantly braking and steering round them, I figured I'd rather take my chances on the road. Which is a shame, because like parks they are a public amenity that should be available to everyone, but the arsehole dogs and their arsehole owners make sure that they aren't.

but the arsehole dogs and their arsehole owners make sure that they aren't
A fair number of dog owners enjoy the fact that a dog allows them to dominate public spaces and impose their choices and preferences on other people.
Sit on the train in a 'manspreading' posture and you can take up extra space and impose yourself on the people either side of you, let your dog lose in a public place and you can have a much bigger effect.

Why else would you get a 'weaponised' dog if not to enjoy the feeling of power that you get when you see that other people are afraid of and intimidated by the animal?

I think the dog hating has got a bit out of control! I live in a Cotswold village and virtually everyone has a dog! The only thing to shit on the path (every day without fail right outside my house) is the neighbours cat.

We have to spray repellant every morning to make it stop. Should the cat be on a lead? Would anyone go nuts at this flea ridden shit machine?

Meant to put that last sentence in quotation marks as it is not a direct quote of mine...

PEIPEIPING
@DragonGirl10

If people are so scared of dogs why go to a park with a baby? I love dogs and have always had large (well behaved ) dogs but when l had babies in a stroller or at toddler stage common sense dictated not to go to the local park full of dogs....as one will lick or snuffle in their faces, or accidentally knock them over....

PEIPEIPING

Oh don't talk such shit!! hmm

So no-one with a child can go to a park now because of entitled arseholes who think the rights of them and their fucking mutts trumps everyone else's rights!

Fuck that! Get your (BADLY TRAINED) mutt on a LEAD.

OR TRAIN HIM PROPERLY!

This HAS to be a goady troll comment! Nobody can be this fucking ridiculous?! hmm

Peipeiping

My dogs ARE on a short lead in public places, are not ever in a position to jump up at a passer by and ARE well behaved...what is your problem?

Just because l made the decision to not take my babies into a park full of dogs running around, but into the enclosed play area, why does that result in a torrent of abuse from you?

Strangely enough l also hate being jumped on by badly behaved dogs.

I also dislike badly behaved kids so avoid the places they are most often found.....wish those who seem to hate ALL dogs with such vitriol would do the same. Much easier too..

You seem to have an anger problem, re read your post

Bluesky yy completely agree. We are very much urban here so why anyone thinks it's suitable for dogs at all is beyond me. But having a tough aggressive dog is definitely a status symbol. Not just for the junkies (although they do all have them - and never on a lead) but hard cases and would be hard cases too. None of them trained or looked after properly.

Not buying this. Am fairly sure at 4 months a golden retriever puppy would be excitable and very unlikely to be 90% trained to come back when it's called. You've likely literally had the puppy 8 weeks. NO way is it that well trained.

BLUESKYSPACE
A fair number of dog owners enjoy the fact that a dog allows them to dominate public spaces and impose their choices and preferences on other people.
Sit on the train in a 'manspreading' posture and you can take up extra space and impose yourself on the people either side of you, let your dog lose in a public place and you can have a much bigger effect.

Why else would you get a 'weaponised' dog if not to enjoy the feeling of power that you get when you see that other people are afraid of and intimidated by the animal?

Oh, Get a grip we are talking about pet dogs not terrorists......this is laughable

You honestly don't think that people use aggressive untrained dogs as status symbols?

I guess if you don't live in the kind of urban environment that the guardian describes as "colourful" you may not have seen it but presumably you are aware that such people exist? If not, congratulations on your well functioning moat and drawbridge - it's completely cut you off from unperfumed life.

It may have been mentioned already but there's a lot to read through! At 4 months I'm guessing she'll be coming into season for the first time soon. It's not normally until this point or around 6 months that female dogs are spayed. If she hasn't been 'done' you're taking a massive risk letting her off the lead to begin with. As someone who has worked with dogs, I can't tell you the number of times a so-called friendly (as insitsted by the owner) dog has been acting 'hyper' and gone for me or my colleagues. Owners sometimes think it's endearing when their dog 'nips'. It's wise to be wary of any dog that approaches you. Obviously the fact that he kicked your dog makes her a total bitchface and she deserves the same back! Just be aware that just because you feel like you know your dog's temperament after a few weeks, it doesn't mean everyone else does or should.

This conversation has gone a bit bonkers - there seem to be some genuine animal haters on here who just want to swear at people and go off on a very bizarre tangent. Good luck with the rest of the dog training, OP, and I hope you'll have many happy years together.

Could you please train your children FFS and keep them indoors or on reins at all times, until they are a fully functioning well-trained adult?

A fair number of parents enjoy the fact that a child allows them to dominate public spaces and impose their choices and preferences on other people. So you had sex, did you? Oh well done.

Sit on the train, or café in a 'mumspreading' posture and you can take up extra space and impose yourself on the people either side of you, let your preschooler lose in a public place and you can have a much bigger effect.

Or maybe the little darling thought it was fun to tease the dog with his ham sandwich. I've seen things like that happen more than once.

If the owner can see kids in the vicinity and know it can get wound up like this then it should be on a LEAD!! Jeez the comments on here!!

MRSDOYLE

Knock the chip off your shoulder, this thread was about a 4 month old puppy being kicked....the hatred towards pet dogs on here is shocking........but then l grew up in a rural area where most people like dogs, most have one and do not see them as a threat to clean clothes, or health.....

Hopefully will be able to retire there and my well behaved dogs will be warmly welcomed in the park!!

wooler omg I loved this! I am a mum and a dog owner and I know which one caused more havoc haha!

YABU!!

When I was 2, a puppy ( I don't know how old) came over to us to 'say hello'. He wasn't on a lead. Don't worry shouted the owner he won't bite he's just being friendly... 10 seconds later, he bit me. 40 years later I still have to live with the scars on my face.

So, would I protect my kids from supposedly ' friendly' dogs... Yes I would. I don't trust any dog or owner. I wish my mum had kicked that dog away. Would my mum kick a dog away from her grandchildren... Yes she would, as she now no longer trusts dogs or their owners. We both feel nervous when dogs are off leads because you can't always trust dogs or owners.

When you have strangers staring at your scars or unkind teenagers calling you scar face , then you may understand.