Dog off-lead in deserted play area- is this woman U?

[TridentTested]

A friend of mine has a rescue dog with terrible recall.

Our local park has a fenced-off children's play area.

On weekend mornings when the play area is empty, my friend lets her dog off-lead in the play area.

She says she's not U because there's no-one there; she always puts the dog on the lead and takes her off if a child comes to play in the play area; she picks up poo; and doesn't let her dog climb on the equipment. She says having a dog running around in there is no worse than the rats, foxes, mice, cats etc. that roam the park at night.

So, do you think she's being U?

Thanks for all the comments

So we walk to the playground, wait for your friend to notice us, call the dog, and hope she hasn't left poo (wait while she cleans it up?) or isn't going to give us a mouthful for not wanting to wait for her dog?

I agree that dogs have to be taught recall but where do you teach them when there are so few safe fenced in areas?

Why don't parks have a play area for children and one for dogs?

I was taking my dog to a tennis court and letting him run round and teaching him recall. I would go very early morning and if anyone approached that looked like they wanted the court I would put him on lead.

One morning the jumped up park attendant shouted at me and said dogs were not allowed in there. No signs saying that. I said I made sure my dog did a poo before I went in there and if he did go on the court I would pick it up and pour some bottled water over it. He said it was not poo he was worried about but pee as a child may roll in a puddle of it!

I explained that I had a dog not a lion so no puddles of pee. Also any small drops would dry quickly and dog pee is not harmful

Use a longline or hire a secure and safe space. Some places are dog free. That means no dogs. At all.

novel idea: don't have a dog if you can't give it what it needs without breaking the law or pissing off other people.

Throws a bag of dog poo at brownelephant

I think I've been on mumsnet too long, as I was just thinking this thread is more civilised than the usual dog threads.

I would imagine there has been many a parent and child who have wanted to use the play park but haven't because they saw your friend in there.
If you have a child afraid of or allergic to dogs and they wanted to use the play park, I don't think you would take them as far as going inside the play park if you saw a dog in there.
No dogs means No dogs regardless if there is actually anyone using the play equipment.

How can it be anything else but unreasonable even if she picks ip the poo no children etc. No dogs means no dogs.

Dog shit is the bane of my bloody life. Having to shout 'CAREFUL' and 'WATCH WHERE YOU'RE WALKING' all the time, knowing if I let them walk in the grass verge when we're on a walk they are likely to stand in something, having to clean it off their shoes often enough. Having to take my pushchair onto the road because there is a huge heap of it on the narrow pavement outside nursery. I just want a few spaces where I can relax and let me children move freely, knowing there won't be any there. Selfish, arrogant, entitled people like your friend would take that away from me. I would be furious if I arrived at our local playground to see someone letting their dog run around in it, and even more so to see them leaving with poo bags, and you can bet I'd be reporting her.

I wonder what other rules she considers not to apply to her? Does she speed 'when there's nobody else on the road'? Smoke indoors in cafes 'when she's the only customer'? I presume not.

There’s no ambiguity in No Dogs. I see people taking dogs into play areas frequently. They seem to read the sign as saying No Dogs Except For You Because The Rules Don’t Apply To You. When actually, it says No Dogs and means no fucking dogs.

Tennis courts are for humans to play tennis in, not for dog training, I hope that comment was a wind up, if not it's the most bizarre thing on this thread. 😐

She's cleaning up the mess, no ones there, it's not a problem.

But people don't like dogs so that'll happen son

I think she's not being unfair I'd do it, coming from dog owner and a mum of a toddler

@ClaryFray I love dogs, prefer them to most people. This is a designated dog free area though so it's quite clear that she is being unreasonable. Not respecting that is part of the reason people get fed up of dog owners

She's bu. It's a fenced area for children and dogs are not allowed because they piss up everything and you can never get up all the poo. Children should be safe to toddle and crawl around a designated children's play area without potentially getting dog piss and poo on their hands or clothes. But of course there are some arsehole dog owners who think otherwise.

Cats, foxes and rats are wild animals, dogs are not, cats also bury their wee and poo. Why can't she and other dog owners who think the world is a free toilet just let their dogs pee and crap in their own gardens instead. Whee I live everyone has a garden yet there's dog crap on pavements and the grassy areas, it's bloody horrible.

Yes, I do. No dogs means no dogs. She should invest in some training sessions.

Absolutely 100% unreasonably she will smear dog shit as she picks some of it up.

And she is teaching the dog it’s their space rather than the children.

Your friend needs to find a new way to exercise her dogs.

I have a dog, and a toddler. I cannot tell you how much easier my life would be if I could combine a trip to the playground with a dog walk! But I can't, because playgrounds are not for dogs.

Your friend needs a whistle, a long-line and a tube of Primula - that's how my non-recalling dog became a responsible member of society. And to stop believing herself exempt from the rules, because she's not.

Unreasonable.

Round us the playparks have a "no dogs" notice on the gate. Some people still think this doesn't apply to them because their dog is friendly.

She might not know if a child was going to use it. She sees a child, tries to recall, dog won't come, she chases until the dog is on the lead. Parent walks past, so didn't want to come play? Perhaps.

Alternatively, the parent saw a dog without recall off the lead in the play area and decided to go elsewhere. I imagine the park wardens would take a dim view, too.

Or just teach it recall. Or buy a long line?

Definitely unreasonable.

Apart from the disgusting poo residue left (unless she's taking a bucket of water with her and disinfectant to scrub the floor), it is incredibly imbibing to parents who go to use the park.

If I saw someone with their dog in the park in a playground I'd be really put off going in there with my kid as I'd assume I'd have to confront them about the dog (which I'd do but know it would be unpleasant, less assertive people might just not bother).

Lots of kids have a phobia of dogs and would be told by their parents the playground was a safe haven, those kids seeing a dog in the playground would then get upset seeing one in there.

Sorry but your friend is a selfish twat.

Totally unreasonable. That's a safe and clean area for children. She can go to the rest of the world. I have taken in a dodgy stray and I never let it off the lead/cross road when children are around. How would she feel if it went for a child before she got it back on the lead?