Dogs at the park AIBU

[Shadow1986]

I’m not a dog owner so genuinely don’t know about this. But this weekend at the park, we were in the playing field playing football and at the pond looking at ducks when two husky type dogs came bounding over (off the lead) - I lifted up my 18 month old just in case, and my other older children were a bit freaked. They didn’t do anything just sniffed around etc.

I watched the owner follow them around the park for another half hour/45 mins and then he had to basically pounce on them to get them back on the lead. Which makes me question if he had the dogs under control or not!

What are the rules about dogs off leads at the park?

I saw lots of lovely dogs off the lead playing catch etc...but these big dogs were just roaming. If this occurs again would it be ok to ask the owner politely to put them on the lead around the kids, or would it be down to me to stay in the playpark only?

[febel]

I have just been reading through some of the answers on this thread...unbelievable! I am a dog owner ...BUT I am also a parent. Words fail me when I read some the answers some dog owners have put. Dogs do not rule the world. I love them, yes, a lot, and have my own who I adore, but they are still dogs, not children or people.

I certainly don't love some of the owners who think their dogs can run about off lead, no recall, over bothering both other people and their children, and other people and their dogs. If you can't control your dog, or it is over bouncy or aggressive...surely it is only polite to put it on a lead.
(also....parents...my dog is fine and was a hospital dog, but children can be too friendly with dogs out on walks....I always taught mine to ask the owner if it was alright to pet the dog)

[BlurryFace]

Hard one to call really, but I don't think it's great to let your dog get up close to hassle people while you're a distance away.

I've had kids get scared of my chihuahua before - and yes, she was on a lead - she always is at the park as she wants to kill the ducks and is small enough that any kids on scooters or bikes who don't notice her could do some serious damage.

It irritates me when owners of big dogs let them come up to her when they can see she is distressed as she doesn't like dogs bigger than a jack russel getting too close and is quite protective. She once went for a lab who stuck his nose in the buggy. She has also been picked up by a small child - I had her lead but had my back to her and was distracted when I felt the lead pull. She was happy with the snuggles but some chihuahuas would have given a good nip to a stranger grabbing them.

[ZoopDragon]

Dogs "roaming" is an important part of the walk - exploring what's there, sniffing, chasing squirrels etc - if they're always engaged in a specific activity like fetch they don't exercise their mind so much and are harder to tire out

I appreciate this and agree they should have free roaming time. But not in a park! Big dogs off lead who have roamed away from their owners frighten people especially children. Parks are supposed to be a place for children to play safely, people to sit on benches in peace, picnics on the grass. Roaming dogs ruin this! I've lost count of the times I've had my picnic jumped on by dogs, or a dog has come up to sniff me. I avoided parks altogether when my DD was a baby. Boisterous dogs running round you when you have a tiny baby in a sling/pram is scary! If one jumps up and the owner is nearby, what do you do?

Why can't you take your dogs to the woods/fields/farmland to let them roam off the lead?

[RhiannonOHara]

It sounds like this man didn't have great control over his dogs and maybe they should be on a lead.

But if you think your child might run away from a dog, the easiest thing to do is grab them to keep them still until the dogs have gone away or lost interest. And explain to them calmly that you need to stay still or the dog will think you want to play. Teach them, basically, not to just be freaked out by dogs.

[owltrousers]

The worst thing about owning a dog is definitely having to deal with other dogs / dog owners.

I have a small staffy, she's extremely well trained and friendly towards humans but she's not one bit bothered about saying hello or playing with other dogs really, she'd rather get fussed by the owner. I'd never ever let her run up to anyone unless they bent down to pet her and because her recall is so good I can usually just tell her to stay by my side.

Since i've been pregnant I'm always shocked by the amount of people that think its ok for their big dog to bound up to people and other dogs on a lead. It terrifies me that I'm going to get knocked off my feet. People think because their dog is friendly it should be allowed free roam, not so.

[InDubiousBattle]

pon I didn't teach my dd to be afraid of dogs. She was toddling about, minding her own business when one bigger than her knocked her of her feet, "just wanting to play". That is why she is so nervous of them. She has bloody good reason to be wouldn't you say? My ds isn't nearly as nervous of them but still doesn't like it if they try to lick his face. That's also perfectly reasonable in my book.

If you can't keep your dogs away from children off their lead them keep them on their lead. If you can't do either then don't have a dog. It's really not that difficult

[AboutAGallonofDietCoke]

I would refrain from teaching your children to be afraid of dogs

Yeah because that's what people do
Fuck off

[Ponshuspirate]

I would refrain from teaching your children to be afraid of dogs.

[Chrys2017]

It seems to be an issue that people can't agree as to what is acceptable or not for everyone and what a dog under control but off lead means.

This. We are arguing without defining what we are actually arguing about!

Dogs under control and off lead are entitled to use public parks and woodlands. It is not possible to exercise a dog properly if it is on the lead all the time... in fact it comes close to cruelty.
If you or your children are afraid of dogs that are under control, that is your problem and not the dog owner's.
The key is under control. It seems the dogs in OPs post were either not under control, or the owner was permitting them to invade other people's space.

[inabeautifulplace]

For me, the middle ground is correct. It's absolutely fine for you to ask a dog owner to control their dogs if they are interfering with you or your kids.

Equally, no problem for dogs to be off lead and running about provided they don't bother people. I'd expect the owner to be a bit proactive about this.

Don't think it's such a bad idea for kids to learn about their behaviour around dogs. Obviously doesn't excuse poor dog/owner behaviour but surely it's like teaching your kids to look both ways at a zebra crossing, bit of preventative education.

FWIW can't having a dog approach me without the owner subsequently apologising so I suspect it's a small minority of inconsiderate people. Train your kids to approach the owner and wipe snotty nose on them for next time ;)

[OCSockOrphanage]

I don't walk my dog in a park unless there's no other option but I always let her run off lead in wild woodland. She is a scaredy and won't have anything to do with children or dogs she doesn't know. But she is properly trained and her recall is good, so today when the large stick she was carrying scared the horse we met, she came to heel and was held while they passed. The horse shied, turned and was all set to run for 30 seconds, but the rider was in control so calm was quickly restored. Horses are much more skittish than dogs, and larger.

[febel]

If I was on a park with children I would keep my biggish dog on a lead...even though he is super soft, does not leap or bark and very gentle. But...still scarey I would imagine if you don't know him, or are wary of dogs. Until I had him, I was wary of dogs with my children so I quite understand your feelings.

It's not just children this affects...my sister's dog was attacked badly by an out of control off leash greyhound and German Shepherd (who we found out afterwards had also badly maimed a dog and killed another) My poor dog got badly chased by two greyhounds the other day, who hunted him as a pack. Their owner shouted at them and they were so much "in the zone" they totally ignored him for a while. I eventually found my dog cowering under a bush and took him home. He couldn't walk after a few hours and his legs collapsed under him, and his pads were swollen. This was due to the enforced run due to being chased...he is an older dog and his skeleton is not what it was. Thankfully with rest he has recovered. My daughter and her very small dog were chased by a boxer the day after who was determined to bite her little female (neutured) dog...she ended up shutting herself in the children's fenced playpark.

People who don't control their dogs shouldn't have them. Sorry...rant over....but it makes me so ANGRY!!!!

[rightsaidfrederickII]

@InDubiousBattle Anyone taking dogs into a children's play park while there are kids around is being obnoxious.

I've not done it myself, but I can see why someone would want to do it at a certain point in a dog's recall training (off lead but not to be completely trusted with recall) and I did once consider hiring the tennis courts at the local park for the purpose 😂 However, unless you're a bit of a knob you'd go when there are no kids around (e.g. after dark, or late on summer evenings after bed time) and leave as soon as you saw a child heading towards the park. Some areas do have have secure fields that can be hired by dog owners (popular with those that have highly reactive dogs, for instance) which would be ideal, but they simply don't exist in certain areas (e.g. There are none in London). Not saying I condone it, but there are certainly ways to do it without inconveniencing others

[TheOriginalDom]

By the way - rules on dogs off lead should be simply.

1. If you have a poorly socialised dog of ANY breed, then it needs to stay on the lead.
   

1. If you don't, if it responds well, then it should very definitely be off the lead.
   

Otherwise, if we remove parks as the very last place dogs can actually get proper exercise then we might as well stop owning dogs right? It is bad enough that the 24% of the UK public that own a dog are banned (technically) from renting a private property - without adding yet another ghetto to that list.

[altiara]

There are a lot of parks/playing fields by me that are for dog walkers, as well as for ball games etc, then there are definite children’s play areas fenced so no dogs can go in. So not sure why people think dogs have to be on a lead all of the time. In our area, the dog walkers are part of the campaign to keep green areas rather than build on any free land.

I do think dog owners have a responsibility to train their dogs to have excellent recall and the bigger the dog, the better recall they need (as you can pick up a small dog).

Don’t get me wrong, it’s really hard work with training them while puppies and you need to practice, but I don’t get why people just say my dog’s friendly and won’t hurt you. Well massive dogs can push over adults never mind a 5 year old and are terrifying when bounding up to you. I’m used to dogs coming up to sniff my dog, but I don’t want their dirty paws on me or their noses in my pocket. The very least owners can do is keep an eye on their dogs, keep them away from small children and apologise if the dog is still in training. If the child wants to pet your dog, the parent will ask.

To answer your original post, I think telling the owners their dogs are scaring your child because of their size, can you recall them is reasonable.

[TheOriginalDom]

@KimmySchmidt1

I have to say - and I think I'm being very polite here - thats a very unhelpful comment, firstly to group a breed of dog - and then insult as a group - and their owners.

You may not be a fan of Jared Leto, Ben Stiller or others. But is there a particular or personal reason for the group insult? I own a husky. A breed know for (hell they're actually raised and bred for) highly social and intelligent interaction. I cannot speak for others (and you seem happy to) but my dog is well behaved and simply ignores or looks on with disinterest at the occasional (but not universal) snapping yapping dogs and status breeds that can sometimes run amok.

I fear you may simply have made your ignorance all too conspicuous in your sweeping dismissal. I can see other's here seem to agree.

[overnightangel]

When I take my nieces to the park I don’t want random dogs coming up and sniffing them, how often do we hear of dogs who “it isn’t in their nature” biting/mauling children? If people want to own a dog then fine, that’s their business, but don’t subject the rest if ya to it. A lot of dog owners seem to think they’re above the law and can do what they like.

[overnightangel]

All dogs in public should be on a lead.
Why does a dog have to be on a lead on the street but not in a park where there’s more chance if there being children around? Bizarre. Should be made law that any dog in public outside of the owner’s home has to be on a lead

[Ruffian]

Mostly men that allow this in my experience

Not in my experience at all, in fact the biggest problem at our local park is a woman with 3 aggressive huskies who refuses to accept that her dogs are the problem and blames all other dogs for 'provoking' them.

As a dog owner I feel fine to say the op is Not being at all unreasonable - if dogs are 'bounding' up to children then they are not well controlled and should be on a lead.

[AboutAGallonofDietCoke]

No dogs are not the same as children. Their rights are not the same.
Children do not (predominantly) have the ability to bite and leave life long scars. Children are part of the human race.

[MsHarry]

I hate this. I have a dog and only walk in areas away from children's play areas. I regularly get other dogs jumping up at me though, big dirty paws all over me and the owners don't react. Mostly men that allow this in my experience. Too manly to use a lead?

[MushyPeasAndPie]

I'm a dog owner and I don't want to be sniffed at by other dogs so I don't think the issue is that 'dog owners' don't 'get it'. I think the issue is that some people don't care if they do and they can't understand why other people do care.

I wouldn't come up and touch a stranger on their arm in a park and therefore I extend that to my dog who should not touch or sniff anyone else and I would be mortified if they did.

But off lead dogs minding their own business have as much right to be with their owners as people with their children.

It seems to be an issue that people can't agree as to what is acceptable or not for everyone and what a dog under control but off lead means.

[StrictlyPannnn]

Dog owners generally don't get it. We don't want to be sniffed at approached or barked at by your animal. Saying " he doesn't bite makes no difference to the situation.

People should not have to be mithered by dogs.

[AboutAGallonofDietCoke]

• minority not minority’s 😳

[AboutAGallonofDietCoke]

Some of the dog owners on this thread are something else.
The reason my partner doesn’t really want dogs near him or our baby is because he was attacked by an off lead Doberman when playing outside his home as a 3 year old.
He tries his best not to show fear especially in front of the children but that fear is there.
The fact there are so many people on here that have so little compassion or understanding for someone whose been through that amazes me.
Sadly it’s the minority’s of irresponsible dog owners that make parks difficult .
Oh and dogs shouldn’t be in a pedestrianised zone off lead as mentioned up thread, ever, it’s illegal even if the dog is under control.