for wanting to walk in the park without being bounced on by giant b*stard dogs?

[bohemianbint]

Shouldn't people keep an eye on their fricking dogs and not let them run all over parks and scare the crap out of people? Was subjected to about 5 minutes fending the world's biggest dog off before the stupid bitch of an owner came sauntering round the corner. Don't people understand that just because they think their dog is great doesn't mean anyone else does?

In a lot of parks there are play areas fenced of for children where dogs aint allowed. If you decide to use the area outside of this then i am afraid you will have to share the area with dog walkers, i don't know what you want the council to do, fence off the whole park for children only and ban all dogs? In my mind isn't that a bit selfish? Everyone has the right to use the park, thats why its called a PUBLIC place.

Kerrymum - as far as I can see a dog that doesn't respond to a whistle or call and who is allowed to wander too far from the owner, isn't under control. Many dogs are well trained and respond quickly. Some dont - therein lies the problem.

Kerrymum,

You obviously know feck all about dogs and training them. There are lots of different ways of keeping dog under control whilst off the lead. People develop there own cues - its not rocket science.

The bottom line is some owners care enough to train their dogs. Others don't - and it's thems that don't that cause all the grief.

My best friend has her own business and runs a dog training school. She is very good, and helped me with my dog as he was a rescue at 18 months. He is an angel now (was boysterous (sp) before.) Even off the lead. But I keep him on the lead in play parks because its the kids who are the problem. They come up to him and some are kind and some pester and tease. In half the cases its the parents that need to control their kids!!
Works both ways!

Jomist - ''As to whether dogs should be on leads in woodlands or fields, it's my opinion that they should. ''
Where exactly do you propose that dogs should be allowed to run free? They cannot possibly get enough exercise on the lead and any dog-owner just doing this would end up with an unhealthy dog and probably one with behavioural problems aswell. I suspect you have never owned a dog or you couldn't possibly suggest that lead exercise only is enough.

Wheresmysuntan - I agree. people that come out with crap like that have no idea what the bloody hell they are going on about. We share our world with animals. Theses people obviously have no real life problems to worry about hey?!!!

I'm not frightened of dogs, nor do I hate them at all. It's the stupid b@stard owners who don't control their dogs that I have problems with & I know that there are loads of responsible owners out there too. I just thank god that it's different now to when I was wee & you'd see unaccompanied dogs roaming the streets all the time. I lost count of the times I was knocked off my bike or roller skates by some bloody mutt & my ex-h when he was small was sliding down a hill one winter when this big collie slid down after him & bit him on the bum halfway down. His mum called the police & he actually had to drop his pants and show the policewoman where it bit him.

I don't think dogs should be kept on leads in woodland, on the moors etc but in parks where children play they should def be kept on the lead. Proper leads too and not those stupid extendable leads - what is the point of them? They don't keep a dog under control, they get tangled everywhere, they take up the whole path & you can't get past with the buggy. I once saw someone walking down one side of the street & their dog was across the other side of the street on an extendable lead - what if a car had come along?

There are signs all over the huge park here saying dogs should be kept on leads but no-one seems to take the blindest bit of notice & one of the peacocks was savaged by a dog & killed a few years ago

Too right Dionnelorraine

Kerrymum. Yours scenarios dont ring true. Dogs dont generally go round fighting with each other. My dogs have never so much as growled at another dog. Dogs are far more likely to be aggressive if they are on the lead then off. It's a fight or flight thing. THey cant run if on teh lead so if feeling threatened they fight. There would be far more aggressive dogs if they were always kept on the lead. That would be poor ownership.

Dogs who do fight and are left off the lead? Well I've not met one and I wlak dogs every day. Now I've seen a lot of people fight and if you read a paper you'll see just how much violence humans do - far more than dogs. How shall we solve that? I dont think they care either if a child gets hurt along the way.

If I see a dog on teh lead I keep my dogs away as the dog may be in season, unwell or aggressive hence on teh lead.

If a two year old gets in the way of a dog fight? Well, where are it's parents??

Dogs arent humans and so cant really apply the whole cant be bothered thing. I carry really nice treates with me which I know will win over an interesting smell or something else. My dogs arent lazy or dont have that human dont feel like it thing. DOnt know any dogs like that but know lots of people. It's all about training and motiviating. It would be nice if the kids that approached my dogs would go to their parents when called.

Again, I walk my now 3 year old with my dogs and she always meets unleashed dogs all the time. There was a time she may have been tempted to pull their tale but I didnt let her. She know know not to do it to dogs especially ones we dont know. She could do it in theory to mine as they are used to lots of childrn and the hustle and bustle this brings.

If a child does something to a dog to hurt it then the dog will warn it before taking further action. The child wont be able to read the signs but there will be signs. It's upto you as a parent to do this for the child.

We had a very large rescue dog last year who snapped at my daughters face when she went near it when it had a bone. It was our fault not the dogs. We didnt think and let my daughter be near it on her own without our supervision. If he had wanted to bite her he would have and she would probably been killed as her head would just about fit in his mouth. The snap was a warning and left a small red mark on her face that disappeared the next day.

Greenbos - i would complain if dogs are nto been kept in the leads in teh area where they are meant to. Have you tried the council. THey might be able to patrol it occasionally and issue fines.

I can't stand owners who don't keep their dogs on a lead. I have chased by a hellhound on more than one occasion and I am very wary when I see dogs roaming free now.

I lvoe the descriptions of dogs. Cant be arsed to go back but bastards,evil hell hounds!

If a dog chases you, dont run! I've honestly never seen a dog chase someone though. I can certainly see why they do if you run.

My Dad's job involved him having to go round houses collecting every week. He's never been afraid of dogs and no dog has ever attacked him. He says you just have to be bold and strong then the dog knows who is in charge and won't attack. Have seen this also on that nauseating "it's me or the dog" where the woman emphasised that they are pack animals and look to the leader for guidance.

Can I also just rant about the inconsiderate moron in my neighbourhood who allows their dog to shit right outside the school gate and never picks it up. If I find out who you are I will post the afformentioned crap through your letterbox, you fcking twat. And to the even more selfish fckwit with the smaller dog (going on poo size here) who lets their dog actually crap in the school playground without picking it up - I'm on a mission with you!!! Beware the anti-dog witch of south Glasgow.

"We share our world with animals. Theses people obviously have no real life problems to worry about hey?!!!"

We do share our world with animals. Like tigers, and box jellyfish, and scorpions. Whilst I'm sure some of them are delightful when you get to know them, I don't really want them on or near me or my child, which I think is fair enough.

Surely the whole thing boils down to this:

*it is the dog owners who are at fault, whatever one's personal feelings about dogs in general. Which we are all entitled to.

*whatever dog owners think their rights are there is no way that it is justifiable to let your dog out of your sight in public places, or to jump up on people, and particularly children.

And obviously no one would argue that if you have a dog, you pick it's cr@p up, that goes without saying.

I'm fairly sure people with real life problems still have time to be offended by badly controlled dogs. It's called multi tasking.

anyway going back to the OP.....no, not unreasonable at all. People who love their dogs more than other human beings are sad freaks . I effing hate big dogs with their stinking fur and slobbering mouths....boak.

Dionne, I'm not sure if your' Don't these people have real life worries' was aimed at me.

I have pleanty of real life worries, my dh s dying of cancer. I'd rather not have my ds with an asthma attack to deal with as well.

Dods are often left off the lead, since dogs cannot read, they often go into the kids play ground part of the park. We have had many dogs bound up to us. I'd rathe it didn't happen.

We do share our world with other animals, however I do feel that humans shoul come first.

No Martian, it was aimed at me. What people who make these type of comments don't realise is that they have no idea who their dog is approaching. My ds2 is immunocompromised due to Crohn's but that's not their worry, just that dogs should be able to run free despite the consequences.

By all means feel free to take your dogs to run in a field at a time of day when it's less likely to be occupied by children playing but don't assume that it's not a problem for anyone.

I wasn't going to respond to the jibes, but I couldn't sit on my hands any longer.

i don't think it is the children or dogs who are the PROBLEM - it is quite clearly the HUMANS who own them who are a f* pain in the arse and a menace to small children. Humans can and should control the animls they own.

I think someone should set up a training school for irresponsible, selfish animal owners who love their animlas more than anything in the world, like my neighbour who has no children but WORSHIPS her 2 bloody cats that come and crap in my son's sand pit. I really like cats, always had one when I was a child, but I won't have one now until my son is much older.

Actually I must be a freak (i hate that word) because I prefer dogs to kids. However I also know that humans are far more important and not even on the same scale as a dog. Why is there an assumption that if you like dogs you mustnt mind what they do to other people?

Yet another sensible, non-hysterical post from yellowrose I see.

Off to walk my dogs.

connie - i don't really care what anyone thinks about what i am saying. that is exactly how i feel about owners of pets who think their pets are more valuable than my son. what is so hysterical about that ?

a lot of people in this country own dangerous dogs and breeds that are illegal. apparently when the little girl was killed by a pit bull terrier (which also turned out to be on illegal drugs),
I quote from the Observer (last Sunday) again:

"hundreds of people in the Merseyside area hand in their dogs to police during an amnesty amid concerns they might be prosecuted. Hogan-Howe said that over a 7 day period in February police received 600 calls and looked at 461 dogs. 'As a result there are now 200 fewer illegal dangerous dogs in Merseyside', he said."

200 just in one part of the country were listed as dangerous. So go figure, if i didn't know the facts, i would be less complacent.