AIBU bloody “dog people”

[mumof2exhausted]

Ok so I know there are some decent, responsible dog people out there but AIBU to say that there are some absolute arseholes who genuinely don’t seem to understand that not everyone loves dogs?? My 4 year old was recently bitten by a random dog so understandably is little nervous around them. A huge dog has just ran after him in the park (double the size of him) and he was petrified. Dog obviously thought he was playing game of chase. I don’t blame the dogs, I blame the owners. They didn’t call him off immediately just laughed and shouted “oh he’s just being friendly”. This happens all the time. Another big dog jumped up and pushed over my 2 year old couple of weeks ago. And no sorry or anything. Again a “he’s just being friendly ha ha” and off they walked without so much as a backwards glance to check my crying 2 year old was ok. I don’t have a dog but if I did and this happened I would be mortified and would apologise immediately and dog would go straight on a lead. Nearly lost my shit today with the owners but honestly don’t think they would have even cared.

You share your home with a creature that scoots its anus along the floor, and you are all good with that?

You know in nearly 30 years of owning dogs I've never seen this actually happen in real life - only in cartoons and videos on youtube.

I'm not full of hate, CPS, but I am utterly fed up of dog culture, its increasingly invading my life ever more and I am sick of it. Why are dogs now allowed in so many shops, including food shops? Why are they being allowed in restaurants? It's madness. People are getting more selfish and ignorant, and dogs are a nuisance and many of us don't want them in our faces, rubbing up against our legs and licking us, it's gross.

My friends guide dog is a far nicer being than many posters on here. I hope she never comes across some of you when she's enjoying some independence with her wonderful dog.

1. Scatter some food on the floor as a distraction as the dog approaches and before they've jumped on you
2. Block the dog from reaching you by swinging a bag etc etc in front of your body Before it jumps. Keep doing so to keep it at arms length. Do not hit the dog with it.
3. Carry an umbrella and open it in front of you on the dogs approach. Use it as a barrier while the owner gets hold of it. Again, do not hit the dog with it

all will likely buy you time and give you space. Use this time to convince the owner to get their dog fast. If I'm with a dog, I tell them it's contagious. That usually motivates them to action!

Why are dogs now allowed in so many shops, including food shops? Why are they being allowed in restaurants? It's madness.

@RhapsodyQueen - yeah I know, blind people wanting to go out and shop, fucking disgusting isn't it?

Guide dogs are allowed everywhere in the UK by law, so you can encounter a dog anywhere, even in places which "don't allow" dogs. You should be able to deal with it like a grown adult.

Nothing like a dog thread to bring out all the lunatics.

Good dog owners are very rare

No we are not. We are very common. You just don't see us because we're off doing the responsible thing and walking dogs away from people who don't like them....

Don't swing a bag! You could end up with it being grabbed be a dog!
Throw a ball away from you?
Rhapsody nobody should allow their dogs in your face, to lick you or rub against your legs. It's the owner that's the problem. Not the dog!

I think there is only one solution to the OP's antipathy and her DC's nervousness

Get a dog! Honestly you'll be converted for life. They're very good for you.

X post. Yep battenburg!
I managed a walk today without bothering the runners, walkers, small children or other dogs we passed. We left no mess and minded our own business.
Same again tomorrow!

This whole thing that people have against dogs licking their own genitals is bizarre. Humans are hardly any better.

Have you never heard of oral sex?

My husband doesn’t kick his testicles and then lick my babies face, I guess.

This thread reminds me while I promised to myself the stay off dog threads. So much hate.

Honestly, most dogs and most dog owners are nice, considerate and responsible.

Also, dogs can easily be nicer than some humans.

@ohmydays.....that is just being smug and stupid.
Yes there are a lot of irresponsible owners,but why should the rest of the dogs suffer?
How many more dog behaviour problems and then dogs abandoned because of lack of exercise.
Fyi....to a dog the garden becomes just an extension of the home and soon becomes boring.
So if your poor dogs never run free in new exciting places then they are unhappy dogs.

My husband doesn’t kick his testicles and then lick my babies face, I guess.

That's not exactly over achieving. Most men manage not to kick their testicles and then lick their baby's face. It would be painful otherwise.

Assuming this is people who are really scared of dogs, I'd imagined people would rather the dog busied itself with their bag (which could be dropped) if it happened to grab it than jumped all over them but yes they could grab it. Lesser of two evils IMO

*This whole thing that people have against dogs licking their own genitals is bizarre. Humans are hardly any better.

Have you never heard of oral sex?*

This! Would you kiss someone who had licked someone elses genitals- oh, wait....!

I have a dog the size of a guinea pig. I have the opposite problem, i get people coming and grabbing him, picking him up, toddlers shoving their face in his. He has good recall for his own safety, to protect him from over enthusiastic people and other dogs (especially sighthounds who would get as far as small and furry and their prey drive would take over before they got to dog).

As an aside he’s been really difficult to toilet train. As a result he will now only go in his own garden. I can walk him for hours and he will hold it until he gets home!

What an interesting thread. Some strange views in it mind you.

I grew up on a farm so dogs were working animals we were taught to have a healthy respect for. That respect included staying well away from them. Rightly or wrongly we were told never to fully trust a dog.

As a child I was regularly tormented by the dog of family. He was a rough collie and hideously randy. He would frequently jump on me with such force that he would knock me over then proceed to hump me vigorously while they all roared with laughter. I would have been about 10 and utterly mortified. They weren’t so keen on the dog when he got old and arthritic poor old beast.

Because of these experiences I am a bit standoffish with dogs and have worked hard to develop what I hope is a sensible approach in my daughter.

Maybe some dog owners could help me here.

My older daughter is 5 and likes to scoot to school. The route we have is lovely and frequented by many dog walkers. I have told her that if we are unavoidably close to (so have to walk past on the path) a dog on a lead she should slow down and scoot slowly and calmly until we are clearly past. If the dog isn’t on a lead she should get off the scooter and walk with it. My reasoning here is that I worry that some dogs may find it confusing or frightening to see something go whizzing past leading them to chase either playfully of aggressively. I also don’t want to stres any dog out who might get scared.

Does that seem sensible? She did as I have asked her recently and the dog owner seemed a bit put out telling me that he was a lovely old dog. I then felt bad as I didn’t want to seem rude.

there is a corrector spray you can buy that might help. It's literally compressed air in a can, does no physical harm, just makes a loud hissing noise. A friend of mine carries one because she was fed up of her dog getting jumped on walks (her dog is always on lead for various reasons). She said it works a treat as many dogs startle at the noise & buggar off the other way

This is a good way for your friend to mess up her own dog psychologically. What her own dog is learning is that every time another dog approaches, her own dog is going to be startled / scared. Her own dog is then going to see another dog approaching and feel startled / scared without the sound of the corrector spray. This is exactly how you can start a dog off down the path to fear aggression / reactivity. I have a dog which is at the mild end of the reactivity spectrum - he's a rescue so I couldn't pinpoint the underlying cause - but living with a reactive dog is not something you'd want if you could avoid it.

I'm aware that some trainers advocate the use of aversives (punishment based tools) like corrector spray. Some also advocate electric shock collars - which are now banned in parts of the UK, and rightly so. Good trainers do not advocate punishment as part of training, they use positive reinforcement instead.

I think once a dog has bitten a human, it should be put to sleep. You can never be sure it won't happen again.

IME scattering food just attracts other badly trained dogs to the fray. One is scary enough...three is a nightmare if you hate dogs (and yes, have experienced this!). The dog buggaring off with a bag would be the lesser of two evils for sure. Altho being hit with a bag is potentially going to piss a dog off & make it feel under attack.

I am at 'anal gland juice' - brilliant! Agree that many people's hands are probably just as bad...ever watched the shows they do about the average person's car containing faecal matter on the mats? Or the one about the shopping trolley handles??? At least as dog owners we take precautions such as cleaning our dogs, washing our hands, changing bedding etc well the responsible ones do

YANBU I’d be MORTIFIED if my dog chased or jumped at a child!

Avocados her dog has long gone past that point, hence the need to keep other dogs away. Won't go into detail as not my dog, but many hours, pounds & tears have gone into this dog before this point has been reached. Unfortunately we live in an area inundated with irresponsible owners & this has had a lasting impact on the dog.

No we are not. We are very common. You just don't see us because we're off doing the responsible thing and walking dogs away from people who don't like them....

Exactly this ^^

I don't understand people who hate dogs yet choose to walk in popular dog walking places like the woods - then come on social media to demand that dogs be banned from the woods because their dc doesn't like dogs.

We are all able to make our own choices in life. Don't like something? Don't go where that something is likely to be.

I think we can all agree that irresponsible dog owners are a pain in the arse. But not all dog owners are irresponsible.

BTW I have never seen a dog licking his own arse...Is that even possible?

I am aghast to read that strangers will pick up a dog. That is absolutely bizarre.

Our childminder got a dog after we had been using her for a year or so. I have to confess that I was not very happy and had she had the dog initially we probably wouldn’t have used her services. As it happens I think it was brilliant. Being with a dog with sensible and good owners taught my daughter some excellent habits and a liking for dogs which I was struggling to give. Don’t get me wrong, I like them enough and will happily chat away to the friendly ones who calmly come and say hello but it is all underlined by anxiety