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.

Yes there is a cameraderie amongst dog owners/walkers

I agree there is a massive problem with dog shit. I walk my pooch around a local reservoir. There are six (SIX!) strategically placed bins for dog shit around the reservoir. And still there are irresponsible dog-owners who let their pets shit on the footpath - which is used by runners, walkers, cyclists and families on a day out. It's absolutely disgusting and makes my blood boil

One of the mad old bat things I have taken to doing is taking a spare poo bag and picking up at least one or two bits that I find on the way. It's by way of atonement from a dog lover to people who don't like dogs and don't want to dodge dog shit on what is a very beautiful walk.

Actually my daughter wasn’t born with a phobia of dogs. She was in fact attacked by a real life dog with an owner. Yes it’s my problem, not dog owners problem. But it is a dog owners fault. So it’s a dog owners fault my dd life is constructed. But you don’t worry about it. It’s my problem.

*constricted

If your children have an irrational fear of dogs then, I'm sorry to say, that sounds like your problem rather than that of dog owners

A fear of dogs isn't irrational. The fear may not be your problem but you do have a responsibility as a dog owner to keep your dog under control.
The fact many dog owners allow their dogs to run up to people with a dismissive attitude believing they should know your dog is friendly hardly helps does it?

Yep it's my problem, a problem I have to deal with each time I leave the house with DD. Unfortunately the problem is made worse by inconsiderate and irresponsible dog owners.

As for badge of honour?! I can assure you that neither I nor my daughter wear her phobia as a badge of honour. It's an absolute nightmare to live with.

I am not a dog owner, and I at the moment I am popping Sertraline like smarties for anxiety. I am sympathetic, but the attitude on MN is "I don't like dogs/I am frightened of dogs/my child is frightened of dogs, therefore dogs should not be allowed outside in case we might encounter them". I just don't see how enabling such a phobia is in any way healthy or constructive.

If You don’t like tea for example, it doesn’t come running up at you wanting to play randomly throughout your day.

So? You might be put out by a dog running up to you and wanting to play, but what is it actually going to do you? What terrible thing is going to befall you?

Well to a small child, she renters the time she was knocked over, trampled on and bitten by a dog twice her size. “ befall” is the exact right word there actually.

Renters= remembers

That's quite the change of tone from your previous example.

Huh? The dog owner says the dog wants to play. The small child remembers that time she thought the dog wanted to play and attached her instead. She can’t differentiate. But she gets no choice. Dogs run up wanting to play depressingly often.

Then you get the small child out of the way, or reassure her that not all dogs are aggressive? Perhaps a basic knowledge of dog body language might help. This is what I'm getting at. She WILL encounter dogs, and dogs WILL approach her, so what does not attempting to overcome her fear achieve other than make her own life miserable?

Of course all the mothers here with scared children refuse to move them out of the way. We much prefer screams of horror. And it’s our lives work to feed their anxieties so that they remain petrified of dogs and we can never leave our home again. Seriously?

It’s quite simple: Don’t let your dog go up to people! Unless it’s clear they are happy about it.

Why should we tolerate your animal snouting around us? I go back to the pig analogy: what if pigs were the pet flavour of the day - should I accept the fact that a walk along a towpath will inevitably involve being sniffed about by pigs? What if it was a different animal you had picked for a pet - should I accept close contact with any ‘friendly’ animal of your choosing?

Yes @Slanetylor that's right. We are to blame. We caused the fear in the first place, we feed it, we enjoy it.

That's what some dog owners want to believe as it dissolves them of any responsibility in their own tiny minds.

@NottaNumber

I couldn't care less if a pig came up to sniff me. Or a cow, or a sheep, or a hippo, or a fucking unicorn. What exact harm is any animal doing by sniffing? What are they going to do, smell you to death? This is the exact kind of melodrama that dog threads always attract. Is it really that difficult to just ignore the dog?

@angryburd you mentioned you are taking anti depressants for anxiety...can't you just ignore whatever it is that is making you anxious

Angry a child won't suddenly cease to be fearful when confronted by their worst fears bounding up to them. Even if their parent tells them there is nothing to be afraid of
It's not a quick fix. Both of my kids have been scared (not phobic) of dogs. We started by looking at pictures and watching films and seeing them from a distance. It's not something you can cure overnight. Sure you should try and deal with it but it takes time and patience.

You're right, generally no actual harm being done as most dogs off lead are unlikely to hurt you. But it's the uncertainty of what they will do next. Bounding over, into everything, wet muzzle, dirty paws, you're unsure which way they're going next. God help you if you're sat down with things laid out on a mat.

The fact is that it suits many dog owners to have their dog off the lead so they often overlook the annoyance caused.

I appreciate that a lot of dog owners are considerate and behave responsibly. There are an awful lot of dogs so an awful lot of types of owner.

@Aaron Very clever. That's what the medication is for.

therefore dogs should not be allowed outside in case we might encounter them

What??!
Who said that? It's owners that don't keep their dog on a lead or allow them to run at people that's the issue

@angryburd I'm sorry, I just don't understand why you would need medication for your anxiety.

You think that children need to get over their fears and that people who don't like dogs slobbering over them just need to learn to ignore it.

So why are you so special that you get medication? After all, it's so easy to overcome anxieties and ignore things, isn't it?

exactly. Ridiculous isn't it.