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.

@aaronburr There are other people reading this thread you know. Just because you're having an argument with another poster don't start being a dick about mental illness.

Would medication allow you to function like a human being in the presence of common animals? Maybe you should try them.

@crazycatgal I hoped it was obvious that I was being sarcastic and showing up their ridiculous double standards.

I know all about anxiety and medication unfortunately!

Would medication allow you to function like a human being in the presence of common animals? Maybe you should try them.

Eh? I function like a human being in the presence of dogs. It is my CHiLD who has the phobia. Neither of us require medication because of that.

I was under the impression that a phobia is an irrational fear.
A fear of a dog isn't irrational in my eyes.

Sick to death of dog dirt in this country too. Given the number of dogs in the country (and thus owners), I do appreciate it's probably a relatively minor percentage of poor owners, but it's still a high number of them.

I'd say the opposite, Torn; I see SO much dog shit round here I can't imagine most owners are picking it up. It is EVERYWHERE. Why don't we make owners pay a license to pay for a dog warden in each area and run DNA tests on the shit found, and fine the owners. We need a better solution than just trusting owners to pick it up. It is not working.

As for dogs bounding up to my kids, TWO incidents today of dogs off leash raring up to my kids, and this is normal. I HATE it. They HATE it. The second dog looked like a wolf and did have the potential to kill. The first was a spaniel but is still up to my kids' chests and they didn't have time to assess how lethal the dog was as it raced up to them and freaked out really upset. Neither had good recall. The spaniel owner ran over and leashed his dog. Wolf woman just said he won't bite. Idiot. And even if it wouldn't bite, my kids and I don't want to be licked.
I would dearly love to move somewhere dog free. Don't think there is such a place so I'd vote for leashing all dogs. Tough if they like to roam, get a house with a field, or don't own a dog. Or team up with people who own a field.

tomarto don’t be surprised not to receive any comment on your post on this thread. Any comments relating to dogs biting, family dogs biting DC or other incidents relating to dogs jumping at DC get ignored on here or the DC and DP are blamed. They appear to be focussing on aaronburr and her ‘irrational’ DD.

I posted on this thread days ago and said the OP was not being unreasonable. As a dog owner, one of my pet hates is stupid, ignorant and irresponsible dog owners.
What has surprised me is the real strength of anti dog feeling from some people. I bet the things that are said on here about dogs and their "shit" owners would never be said in the real world!
My large, potentially child killing, potentially out of control, diseased shit monster goes to into a school every week (with her shit owner) to enjoy some quality time being read to by children with literacy problems, emotional problems and social problems. Happily the school, the parents and the children are way more accepting of dogs than some of the people on here.
Sits back and waits for someone to say that they would remove their child from that school / sue the school / write to their MP etc etc etc.

My child would not be able to cope with a dog in the classroom. The school would have to make alternative provision for her and yes I would be making a big fuss. Why does a dog need to go into a school to be read to

Dogs trust estimate that 37% of children in the UK are fearful of dogs. Of course 100% of children at your school love dogs though.

small.
Nobody here can hear the voice of reason.
We shall have to content ourselves with spending time with our large monsters and other shit owners.
I would rather spend time with them. They don't judge me. Unfairly as it happens. But the hysterical dog haters here don't care about that. Too busy frothing and tarring us all with the same brush.

By repeatedly calling people hysterical you are just revealing yourself to be completely lacking in understanding or empathy towards any of the issues. Typical dog owner.

You talk about being tarred with the same brush as if it is other owners who are the problem. You are the problem too.

Hang on. A few pages ago I was one of the good ones?!
Perhaps look back at all the times I supported you and explained to others how your child would suffer as a result of thoughtless dog owners and couldn't simply get over their phobia?

But you’re calling us hysterical dog haters now!!

I can't remember what you have said upthread I'm sorry, I'm talking about you calling people hysterical in the past couple of posts. Nobody has been hysterical.

No dog should ever be off lead anywhere in public
All dogs pose a bite risk.
We all need to work on our social skills (dog owners)
We need our heads read. (Yep. Dog owners again.)
Our houses all stink.
Nobody should ever have a dog unless they can only exercise it on their own land.
Dogs are utterly filthy.
Anal gland juice (my personal favourite)
Most dog owners are shits.
Shit all over the place. (This time it's the dogs and not the owners!)
Entitled pieces of shit. (Yep. Back to the owners!)
None of that is hysterical and frothing? Really?
If this was about any other group than dogs and dog owners it would be recognised as ludicrous hate speech and deleted.
As I said much earlier on: some people are twats and some of those people own dogs.
If you can't remember how I supported you just a page or two earlier please feel free to stop insulting all dog owners and have a quick re read.
You may even find you called me one of the good ones and that you said owners like me made your life easier.
Or maybe I am just a shit after all.

This thread is getting ridiculous. OP bowed out ages ago. Most, if not all, dog owners have agreed that out of control dogs are a pita. All responsible dog owners agree that ALL dog owners should pick up after their dog.

I think that most of us have agreed that dogs should not be allowed to run up to children, adults or other dogs.

But ALL dog owners get called "shits".

We all have to live in a world with other species (and humans we dont like). We all have choices to make. One of our choices would be not to frequent places where dogs off lead are allowed if our children have a fear of dogs.

Maybe certain posters ranting on MN may have the outcome they desire- but I very much doubt it. If irresponsible owners can't control their dogs I very much doubt that someone ranting about their child's fear of dogs on a social media site will make any difference.

Some people will always be responsible dog owners. Others will never be responsible dog owners.

Whether we are dog owners or not - nobody wants to be confronted with a dog who is not under control.

Dogs have been popular for centuries. They all crap. Nothing is going to change....

But the point I’m trying to make is that lots ( and lots) of dog owners who consider themselves good and responsible still allow their dogs to run and jump on my little girl. And when she screams in terror, they laugh at her and say “ he only wants to play”. Often they are on a lead. Sometimes they are in the pathway as she walks home from school where there’s no where to run and hide. Maybe some dog owners here will just take extra care. Maybe they hadn’t realised. Maybe they’ll stop saying he only wants to play and acknowledge that not everyone lives their dog.

@Slanetylor They aren't responsible owners though, most people will agree with that.

Responsible owners on this thread haven't said that they let their dogs jump on kids.

Well you weren't wrong, rogue!

My kids would hate being in a class with a dog. Why on earth is this a thing? Way above the remit of a school. If a child wants to mix with a dog, it is up to the parent to facilitate that. Why is a dog imposed on us when we don't want it. I bet several parents aren't overjoyed at the prospect, but many are too afraid of speaking up. Because dog people will go on and on and on about how lovely their dog is, how we need to overcome our fear/dislike, etc. The arrogance does not really surprise me, sadly.

But the people I’ve met call themselves responsible dog owners too. The ones who love their dogs more than people, the ones who report other dog owners because they don’t like how they treat their dogs, the ones who go to the vet and do everything right. And there’s LOTS of them

We all have choices to make. One of our choices would be not to frequent places where dogs off lead are allowed if our children have a fear of dogs.

Not to frequent places where dogs off lead are allowed? Dogs are allowed off lead anywhere in public as long as they are "under control". Are you seriously suggesting that I should choose not to set foot outside my house then because my child has a fear of dogs?

My daughter is regularly jumped at on footpaths by dogs on a lead too.

EVERY dog owner thinks they are a responsible dog owner. EVERY owner says they pick up their dog's shit. Hm.

Yet so many of us non-dog people have had so many horrible experiences with dogs and dog people. How can this possibly be?

I really think dog people just don't get it. They can't accept not everyone loves dogs, they can't accept their house smells of dog, they can't accept their hygiene standards are somewhat lacking. They can't accept that not everyone wants a dog sniffing at them, wiping up against them, humping their legs. Shitting on the street in front of us. And yet we non-dog people are the weird ones. Oh we must be awful people, we don't like dogs!

Not to frequent places where dogs off lead are allowed? Dogs are allowed off lead anywhere in public as long as they are "under control". Are you seriously suggesting that I should choose not to set foot outside my house then because my child has a fear of dogs?

The words " Under control" is a biggie here. Dogs who have a solid recall and walk to heel on command are under control.

If a dog is off lead and bounding over to all and sundry they should be on a lead in public places. What don't you understand?

If a dog is allowed to bound over to people or other dogs they are not under control therefore their owner is not a responsible dog owner.

Don't make out that ALL dog owners are irresponsible please.

If this was about any other group than dogs and dog owners it would be recognised as ludicrous hate speech and deleted.

Perhaps you should campaign for dog ownership to become a protected characteristic alongside race, sex, disability etc. After all nobody has a choice over being a dog owner and they should be protected from discrimination.

Hate speech seriously