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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Dogs

141 replies

apresski · 15/09/2018 22:53

We live down a country lane very popular with dog walkers (despite dog walking paths by river just adjacent). Our gates are open on to the road (not the river) and we have had repeated dogs run into our garden. I am from a dog family, my DH isn't (allergic). My daughter is also allergic but seems to be growing out of it, but as a result of allergies at an earlier age is petrified of dogs come running at her or are overly bouncy/friendly etc. Now.... AIBU to think of you walk your dogs up and down a lane or in public you should be able to control them going in to other people's gardens or property? DH and I had an argument about it today but actually daughter was terrified by three dogs running around chasing her and was screaming.....! Thanks all

OP posts:

Original poster

apresski · 20/09/2018 00:22

Thank you for all the responses. Mostly helpful. We won't be installing electric gates or seeking to close both sets, I hope the sensible dog owners keep their dogs under control on a lane where the speed 'limit' is 60mph and/or their is a shoot going whereby they (the dogs) might just get shot - won't be their fault, they can't be controlled and don't understand the signs....

OP posts:

adaline · 20/09/2018 07:33

But how will that solve your problem?

Wolfiefan · 20/09/2018 07:35

Don’t think OP wanted a solution. Just a moan. I would never have my dog off lead along a road but if other people’s dogs were coming onto my property and it bothered me then I would take steps to keep them out.

WilburIsSomePig · 20/09/2018 07:40

Why should the OP have to close her gates? My dogs are off the lead a lot bit only where I know they can't enter anyone's property. Why do people think it's ok for people to let their dogs run into someone's garden?

adaline · 20/09/2018 07:50

Why should the OP have to close her gates?

Because it's the only way she can guarantee dogs won't end up on her property? Dogs escape and run off, and some dog owners ignore signs and will walk their dogs off-lead no matter what signs there are.

foxbox99 · 20/09/2018 07:58

If you live in a location like this where dogs are walked then expect them to run into your garden.
I'm sick of this "dogs should be 100 percent under control " lecturing.
Dogs need to exercise off lead.
Close your gates or move.

foxbox99 · 20/09/2018 07:59

Also, please work on your daughters phobia of dogs. Dogs are everywhere.

Idontbelieveinthemoon · 20/09/2018 08:05

I'm sick of this "dogs should be 100 percent under control " lecturing.
Dogs need to exercise off lead.

Why are you sick of something that's true? If you own a dog you either have to a) train it well enough to not run into people's gardens or b) keep it under control til it's in an area that's safe to be disobedient and rub where it likes. I'm pretty sure your dog's right to exercise off lead doesn't trump anyone's need to keep dogs away from a child.

Owning a dog isn't carte blanche for "it's an animal, it can do what it wants". We have a dickhead spaniel and when she moved in with us at 12 months old she was an absolute twat for ignoring me. We trained her and now I'd say her recall is as close to perfect as can be. Near houses she's on lead, if she's off lead and I click my fingers and say "off" she returns straight to me. It's not hard to comprehend that dogs need to be trained in order to keep themselves and others safe. It's also pretty selfish to assume that because you love your dog that others should just move house if they don't want dogs all over their garden.

hannah1992 · 20/09/2018 08:06

Dogs should be on a lead when in public areas.

My mum has a husky. Well behaved and a lovely friendly dog but absolutely no re-call. If he sees something (namely a cat) he will just run. However, he a large dog and needs a bit of a run so she has one of those extending leads. It's 10ft long so he can have a decent run but she also has control over stopping and retracting it if he goes in someone's garden or there's a cat or there's someone walking by with another dog. Because that's sensible. I'd hate dogs coming in and out of my garden and peeing on the gate etc

unclejel · 20/09/2018 08:06

Setting aside the dog issue, you have an unsecured garden with gates open that your daughter plays in and it opens onto a lane where vehicles travel at 60mph?
Wow!

foxbox99 · 20/09/2018 08:09

I didn't realise OP lived on a main road. I'd have mine on a lead in that case.
However if there was a house on a country track popular with dog walkers I would not have mine on a lead just in case there was a house ahead with open gates. Dog would be running ahead of me getting exercise and would run into garden/drive to explore.
If she discovered a screaming running child she would definitely think they wanted to play.

BobLemon · 20/09/2018 08:14

Sympathies OP! you should start this again, without gates mentioned. Dog owners just lose their ducking heads. No one should have to lift even a finger to prevent a dog from approaching them. It’s not something that should be acceptable, but a proportion of society think it is, and most of the rest of society are just too polite about it.
Any of those noise emitting things that can sit in your garden? I’ve also heard of portable noise-emitting devices that ward dogs off.
For full disclose - also a dog lover/from a dog family/kind of person who smiles at a dog if they look at me.

SurferRona · 20/09/2018 08:25

You don't need expensive electric gates. Just add a weight on a wire from the gate top to the hinge which uses gravity to pull the gate shut. Easily opened by postman and others, not dogs though. Most country parks or gates on footpaths use them, they're all over. Or if you did just want a moan, ignore

adaline · 20/09/2018 08:30

Dogs need to exercise off lead.

Well, not really. Of course it's more fun for dogs to run off-lead and of course they get more exercise that way, but as a dog owner it's your responsibility to only let your dog off when it's safe to do so. No dog has 100% recall (because, well, they're animals and not robots) so you need to make sure it's safe before letting your dog run off. If your dog has zero recall and is prone to bothering other dogs or jumping at people, they should be kept on-lead.

I'm a dog owner and walk my dog off-lead - on dog-friendly beaches or secure fields where he's safe. I wouldn't walk mine off-lead anywhere near a road because I know he could bolt or get spooked by a loud noise or a car, or another dog. He's my responsibility at the end of the day.

But I also know dogs aren't perfect and they do run off/escape/go deaf in the presence of a rabbit, so if I didn't want dogs in my garden I would do what I needed to do to prevent it - be it with fencing or a gate or whatever. Dogs can't read and nor do they realise that other people's open gardens are off-limits!

SoupDragon · 20/09/2018 08:30

If you live in a location like this where dogs are walked then expect them to run into your garden

Do yo if mean a location with dickhead dog owners who can’t control their pets and think their pets are more important than a child ?

SoupDragon · 20/09/2018 08:32

Dog would be running ahead of me getting exercise and would run into garden/drive to explore.
If she discovered a screaming running child she would definitely think they wanted to play.

Then either train your dog better or keep them under control. It’s owners like you who give the rest of us a bad name.

adaline · 20/09/2018 08:38

Dog would be running ahead of me getting exercise and would run into garden/drive to explore. If she discovered a screaming running child she would definitely think they wanted to play.

And if your dog bit said child, you'd be liable for not having your dog under control! And OP has said she lives on a 60mph country road - if your dog ran ahead of you he/she could so easily get hit by a car coming round a corner at speed.

My dog is a pup and he's bouncy and still jumps up at people for attention on occasion - so he's always on lead around people and especially around small children/bikes/cars. I also don't let him run off out of my sight to bother other people!

foxbox99 · 20/09/2018 09:15

Yep of course id be liable if my dog bit the child. She wouldn't though.

Already said if my dog was on main road it would be on lead, OP drip fed info about her living on a road for cars with a national speed limit!!!! Why are her gates open in such a location in any case.

Plenty of dog walkers who think they're on a country track won't get their dogs on a lead in time if a house happens to have it's gates open. Don't think that makes them irresponsible, it makes them not psychic.

And yes dogs do need exercise off lead (in appropriate places).

foxbox99 · 20/09/2018 09:17

On the child note.....I know it's controversial but I don't have much sympathy with parents who have brought their kids up to be scared or dogs in the UK where they are everywhere. Coming from someone who was bitten by a dog as a child .

adaline · 20/09/2018 09:18

She wouldn't though.

Even if the child hit or kicked her in fear? Screamed and went for her? Even the most placid dog could bite if a stranger attacked them and at the end of the day the law would say it was your fault for not having your dog under control.

And yes dogs do need exercise off lead (in appropriate places).

Being off-lead is a privilege not a right though. If your dog repeatedly shows that they don't recall or that they run off, then you should only let them off-lead in a secure field or large garden. Not on country lanes/woods "because it's fun for them".

foxbox99 · 20/09/2018 09:19

Why would OP have her dog phobic child in a garden along a "country track popular with dog walkers" with the gates wide open. It just does not make any sense.

SoupDragon · 20/09/2018 09:28

It makes them irresponsible with a poorly trained dog. If you can’t get your dog back immediately when it goes somewhere it shouldn’t, keep it on a lead.

CruCru · 20/09/2018 09:28

I've taken the OP to mean that she is in her garden when her child is. Plus her child is probably old enough / sensible enough not to run through the gates (unlike the dogs).

If this is the sort of country road that I am familiar with, it is technically a 60 limit but there won't be much of the road that anyone would do 60 on.

SoupDragon · 20/09/2018 09:30

Why would OP have her dog phobic child in a garden along a "country track popular with dog walkers" with the gates wide open. It just does not make any sense.

Perhaps it’s because she wrongly thought all dog owners were considerate and not arrogant “my dog is god” idiots.

foxbox99 · 20/09/2018 09:34

The reality is as a pp said NO DOG HAS 100% RECALL 100% OF THE TIME.

So either OP shuts her gates or she starts lobbying for a bill to make it illegal to have dogs off lead in open public space full stop.

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