To think if you don’t like dogs, don’t walk this route?

[YippeeKayakOtherBuckets]

I’ve just been told off, aggressively, for having my dogs off lead.

We walk to school down a woodland path that is used by literally dozens of dog walkers, I counted fifteen other dog owners just on this walk, the vast majority off lead. There is nowhere on the length of the path that can’t be easily reached by a faster route, the path runs a winding way alongside a quiet road with a wide path.

Anyway, dogs, joggers and the odd cyclist all usually use the route along with pedestrians and it’s generally accepted that you’ll meet several dogs on the way. This woman, who I’ve not seen before, got right in my face and said ‘put your dogs on a lead, I don’t like dogs’.

I’m terrible at confrontation so just apologised and moved on.

But it’s really rattled me. Am I being unreasonable? One of mine is a bouncy 4month old lab, he’s well trained and doesn’t approach people or dogs unless I let him, but he is, as I say, bouncy and large so that might be why she picked on me and not the other dozen people she must have passed.

If I see her again (and have the nerve) wibu to suggest that she walks the other way round?

lovesugar

I feel so sorry for postmen and -women. There’s a poster up in my local sorting office explaining the horrendous number of dog attacks and bites that posties suffer.

But people who love dogs are so lovely and kind that I imagine it’s all mad up by dog haters.

Yet another bunch of anti dog hysterics on Mumsnet.

You live in a rural area where there's a high dog density, as do I. I don't get why if you're absolutely phobic of dogs why you'd purposefully court being near them by walking on a well known dog walking route. Yes some of you say she's got an absolute right to be there and she does, what she doesn't have the right to do is curtail someone else's rights on that space. There are no restrictions for off lead dog walking in the majority of places so long as your dog is not causing a problem (and when I say that I mean attacking or shoving over, something that IS a problem).

Why the fuck these dog phobics can't see that their problem is life limiting and deal with it is beyond me. I dealt with my plane phobia and that didn't even have the effect of constraining total strangers.

Dogs need time off the lead, most people live in rural places so they can engage in activities like that.

Have a good gossip to the other dog walkers about how nuts she is and forget about it OP. She's the dick, not you.

(PS how can anyone dislike a four month old lab puppy...heart of steel that one)

Are you serious? People ‘make this up’ because they are dog haters? What a lot of rubbish and short sighted.

If I put my dog on a lead in the park when people approache. He will be on the lead CONSTANTLY. Its a park and it’s not a legal requirement for me to put my dog on the leash if he’s not a danger to anyone. Now people who have small children or are afraid of dogs ,Should not come into the park knowing fully there will be literally hundreds of dogs running around.

In a world where we have to be tolerant and understand long the sheer VENOM against anyone who doesn’t like dogs or who is scared is unbelievable. I just hope these people never have to deal with a phobia as they clearly have no capacity for understanding outside of their own little bubble.

I do have phobias. I also understand that these are not anybody else's problem and I certainly don't expect them to change their behaviour because of them.

Dogs are around in parks and greens etc. Why people don't bother learning the first ting about them and their behaviour, I'll never understand. EG teaching your kids what aggressive v friendly behaviour is-of course dog owners teach dogs not to jump up etc too.

Dogs off lead for example.

When humans learn something somewhere (eg we're at home and we learn how to open a door) we can then go to another house or building and know how to open a door..

DOGS DONT LEARN LIKE THIS.

You can train a dog until you're blue in the face to recall in your own garden or a certain place where people aren't around (which is what I think people are often saying when they say 'don't let dog off lead until they're trained')

Then can then go somewhere different, and that behaviour has to be learned again-It will be learned quicker than initially, because the knowledge is there-but they do not apply knowledge to a different situation in the same way we do. Dogs have to be let off the lead,, to enable them to learn how to behave off the lead. People saying 'Don't let a dog off the lead until It's trained' grates on me.

I hate being told off too, makes you feel all funny right, but I’ve also got 2 very small ones and whilst I’m getting better at making them feel comfortable around dogs I have family members with dogs who seem to think it’s ok to let their dogs jump at them because they are ‘friendly’. Bottom line is yeah, control your dog in public... were the other dogs young puppies whizzing about? Or more sedate? It does make some people nervous and they have the right not to feel that way too

yabu
if it's a common school run path keep your dog on the lead. find a quieter area to let them run off steam.

VU.... how do you think it's right to have your pet jumping around a public footpath... hope you know accidents do happen ...put a lead on your animal please

Sorry, as dig lover and previous dog owner I think you should have the dogs on leads. You gave a description of all the trafgic that can be encountered on the path. If a pedestrian has to run the gaunlet of cyclists, other pedestrians and dogs off lead no wonder the woman was uppity.

Iseveryusernametaken - in your 30 years of dog ownership have you honestly never seen a dog whose owner thought was calm and under control (or who just didn’t care) jump up or run at a passerby?
Why is the default that others have to assume that the dog is ‘fine’ rather than the default be that dogs should be on leads and under control when there are other people around. Presumably there are other children walking this route as the OP says she uses it to get to school. Dogs are much more likely to be face-height of a child. Would you happily share a path with a pony that wasn’t being led or ridden by a human? The size comparison is similar.

WE were in a public park with my grandson (walking, not in a pushchairr) about 2yo at the time. A bull terrier type dog came running up, off-lead, with its' owner just behind.

We didn't know if the dog was friendly, and tried shooing it away, and the owner said 'He's alright, he's quite friendly, I've got grandchildren'.

I was mightily p**d off, the dog may have been friendly, but he may NOT have been, and with the dog's face level with my grandson's I wasn't prepared to be risk it . I told the owner to keep his dog under better control, but he really wasn't bothered.

Thankfully they cleared off pretty quickly. Unfortunately one can't read what's in a dog's mind, so dog-owners should realise this, and keep better control around small children. The children are too young to know how to react.

It’s about reasonable behaviour on both sides with nobody so entitled they don’t believe that they have to control their small (or big) things - be they children or dogs.
It sounds like dog was bouncing around sniffing rabbits and squirrels rather than approaching people. Dogs need to do this to remain healthy. Dogs need off lead time and if they’re not capable of being trained to instant recall then they aren’t being looked after properly.
Similarly children need training not to approach dogs that are minding their own business and avoiding small people.
Walking or trotting calmly past off lead is not ‘out of control’. Being friendly and jumping up is. Doesn’t sound like this was the case.
Child pointing at spotty dog and saying “look mummy Pongo” is under control. Child running towards the spotty dog is not under control and has not been trained properly.
Our dog is frightened of children so I growl loudly at any that try to approach him and ignore my instruction not to. I growl more fiercely if their parents tell me they’re used to dogs.
Both sides can be unreasonable but it’s not difficult to accommodate everyone’s needs if we are considerate.

YANBU OP.

I'm a small, middle aged woman (weighing under 8 stone) and live in a busy, nappy valley type suburb. I'm surrounded by energetic toddlers on scooters veering all over the pavement and at times it can be a bit alarming when they career towards you, seemingly out of control. Many times I have to stop to avoid a collision. But we live in a crowded island and need to be tolerant of out-of-control kids, dogs, cyclists, cars, mobility scooters etc etc. And your dog wasn't out of control!

Don't worry about the anti-dog brigade. They won't be satisfied until every dog is put on a lead everywhere. Well-behaved dogs need to be off-lead, enjoying themselves. Like kids they have plenty of energy that needs working off.

Think no more of this cynophobic spoilsport!

brighteye

I think you misunderstood. I was being sarcastic.

Yanbu. You and your dog were minding your own business. Let her deal with her own dislikes in the psych's office. Forget about it.

Just ignore the silly woman. There is no reason your dog should be on a lead if it isnt bothering other people, just because she doesnt like dogs off lead isnt a valid reason.

@Blou2

No, and I didn't make any statement to that effect. If a dog is going to bounce over anyone, then they clearly don't fall into the category of 'under control'. My current dog is rarely allowed off lead because he's old and a bit deaf for starters, but also has selective deafness, particularly around children because he loves them and gets very sad if they're scared of him. To be fair, he's also quite often a bit smelly and muddy, so it's not fair for him to inflict himself. I had another dog who was similar, but also very naughty and devious so would never trust him. The other 4 dogs that I have had over the years were good as gold and had perfect recall.

Incidentally, I have been on the receiving end of an Akita attack. It wasn't interested in me but in my medium sized terrier which it mauled whilst I tried to beat it off. It should absolutely have been on a lead but it's owners were nowhere to be seen.

It’s disappointing that there are so many reasonable responses encouraging responsible management of said dog and a smaller number of responses suggesting we are thus dog haters. No we are not “dog haters”. That minority might have to suspend your own sense of the world for this but there is a sizeable chunk of the population, probably a majority that have no feelings towards dogs. They provoke the same emotion in us as a cardboard box or a stone. I personally love motorcycles and while part of me cannot believe some people don’t like them have it in me that some people don’t and that is the way of the world. It is then incumbent on me that my love of motorcycles does not impinge on those who are indifferent to them. And so it is with dogs. Dogs are sentient beings but they are not human and those of us who are indifferent to them should not be unreasonably inconvenienced or frightened by them.

Threads like this are why humans are doomed.

The single most important factor for any species to live as a community is the ability to compromise. Humans no longer have this ability - having been fed years of shit about how many rights and entitlements they have. We all walk about thinking that the way we personally feel about the world is important or that our "rights" should be everyone else's priority.

When we cannot tolerate the little stuff we stop being able to tolerate the bigger stuff and eventually war results.

Missbattenberg I am sorry to say you are very likely correct.

Your bouncy pup didn't actually bounce on her. I would ignore those who say put your dog on a lead. I would also ignore the lady if you happen to stumble upon her again.

I think everyone has as much right to use that public right as you and your dog. Dogs are the owners’ responsibility and should be under their control. At that age, the best way to be under your control would be on a lead. It’s really that simple. Some dog owners get so emotional and defensive when they are told that about their dogs but what they don’t appreciate is that some people with dog phobia are really seriously frightened and it feels really unkind to put someone in that state just so that the dog can run around right left and centre on a foot path. It’s like if someone had a fear of snakes and walked past one with his pet snake, even if it’s well trained, the very fact that it is nearby and able to get to them is frightening. Fear is fear. It’s not always logical but it is still very unpleasant and at time down right awful. So why would anybody want to inflict it on another person?

Share the space but please appreciate not everyone is comfortable around dogs. So long as you pet is controlled (on a lead) then there should be no need for confrontation......

Miss Battenburg - Or the other side of the coin we try and see the world through the eyes of others rather than just our own. Maybe this is what you are trying to say and if so another way of saying it is considerate of others has as much place in this world as live and let live.