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?

Well PennyArcade, if we want to relate it directly to this OP, it would be more like

A girl making daisy chains in a lush meadow, the sun is shining, birdsong fills the air
The shadowy figure of a cocker spaniel lurks behind a weeping willow
A butterfly floats past, the girl smiles, gives chase
The dog does nothing
The girls mum rants at the dog's owner, who ponders "wtf"
Mumsnet goes crazy

He goes down on command like a little trooper.

Ooh, can you give me his number?

Oh wait, this is about your dog, I thought it was the dating thread.

FWIW I agree with the point about cyclists--it's not about whether the cyclists are going slow, but whether a dog might dash under the wheels. Not saying you can't let your dogs ever go off-leash on this path, just something to be aware of if you see a cyclist approach.

LasMeninas

Yes. And then people who have no clue about dogs take to MN to tell everyone who knows about dogs how to raise their dog.

Weird! 🤔

Why should anyone else care how dog owners “raise” their dog?

All we care about is that you ALL put your dogs on leashes in public and pick up after them. That’s not a lot to ask.

Why are you so resistant to the idea that because so many dog owners don’t do those things that there should be much stronger controls on dog ownership? That’s weird.

Why should anyone else care how dog owners “raise” their dog?

Exactly! Butt out. Take your ill informed, ignorant views elsewhere. Go and stand in all these shit ridden places that are prevalent in your area and hand out bags to those you see not picking up after their dogs.

That would be more helpful to your cause that spouting shit on MN..

I think you've missed the point.

If you and others don't pick up after your 'bouncy' four-legged shit machines it's no-one else's job to do it for you.

Roll on the day when there's a £1,000 annual dog licence fee, a dog DNA database and a compulsory life ban for being a selfish owner who lets their dog run off the lead or doesn't take the dog's shit home. A few months of that and dog ownership will go down by 99%.

By no means do I think an owner shouldn't pick up after their dog, but if that happened surely there would be a lot of cat owners banned from having cats too as not only do they shit in the streets but on peoples property
And can also cause harm to people/cyclists or set off allergies without an owner around at all?

I think you're going to be waiting quite some time for that day, Ruffina.

I think you're going to be waiting quite some time for that day, Ruffina.

Sadly, that's all too likely. But the Dangerous Dogs Act (which doesn't go far enough) and the upsurge in people suing over dog attacks and bites might suggest that proper, overdue measures against feckless dog owners is gathering pace.

In, say, twenty years time we'll look back and wonder how dog owners were ever able to cause so much harm to people and to ruin towns, villages and the countryside quite so easily.

Absolutely agree that dog licenses should be brought back, and should be accompanied with compulsory insurance so, if your dog bites someone and causes lifelong injuries, they actually have a realistic chance of recovering compensation.

*I think you've missed the point.

If you and others don't pick up after your 'bouncy' four-legged shit machines it's no-one else's job to do it for you.

Roll on the day when there's a £1,000 annual dog licence fee, a dog DNA database and a compulsory life ban for being a selfish owner who lets their dog run off the lead or doesn't take the dog's shit home. A few months of that and dog ownership will go down by 99%*

I, and other dog owners, have already stated several times on this thread that dog owners also hate dog owners who don't pick up after their dogs.

Also as stated many times on this thread dogs should be allowed off lead when it is safe to do so. Every living, breathing creature needs excercise. Not all dogs bounce over people. Some are trained not to. Get it??

Where has it been stated that dog owners will have to pay £1,000 annual license fee?

WTF are you rambling on about?

Cats are far worse on the poo front than dogs because as they are just allowed to wander around all day, they poo and wee randomly everywhere - utterly gross. There’s not even the shred of an expectation that the owner will pick it up.

Worse still, it’s not even in a park or on a public pavement but on your border or lawn in your own garden in which you can be minding your own business, pet-free. That is my definition of irresponsible pet ownership.

Cats need walks, leads and licences and should not be allowed to come and go as they please.

A £1000 (at least) licence fee is what we should have, not what we do have.

How are you not able to see that if bad dog owners were such a small minority we wouldn’t have all these problems of dog attacks and dog shit infested spaces?

If you were all as good as you say you are there’d be no problem. But there are problems with dogs everywhere, every day, constantly.

WTF are you actually saying? You make no sense.

I'm a bit annoyed nobody has addressed the allergy issue, as I said, my son has a bad allergy to dogs and when dogs have randomly bounded up to him we've had a horrible 48 hours of crying itching and swelling. We should be able to go down a footpath without being ready to defend all the time.

Cats and dogs are both environmental disasters, but dogs are absolutely the more dangerous of the two.

Plus, as I alluded, if you get attacked by a dog and suffer injuries, you might well not have any legal right to compensation, unless you can show that the dog had shown aggressive tendencies in the past. Licenses, insurance and something closer to strict liability is needed.

Licensing would actually go some way towards protecting dogs too.

Don’t expect an answer from dog lovers, MrMakers. They are unable to accept that their beloved fur babies might impact on anyone else.

It’s like a cult.

Cats spread far more disease, because nobody knows where their poo and wee is. Disease is a more serious threat than injury.

Ruffina I have noticed that, drives me mad, one time I shouted to a woman to remove her dog who she purposely allowed up to my child's face (as if we would enjoy it? Weird) and she said "oh love, you need to expose him to them and then hell get used to it and the allergy will go away, it's probably because you are one of them that bleaches everything and doesn't let their kids in the dirt!" stupid cow!

Cats can be dangerous too. Particularly to small babies who's mouth smells like milk. And far less trainable. Surely if such laws where actually considered it would apply to all animals in public spaces not just one?

agirl I agree - keeping a cat in your house with a cat flap is not that far from having a domesticated urban fox as a pet. Yeuch. Why would you, especially if you have a baby. People are so strange.

I'm a bit annoyed nobody has addressed the allergy issue, as I said, my son has a bad allergy to dogs and when dogs have randomly bounded up to him we've had a horrible 48 hours of crying itching and swelling

It's been indirectly addressed because not a single person has defended people allowing their dogs to approach strangers. Every single person has agreed that they shouldn't be doing that, and OP did not do that.

But if dogs were on leads then the risk would be eliminated wouldn't it? How can I know that your dog has a good recall? Why should we worry because of someone else's animal?

Oh god here we go, the dog fanciers are laying into cat owners as a defence.

@Deadbudgie 👏🏻 Well said

But if dogs were on leads then the risk would be eliminated wouldn't it?

Well yeah, but that's a bit like throwing the baby out with the bath water.

How can I know that your dog has a good recall? Why should we worry because of someone else's animal?

Well, you shouldn't have to worry, that's true. So we should tackle the bad behaviour. Like, I shouldn't have to worry about my son being hit by a drunk driver while he waits at the bus stop, but I don't think banning all cars is the answer.

(.....even though they're disgusting and cause so much harm to people and ruin towns, villages and the countryside)