Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Flip

1 2 3 4 5 6 ··· 24 25

Original poster

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

617 replies

YippeeKayakOtherBuckets · 06/11/2018 08:52

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?

OP posts:

Shitlandpony · 06/11/2018 09:51

You will get the dog haters flocking to this thread, I would hide it and move on.

WhirlyGigWhirlyGig · 06/11/2018 09:54

I have a bouncy dog, she's kept on a lead because I'm aware that others have the right to walk in the woods/countryside for their own enjoyment even if they are dog free people.

Nesssie · 06/11/2018 09:55

I don’t like dogs and I avoid running on some lovely footpaths because owners let dogs off the lead which makes me nervous
I like dogs but bouncy dogs off the lead make me feel uncomfortable

Why does your fear of dogs overrule her right to walk her dog off lead?
We can't help your fear, unfortunately it is just not our problem. As long as the dog wasn't running over to people or getting in the way, he can bounce around all he likes.

Santaclarita · 06/11/2018 09:56

You will get the dog haters flocking to this thread, I would hide it and move on.

I don't hate dogs, but still think they should be on leads. I've had people tell me they took their dogs into my horses field then were shocked that he chased the dogs out. Its well known he hates dogs, I tell people that if they have them so they keep them away from him. I do have to chase dogs away from him too at times as people don't listen. I don't want him kicking them, he weighs 630kg. If he kicks the dog, he'll kill them. I don't want that, but I can't stop him defending himself either.

It's for the safety of everyone that dogs should be on leads. Too many people don't bother training them.

Coloursthatweremyjoy · 06/11/2018 10:02

Maybe you met the lady I did OP.

She told me to put my dog on a lead. He was off the footpath, 3 metres away sniffing in the bushes and completely ignoring her! He ignores everyone and for what it's worth has amazing recall. I just don't tend to use it when he isn't near someone, behaving himself and in a dog walking area.

Mind you I got told aggressively to put my dog on a lead once...and it wasn't even my dog...I was walking alone!

Mine is a working lab by the way, they are the best.

Kazzyhoward · 06/11/2018 10:02

Sorry, but if it's a popular route and lots of people/dogs around, then your dog should be on a lead.

If you want to let it run free, then you need to find a quieter place to do it, like a field or a beach.

Loonoon · 06/11/2018 10:02

If your puppy is bouncy and ‘not perfect’ you should have him on a lead for his safety and the safety of others.

We had a golden retriever bitch who was gorgeous and’ bouncy’ so always on the lead when other people were around. One day she bounced up to a little friend of my brothers in our garden. He wasn’t used to dogs and misinterpreted her playfulness as aggression and lashed out at her, punching and kicking and screaming. In the melee and confusion our normally gentle girl bit him and he ended up in A&E with a nasty bite on his arm. She was put down.

BitOutOfPractice · 06/11/2018 10:03

Quite clearly it's not "generally accepted" that dogs should be running around off lead. I bet this woman is one of dozens of others who don't like it but just haven't said. If I were walking / running that route (which I'm just as entitled to as you with your bouncy dog) I'd be really irritated by having to negotiate off lead dogs every five minutes. It's just that most people don't say, they just inwardly seethe.

Keep your dog on a lead. Especially if it's bouncy and probably doesn't have great recall yet. I'm always surprised how many dog walkers seem to think their needs trump everyone else's

BitOutOfPractice · 06/11/2018 10:05

We can't help your fear, unfortunately it is just not our problem.

See what I mean?

We can't help that you want to walk your dog off lead. It's not my problem

nottakingthisanymore · 06/11/2018 10:05

If you dog went nowhere near here then you are right to be annoyed at her. YABVU to suggest someone who doesn’t like dogs should walk a different route.

Nesssie · 06/11/2018 10:07

I'm always surprised how many dog walkers seem to think their needs trump everyone else's

And yet your need trumps ours? Why should perfectly behaved dogs be kept on a lead?

Sorry, but if it's a popular route and lots of people/dogs around, then your dog should be on a lead. If you want to let it run free, then you need to find a quieter place to do it, like a field or a beach. - that makes no sense, its obviously a popular area for dog walkers, so its exactly where dogs should be walked. Not everyone lives on the coast, and not many beaches allow dogs.

ErrolTheDragon · 06/11/2018 10:08

There are places where dogs absolutely should be on leads - fields with stock, including horses is one of them.

But there are places where dogs like the OPs - busy about their own business, not approaching let alone jumping up at strangers - really don't need to be leashed.

OP, if this woman confronts you again, try to stay calm and maybe say something like 'I believe my dogs are under sufficient control for this environment, good day.' And walk on.

2ndbase · 06/11/2018 10:08

Another dog owner that can't understand why people don't like their dogs running around them.

Nesssie · 06/11/2018 10:10

We can't help your fear, unfortunately it is just not our problem.

See what I mean?

We can't help that you want to walk your dog off lead. It's not my problem

We don't interfere with you, so don't interfere with us. You can't just ban/control everything that you are scared of. If the dog was out of control, and running up to you, then yes you are in the right to be angry. But you cannot project your fear onto a dog minding its own business.

nordlac · 06/11/2018 10:11

It is legal and 100% socially acceptable to walk dogs off lead in many situations, assuming they are well behaved, which is the case described by OP.

Why are we comparing it to people letting dogs off lead in horses fields, or letting them run up and jump at joggers, or letting their dogs play around young children who aren't used to them? Those are all different situations!

If you walk a popular route, you will have to "negotiate" dogs, cyclists, runners, kids running around playing, other walkers, etc. That's normal.

Nesssie · 06/11/2018 10:11

Another dog owner that can't understand why people don't like their dogs running around them. Its clearly states that the dog did not run up to the woman. You cannot object to a dog running around near you, simply because you don't like dogs (Well, actually on MN you can)

PodgeBod · 06/11/2018 10:13

I live near a country park and like to take my kids through the forest to the lake. It's always packed full of dogs off lead and their owners. We've been approached a few times but owners always step in, the vast majority just ignore us. I suppose we've been lucky so far.
I would never dream of telling them they can't do something they are perfectly entitled to do. I'm not a great dog lover but I do think they need a chance to have a run around and use their natural instincts, provided they are not aggressive. Just like kids really

ShartGoblin · 06/11/2018 10:13

YANBU to think that but it would be rude to say it. As you have stated quite clearly TWICE that your dog does not bounce up to people then I'm struggling to see why people would be saying your dog shouldn't have been off lead.

You have done nothing wrong but she isn't wrong (a little rude perhaps) to be scared of dogs so you can either carry on as you are or put your dog on a lead for the sake of good relations, assuming it's a smallish village.

adaline · 06/11/2018 10:15

If you walk a popular route, you will have to "negotiate" dogs, cyclists, runners, kids running around playing, other walkers, etc. That's normal.

Of course it's normal, but it's also dangerous to have a young dog bouncing around off-lead like that. If he gets spooked and runs, he could easily hurt someone else/himself. I walk my dog along a popular path alongside fields - I always come across other dogs, walkers, cyclists, school-children, cats, kids on scooters, which is precisely why my dog is always on a lead there. There's lots going on, and it only takes one child to spook him, or a cyclist to have to swerve for the dog to run off or get hurt.

The other problem is, if your dog is off-lead and gets into an altercation with another dog or person, you'll be criticised for not having your dog under control. Nothing wrong with walking your dog off-lead in an appropriate place but sometimes dogs need to be on-lead, for their own safety as much as anything else.

MsMightyTitanAndHerTroubadours · 06/11/2018 10:16

If you didn't see her chastising all the other dog owners then just shrug and move on, she saw you as an easy target for her ire this morning. Some people just like to have something to moan about.

In the future I would just ignore her, or if feeling impish give her a cheery wave and a big smiley "Good Morning" :o

I would always put my boys on the lead when someone approached, or take a hold of them, just because as mahooooosive GSDs they were intimidating and almost bound to get blamed in any scenario. However that does feed into the fear, so really damned either way.

joystir59 · 06/11/2018 10:16

Alfie190 entitled

ErrolTheDragon · 06/11/2018 10:17

then you need to find a quieter place to do it, like a field ...

A field? I assume you don't mean a crop field, so pasture .... well, I suppose if it's a cowfield and they've all been taken indoors for the winter then ok, but unless you're sure there's no stock in the field then that's a really bad idea.

joystir59 · 06/11/2018 10:17

Entotled!

amicissimma · 06/11/2018 10:18

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

80sMum · 06/11/2018 10:18

My view is that the only places where dogs should be let off the lead is on private land.

So if you're walking in a public place, i.e. a public park, common land, along a public footpath, bridleway or public byway or along a pavement then the dog should be kept on a lead.

Flip

1 2 3 4 5 6 ··· 24 25

Swipe left for the next trending thread