To be upset at peoples reaction to the muzzle?

[Doggydoggydoggy]

Just that really.

Dog wears one because she has nipped a few people.

She is not people aggressive.

I had a woman today clearly frightened because she ran near her buggy.
Near as in running past it.
Not barking/lunging/acting aggressive/approaching the child etc.

The woman got really scared at the sight of my dog, recoiled pulling the buggy so my dog did what most dogs will do in response and looked at her and went to approach.

So I called her back to me immediately and put her lead on.
That didn’t stop the woman constantly looking back angrily at me as she was walking ahead.

I really don’t think my dog had done anything that would reasonably make anyone feel frightened.

I can only assume it is the muzzle making the mum think she must be some child mauling demon.

And I find it really upsetting.

I wanted to talk to her and explain that she has the muzzle for nipping dogs and that I was sorry she frightened her but she honestly poses no risk to her child and has no interest in her child.
But her constant looking back and glaring at me made me feel really uncomfortable so I didn’t.

I worry about dogs running around off their lead. However, whenever I see a muzzled dog, I relax, knowing that it cannot bite. I am therefore far less worried.

It’s not just the flinching.
Although that is upsetting but she really isn’t a child mauler.
Though I appreciate the woman does not know that.
It’s the angry looks

and

It was very clearly a very angry glare and I found it threatening

and

The way she was looking at me made me feel uncomfortable and threatened.

and

Glaring is an obvious aggressive gesture.

and

I have said I interpreted the glares as intimidating and aggressive.

So it's moved from you being upset that she thought your dog might be aggressive and a biter to being terribly scared because she gave you a look.

What did you think she was going to do - ram you with the buggy?

I'm a dog owner, love dogs. I have a family member who has a dog who has been through some horrific abuse (rescue dog) and is prone to snapping so wears a muzzle at all times when round other people/dogs.
Yet I completely understand the lady's reaction and I think you're being v. Unreasonable to take offence to her fear.

A muzzle indicates a dog that bites. Your dog went near her and her baby. It doesn't matter about the extra details you have mentioned.

Yes I can absolutely understand why an owner would muzzle their dog to stop it eating random stuff.

For example, near me some idiots got those chip shop mayo bottles and squirted a massive amount of sauce (I assume) on a busy park pathway. It was left there for a week until the rain washed it away. I could just imagine a dog licking that and getting ill, due to how filthy the area was, the fact that it was left out for days getting mouldy, that the ‘sauce’ could potentially be a dangerous substance, that the ‘sauce’ could be have random bits of glass or whatever inadvertently mixed in eg if someone dropped a bottle nearby.

OP I do not think YABU but some people are narrow minded and non-dog people without experience can make assumptions.
I wouldn’t just assume a dog was muzzled was for being violent. Probably that it ate things off the ground. But I am a dog owner with common sense

A dog owner with common sense you say? So much common sense that you think it's normal for a dog to be muzzled in case it eats something it shouldn't.

Ever heard of the "Leave it" command? Probably not. That's what dog owners with common sense teach their dogs.

And fwiw, I have seen dogs slip out of their muzzles, obvs they shouldn't be able to if they're on properly but not everyone does put them on correctly.

In my local park someone left a bag of fish in the dog section - my greedy hound came trotting up to me with a fish in her mouth - a whole one with eyes and bones etc ie fully intact - when I took it out and binned it she went straight back to where she found it and came up with another ! I retrieved the bag and put it in the bin

You love your dog. Other people don't have to.
Keep it on a lead in public, by law you have to make sure that it's not "dangerously out of control" and that can mean making someone worried that it could injure them. So with a dog with a muzzle on bounds up to someone, they will naturally be worried.

I just find it upsetting because I don’t think it would have got that reaction if she hadn’t been wearing her muzzle.

I just find it upsetting.

I just find it upsetting when any dog is off a lead, or them annoying stretch leads! Doesn't matter if it's wearing a muzzle or not, I find all dogs scary.

But, azul, a dog,isn't as scary as being given The Look by a mother with a baby in a buggy!

Ha - I am getting adverts now for Adaptil or something for anxious dogs

Its nipped a few people.
Its not people aggressive.

I bet the few people who have been nipped would disagree with that.

The woman may have been anxious of dogs regardless of whether it was wearing a muzzle or not. You should have it on a lead

Awlook - the OP clarified earlier that it was a typo and the dog is only a dog biter and not a people biter

We only have a split second to react in many situations and sometimes we get it wrong or make a judgement based on what we can see. We can't base a judgement on the things we cannot see, such as your dog's previous disinterest in baby-chewing.

I have dogs. They are staffies, which immediate worry people. I have to respect this. No-one can tell when we approach that mine have no history of aggression to people or animals. Why would anyone know this? One of them still believes himself to be a puppy (he's 6). When we are out walking his natural instinct is to pull towards people as he thinks they want to make a fuss of him. Strangely this is not what people want at all. So as we approach people I stop him and make him wait at the side of the kerb until the person has passed. Once when he was a few months old, we were in a busy town centre (which I avoid with dogs now if I can) and there was nowhere to stand him out of the way and he pulled towards a toddler in a pushchair. He didn't bark, bare teeth, growl or anything that suggested aggression (and never has done) but the mother shouts "That dog tried to attack me!!" Her response was over the top to extreme and panicked me for obvious reasons. But she was protecting her baby and made a judgement based on what she perceived to be correct at the time. And as a responsible dog owner, I have to live with that and make sure that I don't put my dog in that situation again.

I wish people would read the thread more carefully before commenting.

To re cap (all previously mentioned in the thread)

1. I admit I am over sensitive.

I think my dog is lovely, I hold my hands up it upsets me if others don’t feel the same. I am quite sure many dog owners also feel that way.

1. I don’t ‘blame’ the woman.

The muzzle does look scary. Because I love the dog I don’t like to think of others thinking her scary. Yes this is over sensitive and unreasonable. My dog has never got a scared reaction from anyone before. Which is what makes me think it is the muzzle.

1. I am from a ‘rough’ area originally.

I am used to people following up glares with verbal and/or physical aggression for very very minor things. So, when I see someone like this woman giving angry glares I assume that it will be followed up. So I am both upset that the woman assumed my dog is a child mauler and upset and anxious over the glares that I expect to be followed up.

1. My dog did not approach.

If my dog routinely approached strangers she would be on lead. I feel safe having her off lead because she does not approach people and will come back if called and poses no safety risk to people.

1. My dog is not human aggressive.

She has never in her life showed any indication of any aggression towards people whatsoever.

1. I refuse to put her on lead permanently.

There, I said it. She poses no risk to people. She doesn’t approach people or dogs. She has excellent recall. She doesn’t bark or chase or do anything particularly threatening. The muzzle is there to stop her nipping other dogs that approach her.

Currently in the UK dogs are required to be under verbal control which she absolutely is.

Currently in the UK it is an offence for your dog to behave in a way that would reasonably cause a person to fear for their safety.
For example, barking, snarling, chasing, biting.

I am quite sure that ignoring others and turning to look at people acting oddly (to the dog) does not count as reasonable concern the dog will cause you harm.

So, (as I have already said) I accept I was unreasonable and over sensitive for being upset that the woman thinks my dog is a savage.

But I do not accept that my dog acted in a way that should make someone concerned for their safety and I do not accept that a non human aggressive dog with good recall that ignores others should be permanently banished to a lead just because the muzzle looks scary.

As soon as you saw the lady with the buggy your dog should have gone in a lead
That’s what I do
Maybe it wasn’t the muzzle, maybe she’d just afraid of dogs in general it just a nervous person
Sorry YABU

Should still be on a lead!

She was angry as she felt her child had been in a dangerous situation. Don’t worry about it

I am a dog owner (large breed). You have no idea why this woman acted the way she did, just your assumptions. When people have acted that way around my dog i don’t take it personally, just put my dog on a lead. Then I tell the person dog is friendly. I carry on with my walk, taking dog back off the lead when person is at a reasonable distance or out of sight. Some people have irrational fears, others don’t like dogs due to personal or cultural reasons, others have had a nasty last incident with dogs so are naturally cautious.

Just carry on with your day and put incident to the back of your mind. It really was a non event.

As others have pointed out, we can only be responsible for our actions and reactions. Let others be......

I'm sorry, I think your dog should be on a lead

She didn't say anything, she reacted instinctively. Not everyone has to like your dog.

As a dog owner (over L in roman numbers)
Dogs should always be on a lead around town areas. Respect some people have fear of dogs. Maybe make an exception if a dog is ultra well trained and walks at close heel (very few do). Think of it this way a man with an irrational fear might kick out hurting your dog... It would not be the guys fault or your dogs.

I love all dogs. Don’t usually stereotype dogs. My family have had staffs, alsatians etc. I’m ok with dogs approaching my children but would definitely have reacted in the same way as this lady if a dog with a muzzle had approached me.

I have dogs and I like dogs but I err on the side of caution with dogs wearing muzzles/off lead and particular breeds (my dog was bitten by a Staffordshire Bull Terrior (yep I get that not all of them are like that but by looking I cannot tell which ones are and are not so am cautious of them).

It doesn't hurt to be cautious since a bite can be very severe.

Also agree with the poster who mentioned extendable leads - they are a nuisance and the owners often let their dogs run all over the place and most certainly not under proper control.

I think you’re being a lovely, responsible dog owner! I’ve been terrified in the past when a yappy, aggressive dog chased my 2 and 3 year old through some woods, I am an animal lover but that dog was beyond control. When I shouted to the owners, they shouted back, “we’ve got kids too” but MY kids are not part of your dog’s pack!!! Too many stupid people with dogs. They are not human and they need to be trained accordingly. I can’t wait to have a dog of my own, I’ve taught my kids to be gentle and NEVER approach a dog unless they are given permission and the dog comes to them. I would rather muzzle my own dog than have it scare someone with issues. I will endeavour to train it to the best recall but in public spaces, it’s either lead or muzzle. I also had a terrible experience walking my brother’s deaf and blind Stafford with a stupid spaniel nipping it’s heels, the old dog had a tendency for fighting dogs in his younger days and it was all I could do whilst heavily pregnant and my partner having had back surgery to keep the young dog away. The owner said he was only playing... keep your dog on a lead or a muzzle.