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.

[Pissedoffdotcom]

Ah yes because the breed of the dog makes a massive difference to whether it is aggressive or not. Here we go 🙄 tell us it's a chihuahua OP, please 😂

[OlennasWimple]

AIBU? I was walking with my DC in the buggy today when a large dog wearing a muzzle ran past. I was taken by surprise and pulled the buggy back quickly, because I was worried about my DC. The dog stopped running and came trotting over to us and I was really worried that it would hurt me or DC. The owner called it back so it went back to her. I was quite shaken by it, though. I don't like dogs and my DC is so vulnerable in the buggy, and this dog was even wearing a muzzle! AIBU to think that it shoudl have been kept on a lead around people?

[bengalcat]

Just to be clear a muzzled dog can’t bite anything - for those that have no experience a vet will muzzle a dog that is ‘ known to nip or looks a bit grumpy as a sick or animal in pain might ‘ with the precise intention of preventing any nips . In addition many dogs ( like some humans in fact ) have no control button when it comes to sniffing out food and apart from the weight gain issue , contamination leading to liquid poo etc for dogs with medical issues it can be frankly dangerous .

[NutElla5x]

You should have glared right back and then merrily carried on with your day op. You won't get any sympathy on here that's for sure,even though you sound like a sensible dog owner who is being made to feel bad for taking sensible precautions. My jack russell could be a bit snappy with other dogs as a pup-due to nerves more than anything I guess,as he grew out of it-but I had the opposite problem that people used to laugh at this little inoffensive looking little thing running about all muzzled up lol. It wasn't quite so funny when one day he got attacked by two other Jacks and couldn't defend himself mind you,but that's another story.

[RB68]

As a dog owner I would see that a loose dog with a muzzle was either not to eat random stuff or a rabbit chaser (think greyhounds) rather than a biter. Nipping other dogs is normal dog behaviour as that is about pack and establishing dominance. There are too many wicked people putting slug pellets in food or nails etc in parks and if there is a local spate I would expect off leaders to be muzzled.

Mine wears a halti lead which is often mistaken for a muzzle whereas in fact its nothing of the sort - more like a halter for a horse- so used to guide a dog rather than control.

Perhaps this is something those that are utterly paranoid about dogs should learn about

[MatildaTheCat]

Nobody but you knows the facts (as you see them) so if I see a muzzled dog I am going to be more wary than a non muzzled dog, even though in reality the non muzzled dog is a greater threat.

Anyone with young children is naturally protective. YABU and I know some dogs who are muzzled because they eat crap which injures them and pose no risk. I would still immediately think ‘biter’.

I do understand your frustration that many dogs are more aggressive on lead than off but you cannot expect other people to accommodate that.

[Badtasteflump]

Here we go 🙄 tell us it's a chihuahua OP, please 😂

I think if it were the OP would have mentioned how tiny and harmless it was by now.

[Pissedoffdotcom]

OlennasWimple my response to your alternate Op wouldn't change. If the OP said 'a dog came charging over to us, i stopped suddenly & it carried on' or something similar, it would change.

It's like when people moan their DC get barked at or jumped at because they approached an unknown dog. Always the dog's fault...

[Doggydoggydoggy]

badtasteflump Maybe because the breed makes no difference to anything?

I haven’t been avoiding disclosing for any suspicious reason, just that it isn’t terribly relevant to anything.

If you are desperate to know she is a border collie.

[Doggydoggydoggy]

In other words she isn’t, gasp, a pit bull or anything else terrifying.

Not that I think pit bulls are, I am very against breed specific legislation but yeah, nothing to hide.
Just didn’t think it relevant

[WhatToDoAboutWailmerGoneRogue]

newsflash - nobody cares about your dog. It's aggressive. That's why it wears a muzzle. Nobody wants to listen to your explanations about it being a softie really and how it's only nipped other dogs. If you started on with an explanation like that on me in the park I'd think you were unhinged.

Yes, I agree with this completely.

[Pissedoffdotcom]

Uh oh, vicious sheep herding breed that will herd children if no sheep are available. Never let it off lead ever again!!

Said with sarcasm, in case anybody misses it...

[Purplecatshopaholic]

Hmmm, tricky one OP. As a dog parent myself I know where you are coming from - but when out for walks I think the point is total strangers do not know how 'safe' your dog is. While I agree if she is wearing a muzzle she cant pick up food/bite etc but if you are not a dog lover you wont necessarily get that, or care. My dog is never off lead on walks (sighthound - no recall whatsoever!) so its not an issue for me, but I admit I dont like it when dogs off lead come up to us - I dont know if they are friendly or not, and nor does my dog, more to the point.

[namechangedforanon]

If a dog is muzzled properly what is it going to do? .. Nothing

[Stopwoofing]

yeah a muzzle surely means that the owner cares about that dog not getting into trouble. I don't understand why people would imagine that an off lead dog was a threat, most dogs aren't, in the way that I wouldn't assume most people driving cars are about to have a heart attack, mount the pavement and kill me and the children.

[CatnissEverdene]

A muzzled dog is either aggressive or a poop eater.

If it was off a lead, I'd assume the latter.

[Triskaidekaphilia]

You don't want this woman to judge your dog but you are judging her. She might be scared of dogs, or her child is, or one of them has had a bad experience, instead you're making assumptions that she's being judgy because your dog has a muzzle on. Massively hypocritical.

[formerbabe]

Just because people hate dogs doesn't mean all dogs should forever be confined to leads. Some people hate children...shall we ban all children from public places

Completely children with dogs really says a lot about a person.

[OopsInamechangedagain]

I always call her back if people look scared

By the time that's happened the person would have already suffered from feeling scared. And what of those people (like me) who keep a poker face because you're not supposed to show a dog that you fear it yet feel scared inside? I have dogs of my own but I hate it when other people's dogs run past me let alone when they approach. YABU.

[formerbabe]

*comparing that should say

[Onascaleof1tolovelywalks]

A dog with a muzzle should always be on a lead.

[TeddybearBaby]

My two are off lead. Sometimes people will tense up as they go by I presume cos they don’t like dogs I call them back and let the people pass. They’re entitled to not want my dogs near them. I’m not offended by it, I apologise actually.

The whole breed debate. It absolutely makes a difference, I’ve worked with these dogs and the police and the rspca. They have the capacity to kill. Why we have to pretend that isn’t the case is beyond me. I’ve been in a situation where colleagues have had to go to a house to remove the dog from a house that has killed two people. I doubt a yorkie could do that damage. I does make a difference.

[TeddybearBaby]

Anyway that’s completely off the topic, sorry to derail!!

[irnbruforlife]

Surely if the dog is muzzled, regardless if it has aggressive tendencies of not, then there is no need for people to recoil out if fear the dog might bite, its got a bloody muzzle on. Yanbu.