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AIBU?

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Original poster

To be furious over what has just happened?

652 replies

DippyDiplodocus · 15/01/2019 09:46

Out Walking our dogs and my 6 month old baby in carrier. I have four dogs and look after one of my friend's dogs while she's at work occasionally. My four are quite large, the biggest being big German shepherd size and the smallest is a pug (friend's dog).

Before I get flamed for having too many dogs, two were mine, two my DH's before we met, so obviously we now have four. We aren't the kind of people to get rid of dogs just because we had a child - dogs are family too and we treat them as such.

We live in the countryside, very quiet rural area.
Coming to the end of our walk over the fields (where I never usually see any other walkers) I see another dog approaching - muzzled Siberian husky with a bloke.
At this point I already have four on leads ready for the road back to our house and bent down squat position to put pug on a lead.

I thought man would stop when he saw me bent down but he carried on approaching. I was struggling to get wriggly pug back on lead so I called out to him "can you just wait there a sec so I can get this one on the lead?" - No response and continues towards us.

Still trying to get dog on lead and my dogs are now getting a bit twitchy and unsettled that this bloke is approaching them, so one of mine barks.
Just to add here, our dogs are all very well behaved but they are protective over me and DD and will act accordingly if they feel threatened.

Man takes no notice, I call out again and say "can you just give me a second?" Ignores me completely.

He decides to squeeze by my dogs and I with a stupid smirk on his face. He can clearly see I'm struggling and baby is now crying and the others are pissed off. One of mine pulled forward and I dug my heels in and sat back so as not to land on my daughter.

I shouted at him and called him a fucking arsehole.

If he could have waited one second, I'd have been out the way and that wouldn't have had to have happened.

FFS Angry I just despise people at times.

OP posts:
dustarr73 · 15/01/2019 11:29

He ignored someone's polite request to wait, and smirked at her struggling. He was rude and unpleasant.

Maybe he didnt see her signalling.You know cause she had 5 dogs,she was on the ground trying to put a pug on the lead.How many hands has she got.

MacarenaFerreiro · 15/01/2019 11:29

he should have stopped, at least conversed with you or something

Fuck that! I've just been out for a walk. Earphones in, trying to keep the pace up. Several dog walkers encountered along the way. No interest in engaging with anyone apart from a brisk "Good morning" and certainly no interest in engaging with their animals.

OP clearly can't manage FIVE dogs and a baby in a carrier by herself. But as per, entitled dogs owners expect the rest of the world to stop what they're doing to accommodate their animals. The world does not revolve around your pets OP.

Weetabixandshreddies · 15/01/2019 11:30

If they are off lead, how could I be more "in control" than them having a good recall and coming straight to me? Other than them not being on the lead. Please explain.

Because if it takes more than 10 seconds for 4 of them to return then either they don't have good recall or you let them go too far away from you. The 5th dog by your own admission isn't really under your control.

Your dogs could easily go running up to a child, or another dog, and cause mayhem in the time it takes you to get them back and you have the cheek to moan because a man walking 1 muzzled dog on a lead wouldn't accommodate you.

IrmaFayLear · 15/01/2019 11:31

I am a major dog lover but...

I am not a huge fan of people walking multiple dogs. It only takes one to go awol/do a poo/bother a member of the public and it's chaos. Five dogs and a baby? That is a recipe for disaster.

contrary13 · 15/01/2019 11:31

OP, I think that you need to seriously consider not walking 4 over-protective dogs with a baby in a carrier. It's not going to end well - and I say that as someone who has had GSDs in her life from birth.

They will be defensive towards strangers whilst your baby is very young, yes... but if they're anything like mine - they'll be more so when your baby is a toddler. Don't put your baby, yourself, or your dogs at risk of being caught up in a situation that you won't be able to control. That many dogs, irregardless of their size/weight ratios, are a pack. They're members of your family, yes (I consider mine to be members of my family, too, so I completely "get" this) - but they're also animals. And animals are very unpredictable at times. Doesn't matter how well trained you think they are... if they perceive that you're feeling threatened, or someone they don't know/trust is coming towards "their" baby/toddler? They'll feel frightened. And they'll act accordingly, and as a pack - not singularly.

When I was a baby, my parents GSDs worked out a line of defence for any potential threats to me. If someone knocked on the door, the bitch would race to wherever I was and stand in front of me, whilst the dog raced to the door and growled menacingly at whoever was on the other side when one of my parents opened it. Until they knew who was inside, and had established how trustworthy they were (my grandmother was terrified of them, but they permitted her to sit on the edge of a seat and peer around them at me when I was first born, apparently), no one - not even my mother - was allowed anywhere near me. It got worse as I got older, because I could move, so the poor dogs were essentially marking me a'la goal defence Hmm. It's a miracle that my parents weren't told by the HV to have the dogs destroyed, actually... but that was the '70s. This is a different century, and people are more aware of the dangers a frightened dog presents to humans with more fragile flesh than that of a dog.

Don't be that dog owner.

Don't be that parent.

Flowers
Yulebealrite · 15/01/2019 11:32

So to continue - There are stupid people walking their dogs. The op needs to look at worse case scenario and plan for that. She IS putting her child in danger by walking 5 dogs. So something has to change. The friends dog no longer being involved should be the starting point.

sillysmiles · 15/01/2019 11:32

I have no babies and when I walk my dog, if I meet another dog that is on a lead, I put him back on his lead too. It is only reasonable to expect the oncoming person to pause while you do that. Everyone I've met while out walking does that automatically, it's really not a big deal.

How the hell to people actually think she's meant to walk 5 dogs twice per day, and hour each walk individually - you'd be as skinny as a rack. Absolutely absurd.

He may not be a dick, he may have just been completely oblivious.

ExplodedPeach · 15/01/2019 11:34

He was a bit inconsiderate but so were you IMO.

He could have waited, maybe he misjudged it and thought it would be better if he just squeezed past and wasn't hanging around with his dog. You could have put them back on the lead before you got onto the narrow path so you weren't blocking the path to start with.

CatnissEverdene · 15/01/2019 11:35

He was a twat to see you struggle and carry on anyway. Whether or not he heard you is irrelevant... he could see you.

But please be careful with your baby in a sling. You could be easily pulled over by 5 dogs. I think that's all people are trying to say here.

dustarr73 · 15/01/2019 11:37

Well to me op has been given a warning.5 dogs and a baby is too much.Next time it mightnt be a man walking a muzzled and lead dog.Could be dogs off their lead,then what.

Too late to blame anybody if something did happen.You had a near miss today.Learn form it rather than blaming other people.

Weetabixandshreddies · 15/01/2019 11:38

Just practically how do you pick 5 different dogs' poo if they are all roaming hither and thither? You can't possibly keep track of where they've all gone

LemonTT · 15/01/2019 11:40

I see two people behaving selfishly and rudely. That’s taking the OP at her word and assuming he had no difficulty hearing. In reality the OP has to own being out with 5 dogs and a baby, waiting to a bottle neck to get them under control (she said he squeezed past), assuming she had the walk to herself, assuming people would fit in around her and finally shouting abuse at somebody (dangerous if nothing else).

Whilst I agree most people would have waited for her to sort herself out, they would have been bemused or annoyed by her situation and behaviour. At the very least she deserves an eye roll and a deep sigh.

The world needs less people who create unnecessary calamity and less people who are selfish and impatient. A curse on all their houses.

OP taking out 5 dogs and a baby means you have little contingency or scope for something going wrong. Your walks depend on nobody else being around and nothing untoward happening. You need to take that on board.

slashlover · 15/01/2019 11:40

Still trying to get dog on lead and my dogs are now getting a bit twitchy and unsettled that this bloke is approaching them, so one of mine barks.

Just to add here, our dogs are all very well behaved but they are protective over me and DD and will act accordingly if they feel threatened.

One of mine pulled forward and I dug my heels in and sat back so as not to land on my daughter.

Maybe the twitchy/protective dogs should have a muzzle?

Mulberry72 · 15/01/2019 11:40

I don’t see what he did wrong?

Wordthe · 15/01/2019 11:40

what the fuck a pack of dogs and a baby are you mad?
people should be banned from having packs of dogs
why can't you just have one dog?

treaclesoda · 15/01/2019 11:40

Hope you never encounter that sort of behaviour again.

A man walking past with a dog on a lead? Confused

StuffYouAllInTheCrust · 15/01/2019 11:40

MN really pisses me off sometimes, people love to act like a twat to an OP just for the sake it. The man was being a dick. Confused

Wordthe · 15/01/2019 11:41

You seem to think that because you have more dogs you have more rights
you're wrong
the fact that you have more dogs just means you're more of a nuisance

Original poster
DippyDiplodocus · 15/01/2019 11:41

I do believe that it would have been a better situation for all dogs to be on the leads when we encountered the other dog walker.

As soon as I saw him (approximately 100 yards away) I asked all my dogs to sit, which they did and began putting them on the leads.

Obviously, I had to bend down to put the pug on the lead as it is a small breed and I can't reach it's clip from a standing position.

The pug was towards the back of the others, hence why I asked the man to just give me a second as I wasn't sure if he'd seen the other dog. He may or may not have heard this.

Second time of asking he was close enough for me to be able to see his face and make eye contact and raise my hand. He was looking in my direction, at me, so I can only assume he saw the gesture. I am unsure whether he heard me asking again for a second.

In this situation, as I said, yes, it would have been better for all dogs to be on leads, which is what I was trying to do and had I been given a couple of seconds, I would have achieved and could have moved out of the way.

I don't think I was unreasonable to just ask for a moment. We all get caught off guard sometimes. In ten years of dog ownership, this is the first time something like this has happened as people are usually courteous enough to allow you a moment, should you need one.
Although that's not true - I did have an experience once of a GSD come bounding towards us after I had asked the man to keep her away from my older boy as he wasn't so keen on other dogs. He told me to just "let him bite her" which is baffling to me.

Dogs get excited, they get silly sometimes, no one knows how they will react to strangers or other dogs, so to be on the side of caution, a little space is appreciated from both parties. That's just how it works.

People walk their dogs off lead all the time. I choose to do it in a quiet rural area, where I rarely see another soul.

Taking on board "advice" from PP, perhaps I could walk the dogs in smaller groups. This would be very time consuming and would mean I was in and out of the house for about 4.5-5hours walking. Would this be ideal with a baby too? I don't know.

What would have happened if the other walker had given a moment of his time - nothing. We would have passed like ships in the ocean.

OP posts:
arranbubonicplague · 15/01/2019 11:43

I have substantial hearing loss - and I'm just a pedestrian, not a dog walker/owner - I'd have waited for the OP to finish what she was doing and wouldn't have squeezed past her.

OurChristmasMiracle · 15/01/2019 11:45

I honestly don’t think it’s a wise idea to exercise 5 dogs all at once with or without a child. I think the OP should be making at least 2 trips

mydogisthebest · 15/01/2019 11:46

Headsdown, maybe they can't afford a dog walker?

For goodness sake why is it so difficult for some dog owners to have a bit of patience, a bit of common sense and a bit of courtesy?

I had a dog who wasn't dog reactive until he was attacked, while on lead, by an off lead Labrador trying to rip into his side. It made him very wary of other dogs particular Labs. I learned then what idiots many dog owners are when asking them not to let their dog run up to mine or trying to cross the road to avoid another dog

birdonawire1 · 15/01/2019 11:47

Maybe get all dogs on leads before you leave the open area?

I’m not sure why the pug need to be on a lead if the other dog was muzzled?

Original poster
DippyDiplodocus · 15/01/2019 11:48

I do not think I have more rights at all @Wordthe
If I was in the same situation but the other way around, I would wait for the person whether they had one dog or twenty. It's manners.

OP posts:
Weetabixandshreddies · 15/01/2019 11:49

What would have happened if the other walker had given a moment of his time - nothing. We would have passed like ships in the ocean.

Yes on this occasion. But not every encounter between your 5 dogs and others is going to be like this.

And please answer how you clean up after 5 dogs running around?

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