To be furious over what has just happened?

[DippyDiplodocus]

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 I just despise people at times.

Do you honestly think this is a sustainable way to walk the dogs? What happens when your child is a toddler who wants to walk will you still take all 5 dogs and a toddler with you?

Going forward obviously things will change. It's not going to be a sensible option to toddle round an hours worth of walk and the situation will be altered accordingly when we get to that point.

Your avoiding all the questions around your friends dog. Why are you agreeing walking it when you already have 4 and a baby, especially if that's the one you struggle with.

And who yells after someone, who has an admittedly 'twitchy and protective' pack of dogs!? You were virtually inviting him to shout back, when you knew your dogs wouldn't stand for it.

Would you hold them back, risking being dragged along the floor on top of your baby, or let them go to do untold damage to this man?

I would have been pissed off too - generally other dog parents in my area are understanding and polite, but it is not always the case. That said - 5 dogs and a baby?? Just not sure that is safe or wise

He could have been deaf 🤷‍♀️

He could have been deaf

Given that he didn't react to the OP screaming after him that he was a 'fucking arsehole', this actually seems pretty plausible.

Going forward obviously things will change. It's not going to be a sensible option to toddle round an hours worth of walk and the situation will be altered accordingly when we get to that point.

So start making changes now.

Stop walking the pug.
Get your husband to walk some of the dogs in well lit areas after work.
Take them on smaller walks during the day an hour walk with 2 dogs would be sufficient.
Stop putting your child at risk
and
For the love of god stop verbally abusing strangers!

Sorry @KarenDarling coming to you next...
I agreed to take care of the friend's dog as her current situation with dog care hasn't worked out. The dog is the size of a small cat so it really isn't that noticeable in the house and causes no trouble at all. Currently snoring on the rug.

It was just this one occasion where we have run into a bit of bother, not through the dogs fault admittedly.

So you aren't going to change anything? Because you manage most of the time and aren't struggling?

Did I say that @Yulebealrite

OP, your sarcastic and defensive responses seem to indicate that you still believe your behaviour was perfect, and the stranger was a twat.

Having read the thread and the feedback on it, do you think you could have changed any part of your behaviour - either on that walk, or regarding your dogs in general - in order to avoid situations like this?

My SIL has 3 dogs, one of which is a bit less well behaved than the other 2. Her solution is to walk them separately or with her husband, where they have two sets of hands.

I can certainly sympathize with your situation, but from the other point of view, as others have said, he may have been deaf, or may not speak English. He may have seen you bent down and thought you were bent down for some other reason, not necessarily to put a lead on the dog.

Basically, you have to make a lot of assumptions to get to "he was an asshole". Maybe he was. But not necessarily.

It was just this one occasion where we have run into a bit of bother

What about the next time you run into a bit of bother?

I don’t get why you’re assuming the worst? A bloke is out walking his dog, his dog is muzzled and on lead. He sees a woman with several dogs and passes her by, with his muzzled dog, on a lead. He smiles.

He probably thought you were talking to your dogs. You’re getting yourself in a right lather over your perception of what happened. Maybe, the truth of the matter is that it had given you a fright and made you realise you are out of your depth walking 5 dogs with your baby in a carrier, but it’s easier to be angry with a strager than face up to that.

Presumably before you had the baby you were working and DH did his share of dog walking? Why can’t he do that now?

In the dog world you get more kudos the more dogs you have
that's why people like going out with a whole pack of dogs

it's like saying 'you think you're a dog person? Look at me I'm more of a dog person than you, are I've got 5, you've only got one'

That is why you feel you should take precedence over the responsible sensible person with one dog muzzled on a lead

You feel as if having a pack of dogs gives you more status, but in the eyes of most people you look like a chaotic nuisance

And to be fair, yes 99% of the time there is no struggle or problem.
In a previous post I have admitted that this situation was not an ideal one and that changes will be considered and made.

YABVU. You should not be walking so many dogs at once anyway, let alone with a baby in tow. It is exceptionally irresponsible and despite your protests you would not be able to control them if they had other ideas.

He could clearly fit past you just fine, so there was no need for him to stop just because you’re bent down putting a lead on.

You walking too many dogs and being unable to cope with them is not his problem, but you’re making it his because you don’t want to address the fact you’re walking too many dogs as it’s nice and easy for you.

I was walking my dog this morning, I had him on a lead and had a muzzle on and I'm wary of other dogs and him approaching them.
We came across a lady walking 4 large dogs and a smaller one which she couldn't seem to handle very well - she also had a baby in a carrier. The 4 big dogs were on leads and she was fiddling round with the other, a bit wobbley as she was crouching down.

One of her dogs was pulling forward towards me and barking. It seemed to be really wary of my being there so I wanted to get passed them ASAP to avoid her dog pulling further and pulling her over onto her baby and also upsetting my dog, who wouldn't stand a chance against 4 big dogs and an unrestrained little one.

I kept walking as quickly as I could to get passed and away from her and her pack, as I did she started shouting abuse at me.

Was I being unreasonable to get away from them as quickly as I could and report her for being out with so many dogs?

@Wordthe have you actually got any idea what you're on about?

Are you in "the dog world" because it sounds completely different to where I'm from.

The mildest thing that I can say is that the stranger was discourteous and inconsiderate. A normal person would even have tried to help never mind just hold back a minute.

I imagine his conversation with family/friends will be the mad woman with 5 dogs and a kid.

He was an arrogant wanker, OP. I’ve met stupid people like him before. They are too thick to think ‘maybe I should hold back until that dog’s leashed’. Why the fuck do they think the other person is leashing their dog? It’s just a case of arrogance and making themselves feel like the ‘big guy/woman’, when they don’t stop.

You did the right thing in trying to leash your dogs. At the end of the day, you could have been pulled over by any type and size of dog, under those circumstances.

Keep walking the dogs and being considerate of others. I’ve had more grief with those that own single dogs, than I’ve ever had with groups.

Like a family with loads of dc the onus is on you to limit the chaos impacted on other people

It’s not up to others to constantly bend to your situation

I think this is a salutary experience for OP. Swearing at strangers and trying to handle five dogs plus a baby is just not on.

And can you imagine if the five dogs had belonged to a man who had shouted "fucking arsehole" at OP? People would be saying call 111 and all sorts.

I love dogs but I do see some walkers who are really not in control of their animals, and that is scary.

Having read the thread and the feedback on it, do you think you could have changed any part of your behaviour - either on that walk, or regarding your dogs in general - in order to avoid situations like this?

I have already answered this question further up the thread.