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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to think dogs should be banned from parks?

374 replies

Allthebiscuits · 26/08/2019 23:03

They're everywhere, crapping, barking, smelling one another's arses and fighting. Then there are those jumpy ones trying to get a lick of a child's face before bounding off to piss up the nearest tree. Not everyone likes dogs and they spoil the park for kids. I'd love to see them allocated their own area away from the rest of the park where like minded dog owners can all hangout together picking up their pet's turds and convincing each other that "he's usually so gentle". AIBU??

OP posts:
Vulpine · 27/08/2019 14:12

It would be easier if there werent so many dogs in towns and cities

Chloemol · 27/08/2019 14:13

YABU. Parks are for everyone and can be managed to accommodate all. Separate dog free areas for small children, often fenced off, lots of parks say dogs have to be on leads, if not start a Champaign to do that on yours.

Parents have a responsibility to teach children to respect dogs out and about, just as dog owners should make sure their dog does not bound around

You get good and bad dog owners, just as you get good and bad parents.

I hate going to the parks and hearing children screech and scream at the top of their voices, going right through you, with parents ignoring it ( assume they must have ear plugs in) which happens a lot, but I just have to not go or suck it up

Vulpine · 27/08/2019 14:16

I prefer the sound of kids playing to dogs barking

Hobbesmanc · 27/08/2019 14:19

Our park has the play stuff enclosed and it generally seems pretty well managed. However on the big rec there's a fenced in running oval- full sized - used a lot by the local athletic club and those amateur zero to five k plodders like me.

Perversely theres always the odd dog owner who has their dog off the leash in the enclosed circuit- because they actually can't control them well enough to let them off the lease in the huge open expanse of the rec. Even if they pick up, the grass often isn't left clean.

M3lon · 27/08/2019 14:20

omnivore shit is the same as carnivore....its come out of a digestive tract that deals with meat.

As qual said, it shouldn't be chucked into fields or put on the garden.

If YOU personally can compost it using some sort of specialist composter then more power to your elbow....but that doesn't mean anyone else can just chuck it anywhere.

ParoxetineQueen · 27/08/2019 14:20

As a matter of interest the dogs smelling each other’s arses are the good well socialised dogs that are less likely to fight

StroppyWoman · 27/08/2019 14:21

I think stricter lead laws would help. We live near a very large park. My adult son is completely phobic now because of the many times dogs ran up to him and knock him over when he was small.
I've seen a fair few nasty injuries there too. We see so many out of control, off-lead dogs every day - a few are great with recall but it's not the majority. The owners are too busy saying "he's just being friendly" to take action to stop it.

If you can't be confident your dog will return to you immediately you call, don't let it off the lead.

MagicKingdomDizzy · 27/08/2019 14:21

I think part of the problem on this thread is there are different reasons why people think that dogs should be banned or why they shouldn't.

Dog mess (bins to put it in)
Dogs jumping at other people (put them on a lead)
Aggressive dogs (lead and muzzle)

Unfortunately, inconsiderate dog owners may do none of the above which spoils it for everyone else.

It is possible for dog owners and everyone else to live peacefully side by side, but the onus is on the dog owner to do the right thing, and some just don't.

HeyMonkey · 27/08/2019 14:27

I'd much rather be in park full of dogs than children.

Around here parks are ruined by tantrumming screaming kids being little terrors, or teenagers smoking weed and riding their bmx bikes down the slide.

Dogs just potter about smiling and looking happy to be alive. #teamdog

QualCheckBot · 27/08/2019 14:28

No really, please don't throw your dog's poo onto fields. It causes neosporosis in cattle, is spread through eggs in dog mess which causes abortions. Please don't leave bags of dog's mess behind either for other people to pick up.

www.fwi.co.uk/news/environment/farmers-cry-foul-over-dog-mess-threat-to-livestock

MagicKingdomDizzy · 27/08/2019 14:37

HeyMonkey

Dogs just potter about smiling and looking happy to be alive.

Apart from when they are off the lead jumping up at people and other dogs or attacking them.

It's not the well behaved dogs people are complaining about.

nornironrock · 27/08/2019 14:42

TL;DR

In our local park, it's the kids that act as if they've not had the benefit of any kind of parenting that are the problem.

There are a good number of dog owners around, never have a problem with any of them.

user1471441839 · 27/08/2019 14:49

I have a dog who I love and look after well. But he is an animal. Childrens needs and their right to fresh air and play areas will always come first. The posters who say otherwise and call children brats are deluding themselves and overcompensating for a lack of something in their lives. Moreover the posters who unfavorably compare rubbish and the very occasional nappy to dog poo are laughable. I know some won't agree with this but then again the truth can be unpalatable

PigeonofDoom · 27/08/2019 14:55

My child has never needed stitches after being attacked by small children in a public space but they have by a dog (unprovoked, I should add). Regardless of whether you like children, they’re not a danger to the people around them whereas a poorly controlled dog is. For this reason YANBU and I think dogs should be banned from town, village and city parks unless they are on a lead. I don’t have a problem if they’re on a lead and under control but a lot of dogs aren’t, sadly. My dc is scarred for life as a result so I feel pretty strongly about it.

The responsible dog owners I know save off lead time for areas where they know there won’t be lots of people, especially kids.

LolaSmiles · 27/08/2019 15:03

Get a grip people and STOP comparing children to fecking dogs.
The rights of a child are not comparable to the rights of a dog.
This thread is sheer and utter craziness.

I know right?! People pointing out that parks are for everyone and everyone has a responsibility to be courteous and considerate and get along with others using the park differently to them is just so so very unreasonable.

Parks are there for all. If it's acceptable to want to ban dogs because someone doesn't like them and they find them annoying (based on a minority of irresponsible owners) then it's also totally acceptable to point out we may as well ban children due to the minority of parents who can't be arsed to parent their children in parks. Or of course it just highlights why "ban things I don't like" is a stupid argument.

beccarocksbaby · 27/08/2019 15:04

My child has never needed stitches after being attacked by small children in a public space

Mine has.

LaurieFairyCake · 27/08/2019 15:10

Can't even imagine a London without dogs ShockHmm

The city with the most green space in the world and people want to ban them

Fucks sake, parks are for everyone. You know how many very elderly woman with equally elderly dogs mooch around on a slow ramble round Greenwich Park everyday? Dozens, hundreds maybe. None causing any problems.

So many insensitive and intolerant people on this thread Hmm

Here's a pic of my dog being Uber dangerous in the park so the frothers can froth on ...

AIBU to think dogs should be banned from parks?
WiddlinDiddlin · 27/08/2019 15:10

So..

No dogs, they poo, they run about, they are noisy, they can cause injury and spread parasites and disease, correct?

No children, they poo, run around, are noisy, can cause injury and spread parasites and disease.

No joggers, those are also running about, can cause injury, spread disease and parasites and I have also known them to poo in the woods.

No wildlife - that also pees and poos and can cause injury, disease and parasitic spread.

No teenagers - can cause injury, spread dangerous broken glass and waste around, poo in the woods/long grass.

Who else shall we eliminate from these public spaces to keep them nice and quiet and completely safe from everyone?

FudgeBrownie2019 · 27/08/2019 15:11

Apart from when they are off the lead jumping up at people and other dogs or attacking them

How often is this happening to people? I've had dogs for the twelve years we've lived here and never once seen anyone attacked by a dog. There are friendly dogs, less friendly dogs, but never aggro dogs.

I've seen teenagers kick the living shit out of another kid on the corner of our street, however, and had to race out with a cameraphone in their faces shouting that the police were on their way to convince them to stop.

Going to second the #teamdog and say that I much prefer marauding dogs to marauding children.

gedsxppl · 27/08/2019 15:12

Kids ruin parks, not dogs. YABU 😊

QualCheckBot · 27/08/2019 15:15

Kids ruin parks, not dogs. YABU

WTF?

Blueoasis · 27/08/2019 15:15

I think rather than banning them from places, that a strict law of all dogs must be on leads at all times needs to be put in place. We can no longer trust everyone to train their dogs properly, or to be able to control them. It sucks for those that can, but it would keep everyone safe.

areyoubeingserviced · 27/08/2019 15:19

@Whosorrynow- thanks for your message.
We reported the incident to the police

SurfnTerfFantasticmissfoxy · 27/08/2019 15:25

YABU - on lead, under control dogs don't do any of the things you describe. I would however be fully supportive of all dogs having to be on a lead in public parks except for designated 'dog running' areas

saltysow · 27/08/2019 15:25

While we're at it can we ban children from pubs too? Dog-friendly, childfree pubs. Heaven Grin