Dog walkers

[Kingoftheroad]

I was out for a walk today along a dedicated public walkway that runs along side a major river, near to where I live.

On turning a corner, I was surrounded by a pack of approx 12 dogs. Behind them followed, what I now know to be 3 dog walkers who meet up daily and walk together.

The dogs surrounded me, fortunately I am a dog lover and most of the dogs were smallish. They walkers could see that I was less than happy and attempted to tell me not to worry and that they were all friendly.

I ended up being quite abrupt with them, as none of the dogs were on leads, someone with a tiny dog on a lead was walking behind me, the wee thing was also surrounded and was cowering in fear.

The walkers got defensive when I told them that this was not on. I asked them what they would do if the pack ever turned on another dog, child or human as I have heard of pack attacks before.

This seems to be a regular occurrence. Does anyone else have any views on this.

[frostedviolets]

Didn't some of the Queen's corgis turn on another of her corgis as a pack and kill it?

I believe it was Queen Anne's bull terrier that attacked and killed one.

I think I read that the dog had bit a young child prior

[frostedviolets]

Queen Anne 😂😂
Princess Anne I obviously meant

[DingDongDenny]

The OP hasn't suggested the dogs will turn into a coordinated hunting pack, so the references to wolves is ridiculous

But dogs in a large group do have a 'pack mentality' which means they behave differently to dogs on their own. They are more cued in to the other dogs, than the humans they are with, which makes it harder to control them

[Confusedbeetle]

Pack attacks do exist. One dog follows the lead of another.. Dog walkers often have too many dogs together, let them off the lead and cannot possibly control them. I have been surrounded by dogs when horseriding on a bridlepath, it is scary

[WeAreStardustWeAreGolden]

Op I have a dog and am a dog lover but even I can't bear coming across these dog walkers who seem to have no sense. They often just stand around and let the dogs run loose all over the place. I've always wondered what they would do if they got out of control or ran off. They often seem to be in charge of about six massive dogs and wouldn't have a clue if it all kicked off.

[MereDintofPandiculation]

Many Councils have rules about "no more than 4 dogs per walker" - partly about how many dogs one person can control, but partly so people aren't intimidated by packs of dogs. Rather negates it if the dogwalkers then group together.

[Mothership4two]

The Queen Mother's dog (corgi) lead a pack of corgis and killed one of the Queen's dorgis. The Queen's corgis also packed and badly injured Princess Beatrice's Norfolk terrier. The Queen brought in a dog psychologist because of their fighting and the Queen has been injured when trying to stop a dog fight between them.

Memory needed refreshing, so did a bit of looking up

[JinglingHellsBells]

The law says that dogs have to be on a lead and / or under control on a public footpath/ bridleway etc so these dog walkers were breaking the law.

I walk regularly across a public footpath ( a lane) used by dog walkers. Often I have been terrified when a dog off the lead has run towards me at 100mph (!) and I have no idea if it's aggressive or not and one jumped up at me, paws onto my shoulders, marking a new coat ( down jacket) I had on.

DH was bitten on the leg when cycling by a dog being dog-walked. he photographed it and took details. He had to have a tetanus jab and reported it all to the police. They went to visit the owner and said had this been a child who had been bitten the dog would have been destroyed. As it was they got a warning but no 2nd chances. As usual they spouted the nonsense that' the dog has never done it before.' Well dogs are animals and unpredictable.

Dog walkers are inconsiderate in the main.

OP I think you should report it to whoever is the best person in your area. Dog warden or police.

[JinglingHellsBells]

I've skim read these 3 pages and not seen one person appear to know that it's an offence to have a dog off the lead and out of control. You can be prosecuted for having a dog off the lead and causing a nuisance to another person.

Out of control means not obedient and coming to the owner/ walker immediately when called , and also staying to heel in public.

Do people not know this???

[Yummymummy2020]

I agree too op, the thing is if they are paid dog walkers they may not have the same degree of control over them as their actual owners do if anything did kick off, and it is tricky to control dogs in a group, often a dog that is the best behaved In the world solo can be hard to manage in a group! I am also a dog lover and my dog was attacked by a group of three dogs playing together in the past, mine was on a lead and a big dog but even at that got injured. The owners were all having a great chat and although came running over, none of the dogs would come back when they were called even though the owners said after they are usually well behaved and obedient. So although it might not happen all the time, it can happen . After that we always brought a big stick on walks just in case because it was scary at the time! Dogs are great and generally I love if they approach me but a big group like that could cause problems too!

[Stressedout10]

@jinglinghellsbells
You are of course correct but it seems that people choose to ignore that inconvenience fact because they have a "good dog" .
My huskie is an amazing dog with perfect recall until we come across a squirrel at which point nothing can make her give up the chase of her own will, which is why she is rarely off leash during walks(lots of grey squirrels round here) . I know that she's never hurt anyone or any other animal (barring squirrels) nor has she ever been aggressive, however I can not hand on heart say that she would always come back so I take precautions. I just wish that everyone else would too.

[frostedviolets]

I've skim read these 3 pages and not seen one person appear to know that it's an offence to have a dog off the lead and out of control. You can be prosecuted for having a dog off the lead and causing a nuisance to another person

Out of control means not obedient and coming to the owner/ walker immediately when called , and also staying to heel in public

Do people not know this???

Whether people know it or not, the fact is unless a dog physically bites someone it is highly unlikely the owner will be warned, let alone prosecuted if their dog is causing a nuisance or frightening people.

God, I can remember reporting a Rottweiler to police that was kept behind a very flimsy fence.
It used to throw itself with enough force that the fence would shake and you could clearly see its head bobbing up, sometimes it's front paws on the top of the fence while it was jumping whenever you walked along the fence.

There was a guard dog sign at the front of the property and the way it growled and barked it was clear that its intentions were not friendly.

Everyone was petrified, everyone knew it was only a matter of time before it succeeding in jumping over or breaking the fence.

The police told me they had had multiple complaints and had visited but as the dog was friendly and under control in the presence of its owners, unless it escaped and actually bit someone there was nothing they could do!

Many months later the owners erected an absolutely enormous very sturdy fence and I've never heard the dog since so not sure whether it escaped and they were forced to put a new fence in by the police or the dog was PTS or what.

But yeah, unless the dog actually bites someone the chances of police doing anything are slim to none.

[Mothership4two]

Where I live, only 4 dogs per walker are allowed.

[Lifeover]

I’d be a bit meh tbh. The dogs did no harm, if just have kept walking.

But then I don’t get hysterical about other members of the public using public spaces

[MereDintofPandiculation]

Where I live, only 4 dogs per walker are allowed. Possibly the same where the OP is. But that doesn't stop 3 walkers walking together with 12 dogs.

[MereDintofPandiculation]

I’d be a bit meh tbh. The dogs did no harm, if just have kept walking. Do you feel the same about a group of 12 men on their way home after an evening's drinking? Or do you feel apprehensive? It's about perceived threat not actual harm. People should be able to walk in public spaces without feeling worried about large groups of dogs off leash.

Recently in our local park a woman was attacked by a dog. Luckily 5 men came to the rescue, but she was in hospital for about 5 weeks. I doubt whether she'll ever go into that park again, and many of the rest of us will be thinking about her if we see a dog off lead.

[motortroll]

If this happened to my daughter she'd be a trembling wreck! It doesn't matter if they're good or friendly a group of 12 dogs is scary to some people.

[Mothership4two]

@MereDintofPandiculation

Read that but didnt take it in - duh!

[Kingoftheroad]

Thanks everyone for your replies: good to know I’m not alone In my thinking.