To think one of the rules should be dogs on leads at this time?

[ShesGotBetteDavisEyes]

Went for a walk as a family today down some country lanes near us. We knew we would pass a few people but the paths are quite wide so it’s easy to keep your distance, as we and most other people did.

Except three separate lots of dog owners who allowed their dogs to run over to all of us, repeatedly jumping up at us and pawing at our clothes.

One of the women was letting her two dogs run around our feet and not calling them away (in fact was laughing indulgently) so I shouted “you know, usually we would pet them but the virus can live on dogs fur so could you call them away?” She and her companion looked a bit surprised and said “oh, we haven’t heard that?” They STILL didn’t call them right away.

It actually really annoyed me. We are taking the care to lecture our kids about not touching anything, keeping their distance moving to the side to let people pass etc. and then dogs are just running and jumping up/brushing against us whilst their owners smile & laugh ffs! What is the actual point of doing all this if it can be passed on by a dog? We have to keep the kids away but dogs are allowed to run rampage?

AIBU to suggest Boris puts a “dogs on leads” rule in his next speech?

I only let mine off if there's no one nearby. What's driving me mad is children patting him while he's on the lead. Seriously, keep your kids away from our dogs people.

AIBU to suggest Boris puts a “dogs on leads” rule in his next speech?

Yes. Risk of mechanical transmission from animal fur is (apparently) low.

You having the misfortune to meet 3 slightly irritating and inconsiderate people today is not a good basis for legislation.

Sorry I’d say YABU, however I would say the the owner should have called their dog back or put them on a lead to pass you at least, so in that regards you’re not completely unreasonable. However a blanket leash rule isn’t necessary. As a dog owner I don’t agree with anyone not having their dog under control. However the number of idiots I’ve seen suddenly take to walking purely because of the current situation ignoring the max of two people going out together at a time is infuriating - I’m guessing these are the same people who thought that going to beach last weekend was a good idea or that the two person rule doesn’t apply to them or their children.

Trouble is, dog walkers are used to their territory and have suddenly found themselves almost swamped by people exercising .
I think that , at the moment, people should keep dogs on leads because so many more people are out and about. However, I’d also like the public to be told to stop approaching dogs and patting and fussing them. As I’ve said on another thread, I’ve had to ask people to not touch my dog, but am then met with unpleasantness.

Depends on whether you're also in favour of banning families from walking down country lanes, I've met the rude variety with badly trained dc, trespassing, harming animals, property and crops and generally being knobs. Or should I just perhaps judge them as individual covidiots rather than grounds for a blanket rule.

I think that it would be useful if Dr Jenny Harries explained that the virus can probably live on animal fur during her next address. I honestly think that people are unaware.

However, I’d also like the public to be told to stop approaching dogs and patting and fussing them

I’d agree with this also. My dc’s are told to never approach dogs.

Well, the problem you have here is badly trained dogs.

We took our dog off-lead on our usual route - passed other walkers and he didn't jump, paw or run over to any of them. He trotted along by our side, occasionally went off to investigate a smell in the hedgerows but came back every single time we asked him to.

YANBU. Personally I don't think people should be letting their dogs off lead right now unless they have very reliable recall.
A dog kept running me and trying to get my dog to play the other day, he wasn't really interested but tolerated it. The owner couldn't get it back and when the dog started jumping around my pram my husband shouted to the owner that our dog wouldn't be happy about that (would likely warn it to get away from the pram) so to call the dog away. Long story short I had to hold on to both dogs so the owner should get theirs back as would not stop following mine, evidently we came very close to each other, within about a foot.

I'm really trying hard with social distancing so silly things like this shouldn't put anyone at risk.

Oh give over. It's tough for everyone right now. Let the figs have a run, let your kids have a run. Let their be some fun during this miserable time

Fwiw I wouldn't think a dog like the one I've mentioned above should be off lead around others anyway, recall needed a lot of work and it isn't fair to hassle dogs/people (many dogs won't tolerate it)... but especially now, keep them on a leaaaad

yes i wish people would stop stroking my dog

he's a cute labrador puppy....but i'm trying to train him and i certainly dont want humans spreading any virus via his fur!

I wish dogs were always on leads! I hate being assaulted by them. Disgusting, scary creatures with their slobber and sharp teeth.

YABU. If your going to punish the well behaved and considerate majority for the idiot acts of the minority then I think all children up to the age of 18 should not be allowed to leave the house without a parent present. After all most children are well behaved but why should I put up with one or two badly behaved not social distancing children on my walk. Let’s stop them all.

Also maybe the supermarkets could fill our trolleys for us, after all the majority haven’t panic brought and behaved appalling but let’s punish everyone for the actions of the minority.

I can give more examples if you’d like.

YANBU at all

Yanbu in the least. Not sure why dogs should be given special dispensation

I think people who would normally not exercise outdoors should consider the impact of their family walk. This does not mean don’t do it, but we walk our dogs the same few routes each week and it is rare for us to see anyone other than the same few other dog owners. Now the world and his wife are out just because, kids round here have been playing and drawing chalk on the pavement instead of in their own gardens. It’s definitely not required exercise. I have managed to move my actual exercise indoors so it can be done. It’s really hard to maintain 2m when the places to walk are heaving. We have kept our dog on lead if we can see others, this weekend has not been so bad as it’s been really windy so less people have been out just because. I did lose my rag with a man who let his dog run up to mine when she was on the lead, whilst he walked off into the trees presumably to maintain his distance, it’s just not necessary to have them off lead the whole time, and normally mine would do 90% of her walk off lead.

I always walk mine on paths on a lead. The only time I let him off is in a large field, his recall is really good, but he is a guarding breed and people walking too close to us he does this really annoying thing of sitting down and staring at them with a grumpy face so it takes hours to walk anywhere. You can distract him from guarding when on the lead by just saying "leave it" and tugging on the lead.

therex
There is no limit to how many members of one household can exercise at one time.
The two people limit is for meet ups of people e.g a necessary business meeting not exchange of goods. So there is nothing to stop a woman and her two kids going out for a walk. They shouldn’t be going to hang out in a park but walking or cycling is fine.

YANBU Op.

The number of inconsiderate dog owners (and badly trained dogs) at the best of times is infuriating, and now it seems like there are even more.

My eldest dc has a real problem with dogs (has SN, and has had a dog phobia for years, despite much work on this), and even before Coronavirus it was very hard being out and about due to inconsiderate owners who wouldn’t keep their dog away, even in the face of considerable distress from my dc. Now, dc’s life has been curtailed enormously (as has everyone’s, of course, but dc has less understanding than most of what/why it is happening), but we can’t even go out for a walk easily, as there are now more dogs around constantly, and they are more prone to running off lead and out of control. It’s a complete nightmare

Yes I agree. Dogs don't understand social distancing and they can also put themselves, their owners or others at risk if they run all over the place eg tripping someone over, knocking someone off their bike, or getting run over themselves.

If I were BJ I would also ban garden bonfires.

If you are a considerate dog-owner and your dog has excellent recall then fair enough for it to be off-lead in usual circumstances. These are not usual circs though and I don’t see many well-trained dogs like this unfortunately.

This is a walk we do regularly as a family anyway, not some dog-owners only domain! I don’t like dogs running over to us at the best of times.

It just makes me very anxious atm and I think it’s selfish and ignorant of the owners.

And I don’t agree that dogs trump children’s well-being with regards to getting exercise. They can be exercised just as well on a lead.

YABU. Many dogs are now having far fewer walks than they usually would (or need) due to the lockdown. Transmission from dog fur is supposed to be very low. You've had an unfortunate family walk today, but I suspect anxiety may also be playing into this. Which makes sense, we're all feeling pretty anxious right now.

YANBU at all. This should not even need discussing. What is it with dog owners? FFs get real - we are in an emergency, people need to exercise, and they DO NOT need or want to have to deal with your dogs. Keep them on a lead. I put up another thread about this on here a few days ago. Many dog owners lack any objectivity when it comes to their pets. But now is not the time to be self-indulgent about them.

I’m on the fence on this one - it seems unfair to restrict those dogs who are minding their own business etc, however maybe for the safety of everyone keeping dogs on leads, long lines etc might be the better thing for the short term.

I’m ashamed to say today my usually very reliable at recall dog (one of 3) ran over to someone who wasn’t happy at all with me - understandably. I think it’s as she hasn’t been able to mix with other dogs and their owners like usual she was just desperate for attention from someone else.

I hold my hands up and admit this was all on me and I’m upset with myself that I let it happen. There wasn’t anyone else around and my dogs were just having a mooch etc and then this person appeared shouting that the dogs should be on leads - mine proved him right.

I feel very upset that I wasn’t even able to apologise - my adult son went to put the dog on lead whilst I did the same to my other two and obviously I didn’t want to follow this person and get too close.

All of mine will now be back on their training lines so they can have some freedom whilst also keeping their distance. Definitely going to take this time as well to reinforce recall training.