Dog walkers

[Lockdowner13]

I’ve noticed that since the places we can visit are restricted at the moment due to virus, just how many dog walkers there are.

I’m finding it impossible to take kids out without seeing dog off it’s lead. I really don’t like dogs much.

I’m finding that dog owners round here are selfish. Taking up the whole of the path so I need to run in the road, off lead when kids are walking, taking over the local green space.

AIBU to think that during lockdown some better rules should have been implemented. Eg dog free hours for exercise. We usually go to dog free places for our fun. Eg kids parks, cafes, national trust. Now I’m being forced to mix with dogs and it’s annoying me.

[SoupDragon]

Perhaps we need to have dog zones.

Perhaps we need runner zones.

[Winterwoollies]

Don’t drip feed about a murderous pack of dogs locally to you to enforce your case.

[thedancingbear]

Perhaps we need to have dog zones. If you want to let your dog go wild, chase others, and shit all over the place... you go to a specific place.

Parks, beaches, national trust sites - places where there's lots of room for everyone. Is that what you mean OP?

[WhenItIsOver]

I have noticed many more out of control children recently...all over the pavements, riding scooters into people from behind, running freely in supermarkets, spreading germs everywhere. Not seen any out of control dogs though.

(Almost) lighthearted, but sadly also true.

[Macncheeseballs]

I love dog free areas, you know you can sit down anywhere without fear of sitting in dog shit

[SoupDragon]

No-one forces you into the verge, just wait for them to pass

If you say so. Clearly you know my area and paths better than I do.

[Isawamagpie]

Oh no another dog/children thread.

I have 3 large dogs. They need exercise, they need walking, they need to run in large fields - usually, we have quiet walks in our nature reserves, fields, local park- now everyone is coming to the same place, people that would never have been walking usually where I walk my dogs are everywhere.

We are now keeping our GSD on a extended lead because he is friendly and the amount of peole who are scared of him is getting past a joke.
It now means our GSD isn't getting the exercise he required has more energy than he knows what to do with.. ive had people calling my GSD "The bjg scary dog" and warning people in front coming in my direction - he was on a lead, walking with me, in one incident fellow dog walker stopped to say hello and told me he was a lovely dog but somebody ahead was "warning" all oncoming people

Its a two way street I'm afraid, dog walkers were walking our dogs in relative peace before the masses decended on the parks daily.

I cannot wait for shops etc to reopen so everyone who wouldn't usually be in the open spaces can resume whatever it is they enjoy in thier leisure time

[Babdoc]

250,000 people attend A and E each year with dog bites in the UK.
You are not being unreasonable, OP.
I have been attacked by dogs 3 times in my life - all unprovoked, and once by a pack of six snarling brutes being walked off leads by a useless “professional” dog walker on a public footpath, totally out of her control.
I’d like designated separate dog walking areas, and a law for them to be kept on a leash everywhere else, for all our protection, and so we can actually enjoy a safe walk with our children.

[Macncheeseballs]

Aren't all narrow pathways the same? someone, if not both parties, steps aside, sometimes stopping. No big deal

[Lockdowner13]

There’s always one... except it seems to be more frequent now, dogs attacking dogs. A pet killed by an out of control dog. Sadly a strangers dog recently bit a local child... all the child did was run by with friends and BAM the dog bit the kids face! That resulted in ALL dogs banned from school pickup as the poor kid was scared. Yet dog owners knew best and they still came with their excuses. “My dog wouldn’t do that” “my dog is small and friendly”

[thedancingbear]

Call the papers!

'dog bites person'

FFS. This is puerile OP

[Grumpylockeddownwoman]

Where I live agree it’s the families taking the piss - three astride on bikes on the pavement etc. However I just shrug and move out the way.

Op you appear to want to be goady

[thequeenbeyondthewall]

We usually go to dog free places for our fun. Eg kids parks, cafes, national trust. Now I’m being forced to mix with dogs and it’s annoying me.

You are by the sounds of it now visiting the places the dog walkers always go to walk their dogs.

[Isawamagpie]

By the way op, i run also, go around people walking dogs on pavements, its much harder to steer yourself and dog onto road whilst walking, and in that time runner couldve easily gone past dogwalker within seconds? I do not see issue here.

[Booboostwo]

No my kids certainly are not under control all the time. But if I put a lead on my kids I think the police would want a word. Dogs however, if your dog does something bad, and it wasn’t on a lead, you could find yourself in trouble.

Pretty much all of that is wrong as well as missing the point.
You can put your DCs on leads and the police wouldn't care less. Plenty of people put reins on toddlers or DCs with SN for safety reasons.
Strict liability applies to dog ownership and has nothing to do with whether the dog was on a lead or not.
Yes, you would also be held accountable, morally and in some cases legally, for your DCs' bad behavior.

[Yellowsubmarinedreams]

I'm getting fed up of all the parents who have suddenly decided on doing more outdoor fun and bring their whole small army to my dog walking spots. Unfortunately I acknowledge that these are unusual times and they have the right to be there as much as me. So I will put my dog on lead at times when I judge it necessary but I will also leave her off lead at other times so she gets to enjoy her walk too. Suck it up.

[Grumpylockeddownwoman]

@yellowsubmarinedreams - I almost wish the weather would take a turn for the colder - funny how there aren’t so many people queuing up to use the field that you walk the dog in every day of the year when it’s freezing.

[Alymcnabs]

Now I have found the exact opposite.

I have always had a dog, or two, and walk them three times a day, locally. Our walks have mostly been pleasant, stress free experiences.

Now our local walking places are full of out of control children, taking up the paths as they run around, cycle wobbly, race around on scooters with no clear direction or just hang around eating their “essential” picnics, and uptight parents who scream at their children to “There’s a dog coming.... Watch that it doesn’t bite you!” Parents would be better off doing their exercise and going home. Then we will all have a chance to socially distance without the hysterics!

Bring on the rain when we can get our spaces back

[Booboostwo]

250,000 people attend A and E each year with dog bites in the UK.

This is made up silliness. Here are the true statistics from the NHS. The numbers are more like 6,000 to 8,000 per year in England.

www.nhs.uk/news/medical-practice/dog-bite-hospitalisations-highest-in-deprived-areas/

up to date statistics here:
digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/find-data-and-publications/supplementary-information/2018-supplementary-information-files/finished-admission-episodes-and-finished-consultant-episodes-for-accidents-and-dog-bites-england-2017-18

Compare that with around 25 thousand deaths or serious injuries per year from cars and you wonder why MN has such an obsession with the risk of dogs and is totally unconcerned about the risk posed by driving.

[BossAssBitch]

YABVU

Thankfully, absurd rules, like dog free exercise periods for the perpetually whiny and offended, will never be enforced, as, unfortunately for you, we are and always will be, a nation of dog lovers 🐶❤️

Ideally, I’d love to live in a world that my wonderful dogs and I didn’t have to share with uptight folk like you and your undoubtedly querulous offspring, sadly, we all have to suck it up, buttercup.

[Loveita]

Have you thought about completing a dog experience course? You spend time with a trainer, other people who are nervous or unfamiliar with dogs and lots of dogs of varying sizes and ages. It would be such a shame for yo not to enjoy green spaces, beaches for fear of dogs - we as a family love a dog coming to greet us and I think you may be pleasantly surprised - see if you can find a course near you - worth a try!!

[Zaphodsotherhead]

My dog is a cowbag and always on the lead when other people/animals are around. When they aren't, she's off lead and very happy.

But I HAVE noticed that the people who say that 'all dogs should be on a lead all of the time' are the first to complain that people have fat pets that 'need more exercise'. This is a dichotomy that nobody seems to want to address.

[TimeWastingButFun]

I love dogs, and happy to see them off lead if they're well behaved (don't jump up) and cleared up after. But I hate it when they jump up.

[Lockdowner13]

My children, thank god, don’t bite other peoples faces or shit on grass. They don’t run up to strangers and jump up at them. They don’t bark at people. They do not kill pets in private land and run off with them hanging from their jaws. My children develop good behaviour with age and make more good decisions as they learn and get older.

[sundowners]

it must be your area, have to say dog walkers around us since lockdown have been courteous, very grateful if I /kids stand to side so they can pass, dogs mainly always on leads, cheery people.