To be utterly exasperated with the ‘but she’s really friendly’ dog owners out there

[Flamingolingo]

You know the kind - the ones who holler after their bounding dog who barks and bows and jumps at you about how friendly they are.

I feel like since lockdown I’ve had multiple altercations with people and their marauding dogs. Especially either while out running or out with my small children who are terrified.

That’s not to say there aren’t loads of really responsible dog owners out there who do try and call their dog back/put it on the lead, but the few who make no attempt other than shout about their friendliness really get my goat. For clarity: we are mostly using city centre green space, that is quite busy, I think in a rural location it’s a little different.

So I guess my Aibu is about my being annoyed at people who assume everyone wants their ‘friendly’ dog to bound into their social space, and who make no attempt to call their dog back unless specifically asked to.

The difficulty is that the irresponsible dog owners don’t appear to be on Mumsnet. Generally.

I couldn’t agree with you more, I really couldn’t. My on-lead puppy was attacked and bitten by an off lead dog that ran over. Every single negative experience I’ve had while walking my dogs has occurred with off-lead dogs that are ‘being friendly’ without exception. Sick of it. SICK OF IT. I wish I could spray the charging dogs with a water hose bug on buoys it that punishes them rather than their crappy owners. I beg of dog owners: do NOT let your off-lead dog run up to other dogs without express invitation to do so from the other owner!

It was just a joke!

Sorry for calling your dog a freeloader, I'm sure it pulls it's weight in society.

No idea what happened there but I meant to type ‘but’!

@OchonAgusOchonO

But free will and the fact my child will be paying taxes to fund your retirement, whilst your dog will remain a freeloader forever, means humans trump dogs imo.

Pretty appalling argument too. Does that mean people who are dependent on social welfare and are net beneficiaries are lower down the pecking order than high earners who are net contributors? I don't think a society that only values monetary contribution as a measure of worth is one I want to live in.

Oh my word.

I can't believe you took that seriously.

YANBU. My DD5 is constantly harassed by 'but he is very friendly' dogs, and she is terrified since the time a massive German shepherd wanted to 'play with her'.

I think it actually needed pointed out that people (children) are more important than dogs, unbelievably, as the amount of times 'I don't want children approaching my dog', 'I prefer dogs to children', 'children should be controlled also', 'but I tripped over a toddler!' is suggestive that many think they are comparable, and therefore equal 'nuisances'.

@labyrinthloafer - I can't believe you took that seriously.

Have you seen some of the batshit comments on here? Your post was feasible given some of them

Sorry for calling your dog a freeloader, I'm sure it pulls it's weight in society.

And yes, they are very productive. They are much more effective, and significantly less effort, than most hoovers when cleaning up crumbs and spillages. All households with small children should have one.

glad that's cleared up.

I was once told that I should have my toddler on a lead if I expected dog owner to put his on a lead. When I pointed out that toddlers generally don’t bite people I was told that actually, they do, he had read about it in the paper.

[quote Notredamn ]I think it actually needed pointed out that people (children) are more important than dogs, unbelievably, as the amount of times 'I don't want children approaching my dog', 'I prefer dogs to children', 'children should be controlled also', 'but I tripped over a toddler!' is suggestive that many think they are comparable, and therefore equal 'nuisances'. [/quote]
Are you suggesting that children should be allowed to approach dogs without permission? Should I also hand over my ice cream?

Nothing wrong with preferring dogs to children. My dogs are much nicer than lots of children.

Of course children should be controlled. How else do you expect them to grow up to be constructive, considerate members of society?

I don't want to trip over a toddler or a dog.

Some children are significantly more of a nuisance than most dogs. Some dogs are considerably more of a nuisance than most children.

[quote Notredamn ]I think it actually needed pointed out that people (children) are more important than dogs, unbelievably, as the amount of times 'I don't want children approaching my dog', 'I prefer dogs to children', 'children should be controlled also', 'but I tripped over a toddler!' is suggestive that many think they are comparable, and therefore equal 'nuisances'. [/quote]
But they are equal nuisances! My dog’s a child magnet - a tiny child crawled at a rate of knots towards her the other day, fortunately she was onlead and I hauled her away. The child’s mother just laughed. And, yes, I wouldn’t swap my gorgeous girl for any child.

I don't understand what's so hard to understand. If your dog likes to chase people, run into them, steal food, nip, lick or dribble on strangers minding there own flipping business put the mutt on on effing lead!

'Equal nuisances' oh FFS. Really?

Well yes I do, because I think humans are more important than a dog's "right" to run all over the place, trip people up, push kids over and potentially bite them
Most humans and dogs interact very well. You're the one with the issue therefore, you should avoid places where dogs are likely to be present. The world doesn't revolve around your specific needs.

@dontdisturbmenow

Well yes I do, because I think humans are more important than a dog's "right" to run all over the place, trip people up, push kids over and potentially bite them Most humans and dogs interact very well. You're the one with the issue therefore, you should avoid places where dogs are likely to be present. The world doesn't revolve around your specific needs.

I tried this argument up there 👆🏻 didn't end well 😂

@flashbac

I don't understand what's so hard to understand. If your dog likes to chase people, run into them, steal food, nip, lick or dribble on strangers minding there own flipping business put the mutt on on effing lead!

Again, every dog owner on this thread agrees with you.

@flashbac

'Equal nuisances' oh FFS. Really?

Yes, really. The park I go to tends to have responsible dog owners. It would be very rare to see a dog run up to people uninvited. It also tends to have responsible parents who ensure their children aren't a nuisance.

However, I have found children on bikes and scooters to be more a nuisance more frequently than dogs. There was also a child, aged about 4 or 5, who was carrying a stick and decided to come over to the other side of the path and whack one of my dogs who was walking to heel on a lead and nowhere near him. The mother made no effort to stop him or correct him. Luckily my dog is a complete softie and even that didn't make her growl, never mind bite.

@fascinated

I was once told that I should have my toddler on a lead if I expected dog owner to put his on a lead. When I pointed out that toddlers generally don’t bite people I was told that actually, they do, he had read about it in the paper.

He had a point. Loads of toddlers bite. Most dogs don't bite. However, still an utterly ridiculous response by him.

That said, there is no requirement to have a dog on a lead when out and about unless the park, or whatever, has it as a rule. If the dog was under control and there was no rule wherever you were, then it was unreasonable of you to tell him to put the dog on a lead and I can understand why he might have reacted the way he did.

If the dog wasn't under control or there was a rule that it should be on a lead, then he was just a gobshite.

Given that I had to wait about 90 seconds for the woman in charge of the dog to appear from the top of the hill on the opposite side of the road (she went and got him afterwards and they came after us to give us these pearls of wisdom) - no, she didn’t have it under control. Her plaintive cries towards the dog got louder and louder as she approached, but the dog was more interested in us. A dog that reached my waist in height and probably weighed considerably more than my toddler.

So I’m going with gobshite.

It’s a dog I’ve actually had to brake to avoid in the past as it regularly runs across the road miles from its owner.

The only time I remember a dog eating food, or trying to, was when I was on Brighton beach with my gran and a dog came up to me and took an interest in my sandwich. I was only wee then so I can't remember exactly if the dog did eat it or not. Luckily my gran managed to keep me calm.

Dogs especially the barking ones should be BANNED from neigbourhoods. The owners never seem to hear them strangely enough!

The country cannot accommodate humans (homelessness) but there seems to be a humungous lot of dogs!

I am not impressed.

Get outta here.

@fascinated - So I’m going with gobshite

Sounds reasonable.

@Bookmark - Dogs especially the barking ones should be BANNED from neigbourhoods.

Can we ban really loud, screechy children too please? I'm not so mean as to ban them all, just the ones who are loud and screechy.