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.

Now I understand how it happens that posters on here have had dogs steal their picnics. They deliberately choose to eat their picnics in fields where dogs are running around off lead. Why would you choose that place? I think that does suggest that you are looking for an opportunity to complain about dogs.
@Mittens030869
In that case i do think it depends who was there first

If people are eating and the dog comes on the scene,then the onus is on the dog owner to keep the dog away.

If people sit down in the area where dogs are off lead and running around.Well the onus is on them to go somewhere else to eat.

It's not that hard to keep a dog off a picnic. Last time I did one my own dog chased the others away. It was hilarious - they didn't get a look in before this little ball of fur ran at them growling.

Dogs are pretty easy to deter. If you picnic in a dog walking area you have to be alert that's all.

Yanbu

And the parents who tie their dog to the railings outside despite being asked numerous times not to

Apparently it was the only time they would go for a walk. That isn’t everyone else’s problem it’d yours such selfish indulgent behaviour

And as for the time a dog owner who I asked if he could control his dog and get the dog away form our picnic (think it was a golden retriever I was trying to but it was a strong dog) he said it was our bloody fault for having a picnic the dog thinks it’s for him 🙄 this was in the middle of a park ds was about 3 and this really scared him (I think the dogs owner scared him more as at first we laughed)

@FrenchBoule, my DS got knock on the ground by another kid on his bike who wasn't looking.

Does this give me a right to tell off any kid on a bike who gets to close to us when they are cycling where they are allowed.

Accident happen. I was cross at the time but told my boy that it happens and he should be scared of bikes. He learnt to ride one like most kids even though he was a bit more nervous. Your attitude because of a one off incident is disproportionate.

Dogs are pretty easy to deter. If you picnic in a dog walking area you have to be alert that's all

A dog that runs onto the rug and grabs anything it can quickly a dog with a poor owner. A dog that gently come close and start sniffing a bit in a middle of a field that is a common place for dogs to run free is not unexpected. Most people don't mind. Those who do though should surely sit a few yards away where they can be free to eat without worrying of any disturbance.

Erm bikes don’t move by themselves

Dogs do

I hope the responsible dog owners on here are not the ones who felt it was ok to leave their filled dog poo bags under a hedge while they went for a walk then picked it up later - this is absolutely disgusting

Or are they the irresponsible owners that also allow their dogs to run around wherever because they are friendly

I went to verbier skiing one of Christmas/new year. Cost a fortune.

Day two on the beginners slope (not the very beginners, the next one up) a kid on a toboggan crashes into me. I broke my collarbone and it ruined my Christmas (collarbones hurt. A lot). I had to come home early, no new year, no refund.

On that slope toboggans were not allowed. There was nothing I could do, the kid didn't give a fuck and scarpered and that was that.

So frankly I'm a bit sick of the whining about dogs. Keep your damn children under control. I'm sick of kids on the pavements on bikes and scooters ringing their fucking bells right behind me so I can move over for them. Frightening my dog.

It cuts both ways. You do not have the right to breed out of control children and inflict them on everyone else - but yet you do. And I usually say nothing. Your children will get bigger and will inevitably cause inconvenience for other people - sometimes a lot of it.

They will shriek and do stupid things on roads and we will all be expected to say 'oh that's just children'. The elderly will be knocked over by them on bikes. But that's all supposed to be ok.

felt it was ok to leave their filled dog poo bags under a hedge while they went for a walk then picked it up later - this is absolutely disgusting

I personally don’t do this. I’m usually the person who picks them up and puts them in the bin provided because it annoys me and gives us all a bad name. Having said that, it’s not the most heinous of crimes and bagged up shit is a lot less disgusting than unbagged shit, it’s not going to do any harm under a hedge for half an hour.

It’s disgusting

I don’t leave my bag of food that I haven’t eaten from my picnic around for half an hour while i go off I take it with me if there are no bins about my rubbish my responsibility

I was surprised anyone would even admit to it but quite a few did

OK 🤷‍♀️

Bagging and leaving it away from children/people if there are no bins while they walk then coming back to bin it? It's a fucking liberty! They should be shot!

I think you should film people doing it and hand the footage over to the police! Outrageous! What if an insect stumbles across it???

I've heard some sick things on these boards but this takes the biscuit.

I don’t leave my bag of food that I haven’t eaten from my picnic around for half an hour while i go off I take it with me if there are no bins about my rubbish my responsibility

Maybe not, but loads of people leave rubbish behind them or leave it beside the bin if the bin is full. At least those leaving the poo bags are planning on collecting them on the way back.

That said, I don't think people should leave the poo bags there as it's not particularly pleasant for walkers.

Poo baubles are disgusting. There's absolutely an overlap between owners who are irresponsible with training lack of and owners who don't clear up after them.

Based on lockdown I think there's also an overlap between owners who clearly rarely walk their own dog because a dog walker or doggy daycare does it and owners who have appeared in otherwise quiet dog walking areas and pick their little dog up and make a fuss if another dog comes into eyeline . They're usually not dressed for dog walking either.

neither is right Ochon

And it’s not justified by picking it up later

I has three dogs come up to ds and me in the park yesterday. They were yapping around the pram playing together and one of them wouldnt leave me alone. It took ages for the 3 owners to notice (all having a chat in the distance). When they did, they just smiled and laughed as if to say 'oh how cute'.

I wouldn't let me ds do that to other people so why on earth is it ok.

YANBU and I always put our (small, very friendly, wouldn’t hurt a fly) dog back on her lead if I see other people/dogs/children approaching. My best friend HATES dogs and is terrified of them, and I fully understand and agree with OP.

That being said, we were at the beach the other day. The beach is clearly divided by wooden posts and signage into “DOG FRIENDLY” and “NO DOGS ALLOWED” sides. As we have a dog, we were on the “dog beach” along with all the other dog owners. There were no dogs on the other beach as far as the eye could see, and it was fairly empty (so plenty of room for people to socially distance). Yet there were 2 women, a preteen and a baby having a picnic on the dog beach. They were clearly terrified of dogs and kept dramatically jumping up whenever a dog came near them. I genuinely felt like telling them to get off the dog beach and go to “their side!” because why should the dogs have to be on leads on the dog beach just because they couldn’t follow the signs! Grr!

@Vodkacranberryplease what on Earth are the police going to do?! I don’t agree with what they are doing but if there’s intent to come back and throw it in the bin, it is just a waste of police time when it’s the last thing the police need right now!

[quote J2Squared]@Vodkacranberryplease what on Earth are the police going to do?! I don’t agree with what they are doing but if there’s intent to come back and throw it in the bin, it is just a waste of police time when it’s the last thing the police need right now![/quote]
I think you’ll find that was said with quite a heavy dose of sarcasm.

@ItsAlwaysSunnyOnMN - And it’s not justified by picking it up later

I said that it was not acceptable in my post. My comment about how at least they were picking it up on the way back was to point out that it was not going to be left there for someone else to deal with, unlike those who leave their litter behind.

@Alsohuman I think you’ll find that was said with quite a heavy dose of sarcasm.

Yes, just a bit

Litter! Yes! Left behind by picnicking families. Should they be banned from picnicking because some people leave litter behind?

@Vodkacranberryplease oh god, guilty of misreading the tone of that! 🤦🏼‍♀️ I apologise!

@Vodkacranberryplease - Litter! Yes! Left behind by picnicking families. Should they be banned from picnicking because some people leave litter behind?

Obviously the picnicking families who leave rubbish should not do so. But because I'm a reasonable person who doesn't like to tar all picnicking families with the same brush, I wouldn't be in favour of banning them all. Because, you know, the facilities are for everyone to enjoy (well, except for dogs and their owners).

A man in my local park suggested that we should stay in a small area of the park where dogs have to be on leads when it was his dog that came running up repeatedly stealing my then-15 month old daughters ball whilst we were sat on a bench. The owner cycles around and just lets his dog do whatever it wants before half heartedly saying it’s name when it is bothering people. I don’t mind dogs being off leads and coming for a sniff but if you haven’t trained your dog to come back to you then you shouldn’t have it off a lead. I was really scared of dogs for a long time so still not a big fan of seeing a big dog coming towards me, and children are unpredictable and so are dogs so never 100% safe. I do my best to protect her from unknown dogs but also meet great owners with really well trained dogs that ask if she’d like to pet their dog, which is sweet because she loves them.

A few weeks ago we went for our first picnic since lockdown. A big dog ran up and actually snatched DS2's food out of his hands. DS was really upset and when the owner of the dog caught up he didn't even apologise as his mutt had a go at emptying my picnic bag. Just shrugged and walked off with the dog on a lead. I'm not the confrontational type and on my own with the kids just don't need trouble but I'd have been horrified if my dog (not that I have one) did that.