To expect dog walkers to keep their giant dogs on leash around other peiple

[Thewithesarehere]

I am still quite sick after seeing a dog, nearly my DC’s size, running after my DC knocking them to the ground and running over them.
DC is covered in mud. I was taking a picture of them running to me and it happened in a flash. I shouted at the dog owner who something like put your own children on leash.
Why the hell people don’t keep such huge dogs and then let them off leash in a public park around children? DV is covered in mud, shivering and complaining that their leg hurts where it hit a rock and that they are scared of dogs. I wish I had done more but don’t know what else I could have done.
AIBU in feeling bloody furious?

@k1233, from your description they have things very well set up in Australia
(although it's disappointing to hear that you still have the bad dog owners🧐)
I wonder if we could adopt a similar system over here🤔

Just because some tit heads are in capable
Sadly I think it's more than 'some', in my view bad dog owners overshadow the good dog owners ....as in more than 50% of dogs have a bad owner
To be clear I am NOT saying that 50% of dog owners are bad, rather that more that 50% of the dog population does not receive the care and attention that it needs in order to become a polite companion animal

OP - you get your foot in the air and kick any dog that jumps up at your child....it makes me really angry. You wouldn't accept another mammal (including a human) knocking over your child, but some people
think it's acceptable that a dog can do that. My poor daughter was floored a couple of times and developed a dog phobia.

We actually do have a dog now, it's exceptionally well trained.

Maybe just carry a walking pole or an umbrella to fend off any dogs which are a nuisance?
once when under attack by a pair of muscular scary looking dogs I had to jump off of my bicycle and use it to keep the dogs away from me 🤬😖
The owner.... this stupid woman just hurriedly tried to get control of the dogs and walked away without saying a word
It was a cycle path and I was cycling cautiously!
I was so angry🤬
But what could I do she had two scary dogs😖
I was hardly going to take them on was I?

you get your foot in the air and kick any dog that jumps up at your child....it makes me really angry.You wouldn't accept another mammal (including a human) knocking over your child, but some people think it's acceptable that a dog can do that
This is what I should do from now probably. I realised that my shouting probably had the opposite effect because this dog owner did not move to come to us or check DC at all. I bet they would behave differently if I took matters in my own hands. They would have said sorry (probably) if they knocked someone down but their dog knocked a child and they simply stood there and shouted back at me. What I do not know is how crazy I would look running after a dog when my own child is on the ground. And what gas the poor dog done anyway? It is acting exactly like a dog!
It’s the owner who is at fault. If other countries can have similar laws, so can we.

@underneaththeash

OP - you get your foot in the air and kick any dog that jumps up at your child....it makes me really angry. You wouldn't accept another mammal (including a human) knocking over your child, but some people think it's acceptable that a dog can do that. My poor daughter was floored a couple of times and developed a dog phobia.

We actually do have a dog now, it's exceptionally well trained.

WTF? So based on your logic.... if another child came running over and knocked her child to the floor it would be okay to kick the offending child? No, of-course not.

Abusing an out of control dog will not result in that dog being in control. It’s more likely to give said dog further problems.

@Thewithesarehere

you get your foot in the air and kick any dog that jumps up at your child....it makes me really angry.You wouldn't accept another mammal (including a human) knocking over your child, but some people think it's acceptable that a dog can do that This is what I should do from now probably. I realised that my shouting probably had the opposite effect because this dog owner did not move to come to us or check DC at all. I bet they would behave differently if I took matters in my own hands. They would have said sorry (probably) if they knocked someone down but their dog knocked a child and they simply stood there and shouted back at me. What I do not know is how crazy I would look running after a dog when my own child is on the ground. And what gas the poor dog done anyway? It is acting exactly like a dog! It’s the owner who is at fault. If other countries can have similar laws, so can we.

OP, please don’t do it. It will just make the situation worse and you are liable to be bitten if you do this to the wrong dog. Besides, it’s not the dogs fault if it has a shitty owner..

@Yohoheaveho

Maybe just carry a walking pole or an umbrella to fend off any dogs which are a nuisance? once when under attack by a pair of muscular scary looking dogs I had to jump off of my bicycle and use it to keep the dogs away from me 🤬😖 The owner.... this stupid woman just hurriedly tried to get control of the dogs and walked away without saying a word It was a cycle path and I was cycling cautiously! I was so angry🤬 But what could I do she had two scary dogs😖 I was hardly going to take them on was I?

That is an excellent idea! Thank you I often carry an umbrella but will now get a strong one or a large stick. We can at least show the intent and that may be a deterrent in itself.

Don't kick the dog ffs. Even an otherwise gentle dog will bite someone who kicks it.

@Blackitty
You do realise you are comparing my child to a dog, don’t you?
Also, exactly who am I supposed to keep safe in this situation? My responsibility is my child, not other people’s dogs.

OP, please don’t do it. It will just make the situation worse and you are liable to be bitten if you do this to the wrong dog. Besides, it’s not the dogs fault if it has a shitty owner..
But that is the whole idea. If you distract the dog long enough to yourself, it will most likely take its focus away from your child and might even give enough time to other people who can then intervene in time.

@nothingcanhurtmewithmyeyesshut

Don't kick the dog ffs. Even an otherwise gentle dog will bite someone who kicks it.

So if a dog attacks you just have to let it do you?

@k1233
I am sorry to hear this happened to you. It sounds like your local government is doing its job properly and you are not ready to take it anymore either.

[quote Thewithesarehere]@Blackitty
You do realise you are comparing my child to a dog, don’t you?
Also, exactly who am I supposed to keep safe in this situation? My responsibility is my child, not other people’s dogs.[/quote]
I did not mean to compare you child to a dog, although I am sorry if I gave you that impression. The point I was trying to make id you will make the situation a lot worse by using violence. The dog may bite you, or the owner may become aggressive.

In the event of a jump jumping at you it’s best to turn your back. I think carrying dog treats is a better strategy than carrying an umbrella intended to be used as a weapon. You could throw the dogs treats at the offending dog to distract it. Anyway your plan of getting photos and reporting to dog warden sounds much more sensible to me.
As soon as you resort unnecessarily to violence you lose your case, and you are as bad as the owner imo.

@Thewithesarehere

OP, please don’t do it. It will just make the situation worse and you are liable to be bitten if you do this to the wrong dog. Besides, it’s not the dogs fault if it has a shitty owner.. But that is the whole idea. If you distract the dog long enough to yourself, it will most likely take its focus away from your child and might even give enough time to other people who can then intervene in time.

If a dog is jumping up it would be very ill advised to provoke that same dog to bite you. I’m not sure you would have a leg to stand on re police and council. A dog jumping up is not the same as a dog being aggressive. And before anyone starts, I am not saying jumping up in acceptable but it’s two entirely different behaviours.

@Blackitty
How am I as bad if i am defending my child?

@Yohoheaveho
I would only every resort to violence as an absolute last resort.

A dog jumping up is not the same as a dog being aggressive.
We are talking about things happening on a scale of microseconds. I am quite sure this sort of victim blaming is why so many people are so pissed off, including me. I am saying this is the forth time I have faced something like this without giving any dog a cause and you are saying I should turn my back when a dog is hurting my child.
Also, all the dogs that bite must jump first. It’s far too dangerous for parents to take a chance and see what is happening. Especially with a large dog. Like I said, I couldn’t handle this dog myself.

[quote Blackitty]@Yohoheaveho
I would only every resort to violence as an absolute last resort.[/quote]
If a dog was attacking your child then ofcourse it is right to intervene and use necessary force, but that’s not what happened.

Anyway I was responding to the post that said you get your foot in the air and kick any dog that jumps up at your child which you agreed with. Jumping up is not attacking.

Also I know I’ll get slated for this but I would be teaching my child about dogs and how to stay safe around them. For example, never running, turning sideways, etc. Yes, I know.. we shouldn’t have to do this but rubbish dog owners are a fact of life. I support mandatory leash laws but don’t see it happening anytime soon.

@Thewithesarehere

A dog jumping up is not the same as a dog being aggressive. We are talking about things happening on a scale of microseconds. I am quite sure this sort of victim blaming is why so many people are so pissed off, including me. I am saying this is the forth time I have faced something like this without giving any dog a cause and you are saying I should turn my back when a dog is hurting my child. Also, all the dogs that bite must jump first. It’s far too dangerous for parents to take a chance and see what is happening. Especially with a large dog. Like I said, I couldn’t handle this dog myself.

No, jumping up is definitely not a precursor to aggression. I am not victim blaming or saying you should allow dog to attack your child. I am saying it’s a very bad idea to resort to violence unless you absolutely need to. If you say it happened in seconds I doubt you had much time to react anyway, I think you did the right thing by getting a photo. I would have down the same.

Yes I think designated spaces for dogs off lead only. And why not have insurance etc. Seems pretty sensible to me. And yep I have a dog. And I keep her on the lead near other people. I'm sick of arsehole dog owners thinking it's ok for their dog to jump over me, my kids and go for my dog. Not ok. At least if dogs have to be on leads in public places then it's easy to snap a photo of those who don't and report.

[quote LST]@BaublesTolt haha 😄 [/quote]
Why are you making sure that dog owners deserve their bad press?

I'm not one (yet) and I don't mind being approached when I'm walking. But then I don't have small children with me and I do walk in usual doggy places.

But there should be a little more care and just because you have the perfect dog and you are the perfect trainer, why do you not accept that there are many out there who are not? And it can be scary.

If a dog is jumping up it would be very ill advised to provoke that same dog to bite you. I’m not sure you would have a leg to stand on re police and council. A dog jumping up is not the same as a dog being aggressive. And before anyone starts, I am not saying jumping up in acceptable but it’s two entirely different behaviours.

How on earth is a non-dog owner who possibly has small children with them that they need to protect, supposed to make that judgment in a matter of moments?

Hope you're not one of the townie twits who's been deluging our local walks over the past few weeks with inappropriate clothes, buggies and kids running around unsupervised in a very rural off lead dog walking area. We've had enough.

I have a one year old lab not massive and she's completely capable of knocking a child over. Trained her out of it but she'd take a running jump and body bump a hip whilst running past. I think she was being playful but cant have that behaviour. (my dc not strangers)