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?

@moomin I agree 100%. What I dont agree with is the op telling me because of idiots who let their dog off and allow them to cause mayhem, I should have to have mine on his lead.

I've had both dogs AND children, too. Currently sans dog, looking to rectify that, but really quite cautious given the spate of dog thefts, and puppy farming around here. I try to be a responsible dog owner, and that includes procuring them.

No, I don't think that's unusual, sadly, I can think of at least four times I've had cause for concern for myself, my dog, or my kids. And I'm the person who loves a good dobie, german shepherd, staffie or bully.

I think that it's reasonable for people to get to the point where they start thinking about how the hell they defend themselves or their kids.

You're quite right, no dog should be jumping up at anyone, whether, 'oh, Kujo, 'ees lovely, he just wants to be friendly', or not. It's putting dear ol' Kujo at risk of dog vigilantes, as much as anything.

I have the most stupid Brittany Spaniel in the world. He will run up to people/other dogs, lay in front of them and stare at them. If they make a move towards him he runs off.

Even though I know he's not dangerous or big enough to knock a child over, I keep him on a lead as the staring is weird and uncomfortable if you are not a dog lover. Ex DP has a massive labrador that is never off lead except in isolated places where the chances of meeting someone are slim to none. He's headbutted me a few times and broke my toe so could do serious damage to a child.

@MyGazeboisLeaking

OP,

A quick click on this thread shows your posted on it 78 times.

*SEVENTY EIGHT.
*
do you think you might need to take a bit of a sense check, rather than googling Dog sprays and god knows what else?

Or, you know, check your traumatised DC maybe?

Yeeeesh.

Seriously? Get a life. 😂

I’m a keen mountain biker and the number of dogs I’ve had jump at me, bark at me, run in front of my bike is insane.

Dog owners know how to read a dog's behaviour and body language

LMAO

Which dog owners are these? The ones who can't control their fucking dog, make no attempt to train their fucking dog and have yet to master how to work a dog poop bag? Because that's about 80% of them.

@Scottishskifun
How many times do people need to tell you it’s a decision of milliseconds.

@MyGazeboisLeaking
I can’t believe you are writing such inaccurate things about my posts. I said it has happened four times for me and my family. My children are well behaved around all pets, they do not approach anyone without permission ever and have never hurt or teased any pets. So it would be quite nice if you do not say inaccurate stuff without fully understanding what I have posted.

@op only your word on that though. How do we know that your kids won't decide to just randomly go up to a dog and poke it with a stick? After all, you can't 'guarantee' they won't can you?

@Porcupineintherough

Dog owners know how to read a dog's behaviour and body language

LMAO

Which dog owners are these? The ones who can't control their fucking dog, make no attempt to train their fucking dog and have yet to master how to work a dog poop bag? Because that's about 80% of them.

So your saying 80% of dog owners are irresponsible?! No 80% of dog owners are not irresponsible.

I can tell how my dog is feeling/going to react to a situation just by looking at her fur. Agitated or a dog feeling defensive the hair stands up on the back of their neck and back like a ridge very easy to see in a short haired breed.

@Moominmama5

Yanbu. I wish all dogs were on leads. We had 3 dogs come right up to us on the beach today. One of them actually drank water from DD’s bucket. Not one person offered an apology and looked shocked I said anything to them, pisses me right off.

No, not from the bucket! And they actually came near you too. What would you expect the owners to apologise for?

Sorry for that @Moominmama5. I posted that before you elaborated. I didn’t realise the dog was literally in your child’s face.

@VinylDetective
As some of the rationale dog owners on here have posted, it’s reasonable to anticipate an apology for a dog running up to you and your toddler uninvited. I’d also prefer other people’s dogs not to slobber on my child’s belongings inches from their face. What’s difficult to understand here?

@VinylDetective
Cross post ! Apologies for the biscuit and thanks. X

I have had a similar experience, I'm not tall and not very used to dogs, but I can cope and don't usually mind muddy paws as I am fond of animals. However, I picnic regularly on my local field and can't tell you how many times I've been mugged by dogs. Sometimes it's ruined our meal and there's rarely an apology. If with friends I don't mind but if by myself with DC I find it really upsetting.

[quote LST]@op only your word on that though. How do we know that your kids won't decide to just randomly go up to a dog and poke it with a stick? After all, you can't 'guarantee' they won't can you?[/quote]
Before starting this thread, I was quite upset that someone can be crass enough to say I should leash my DC when it was their dog that ran up to them. Now I get it.

@op I know how ridiculous what I said sounded. I was just giving you back what you have given me.

Do you not see how what your saying is going to get peoples backs up? I have been going to walk my dog off lead for years. So say you decide to start using the field with your dc years after I started and a dog that was untrained ran up to your dc as you have experienced. And because of that, you call for "all" dogs, regardless of if they have ever ran up to anyone or caused any distress before, to be kept on a lead. Can you not see how unreasonable you are being?

Do you not see how what your saying is going to get peoples backs up?
I don’t think that has happened. In fact, quite the opposite has happened. I was expecting to be told that IABU probably. Instead, it’s over 80% YANBU.
You haven’t answered my question: how many incidents is too many?

@Thewithesarehere and how many times do people need to tell you on here that you're actually increasingly the risks of you and your child being bitten if you hit a dog with a stick?!

You have been given some good advice on how to react in situations which make it a lot less likely. I suggest doing further research so you or your child doesn't end up with a dog bite.

[quote LST]@op only your word on that though. How do we know that your kids won't decide to just randomly go up to a dog and poke it with a stick? After all, you can't 'guarantee' they won't can you?[/quote]
Why is this even relevant? Like it or not, dogs have to be controlled so they cannot harm human beings or other animals in any scenario. In the country they should be on leads in fields, in towns they should be on leads in recreational facilities such as parks.

Of course the dog should be under control. Probably on a lead in order to be under control.

My greyhound needs to run free every day, so we take him to a dog park or a fenced field. Can't have him bowling children over, that'd be awful.

[quote Scottishskifun]@Thewithesarehere and how many times do people need to tell you on here that you're actually increasingly the risks of you and your child being bitten if you hit a dog with a stick?!

You have been given some good advice on how to react in situations which make it a lot less likely. I suggest doing further research so you or your child doesn't end up with a dog bite.[/quote]
I have told you that K9 and a stick is the answer. I wouldn’t take more chances on my child.
Adding ‘and’ to the start of your response doesn’t absolve you from the responsibility of answering my, more serious question: how many is too many?

Maybe it's also relevant how the owner reacted. If they'd come running up, apologized sincerely, made the dog lie down to say sorry, chatted to the children to help them feel ok about the dog again... then I guess you'd all have felt very differently about it.

But they chose to be an arsehole, which also makes on suspect they didn't much care about having dog out of control.

You can't tell when a dog will attack. The dog that attacked my staffy walked up to him, was very friendly. As we went to walk off it nailed him. There was no growl, no hackles, no raised lips or stiff body language. As such, I trust no off leash dog.

@justilou1 thanks. I loved my staffy so much. I was acutely aware that if there was an altercation he'd be likely to be blamed solely due to his breed and the damage he could do if he retaliated. He was the most beautiful dog. Loved everything. I was worried that, after the attack, he'd be dog shy and we'd have issues. He wasn't. He was happy to have stray dogs come into the yard and play with them till we found their owners. One was such a frequent escapee I had her people's number on the fridge LOL I put a lot of training into him to make him 100% reliable. But, as I noted, due to breed reputation I never put him in a position that he could be deemed at fault. After the attack that included keeping all off leash dogs away from him, unless we were in a designated off lead area, and then he'd run around like a lunatic playing with everyone.

To make him less intimidating for kids he had a litany of tricks we'd roll out. The favourite was shooting him (bang) and he'd roll over and die.

Depends entirely upon the dog. There's no one-size-fits-all approach. Our neighbours have newfoundlands which are enormous, but are extremely well trained and walk sedately off the lead.