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?

spend time with dogs.....
I have no interest in dogs whatsoever, I don't want to spend time with them or learn about them,
dogs are the responsibility of their owners, they are not my problem, I should not have to do any kind of training or homework on their account
keep them away from me, thank you

@jenniferjane21

OP you ask how you decide whether a dog is going to harm your children. That is precisely the point I am making; you need to become familiar with dogs so that you can accurately understand their behaviour rather than reacting to all fogs out of fear. Spend time with dogs who belong to friends and family, take a quiet one for a walk. Learn about them. I understand you are afraid that a dog coming over to you and your children might hurt you but you are being irrational for the 99.9% of dogs you are meeting.

We have done all that before and yet here we are. My children are well-behaved around animas, have never hurt a pet, ask us to request permission for touching a stranger’s pet and never approach any pet themselves.

@Thewithesarehere

I still ask what you said to the owner after freezing I shouted to keep their dog on a leash and their response was to shout back and say I should leash my own children. I will repeat yet again that we were across the field from them and their dog crossed the field to get to us, we were nowhere near them. You just don’t want to take responsibility. That’s all there is to it really. And majority of posters like you are quite worried that I am right because so many have shared laws, various rules, sprays, their own experiences that you simply can’t deny it anymore. This is why your are trying to take it out on me.

Your right OP those of us with dogs are worried, not because your right that all dogs should be on leads in any space because you want them to be.

We are worried that your actions, your refusal to listen to people who understand dogs and refusal to even understand how to take preventative action which would help you and your children is going to lead to your children getting hurt because you have aggreviated a dog and made it switch to defence mode!

The children your so keen to protect you actually put in greater danger something that people have repeated time and time again except your own stubbornness that your rigtt seems more important to you than listening to sound advice.

People don't need to go and volunteer at dog rescues so that others who don't keep their dogs under control can continue to just that 🙄 That is not how it works.

FWIW I was one of the 82% who voted YANBU in feeling furious about the incident and the way the dog walker spoke about your child.

For clarity that does NOT extend to thinking it's reasonable to deliberately set out to harm any off lead animal who may cross your path.

So go and volunteer at a local dog rescue
are you seriously suggesting I should give up my free time to deal with dogs that other people have been stupid enough to acquire and then find they don't want??
I have no interest whatsoever in dogs, they should not be my problem I should not have to invest any time or effort on their account
Keep them away from me
thank you

@jenniferjane21

And if your child is "under the dog" you have been told how to react. Pick up child, give a hug, check they are ok, tell them the dog was being silly, too excited etc and carry on. Dont actively reinforce your child's fear. I would suggest its because your child has picked up on your fear that they were "under the dog". Any child familiar with dogs (see the theme) would know how to react to a large, friendly dog. And if they did fall over, in the absence of actual aggression, biting etc, it would not be the end of the world.

So go and volunteer at a local dog rescue.

My child was attacked by an out of control dog in a public place (definition of out of control from the U.K. government website, please check upthread) but dogs should be allowed off lead in all public spaces and it is us who need to go and volunteer our time and energy at a dog rescue centre? Do you realise how it sounds?

in that case we need to be proactive..
I’m just telling you how it is.
Reality is, unless a dog actually attacks you it is unlikely anything will be done.
So it’s fortunate that the vast, vast majority of dogs have no violent intention

suggest carrying stones in your pocket
MILs stone chewing dog would love that. extendable stick to fend off any animals which come to close
I’m fairly certain extendable sticks are actually illegal in the UK and the penalties for carrying offensive weapons, of which I am fairly sure extendable sticks/batons (you mean the extending self defence sticks right?) are severe.

My child was attacked by an out of control dog in a public place (definition of out of control from the U.K. government website, please check upthread)
Oh my days.
I have to leave, this thread is sending my blood pressure rocketing with the ignorance, arrogance and downright stupidity!

Your child was NOT attacked.
Not even close and it is highly unlikely the dog in question would be classed as ‘dangerously out of control’.

It's becoming clear that the underlying assumption of many dog owners is that they have a right to acquire any number of dogs from any breed that they wish and the rest of us have to bend to the needs and desires of said dog or dogs.
This is wrong headed, we must family place onus on dog owners to make sure that their dogs do not impinge upon members of the public.
If you decide to acquire a large dog which needs to be walked off lead and there are no suitable spaces for you to do this then YOU are in the wrong.
We urgently need mechanisms to limit the number and size of dogs that people are allowed to acquire.

www.amazon.co.uk/Collapsible-Telescopic-Extendable-Traveling-Mountaineering/dp/B07QTZRVVG/ref=sr_1_7?dchild=1&keywords=Extendable+walking+pole&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&qid=1609246980&sr=8-7
Something like this would be suitable and perfectly legal

A friend of mine in her early 70s was knocked over by a couple of dogs while out walking her lovely, perfectly behaved lab. She is in a lot of pain and can’t stand up straight. She can barely move at the moment. I would class the dogs that did it as ring ‘dangerously out of control’ even if there was no aggression from them.

Bloody hell! Sure cuddle your child and be reassuring.
But NO dog should behave in such a way as to knock a child over. No child should be trampled on by a dog.
We often meet people with small kids when out. If a child looks unsure I call both dogs to me and tell them to stand quietly until the child goes past. Safe, reassuring for the child and reduces anxiety all round.
I love my dogs. But they should be under control at all times. Dog owners should be courteous and thoughtful.

This thread is getting more batshit by the second. Christ.

Something like this would be suitable and perfectly legal

If you hit my dog with that I would report you to the police and despite being ‘legal’, I’m pretty sure that once you use it as a weapon it is no longer legal and you would be breaking the law as the law does not permit you to kick, hit, terrify etc an animal.

If you are carrying it in a place where you would not expect people to be carrying mountaineering walking poles I also expect it would actually not be legal at all.

We have legal carry knives here, but despite being ‘legal’ if a policeman stops you you better hope you have a damn good reason for carrying it else you are in a great deal of trouble.

@Wolfiefan can only assume you haven’t read the full extent of vileness on this thread.

My son once came home to find me lying on the ground holding a hose whilst next doors dog jumped up and down on it and me until we were both soaked. I had to see the funny side of it, the dog was clearly ecstatic at the sight of water and just went nuts.
Its not so funny when a dog, any dog is attached by it's teeth to the seat of your trousers or bowling over your children.
A lot of them seem to have little or no training at all.

@HelplessProcrastinator

A friend of mine in her early 70s was knocked over by a couple of dogs while out walking her lovely, perfectly behaved lab. She is in a lot of pain and can’t stand up straight. She can barely move at the moment. I would class the dogs that did it as ring ‘dangerously out of control’ even if there was no aggression from them.

My DC was hurt his knee, was covered in mud and is scared of dogs now. But since he didn’t get his throat ripped off, that is ok then.

I have no intention of hitting or harming any dog
I carry a stick to help me feel safe in the knowledge that I can fend off any dogs which come to close to me

@Swaddlemeinplants

Something like this would be suitable and perfectly legal If you hit my dog with that I would report you to the police and despite being ‘legal’, I’m pretty sure that once you use it as a weapon it is no longer legal and you would be breaking the law as the law does not permit you to kick, hit, terrify etc an animal.

If you are carrying it in a place where you would not expect people to be carrying mountaineering walking poles I also expect it would actually not be legal at all.

We have legal carry knives here, but despite being ‘legal’ if a policeman stops you you better hope you have a damn good reason for carrying it else you are in a great deal of trouble.

It is perfectly legal for my area (quite rural and loads of hiking trails) and the K9 spray and walking sticks are perfectly legal also. Same goes for citrus spray.

Using them to frighten and potentially injure dogs is not legal though.
In your world it is clearly.
But not in the real world.

I have no intention of hitting or harming any dog
I carry a stick to help me feel safe in the knowledge that I can fend off any dogs which come to close to me
Doesn’t change the fact that if a dog does come too close for your liking and you do use it, if the owner reports you are likely to find yourself in trouble.

@Yohoheaveho

Kick anything on four legs If an animal is within kicking distance than it's already too close to me, my position is that I don't mind dogs but I don't wish to interact or engage with them. Off lead dogs should not be approaching members of the public or attempting to interact with them.

I agree. It’s a fairly basic expectation to have.

@Swaddlemeinplants I’ve read plenty. But the bottom line is people wouldn’t be pissed off if dogs were kept under control. Which is the law anyway.

[quote Swaddlemeinplants]@Wolfiefan can only assume you haven’t read the full extent of vileness on this thread.[/quote]
There are only about four posters who are being vile, refusing to acknowledge the very real experiences of me and so many other parents on this thread, denying all the perfectly legal scenarios outright and threatening to resort to violence with a knife.