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?

@Whammyyammy

I just don't see why people can't control their dogs???? The old excuse that walking on leads doesn't give then correct exercise is rubbish, take them on a long walk or pay to use an off lead secure area. If you cannot be responsible, don't own a dog.

They need to run. Forgive me for not being able to keep up with my bouncy dog running back and forth.

And like others - no secure areas here. They just don't exist. I hunted high and low when training my pup and absolutely nothing. I'd willingly pay.

If your dog doesn’t have great recall and you cannot find a secure area it may be worth investing in a long line. You can buy them very cheap off Amazon and they come in various sizes.

Lampop Heavy Duty Strong Dog Training Lead Leash Long Line Nylon Lead with Soft Padded Handle for Large, Extra Large, Medium Dogs Training, Running,Tracking, Camping, or Backyard (M,10m/33ft, Black) www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07J9PYJ1F/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fabc_EP86FbNNQG6YY?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

I’m now confused

So there was two occurrences with the same dog how the hell did that happen then or is this the drip feed folks talk about

the dog was eating your hat by Christ that’s a big dog if at the same time your snapping a picture and the dog was in frame.

So which is it two separate occurrences or just one or are you now embellishing your story.

You can contact whoever you like over this nothing will be done because the dog didn’t bite anyone plus you don’t know who they are.

Body cams are brilliant we have them and if this was caught on camera you’d be told by the police it was an accident.

Part of the problem is people with large dogs who need a lot of exercise and training only giving them the minimum, once a day walk and thinking that is sufficient. Why get a huge dog without time or land to allow it to exercise properly?

@Ritasueandbobtoo9

cantdothisnow1

I would never advocate hurting any animal so I don’t know why this comment is directed at me. All I ask is that dog owners understand and empathise that other people do not want to be hurt, frightened, knocked over, have their food stolen, breathed on or be licked by an out of control animal. I am allergic to dogs but when I have said “please can you call your dog” as it is licking me, I had the “oh but it is friendly”. Why should I have to explain that I’m allergic to dogs? It is clear that I am not making any attempts at befriending their dog. My face is clearly not looking pleased about the dog being near me so than I have to say I’m allergic and even then sometimes dog owners will still really not get the message that the dog needs to be taken away. Another time my daughter and I were in a beauty spot and two huge dogs came along and just bounded up to us and we stood still but they were licking us. When I asked the two men (many metres away) to call their dogs they said “you shouldn’t be out” and refused to call their dogs away until they had walked slowly past. I just find it bewildering that people think it’s okay to let their dogs encroach on other peoples space in such a way. Is it some weird power play? Some need to have control over other people? Why are some people so oblivious to others?

apologies I didn't intend to suggest you had advocated for hurting animals.

Others on the thread have though.

Some dog owners are totally irresponsible.

I just don't see why people can't control their dogs????
Because they either have ineffective training or they are selfish and don't care.
What's there not to see? It's kind of obvious.
The old excuse that walking on leads doesn't give then correct exercise is rubbish, take them on a long walk or pay to use an off lead secure area.
The funny thing is that walking isn't the same as running and there is no requirement for owners to pay to use secure areas to satisfy the preferences of others.
If you cannot be responsible, don't own a dog
You seem to deliberately confuse being responsible dog owner with doing things the way you think they should be, however this is standard for dog threads on here. There's an awful lot of posters which think the world should exist around their preferences.

@Dullardmullard

I’m now confused

So there was two occurrences with the same dog how the hell did that happen then or is this the drip feed folks talk about

the dog was eating your hat by Christ that’s a big dog if at the same time your snapping a picture and the dog was in frame.

So which is it two separate occurrences or just one or are you now embellishing your story.

You can contact whoever you like over this nothing will be done because the dog didn’t bite anyone plus you don’t know who they are.

Body cams are brilliant we have them and if this was caught on camera you’d be told by the police it was an accident.

This was a separate incident that happened in the summer. You can’t imagine I was sun bathing in late December really. There is no need to be rude simply because you don’t like what I am posting here. Go and check all my posts. There is no drip feed anywhere. These posters were lying blatantly.

I agree that I should have had a body cam though god knows what we really need is improvement in enforcement of at least the existing laws or designated areas.

I also agree with the previous poster who said you should not get a large dog if you can’t spend time on its exercise on lead.

You cannot exercise a dog adequately keeping it on a lead.

Impossible.

DOGS NEED TO RUN.

@Ritasueandbobtoo9

Part of the problem is people with large dogs who need a lot of exercise and training only giving them the minimum, once a day walk and thinking that is sufficient. Why get a huge dog without time or land to allow it to exercise properly?

Or when you are not fit enough to keep up? I know someone who has huskies but he is also very fit and runs long distances with them

If you want a dog which needs lots of exercise, you need to be fit enough to keep up with them if you want to let them off-lead.

The funny thing is that walking isn't the same as running and there is no requirement for owners to pay to use secure areas to satisfy the preferences of others

of course there isn't, dog owners' preferences rank way above everyone else's. We know that. One day I really hope having a dog goes out of fashion. I'm not sure it will happen in my lifetime though.

Someone posted this upthread. I am leaving this here because this is a really good point and explains part of the problem:

I just find it bewildering that people think it’s okay to let their dogs encroach on other peoples space in such a way. Is it some weird power play? Some need to have control over other people? Why are some people so oblivious to others?

@Thewithesarehere
Exactly

@Thewithesarehere

Someone posted this upthread. I am leaving this here because this is a really good point and explains part of the problem:

I just find it bewildering that people think it’s okay to let their dogs encroach on other peoples space in such a way. Is it some weird power play? Some need to have control over other people? Why are some people so oblivious to others?

The vast majority of dogs owners do not think it is OK for dogs to run up to people who don't like it.

But at the same time people don't think that dogs should be hit/ sprayed or kicked or prevented from having appropriate exercise.

But that's OK ignore what the majority of people on here who have experience of living with dogs and have never ever pissed off another person sharing that space are telling you!

I’ve definitely noticed a trend in recent years where there is:

1. An increase in numbers of dogs as pets
2. An increase in mentality where owners think people should accept their dogs coming into contact with them.

I remember a different post where someone said something along the lines of, your dog is your hobby and you should ensure you don’t piss others off with it. E.g. I like to go mountain biking on trails where I spray mud up as a ride through puddles. I wouldn’t dream of doing that near a passerby who could feel unnerved by it, or got muddy as a result.

But at the same time people don't think that dogs should be hit/ sprayed or kicked or prevented from having appropriate exercise.

Why would anyone kick your dog if it was exercising with you and not on their child?

of course there isn't, dog owners' preferences rank way above everyone else's. We know that
Except the don't, unless you're the sort of person who loves a good old moan that there's a couple of dogs running around within sight of you, or the type of person who is incapable of understanding that just because you don't like dogs doesn't mean the world has to revolve around that.

The idea that you think someone should be fit enough to run long distances with big dogs to be considered responsible highlights that you're more bothered about having a good old moan because you don't like dogs.

I’ve definitely noticed a trend in recent years where there is:
1. An increase in numbers of dogs as pets
2. An increase in mentality where owners think people should accept their dogs coming into contact with them
I've not noticed that much, but have done through lockdown. There's been a lot more dogs where I walk mine that are poorly trained and I think it's because people got them in lockdown, didn't socialise their dogs properly and didn't consider the training it requires to have well-trained dogs.

When we were out, I came across a lot of people who were training their puppies with long lines, or in quiet grassy areas and they asked if mine could stay a bit so that they could do some training with distractions. I was more than happy to help.

I would add a 3 to your list though:

1. An increase in people who seem to abandon all reason on what 'coming into contact' is.

Most dog owners would agree that dogs should not be bounding up to people and shouldn't be approaching people, but just a glance through this thread and you've got some hysterical definitions of 'out of control'. My favourite is that a dog is or of control if someone else decides it is too close, but too close could be half a field away. There are places near me that have been almost exclusive used by dog owners for years and during lockdown others are using them (great, no issue). The responses to seeing dogs being dogs, minding their own business,playing with each other are really quite silly at times. Someone told me I needed to 'watch my dogs' because they were being aggressive, as I was stood in field with my dogs and they were playing with each other nowhere near anyone else.

@LolaSmiles
I agree that it’s unreasonable to say a dog across half a field is out of control.
But the point so many people are trying to get across is that for every few good dog owners, there are some who do not have the control it takes to stop them from running across the field to others.
In my case, I thought we were completely safe until we weren’t. Dogs are too fast and it’s impossible for any parent to match that speed.

This is a big problem in our local park. There is one huge dog who's owner has a child so he's roaming for hours often unwatched while the dc plays and the mum chats after school etc. He's clearly friendly and doesn't appear to jump but does approach people and other dogs. My friends dd won't play there anymore as she's so terrified of him. He's chest height on a lot of dc. He is unneutered and I could take my dog on a lead at all when she was in season as he stalked her. Even out of season he approaches and harasses her - she's on a lead as all dogs should be in a busy play park area at school run time - and she's terrified (she's tiny) and is become reactive as a result of that and the other male dog that is left to roam and who is decidedly less well mannered. I had to pick her up the other day and he was diving up still trying to get to her putting muddy paws all over me, he stalks us relentlessly too and the owner eventually comes and gets him. I've seen him jump up at dc on numerous occasions, my own dd has been scratched by him. Owner too busy chatting to the mum crowd. She even called my dog 'a funny thing' when he was stalking us the other day for so long that she started snapping at him, as if my on lead and under control dog was the issue. I don't find it odd at all that OP has had more than one incessant with the same dog. I've had several with the same animals. Lots of excuses here but it seems like many people have not picked the right dog for their circumstances if letting them roam in busy areas, knowing that they approach others is the only way to get them sufficiently exercised.

@midnightstar66 that owner is a prick. They give everyone a bad name. I love my dog he means the world to us but I know that others don't so that is why we put in so much time and training.

Thewithesarehere
But most dog owners agree with you that there are some irresponsible owners and those owners are wrong.

Unfortunately the response of some on this thread is that people are irresponsible owners if:

• a dog is off lead
• they have a large dog off lead
• the owner can't run long distances with their on lead large breed (hilarious suggestion after people pointed out that a walk and a run are different)
• they don't have private land or don't pay to used enclosed spaces for their off lead exercise
• their dog is closer than whatever a random person would like, and the random person's thoughts are automatically right regardless of how unreasonable they are

With the best will in the world, logic has been abandoned in places. Who seriously looks at an irresponsible owner with a poorly trained dog and instantly thinks 'hmm gosh it must be a form of power play'? That's paranoia. For a start surely if someone wanted to engage in power play then logically they'd train their dog immaculately to do it effectively. Why seek to find an agenda in something that can easily be explained by incompetence?

@LolaSmiles my thinking is that a dog should not be off the lead especially in busy areas where lots of children are playing unless

• you can be sure your dog won't approach/ jump on strangers

• you can be sure your dog won't approach other dogs, especially ones on leads

• you can be sure your dog won't go and snaffle the sausages on someone's bbq or the pork pies from someone's picnic (happens pretty much every time in our local parks, bloody annoying when left with not enough food for everyone)

• you are prepared to watch your dog at all times

I don't care about the size of the dogs but can see how large dogs can be more intimidating to some.

@midnightstar66
I wonder if it's worth shooting some footage of the nuisancedogs in your local park and submitting to the police and/ or dog wardens?

Why seek to find an agenda in something that can easily be explained by incompetence?
Because the world isn’t so black and white as you hope it to be.

Possibly worth it @Yohoheaveho the larger dog isn't too much of a nuisance except to on lead dogs having about (particularly interested in mine as he's un neutered and my puppy unspayed) bit he's the height of a Great Dane so his mere presence running around weaving in and out of people is scary to some. The other is bass nuisance though although I'm trying to keep dpup away from the situation now. I could easily get lots of footage but not sure it's worth the cost to my own pups raining and socialisation?!

@LolaSmiles
And also because there is no guarantee that even the most well behaved dog will always be reliable. Hell, I can’t give that guarantee for my DCs though they have never done anything to make me think so. Still, my DCs can’t kill or maim a dog within seconds so there you go. There is simply no comparison.