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?

sqirrelfriends
christ on a bike, I'd have lamped her one (not really)

You can report this to the police. A friend had her dog attacked by another dog when we were walking with our toddlers this year. We reported it and they took it very seriously. The fact that you have photographs too will help.

@nosswith

If you know where the dog owners live, perhaps contact the RSPCA. Suggest the dog being out of control may result from neglect and the people need support and guidance.

ODFOD. If you think a dog with poor recall is an indicator of neglect, you need to research what a neglected animal looks like.

@BaublesToIt - There is no need for an animal that can kill or cause serious injury to be in a public place at all!

You mean like people? People cause significantly more deaths and injuries than dogs.

Drivers and cyclists should be banned obviously. Multiple deaths and injuries caused by them. Children too. I've been knocked over by a child on a scooter and hit by balls multiple times.

Horses are a no-no too obviously. Cats too - their bites can cause serious injuries.

You mean like people?
we are a society of humans, that's why we have humans as part of society.
If humans behave badly we have a system of laws and rules to deal with them but we have no mechanism for holding dogs accountable for their behaviour, such a thing would be illogical since dogs cannot make moral choices
Dogs are human creations, human artefacts, living toys, hobbies that humans indulge and amuse themselves with. Of course we should not allow other peoples hobbies to cause inconvenience, harassment to others, let along injury and sometimes death

Dogs are human creations, human artefacts, living toys, hobbies that humans indulge and amuse themselves with. Of course we should not allow other peoples hobbies to cause inconvenience, harassment to others, let along injury and sometimes death
What a hideous, repugnant thing to say.
The sense of entitlement and superiority amongst humans against other creatures is truly shocking at times.
I get that some people don’t care for dogs, which is fine, but they are still living creatures with thoughts and emotions at the end of the day.

A big part of the problem now is that people buy a dog on a whim and then treat it as though its their child. It's very nice to treat and spoil your dog, but not in complete ignorance of how dogs behave and what makes them tick. Coupled with the amount of lazy dog owners I see who just want to do the bare minimum of everything resulting in their dog being underestimated, bored and poorly disciplined it's often a recipe for disaster.

Being off lead isn't the problem. Being out of control is. My dog walks badly on lead and pulls a lot but walks perfectly to heel off the lead and has near perfect recall. I'm not a bad owner though so I keep her near and put her back on lead whenever we're near people or other animals.

Swaddlemeinplants
domestic dogs are not a naturally occurring species, they have been bred by humans to fulfil human purposes

@Yohoheaveho

Swaddlemeinplants domestic dogs are not a naturally occurring species, they have been bred by humans to fulfil human purposes

No animal started out as domesticated. Dogs have been domesticated as companion animals for at least 20,000 years.

@Yohoheaveho - If humans behave badly we have a system of laws and rules to deal with them but we have no mechanism for holding dogs accountable for their behaviour, such a thing would be illogical since dogs cannot make moral choices

So dogs don't get put down if they attack people?

What law or rule will deal with the child who kicks their ball at me and hurts me? What law or rule will deal with a child who trips me up when they scoot or cycle out of control in a park? We tend not to hold children accountable for their actions.

By your logic Of course we should not allow other peoples hobbies to cause inconvenience, harassment to others, let along injury and sometimes death, we should also ban cycling, scooting, ball games etc etc. After all, they are hobbies and can cause inconvenience, harassment to others, injury and sometimes death.

@Yohoheaveho

You mean like people? we are a society of humans, that's why we have humans as part of society. If humans behave badly we have a system of laws and rules to deal with them but we have no mechanism for holding dogs accountable for their behaviour, such a thing would be illogical since dogs cannot make moral choices Dogs are human creations, human artefacts, living toys, hobbies that humans indulge and amuse themselves with. Of course we should not allow other peoples hobbies to cause inconvenience, harassment to others, let along injury and sometimes death

What a ridiculous thing to say. Dogs are living creatures not toys that humans invented for their amusement.

I agree that dogs need to be kept under control around people, especially young children. My collie loves children, I mean really loves them. She just wants to run up and play with them all, but I’m not stupid enough to think that every child, or parent for that matter wants a young, muddy, boisterous pup running up to them. So I make sure she is under control. She has good recall for a youngster and will come when called. If the child/parent then welcomes her attention I’ll let her say hello, if not, we keep on waking.

On the flip side to uncaring owners, who allow their dog to cause havoc, are the other neurotic park users who have something against any dog who appears to be having fun. I had a woman (with a greyhound on a lead) screaming at me in the park a few weeks ago because my dog was running (no where near anyone else and not bothering anyone). She’s been indoors all day and needed to let off steam. I could have understood if she was being a nuisance, but she was just running along minding her own business.

domestic dogs are not a naturally occurring species, they have been bred by humans to fulfil human purposes
Individual breeds are human created, domestic dogs not so much.
Left to their own devices they eventually revert to medium sized, short coated, Sandy coloured dogs, very similar to Dingos.
There are packs of these wild ‘domestic dogs’ all over the world.

But in any case, referring to a living breathing creature as a ‘human artefact’, ‘a living toy’ and ‘people’s hobbies’ is really not pleasant.

@BaddestDaughter

I do find it quite incredible that culturally we accept having people's fetishistic anthropomorphic live toys running around freely regardless of the harm they cause.

All of this talk about "not all owners are like this" misses the point. You don't know who is and there's no nuanced way of controlling it so just make them keep their fur tropies on leads at all times.

What on earth are you talking about? Dogs aren’t toys. They aren’t fetishes. They do have personalities and as living beings are entitled to being decently treated.

Completely bizarre post.

Sorry that happened to your DC op. Owners should have their dogs under control.

To be fair (and this doesn't relate to OP at all), but people do need to keep their kids under control as well. And kids should be taught from the moment they can totter down the street, to 'look out for people', to get off their bikes and scooters when going past the elderly, to slow down to a walk rather than running past the infirm, and not to approach people's dogs without having sought, and obtained permission - and to accept gracefully if it's declined.

That wasn't meant to be bolded. Don't know how that happened.

I don’t knkw much about the debate on dogs being domestic or not. What I do know is that a lot of people aren’t capable of taking a responsibility like this and I don’t see how we can control that. So a law that actually puts a blanket ban on off-lead dog walking is probably the best way to go.

@mbosnz

That wasn't meant to be bolded. Don't know how that happened.

Lol. When you put a at the start of a sentence and then another one at the end like this, it turns the text to bold.

I have always disliked large dogs running around wild which is what the owner here was allowing.
But as said a small dog can be just as dangerous.
No matter what people may claim, a dog off the lead is not under the control of its owner- it simply cannot be 100% of the time.
As for making light of knocking over and frightening a child, this is dreadful, but not unexpected from the type of person who allows dogs to run wild off lead.

I think, perhaps the point is, your dog is your responsibility, and it is your responsibility to ensure that your dog does not behave in a manner to cause fear, harm or distress to others - others being, and this is not an exhaustive list, other dogs, cats, horses, sheep, cattle, humans of any age, and whether they are walking, running or sitting minding their own bloody business in a push chair. Your dog does not have the 'right' to do that, and it is your 'responsibility' as a dog owner, to ensure that they do not.

If the only reliable way you can ensure you fulfill your responsibility as a dog owner is to have your dog on a lead, then that is what you need to do.

It is not the responsibility or fault of other people, or other people's animals if you fail to fulfill your responsibility and your dog does cause fear, distress or harm to them.

I don’t know much about the debate on dogs being domestic or not
@Yohoheaveho made a comment about dogs being entirely human creations and I said that isn’t true because while individual dog breeds were indeed created by people, the domestic dog as a species was not.

If you let a group of pet dogs (of any mix of breeds) go wild eventually they tend to revert to small to medium, Sandy coloured dogs with upright ears and tails and short coats.
So the ‘dog’ is not a human creation, only the individual breeds.
Anyway, I know it’s not really all that relevant to the thread.

Taking it back though, So a law that actually puts a blanket ban on off-lead dog walking is probably the best way to go how would you even police this..?

Councils and police are understaffed as it is.
The council/dog warden/police can’t even manage dog fouling properly.

Loads of dog owners myself included would ignore and carry on walking off lead.

Dogs have snatched sandwiches from DS's hand, careered into picnics, and just last week jumped up on my 3 year old, uninvited and off lead. No apologies from any of the owners, just "oh they're friendly". I don't give a toss if they're friendly. Control your bloody dog.

And this is from someone who loves dogs!

So a law that actually puts a blanket ban on off-lead dog walking is probably the best way to go

Says someone who knows nothing whatsoever about dogs. They need to run. We walk ours in fields and round a nature reserve where there’s absolutely no need for her to be on a lead. The only people we meet there in non covid times are other dog walkers, she meets and plays with her friends. A blanket ban is a sledgehammer to crack a walnut. And no dog would ever have recall - they have to be off lead to learn it.

Dog parks.
That’s how.
And a blanket rule might stop the annual sheep-savaging issues round here, with the subsequent bloody deaths, crippling and distraught shepherds and farmers.