To think bad dog owners don't realise that they are bad dog owners?

[WayTooSoon]

Kind of a thread about lots of threads...

Every so often, threads appear on here saying someone's dog ran up to them/their child/their dog and how the owners respond with "it's ok, he's friendly" or similar. What usually follows is a load of posters saying "bad owners give us good owners a bad name". So is mumsnet entirely populated by "good owners" or are people oblivious to their own shortcomings as pet owners? Aibu to think that if someone is a bad owner, it seems likely that they have no idea that other people see them as a bad owner?

Are you now or have you ever been a "bad owner"?

@itscoldoutthere

Glad it's not just me! Why do we actually walk then if not for their benefit? She walks with her nose half an inch from the ground lol, it's who she is. She makes me laugh though, she's developed a habit of walking slower and slower in the rain because she doesn't like getting wet. So on top of freezing because she walks to sniff lol, I've been drenched this week because she hasn't realised yet that walking more slowly=more time in the rain. We live in Wales, she should have worked this out by now. :) It's a good job I love her aye.

@housemdwaswrong well we’ve had to adapt to a whole new world having moved to Canada, it’s freezing cold and snow, it involves boots and coats, it takes a while to get out!
We’ve also moved into an apartment it’s very different having always had a garden before, so I really do feel it’s his time when we go out for walks.

boots and coats for the dog 😂

@tenbananasaday it's not just about you and your nice dog; you just don't know what anyone else's dog is like, they could go for her in a second.

I've never known a cat run at joggers or children in a public place which is basically this thread

They do get in fights with other cats but this isn't that frequently as cats try to avoid fighting. My two have never been in a proper fight that caused a vet trip.

@Torvean

How about a similair threads on cats. No it's all in a cat's nature they cant help it....

Because it's a thread on dogs. What has it got to do with cats?

That's like saying why not a thread on hedgehogs, or rabbits, or hamsters.

@tenbananasaday re training about jumping up. Start in the home. Anytime she jumps up, turn away and say ‘off’. When you see her in the morning for the first time, tell her to sit before you fuss her. Same if you out somewhere (I know is limited at the moment) and come home. Don’t fuss her until she is calm and sat nicely. Start going outside and coming back in, not talking to her until she doesn’t jump. When you can see other people, enlist the help of a friend or relative to say hello to her, you keep her on lead and use commands like wait, sit, steady. The friend or relative can only say hello to the dog when she is sat nicely.

When she does jump at anyone, correct it. Keep her on a lead, pull her off and make her sit. Some dog people will tell you it’s fine. You should say you’re trying to address these issues and you’d prefer if they didn’t reward her until she was sat nice and calm. Fuss and saying hello is a reward. This is how we trained our dog from jumping up. But you have to be consistent.

@greatpurplepolkadots but people don't want your dirty dog jumping at them to "say hi". It needs to be on its lead a lot more and train it not to jump at people

I am so conscious of being a bad dog owner and, and trying really hard not to be. Our dog is a rescue, hes been here 2 months and we have a lot of bad habits for him to unlearn (he was given free reign on his walks, off lead with no recall, bounding up to other dogs to play). He's improving with lots of training, but will occasionally push his luck and try to bound up to other people/dogs, or not listen to his recall which is why he doesn't come off his long line yet. Its so frustrating not to get the same consideration from other people. We had four dogs run up to us while we were training the other day, all friendly, but they were jumping up at me trying to pinch his treats, we all ended up tangled in the long line and I went home covered in mud with rope burn on my hands & his recall was ruined for the rest of the day. Also had an incident with a child trying to chase him. She asked if she could stroke him, I told her that he probably wouldn't let her as he was nervous of people, she then went on to chase him and dart at him trying to stroke him, while her gormless parent stood there saying "I don't know why she likes dogs, she's been bitter 4 times". Im not bloody surprised. I felt like biting her myself. I think most people are inconsiderate in general, dog owners or not.

In the real world, if you have a whippet on a long line in public spaces past young puppyhood then you soon get people annoyed at you for that! I tried keeping her on a long line when she was a pup to train her, but it’s dangerous to her, to other dogs and to people to have a speeding dog on a long line.

I train for recall every single day. I have a whistle which I’ve blown every time I’ve fed my dog since the day I got her. I have liver paste, sprats, chicken, sausage, cheese for walks. I’ve taught her watch me, behind me, heel, wAit, stop, come. She know them all and is 80% fine, can call her back the vast majority of the time. Every single walk I take her on I call her back if I see a dog approaching on a lead, or a small dog that she likes to chase or a child. The majority of the time she comes back and gets a treat and I’m hopeful that it’s becoming more automatic as we go on. But I will never stop training her.

But on the odd occasion I will not see a dog/owner in time, and the dogs have already playing by the time I try to call her. Most times in this situation the other owner/dog is fine with this and they have a play. Sometimes the other owner/dog isn’t fine with this and I apologise and they stay still for the 30 seconds or so that it takes for my dog to stop playing and listen to me. Usually people are kind and patient if this happens. ( Like I have been when the tables are reversed in this situation occasionally)

But occasionally, like a few times a year, so really in the extreme minority, you have a git with some kind of personality disorder, who thinks that they and their dog are perfect and forgets that kindness and patience make the world a better place, and are so entitled that they think they should be able to use public spaces without encountering any kind of behaviour that differs from their own exacting standards.

Thankfully it is extremely rare as these anti social people are usually in enclosed dog paddocks, quiet lonely fields or posting in mumsnet from their ivory towers.

The majority of dog owners are kind, tolerant and patient I find and are trying their best. Of course you do get the odd bad one who doesn’t attempt to train their dog atall or is arrogant enough not to think they should. But thankfully these people are as rare too as the people at the other extreme that I’ve described above. Most are in the middle, trying their best and being kind to others.

[quote JamesMiddletonsMarshmallows]@greatpurplepolkadots but people don't want your dirty dog jumping at them to "say hi". It needs to be on its lead a lot more and train it not to jump at people[/quote]
I think this was meant for @tenbananasaday

*Torvean
How about a similair threads on cats. No it's all in a cat's nature they cant help it....*

Why not start one??

@berryfull

In the real world, if you have a whippet on a long line in public spaces past young puppyhood then you soon get people annoyed at you for that! I tried keeping her on a long line when she was a pup to train her, but it’s dangerous to her, to other dogs and to people to have a speeding dog on a long line.

I train for recall every single day. I have a whistle which I’ve blown every time I’ve fed my dog since the day I got her. I have liver paste, sprats, chicken, sausage, cheese for walks. I’ve taught her watch me, behind me, heel, wAit, stop, come. She know them all and is 80% fine, can call her back the vast majority of the time. Every single walk I take her on I call her back if I see a dog approaching on a lead, or a small dog that she likes to chase or a child. The majority of the time she comes back and gets a treat and I’m hopeful that it’s becoming more automatic as we go on. But I will never stop training her.

But on the odd occasion I will not see a dog/owner in time, and the dogs have already playing by the time I try to call her. Most times in this situation the other owner/dog is fine with this and they have a play. Sometimes the other owner/dog isn’t fine with this and I apologise and they stay still for the 30 seconds or so that it takes for my dog to stop playing and listen to me. Usually people are kind and patient if this happens. ( Like I have been when the tables are reversed in this situation occasionally)

But occasionally, like a few times a year, so really in the extreme minority, you have a git with some kind of personality disorder, who thinks that they and their dog are perfect and forgets that kindness and patience make the world a better place, and are so entitled that they think they should be able to use public spaces without encountering any kind of behaviour that differs from their own exacting standards.

Thankfully it is extremely rare as these anti social people are usually in enclosed dog paddocks, quiet lonely fields or posting in mumsnet from their ivory towers.

The majority of dog owners are kind, tolerant and patient I find and are trying their best. Of course you do get the odd bad one who doesn’t attempt to train their dog atall or is arrogant enough not to think they should. But thankfully these people are as rare too as the people at the other extreme that I’ve described above. Most are in the middle, trying their best and being kind to others.

@berryfull I think what you're not getting is that it might just be a few times a year for your dog. But because apparently a lot of owners think 20 - 30% of the time it's okay for them to have a dog that doesn't obey, that adds up. Basically that's 1 in every 3 to 1 in every 4 dogs out of control judging by most posts in this thread or 1 in 5 if we take your conservative estimate.

This explains why the majority of my walks now involve at least one dog bounding up at me and covering me in mud.

It's also actually illegal, I might add, for you to put others in a position where they feel your dog may hurt them - they don't need to bite to be considered out of control.

On a whole I feel that I am a good dog owner. I know my young male dog (collie x lab) can occasionally be reactive around other dogs, so I don't let him off his lead in busy parks. I do however, let him off his lead in quieter places that I know well but keeping a constant look out for other walkers / runners / horses etc, if I see any I will always get his lead back on. Occasionally I haven't been able to do so, but have always tried my hardest to control him and teach him to wait and stay. What really boils my piss is when he is on his lead and other dog owners allow their unleashed dogs to approach him, saying oh they just want to play, but then get all defensive when my dog barks at theirs! I always say to them 'my dog is on a lead for a reason' yet always falls on deaf ears. As for dog poo, yes I carry numerous poo bags and always clear up his mess. I have been walking him when it was dark and ended up treading in shit before, my God was I fuming! To me a bad dog owner are those that dont recognise that their dogs are not perfect and those that dont pick up shit. Those types of owners are dicks

To all those saying you always pick up poo. You really don't.

Occasionally you will have walked ahead, or been a little distracted by saying hi to an acquaintance or whatever. You didn't see the poo, so you didn't pick it up.

I see this happen quite regularly.

(Almost) no owner would intentionally leave poo in the middle of a pavement or in a busy park. But you invariably see poo there. How do you reckon that's happening then?!

@ltgreggs mine is never off lead. So I can guarantee I do. You kind of notice when she's on the lead.

I live in a village in a national park, dog owners don’t have a great record round here I’m afraid. A lot (and I mean A LOT) of dog crap left around or hung in trees and worse than that, most dog owners seem to think it’s okay to have their dogs off lease through livestock. It’s not. Sheep are regularly maimed and killed because owners are careless, thoughtless idiots. Most dog owners I know venerate their animals to such an extent they don’t believe they could do something as hideous as ripping a ewe limb from limb but it happens regularly and it’s heartbreaking.

There were never such dog owning politics 25 years ago when I got my first dog, like there is now. It's worse than school gate politics.

We are all equal but some are more equal than others.

25 years ago hardly any people owned dogs compared to the extend they do today. More dogs, more problems, more noticeable?

@LtGreggs

No, all dog owners DON'T do that. My friend takes extra bags with her when going on dog walks in order to pick up the dog shit left by other dogs. Her DDs go with her some of the time and she doesn't want them stepping in other dogs' shit!

You might just as well say that all parents allow their DC to run wild in restaurants. We know that this isn't true either!

It’s about your view in the world.

Some people go around thinking that the small incidents of bad behaviour they see in society are epidemic and that most people, (apart from themselves and their friends )are entitled, lazy and selfish.

Others believe that apart from a troubled minority, most people are doing their best under varying difficult circumstances and occasionally make mistakes, as we all do. And it’s generally better to forgive mistakes and think the best of people.

I know which set of beliefs I’d rather have ! And which set of beliefs makes for kinder, more tolerant communities .

@Wouldntwanttobeya,you've had a bad experience, it's understandable that it's left you wary of dog's behaviour. It doesn't mean that incidents with dogs are common.

Someone up thread mentioned kids not getting in the way. I had an accident a couple of years ago when running and q kid on his scooter wasn't looking where he was going and his parents were not paying attention. I diverted my direction but at last minute so did he. I hit the wheel and went flying down hurt my ankle and my hands were in blood. I was annoyed but it doesn't mean I believe kids should only ride their scooter in a skate board park. It happened once.

Children are not the same as dogs- dogs are animals. Nuisance children are not comparable, what are some of you on about! This is like referring to "nuisance adults'. We don't own children. We have Guinea pigs that are lovely buy I don't think they are comparable to my children or any children- flipping irrationality to think so!!

If you're talking about my post, that wasn't the point I was making. I was replying to the comment that all dog owners didn't clear up their dogs' shit. That isn't true; responsible owners invariably do. In fact, they hate it when they see dog poo not being picked up, as they're frequently the ones that have to avoid stepping in it, or their children stepping in it.

I said that this comment was ludicrous; it was like when child haters claim that all parents allowed their children to run wild. Which of course they don't!

I was speaking about generalisations. I certainly wasn't saying that dogs are the same as children. (I don't even have a dog, and don't want to, as I'm a cat person. )

Children are not the same as dogs- dogs are animals. Nuisance children are not comparable, what are some of you on about!
That's your point of view. Whether I am I jured by a child he a dog, the outcome for be us the same and it us not more ok because the being at fault was a child rather than a dog.