To be so sick of selfish dog owners...The seal pup in London

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It’s in the news that a seal pup has been mauled by an off lead dog. The seal pup now is likely to be put down.

Recent story of an off lead husky attacking lambs and sheep . A few months ago an off lead dog mauled a deer which had to be destroyed.

Numerous stories of swans being mauled by off lead dogs. On top of the numerous stories of children being attacked by off lead dogs.

Ffs why are people so bloody stupid and selfish! Keep your dog on a lead near wildlife!

I feel so sad for the seal pup . AIBU to think laws need to be tightened around off lead dogs?

I say this as a dog lover and owner .

I think as well @LST it is common sense, if you're in a field used by lots of dog owners and playing ball that isn't the same as the dog being unleashed on on the side of a main road for instance or middle of a housings estate where children play. If you have your dog under control playing ball fine. The problem is so many dog owners do not have control of their animals hence all the dog attacks.

done what was said that makes you think people need a reality check regarding nasty talk in relation to dogs?

I was saying to DH the other night that surely something will have to be done about the dog situation in this country soon. I love dogs but it seems almost everybody has one (or four!) these days and the amount of poo on the paths is unbelievable. My children are confident around dogs but even they have been disconcerted recently by some of the big dogs that have hurtled eagerly at them while the owners look besotted and thinking anyone would be delighted with a strange dog flying at them or simply pretend not to notice. A dog cocked it’s leg and urinated on my DM’s bag last summer and the owner was completely brazen. Dogs should be kept to heel where other people and wildlife was about. Why has this been forgotten? There was a thread about dogs a few months ago and I was so angry by all the stories of peoples toddlers being knocked over by dogs etc.

@Popcornbetty out of control yes , but public places are not just for people only
I take my dog to our local park he is off lead away from playground and away from main area , playing ball , when he has a ball he has no interest in a human
Occasionally people come over with kids and ask if they can throw his ball but in the main we keep back
I would be happy if all public spaces had a fenced off dog area for dogs to run free as this also limits dog pooh etc , but they don't
I live in countryside though so more have dogs than prob don't and people are more dog savvy , and used to them
You always get idiots but its unfair to tar all dog owners the same

@beethecrackon24995 try reading flaxmeadow and a few others

@donewithitalltodayandxmas the problem is there are so many irresponsible dog owners. I wish they were all like you but they aren't. For instance just last week i was walking along a main road with my young child and there was a huge dog not on a lead running miles ahead of the owner and i had no where to go. We couldn't run into oncoming traffic and felt very uncomfortable and scared; if it had have attacked me or my child i would have been prettty much helpless. I do not like dogs that could overpower me and feel intimidated. Surely something should be done so the owner should keep them on a lead on a footpath at least?

done just re read flax. tbf i can't see anything that is so abhorrent in flax's writing and certainly not so deserving of of such vitriol from you. you love dogs, she not so. she is allowed an opinion as are you. i don't like dogs but have respect for people that do/i get it. i see myself in the middle as i can see it both ways. if i were a dog owner it would piss me off that there are so many new clueless dog owners out there that make it worse for all dog owners. i don't have issue with dogs off leads eithere as long as the dog keeps away from me. i'm not scared of them, i just have no interest in them/don't like them. whilst your dog may not have a food obsession tbf i am yet to meet a dog who is equally indifferent

'My children are confident around dogs but even they have been disconcerted recently by some of the big dogs that have hurtled eagerly at them while the owners look besotted and thinking anyone would be delighted with a strange dog flying at them or simply pretend not to notice.'
.
Yes this is the issue i find too^ and no regard for anybody who is scared of certain dogs too. I wouldn't let my young children fly around running up at people and make sure they behave and dont invade anybody's space. I expect the same of others whether adults, kids, dogs or any animal owner; it's about being respectful.

@Popcornbetty i get that believe you me some have attacked my dog before as well and some owners are well out if their depth
Where i used to live a few of the parks had nice large fenced off areas for dogs which I think should be in all public parks and dogs on lead in all other areas
Compulsory training also maybe
We spent quite a few hundreds going to puppy class and one to one with out dog so that he has basic commands and we recognise subtle signs dogs give when uncomfortable etc
Also near known wildlife I agree dogs should be on a lead but I don't agree they should never be allowed off
I also hate dog owners who don't pick up after there animals as thats part of dog ownership and wish more fines were issued , its a health hazard ( i don't like fact cats are allowed to crap anywhere either )
But people also should explain to kids how they should behave , we had a kid come running up to ours with a stick to hit him , if the dog had bit it would be the dog that got blamed and that doesn't seem right either

@beethecrackon24995 vitrol oh grow up and you think her comments are just a dislike of dogs and are perfectly ok
Like you say I can have an opinion as. Much as the next person and I accept their are irresponsible owners, doesn't mean I want to see all dogs abandoned and no one ever to have them and for them to all die out as if they can't be kept then thats what will happen

[quote Popcornbetty]@LST if you dog is out ot control in a public place than yes. My sister was badly bitten by a dog thay that wasn't on a lead as a child so yes i am seriously saying it![/quote]
I can honestly say my dog has never once been 'out of control'. Just because he is off the lead doesn't mean he isn't under control.

@LST if he has excellent recall that is fine and yes under control.

[quote Popcornbetty]@LST if he has excellent recall that is fine and yes under control.[/quote]
Right. Thank you. So you weren't being serious when you said people who let their dogs off lead should be heavily fined. Just the knob heads owners. Which I agree with.

@LST i was meaning the irresponsible owners whose dogs are unleashed and out of control which there are so many of.

@donewithitalltodayandxmas exactly it is these owners that spoil it for everybody else. I've seen unleashed dogs run up to dogs on leads often too and they start to fight; the owner always miles away and the poor responsible owner left to deal with the situation. And yes kids running up to dogs isn't right either without the permission of the parent and owner. And oh my goodness that stick incident sounds awful.

@LST this is the trouble too many bad owners giving good ones a bad reputation
I fear can only get worse as so many people seem to of got a lockdown dog and won't of been able to get help with training etc
My dog is also often off lead but never out of control
Years ago people often let dogs run around and walk off a lead and we never had the issues we have now ,

@Popcornbetty luckily my dog is used to kids so although he was scared we also were able to intervene in time, I shouted at the kid and got a mouthful back but better than a bitten child.
Myself and dh always say be a good idea to have fully fenced off areas for dogs off lead as this means dogs get a run and people that are fearful won't have an off lead dog approach them .
But its money and councils won't spend it

@donewithitalltodayandxmas that's good but still it shouldn't have happened. Bad parents and irresponsible dog owners, we cannot win! Fully fenced off areas would be amazing, i suppose the council have other plans as usual...

Can't stand them constantly chasing my four year old and jumping up at her.
Last summer we were on the beach (100m from our home in case anyone moans we were in lockdown) we were swimming in the sea and a large dog came along and pissed all over my bag and towels. Disgusting.
The owners always just laugh and say OOPS or DONT WORRY SHES FRIENDLY. I don't care get your horrid mut away from me and my child.

I read that apparently there's some rule where they don't remove seals from the wild into captivity. They don't don't do well and it would be too distressing. The ones they usually have in captivity have always been in captivity I think.

The sanctuary at Gweek has quite a few seals that were rescued but couldn't be returned to the wild so I think it can be done if necessary

When you read puppy websites it's all about choosing the dog that suits your lifestyle so ie apartment. Choose a small lazy breed
Huge 5 bed rural house choose a working dog that can enjoy long walks

Work full time. Choose an older lazy dog
Work very part time or always at home choose a more active dog.

However sadly people don't heed the advise that IS available to them and choose unsuitable dogs to live in unsuitable surroundings and then on top don't even bother to train the animal and then you end up with an unhappy animal with many behaviour issues.

Children also need to be taught to keep away from dogs. I see them running up to them and no one knows whether the dog is friendly or not.

I remember years ago I was walking our friendly dog on a lead when a child ran up to her, hit her on the snout and shouted 'doggy'. Obviously the dog was startled and she snapped at the child. Luckily I was pulling her back at the same time and she didn't catch the him and when I apologised to the mother (to be polite) she said 'well he won't do it to another dog'. However, if she had caught him no doubt she'd have got the blame.

@PinkSparklyPussyCat my DC stay away from dogs, the dogs jumped on them with no encouragement at all.

@cadburyegg

YANBU!! I have lost track of the number of times I've come across irresponsible dog owners. As a result, my eldest DS is petrified of dogs. A few examples:

• our next door neighbours allowing their dogs to run into our house
• When he was a toddler, someone letting their dog jump up at DS's pushchair while he was strapped in
• a dog running out of its house to leap up and sniff DS, the owner made a half-hearted attempt at calling it off and then laughed and said "sorry babe!" to me
• numerous other examples of him being chased by off lead dogs
• as a result he is quite wary of dogs, he came up to me and held my hand when he saw an owner walk an off-lead dog and the owner rolled his eyes at me and told him to "cheer up". Recently we were walking down a narrow path and we moved onto the grass to allow a dog owner with their 2 large dogs to walk past, partly because of social distancing but also cos DS is wary. Owner rolled her eyes and said "my dogs won't hurt you"
• my favourite example is when we were coming home from school and there was a dog running around in the small toddler park near us, despite there being a "no dogs" sign. DS said loudly so everyone could hear, "dogs are NOT allowed in playgrounds"
• One time when i was running i saw a man ahead of me on the path so slowed down to a walk (it was narrow), I didn't see that he had a dog with him because the dog was some distance away and also off lead, but I gave it a bit of space and carried on walking, the owner scolded me for "not giving his dog enough space" I told him it should be on a lead if he was so concerned

IMO all dogs should be on a lead in public places apart from large parks/fields etc and even then they should be on a lead unless they have good recall. And train your dogs not to approach young kids FFS!!!

it's the rolling of eyes and the ha ha look at those people being scared of my dog when you move away or move out of the way that REALLY fucks me off. If I got frightened and ended up kicking out at your dog because it had scared me when it came up to me then you'd be really pissed off so stop thinking you're something special because you do like dogs! Dog owners are so blind to their dog's faults. A big one jumped up in my nephews pram, both paws on either sides and the owners said nothing. Didn't call it back and gave us dirty looks because we'd yelped when it happened out of fright.

I was in the park and a woman had a bouncy lab off the lead.

It ran up to a little girl who had an ice cream and she started to cry hysterically and ran behind her dad. The owner came up to get the dog (friendly enough) and the dad started yelling at her. She started yelling back (you could have called her child stupid and ugly but don’t insult the dog)...

It was along the lines of ‘you filthy English and your dirty dogs’ (they were tourists from ME) Vs ‘why come here for your holidays if you don’t like dogs - everyone knows we like dogs here’ - ‘disgusting! they lick their backsides then lick your face’ - ‘you are stupid and backward’...

Then it got nasty...