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

[TickTockTick21]

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 .

[Vivana]

It should be made law that all dogs are kept on lead when out. And I'm sick of people letting there dogs jump up at people.

[PercyTheePig]

Yanbu, it should be the law that dogs are on leads in public.

[renovationfatigue]

That's really sad. We live somewhere where there are a lot of dogs. My dc are really scared now after being jumped on many, many times. The other day a dog came and took the bag of croissants from the bottom of my buggy and ran off with them. The owner was really unapologetic and defensive. I do know there are responsible owners but not sure why they seem to be the minority.

[JeanClaudeVanDammit]

At 2 different parks this weekend we had multiple off lead dogs come running round us looking for food when we were either next to or in children’s play areas. My niece is terrified of all dogs since getting floored by a “he’s just friendly!” dog that was bigger than her a few months ago. It’s much worse than it’s ever been. Also the shit everywhere, all the time. I’d really like to see laws tightened around dog ownership and keeping them on leads. It’s so bloody selfish.

[Ermintrude74]

@Totallydefeated

and lack of empathy for others

Too MUCH empathy for her dogs (to the point of blindness), but too little for anybody or anything else.

Agree entirely. The post sneering at and dismissing people's distressing experiences was despicable.

[JeanClaudeVanDammit]

I wonder whether we will ever reach ‘peak dog’: the point at which we think what on earth are we doing pretending that it’s OK to allow these potentially dangerous animals free reign in our homes and public spaces.

I’m getting there tbh. Experience over the last few years has taught me that responsible dog owners really do seem to be the minority.

[Leonberger]

I would love to think this is a one off but sadly we have treated 10-15 seals this year for dog attacks.

Once again an example of why dog owners need to be held more accountable for the actions of their dogs.

[GingerBeverage]

Our entire park is rammed full of off lead dogs at every hour of the day. They steal food from under buggies and try to take it out of children's hands.
The streets are paved in dog poo.
I saw an off lead dog run directly into a cyclist and knock him off the bike. Heard the crack of his helmet hitting the ground. Cue the owner shrugging from 2m away and still not bothering to leash the dog (Alsatian).
It's really, really time to licence. Plenty of other places do it, we can too.

[EstuaryBird]

I’ve enjoyed walking in the countryside and local woodlands for many years but am seriously considering whether to continue, at least to stop walking alone.

In the last few months there have been several occasions where I’ve been confronted by one or more dogs without a human in sight. I’ve been jumped up at too many times, barked at, growled at.. one dog jumped so enthusiastically that it got mud on my face and in my hair. When the owners stroll up it’s always the same ‘He’s being friendly’, ‘He likes you’, etc.

I’m just fed up with it. Shit everywhere, plastic bags of shit everywhere. Long leads being used on narrow footpaths when the owner is incapable of reeling the dog in...

Right next to the woods is a large country park which is very very dog friendly. I’ve asked an owner why they don’t take their dogs there..answer, ‘there are too many dogs’ 🤷🏻‍♀️. Too fucking right!

[OhWhyNot]

Absolutely agree

So many trained dogs so often totally ignore their owners calling them

[BelleSausage]

There is now a massive issue with people who bought lockdown dogs as companions and have been left with a huge full grown dog that they can’t control.

I live in a popular countryside dog walking spot and the dogs are bloody out of control. To the point where the sheep farmers have had to limit their flocks to the very out of the way fields because we have already had 11 maulings this year.

Dog licenses are a great idea. It should come with a mandatory training course.

[BelleSausage]

And our playground specifically prohibits dogs but people walk through with dogs anyway and bring in their dogs for a picnic.

No dogs means no dogs so the kids can play without being bothered by dogs. There is a whole fucking park to take your dogs to. Go there.

[skirk64]

There are a couple of good ideas which would help contain the problem.

1. Make dog owners buy 3rd party insurance if they take their dog out in public, as is the case with cars. This could be regulated by chipping dogs, the chip could be linked to the owner and the premium automatically taken from their bank account.
2. Dogs have to remain on a lead if out in public. They can come off the lead only in the home or in a secure, dog-proof private outside space.
3. Make reckless or careless behaviour with a dog as socially unacceptable as reckless or careless driving. An uncontrolled dog leaping up at someone is just as bad as someone not being in control of their car.

[imsoinmyhead]

It's all very well to say that it should be the law to walk dogs on a lead in public places (I do agree with the principle) but how on earth will that be enforced? It's impossible.

[burritofan]

For all we know, the owner of this dog is horrified and very upset.
I honestly couldn’t give a shiny shite (perhaps one of the huge ones littering the supposed dog-free area of my local park, or dotting the pavements, or in the bloody children’s playground) about the owner’s feelings.

Nor do I care if the “oh, but my dog is perfect as am I” brigade would feel muzzled by stricter and more-enforced rules and punishments to keep the dog poo, attack and nuisance pandemic under control. I’m fucking sick of it.

[Whammyyammy]

That poor seal is just another victim in a long line that have suffered because of irresponsible owners.

I'm a dog lover and owner and am sick of having to deal with other peoples dogs that are out if control.

I really hope the law is changed where dog's have to be on a lead in public.

[Whammyyammy]

@imsoinmyhead

It's all very well to say that it should be the law to walk dogs on a lead in public places (I do agree with the principle) but how on earth will that be enforced? It's impossible.

Photographing evidence submitted to police/dog warden.
Fine issues, dogs removed from repeat offenders.
Quite easy.

[PhillipPhillop]

Muzzling all dogs outside the home would solve half the problems at a stroke. And yes to fenced off dog areas in parks. All other times on a lead in urban areas.

[lurker101]

@Lockheart eyewitnesses in the local paper to the incident reported that the “owner” was walking with the dog off lead and her child, the dog ran away and she ran after it saying she thought it would go for the seal. This has resulted in suffering and death for poor Freddie, and his rescuers being bitten and head butted by poor Freddie and bitten by the dog. I hope she is charged, she clearly knew there was a seal and that her dog couldn’t be trusted so should never have been off lead.

(Includes some upsetting pictures of the attack)

chiswickcalendar.co.uk/freddie-the-seal-attacked-by-dog-near-hammersmith-bridge/

[Whammyyammy]

@PhillipPhillop

Muzzling all dogs outside the home would solve half the problems at a stroke. And yes to fenced off dog areas in parks. All other times on a lead in urban areas.

Muzzles are a great idea, until your on lead dog is attacked whilst wearing his muzzle by an off lead dog and has no way to defend itself.
If every dog owner took responsible for their dogs, there wouldn't be any issues

[SchrodingersImmigrant]

From what I've seen around many people have issue because they don't want to be the alpha and refuse to train the dog.
"Aww but look at that face, how can I force him to do x and y. Aawwww come here for a cuddle (in baby voice)".
I used to cuddle mine to death😁 But he also got right earful if he misbehaved and he was trained. All our dogs have always been trained (so were we actually) on training grounds. Some did better than others, but they all knew to listen (though pp above is right that it simply cannot be 100% but 90 is better than the 0 I saw lately) and who is the boss.

Dogs can be a weapon like a bloody car, when mistreated or not controlled. There should be some level of knowledge people need to have to have a dog. It would also benefit the dog!

[PhillipPhillop]

Yes I agree @Whammyyammy that's why it would have to be all dogs muzzled. But if irresponsible owners allow their vicious dogs to create havoc then they wouldn't be responsible enough to muzzle them anyway so a pointless suggestion of mine!

[Whammyyammy]

@PhillipPhillop

Yes I agree *@Whammyyammy* that's why it would have to be all dogs muzzled. But if irresponsible owners allow their vicious dogs to create havoc then they wouldn't be responsible enough to muzzle them anyway so a pointless suggestion of mine!

Agreed. I have a muzzle for mine, he's not bitten anyone or a dog in his 4 years, but I keep it on me should we walk on tight footpaths/coast paths etc where distancing is difficult. Hes a big dog and very wolf looking (malamute) and everyone wants to stroke him.
Id be horrified of he ever bit anyone, but always worry when I see off lead dogs approaching as he woukd be vulnerable.

[BlueEyesWhiteDragon]

I'm going to completely sit on the fence about this one.

I have several large dogs (and 1 small). 5 of the large dogs have absolutely perfect recall and heel so I have no qualms about letting them off lead when on walks (in appropriate places obviously).

The other 2 are absolute shits and recall is at best 50/50 with no high level distractions and 20/80 with them. As a result because they cannot be trusted they are only let off lead in very limited circumstances. We have our own fields for them to run in and so they do that instead. Tbh I am as certain as I can be that they would hurt nobody and most people find the small one adorable but not only am I worried about them upsetting people I'm worried about them getting hurt.

I think there needs to be more less focus on leads and more on the dog being under control as there's a huge difference between the two things.

[Totallydefeated]

NO dog can be guaranteed to be under control 100% of the time in all circumstances, BlueEyesz