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 .

This is horrible but I am sure the owner feels awful about the situation to.

We don't know her story - perhaps this is a rescue dog that she has taken on, perhaps it broke free of its lead, perhaps this is the first time this dog has demonstrated this ferocity in a fairly unpredictable scenario which none of them had any previous experience of.

She would need to take the dog away to remove it from the situation in order to reduce its agitation and the seal's distress, I don't know that she could have done anything more. Hopefully of course she has reported the incident to the police herself.

It's easy to blame but we don't know the full situation and I'm sure the owner feels devastated.

I adore dogs, and I am sad and angry about the seal. I think the dog should probably be put down, and I hope that will give other people pause about letting their own poorly-trained dogs off-lead, but I am sad and angry about that, too, as it's not the dog's fault, it's the owner's.

I think all dog-related incidents - bites, attacks, even more minor things such as leaving poo - should attract far higher fines than they currently do, and should be prosecuted far more than they currently are.

I think it's also time for licences to be reintroduced, which can be revoked. People pay bloody thousands for an animal which they may love, but frequently don't look after properly.

It's easy to blame but we don't know the full situation and I'm sure the owner feels devastated.

I am sure the owner does feel devastated - and will be even more devastated if/when her own dog is put down - but that is, in the final reckoning, irrelevant. The dog killed a seal.

@Totallydefeated

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

Well no I suppose they cannot. But we compete them. Their training is reinforced all the time just by the things we do. They have been extensively tested in hundreds of variable situations and when we are out and about with them I am scanning the area rather than ignoring what they are up to. So at the first sign of them showing interest in something they are recalled back to me and have never (since puppyhood) let me down. So I'm going to say they are perfect or as near as its possible for any dog to be.

Who cares about the background story or the feckless owner? The dog killed a seal and needs to be put down. If it had been your child the fucking dog killed I doubt you'd be wringing your hands over the 'poor dog' and it's story and its useless owner.

@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.

Quite. The police don’t have the manpower, councils can’t afford the number of extra dog wardens it would take. A public information shaming campaign might help - “Don’t be a dick, keep your dog on a lead” sort of thing.

And I’m not sure reintroducing dog licensing would help. It could lead to an increase in puppy farming.

YANBU one bit. A young child in my family was in a children's play area a few years ago and got knocked over by a very bouncy happy, I'm sure very lovely and not-aggressive dog. But he hit his head on the ground and had to have emergency surgery for an internal bleed.
Aggression is not the only danger in public spaces.

This story made me so sad. I've also definitely seen a lot more badly behaved dogs off leads lately. One in particular nipped my trousers while I was out running, owner was very apologetic, then on my second lap I bumped into them again. Still not on a lead! It did it again! There does seem to be a mindset of "my dog has a right to roam".

And don't get me started on the dog shit everywhere.

I have owned dogs for 30 years. They should be on leads in public places. Mine are. It is irrelevant if your dog is the best trained dog in the universe. Dogs aren't robots they can react to children running, another nervous on lead dog snapping, wild life suddenly running in front of them, traffic, farm animals, literally anything can startle them. Animals when startled do not behave in a predictable way.

It is a shame that so many dog owners don't see this, and feel their dog is the exception.

Carry pepper spray

Muzzles would reduce many of the issues.
Not the jumping up, knocking over people or the dog shit, but the nipping, biting, mailings and the thieving of food would stop.
And if the threat of injury diminished, people’s dislike and fear of dogs might also drop.

@JustThisPost

Carry pepper spray

We are talking about uk...

What do people think about e collars then? A friend of mine uses one as an 'emergency stop' so her dog is off lead at times but if she notices sheep or any other wildlife a quick touch of the remote and the dog is back to her side immediately to be clipped onto a lead. I didn't think I agreed with shock collars until I walked with her and her dog. There were no signs of sheep at all, the dog was quite a way ahead when we noticed the sheep at the bottom of the valley, she called her dog and touched the remote and the dog came straight back to her side. No hesitation, no chance to chase sheep. As we were walking back someone else's dog was chasing the sheep and my friend got an ear full for using an e collar on a dog whilst their mates dog was chasing pregnant sheep.

Also too many owners willing to invest exorbitant sums of cash in a breed (or more usually poodle cross to achieve the desired live teddy bear effect) - which in itself feeds the puppy farm chain, a whole other thread - but aren't willing to match the cash investment with the time and effort required to train the dog properly.

I know people like this, who have overweight, mollycoddled, untrained dogs that yap all day long. But woe betide any neighbour that complains about the racket, or questions the welfare aspect and the evident lack of responsibility on the part of the indulgent owner. Who "hasn't had the time" to train them. Despite not having a full time job.

I'm so sick of badly trained young dogs at the moment. A couple of friends have them, and I'm just avoiding them at the moment as I'm sick of muddy paws jumping up at me, and one particular large dog jumping up at me and mouthing/ biting me.

It's like when we all had small children and mine would sit (mostly) nicely if we went out to eat as a group, whereas some would be allowed to fun feral around the restaurant. Unsurprisingly, it's the same ones with the feral children who seem to have the poorly trained dogs.

Trouble with leads in all public places is what counts as that? I live in a woodland (1000 acres). It's technically a public place as its open to the public but its madness to insist ALL dogs should be on lead there at ALL tiimes. Sometimes you might never see another person and other times its heaving. I'd far rather pass a calm dog sitting by the side of its owner off lead than a snarling barking angry one straining at its lead.

Dogs should be under control. A lead does not guarantee control. If anything is gives a false sense of security and don't get me started on those stupid extendable ones which are the devils own work!

Dog owners should be responsible. Dogs should not be bothering people who are not their owners / who have asked to be bothered by them.

@burritofan there is no need to be so aggro!

It's frustrating that such anti-social behaviour by dog owners is so normalised within our society now. This probably isn't the best analogy but if a local business was somehow leaving poo all over the pavements, knocking over children, runners and cyclists every week and killing seals there would be absolute uproar.

Why is nothing more being done?

I think the way forward for parks is either dogs on leads and if people can’t or won’t keep to that then they ban dogs altogether.

Dog owners letting their dog amble across the path whilst on a lead meaning I can’t get past is selfish too. I also don’t really want your dog coming bounding up to me and I actually think it’s very dangerous- not only could they knock someone over but some people are allergic to dogs.

The extending leads give you little control when they are miles in front of you. Time for dog owners to either take responsibility for their pet or lose the right to exercise them in public spaces- which should be safe for all users not just dogs and their owners.

@RoseRedRoseBlue Redirect your aversion to aggression to the aggro dogs, dear

@ArcherDog

I’m on the fence with this.

My dog is not ‘dangerous’ but I know exactly how my dog would behave if he ever saw a seal. The same as if he saw a sheep. So when I know we are in a sheep area, he is on a lead.
Would I expect to come across a seal whilst walking along the Thames? No, so he would likely be off lead. A

Would I then stay around whilst a huge crowd bays for mine and my dogs blood? Or would a flee in panic?

The comments on SM about this are disgusting and quite frightening. I understand it’s tragic, but she didn’t set out that morning planning it.

That area of the Thames path is always very busy. Lots of dogs, birds, small children, runners, cyclists... It doesn’t matter if you don’t have the foresight to assume a helpless animal might live in a large river, your dog should not be off lead anywhere it can encounter anyone else! And no it doesn’t matter that you think you know what your dog would do. Nobody knows what an animal would do in a particular situation, even if the animal has been in that same situations loads of times before. I am a dog owner and dog lover but at the end of the day it is an animal and the safety of the public comes first.

[quote Wolfiefan]@ValleyClouds if I see a walking aid or powered chair or anxious child or adult?
They are called straight to me. They stand and wait for the person to go by.
I wouldn’t walk where kids were playing etc. We are lucky to live in a beautiful part of the country where we can avoid people who want to avoid dogs.
I’ve worked hard to get them to behave. Every single day I watch the responses of people we see on our walk. I won’t ever let them scare or menace anyone.
Feel free to curse me though.[/quote]
EVERYONE thinks their dog is “one of the good ones.” The lady whose dog killed the seal thought hers was too. Nobody knows for sure what an animal will do. It’s not worth the risk. I hope your dog never hurts anyone while off lead in a public place but if s/he does I hope you would be prosecuted to the fullest extent possible for your negligent behavior.

@burritofan, wow, patronising too. You really are lovely. All this because I objected to your sweary rant when I said perhaps we should consider the owner of this dog and her part in this.