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 .

'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'

Exactly, we share our homes and lives with these animals, most of which are loved and well cared for, but we don't always know how they'll react or behave.Imagine waking up this morning knowing your dog had maimed that seal, it must be horrific. In the workplace we have to risk assess but the same logic seems to desert people when they're walking a dog.

@WoohooBeautiful inflammatory much? I can guarantee that my dogs won’t injure anyone. They aren’t off lead around children playing and are kept away from anyone who seems nervous or vulnerable. They are trained to ignore strangers and stand still or walk on as directed.
If I didn’t work bloody hard to ensure they were under control and if I wasn’t considerate and responsible then yes. I would deserve prosecution or whatever consequence came my way.
That’s not me. Or my dogs.
Dogs out of control are a menace. But the fault lies with complacent and selfish/stupid owners.
We aren’t all like that. Save your wrath for those who are.

@RoseRedRoseBlue Please, won’t someone think of the fucking irresponsible dog-owner!! (Try marywhitehousenet if you don’t like swearing)

@burritofan do you manage to actually have a normal conversation with anyone?

I’m sick to death of all the untrained lockdown dogs!

We went for a bike ride at the weekend along the very clearly designated and complete separate to the road or pavement cycle track at the weekend and it was absolutely teaming with dog washers, some off the lead and some doing that thing where the owner is on one side of the track and the dog on the other so the lead covers the whole track. What is it with dogs that immediately feel the need to run under a bike’s wheels?

One of our neighbours has recently got a dog that they let out at 11pm and 7am every single day and wait til it barks to be let back in, which wakes the whole street up 🤬.

@RoseRedRoseBlue Too busy looking out for rabid shitting dogs to stop and chat, usually

@burritofan your days must be the source of endless pleasure then.

The majority of dog owners haven't a clue on how to train a dog. |It is not a good idea to have them on an extended lead whilst out among people. They should be walking to heel and not be pulling their owner along. I was very close to running over a puppy last week when it dashed into the road when the irresponsible owner let it go yards in front on a long lead. She then told the puppy off for running into the road!

[quote burritofan]@RoseRedRoseBlue Too busy looking out for rabid shitting dogs to stop and chat, usually[/quote]
I'm fairly sure the UK has been rabies-free for about 100 years, if it helps. One less thing to look out for.

@Fridacaninelo

I think people are blind about their dogs' potential to snap like parents are about their children's ability to be bullies.

Yep.

All this "oh my dog would never..."

You don't actually know that. I bet the dog in this case had never... until it did.

@Lockheart 😂😂😂

@LadyCatStark

I’m sick to death of all the untrained lockdown dogs!

We went for a bike ride at the weekend along the very clearly designated and complete separate to the road or pavement cycle track at the weekend and it was absolutely teaming with dog washers, some off the lead and some doing that thing where the owner is on one side of the track and the dog on the other so the lead covers the whole track. What is it with dogs that immediately feel the need to run under a bike’s wheels?

One of our neighbours has recently got a dog that they let out at 11pm and 7am every single day and wait til it barks to be let back in, which wakes the whole street up 🤬.

I hate the dog washers as well, the soap make the path slippery as well

I feel sorry for the owner and I hope her dog doesn’t get put down

I mean he was on a lead and it broke. Accident

Dogs attacking animals doesn’t mean it will attack kifs

Dogs attacking animals doesn’t mean it will attack kifs

You say that like attacking animals isn't that big of a deal...

Unfortunately it’s a natural part of nature

Yes it’s upsetting that the poor seal had to go through that, but it’s animals

You can not 100% control animals

It isn’t very clear what actually happened with the dog and where the owner was. I wasn’t judging or blaming the owner in my OP. I was venting that yet again , another loose dog has resulted in a preventable death of a wild animal .
Whether the dog broke free or was off lead , it was still loose and it was a preventable death of a seal pup.

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!

It doesn't guarantee it, but it's a start! I walk in a park which is lead only and even then some people can't quite understand this applies to their dogs not just other people's- so we see dogs going up to swans, duck, barking, running about- just why?

I would like all dogs to be on leads in a public place, if people want to have them off lead, either go somewhere remote and hope for the best or hire a doggy field and take them there like my friend does with her rescues that can't be trusted in public spaces (due to trauma).

I feel so much better when dogs are on fixed leads, perhaps extendable leads should also be banned. Certainly in public spaces like all parks, most of the beach and so on.

You can not 100% control animals

But somehow you think that a dog that attacks some animals is safe to be around other animals 🤔

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

I’m sick to the teeth of these rescue dogs (invariably pit bulls mixes or staffies) taken on by well-meaning but completely inexperienced people. They go on and on about how it’s the owner and not the dog ... until this shit happens

@Bordois

You can not 100% control animals

But somehow you think that a dog that attacks some animals is safe to be around other animals 🤔

Did I say that?

No

She had her dog on her lead so she was keeping it under control. It was bad luck that the lead snapped and the dog managed to get away.

I know my dogs. They would have no interest in a seal (certainly wouldn’t attack one) but they might chase a cat. Not to bite but for fun.

Would I let them? No

I only let my dogs off lead when I’m in a field that has no people, no animals and is clear for me to see for miles around so no one can surprise us

If I see a cat, dog, kid, my dogs go on lead

@Soubriquet the dog also bit one of the men trying to save the seal, so if she is located the dog will likely be destroyed. If it has not already been, as I understand the woman was walking with a child.

[quote lurker101]@Soubriquet the dog also bit one of the men trying to save the seal, so if she is located the dog will likely be destroyed. If it has not already been, as I understand the woman was walking with a child.[/quote]
Ah I didn’t see that part

It very likely bit in the heat of the moment but you’re right. This will likely be the nail in the coffin for it

Witnessed a dog at the weekend trying to take on a swan. The owners were laughing. I think lockdown has a lot to answer for.

[quote 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/[/quote]
I was going to post this link.

The fact that her first thought was that the dog was going to go for the seal suggests to me she knows it tended to be aggressive - so it should not have been offlead.

I do hope she is prosecuted, because court is the right place to hear both sides of the argument.

I’m a dog owner, in case that matters here.

Or dogs sniffing and licking my 4 year olds food during picnics and owners smiling with hazy eyes, and I have to pretend not to mind or I can be accused of being an animal hater. Your dog has probably just sniffed another dog’s poo. Get them away from my children’s lunch.