Dog owner angry because i walked away from his dog

[Mooo111]

I admit I'm a little nervous of certain dogs, I just think 'never say never'.
Anyway just before I was walking in the street and a pitbull type dog was off its lead walking past me. I moved to the other side of the pavement to let them past.
The owner (a young man) took great offence at this snapping, 'He's friendly, he wouldn't be off the lead if he wasn't, Jesus Christ!" Then walked off muttering obscenities.

I didn't respond just carried on walking. Has anyone else met this sort of situation? I'm within my rights to move out of the way of the dog if I want to. Of course owners will always say he/she is friendly but it can be intimidating when a dog you don't know runs up to you.

I’ll celebrate the day when dogs of this and similar breeds are finally banned. I know it’s not an easy and/or very defined process, but there is NO safety to anyone when the dogs like this are around. A child lost life recently and it’s one too many deaths that are totally preventable. There is no reason to have a pet designed to kill.

I would have said

“I made a good judgment call because if he’s anything like his owner - he’s hyper sensitive and prone to lashing out”

YANBU when the owner can’t control himself why believe his pets can?

If the owner is that aggressive then you are right to be wary of the dog

He’s a dick ! I love dogs and I’m not frightened of a passing dog unless it was snarling at me . Not sure why he would take offence how strange . Don’t worry about it ! .

I'm with you OP, I'd always have that sensible awareness of anything is possible................

@EvilPea
Dog breeds like this (if I understated the “status” breed correctly) are heavy, extremely strong, genetically designed to maul and to never let go after they bite. Honestly, no one cares about you thinking your dog is a “softie”. It has a potential to kill and you can never guarantee the attack won’t happen due to some sudden and unexpected changes in your dog’s behaviour.

I have two dogs and come across a lot of these types of defensive owners. DH is cautious around the ‘bully’ type breeds as he has seen an innocent dog attacked by one, so he always puts our dogs back on their leads if we see one.

Quite often the owners take offence when ours go back on their leads! If you are going to own ‘scary’ big dogs, accept that some people may find them intimidating. I actually love pitty looking breeds and they are usually softies but I think a lot of people would do what the OP did when faced with one 🤷🏻‍♀️

I had a pit bull 30 years ago.
Had to walk her with a muzzle
Absolutely never off the lead
Full insurance as well

I didn’t know she was a pb when I got her (took her off some dodgy bloke as a weeks old puppy - I was 20 and a clueless soft touch).

I hated walking her because I used to worry so much. In reality she was scared of everything apart from posties and pregnant women and horses. I used to have to avoid them. I was relieved when she died tbh.

You’re absolutely right to steer clear.... he is v irresponsible.

If the owner’s that confrontational, how friendly is the dog really?

@StrawberryPot

People who walk their dogs off lead in the street are total twats. It's usually macho bravado. They're effectively saying that they are in total control of their dog and it wouldn't dare step out of line (always makes me wonder about their training methods 🤔).

If I'm walking one of my dogs in the street (always on a lead) and I see someone coming towards me looking a bit uncomfortable, I would always step out of their way and give them a friendly smile.

My dog walks 5 houses down to my mum's off a lead by my side. No beatings required. Some dogs are just obedient.

He sounds like a nob. There are a few dogs I will fuss but I’m not overly bothered about dogs approaching me id rather they didn’t and people should appreciate that some people don’t like dogs or nervous of them. Ignore it op he’s in the wrong and his dog should be on lead on a pavement.

@Dontcallmebabylalala I felt the same reading @EvilPea 's post.

Honestly, toddlers and children have been mauled to death, the dog owners' feelings aren't the issue here.

The dog was probably really nice, it’s just the owner who was a dick. You have the right to cross over/avoid any dog you like, for any reason you like.
I used to have to cross over with my previous dog if there was a GSD, because she hated them. One owner did once say crossly “she’s fine, you know, she wouldn’t DO anything!” but was ok when I explained my dog had been attacked as a puppy and couldn’t handle the breed when she was on her lead.
There are dogs in my area I cross over to avoid because I’ve seen how they react when they pass other dogs. If their owner said anything I’d just shrug. Not my problem how they feel.

"It's not the dog I'm worried about"

Everyone thinks their dog is "friendly and would never hurt anyone."

I'd probably actually trust an owner who called out "Stand still, I'll grab him because he bites" far more than the above simply because you know they're being honest.

@AllThingsServeTheBeam

5 houses is hardly much of a walk! The only people who I see walking their dogs any distance off lead fit the description of the man in the op. So yes, I do question their training methods.

But I stand by my belief that no dog should be off lead in a street. Even the most obedient dog can forget itself and suddenly give chase - into a road causing an accident.

Some people are twats. I was walking my two labs last week when another dog ran up to me and started jumping all over me. I’m 35 weeks pregnant. Couldn’t get rid of it, shouted at the owner who (rather than controlling her dog) then started shouting back “if you don’t like dogs why have you got them yourself” I love dogs but that does not mean I want them jumping all over me! Ffs

Last week my 6 year old was running from the swings towards the basketball hoop at the park when an excited dog thought it would join in. She is TERRIFIED of dogs. It jumped up and knocked her over then chased her while she ran and screamed, ignoring its owner calling to it, until I got to her and shouted at it.

He's friendly.
He's just a puppy.
He's just playing.

I don't give a fuck. A few of these experiences is the reason my child is terrified of dogs. Of course I've told her not to run, but when you're in a fight or flight panic, and you're 6, your rational brain doesn't kick in.

It should be illegal for a dog to be off lead unless they are in areas specifically designed for that.

I don't like dogs off leads full stop when it's in a non designated spot. I hate when a dog comes near my kids and starts running around them, getting them into a tizz that in turn ends up with them screaming and trying to climb up to me. The dog has done nothing wrong, the dog wants to play but my kids are too small to totally understand so when a dog is yapping they get freaked. Good owners do take time, clip the dog and let the kids stand and look to see how good the dog is and let them pet if they want/if dog likes it. I have never put a fear in them and have always reassured them.

And then you had the owner who let his dog off in our local park and the dog went around the park and had bitten 3 people by the time we left with the owner nowhere in sight.

Some dog owners are entitled twats. My rule of thumb is that if I do not know the name of the dog or owner (i.e. the dog is unknown to me) I do not touch it. Some owners will shout at you for touching their dog, others for not touching it. Every dog owner, whose dog has nipped me, claim they never done that before. I suspect they are lying.

What especially annoys me if when dog owners ask if I have a dog with me. When I reply no, they let their dog off then lead to run up to me and jump around as if I must love having their dog all over me.

But as I am allergic to dogs I just sneeze all over them if they are invading my personal space, usually prompts the owner to get them away from me.

Of course YANBU. People often cross the road to avoid me and I get it. I have lots of dogs, all on lead and well behaved, not bully breeds either, but there is a lot of them. Some people see us coming and I can see them think “no thanks” and cross over, as is their right of course! He was being a dick, ignore.

He's just an antisocial idiot, who happened to have a dog, and is a bit precious about it. Ignore and forget.

I'm also in the "take or leave" camp when it comes to dogs. No desire to take on one of my own, but have done occasional dog-sitting duties for my best friends elderly whippet, who I've known for years. I wouldn't do it for anyone else.

As you can see by my username, I'm by nature predisposed to liking dogs.
But it can't be denied that a proportion of people go for pitbull types precisely because (consciously or not) they want to look 'hard', and that there's often a degree of aggressiveness in the human - by no means always, before anyone objects, but definitely in a way that owners of eg Labs don't/ aren't.

Also I feel like I'm getting old here, but what happened to the expectation that dogs are obedience-trained. Several times I've met what are at heart nice friendly dogs, but they jump up habitually and the owner seems resigned to just apologetically saying "Oh, he gets too excited " rather than instilling proper behaviour.