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.

Of course YANBU for avoiding the dog. Most dog owners are not like this man and I am sure you know that. I expect it was a Staffie but it always sounds more dramatic when people describe them as a pitbull type.

YANBU. I’m a dog owner - a responsible one, with two dogs that I’ve taken to dog training classes since they were puppies.

Dogs should be under full control in public places. That means that if a dog is on a pavement, walking close to pedestrians, it should be on a lead unless 1) it is trained not to approach other dogs or people; 2) it has immaculate recall. By that, I mean it can be recalled away from real temptations such as food on the floor. If it can’t do either of those things, it has no business being on a street off lead near joggers, cars, toddlers, cyclists, shops, people eating food or whatever other distractions there may be. The owner doesn’t get to dictate that other people should be okay with their dog approaching them, uninvited.

Unfortunately, lots of dog owners treat dogs as a hobby rather than a responsibility and find it easier to walk around with their dog off lead. ‘He’s friendly’ means ‘I’ve not trained him not to approach people and I don’t really care if people want my dog going up to them or not.’

@Philisophigal

When I'm supreme leader, people found walking their dogs off a lead in a public place are banned for life from owning dogs.

Haha. Ridiculous

Our dog comes straight back to us to have his lead put on if he sees people approaching. It wasn't easy to get him to do this and took a mountain of dog treats.
We still encounter people who are dog phobic and cross over, I completely understand this, you wouldn't expect someone with a fear of heights to climb a ladder.
Our dog is a tiny Shitzhu cross.

YADNBU and I’d have done the same. Especially when with DD, we give off lead dogs as wide a berth as possible because they’re inevitably not off lead for good behaviour but because their owners are shit.

[quote StrawberryPot]@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. [/quote]
We live in a quiet cul de sac. He's still off lead on a street. He is only ever on a lead to walk down to the main road to go to the local field. Then he's off.

YANBU. I hate dogs and always swerve them in the street. Even dp who does like dogs will pick DS up until we are past certain kinds of dogs. I do think dogs should always be kept on leads in the street as the owners can't possibly be aware of anyone else's phobias etc

@Bananabutter

YANBU. Any sane person would walk away from those type of dogs.

Give it a rest, drama lama.

Almost the exact thing happened to me a couple of weeks ago except the man didn’t swear.
I was crossing a car park with my dog on a lead, he was coming the other way with his (bull breed?) dog off lead. I pulled my dog out of the way to the other side of me just in case because he can be fear aggressive on lead if another dog comes up to him and got the whole “Jesus, I wouldn’t have him off lead if he wasn’t friendly” I hadn’t been judgy at all, his dog wasn’t doing anything wrong and appeared under control so I was wtf, don’t make me out to be some hysterical woman. I just said “yes but mines not so I’m keeping him out the way”

I'm a but like that with large husky type dogs

Any dog should be on the street without a
Lead.

I think dog owners need to assess pretty quickly when in public who isn't comfortable with dogs. We shouldn't just assume the person in question wants to pet or greet their dog.
We err on the side of caution with our lab.

Off lead he was unreasonable. But I do get him being pissed off.

I have a "pit bull type" dog. He's a bull terrier. I keep him on a lead unless we are somewhere enclosed that actively encourages off lead dogs.

Every week, sometime every bloody day, someone will say "A pit bull. They're dangerous them dogs. Should be muzzled." etc etc etc.

I get protective. He is, as are most if the breed, walking cuddles, happy to meet people, never aggressive. Don't get me wrong, I don't trust that it rely on that. He's a dog. And dog's and people can be unpredictable. But I do dislike the assumption that he's a "pit bull type" and bound to be aggressive.

Here he is, filthy having had a blast playing with his ball in a dog park. He was drinking, attached to the back of the car, and some bloke walked up to me and started shouting about him being dangerous and out of control! Like the man you met, OP, I took exception and told him to fuck off.

Him responding with aggression tells you everything you need to know about him and by extension probably the dog as well.

Your dog is super well trained and soft but you kick off at someone just crossing the road to avoid you? Sure, sounds likely.

My god. I just posted about the same thing happening to me this morning (didn't see this thread before I posted). YANBU.

What is it with people getting personally offended that strangers don't want to take their chances with vicious looking breeds of dogs?

I got charged by a pit bull and ran away. The owner told me I shouldn’t have run away because that “ made her chase me”. I actually had to climb on top of a car to get away from the animal. Some dog owners have a huge blind spot when it comes to their animals. I’ll ever apologise for giving a dog a wide berth if it’s making me feel uncomfortable.

@SamphiretheStickerist
Your dog is bound to cause a serious or fatal injury of something suddenly goes wrong in its head one day. Do you realise that? I wouldn’t personally say nothing to you unless you behave irresponsibly. But don’t get so touchy feely about your dog. I would be horrified if your dog came close to me. And I love dogs.

If*

Im like this and have a dog! Always avoid esp when with mine too .Also isnt it an offence to walk a dog on the pavement with no lead?

[quote Dontcallmebabylalala]@SamphiretheStickerist
Your dog is bound to cause a serious or fatal injury of something suddenly goes wrong in its head one day. Do you realise that? I wouldn’t personally say nothing to you unless you behave irresponsibly. But don’t get so touchy feely about your dog. I would be horrified if your dog came close to me. And I love dogs.[/quote]
What an absolute ridiculous reaction. Jesus Christ.

YANBU and the response showed that perhaps people like the man you describe should not be able to have a dog.

[quote Dontcallmebabylalala]@SamphiretheStickerist
Your dog is bound to cause a serious or fatal injury of something suddenly goes wrong in its head one day. Do you realise that? I wouldn’t personally say nothing to you unless you behave irresponsibly. But don’t get so touchy feely about your dog. I would be horrified if your dog came close to me. And I love dogs.[/quote]
Say what now?

Do explain how you came to that conclusion!

@dottydodah

Im like this and have a dog! Always avoid esp when with mine too .Also isnt it an offence to walk a dog on the pavement with no lead?

No

@dottydodah

Im like this and have a dog! Always avoid esp when with mine too .Also isnt it an offence to walk a dog on the pavement with no lead?

Not unless there is a bye law in place.

I was walking my 3 lovely and well behaved Labradors last week (all on leads) on a wide pavement. As I approached an elderly couple, the woman looked visibly nervous and moved as far away as possible so she was almost in the road. Her husband stood between her and me/dogs. I just smiled and walked past. It wouldn't have occurred to me to comment. What business is it of mine anyway?!

This guy was just being a defensive twat.