To be totally fed up with dogs?

[dogtroubl]

When we moved in, neighbours had an old dog that used to wander into our garden and leave poo everywhere. Couldn’t use garden with young kids due to mess and large dog.

Complained (politely), after quite a bit of unpleasantness fence finally fixed, dog died and they got 2 new dogs that were loud but contained.

Neighbours moved, new neighbours also have 2 dogs and fence is in a bad state of repair again due to the constant barking, snarling and scratching that happens every time we go outside. I always make sure I’m out there with the kids in case it breaks because they don’t sound friendly at all.

Their neighbours also have 2 dogs so the 2 sets are always setting each other off barking.

Family members also have dogs. One very old who soils everywhere and one very large, young dog who is very playful and jumps up and licks and dribbles all over you.

My daughter is terrified (the dog is easily as tall as her) and the family member always says dog will be shut away when we go over, but dog is always let or gets out soon after. I can tell my daughter’s fear of this dog irritates the family member but she’s genuinely scared after an incident when she was a toddler, plus this dog is like a horse to her and could do serious damage even with just a nip.

We’ve been to a few kids’ playgrounds over the holidays, dogs off lead and running all over the place at each one. Chasing kids in a “playful” way that scares them.

Dog poo all over footpaths and verges everywhere. Kids tread in it, I tread in it, buggy goes in it because I don’t see it until it’s too late.

I know it’s bad owners not the dogs’ fault etc but AIBU to just be totally fed up with dogs?

*If you don't want to be tripped up don't run in dog walking areas.

I'm sick of runners coming up behind me, huffing and puffing and thinking they own the bloody park, a park that has dog litter bins and therefore used for dog walking and not just bloody runners.*

Haha. Dog walking areas. EVERYWHERE's a dog walking area. Dogs rule the world. That's why there's shit everywhere. All these runners daring to breathe in 'dog walking areas'. Bastards.

@Alexandra2001

If you don't want to be tripped up don't run in dog walking areas

...and there we have it... as far as you are concerned, everywhere is a Dog walking area, where you & your hound can do what the fuck you like regardless of anyone else.

The sentence "Keep your dog under close control" is written in Martian and not for you to obey.

After 28 pages, we finally get down to what the majority of Dog owners really think.

Dogs are allowed off lead in parks, that's it! They are abs they will roam and take space.

Just like runners! Only they are nicer than most irritating runners, who chose the busiest time of the day to inflict their "exercise" on you!

Get a running machine or run round your back garden.

@Alexandra2001

If you don't want to be tripped up don't run in dog walking areas

...and there we have it... as far as you are concerned, everywhere is a Dog walking area, where you & your hound can do what the fuck you like regardless of anyone else.

The sentence "Keep your dog under close control" is written in Martian and not for you to obey.

After 28 pages, we finally get down to what the majority of Dog owners really think.

No you can only claim to have established that is what one dog owner thinks.

I don’t recognise this world where there is shit everywhere. I live near a big park which is made up of woodlands, fields, playing fields, gardens and children’s play area. I walk there a lot and rarely see shit. Also walk along a riverside path regularly and again rarely see shit. I see far more litter that has been left by humans.

I went to the park yesterday and obviously being Good Friday with the sun shining it was incredibly busy.

I didn’t see one dog off the lead on the pathways. Not one. Most people really are considerate.

They were off the lead running and playing away from the paths and playgrounds, which was totally fair enough in my opinion.

Obviously having just commented on this thread I was hyper of aware of dogs but that’s not a problem to me as I’m not a dog hater.

Only one minor issue 😉. I sat down on a bench quite a good bit away from the path whilst husband/kids and my own dog were further away. One dog did come bounding over to me barking. The owner said oh I’m so sorry he just wants to see who you are.

I mean it didn’t bother me as I’m not afraid of dogs and I don’t hate them either. The dog was friendly but it is this sort of ownership which is sadly so common now after lockdown that is really pissing people off. My dog wouldn’t do that as she’s trained well.

That’s the thing I guess it’s going to give all owners a bad name and more people will start hating dogs.

Get a running machine or run round your back garden.

Bloody hell! You clearly don't like people who run. I also like to walk and occasionally even sit down in public spaces. Maybe everyone should stay in their back gardens for everything. Like lockdown for non dog owners. While dogs wander around happily without all those nasty human beings getting in their way. You are ridiculous.

Oops, bold quote fail.

@ClinkeyMonkey

I have to laugh at the overblown and emotive language used by the doggy defenders on here. 'No marauding hordes of dogs taking chunks out of toddlers when I walked my dog this morning' and 'I wasn't wading ankle deep through dog shit today when I walked my dog' - that kind of thing. It's totally disingenuous.

Most of my runs/walks are uneventful, but those aren't the ones I remember. It's the handful of runs where I've felt unnerved by a free roaming dog charging towards me that I remember, where I've had paws scrabbling at my legs or nearly been tripped up. I don't want to be licked by a friendly dog that is plodding rather than charging towards me either. Why would I want the saliva of an animal on my skin or clothes? Of course it doesn't happen every day. Just like my children don't get dog shit on the wheels of their scooters every time they go out on them. It only needs to happen a few times to become really bloody annoying and to make you wish people didn't keep dogs as pets.

I'm fed up of having to smile and wave a hand dismissively when someone's dog jumps up at me. I want to tell them to control their bloody animal. And I wish I had made my SIL clean my rug when her dog pissed on it - 'aw bless her, she's so excited to see you' - instead of muttering that it was alright because I didn't want to offend her. Same dog spray-shat on my hall floor - again, sooo excited - and I had to use a knife to remove the faeces from between the floorboards. Yeah, don't cha just love them?

Right so the majority of your runs are uneventful- almost like when many of us were saying it’s a small minority of dogs that are anti-social, we were right.

@figtrees

I don’t get upset or outraged at dogs being compared to children. I just generally laugh at the ridiculousness of the comparison.

Preferring dogs over kids is entirely your choice, hell sometimes I’ve definitely preferred my pooch 😉.

It’s just the comparison will never hold any weight because in terms of societal rights and attitudes dogs will never trump kids!

@TeaKlaxon because your experiences are the only ones that count? If it doesn’t happen to you in your world , then it doesn’t happen at all? I mean it’s not a very scientific ( or rational) way of coming to a conclusion about anything. 😂

@TeaKlaxon Well yes, you are right. It is only a minority of dog owners and their dogs who cause problems. But, like I said, they are the ones I remember. When, say, one dog a fortnight charges at you, then it's reasonable to assume that other dogs have the potential to do the same. You become wary. My cousin was always fond of dogs (she doesn't have one due to where she lives), but she was bitten by one just before Christmas. A dog she saw every day, but which suddenly ran at her and bit her. She is now terrified of dogs. That's a very human response which may well fade over time. But it only took one dog, not all the dogs.

Wish I could close this thread!

I’m glad there are so many dog lovers in the world. I’m not a dog hater, nor do I want to “erase” them 🙄 but it’s clearly not just me who’s had many bad experiences with dogs lately. It’s natural that it puts you off/on guard with all dogs after a while.

The people asking for stats on dog attacks then saying they don’t believe them when presented with those stats are being ridiculous. We all know the vast majority of dogs will never seriously injure anyone but it clearly can and does happen.

The example given of someone that went to the park, got hit in the head by a dog with a stick, and then “moved on with their day” made me smile. I too would have moved on with my day, but it would have really pissed me off — even more so if rather than an adult sitting down reading a paper, it had been a small child that got a stick in the face.

The dog shit really is a big issue here. There are frequently local campaigns about it and I would say I have to clean shoes, buggy wheels, and on one particularly lovely occasion school jumper and trousers (after my child slipped in it) at least every couple of weeks. It’s grim.

I’m sick of hearing them barking outside, and I’m becoming wary of using my own garden which is ridiculous.

I’m well aware that dogs can bring immense joy to their owners and families and wouldn’t want to remove that, but as a non-dog owner I can still feel fed up with all of the annoying things that other people’s dog ownership causes me to have to deal with.

I’m going to leave this thread now and hope it peters out 😬

or you could get it deleted

But why would it need to be deleted?

Many debates are lengthy, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It just proves how passionate people feel about certain topics.

@Tulipblacksmith

But why would it need to be deleted?

Many debates are lengthy, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It just proves how passionate people feel about certain topics.

I agree. It's a forum where lots of people have lots of opinions. Kind of its raison d'être really. Sometimes conversations meander all over the place or go off at a tangent and end up having little to do with the original post, but I reckon that's fair enough. There are plenty of reasons for deletion, but people having different opinions isn't one of them.

Any debate about dogs becomes passionate on here, because there are strong opinions on both sides. It’s always like that.

@ClinkeyMonkey that’s kind of the point though, we’re mocking the people who claim the world is full of aggressive dogs and owners who never pick up poo. Realistically they’re talking about a tiny % of bad experiences, most dogs they pass probably don’t even register. But we’re supposed to leave well-behaved dogs chained up in a basement forever because a small number of dog-haters “don’t trust” any owners based on an even smaller number of bad examples.

I would like to see much much stricter rules on dog ownership. No importing strays from abroad. One or two dogs per household depending on size of house. Or farms would be an exemption. Ban on dog walkers walking multiple dogs. They are a menace. Its all got out of hand.

[quote Trixiefirecracker]@TeaKlaxon because your experiences are the only ones that count? If it doesn’t happen to you in your world , then it doesn’t happen at all? I mean it’s not a very scientific ( or rational) way of coming to a conclusion about anything. 😂[/quote]
No - because my experiences put the hyperbole into perspective.

I very rarely get accosted by a dog jumping on me etc when I’m out. Not nearly as often as I’d expect to based on the claims on this thread. Now there are some possible explanations for this:

(a) I live in an area with particularly well behaved dogs;

(b) dogs have some instinct for whether someone likes them and focus all their anti social behaviour on dog haters; or

(c) people with an existing aversion to dogs are more likely to hype up and amplify bad experiences so that instead of reflecting that it is something that happens with maybe 1% of dogs they make it seem like it’s 40% or 50% of dogs.

I have no reason to think (a) or (b) is the case. (C) on the other hand is very plausible.

We all have the right to go out in public without being accosted by out of control dogs. It doesn't matter whether it happens occasionally or every day. It is always unacceptable.

Dog owners that have no consideration for other people and think it's OK for their pet to do whatever it likes, should not be surprised that people start hate their dogs.

I have no problem with well-behaved dogs with owners who clean up after them. Unfortunately, their are enough that don't to make open spaces uncomfortable and unpleasant for people who don't want to "play" with their "friendly" dog.

If you don't want people to hate your dog, make sure it behaves in public and you clean up after it.

@TeaKlaxon well your speculation is wrong in my case. I do not hate dogs. I have owned plenty of dogs and used to work for an animal charity and was a dog Walker for a short time. Since I have moved to a National park and am involved in helping keeping it clean ( litter picking) I have grown very angry and disheartened with the amount of entitled and unprepared dog owners. You can own a dog and still feel like this towards other dog owners, you can like dogs but not like the behaviour of some of the owners. When you witness it on a weekly basis it can really be upsetting. I think if you worked here as a park ranger say or a volunteer it might open your eyes to some very disturbing behaviour indeed. As I have pointed out, it is not the dogs I am upset by, it’s the awful owners who have acquired something that needs a lot of time and thought and consideration but actually now can’t be bothered to give it any. I stand by my point that this has become more of a problem since lockdown. If you train your dog well and are conscientious and considerate of other people in your path, this thread is not about you. The voting clearly shows that many people are disheartened by the way dogs are allowed to behave so there is very clearly a problem happening somewhere even if you can’t bring yourself to admit it.

@AnwenDolly

We all have the right to go out in public without being accosted by out of control dogs. It doesn't matter whether it happens occasionally or every day. It is always unacceptable.

Dog owners that have no consideration for other people and think it's OK for their pet to do whatever it likes, should not be surprised that people start hate their dogs.

I have no problem with well-behaved dogs with owners who clean up after them. Unfortunately, their are enough that don't to make open spaces uncomfortable and unpleasant for people who don't want to "play" with their "friendly" dog.

If you don't want people to hate your dog, make sure it behaves in public and you clean up after it.

But as demonstrated on here, plenty of people will hate my dog even if I’m he’s under control and I clean up after him.

But as demonstrated on here, plenty of people will hate my dog even if I’m he’s under control and I clean up after him.
Quite often an owner’s “under control” and a spectator’s “FFS, this fucking dog” are one and the same. You think your dog is under control/well behaved/appropriate, but it’s doggy goggles.

I'm sat in my garden listening to two dogs constantly barking. Once the sunny weather arrives, out into the garden they go and bark none stop. I'm researching those really loud whistles and hoping it will shut them the up.

Dog owners, when your dog constantly barks what are your thoughts/actions? I'm genuinely interested. If a note was put through your door politely asking not to leave the dog barking for hours in the garden, how would you respond? I don't mind every morning being woken by a neighbours dog who clearly is desperate for their morning 'whatever' because it stops after a few minutes, Do dog owners leave their dogs in the garden while they nip out or go out for an hour? If so why? Perhaps your dog constantly barks but your unaware.