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?

"Don't worry he's freindly and would never hurt her" I always hear this as my DD sees a dog, they can see my anxiety.

So if she poked your dog in the eye or pulled its tail it would just be okay with that?

I dont mind dogs but i don't want them near my children until they understand how to approach a dog and treat it nicely, and even then I will be weary.

[quote Misspacorabanne]@TeaKlaxon I never said they should be confined to onlead walking, I agree they need exercise, I just don't think parks are the right place! Just my opinion. But yes I agree designated areas of parks for off lead runs perhaps a good compromise.[/quote]
So where should people in urban areas allow their dogs to exercise off lead if not in parks.

If you don't want your DC to encounter off lead dogs, then use the spaces that already exist where off lead dogs are not allowed, and allow the vast majority of harmess dogs having some exercise to get on with their lives.

I was picnicking in the park the other day with my baby. I deliberately went out of the way with lots of space around to avoid dog walkers and so that they can see me from a distance.

I still had a bull terrier run up to us and had to pick up my baby.

Thought the owner may have at least made a halfhearted attempt to mutter an apology but at no time did the owner even look in the direction of their off the lead dog.

Posters who don’t like other peoples ‘out of control’ children and see this as an excuse to not even bother to control or learn to care for their pets are VU as at a bare minimum noisy children aren’t s**ing on the pavement and are far less deadly.

Btw I have no problem with the now minority of dog owners who are diligent and know when and where to keep their dog on a leed.

Lol at the rapey poodle hassling kids in the park.

@TeaKlaxon

Children don’t maul dogs to death whereas dogs kill babies and toddlers on a near weekly basis in the U.K. these days

No, they don't.

There are about 13 million dogs in the UK, and in the most recent year for which we have a full year's worth of stats (2021), one child was killed by a dog . It was the same in 2020. The same in 2019.

That is not a 'near weekly basis'.

Tell me how many children have been killed by dogs so far in 2022 then?

@tillylula

"Don't worry he's freindly and would never hurt her" I always hear this as my DD sees a dog, they can see my anxiety.

So if she poked your dog in the eye or pulled its tail it would just be okay with that?

I dont mind dogs but i don't want them near my children until they understand how to approach a dog and treat it nicely, and even then I will be weary.

My dog is good with kids. Even if they did something unpleasant, he would growl and that would be my cue to get him away (though in reality I try to keep him away from kids I don't know in general unless I'm right next to him and can make sure his body language is OK).

But even though he's good, I'd never encourage a parent to think they can take that for granted, precisely for the reason you suggest: while I know my dog is well behaved, I don't know that about other people's kids.

You are right to keep your child's distance until they know how to assess and approach a dog, and to learn the signs when a dog doesn't want to interact.

YANBU.

Hate it when someone thinks its ok for their dog to pound into my kids or jump up "oh don't worry s/he is fine".

Erm no it is not f*ing fine, get your mutt away from my kids.

I have a dog and I never behave like these morons. She is strictly on a lead in public places, never barks and does not jump up on people.

Basically there are too many owners who do not know what it means to instil good manners on a dog.

Last month some woman pulled out on me and I ended up crashing into her (she was at fault). I had bruised sternum and ribs, my kids were traumatised and all this woman could worry about was her dog, which was huge, not strapped in and no doubt obscured her view. I said I need to get your details but I cannot leave my kids stranded and she replied "my poor dog".

Yeah cheers, wrote my car off, injured me and scared my kids but as long as your mutts okay !!

Of course it’s the owners (obvious statement that doesn’t need to be made imo), but that doesn’t make it any less annoying or any less prolific.

I love dogs and my family have always had them but I totally agree - they have become a menace.

I’m sick of going to my friends’ houses and being barked at and mauled by ‘friendly’ dogs who jump up. The same whenever we go out for a walk.

I don’t know what the answer is. Yet people seem to think it’s a great idea to get more and more, even when they can’t manage the ones they’ve got.

And I don’t get the comparison with kids. Sure, kids can be annoying, but other people’s kids don’t come bounding up to me barking and jump all over me!

@saveforthat

Yes YABU because (as you said) it's the owners fault. Some children are badly behaved all the time with no consequences but I am not totally fed up with children, just some parents.

This. Don’t blame the dog for the owners behaviour

@FedUpthenaBitmore

Recently went to a cafe , at another table there were a few women and 2 had little dogs with them . My ds is autistic and scared plus allergic and started screaming so I said to the person serving sorry I’ll have to go as he is scared of dogs and she said ‘well we are dog friendly so they have a right to be here’ I said actually with that tone I want to speak to the manager who was really understanding and asked them to move outside as it was causing distress to my ds. They were absolutely horrible so entitled and the manager who was amazing said to them the rights of a child come before the dog friendly status of his cafe He was so kind gave us coffee and cake and juice and said he was going to change it to dogs in the outside seating area only !

Would you have had the same outlook in a restaurant/cafe if it was a service dog?

If you don't want your DC to encounter off lead dogs, then use the spaces that already exist where off lead dogs are not allowed, and allow the vast majority of harmess dogs having some exercise to get on with their lives.

The trouble is, many dog owners ignore these signs. The beach is the worst - ‘No dogs’ signs literally everywhere and yet people are on the beach with their dogs running around off the lead. There’s no enforcement.

@MoodyMooToo

But how does someone else’s child being badly behave affect you? (Apart from being annoying)

A badly behaved dog is another matter.

@Tilltheend99

I was picnicking in the park the other day with my baby. I deliberately went out of the way with lots of space around to avoid dog walkers and so that they can see me from a distance.

I still had a bull terrier run up to us and had to pick up my baby.

Thought the owner may have at least made a halfhearted attempt to mutter an apology but at no time did the owner even look in the direction of their off the lead dog.

Posters who don’t like other peoples ‘out of control’ children and see this as an excuse to not even bother to control or learn to care for their pets are VU as at a bare minimum noisy children aren’t s**ing on the pavement and are far less deadly.

Btw I have no problem with the now minority of dog owners who are diligent and know when and where to keep their dog on a leed.

Minority of dog owners who are diligent?

One in three of us live in a household with a dog. You really think one in six people in the UK are problem dog-owners?

On what basis?

I go to the park every single day. There are usually dozens of dogs there in the time I am there. The last time a dog came up to me in a way that was invasive (i.e. a dog jumping on me, or coming too close to me - as opposed to just walking or running in my direction) was about five weeks ago.

So dozens of dogs, every single day. And one of them, about five weeks ago was problematic.

The majority of dog owners are using public space as they have every right to do, with their dogs enjoying it too and, for the most part, ignoring other humans who don't approach them. That is certainly how my dog behaves, and how the vast majority of dogs behave in my experience.

Maybe if someone hates dogs, their very existence, running and playing in a public area, is perceived as a threat. But that is on the dog-hater, not the dog.

YANBU I hate the filthy smelly beasts.

Tell me how many children have been killed by dogs so far in 2022 then?

Three.

Again, not 'nearly every week' as was claimed.

How strange that the only dog owners you know are all ‘bad owners’.
Lost count of how many ‘dog hate’ posts appear on aibu every week.

Majority of dog owners are responsible for their pets it’s a very small number that are not.

I am a dog owner with a very well behaved dog who actually came with me to the cafe this morning for breakfast. She was as good as gold.😊

@Tulipblacksmith

YANBU.

Hate it when someone thinks its ok for their dog to pound into my kids or jump up "oh don't worry s/he is fine".

Erm no it is not f*ing fine, get your mutt away from my kids.

I have a dog and I never behave like these morons. She is strictly on a lead in public places, never barks and does not jump up on people.

Basically there are too many owners who do not know what it means to instil good manners on a dog.

Last month some woman pulled out on me and I ended up crashing into her (she was at fault). I had bruised sternum and ribs, my kids were traumatised and all this woman could worry about was her dog, which was huge, not strapped in and no doubt obscured her view. I said I need to get your details but I cannot leave my kids stranded and she replied "my poor dog".

Yeah cheers, wrote my car off, injured me and scared my kids but as long as your mutts okay !!

Your dog is never off lead in public places?

Unless you live on or have access to an extremely large garden, a farm or some other large tract of private land, I feel sorry for your poor dog.

@TeaKlaxon

"But the welfare of most dogs depends on being able to expend energy and play energetic games. They, and their owners, have as much right to enjoy that as you and your DC have to enjoy the park. There are vastly more areas in your world where dogs are not allowed, or not allowed off lead, so you're entirely free to stick to those areas if you don't want to be around dogs off lead."

I agree with the first part of your para, but am really baffled by the second?

Dogs are currently free to go on most public footpaths, canal paths. Pavements, etc. - how can you say there a "vastly more areas" they are not allowed?

@pattish

If you don't want your DC to encounter off lead dogs, then use the spaces that already exist where off lead dogs are not allowed, and allow the vast majority of harmess dogs having some exercise to get on with their lives.

The trouble is, many dog owners ignore these signs. The beach is the worst - ‘No dogs’ signs literally everywhere and yet people are on the beach with their dogs running around off the lead. There’s no enforcement.

Some of them are entirely unreasonable.

Our local playground has a no dogs rule. Totally unreasonable. No off-lead dogs would make sense in the playground. But no dogs at all just makes life unnecessarily difficult for those with kids and dogs.

@pattish

Agreed. They even venture into playgrounds now which is absurd.

Rationally I know it is not the dogs fault but that still doesn't make me hate them any less. I say this as someone who's parents built their livelihood based around a home boarding dog service (they were the first in the city that I live in and so became very established and successful). I grew up with dogs, mainly spaniels which needed lots of stimulation and training.

Even they have grown to hate dogs, okay I am being tongue in cheek, they would never hate dogs but my god they have seen their fair share of entitled dog ownership and people who are absolutely clueless in the basics of how to train them.

They sighed relief when they finally shut down the business.

I’ve been an ardent hiker for many years and until recently have never had a problem with dogs. I used to enjoy meeting nice dogs with decent owners out in the countryside.

Now I’m actually thinking about giving up hiking because every single day there’s an entitled, gormless twat with a dog that has never been trained to know it’s place. There are just too many dog owners who can’t seem to accept that their dog can seriously annoy or upset other people.

I now take a hiking stick even when I’m on good terrain since a recent incident in local woodland when I sat on a log to eat my lunch and two fair sized dogs burst out from the woods to my left, straight at me, jumped all over me and stole my sandwiches. Owner spoke to me like it was my fault. Really bloody rude woman, didn’t even apologise, then started petting her dogs and fussing all over them.
Dogs are fine but many of their owners are arseholes.
Don’t even get me started on the shit….or the dogs whose owners allow them to harass wildlife.

YANBU

I have a dog and I'm sick of dogs. My (lovely) town is covered in dog shit. All the shops have dogs in them. All the cafes.

Just leave your bloody dog at home. Why does your dog need to be in WH Smith.

Dog owners are the worst.

@TeaKlaxon

I live in a city I drive out to big fields, she has more than enough exercise. I'm just not one of those entitled dog owners who places the same value on them as kids and other members of the public.

@TeaKlaxon

If we do go out to the park or a busy place, she is on a lead. Simple.

Can't provide those things for a dog don't get one. Dog ownership is not a right.

Should be much more difficult to get a dog. Inexperienced owners should have to be vetted and all dogs, with the exception of registered service animals, should have to be licensed, and not the seven shillings and sixpence it used to be. The cost of the license needs to be enough to fund a proper infrastructure.

I own dogs and they do not go off lead anywhere other than on my land until I am certain they will come back under any circumstances. They are also trained to stand by their poo until I get there to pick it up.
Pet peeve here. Runners, you are not absolved of responsibility for your dog’s shit just because it’s running ahead or behind, or more usually completely randomly far away from you.

Any of my dogs with doubtful recall or any tendencies to jump up etc is never allowed off lead in public.
None of this training is difficult, it takes time and patience and effort, if you can’t manage that then get a cat.