Other people’s dogs!

[HermioneKipper]

I will preface this by saying I love dogs and I had one growing up (a well behaved one!) but the amount of people who have no control/recall of their dogs is driving me mad.

We live in an area with lots of dogs and every time we try to go for a walk there’s some bouncy dog that comes bouncing up to us/jumping up with muddy paws etc.

Owners always ineffectually shout “oh he’s so friendly, he just wants to say hello!” Well I don’t want your bloody dog jumping on me!

My daughter is terrified of dogs having been knocked over by one as a toddler in this situation. And her fear is being made worse by all these huge dogs bowling up to her and nearly knocking her down again. I nearly had to kick one the other day that wouldn’t leave us alone.

Why are all these owners so irresponsible 😡

I agree with you.

I have a dog and would be mortified if mine ever did something like that

I don't know why others are happy to have insufficiently trained dogs - my guess is they don't even realise that this is a sign of poor training.

Why are some parents so unreasonable that they insist on walking their already scared toddler where there are loose dogs? Don't kick anyone's dog, you won't like the consequences.

I am a dog owner and have DCs so I agree. Dogs should not be off a lead if they don't have solid recall, my dog doesn't so he stays on a lead.
But please don't ever kick anyones dog especially if it's just fussing round you. Not every dog owner is friendly and you may be met with a lot of anger. Just turn away from the dog and ignore them and keep walking. Also shout the owner to get their dog because your DC is scared.

As a dog owner I competent agree with you. All my dogs are taught to never run up to anyone, they are put on lead whenever people/other dogs are around until they eventually learn to ignore anyone other than me. I hate it when other people's dogs run up to me/my dog. It is pure laziness/entitlement on behalf of any owner who lets their dog do that.

She is now a 6 year old but still scared of dogs.

An enormous labradoodle was jumping up at us on a walk to a local lake recently. At me, her, at our toddler twins buggy. I had to run round the pram to push it away to stop it knocking her down. It was bigger than her.

I love animals (and am a tree hugging vegetarian!) but if a dog is going to hurt my child then I’ll bloody well do whatever I have to.

I cant stand dogs - too noisy

We've always had dogs. They are on the lead when around paths and other people, off the lead for runs on the beach or the woods. They've always had good recall and never run up to people.

Dog owners who wander about with dogs off lead, oblivious to them poo'ing as they're out of sight or letting their stupid snarly dog run up and bark at people do irritate me. If they don't walk to heel keep them on the lead.

I love dogs and have no qualms with someone's dog coming to say hello to me but dog owners have absolutely no right to allow their out of control dogs to roam free in public places.

Dogs are always friendly - until they're not.

Your daughter wouldn't have a fear of dogs if one hadn't scared her. I would work on that though as it's quite debilitating to go through life scared of anything you'll encounter daily.

Well the fear is down to some moron who couldn’t control their dog - not like it’s irrational!

But do agree. Need to meet someone with a nice calm dog she can stroke. She loves animals generally so I’m sure this would be fine. Seems impossible to find though - don’t know anyone with a nice, calm dog. None of our friends/family have dogs. Almost all our neighbours do, but they’re all mental and would scare her further.

My ds3 is now scared of dog's since a lab with no recall jumped up to him in his buggy and stole his food

A dog ran up to me at a picnic in a national trust place last month and stole the sandwich out of my hand!

The owner came running up and was like “oh dear! What’s he like?!” As though it was all really funny!

Erm no, he could’ve bitten one of my children snatching their food! And now you’d better buy me another sandwich! That was my lunch! Cheeky woman didn’t even say sorry

It's pretty difficult to avoid dogs, you can't even go into a clothes shop without someone taking their dog in there!

Of course you shouldn't kick a dog (other than in self-defence, though I suspect you'd still come off worse if it sunk its jaws into you) but the proliferation of dogs appearing everywhere is having a serious impact on the quality of life of people who don't want them around them. If I don't have a dog, that doesn't affect anyone else. If I do have a dog, it does, and I should be keeping it under close control at all times.

Agree! We were at the beach at the weekend and my son was sitting right on the shoreline happily admiring a hermit crab. Cue a Shih Tzu type coming right up to him, right in his face - while the owner looked on as if it was the cutest thing in the world. Imagine that dog had taken a dislike to my son and gone for his face?

I also don't understand why owners want snarly dogs. I am grateful that they keep them on short leads, but the number of times they have to keep really tight hold of their aggressive dogs (of all breeds, not just the more well known aggressive types) is quite amazing. How is such an animal fun to keep?

Most dogs just run along sniffing around and ignore me which is the way I like it.

But some rear up and growl and pull hard on the lead as soon as they see you.

I love dogs and I have a dog but don’t let my dog bounce onto people and I don’t want dogs coming up to me unless I am engaging with them.

there’s a lady that I know with a huge dog. He’s lovely but he’s huge and she hasn’t trained him at all so when he comes over and jumps all over me, it is really painful and I also have to protect my much smaller dog. She has no awareness!

Carry a pocketful of dog treats to throw on the floor if a dog approaches.

As a dog owner my dogs have good recall and are allowed off the lead on big walks but I get so annoyed with other dog owners that allow their dogs to run up to me and my dogs. I keep my dogs out of the way of ours and their dogs. My old dog doesn't like big dogs because they tend to stand on her and my puppy is scared due to being attacked.... If someone looks uncomfortable with your dog near them then a responsible owner should take full control of the dog. A dog is an animal, you never know what they might do!!!

What an absurd suggestion. I have to carry stuff to mitigate against the lack of training provided by a dog owner? Forget it

It is also encouraging dogs to approach other people in the hopes of getting fed. Not good advice.

Agreed!

I hate the ‘he’s so friendly’ brigade. Just train your dog. People are too lazy to train them properly. My MILs dog is absolutely angelic, off lead he just trots next to you, isn’t bothered by people walking past. Then some idiot will let their dog run up and start jumping all over us and him. If dogs jump at my kids I do put my foot out to push them away.

Are you really serious? Translating:

My unruly dog is more important than your child. Totally nuts.

Dogs should be under control at all times and if you can't control your dog and recall it immediately it gets out of hand, it should be on a lead.

In a reverse If a small child with sticky hands came running up to you, jumped up putting crap all over your clothes, or took a sandwich out of your hand whilst you Picknicked you'd be OK with that?

It's just unacceptable behaviour (for kids or dogs) , and people like you not apologising for it -in fact, victim blaming - just shows how distorted some peoples thinking is about their precious dogs.

Well I'm with you on this.

I have a nervous dog who is now always on the lead. She has fabulous recall but I can no longer let her off lead as so many friendly untrained dogs race up to her. She was scared once and ran being pursued be another dog and an ineffectual owner shouting platitudes like 'she's friendly/wants to play/ they'll come back'. She's run home twice and I've lost her once for three hours. I avoid our lovely park now too due to this.

I dislike dogs with zero recall but even more I actually judge their shit owners.

Also I see many toddlers or small kids who are wary of dogs and I make sure mine gives them a wide berth (even though she adores kids).

So you're not wrong!

I visit the UK once a year usually. This year this is something that has really jumped out to me. Not dogs off the lead, but dogs on the lead that owners will allow to come right over to you to sniff at you.
I've frequently had to step into the road or off the path to avoid the dog whole the owner smiles obliviously at me not even noticing (or maybe noticing but not caring) that their dog is approaching us and blocking the way.

This is something we don't experience elsewhere and while it's always been one or two owners here who do it, this year it feels like 90% of owners are doing it.

Yeah, make yourself smell like a tasty treat, that'll work perfectly to stop them approaching you! 🙄🙄