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 OP

and I have 2 large dogs! My oldest is very gentle and whilst she does walk up to people, she does not run or jump, just wanders to within a metre and cocks her head, silently speaking “love me please”, if people say something encouraging she will come over and be stroked. If not, she wanders off. I let her off lead as J think this behaviour is acceptable. She avoids other dogs.

my youngest dog is huge (deerhound!) and bonkers and whilst we taught him not to jump up, he does run at people and dogs at breakneck speed and then tries to play with the dogs (which they don’t want as he is so big and has hound play style, ie he chases)…. So he is never off lead when other people/dogs are around

easy

people need to be a bit more sensible. I always assume nobody will like my dogs, and if they do, we’ll that is a bonus

Considering how many of these threads there are now you would think there were packs of out of control dogs roaming the streets attacking children.

I can’t believe people are suggesting my toddler was the one in the wrong for being knocked over while going for a walk or that I should carry treats for other people’s badly behaved dogs! Madness 🤪

Lazy, ineffectual dog owners are rife at the moment. Heartily sick of it.

YANBU. My dog is "high-spirited" and admittedly not very well trained as far as recall goes, but I would never allow him off-lead where he would interfere with unsuspecting people. It's inconsiderate.

However, some people are stupid and this will continue to be a problem, so the only way to effectively combat it is to have strategies ready to deal with it from your end, preferably not by kicking the poor dog, who simply doesn't know better. If you regularly have dogs approaching you in certain places, I'd either avoid those places or bring treats. In the long run, your child will be happier if they can learn to recognise a "friendly" dog and not panic when one approaches.

I have clearly said I wouldn’t want to kick a dog. I love animals and had a dog growing up, who was well trained/behaved.

It was jumping up into child’s buggy! I had to pull it off twice while shouting at the owner to come and get it!

Avoid those places? Literally every single nice place to go for a walk near where I live has dogs galore. So we should have to stay at home because people can’t train/control their dogs?

of course I encourage my older daughter not to be frightened and tell her the dog won’t hurt her but often they’re the same size as her! Who wouldn’t be frightened

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

it is good to get him to come to you (then put his lead on) & pay attention to you (your treat) if you see someone approaching, but both approaches work, so you can do a mix of the two. If you're happy with his behaviour until he pesters the person for food there's no need to change that (IMO)

best of luck, 🐾

Bringing dog treats to fend off unwanted approaches from loose dogs when going out for a walk is surely counterproductive? Won't it be achieving the opposite of what is required? Giving treats sends a message to the dog that running up to and barking at strangers is a rewarding and desirable activity! By giving treats you'd be training the dog to approach all strangers.

YANBU. I love dogs but was recently running through a park and a cockerpoo/labradoodle thing decided to chase me, snapping and growling at my heels. I stopped dead to try and put it off and it actually put it's mouth around my ankle and held on for a second. Not a bite but a firm grip. The owners were just laughing and didnt make any attempt to call it back. I told them it wasn't funny - that it could be scary for a child and they need to control their dog. They just brushed me off like I was being totally unreasonable and their cute little designerpoo dog 'Frodo' is an angel who's just playing. Granted it was hardly a ferocious breed, but that's not acceptable!

It sometimes gets much madder. I've actually seen it suggested on here that somebody get a dog of their own to stop other people's dogs approaching them.