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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Woman taking her phone for a walk this morning

203 replies

SmellyToilet · 01/08/2022 09:38

Just got back from walking the dog. At one point a woman emerged with her face buried in her phone … she also had a little dog on a retractable lead wandering around behind her. I was walking behind this woman for 20 minutes and I swear to god she never once looked up from her phone in all this time. She didn’t interact with nor even look at her dog once. The dog was more interested in us than her and as it was on a retractable lead it kept walking back towards us … this woman had literally no idea that her dog was bothering a fellow dog Walker (with a reactive dog). The dog had a shit, she didn’t notice. I honestly believe that if I’d gone to the dog, unclipped it’s lead and stole it she wouldn’t have even noticed until she got home.

What’s the point??!! AIBU to have been hoping she accidentally stood in a huge pile of horse shit so she actually started to pay attention to her surroundings?

OP posts:
NuffSaidSam · 01/08/2022 09:39

I would have told her about the poo. And about her dog bothering you.

balalake · 01/08/2022 09:40

She has an addiction.

billyt · 01/08/2022 09:41

You see this with pram pushers as well..... heaven forbid they actually talk to their child.

ps. I hope you pointed out that her dog had crapped. Or perhaps she ignores this because it's easier than picking it up.

And yes, I talk and interact with my dog when we go for walks/runs.

LunaLemon · 01/08/2022 09:42

Thing is, you never know if someone is a phone addict or waiting for bad news or something.

Someone once snapped at me for walking along with my phone. I was waiting for news of someone who was in hospital.

StopFeckingFaffing · 01/08/2022 09:44

I see this all the time and despite it being absolutely none of my business I do think it's really sad

A lot of people seem to have completely lost the ability to just walk along and take in their surroundings

RedHelenB · 01/08/2022 09:47

Other than not picking up the poo I think yabvu. The dog doesn't need reacting with, they're happy doing their own thing . It's not a baby, yabu.

Onlyforcake · 01/08/2022 09:49

Probably not her dog, foisted on her by dome favour she owed. The amount of locals trying to convince anyone at all to look after their "beloved" creature while they go away is pretty high. Why get a dog if you're just going to farm it off on others.

Original poster
SmellyToilet · 01/08/2022 09:52

RedHelenB · 01/08/2022 09:47

Other than not picking up the poo I think yabvu. The dog doesn't need reacting with, they're happy doing their own thing . It's not a baby, yabu.

Dogs do need interacting with on walks, the dog had no idea how to behave and was persistently bothering us. Would you think the same if it was a Rottweiler she was walking?

People need to be aware of their surroundings!! Especially when (supposedly) in control of an animal

OP posts:
Summerslam · 01/08/2022 09:53

I would have definitely pointed out that her dog had done a poo.

SirenSays · 01/08/2022 09:57

Did you say anything to her? Tell her the dog was persistently bothering you? Offer her a bag?

easyday · 01/08/2022 10:07

I don't interact with my dogs on walks - they are busy sniffing things and I'm kinda daydreaming as I walk them. But I'm aware of what they are doing and where they are.
I wouldn't take this as an indication she neglects the dog, just that she is not very attentive. If you see someone like that again be sure to speak up 'excuse me can you keep your dog away from mine' 'hey your dog has pooed here'.

TalkingToMyselfAgain · 01/08/2022 10:08

It's sad. I've seen people so obsessed with their mobiles that they don't look at their kids either

GoT1904 · 01/08/2022 10:10

LunaLemon · 01/08/2022 09:42

Thing is, you never know if someone is a phone addict or waiting for bad news or something.

Someone once snapped at me for walking along with my phone. I was waiting for news of someone who was in hospital.

This.

I didn't get snapped at, but got plenty of shitty looks. I was waiting to hear from my LD brother in hospital, updating my family and leaning on friends in messages.

HousePlantNeglect · 01/08/2022 10:15

billyt · 01/08/2022 09:41

You see this with pram pushers as well..... heaven forbid they actually talk to their child.

ps. I hope you pointed out that her dog had crapped. Or perhaps she ignores this because it's easier than picking it up.

And yes, I talk and interact with my dog when we go for walks/runs.

You see this with ‘pram pushers’ as you call us as, occasionally, we’ve had a bad day and have put a difficult baby in a pram precisely to entertain the baby while we have half an hour of peace and quiet.

OP it is annoying when people are unaware of their dog especially if yours is reactive or anxious.

DIMooney · 01/08/2022 10:20

I would say YABU as you don’t know anything about this person other than the 20 minutes you walked behind them. We all have no idea what’s going on in peoples lives to make these kind of judgements.
This goes for parents with kids too. Sometimes I can spend an entire morning paying absolute attention to my child, a walk is a break to just be and not have to interact.

What happened to ‘be kind’? The amount of energy we could save by focusing on ourselves and not things that are out of of our control and have absolutely no affect on our own lives.

However, you could’ve told her about the dog poo. I’m a dog owner and hate when people don’t pick up after their dog.

Wheredoestheblackfluffcomefrom · 01/08/2022 10:23

I saw this recently where the woman’s dog had ran out of the field and into traffic, cars came to a screeching halt, a driver shouted to her, she called the dog but didn’t end her call.

Maybeebebe · 01/08/2022 10:26

apart from the poo, theres nothing wrong with this

probably not her dog

catandcoffee · 01/08/2022 10:29

Didn't you tell her to pick her dogs shit up ?
that's the bit I'm interested in.

sunsetsandsandybeaches · 01/08/2022 10:29

As a dog walker myself, I don't judge people using their phones while out.

Lots of the dogs I walk genuinely have no interest in me once they're out walking, especially if they're on leads and just sniffing about. Anyone could be holding their leads, they're honestly not bothered and don't want or need any interaction.

Others need 100% of my engagement from the moment they leave the house. The point is, they're all different. You also don't know what the owner is going through or why they're in their phones.

Yes, by all means judge the lack control and the fact she didn't pick up the poo, but I see lots of owners like that who never touch their phones while out.

RockingMyFiftiesNot · 01/08/2022 10:31

Maybe she was on a work call and that was the only way she could walk her dog?
Or like me has an elderly relative who consumes all her spare time.

Shame you weren't as quick to tell her about the poo as you were to judge.

JenniferBarkley · 01/08/2022 10:33

billyt · 01/08/2022 09:41

You see this with pram pushers as well..... heaven forbid they actually talk to their child.

ps. I hope you pointed out that her dog had crapped. Or perhaps she ignores this because it's easier than picking it up.

And yes, I talk and interact with my dog when we go for walks/runs.

Christ.

When the baby/grumpy toddler is in the buggy that's the only time you get to actually use your phone, reply to messages, work emails or god forbid look at Twitter. Child happy as larry looking around, parent (let's face it, mother) getting ten minutes of head space.

Then, get to park, or get home, child out of buggy, interaction resumes. It's not a big deal. Stop judging people on a snapshot.

Original poster
SmellyToilet · 01/08/2022 10:35

DIMooney · 01/08/2022 10:20

I would say YABU as you don’t know anything about this person other than the 20 minutes you walked behind them. We all have no idea what’s going on in peoples lives to make these kind of judgements.
This goes for parents with kids too. Sometimes I can spend an entire morning paying absolute attention to my child, a walk is a break to just be and not have to interact.

What happened to ‘be kind’? The amount of energy we could save by focusing on ourselves and not things that are out of of our control and have absolutely no affect on our own lives.

However, you could’ve told her about the dog poo. I’m a dog owner and hate when people don’t pick up after their dog.

I would have loved to have focussed on myself and my own dog however I had concentrate on her dog too as I had to make sure it wasn’t going to get too close to mine!!

OP posts:
EmmaGrundyForPM · 01/08/2022 10:36

I don't usually look at my phone when I'm walking my dog, but we are in the middle of a very stressful house sale and I did answer the phone to our solicitor last week and talk to her on a dog walk. Ui was aware of where my dog was though, and would have dealt with it if he had done a poo!

TheVanguardSix · 01/08/2022 10:39

You just don't know what's going on there.
She could be waiting for her family member's test results/cancer confirmation to come back in.
She could be going through a terrible time in her marriage.
She may have a child going through a crisis.
She could just be an addict stuck on her phone, scrolling Etsy.
You just never know with people.

There's no excuse for the poo though (or retractable leads... the lazy owner's lead). That really grates when I see people leave a poo... especially when our local park has loads of poo bag dispensers and disposal bins for dog owners.
I get it if they've left the house without poo bags. It does happen. But usually, you leave your home without forgetting all your dog walking bits.
Dog owner here, if that matters.

Itdoesntreallymatter · 01/08/2022 10:40

I think the only thing that is your business is the fact she didn't clean up after her dog. That would annoy me, but interacting with her phone is nothing to do with you. As a pp has said, could be waiting on some important news. It is unlikely, but you just don't know, and I'm sure if you were in the same boat you wouldn't want to be judged either.