To expect people to stop their dog jumping up at me?

[NevertooearlyforGin]

I enjoy walking at our local beauty spot which is a very large forest and heath area, it’s very popular with dog walkers. The problem is I really don’t like large dogs running up to me and jumping up at me which seems to happen most times I go, usually the dog owner is some distance behind so they can’t see their dog jumping up at me.

This happened again today, and a large dog and two smaller ones ran up to me and jumped up, the big ones paws reached my armpits. For context I was attacked by an Alsatian at the age of 9 in our local park, I don’t assume all dogs are aggressive but I am nervous around large dogs.

Today I plucked up the courage to say something to the owner, I asked him to stop his dog jumping up at me because I am scared of large dogs. He was very arrogant and laughed at me and said then I’d ‘come to the wrong place.’ As if the countryside exists for dog owners and nobody else and I was being ridiculous expecting him to control his pets.

The area is managed through grazing by the local forestry commission (usually hardy breeds of ponies, sheep and cows), there are frequent incidents of animals being worried and often mauled by dogs, I’ve seen this happen and there are signs saying that animals that don’t have a string recall should be kept on leads.

AIBU?

[YellowTreeHouse]

YANBU but dog owners are entitled and rude and think everyone loves their mutt.

[Ilikewinter]

Yes there seems to be an ever growing issue with dog owners and off lead dogs.....and i am a dog owner!. People dont have full recall of their dogs and really dont seem to give two hoots...and im sick of people saying 'oh my dogs friendly' when they come bounding upto you....your dog might be friendly but mines anxious and doesnt need your dog steaming upto him.
Well done saying something OP.

[notforonesecond]

Ugh some moron with three French bulldog looking things - off-lead, no collars - had a go at me today for suggesting he might want to have them on leads when they jumped up at my kids and totally ignored him calling them off. He had to physically grab one of them to pull it away from us.

Apparently “she’s only a puppy” and “well you’re going to get this if you bring kids somewhere with dogs” ….what? Like the duck pond at a park? Give over.

His parting shot of “put your kids on a lead” was utterly insane too. They were stood still when the dogs came running up!

Which is a long winded way of saying: I feel your pain. I know lots of dog owners are good but so many are fucking idiots these days. It’s infuriating.

[AllThingsServeTheBeam]

@YellowTreeHouse

YANBU but dog owners are entitled and rude and think everyone loves their mutt.

Well that there is total bullshit isn't it??

You're not being unreasonable op SOME dog owners are just twats. If dogs can't be recalled they shouldn't be off

[Ilikewinter]

@YellowTreeHouse

YANBU but dog owners are entitled and rude and think everyone loves their mutt.

Actually im not entitled and rude thank you.

[threegoodthings]

@YellowTreeHouse

YANBU but dog owners are entitled and rude and think everyone loves their mutt.

This.

[LordMooey]

Yanbu. It's infuriating.

[Stellaris22]

@YellowTreeHouse

YANBU but dog owners are entitled and rude and think everyone loves their mutt.

I have a dog who I recall and don't let her jump up or bother anyone.

Another weekend and another dog bashing thread.

[PeppaPigWorld]

YANBU

I'm response to a pp, SOME dog owners are entitled and rude. Some are not. Unfortunately there are a lot of people who don't keep their dogs under control or put in the time to train them properly.

Of course people should be able to go for a walk without a dog jumping all over them.

[Pumpkin20222]

Horrible, if he does not have his dogs completely under control they should not be off the lead. Even if a dog is under control the owner should put it on a lead if any one is uncomfy. I have dogs and they are well behaved. Like another poster here noted, I have also noticed many more out of control dogs over the last decade.

[TheVeryThing]

God that sounds so annoying. I have an excitable dog who loves jumping on people. The only time she is off lead is in our garden and when we hire
a local field for an hour.
It can be a difficult habit to get rid of but there is no excuse for allowing your dog to do it to strangers.

[threegoodthings]

@Stellaris22

I have a dog who I recall and don't let her jump up or bother anyone.

Another weekend and another dog bashing thread.

Good for you. Unfortunately there are enough horrid dog owners out there to give everybody else a bad name. Get annoyed with them, not people who don't want dogs jumping up at them.

[Brechdanjamcaws]

Happened to me while pregnant. Big black dog, zero recall, tore my leggings scratched my leg. Owner saw what happened but said nothing. I’d have been mortified if my dog jumped up on someone.

[FlorettaB]

’signs saying that animals that don’t have a strong recall should be kept on leads’

I’d say that to dog walkers. If they can’t keep their dog from jumping at a person they don’t have ‘strong recall.’ Their dogs should be on lead. Mine wouldn’t be able to resist trying to chase cows or sheep which is why she’s never off lead around them. Unfortunately some people are arseholes.

Do you keep your arms down at your sides? If you raise your arms - an instinctive reaction if you’re fearful of dogs - it can make dogs more likely to jump up.

[reigatecastle]

@YellowTreeHouse

YANBU but dog owners are entitled and rude and think everyone loves their mutt.

Exactly this.

The other day I was running down my local canal and an elderly lady was walking along with her off-lead dog. he was all over the place. I stopped and smiled, hoping she'd get hold of him. But she didn't. First I got "he's ok, he's just chasing squirrels" and then he jumped up at me and I got "oh he just thought you were friendly". Er no. I am not.

You'd think it would be common sense to keep your dog on a short lead if you can't keep it under control Especially along a a canal towpath with water. But nope.

(to be fair, a day or so before I'd been out running with a similar scenario and the male owner did get hold of his dog and apologised for it wanting to chase me, so some owners are considerate - but an increasing number are not)

[reigatecastle]

And sadly our local council has done away with its dog warden. Otherwise I'd have taken a photo of dog and owner and reported her.

It makes SUCH a lot of sense to get rid of dog wardens when there is increasing dog ownership.

[reigatecastle]

@Stellaris22

I have a dog who I recall and don't let her jump up or bother anyone.

Another weekend and another dog bashing thread.

Good, we want more owners like you.
Sadly we are getting more owners who think it's ok for their dogs to hassle people.

[Odile13]

I agree OP. I go walking around a local lake. There is a man who walks his big dog without a lead. The dog jumped up and put his paws on me while I was carrying DD in a baby carrier, which I really didn’t like. Another time the dog jumped up at my elderly mum. The owner says nothing - no apology - and just walks on by. No doubt he thinks he controls his dog well without a lead, but he simply doesn’t.

[Thebestwaytoscareatory]

Yanbu 100%.

I grew up with dogs and got my own as soon as I was able too, so have been around dogs and dog people all my life.

Over the last few years the amount of people who really shouldn't have been allowed to own a dog has skyrocketed.

I'm fucking sick of irresponsible owners whose dogs have zero recall ability being off lead in public. I'd fully support some sort of license being mandatory for all dog owners.

[reigatecastle]

Like another poster here noted, I have also noticed many more out of control dogs over the last decade

Where I am, it's not over the last decade, it's only the last few weeks/months. I can only surmise that more people have got dogs they don't know how to train, and maybe elderly people who had dogs they could control have emerged since the covid lockdown having forgotten how to deal with them outside. But it's not always elderly people - it is all age groups.

[Newuser82]

I recently had an altercation with a man when I was out with my son riding our horses. He had two off lead dogs who were running very close to my sons ponys back legs. I asked him politely if he would watch i his dog as the pony will kick out if a dog is too close to his back feet. He got very aggressive and said that we shouldn't have the horses in public if we couldn't control them. When in fact it was his dogs who were running round wildly and should have been put on the lead around the horses.

I also hate it when peoples off lead dogs are running and jumping at my kids, especially the three year old as many are just at face height and obviously you never know their temperaments. And I say this as a lifetime dog owner and someone who has worked all their working life with dogs. People are irresponsible sometimes!

[AllThingsServeTheBeam]

@threegoodthings

Good for you. Unfortunately there are enough horrid dog owners out there to give everybody else a bad name. Get annoyed with them, not people who don't want dogs jumping up at them.

Nah. I can get annoyed with people tarring me with the same brush.

[NevertooearlyforGin]

Sorry this happened to you, I’ve had situations like this with my kids too, my eldest is autistic and dogs always seem to come and lick his face which he really can’t bear! It seems that some dog owners think it’s totally unreasonable to expect them to control their pet!

[FlorettaB]

’He got very aggressive and said that we shouldn't have the horses in public if we couldn't control them’

The irony!

[GloriousGlory]

@YellowTreeHouse

YANBU but dog owners are entitled and rude and think everyone loves their mutt.

Oh course, all of them, it one decent owner anywhere!

Ridiculous statements like that, means you're not worth taking any notice off.