Why are some dog owners so bloody selfish

[goldenmarshmallow]

Sorry- rant incoming.

I am sick to the back TEETH of some dog owners who think it’s acceptable to put their dog with no recall or training off the lead and to let it run up to anyone and everyone.

I have a golden who is generally good with dogs but gets very boisterous and excitable with some, which comes out as her being reactive. She doesn’t bite or show any aggression but she bounces and growls and tries to rough play. We’re doing training atm to work on her reactiveness and recall. She gets off lead time with other dogs that we know she gets on with (friends/family) but only in our family’s land/hired dog fields etc so she’s not off lead around the public as her recall isn’t reliable. I don’t let her meet other dogs on walks as she is too unpredictable. So, I keep her on the lead away from dogs we don’t know. But I am so sick of dogs off the lead approaching her, usually with the owner making a half hearted attempt to call the dog back but it just completely ignores them. I shout over ‘can you get your dog away from my dog because she isn’t always friendly!’ to which they usually say, oh he just wants to say hello! Or, don’t worry he’s good with all dogs! I don’t give a shit if your dog wants to say hello, move it away from mine before she barks/growls/lunges and frightens your dog and you start having a go at me

there’s nothing wrong with off lead dogs with good recall, and some dogs come back as soon as they are called which is fantastic, but WHY on earth are some people so bloody selfish? If your dog won’t respond when you call it back, put it on a lead FGS! She’s also scared of some dogs and responds by trying to hide behind me- again, I’ll shout over to the owners that my dog is scared and can they collect their dogs but nope, it’s always just oh don’t worry he’s friendly!

bloody sick of it.

This happened to me today. My dog isn't aggressive but generally doesn't like being approached by off-lead dogs when he's on lead, he'll turn his head away and try to pretend it's not happening. Today a woman's dog became obsessed with him and started walking alongside us and totally ignored her when she called it back. We tried to guide our dog away but the other dog was stuck to us. In the end she had to ask us to stop walking so she could catch up to us and grab hold of her dog by its harness!

I’ll repeat my post to you, since you clearly couldn’t read it.

um, did you not read my OP? I’ve had dogs for decades. I am experienced. She is fully trained. She is socialised. Unfortunately she was attacked by an off lead disobedient dog and is now reactive. She is now being retrained. But sure, blame me.

and FYI- I never said there was a problem with dogs being off the lead. As long as your dog has good recall, then it can be off the lead anywhere. That’s perfectly fine. If it doesn’t have good recall then it shouldn’t be off the lead anywhere in public.

You don’t get it

we walk our dogs in fields so they can socialise with other dogs that’s the whole point!!!!

Good to see dog owners calling this out. UK legislation actually states dogs must be under control at all times. If they are jumping on strangers that is out of control. My neighbour had a nerve to tell me she wouldn’t put her out of control dog on a leash after it jumped up on me. I said lead or not lead just make sure your dog doesn’t jump on me, it’s not up for debate! The entitlement is staggering, she seems to thinks I should just let her dog jump all over me. I reported it to building warden informally but if it happens again I’ll escalate it.

Agree with the poster who said it’s best to shout directly at the dog so it’s clear you’re not up for their ‘hello’ . That’s what I’ll be doing next time.

Ok, but we’re not talking about dog fields? We’re talking about public parks, residential areas, public areas.

you’ve still not responded to the points I raised to you btw.

This does not preclude on-lead dogs.

Also just because a dog is off-leash does not mean they want to socialise, mine would be a case in point about 90% of the time. They are also entitled to be off-leash and not have to put up with dogs who do want to socialise.

HNRTFT but jeez. Nothing like a dog thread to bring outrage to Mumsnet.
(says owner of 17 year old Jack Russell)

So you're entitled to let your dog socialise with whoever it takes a fancy to and the dog/people on the recieving end don't get a say because it's what you want to do?
Ok then 🤷🏼‍♀️

💯my girl is always on lead because I don't want her to get the blame for anything that happens when off lead dogs come up to her. I particularly hate when she gets crowded by a group of dogs, usually with a professional dog walker. I know its my choice having such a big dog, but if people could keep their dogs under control it would make things safer for everyone. Your dog doesn't need to greet every other dog it meets. And I do try to walk in quiet places so I don't inconvenience other people 🤗

I'm actually laughing out loud at this.

We didn't choose the Akita. She chose us, when we went to a rescue. They're not an aggressive breed, as anybody who actually knows anything about them would tell you (as opposed to folk like you, who take their dog advice from the Daily Mail).

You're the one judging people for having their dogs on leads. We never take our dogs anywhere where off-leash dogs are allowed; it's folk who believe that because a dog's on a lead, it must be badly-behaved (as you do) that cause the problem by ignoring that and letting their poorly-trained dogs hassle and attack ours. That's how you create a reactive dog, it doesn't just magically happen by breed.

Try reading a bit more closely and making snap-judgements a little less next time, eh?

It's not a normal reaction for a dog to react badly to other dogs bounding over - well trained dogs recognise that it’s play

And if they don't want to play? And how come the dog bounding over can't recognise that a dog is otherwise occupied?

🙄🙄

And as for "It's not a normal reaction for a dog to react badly to other dogs bounding over - well trained dogs recognise that it’s play" - when they're circling, baring their teeth, growling and snapping...that's not "play". That's straight-up aggression.

Besides, as has been noted - yes, there are signals for play, but there are also well-documented canine signals for "not interested, please go away". Your notional "well-trained dogs" who are off-leash should also recognise that, and walk away.

Somewhat amazingly, they never seem to...

YANBU and having similar issues with my dog. She was in season a few weeks back so I kept her on the lead, a male dog approached her clearly very ‘interested’ so I called to the owner that she was in season and could he call his dog away please. He just made some joke like ‘wahey, looks like Buster is in for a good time’ 😡 and carried on letting him sniff about as I dragged my dog away.

This is what boils my blood. It's one thing to find it annoying that dogs are approaching other dogs, but I find it so annoying how many dogs are left bounding up to my young kids at the call of "he's fine, only saying hi". Well I don't care, I just care about a dog jumping up and being in the face of my children.

Dog owners are entitled. They act like their dogs are offspring and free to use any piece of grass like their own garden. No, your dogs aren't precious, they're annoying and a potential risk.

YANBU - I'm very comfortable with dogs but have still been knocked to the ground twice in the last year or so. I'm not elderly or unsteady on my feet but I've got back problems and a simple fall from a dog can really cause me issues. We have a huge dog field in our town so dog owners have loads of space to walk their dogs so I don't understand why they think it's ok to let dogs without excellent recall walk in areas where there are other people.

This obviously only applies to the selfish dog owners!

Sounds like your dog is the problem

YANBU

Some odd comments by other dog owners on here 🙄

My dog is also reactive and can be anxious. She does have good recall though so I do let her off lead on certain parts of our walks where its appropriate. But will call her over and put her back on her lead if we see another dog coming. So the dog owners see me put her on the lead, but yet still let their dogs run over and then do nothing when they hear her whimpering or crying.

According to some on here though they think they've somehow trained their dog better because their dog has an easygoing tempermant and no anxiety issues, even though they've not managed to train them any recall at all.

How exactly does it sounds like OPs dog is the problem, when they have it under full control 🤔

We know an Akita. Absolutely massive dog. Total sweetheart. Im sure she could be aggressive by nature but she's well trained and just lovely.

You don’t get it

we walk our dogs in fields so they can socialise with other dogs that’s the whole point!!!!

Nope I think you don't get it. Fine when everyone agrees they want to socialise but not everyone does and it should not be imposed on them. If a dog is not on a lead it means it is not there to socialise.

Same way people walking or running do not always want your dog's mud and nose snot all over them.

This topic honestly boils my blood.
I'm really short, just under 5 foot tall and throughout my life have had issues with dogs coming running and jumping up at me, some large and strong enough to knock me over. I've also come away on many am occasion with dirty trousers and scratches on my legs.

The my dog is just friendly statement drives me bonkers. He may well be, but he has bloody hurt me. Grrr.

Many of my local walks are along a shared path where dogs aren’t supposed to be off lead unless they under close control, so no, I won’t stay away from those areas 🙄.
I don’t actually care if other dogs are off their lead. Mine isn’t because horses (she loves them, but they aren’t going to know that), cyclists (fair proportion would just cycle right over a dog, the nice ones don’t deserve to have to swerve a sniffy Lab) and people without dogs (why should my dog be allowed to be a nuisance to others) also use that path.
I do mind the ones who have no manners or recall. I let my dog have the length of her lead so her reactions aren’t stifled. The decent owners recognise a play bark and bouncy enthusiasm. The crap ones shriek “Ooooh, come away, Fluffy!” and I don’t bother trying to explain Frustrated Greeting because they plainly don’t understand dog training and socialisation.

I tend to find it's not so much the dogs that are tethered/ untethered but the actual owners who seem to have biggest issue. A lot of dog owners are passing their own anxieties on to their dogs, my lurcher reacts a lot worse on the lead because she feels constricted, she wasn't too good around other dogs to begin with, l joined other walkers who walked round a nearby lake, all different types of dogs, all off lead and that was how she lost her fear, trying to keep your dog separate constantly from other dogs causes more harm than good, we have lots of angry sour faced dog walkers over local park constantly moaning 're off lead dogs, these owners make it a misery for everyone, and should stick to owning a cat.

It’s bad owners and bad training and a huge sense of entitlement

Wild lack of self awareness here!