Page 7 | A plea to dog-owners

Dogsonleads · 2023-04-19T13:00:26+00:00

Please keep boisterous dogs on leads if you have no intention on controlling their behaviour When walking in woodland with my 10 year old DS this morning pre school (because we were ridiculously early), a fully grown and very boisterous Labrador jumped fully up and put his paws on my sons upper chest. very exited dog, barking, more jumping. Before I can react, my sons runs into my arms and the dog continues to jump, now onto my son’s back. At this stage the owner comes round the corner, the dog rubs off and I try to call out that this really is not acceptable. Calmly. I get a perfunctory sorry, the dog is being ignored, bounds back, jumps up my legs and manages to “Kiss me on the mouth”. Again, a perfunctory sorry and the owner walks away. Is this acceptable? (At this point I lost my calm 😞and shouted after them as I was upset at being brushed aside, no swear words though ) No attempt to reign in/ educate the dog? It has taken me probably 5 years to get my son comfortable around dogs, had this happened only 2 years ago he would have been in an all out panic. so my plea is to please please keep large dogs in sight if they have the tendency to jump, or at least try to mitigate situations that are difficult for others.

Lalavoom · 20/04/2023 14:41

VincentVaguer · 20/04/2023 10:42

You didn't say they jumped up which I agree can be annoying particularly if the dogs are muddy, you said they ran towards you. If a dog approaches you and the owner says it's friendly they are telling you that you've nothing to be scared of. Not sure why that annoys people so much.

Once my dog literally walked slowly over to a woman wagging his tail and she absolutely freaked out, waving her hands in the air, screaming at me to come and get him. Obviously I did and as I put him on the lead I said 'he's very friendly' and she said 'well I didn't know that' so I said well you do now. But tbh some people just don't care if a dog is friendly or not, they've talked themselves into believing all dogs are going to attack them, so even being reassured that a dog is perfectly harmless means nothing to them. Clearly she had some sort of phobia which must make living in a small village where 90% of the inhabitants have dogs very difficult for her.

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My original post did say that they jump up. We do get some who just come over to check us out which doesn’t bother us. My daughter is much better now and will ask owners if she can say hello when one has come up to us. My daughter will still step behind me if a dog comes over until she can see that it’s friendly but is so much better now. We once had a dog who came running from one end of a large field and jumped up on my daughters back. She didn’t have a clue what was going to happen as she was walking the other way and just hadn’t seen. That absolutely terrified her as it happened so fast. Suffice to say she ended up face first on the grass 🤦‍♀️.

my dog was a true gentlemen, never jumped up but was a bugger for food. If I didn’t have him on lead he would make a beeline for any picnics and was so clumsy he would probably would have trampled on people. His recall was also rubbish, he would eventually come back after a while once he got bored. He was a bit of a rarity though as wasn’t bothered by people and would just ignore them (unless they had food 🤣)

Thankfully, most dog owners are responsible but there is so many who aren’t. We got told once that if we didn’t want a dog to jump up then we shouldn’t use the field to go for a walk. Dead centre in the middle of the field is a huge, very popular play park!

StepAwayFromTheBiscuitJar · 20/04/2023 14:41

Well, at least you got a snog out of it. 🤭

x2boys · 20/04/2023 14:41

KateyCuckoo · 19/04/2023 14:19

Equally, please teach children not to approach my dog.

Indeed ,I have a very cute beagle ,who.I walk on a lead ,but she will jump up.if kids approach her and I do warn them doesn't stop them ,she wull.be happily minding her own business sniffing along and children Williams bounding up to.her.

seratoninmoonbeams · 20/04/2023 15:14

coffeeiswgatkeepsmesane · 19/04/2023 14:21

As a dog owner myself, off lead "friendly" dogs piss me off too. Sorry OP, I promise we're not all irresponsible.

True story. I think the same. Mine could be off the lead but she has zero interest in people and minimal in other dogs and good recall. I feel like this has got so much worse since lockdown and people buying dogs because they were bored and not knowing how to train them.

EverestMilton · 20/04/2023 15:16

faffadoodledo · 20/04/2023 14:37

If I see a horse approaching I always recall my Golden and he sits patiently while the rider passes. Would be nice to get a few more thank yous for our trouble. But I'm not risking my dog coming off worse with a clop round the head from a hoof, so I've trained him to sit and stare at me (waiting for a biccie) while the horse passes.

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Well that's great and to be fair I always smile and say thank you to the considerate dog owners. I don't mind dogs in general. It's the ones who don't have any control or don't seem to understand why there might be a problem I have issues with. Fat Cob is a dope on a rope most of the time but he's a big boy and if frightened he will just flatten anything in his way.

Mischance · 20/04/2023 15:21

Drives me nuts - I am disabled and walk with a stick - if I get knocked over I cannot get back up and am highly likely to break a bone.

I am sick of dogs on the loose.

UWhatNow · 20/04/2023 21:32

“Once my dog literally walked slowly over to a woman wagging his tail and she absolutely freaked out, waving her hands in the air, screaming at me to come and get him. Obviously I did and as I put him on the lead I said 'he's very friendly' and she said 'well I didn't know that' so I said well you do now. But tbh some people just don't care if a dog is friendly or not, they've talked themselves into believing all dogs are going to attack them, so even being reassured that a dog is perfectly harmless means nothing to them. Clearly she had some sort of phobia which must make living in a small village where 90% of the inhabitants have dogs very difficult for her.”

Do we all take besotted dog owners word for it then? What is ‘friendly’ to you might be a horrid experience for me. And of course you think that the animal should have all the freedom in that little scenario and not a woman out walking minding her own business and just wanting to be left alone… 🙄

Original poster

Dogsonleads · 20/04/2023 21:47

Saucery · 20/04/2023 06:51

Ikr. The thought that people are walking around with such hate in them is scary. Scarier than 99.999% of all dogs I’ve come across in my life.
There are people with illegal torture devices in their pockets firing them at random dogs in the street was a particular ‘highlight’ of this thread
MNHQ didn’t agree that causing an animal distress and pain for absolutely no reason apart from you don’t like that animal was an unacceptable thing to boast about on a parenting website where many families enjoy the company of dogs. That’s a bit worrying, but I suppose it depends on the view of the particular Mod

I tried to have the thread taken down for exactly this reason
wish I had never posted in the first place
so much vitriol on this thread

OP posts:

Mischance · 20/04/2023 21:51

UWhatNow · 20/04/2023 21:32

“Once my dog literally walked slowly over to a woman wagging his tail and she absolutely freaked out, waving her hands in the air, screaming at me to come and get him. Obviously I did and as I put him on the lead I said 'he's very friendly' and she said 'well I didn't know that' so I said well you do now. But tbh some people just don't care if a dog is friendly or not, they've talked themselves into believing all dogs are going to attack them, so even being reassured that a dog is perfectly harmless means nothing to them. Clearly she had some sort of phobia which must make living in a small village where 90% of the inhabitants have dogs very difficult for her.”

Do we all take besotted dog owners word for it then? What is ‘friendly’ to you might be a horrid experience for me. And of course you think that the animal should have all the freedom in that little scenario and not a woman out walking minding her own business and just wanting to be left alone… 🙄

ALL dog owners say "He's just being friendly." Even the ones with evil leg biters. Have you ever heard a dog owner say that their dog is horrible, bad-tempered and evil?! They all think their dogs are perfect.

Unfortunately a friendly dog wagging its tail can still be a problem to someone who is disabled or has balance problems as I do - a dog jumping up would cause me to fall, and whether it was wagging its tail or not would become irrelevant. Should I stay in doors maybe?

XelaM · 20/04/2023 21:53

Why is your son so dramatic about dogs?

XelaM · 20/04/2023 21:57

UWhatNow · 20/04/2023 21:32

“Once my dog literally walked slowly over to a woman wagging his tail and she absolutely freaked out, waving her hands in the air, screaming at me to come and get him. Obviously I did and as I put him on the lead I said 'he's very friendly' and she said 'well I didn't know that' so I said well you do now. But tbh some people just don't care if a dog is friendly or not, they've talked themselves into believing all dogs are going to attack them, so even being reassured that a dog is perfectly harmless means nothing to them. Clearly she had some sort of phobia which must make living in a small village where 90% of the inhabitants have dogs very difficult for her.”

Do we all take besotted dog owners word for it then? What is ‘friendly’ to you might be a horrid experience for me. And of course you think that the animal should have all the freedom in that little scenario and not a woman out walking minding her own business and just wanting to be left alone… 🙄

I would roll my eyes at you and the mad woman afraid of a tail-wagging little dog. i would definitely are more about my (toy breed friendly dog) than some weirdly anxious stranger 🤷‍♀️

XelaM · 20/04/2023 21:57

care more*

ItsHardknocklife · 20/04/2023 22:01

I have to large breed dogs and would never let them off lead to jump at anyone. I also make them sit before anyone strokes them Even tho they are the friendliest dogs ever but they are still young and can be hypo.

Bigbadmama · 20/04/2023 22:04

My 6 year old son was on a remote beach, we were about 200 yards away, and someone pulled up and let a large dog out of their car and let it run loose across the beach towards my son, barking. My husband picked up a large piece of driftwood and I asked him are you prepared to fight that dog if necessary....he was.....
The people in the car said "oh he only wanted to play...."

Original poster

Dogsonleads · 20/04/2023 22:08

XelaM · 20/04/2023 21:53

Why is your son so dramatic about dogs?

Born that way
has taken me years, and a very friendly neighbourly dog, to get used to them

OP posts:

Orangebadger · 20/04/2023 22:11

I have a very friendly, enthusiastic 6 month old medium dog breed. It's exactly her over enthusiasm for other dogs and people, especially kids that she remains on the lead! I love dogs and am happy to say hello to them if they come my way but I totally understand that not everyone/ or every dog feels that way about mine! Until she had calmed down and her recall is better she will stay on the lead. We're not all complete wankers!

nomoredriving · 21/04/2023 03:37

Mischance · 20/04/2023 15:21

Drives me nuts - I am disabled and walk with a stick - if I get knocked over I cannot get back up and am highly likely to break a bone.

I am sick of dogs on the loose.

How many times have you been knocked over by a dog?

LadyGrinningSoul85 · 21/04/2023 03:49

KateyCuckoo · 19/04/2023 14:19

Equally, please teach children not to approach my dog.

My kids wouldn't want to go anywhere near your dog, neither would I.
It would be lovely if I could take my kids to the local park without a feck ton of dogs off lead running around, up to them and just basically being a bloody nuisance though.

I have always stood by my often voiced opinion that a lot of dog owners are weird and obsessive.
Dare try to tell them to keep their mutt away and you get abuse and they have this weird ability to compare their dogs to kids every time anything like this come up, as evidenced by the person I've quoted.

Your dog isn't comparible to children, kids don't need to be linked in every discussion that happens to be anti dog.

I don't even understand why people own dogs, they're utterly vile, and that's my personal opinion that I have no issue standing by.

EmmaGrundyForPM · 21/04/2023 04:39

greenacrylicpaint · 19/04/2023 14:25

another plea: it's bird nesting season. don't let your dog off lead in open grassland and woodlands until mid june.

it's actually illegal to have dogs off lead in Open Access land from 01sr March to 31st July, because of ground nesting birds

HappiestSleeping · 21/04/2023 05:02

carriedout · 19/04/2023 14:29

I'm sick of bad dog/owner behaviour and I think it is time for people to start campaigning for dog bans in more places. Many places that were previously dog free now let them in, and those places have been made much less pleasant as a result.

We need some separation back.

I'm a dog owner, but I agree with this. When did it become a thing to be able to take dogs everywhere? I wouldn't dream of taking mine into M&S, or to a restaurant (pubs are different).

Definitely the owners let their dogs down by lack of training.

NewMarmalade · 21/04/2023 05:31

Orangebadger · 20/04/2023 22:11

I have a very friendly, enthusiastic 6 month old medium dog breed. It's exactly her over enthusiasm for other dogs and people, especially kids that she remains on the lead! I love dogs and am happy to say hello to them if they come my way but I totally understand that not everyone/ or every dog feels that way about mine! Until she had calmed down and her recall is better she will stay on the lead. We're not all complete wankers!

Owners like you stop me from despairing. Your dog is lucky to have you.

NewMarmalade · 21/04/2023 05:35

nomoredriving · 21/04/2023 03:37

How many times have you been knocked over by a dog?

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This kind of response is concerning. Why do you and others seek to dismiss people’s experiences? If someone has a picnic ruined once or a disabled person is knocked over once, why is that not enough for you? If it happens to quite a lot of people even once, that’s unacceptable.

This line of questioning from people like you is weird. A responsible owner would say, ‘that’s awful. I would never let my dog do that’. Not dismiss and minimise it like you have just done.

XelaM · 21/04/2023 06:15

LadyGrinningSoul85 · 21/04/2023 03:49

My kids wouldn't want to go anywhere near your dog, neither would I.
It would be lovely if I could take my kids to the local park without a feck ton of dogs off lead running around, up to them and just basically being a bloody nuisance though.

I have always stood by my often voiced opinion that a lot of dog owners are weird and obsessive.
Dare try to tell them to keep their mutt away and you get abuse and they have this weird ability to compare their dogs to kids every time anything like this come up, as evidenced by the person I've quoted.

Your dog isn't comparible to children, kids don't need to be linked in every discussion that happens to be anti dog.

I don't even understand why people own dogs, they're utterly vile, and that's my personal opinion that I have no issue standing by.

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What a vile attitude. My dog definitely trumps other people's (usually badly brought-up) kids in my world.🤷‍♀️

It's also sad for your kids to grow up with a dog-hating parent. People who hate animals have something wrong with them.

greenacrylicpaint · 21/04/2023 06:22

it's actually illegal to have dogs off lead in Open Access land from 01sr March to 31st July, because of ground nesting birds

how many dog owners ignore that?
either because they don't know or don't care?

greenacrylicpaint · 21/04/2023 06:25

What a vile attitude. My dog definitely trumps other people's (usually badly brought-up) kids in my world.🤷‍♀️

It's also sad for your kids to grow up with a dog-hating parent. People who hate animals have something wrong with them.

rather proves the point, doesn't it.