To be pissed off with useless dog owners??

[Sapphire387]

This week so far:

One dog on a beach knocked my stepdaughter over in order to grab a sausage roll out of her hand. Owner came up far, far too late, to be fair he tried to offer us money to replace the food. I did say it wasn't really about the money, the dog had knocked her over (she's nine).

One dog ran up to us in a field and pissed all over my mum's bag (it was on the floor; we had stopped walking briefly). Owner not paying attention so I called him over and told him what his dog had done and he said it wasn't his fault so I told him he should keep his bloody dog under control.

I'm not a dog owner. I neither particularly like or dislike dogs. But AIBU to think that people should train their dogs out of this sort of stuff, and if they can't, they keep them on a lead? It is NOT ok to just let your dog be a nuisance to other people.

I think there are so many of these threads cos it's fucking annoying. I like dogs; have no issue with dogs fussing about me when i go to friends' houses; would have one if we had the lifestyle to accommodate one, but they do impact on other people.

I had a dc who had food snatched out of their hand when v small. Took ages for them to get over the fear.

As a runner, I often have dogs off lead run up to me. In fact yesterday, I had 2. Both belonging to a couple with another 2 dogs. I stood still, because I'm always worried they'll chase me if I continue running, then the bastard thing tried to jump up. Yes, I got that it was being friendly this time and meant me no harm, but I want to be able to make that choice myself, not have someone else's dog make it for me, while the owners smile and call ineffectually to it.

I'm not a big dog fan and bad things have happened to me because of dogs, however these incidents are so rare it doesn't affect my life much, it's unfortunate those two incidents happened so close together op. Dog shit does bother me greatly however

And I suspect like many other things

Crazy brides, dickhead husbands , various celebrities, how to diet

And like all those things the threads will continue until the problem is sorted

Which could include enforced training for all dog owners or all dogs on leads in public places

I totally believe this and why wouldn’t anyone.

There is a certain kind of dog owners /lovers that are in denial or determined to push only good PR for pooches, so they feign denial at these everyday occurrences.

for those apparently sceptical - these kind of incidents don’t make the news and it’s not necessarily something everyone would think to ring a friend about so that’s maybe why you’re not “hearing about it”. The only dog related incident I shared with a couple of close friends was when a neighbours poorly trained dog ran and leapt at me despite me saying I wasn’t comfortable around dogs I don’t know.

The routine unwanted sniffs and licks , picnic disruptions and loud barking in cafes is annoying but not something many would go out of my way to text a friend about or share in a workplace unless the topic came up.

I manage to usually avoid unwanted contact because the minute I see a dog I give it a wide berth and even cross the road. But I wish I could just walk without being hyper vigilant for dogs and dog poo. This is why I hate dogs on trains, I feel trapped. Had one which sat in front of me with its owner poking their head under the seat at me last time, I was on edge and had to keep an eye on them the whole journey.

I bumped into someone with the same dog as mine at the local farmer's market - her dog took a hotdog out of a child's hand - I was really embarrassed by her response, her instinctive reaction was to try to defend her dog. I excused myself - her reaction made me feel very uncomfortable. Later she joined us at the pub where she said she was so embarrassed and upset about what her dog had done - her initial reaction did not suggest she was taking any responsibility, it was all about minimising the incident - people are bloody weird.

It’s the dog owners more interested in their phone than their dog that piss me off. Complete gormless idiots (far too many of them around here where I live)

I don’t have a dog. But if my dog or child did that I would apologise profusely and buy another hot dog. A genuine apology goes a long way. I agree that her reaction at the time was dreadful.

Dogs can be annoying.
Kids can be annoying.
Adults can be annoying.
The weather can be annoying.
Work can be annoying.
Holidays can be annoying ad infinitum.
There are two types of people. Those that let everything irritate them. They moan, get bitter and are generally more annoying than the annoying thing. And those that accept that life is imperfect and annoying shite happens and roll with it.

You are joking?

I think I sense a joke there @FairAcre

I have dogs and stuff like this pisses me off. I’ve seen several incidences of dogs stealing food off picnics and the owners thinking it’s hilarious and expecting the person that’s just had their dinner slobbered over to find it funny too.

Dogs should not be off lead EVER!!!! too many bad dog owners around and things like this is commonplace.

I always think these threads tend to be split by where you live.

If you live in more built up areas you probably do tend to think dogs should always be on leads because you are imagining an environment where the dog may encounter other people. And probably do see/experience quite a lot of dog and human interaction (good and bad).

If you don't, you won't. I live in a village surrounded by fields which public foothpaths everywhere and very few other people. The idea a dog needs to be on the lead always in that environment, is alien to me. He needs to be under control - sure - but we could genuinely walk for about 6 miles and never see another person (or livestock, for that matter).

I've run locally and never been bothered by another dog - because the chances of even seeing one in the village at the same time that I am out running are pretty slim.

And because I have all that space, on the occasions I do go somewhere more populated, I just don't take the dog - who is unused to crowds, anyway.

I don't think it helps either side to accuse the other of lying.

Say you go for a family picnic on a rare sunny day. And a dog runs through the food, spilling food and drink and making some of the food inedible. Is the person who is irritated by that, more annoying than the owner who couldn’t control their dog?

Just trying to clarify what you are saying so I fully understand trite dog-person-logic.

Some popular beaches allow dogs all year round- I can think of 5 of the top of my head in the fashionable bit of north Cornwall. Lifeguarded beaches with the usual cafe/ice cream van/loo etc.

Yes I get that. We live in London and are fed up with dogs crowding into tiny urban cafes. My husband has stopped running in Hyde park as dogs chase and nip him and get in his way. He likes dogs. I can see country fields are a different situation entirely.

We live in London and are fed up with dogs crowding into tiny urban cafes. My husband has stopped running in Hyde park as dogs chase and nip him and get in his way. He likes dogs. I can see country fields are a different situation entirely.

I used to live near/walk on Hampstead Heath and there were loads of dogs being walked on there back than. This was 20 years ago now, so I can well imagine there are even more dogs now and that the standard of their behaviour has deteriorated since then!

I think popular parks like that require quite an exceptional dog to cope with them - dogs would rarely choose to be so surrounded by people and dogs they don't know.

I think that's likely very true. We walked 10 km on Bank Holiday Monday with pup off lead for 90% and saw 5 people in that entire time - 3 cyclists and a couple with a dog.

In the past two years of dog walking every day I've only ever had one dog come up to me and jump up. A young beagle, my pocket was full of treats and the owners were very apologetic.

100% yes. Mine does.

Just wanted to point out that the majority of dog owners get pissed off with these irresponsible cocks as well. My dog I'd absolutely the type who would piss on someone's wheelchair or steal and sausage roll from a child, so you know what I do? I keep her on a bloody lead in public places.

No. But I tend not to get annoyed by small stuff. I have had a shockingly few hard years (decades) of ill health and try and roll with life. In that scenario I would be annoyed while it happened and then move on in about 1 minute. Not write about it a day later. Especially when the topic has been done to death.

I think the issue is that in the past, most people who had dogs were dog people and knew how to look after them properly. Yes you had the odd dog running loose but on the whole their owners knew about doggie things.

Now, you have a load of people who have them as a sort of status symbol but don't want to put the effort into training them properly, as well as simple entitlement.

Dogs shouldn’t have to be annoying to people. It’s entirely preventable.

…but I’m guessing you’re the sort of person who doesn’t give a shit about how annoying your dog is to others eh? It’s their own fault for not ‘rolling with it’. Nice 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

YANBU. I am a dog owner. I love dogs. But the number of badly behaved dogs in public seems to be at an all time high. Having lived in quite a few other countries, I would say that the problem is especially pronounced in the U.K. So many people seem to have an unrealistic idea of their dogs' recall and impulse control, then shrug their shoulders in a "what can you do" sort of way. You can train your dogs, that's what you can do. If you're not willing to do that, put them on a lead. And even if they're on a lead, don't allow them in sniffing distance of the general public.

In the interest of full disclosure, my current dog once snatched a piece of pizza from a child's hand. I wasn't there at the time, so I can blame DH for not being properly attentive. But these things certainly happen, and dog owners absolutely need to be vigilant and control their dogs.

YANBU. I don’t mind dogs but have a terribly phobic DD, she’s terrified of them to the extent she’d rather jump into a road than be faced with one. Dogs off their lead are her worst nightmare, particularly ones who aren’t well controlled which seems to be all too common. Far too often dogs will bound over to us and my DD (12 and 5 ft 4 so not tiny!) will jump on DH or me to avoid it. It’s making her phobia much worse but owners usually shrug it off and reassure us their dogs ‘mean no harm’ or ‘won’t hurt you’. I’m sure they won’t but my DD is petrified of them all the same and doesn’t want them jumping at her!

I’m also a runner and dogs jump at me quite a bit. I’ve almost tripped over smaller dogs a few times now and again, owners dismiss it as cute or amusing in some way. It wouldn’t be cute if I accidentally kicked and harmed their dog.

How many kids, adults, jobs and weather phenomenon shit on the pavement, piss on bags, clothes and wheelchairs, nick food from strangers and jump up on people all stinky and muddy clawed?