God I am bored of dogs

[Orteul]

And they are everywhere. Obviously barking and shitting which is annoying anyway. But also running and shitting around every tiny bit of green space in cities so that no one else can use these places apart from dog owners. Even when you go to a pub or café half the time these days it's "dog friendly" (why do we all have to be fucking "friendly" btw? "Tolerant" I could at least understand). You can't escape the fucking things. At work we even have dullards cacking on about how they want "office dogs" - nightmare as far as I'm concerned and really if you're going to be accommodating people's personal life at work surely a fucking crèche would be a higher pissing priority. Pet dogs don't even do anything. They literally just exist so that people can have pet dogs. Why the fuck are they suddenly everywhere?

I agree op. I don’t get the increase in dogs and cats. I’m sure 30 years ago it was just dog lovers who actually had dogs. Now it seems almost every family has a dog, getting worse over lockdown too.

I’ve no problem with respectful and responsible dog owners but sadly there are many that aren’t.

I now have several friends who’s who uses I don’t go to anymore because I can’t stand their dogs jumping at me constantly. Both ‘lockdown’ dogs. I’ve got a beautiful walk through some field near my house that I do regularly and regularly I have dog jump up at me with nothing but smiles and chuckles from their owners. Highly
frustrating. No where near as annoying as cats though!!!! 😂

@Clarabe1 Thank you you for the false concern lol we’ll be okay don’t worry yourself too much. I feel the need to say ‘minging’ because that’s how I find dogs to be. It’s hardly neurotic for me to say I don’t like dogs and they are irritating. I think you’ve confused the meaning of that word with ‘opinion that varies hugely’ from your own.

Having had dogs previously and a child now it's easy to see why people equate the 2. The only difference being children grow up.

When small they sleep, preferably touching you, get fed, need cleaning up after, get into stuff they shouldn't, need attention, communicate without words , play silly games like the toes game etc etc

I love dogs (and have always cleared up their poop) but I'm not sure it's healthy how many people have them since lockdown. Dh is dog allergic so having dog friendly everywhere is a bit of a pain.

The more dogs the merrier!

Even dog poo left behind is preferable to the plastic rubbish, picnic and barbecue waste and human poo and dirty nappies left behind from humans on beaches/festivals etc.

No I don't particularly like children so I've chosen not to have any. Obviously family and friends children are different, but why would I be interested in someone's children in a restaurant for example?

You are not the only one, but it’s interesting that so many people’s defence of dog-related problems is that ‘humans/kids are worse’. Is that the best you have?

You shouldn’t have to be. And I would never in a million years have let my young kids wander up to strangers. I am well aware that my kids were only cute/interesting to me (and even they weren’t that 24/7..!)

It is just a shame that so many dog owners don’t afford me the same courtesy and let their pets come and jump up at me, nuzzle my shoes and bag etc.

If we all respected each other, these threads wouldn’t arise.

"had 4 dogs in my adult life, and they've all been rescues. Here is where I disagree with you, they do so much more than nothing. They bring challenges, joy, friendship and happiness. They also come with the biggest heartache when it is their time to go. They are looking for love and when they receive that, they provide you with loyalty and a look in their eyes that can't be described and a feeling that you've done something good in this shitty world - a world potentially a lot shitter for them.

It isn't any dog's fault. When people have issues with dogs, they need to remember that it is always the fault of a fellow human, whether that is due to greed, selfishness, neglect or pure violence"

So agree with this ! Anyones issues with dogs are in most cases directly or indirectly linked to what dog OWNERS are or are not doing - not the poor dog ! Look for the root cause people ... and you will find its mostly back to their human

If the anti dog people stopped exaggerating and trying their hardest to insult people and just said “is everyone else sick of humans who don’t train or control their dogs” everyone would be in agreement. Where’s the fun in being reasonable and rational though when you can call people and their pets names instead?

There are no bad dogs, only bad owners. I love to see them in our local pub; they are always so cute and well-behaved, in contrast with so many children we’ve seen shops, cafes etc. As for cats, if they are properly fed, few of them actually catch birds. The danger season is spring, when young birds are learning to fly. Keep the cat in. We live in the country, we feed the birds and our cat has never caught one. She has, however, caught a mouse and chased off a rat. Shakespeare referred to “ the harmless, necessary cat”.

Just opened up in my town, a cat café, what the hell!
I like dogs but understand that they are not for some. Dog owners should understand this not assume your dog will be welcomed everywhere.
Dogs should also be trained so that they can be left at home without becoming anxious and destructive. They are not a fashion accessory.

So many children can’t sit at a table to eat a meal with their family instead running around screaming like a restaurant is a play area You pay good money to have a meal out so it is nice to have it reasonably quiet My son has ADHDand was in Ritalin aged 8 but could sit quietly through out a meal Lots of dogs around here but as mostly elderly people who have trained their dogs

If the anti dog people stopped exaggerating and trying their hardest to insult people and just said “is everyone else sick of humans who don’t train or control their dogs” everyone would be in agreement.
Yes we would be in agreement and that is why we are "anti-dog" and would prefer to see less dogs in cafes, shops, restaurants because there are loads of bad dog owners and in my experience it is the bad dog owners that bring them in to these places because responsible experienced dog owners know they are not an ideal environment for them.
I am sick of people saying they aren't as bad as kids running around screaming, well I disagree a kid generally doesn't come up to you in a café and lick your feet or try to jump up on you with their mucky paws and I find dog barking harder to listen to then kids screaming. The fact that some dog owners even compare kids to dogs just shows where their mindset is at and explains why they treat them as children as opposed to a pet

I'm sure I’d be categorised as one of the ‘anti-dog’ faction because I’ve raised an objection to dog poo. But I actually like dogs and think they’re lovely- but I can’t get past the offensiveness of their excrement which does (despite the protests of dog owners) seem to feature a LOT in public places.

No one has commented on my observation about the gross residue left behind when people ‘clear up’ their dog’s poo. I see it on the pavement when I’m walking my daughter to school. We have an extremely short walk down a tiny stretch of pavement, and yet 9 times out of 10 there is some quantity of dog shit to dodge.

We live near a lovely park which has a large cafe, loads of picnic tables and a play area as well as a big field. Dogs are welcome - fine. But families use that field for frisbee, kites, cricket etc and there is definitely, definitely dog poo in it at any given time. I am paranoid about it, yes - because if my children get dog poo on them, that’s our day ruined. It’s home to shower. The same cannot be said of a wailing child (for those comparing the two) ; it might be annoying but it isn’t going to pose much of a health risk to your family.

I’ve personally witnessed a dog owner standing with her dog in the middle of that field but chatting to someone else and I watched the dog crap right there without the owner ‘noticing’ - and I was frustratingly too far away looking after toddlers to alert her. So off she swanned leaving that foul pile for me to then remember to dodge and try to warn people about for the rest of the afternoon.

Yes, it’s true that children can be annoying. Yes it’s true that, say, foxes and cats also poo - but dogs poo where children play. A lot. It’s an issue.

Well this is the crux of the issue, surely?

It's not dog, or cats, snakes, or goats, or children that are the problem. It's selfish, inconsiderate people.

The same people who park in blue badge bays and on pavements, who drop litter, who can't follow basic rules in society to keep things pleasant for all. Basically don't give a shit about anyone but themselves. Put themselves first at all costs and don't give a thought to their actions and their impact on others or the world.

They are the issue.

Just here to say I 100% agree with the OP. Pet ownership really feels to me like something we should have grown out of by now as a species. Especially dogs which are such gormless, charmless, potentially dangerous creatures. Even the best of them are just so incredibly limited and boring. Wild creatures are independent, inventive, have really interesting social structures. Domesticated creatures are just embarrassingly stunted to me. And live in public urban space shitting and pissing all over everything, barking all night when working people need to sleep etc. If there's one good consequence of the cost of living crisis, it will hopefully be fewer families able to waste their money on these antisocial, ugly, smelly creatures and thus fewer of them out and about as you just can't move for the bloody things at this point.

🙌

I’ve only read OP but yes!!

bloody dogs, why does everyone think I have to love their dog? I don’t love all their children even so why would I love their smelly hairy dogs??

Im so uninterested in people’s dogs. Much like nobody else gives a monkeys about my thrilling collection of hair bobbles or my woeful lack of socks without holes.

it’s your dog. I don’t care!! And get it away from me.

Yes I agree.

I just don’t understand the owners that think it’s ok for their dog to run at, lick and jump at people because he is ‘friendly’. It’s such a lack of understanding of boundaries. We should all respect each other’s personal space, humans or animals.

I agree with you, watching animals in nature, acting according to their instincts - sourcing their own food, water, shelter, relationships etc, made me decide to never get another pet again.

Pets live so unnaturally, you only have to observe wild animals to see it.

Sadly they wouldn’t all be in agreement. I’ve been on threads started with that premise, and you still get the silly dog apologists taking the thread as an attack on dogs and saying things like ‘rather dogs than children’ or ‘dog poo isn’t as bad as human poo’ and all that nonsense. You’d think we could all agree that no-one likes crap dog owners, but you’d be surprised.

I agree about inconsiderate dog owners - it's not actually the dog's fault, it's the owners letting them wander up to people, not clearing up after them etc.

I don't have a dog, I would love one but I live in a flat and although I have my own garden it's not big enough for a dog. I had a cat up until April this year and will get another but I know not everyone loved my cat in the same way as me so the garden was cat proofed to keep him safe and stop him annoying the neighbours.

As you say, it's all about respect

yep. Much prefer animals to people.

I’ve never seen a thread that didn’t start with people calling dogs and their owners names or completely exaggerating situations or scenarios. The hyperbole just means that any valid points are ignored.
I’ve been on a lot of dog threads. I Everything I say I do to ensure my dog doesn’t bother anyone is ignored because people just want to get their hilarious quips and digs in.

Completely agree!