It's an off lead dog one.

[Maluki]

I walk my dog in the local park every day. There are sections where he is on lead and sections where I let him off. He is extremely used to people and dogs and generally very well behaved.

As we arrive at the park I always let him off lead and he does a poo. This is on a field area beside a path.

Today he did his poo in the field about 6 feet off the path as usual. I noticed a man in a suit approaching along the path. My dog then went back on to the path to wait for me and I leaned down to pick up the poo.

Very very unusually, my dog started to bark - he barked 4 or 5 times - and I saw he was now behind the man (who had walked past him). I was about to apologize, my dog almost never barks at people (he sometimes barks at really unusual things like a person wearing a sombrero or riding a tricycle, and this guy wasn't wearing anything unusual, except a slightly dishevelled suit on a Saturday morning). The man totally lost it at me. He started screaming that he had been bitten on the back of the leg by a dog, that my dog and dogs like him are aggressive and that it would bite my children and kill them (I didn't have my kids with me). He told me to get the dog away from him or he would kick it in the head. My dog is a bloody 10 lb cavapoo!

I appreciate that my dog should not have barked and that the man was triggered. If he had shouted to put it on a lead, before he walked past it, I would gladly have done so. My dog has excellent recall, and is completely reliable on the "wait" signal. He's actually a dream to get back on lead - but I hadn't called him over as there was no sign of what was about to happen. I do wonder if this man inadvertently spooked my dog or even kicked out at him in fear or something as it's so unusual for him to bark at people like that.

Aibu to think that the man, in his fear, may have inadvertently caused the dogs reaction? And that my dog behaved badly but it could have been avoided if the man had just called out for me to hold the dog?

I would agree, IF my dog had run over to him. My dog just returned at walking pace to the path, which we walk on each day so it's his (dog's routine) . We are talking maybe 2 metres from where i was, picking up the poop!

I don't expect everyone to love the dog, I often tell him this (!) . 99.9 percent of people ddog simply walks past, including toddlers, cyclists, kids on scooters etc.

@NoIcePlease maybe so, but dogs are far more dangerous than any toddler regardless if you prefer them or not

Agreed, they are, for obvious reasons.

And yet thousands of us still choose to own them and have them in our homes.

Dogs exist. You will encounter them whether you want to or not. And no ones going to agree to keep their dog on a lead just because you want them to...hence my comment about the world not being built to cater to your individual preference.

@Maluki confused as to why you've posted. You clearly feel you/your dog did nothing wrong so why the need for justification? I believe dogs should be on lead in public unless there's absolutely no chance of them bothering anyone else. I wouldn't let mine off in the park for example. But I might let them off on another walk where you can see for miles if anyone else is about.

I just think people with dogs often feel like their dogs right to run freely trumps the right of other people to have a peaceful walk/not be run up to/jumped up at. Appreciate your dog didn't do these things but the barking obviously triggered this chap and he probably would have felt safer knowing the dog was under control.

Hungover man doing the walk of shame in his suit from the night before gets barked at. Its hardly the end of the world for him ffs

Thats not what I said. At all.

The op's dog did not 'go up to' the man and bark at him, the man walked past and once he had passed, the dog barked.

It doesn't matter if he was in danger
He didn't want your animal barking at him and being near him unrestrained.

Honestly I'd have laughed this one off. Dogs bark. Your dog didn't approach him, chase him, bare teeth etc yet the man predicts the dog will kill your children. Sounds unhinged.

Dogs have the same cognitive ability as a 2-2.5 year old toddler, which is why the comparison is made.

https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2009/08/dogs-think

Dog issues cause much frothing on here. The behaviour of your dog made this man extremely uncomfortable.
It isn’t up to us as dog owners to decide how others should be happy to have our dogs behave around them. It’s up to us to ensure our dogs don’t upset people. That can mean anything from letting people make a fuss of your dogs to putting them on a lead or recalling them to prevent them upsetting people who aren’t happy to have dogs extremely close to them.

@hollywally54
Not sure why I posted either really. Bit taken aback I suppose at being told my dog would kill my children and would have its head kicked in if it went near this man. Wanted reflections on why dogs sometimes bark at people unexpectedly. Is this something we should train out of them, this instinct that someone is atypical (I don't mean neurodivergent, have an autistic child ddog is fab with)? Would it be ok if he barked at people giving off bad vibes, but only if he's on lead? Should I train him not to bark even when spooked by someone? Could I even do that?

He's such a good boy in general. He isn't even much fussed by fireworks.

He is gorgeous!🥰🥰

@TheCupboardUnderTheStairsAtTheMojoDojoCasaHouse I get they understand words etc but they 100% do not act the same as any human being. They are animals

I agree wolfiefan - and likewise, something about the behaviour of this man made my dog very uncomfortable!

As I said, if he had made any indication of discomfort prior to going nuclear I could have sorted it.

You probably would have spotted it if you’d had eyes on him. Plus he has barked at people before so you should be extra aware.

Yes he does have some responsibility to help his feelings of safety but it's getting harder and harder. I avoid places where I know I'll see dogs off lead, means that I am now limited to just walking in places where there is a quiet enough road that I can cross if needs be, green spaces are entirely out, even those that are signposted as lead only because so many dog owners ignore it.

I've tried CBT and gradual exposure therapy (though that wasn't with a professional). The CBT didn't work and any time spent with a dog makes things worse. I try but it sometimes feels like we're not that far off my only safe space being my house and family and friends houses.

OP you're not being unreasonable.

Being 2m away from your dog is not leaving it unattended as some have said. Your dog standing 2m from a guy and giving a few barks does not make it 'out of control' or 'dangerous'.

A few people have said 'all dogs should never be off lead' which I don't agree with but at least it's consistent. What I really don't get is the people that say your dog should be on lead except if it's 100% under control - how can you ever control another living thing 100%? It just seems like a really simplistic statement to me.

At the moment a lot of people seem to think all dog encounters are equal - from being barked at from a stationery dog to being attacked and mauled and that any subsequent reaction is justified. When it comes to dogs any reaction seems acceptable as the person was having a fear response. I find it frightening when men walk close behind me at night but if I started screaming at them and being aggressive everyone would find that unacceptable and rightly so. It only seems to be dogs that allow people to behave however they want from fear.

The other day I was out with my baby and dog and a huge XL bully type dog started lunging, snapping and snarling at us. It was on a lead and the owner was really struggling to hold it back. In the end the owner was lying on the floor to try and hold it back and told me 'i better get out of here quickly'. This is what I would consider a dangerous, out of control dog.

OP I think from reading this thread and other similar ones there are a few dangerous people out there who think any level of force is acceptable to use against a dog at the slightest provocation so I would be more cautious. Not because you or your dog have done anything wrong but there just seems to be a really anti dog vibe out there at the moment.

I highly doubt your lovely dog (liked the photo) could actually do much harm to anyone OP. Even if he wanted to. If he ran up to me I'd give him a fuss. I am scared of big dogs and would avoid them. I always had terriers and they definitely could bite hard if they wanted to.

I wish everyone would keep their dogs on leads at all times.

Same.

My little boy was once attacked by an off-lead dog when he was 6 months old, sitting in his pram. The owner said 'oh he's never done anything like this before'. Moron. Any dog owner who thinks their dog is 100% under control is a complete idiot. Leads exist for a reason.

Well you can suspect what you like re the interaction between your dog and this guy obviously but you weren't in control of your dog or even watching it so you'll never know, will you? Suggest you don't leave it running around unsupervised in public in future.

I lived abroad for a few years in a place where it was required by law to keep dogs on leads in public spaces. Dog parks were very popular and all the dogs I encountered were healthy and happy.
The idea that leads in public are unfair on dogs is ridiculous.

Many dogs need to run it freely sniff to ensure their well-being. Mine would never cope with on lead only. That’s why they are well trained and I ensure they don’t bother people.

Nonsense. Dogs have coexisted with humans for millenia. There is no law about leashing dogs, nor should there be and you certainly don't get to call it. A dog who is never off lead does not have quality of life.

Plenty of things you do probably annoy other people.

For example, making ridiculous judgements and finishing sentences with "end of story'

Oh no, that must have been almost intolerable for you. You poor, poor thing. Thoughts and prayers.