Just fucking sick of dogs

[crazyaginglady]

Sorry but I am. I was cycling home from
picking up DS from school with him on the back and a dog came running up beside
me snarling and snapping at my feet on the pedals. I nearly bloody went over but managed to keep my balance and get past it (electric bike). Owner called an apology and I just rode on as it was still off the lead and I was worried for DS.

This is a national cycling path and much used school route so there are always bikes and children 8-9 and 3-4.

A sausage dog decided to bolt towards my 2 year old last month in the park for no apparent reason and I had to scoop him
up to avoid contact.

And don’t get me started in the ‘oh he’s just being friendly’. I don’t want your fucking dog jumping on me or my children or scaring my kids when we are just going about our day.

They should ALL be on leads unless they are in a dog park/field.

I am a dog owner and I agree with you 100%. As a first time dog owner I used to leave my dog off leash in the National Cycle path. He being very friendly, would run to other dogs.. It was cute to watch. So I carried on, Until one day he ran to greet a dog, and the poor dog owner tried her best to keep her dog away from my dog, while mine went all over that dog. The dog went berserk and the lady, still in a polite tone asked me to take my dog away as her's is a 'reactive' dog. Until then I didnt know the meaning of that word. I felt really bad for doing that, and felt sorry for the lady trying to protect a big dog fight from happening then. Few weeks later, another reactive dog off-leash, charged towards mine and bit him in the bum. I carried him in my arms, but the dog tried so many times to get him again. FINally the owner pulled the arrogant dog away. Just sharing 2 incidents in one of which i am guilty myself. Since then I always keep mine on leash. I thought, RECALL is the only training a dog need, once thats done, he can be off leash anywhere. But there are more problems, and a dog off leash on a cycle path is a huge liability.

Aye, sure you do.

I totally see why you were irritated by that while on your bike, but I do think your problem isn’t so much a dog problem as it is an owner problem.

We have a dog who we have done ridiculous amounts of training with to make sure he is trained literally to the word, he doesn’t approach any person/dog without waiting for us to give permission IF they/the owner ask to say hello for example. His recall is absolutely perfect, literally to the second he comes instantly back to us. If I drop the lead he stops, he doesn’t jump up (at anyone), doesn’t bark etc. This training took a long time & lots of patience (plus a lot of money on trainers etc) but is worth it’s weight in gold because it means we have a dog who we can trust completely, he’s been taught how to behave to the point that he now is registered as a therapy dog so he can go into the care home over the road from us at the residents request and he is so lovely and gentle with everybody- because we as his owners have spent massive amounts of time, effort and money to get here.

The problem with a lot of dog owners now is that they get the dog and can’t be bothered to put that training in place, so they just let their dogs off the lead to crack on because that’s easier for them than holding a lead, doing recall training, training their dogs to behave in public. This means you do get a lot of dogs who just run wild when off the lead, it’s not the fault of the dog, it’s the fault of the owner. No dog is born knowing how to walk to heel, how to greet people politely, how to recall back to their own in an instant no matter the circumstances, they have to be taught that and unfortunately there isn’t any rules in place to force owners to do this although I totally agree they should be.

If it’s any consolation, it’s not just people who don’t like dogs who are irritated by this, I love dogs and as I said have spent countless hours and money training mine, but at least a few times a week on our walks we have a dog run over with no recall and then have to stand and wait while the owner shouts and shouts and inevitably has to come try to catch their dog!

I don’t know what the answer is OP. The behaviour of the general public is in very serious decline. There are inconsiderate idiots who own dogs. There are inconsiderate idiots who don’t own dogs. Such as the cyclist who nearly wiped me out today. I was strolling down the pedestrian section of the footpath. He for some reason preferred this to the cycle path. My little dog was on his lead minding his own business. He doesn’t lunge at anyone. Currently there are inconsiderate idiots setting off booming explosive fireworks scaring my elderly neighbours, an autistic child and various neighbourhood pets. People are shits basically and society is screwed. I did appreciate the sausage dog joke though!

PoisonJuicy

I don’t think my cockatoo has the potential for attack. 😂

She doesn’t slobber and is better behaved than most kids in cafes. Owners make cafes dog friendly because it is a good source of income. You need to suck it up in the same way the rest of us have to suck up groups of mums noisily using coffee shops as crèches and toddler groups.

Trained so well that he was never allowed off lead or even to the beach? Ours all love the beach and there’s miles and miles of coastline that aren’t the popular tourist spots.

@MrsDoylesLastTeabag

tell you that your comment was meaningless and added nothing to the thread that’s what I’m gonna do

Cockatoo?! 😂

Batshit!!!
You must be great fun 😆

On holiday in Melrose ,Burts Hotel , Scottish Borders. Lovely place to stay … dog policy is “ 2 barks and you’re out “. 😂😂

I have a dog, have always have dogs and absolutely love dogs but I don’t disagree with you OP.

My dog doesn’t have great recall so unless she’s in the garden or we rent the dog field, she’s on a lead. I hate off lead dogs running up to us and with our previous dog one off lead went for him and it was terrifying.

I do disagree however with people saying dogs in cafe’s etc are ‘disgusting’, that’s just silly. Dogs, however much you don’t like them, are a dear part of many people’s families and if they’re well behaved and will just lay under the table, they’re not hurting anyone. It allows people to go for days out without mistreating their dog and leaving them all day alone. I went to Italy recently and dogs were Everywhere, in theme parks, shops, restaurants, and all so well behaved. It was brilliant.

I agree with several previous posters that lockdown was the problem, I know several people who I was very surprised to learn they bought a dog. These dogs haven’t been properly trained and are now regularly left alone and act up as a result.

Re the cyclist comments, it’s ok I’m one of the good ones. I have a bell I ding it three times from a decent distance and I slow down as I approach and ding again and I say excuse me and thank you when I go past. I also have an ebike because I can’t afford a second car and I don’t want to ruin the planet but that’s for another thread. I concur, there are many arsehole cyclists and they doing my nut in.

It’s very heartening to hear from you. I’m sure much of the time it’s a lack of training, but I do believe that all dogs have the propensity to turn on people. And even on a lighter note, I just don’t want them jumping up at me and my kids.

@kitsuneghost

Most wildlife doesn't come out at the times dog walkers are out. Dawn/Dusk. Wild animals Definitely don't come out when there are loads of people about. Of course there are certain areas that should be avoided at certain times e.g. nesting areas but if dogs were a huge threat to wildlife, conservationists would be kicking off about it (I'm saying this as someone who studied animal behaviour and conservation). Dogs have lived alongside wildlife for millenia and wildlife populations haven't plummeted until humans started trashing the environment and killing anything that moved. In the same way, bird species are not declining because people let their cats outside at night. So the concern about the environment argument isn't going to wash.

Woop sorry for the link, I sent it to my DH as he loves mumsnet too 😂

I’m not sick of dogs, just the owners who leave poo on the ground.

Or hang their dog poo on trees in little bags… why would you go to the trouble of picking up the poo only to hang it on a branch…?

Yes! Mum's and screaming brats. Urgh. Gets on my nerves too OP.

I completely agree with you, OP.

We're in Birmingham and have two small children.

We used to love going to Sutton Park with the kids, but don't anymore.

Reason: Bad experience with dog owners. Two stand out: An off leash golden retriever chasing a frantic cow that could have trampled us to death. Another time I was alone with my kids and a dog approached us sniffing my young baby.
When I asked the owner to call his dog back, he started an argument with me saying I shouldn't walk in the park if I don't like it.

We also have a great local park, where a sign says that dogs should be kept on a leash.

The park is full of off leash dogs,even in areas frequented by small children.

We now take our children to Birmingham Botanical Gardens every weekend. It's brilliant, we have a yearly membership of just over 40 pounds and dogs aren't allowed. The only dog I have ever seen there was a guide dog.

God so many typos, I dictate a lot of my messages as my eyes are tired and I struggle to see what I’m typing but it’s a bit iffy. I’m only in my 30s 😬.

I have a service dog. Clearly marked as such. The "creature" running up and touching it regularly is a human, often a manky child but sometimes an adult. Apparently they think he's public property because he's a working dog. I'll chuck the next kid who touches him in the river. And their parent after them.

To equate children with dogs shows how far off the mark you are. Children are human, your dog is not. Children are entitled to ALL public spaces, your dog is not.

God, we went to Keswick in the summer, a lovely town completely ruined by dogs. The whole place stinks of dog wee. Every bench, lamp post, railing or piece of street art had deep green stains all around them.
We sat outside at a cafe and watched as dog after dog cocked their legs up on the cafe railings. People were picking up poop but obv couldn't get every last bit, so people were stepping on the skids Just so unhygienic! I speak as a dog owner but we live in the country and wouldn't dream of taking him into a town centre.

That’s so rude. A dog shouldn’t be allowed to approach you whilst you’re eating.

A dog generally if it sees food it likes or wants will approach people.

Not even read your AIBU to know you are NBU..... they are literally EVERYWHERE..... to be fair the only thing I have a problem with is treading in dog shit so it's the irresponsible owners I've got a gripe with, not the dogs.......Although I also don't believe they are a comparison to a child either.....

@crazyaginglady
I am a dog owner and support and agree with you 💯 percent.
It is shocking how many badly behaved dogs there are around in this post Covid era.

Loose dogs on a downhill mountain bike course have caused accidents-One dog got run over and the rider hurt- despite no dogs signs.

If you can, get an air horn.
This is what an American cyclist uses-

Many cyclists kick out hard at dogs who snap at their heels- but with children in the panniers it’s not safe to do that in case you get unbalanced.

PoisonJuicy

Says you. I have 3 children and they most certainly haven’t earned entitlement to go everywhere. Thankfully many venue owners agree,