‘But he’s friendly’

[Baffledandalarmed]

On a dog walk. My dogs (two) off lead, walking to heel and generally not being pests. It’s a busy walk (along the top of a beach) so they’re keeping close until we get onto the beach.

Four people sitting on benches - facing the path and chatting. Six little dogs all running around them off the lead. Three run up to mine growling and nipping. One of my dogs makes to bolt (he’s a puppy still and very much at the ‘flight’ stage or flight or fight). I grab him and ask owners to call their dogs back.

Their response ‘but they’re friendly’ and make no move to intervene. Dogs still jumping up and growling in my dogs faces. I end up being bitten trying to get their dogs away - which wouldn’t have happened if it had been ‘play’ as dogs don’t play with their bloody canines exposed.

AIBU to think that ‘friendly dogs’ dogs don’t run up to other dogs and nip at them and growl and snarl? And ‘he/she/they are friendly is code for I can’t be bothered to train my dogs’?

Dogs growl when they play, mine do all the time, but there’s a distinct difference between the two growls. If one dog is clearly terrified then you call your damn dog back?

My Shih Tzu was plodding along when he was attacked by 3 out of control chihuahuas. I made the mistake of picking him up and they carried on jumping and trying to snap at him. They ran across a road to get to him
and completely ignored the owner . Nasty nippy little dogs

I used to hate having to do it. But I had a GS and it would have been my dog blamed and potentially PTS. I started carrying a metal lead, so I could flick them away (not viciously, but the would at least react and get their dog). One if my very gentle female GS had her personality changed towards smaller dogs because she was bitten and constantly snarled/ran at.

I don’t allow my dogs to interact with anyone else’s because 9 times out of 10 they are horrid. I just want to walk and enjoy my dogs in peace without being hassled.

Usually when someone calls out he’s friendly I shout back good for him but mines nasty/bites. Usually gets them moving!

Round here the offenders are 99% some type of poodle or poodle cross

Some people shouldn’t have dogs and sadly it’ll be those idiots that ruin it for the rest of us that have actually bothered to train our dogs and keep them under control.

i Always put mine on a lead to pass other people on a footpath we frequently walk.

He walks beautifully to heel (I am being boastful 😂) when a lady with two dogs straining at the lead walks towards us. She asks how we trained him to walk so well as she proceeds to let her dogs off who fly over and bounce all over mine 🙄 why would any normal person do this??
She didn’t even ask if mine was ok with other dogs or why it was on a lead. The mind boggles

Nothing! They did not care at all. Only bothered to call their dogs off when one of mine jumped trying to get away and landed on one of their dogs backs (all 50KG of him!)

No apology for the bite I sustained or the terror of my puppy, only concern about their dog potentially being injured.

They wanted my information so when they took their dog to the vet they could charge me - I happily said I’d exchange information so I could report them for having out of control dogs. Naturally they very quickly changed their minds…

Feel very sorry for their dogs.

Did you call the police to destroy the dog?

Don't get me started. It's the hill I'm prepared to die on. Teach your dog whatever size it is recall.

Recall from anything in any situation or they don't get to go off lead.

I've fostered a few small dogs who were basically ruined by people like this. Dog aggressive, snappy to humans, resource guarding,no recall, not wales enough, pains in the butt, treated like lapdogs and rehomed because of it.

They were all absolutely fine and a delight to have around after a couple of months of proper training and being treated as if they were a big dog.

I also have had some bigger reactive dogs and my worse nightmare was yappy out of control dogs run up with people cooing it's ok they are friendly.

Well mine isn't. It's on 2 luminous leads, I've got high viz on, it's muzzled, it's early int be morning over a farm and I'm shouting at you to put your dogs on a lead because I am training g it not to react and you've just undone weeks of work.

My son had the same thing

His staffie is about 5 (rescue) and they where walking through the local park

Dog was on lead,at heel with my son (who is 6 foot tall and broad)

Little rat dog runs up and is hanging off ds's dogs throat

Staffie is freaking out and trying to get it off, my ds is trying to pull it off and the owner (who ds said was about 5 foot tall and tiny) is squawking that her dog is 'friendly'

My son growls at her and tells her hes not and to get her dog off his or he will

Long story short,the other owner rang the police to say the staffie had attacked hers and my son was aggressive towards her!

Thank god it was a busy,hot day with a lot of witnesses and the woman got a bollocking for wasting police time

Ds could have lost his dog through no fault of his own and ended up all over the news for having a dangerous breed (dangerous my arse-a well trained staffie is a gorgeous breed) when it was the rat style dog who started it

When they do the 'he's friendly' thing to me I just say 'mine isn't ' then watch them panic trying to get their dogs back.

I got told by the owner of a terrier that my middling sized dog was 'a bit aggressive'.

Um no. You could clearly see that I was training my dog and that she was intently focused on what we were doing. Your spectacularly un-trained (but essentially very sweet little dog) came rollicking over in your full view (but you have no recall) and got into my dog's face, at speed. My dog barked 'Fuck off!' and chased for two or three strides, and then came immediately back to me.

All my dog was doing was teaching your 'she's friendly!' (she is, I know her) little hooligan a few canine manners that might save her a proper bite from an actually aggressive dog.

I like dogs but it passes me off when people have them off lead in a public space when they don't have proper recall.
The amount of times I've had muddy/wet prints up my legs from "just being friendly" dogs that have approached me. DC and friend were chased by a dog that was "just being friendly" ( friend is scared of dogs). A gosling was killed by an offlead dog in our park, in front of people. The dog owner pretty much shrugged it off.
If you can't control your dog, you shouldn't have one.

Yes. I don't care how friendly it is. I just want dog owners to keep it the fuck out of my way.

I had to haul a “she’s friendly” Labrador out of the basket under my pushchair the other day (no doubt attracted by the general toddler detritus). Thankfully I am perfectly comfortable grabbing the collar of a sizeable dog, and hauling it away, but I was livid that I was in that position.

I don’t think dogs should be off lead in public places full stop. There are dog parks for that exact purpose. Use them.

I have a Kerry Blue Terrier, he is a rescue and he is very well behaved and trained . The breed is known for not being keen on other dogs but my lad is generally ok except for brachy breeds which freak him out. He has great recall but prefers to stay close and due to the large number of rabbits where we live we usually keep him on the lead. The number of times a poorly trained dog has bounced over and got in his face in the last few months is unreal. My boy will give a warning snarl and low bark which often gets the other dog owners annoyed that he's reacting. It's really tiresome.

I have an EBT
He is always on an extendible due to having the EBT standard recall. 🙄 (not if over there looks fun)
He loves other dogs and very rarely doesn't want to play, I still lose my rag when people let other dogs come bowling over.
You check first, had two Jack's before my boy and the bitch was absolutely horrible. Rescue dog, hated everyone bar me.
I want my EBT to continue thinking dogs are ace and people are dull.

I have a large breed puppy, she is on the lead all the time (except when i rent a field out to practise) as her recall isn't where I need it to be.

At least once every walk a small breed will come up snarling and snapping at her and the owner always says their dog is usually so nice/friendly/just playing, or blame it on my dog because she looks scary (she doesn't, and she just sits patiently or hides behind me).

If my dog snapped and hurt theirs then it would be blamed on her.

It's so bloody annoying.

Agree completely. I have a lab who is just daft but if he were to go bounding over to other dogs owners would likely have a problem with it regardless of the fact he is harmless. And rightly so. So he goes on a lead in public. And I notice a lot of other large dog owners follow suit. But small dog owners don't seem to follow the same courtesy so I end up try to control my bouncy lab who can't understand why he can't play. And he has been nipped a couple of times. If you can't control your dog they need to be on a lead.

The worst trait of some dog owners is they think everyone should love their stupid ducking “fur baby”

Who on earth are the 7% of posters who think the OP is being unreasonable?

I think if I had to walk dogs in an area where people won't or can't control their dogs I might be tempted to wear a bodycam.

I hope the bite heals well @Baffledandalarmed

2 “friendly” off lead whippets pinned our Staffy (on the lead) to the floor. DH had to kick one of them up the arse to get it off.
DH goes mad at his mate who never puts his dog in a lead. It runs up to everybody else’s dogs. DH had told him time and time again that the on lead dogs may be scared and reactive and feel threatened. All he says is on it’s ok, he’s friendly!!

YANBU at all. I'm sick of dogs at this point tbh.

An "it's okay, he's friendly!" dog went for my toddler daughter a few years ago. I kicked it, police got involved, lots of aggro all round. The long and short of it though is that the owner wasn't actually bothered beyond trying to stop me telling the police what had actually happened. The dog is still in their possession and DD, while physically fine, is now scared of dogs and of that part of our local park. That owner, if you're reading, well done you absolute dick!

Idiots. My small dogs are trained in exactly the same way as my big dogs, that is to stay the fuck away from everyone else. Admittedly, one is a bloody hooligan, has to wear the worlds smallest muzzle and cannot be let off anywhere but the rest heel to me and ignore everyone else. Which is how it should be! They absolutely are spoilt rotten but they know how to behave and I would be beyond mortified if they behaved as you’ve described op.

I am just curious, whether this will be dismissed as another "dog hating thread", or whether as a dog owner you are allowed to be annoyed with untrained dogs and stupid dogowners.

Anyway, it's clear that those people won't change on their own, they are too ignorant. What change would you suggest to make situation better? Some legislation/policy? Some behaviour change from responsible dog owners? Maybe using existing legislation and calling police?

My DM had a 'just being friendly' dog jump up on her the other day with muddy paws that left her coat filthy.

When she pointed this out to the owners and suggested the dog should be in a lead they stormed off muttering about 'dog haters'.