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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Two dog walkers chatting while their 10 dogs were off lead, and running around

83 replies

Upsetmother12 · 01/02/2024 20:02

Today I was walking my two small reactive spaniels on playing fields near my house. I always put them on a lead around other dogs. Normally, I walk my cockers in woodland away from other dogs and people. In part, because urban parks tend to be full of big dogs - like Huskies or Rottweilers. Today, my dogs were galloping around the fields when I saw two, I assume dog walkers, with ten dogs, including two huge mastiff like dogs and a Rottweiler, all off lead. These dogs were a literal dog pack and I knew that they posed a potential danger to me, my dogs and, worse, any toddlers that were on those fields. The women were weakly calling for them to ‘come back’. The dogs ignored them and the two women concerned were pretty nonchalant, and engrossed in conversation. I am angry. I am angry on so many different levels: 10 dogs running loose and together form a pack; the women were chatting away and completely oblivious to fouling and, finally, the fields are a public facility used by parents and children, in addition to dog owners. Am I right to be angry? I am so tired of dodging dog walker dog packs … argh. I feel that my small, elderly spaniel would have reacted defensively towards the pack and they, literally, could have eviscerated her. My spaniels only react nervously to other dogs, one of them having been mauled in the past by a husky and a Red Setter. It is not just XL Bullies who should be banned. Dog walkers should are ‘advised’ to restrict themselves to up to six dogs. They should be required to have a much smaller maximum. Is it because each dog is worth £25 and this means that 1-2 hrs work becomes more lucrative? Also, why do so many dog walkers walk their dogs in public shared spaces? Why not hire a field for 2 hrs (£40) and let the dogs charge around? Grrrr …. Btw, I am not attacking dog walking as a profession. I even thought about being one. However, I would never allow so many dogs off lead - especially if they were not mine. I am assuming that these two ladies were dog walkers.

OP posts:
vodkaredbullgirl · 01/02/2024 20:03

10!!!!!

Fleeceflop · 01/02/2024 20:07

I really do think dog walkers shouldn’t be allowed to use public parks. They totally
Dominate a park near us and have turned into a no-go area for everyone else. Members of the public ought to be able to use parks without being hassled by dogs.

2Old2Tango · 01/02/2024 20:13

I agree with you OP. It's not just "professional" dog walkers but some owners in general who walk round chatting to their mates and don't observe what their dogs are doing or when/where they're fouling. I too have a small reactive dog (kept on a lead) and I'm fed up with other dogs running up to him all the time because the other dogs have no recall.

My other bugbear is people who take their dog out off lead in the park, but then behave like they're on some kind of army exercise, yomping at speed round the park and not allowing their dog to keep up (never mind watching if they poop/pick it up). There was a woman today with two small dogs trailing after her and one was having real difficulty keeping pace with her. There are so many bad owners around and they give the rest of us a bad name.

DdistinguishedForumMember · 01/02/2024 20:13

Fleeceflop · 01/02/2024 20:07

I really do think dog walkers shouldn’t be allowed to use public parks. They totally
Dominate a park near us and have turned into a no-go area for everyone else. Members of the public ought to be able to use parks without being hassled by dogs.

Ditto

I'm naffing fed up to the back teeth of dogs running up to us, sacring us even when trying to be friendly as we don't like dogs touching us and we take our young grandkids - some of these dogs are taking the owners out for a walk and clearly cant handle the dog

Come warmer weather, I bet you all you will see in the parks and along main roads dogs that should be muzzled but not

The number of times I have seen dogs run up to people sitting on the grass in aprks talking eating and some accept that and some don't but the owners often state "oh, he won't harm a fly" .. FFS

Dogs are a mans best friend as i had many clents where they loved their dog more than some of their family and dogs are loyal but they are not for us

Riverlee · 01/02/2024 20:15

That’s irresponsible.

Furrydogmum · 01/02/2024 20:18

Yanbu. I have an 8st mastiff type soft as jelly dog and avoid others like the plague as his appearance sets other dogs off barking. It would be horrendous trying to keep 10 dogs away from him and there's always a chance he'd try to defend himself!

swingtowin · 01/02/2024 20:19

Same here, s dog walking company used our woods and has about 8 dogs between 2 people - I think the max a dog walker should have should be 3 a time, most charge about £12 for an hour walk and I know there's insurance, petrol etc but there's no way I'd want to walk more than 3 dogs, especially not my own with the risk of not totally knowing their behaviour, snd what happens if one runs off after something?!

itsmyp4rty · 01/02/2024 20:21

Walking 10 dogs each is ridiculous. Were the dogs actually a problem though, it doesn't sound like they actually did anything for you to be so angry about? Or did you feel you had to leave because of them?
Oh it was 10 dogs between them, that's still a lot but not a crazy amount.

jarpotato · 01/02/2024 20:24

We've got a green space / field type place on our new estate out the back (you can't see it from anywhere, you'd have to know) and clearly word has got around to the local dog walkers. You can't go there now for dogs. Full of shit. And we pay fees to maintain it but it's a free for all dogs now.

A few weeks ago, 1 dog walker brought their 6 barking dogs through the estate and on to it and let them run riot. A few preteens had taken their 1 dog there too and the other dogs surrounded them and backed them into a fence. The kids were terrified and couldn't get to the exit. The dog walker was saying over and over 'they're friendly' etc and doing nothing.

Makes me SO angry.

lieselotte · 01/02/2024 20:26

During covid, when parkrun was suspended, I stopped going to the park to run because of exactly this. You'd get 4 dogwalkers meeting up with 4 dogs each. You couldn't go anywhere near.

Personally if I was paying someone to walk my dog I'd want them to walk my dog and not a whole pack. Nice work if you can get it!

lieselotte · 01/02/2024 20:27

@jarpotato, do you still have a dog warden near you? You could report it if so.

lightinthebox · 01/02/2024 20:29

Perhaps the dog walkers know how the dogs they regularly take care of react and behave, so weren’t concerned about them attacking or being dangerous.

Dogs running around and playing aren’t automatically dangerous and I’m fed up of this assumption. Mine runs around with her doggy pals, they aren’t a pack of bloodthirsty dogs intent on mauling everything in their path.

FruitBat53 · 01/02/2024 20:31

I've got 2 spaniels as well, one aged 11 who is getting a bit snappy with other dogs due to arthritis, and the other aged 5 and is very nervous. Most of the time they're both on leads but I'm sick to the back teeth of other dogs pelting across fields with an useless owner attempting to call them back. We used to stop on the way to/from work and walk along the river bank but there are now several dog walkers who meet up there to walk and the dogs they have together are all bloody wild. I can't get my head around people using them.

Ginandjuice57884 · 01/02/2024 20:32

I used to have to deal with similar idiots who would all congregate together with around 30 dogs loose while they were too busy yakking to control one dog let alone 30. Lost my shit at them more than once, for what good it did. All in unmarked vans unsurprisingly so I couldn't report them. But that's the way things are now apparently.

Caffeineislife · 01/02/2024 20:39

This is something that should be reported, perhaps to the dog warden/ council. Mainly because of the pack mentality of so many dogs. There should be a licence scheme brought in for dog walkers as this is borderline negligence. They are putting the dogs they walk at risk (of harm from other dog or harming other dogs or humans) with this behaviour. I personally would also shame them on the local FB page. You don't know what the owners of these dogs have agreed to. Some may be unaware of the nature of this pack walk.

I know some dog walkers advertise pack walks for a cheaper price than individual walks. I would expect a pack walk to be on lead and only with other compatible dogs.

Most responsible owners I know would be horrified at the fact the dogs were pack walked, off lead and with another dog walker with another pack. For a start how do these 2 dog walkers know the dogs in the packs they are walking are compatible. Secondly if the walker is as you say chatting and ignoring the dogs it only takes a reactive dog or a member of the public to be injured or report the dog as out of control and you risk losing your dog.

Poppysmom22 · 01/02/2024 20:45

I would not be happy if my dog walker were putting my dogs at risk like that. Off lead in a public place with a load of other dogs nope that’s not what I pay for. It only takes one dog to decide that a squirrel bird or whatever is more interesting and they will all be off and you only need one with an activated prey drive to get the rest revved up

Devilshands · 01/02/2024 20:48

Never met a ‘dog walker’ (i.e. one who claims to be a professional or is one) who wasn’t a twat.

Ultimately, if they’re not walking 10 dogs at once or they don’t have six dogs booked into a one hour slot and give them all 10 minutes each and leave them in the van for the rest of the time (which some near me regularly do) they’re not making money. They don’t hire fields as it eats into their profits.

Dog walkers don’t care about the dogs they walk. They care about the profit. You’d need your head read to use one IMO

lightinthebox · 01/02/2024 20:56

A fellow dog owner is a dog walker, he walks one at a time for a full hour. He does take a couple to the park for 10-15 mins but that’s because that particular dog really enjoys playing fetch.

Dogs playing aren’t automatically dangerous, they’re having fun. Mine recognises particular dogs that are her favourite and they have a great time together. It’s unfortunate some dogs are reactive but I’m fed up of people assuming off lead dogs playing are a nuisance or dangerous.

Crackoncrackerjack · 01/02/2024 20:58

So did anything actually happen ?

Seasaltsquall · 01/02/2024 20:59

I totally agree with you regarding the potential pack scenario, and anyone who doesn't get this, simply doesn't understand canine behaviour, and that in itself is a potential danger.
Whilst it's great that many of these dogs get out and about when their owners are at work/can't walk them, I really think there needs to be strict regulation in this sector. I would never let my dog go to a dog walker who does not have extensive knowledge of pack behaviour, or who stops and chats with others.
If one dog in the pack reacts, there's no way they could control that scenario. There is way more responsibility required for this job than just putting a lead on.

Redlorryyellowlorryblue · 01/02/2024 21:00

I’m fed up with going to the park and my young son usually getting flattened by a ‘don’t worry, he’s friendly’ dog. He’s understandably now terrified of dogs. So selfish.

Lavender14 · 01/02/2024 21:10

Sorry op, just to clarify from what you've said about your dogs galloping around the fields - your dogs were also off leash? Did the other dogs approach your dog?

Your reactive dogs were off leash in a public space with toddlers and other dogs present?

If I'm understanding that correctly then you are unfortunately the issue in this scenario. Reactive dogs should not be off leash.

I walk my spaniel off leash and my rule of thumb is that I leash him if other dogs on leash are approaching us. I know my dog is extremely well socialised and trained and will show zero interest in the other person or their dog and is trained not to approach, but I do it out of courtesy of the other person to make them feel more confident.

If those women have seen your dogs off leash, then the assumption has been that your dogs are well enough socialised to be off lead in the first place- which they aren't. So essentially you've given them a signal from far away that you're happy for your dogs to be approached.

They will know their dogs, they will know how socialised etc they are and you need to trust them in that. If I was out walking and I came across you all the main issues I'd have would be firstly that you've got two reactive dogs off lead and secondly that they weren't picking up after their dogs when they fouled.

So in that respect you've both been irresponsible in different ways.

My apologies if your dogs were on lead but my interpretation of 'galloping in fields' was that they were off lead in a public space so my answer is based on that interpretation.

I'd question if these women were actual dog walkers, or women with dogs who met for a walk given their lack of responsibility.

lightinthebox · 01/02/2024 21:17

That’s my reaction too. If a dog is off lead I take that to mean the dog is not going to react badly to other dogs. An on lead dog I purposely make a point of recalling and leashing my dog.

It’s unfair to allow your dogs off lead time but then accuse other dog owners of having out of control dogs.

I’d be pretty annoyed if someone knowingly let their reactive dog off lead around other dogs with the potential of attacking other dogs. Every dog owner I know respects the not approaching on lead dogs etiquette.

NotAnotherPylon · 01/02/2024 21:21

Crackoncrackerjack · 01/02/2024 20:58

So did anything actually happen ?

Are people only allowed to discuss things that have actually happened? That's going to rule out a lot of conversations.

My cousin used to be a dog walker and he was strictly one dog per walk. He occasionally took his own dog out on some of the walks if the owner was ok with it. He used to have plenty of stories about dog walkers with 5 or 6 dogs at a time, some of them funny, some of them just downright dangerous.

HeBeaverandSheBeaver · 01/02/2024 21:41

A few weeks ago in my village a dog walker had 5 dogs off lead in the wood near housing They attacked a muntJack deer and left it in pain.

Passers by Calle drive
Police to have the animal humanly killed and the dog walker just walked off.

The dogs in question were labradors and a spaniel. No big breeds.

It was awful and I say that a single dog owner.

Dog walkers should
Not have
More than 3 dogs imo and certainly
Not off lead.