Dog running over to me, toddler and pram

[OliviaH2]

I was out walking this morning with my toddler and I also had my baby in the pram, when I saw a very large German Shepherd spot us and bolt over to us. I immediately panicked because of the way it was running over, I knew it was coming towards us.
I shouted “get your dog on a lead” and grabbed my toddler.
The owner shouted back “no I’m not he’s friendly” I shouted get your dog, by that point it had just reached us and sort of jumped and pound it’s paw on the ground. I again shouted “get your dog and put it on a lead” and the guy refused, I said “you don’t know who has a fear of dogs and it’s so irresponsible” but he continued to argue back not doing anything but walking in the other direction, the dog then followed him but he just continued shouting “you don’t have a fear of dogs do you”

I was so shaken up after this!
I’ve had dogs growing up and always thought you put them on a lead when near people. Isn’t this just common knowledge? He argued back so confidently that it isn’t his problem, just wondering what people’s thoughts are on this? I wish there was a way of reporting him?

I LOVE dogs and believe most of them are good. On my own I’d welcome any dog running up to me, no matter how big. But there’s something about having your kids around that makes anything that COULD be a threat feel like a massive threat. It’s not worth the risk, and it’s not worth the elevated heart rate.

Sounds like the guy was probably fed up of people profiling his GS but to be honest.. they are used as protection and police dogs precisely because they can inflict damage. No doubt a lovely dog but could also easily misread a toddlers play queues if not familiar with children’s behaviour.

YANBU at all.

Definitely not stupid. It works every time.
It’s the owners who don’t control their dogs who are stupid.

100%. This is the same argument I’ve made many times. However never ever has a dog owner ever responded to this Q other than to just hurl abuse. In general (unless specifically stated dogs need to be on a lead), in the UK, legally dogs are meant to be kept under ‘close control’ if they’re not leashed so meaning walking to heel or close enough that they can be immediately recalled if the owner spots someone coming in the opposite direction and the dog is too far out from them. However, too many dog owners are just so entitled and are too lazy to actually leash the dog and also to be aware of their surroundings to call dog back in enough time. So basically they want it both ways, and no matter what their dog does - be that scare you/your child by running full pelt towards you or jumping up for pets and marking you down your clothes or even knocking a toddler over - as long as the dog didn’t actually attack you the owner sees nothing wrong and makes out your the crazy one to be a cross at a cute friendly dog - but can you imagine if children suddenly started running up out the blue to these types of dog walkers, making them stop their otherwise happy walks and proceeded to wipe muddy hands up and down them, with the mother yelling don’t mind my little princess she just loves people and she doesn’t bite! - yeah don’t think they’d be very happy! 😅

I’ve even had one owner tell me I “ought to train the child not to be scared of dogs”.

Oh yes I would, I might even pick them up. But I wouldn't start shouting at someone. I'd try and remain calm and explain to DC that we need to wait for the owner before we interact because dogs are unpredictable. Maybe it's just your description but it all sounded tense and frightening if you're a toddler witnessing it.

You can carry a walking stick when around dog walking areas, that's what I do with all of these stupid breeds around lately. If a dog goes to jump up at you, bring your knee up. Most dogs haven't been told off for jumping so it will throw it off. I'm a slight woman and I've never had a bite or increased aggression from doing this (lots of dog owners say "nooo you might make him bite!!1)
If you own a dog bred for violence it should be on a lead, people are getting too daft and treating their dog like it's a person lately.

Thank you, just to clarify perhaps I should have written “raised my voice” I didn’t aggressively shout or argue. I’m not an argumentative person, I just raised my voice so that the man could hear me to say get your dog or put it on a lead. So I totally get what you mean, however I wasn’t arguing or shouting aggressively for my child to be frightened of this.

I wouldn’t call well behaved running with force at a toddler and pram. The way it spotted (similar to when dogs stalk birds) and bolted at us was very scary, I feared for my children’s safety. You are right in saying he is an arsehole! That dog wasn’t recalled, he refused to do anything.

That's hard if you're out for a run, and the 'friendly' dog just wants to join in.
I would say 95% of the dog owners who are walking on the footpaths around the fields are courteous and aware - will put their dog on a lead and allow me to pass. In turn I give them as wide a berth as I can and thank them.
If I'm approaching from behind I will give a cooee or helloooo so as not to alarm anyone and give them a heads up.

Now and again I have to stop while someone gets their out of control dog under control, and sometimes I need to stop and wait until a blasé owner turns the corner and takes control. A few times I've had to stop running and retrace my steps (dog following me) to return the dog to the owner who is all 'ha ha ha he likes to run'. My run time is precious, I don't want to be fannying around sorting out dogs that don't belong to me because the owners can't be arsed.

I agree if the situation involved the dog leisurely trotting over to us, however the dog ran with force and intent. There was no time for a polite chat unfortunately. I don’t think I was rude, thanks though.
In that moment I was fearful for my children’s safety, I don’t think saying please would have changed his attitude given that he refused to even call his dog back

@rosemarble most dogs will run off if you run at them, if that helps. A healthy profanity in a deep voice doesn't hurt either. I love dogs too, I just love dogs kept as dogs, not uncivilised humans with fur and four legs granted the same privilege as us. Mine don't come into contact with members of the public because they're not substitute friends, they're exercised appropriately out of the way and happy for it.

MIL has a dog that she describes as ‘friendly’. He’s not he’s just untrained and badly behaved and as a result we don’t allow her to see dd anymore as the dog terrified her and jumps and growls. Apparently we are in the wrong.

Oh yes, I have one near me and I cross the road with my children when I see it coming.

I honestly think that if the dog was behaving aggressively then you'd have suffered some aggression. It probably was play that you misinterpreted, not your fault but people used to know dogs better than they do now I think. When I grew up there were regularly dogs out without humans and kids learned to interpret their behaviour.

It's hard as a dog owner now, I have to remind myself that other people aren't good at interpreting the dog's body language and can't tell the difference between friendly excitement and aggression. That's why dog owners say they are being friendly, it's to let you know that you don't need to be afraid. You don't have to believe them but it is almost always true. Dogs really don't suddenly run across a field to attack people who are minding their own business. That's very rare. People are afraid yes, but my son was afraid of cats when he was younger and they don't even have owners around to recall them. He learned to understand them eventually, when I educated him what aggression looked like in a cat (he didn't know - my fault I admit) and we're good now.

But yeah, of course the guy should have called his dog after you asked, that's just manners, but what happened wasn't a crime or real danger.

I wouldn’t be happy about this . If the dog had a perfect recall he wouldn’t have been able to get that close to you. I’m in Ireland , German shepherds are considered a dangerous dog breed here. They are supposed to be on a leash at all times and muzzled . The muzzle part is never enforced but I rarely see one off leash .Is there a dangerous dog breed list in the UK ?

the dog ran at some speed before pouncing at the floor
Was the floor OK??? 🤣

I take it you’re another irresponsible dog owner if you find it funny that it jumped to the floor where a toddler was stood?

What is being described sounds more like a young dog doing a play bow and doesn’t sound like aggression. However the owner sounds like a dickhead and needs to keep it on a lead while he works on its recall. Very frightening having a big dog like that run up to you especially with a young child.

Having a dog out of control is defined simply by did it bite you or did you THINK it might bite you? If the answer is yes then it is a police matter.

It wasn’t nice and he could have been much more considerate. However I would focus on what you can control if that happens again, which is your response. Maybe teaching your toddler not to be frightened when an unexpected dog comes over. Cos she will have picked up on your feelings

What a load of shit. 💩

I’m with you on this OP. I have a 9 month old very bouncy Labrador and I always put her on a lead when there are people ( and especially little ones) around because I don’t want her bounding up and scaring people.
Not everyone likes dogs and my dog needs to understand that.

I agree with you to a degree, however I think if you are 2 foot tall and a large German Shepherd comes bolting over and jumping up in front of you then fear is a totally normal and appropriate response.

I was out walking with a friend years ago when a huge bouncing Boxer came bolting towards me.
I braced myself and it jumped up, head butted me, split my lip open and proceeded to paw at me until it’s owner came barrelling after it screaming “he’s friendly… he’s friendly!”
He was, the dog was 100% friendly and meant no harm to me, but because he had zero recall and was off the lead, I walked away with a split bleeding lip.
If your dog doesn’t have 100% recall in all situations, it should be on a lead, even a longline would be better than nothing.

Surely if the dog was running towards OP it wasn't under control. Should have been called back immediately.