To dare to think that the Cult of Dog has gone too far?

[MariLlwyd]

There is now not a single public space in my home town that is dog-free - and that includes cafes, restaurants and even the library. Local beaches, once a quiet escape, have turned into asylums for the fur baby/pupper brigade to inflict their poorly trained animals on others with children getting chased, people jumped on and tripped over and all to the sound of hysterical barking and frequent dog fights.
80 year old woman knocked over by uncontrollable dog? 'You got in his way'.
Ask politely that you take your dog away from our lunch table? 'Go fuck yourself'.
Sit on the most remote bench you can find? Peri-menopausal wild eyed harridan lets loose 3 dogs from her 4x4 to jump all over you and laughs that it's 'their spot' and turns unhinged when you push them away.
Yes, this is a rant and yes I hate most dog owners.
This weird cult that values darling dogs over human beings is actually pretty worrying.
I shall await the inevitable and hilarious 'incoming' from the emotionally stunted Doggo Nutters.

You're not wrong in terms of humans making a mess of things and the planet but there's this weird thing that a lot of 'animal lovers' think where that other humans think they're 'better' than animals but think animals are 'better'.

And projecting humans emotions/behaviour/ morals on animals. Like you just did.

'Simple and kind and straight-forward' is you projecting your dissatisfaction with humans into animals.

There's nothing simple, kind or straight-forward about the animal world. It's highly complex and human ideas like kindness don't play a part.

I say this as someone who has a dog YANBU at all I love my dog but I’m the only person who does no one wants to be jumped all over by an out of control dog while the owner just stands there and laughs.

I wasn’t asking about my dog in particular as she’s a hearing dog for the deaf and we can go everywhere together because she has given me back my life. However I was pointing out that whinging about people taking their dogs for a walk in the woods is ridiculous

It should be made a finable offence for a dog to jump up on someone or make contact with other people's food or property. If I pushed another person over, that would be an assault.

I like dogs but the onus should be firmly on their owners to make sure they don't cause an inconvenience to others. I don't really want to eat a picnic that's been trampled on or slobbered on by a "friendly" dog.

As for "Don't worry, he's friendly!", I'm not worried, I'm royally fucked off that the dimwit owner thinks it's ok for their dog to run at me and interrupt whatever I was doing before to grab my kids or food or try to fend their pet off. There is a scale of inconvenience caused by dogs and, while being savaged or bitten is clearly at the top, being disturbed, scratched or licked also feature on that scale.

And no, I'm not a dog-hater. But just like I never go up to a dog and impose on their space without asking the owner and making sure they welcome my attention, I expect the same courtesy to be shown to me.

Your dog may be friendly, but I'd still like to be able to ignore their existence. In exchange, I promise never to foist unwelcome attention on them.

We love dogs had two in our lives but I would not behave like that ..
considerate manners have gone out the window that’s the problem
I do love furbabies … but I’m not in the category of “f you “ ! …. I’ve not been dragged up … I think some businesses have realised it’s a good idea to accommodate dogs … brings the money in …

Maybe it is!! To get the message across
its fine to like dogs, its not fine to let your dog take over the place and jump on people. It’s simple really if you can’t control your pet and if it does not have perfect recall then leave it at home, or at least have it on a short lead

I wonder if it will all die down a bit 10-15 years post covid when the lockdown puppies pass way? Only another 5 years to go!

I'm afraid you've misunderstood the whole thread. The op wasn't comparing dogs and children. Go back and have a look. I haven't read the rest of the thread because I'm far too busy.
By the way, your first sentence was a question, so needs a question mark at the end.

YANBU - and I say this as a dog owner. My dog stays on a lead when out, doesn’t go to places where people eat and is not my child!

It’s the attitude of the owners that really pisses me off. I was in a pub in London last year and a dog jumped on me putting its front paws on my jeans leaving a dirt mark. I moved my chair back and looked horrified and the owner’s reaction? “Jesus christ it’s just a dog”. Yeah, a dog who has just fucking dirtied my jeans. I was LIVID.

Fair enough. You have made some valid points here. Thanks for replying.

This more or less explains your earlier reply to me.

Like it or not, humans are who we are. The world is how it is. You may have a misty-eyed view of a fantasy world in which dogs, cats and gerbils are as important as people. I don’t, and no thinking person does.

There are three revealing things about MN threads complaining about dogs.

One is that dog lovers come along to say “oh no, another dog hate thread” without bothering to think of all the doghouse threads that stink the place up.

Another is that dog lovers compare their dogs to children.

The third is that dog (and other animal) owners will never accept that the appeal of a pet animal is that it can’t speak: it can’t tell you that it doesn’t like you. Unconditional love is your projection.

Anyway, I hope you and your dog live happy and fulfilled lives. Just don’t bring your dog into any shop or cafe I’m in. Ta.

Okay I've got it. The answer to the whole problem.

Let just keep ALL dogs and ALL children on leads.

Then we can get back to discussing other things.

I was with you until you started with the ageism and misogyny.

There's never any need to make those sorts of comments. People should be able to make points and have constructive discussions without being ageist, misogynistic, racist, homophobic etc. or displaying any other unnecessary and frankly unacceptable behaviour - and if you are unable to do that, you have already lost the argument.

And please don't say it's in jest - it's only in jest when it's actually funny. Insulting a broad swathe of the population is never funny.

Peri harridan here too. Wouldn't let a dog anywhere near others without being able to control him or her but I dislike intensely how you've e referred to a woman here

Nobody is losing their mind. Most people just want pet owners to be considerate to others. Control your pet, train it properly and if you can’t then keep it home or on a short lead. It’s not actually a big ask

I like to walk and run around the paths along the fields where I live. I occasionally come across who I think are a couple of dog walkers - man and small woman with 4 or 5 large dogs.

They let them off the lead and then put them back on when they meet someone. The dogs pull and pull on the lead - the woman can barely hold them. They're barking loudly - setting each other off.

The other day they gave up trying to hold them to allow me to pass w/o being jumped on and walked straight through a field of growing crops instead.

It doesn't look fun for either party to be honest.

Definitely not. Everyone I know who has a dog is besotted with it and I can’t imagine them going back to not having a dog. There may be some impact from COL as people realise they can’t afford pets, but I doubt it will be a material impact - people find the money if it’s something really important to them.

YANBU. The other day DH played golf on a course he'd never been to before and dogs were allowed!!

I have a dog and I don't play golf btw 😊

They are! It’s ridiculous- too many people going on about how dogs are cleaner than children

I'm a dog owner and I recognise that "wild -eyed harridan". Her uncontrolled mutts jumped all over my poor (on-lead) ddog, joined by another one that jumped through the hedge, whose oblivious owner was half a field away. Now when we go up there, ddog is terrified and wants to go back to the car. So we can't go on our usual walk any more.

Edit: I see people are offended by your term that I used. I'm in that bracket myself so am not offended, but I understand why some people are. Apologies.

Dog ice cream is actually perfectly edible for humans.
Ice cream manufacturers making dog ice cream is nothing to do with people starving. Nothing.

I don't think covid puppies are the problem.

It's a societal shift that pre-dates covid and is extending beyond.

Where dogs are the equivalent to humans and should be treated as such.

Including having mental illnesses/trauma/attachment issues which need to be treated the same as humans.

Except not quite the same as with most humans, the solution proposed to those difficulties wouldn't usually be 'can't ever be on their own ever because it upsets them' but that seems to what a lot of dog owners are doing.

Not to mention the men who walk dogs in the dark. I'm convinced it's so they can get away with not picking poo up. Evidence is fresh in the morning, just for the children and mums with prams on the school run.

I say that as a dog aficionado and who has someone's dog on my sofa right now. Something else I don't approve of, dogs should be in their own bed on the floor but in reach, so I can stroke them.
I feel sorry for non dog lovers as I feel the same about cats, they make me shudder. At least they don't get our dogs in their gardens.

Like you, I hate that they are everywhere but I was in France recently and they beat us hands down. They were everywhere- shopping centre, train, cafe, beach...

Only difference, thankfully, is that I saw one single incident of dogshit and no-one expects you to like or engage with their (better behaved) dog.

I'm afraid dogs are now everywhere, so we might have to start staying home to avoid them.