Strangers who think we all love their dog

[MaisieMouse87]

I'm a bit pissed off and need a rant. Sitting on the park with my kids, we had a large bottle of water nearly full, next to us on the grass. The top was off as one of the kids had just had some. The park is a large field and we were not near anyone else. We were minding our business.
These two women walked past with a dog on a lead. I didn't expect them to get as close as they did. They came literally right up to us. The dog (on the lead) came between me and the kids and licked the rim of the water bottle. One of the women did a tinkly laugh and I said " oh no" in an annoyed tone and told one of my kids that the water would have to go in the bin now. They just walked off grinning and I heard them say something like " imagine being like that over a dog."
I did not say anything but got up and threw it in the bin. If they'd said sorry it would have been alright or if the dog was off the lead I would have been annoyed still. But the way they actively led it over to us and allowed it to do that, then laughed about it. Aibu for being annoyed? It's not even really about the water. It's about having personal space invaded needlessly when I'm minding my own business by people who are nosy and need to see what I'm doing. And partly people with dogs who think it's acceptable because the dog likes people making a fuss of it. By the way I actually like dogs and have 2 but I have never allowed them to do this and actively keep them away from people in public.

This is fun.
My auntie had a dog who used to howl along to Moon River. Most entertaining, but the neighbours complained, so that was the end of his Andy Williams tribute career.

I have literally just been in a pub where a woman brought in her malting dog (vom). I know it was malting because I could see it and she was also talking about it to her group. She then decided the dog was cold and proceeded to lie down on the floor with it. The world has gone utterly bonkers and I am so done with people treating dogs like people.

But don’t let it sit on the people seats as so many people seem to do. Let it sit or lie on the floor if you just bring it onto a train but sitting it on a seat is gross and taking up a space a person could use

Don’t you mean moulting?

Some people get a puppy and don’t have the first clue about how to be a responsible dog owner. There should be a test for a dog license . I feel sorry for dogs with owners who don’t understand dogs.

What’s so vom about dog moulting ? You are shedding hair and skin every day

So you’ve just described no one

That’s horrible
they probably take dog to vet to get it’s stomach emptied
a dog will suffer or even die from fright because of you

I don't care. They can put it on a lead or train it properly or not take it to a beach where it's not supposed to be then. If a dog runs up to my picnic and grabs food out of my child's hand (has happened several times) and eats it then it's a risk the owners take that it's NOT grapes or chocolate cake. My kids eat both of those things quite a lot.

All kinds of bad karma coming your way then!

@Hulabalu if you can’t see why it’s gross then no one will ever be able to explain it to you but I will try. The hair was visibly shedding all over the pub!

@SmallBox this is a great idea - might start doing the same. An no, it’s not “horrible”, she hasn’t actually fed it those things but people need to learn that their dog is their problem and their problem only; they do not get to inflict it upon others.

Dogs need to be kept under control. If your dog is running amok it's not under control.

Not really. No sensible person would rush to the vet immediately. You’d check the dog’s mouth for signs of chocolate and wait and see if they displayed symptoms in either case. Not all dogs are ill after eating grapes and, while a mouthful of chocolate isn’t ideal, such a small quantity isn’t the end of the world. What this shows is how spiteful some people are.

Exactly, and why the hell do they let them off the lead in children's play areas. There was a huge status symbol dog running wild, and it ran in the gate of where my young children were playing. My children didn't want it anywhere near them and were really scared, as was I. We didn't even know who the owner was, they were sauntering down a path nowhere near. When I realised who it was, I told the man to get it on a lead, and he told me to wind my neck in. He would be the same ignorant f*** that would be saying, "Oh it's usually so friendly", if it bit anybody.

It isn't only lock down untrained dogs, it is also dogs with recall too that the owners don't bother to recall. Some dogs are dangerous and can harm people unpredictability. I'm sick of hearing, "Oh Leo is friendly", to my kids and ushering them to pet it." One if my dcs is ND, and is scared, would you stick a huge spider on somebody with a phobia, no! Apparently dogs don't count. I'm sick of them running up to us on the beach (where they're supposed to be on leads, clear signs all over. Keep your dog under control ffs. I wish we had designated dog parks like in America.

not sure where you are but there’s £1k fines on all main beaches all summer near us and the local authorities are really hot on handing them out

Nobody ever monitors it to be honest, it would mean simebody wandering the beach. It is impossible, there isn't a way to trace them.

The dog and the owner are both gross then.

A dog running about does not mean it is not under control. Dogs run about. That is what they do

My dog is too big for seats or my lap. I have no problem with people having smaller dogs on their lap.

It does if they're jumping up at strangers, and running towards/ around them. They should be on a dog beach, or on a lead in public places.

Yes, dogs should not be running after strangers or jumping up at them.
But unless a park specifies dogs should be on leads, they don't need to be.
The world does not go by your own made up rules.

And what happens if/when the owner tracks you down and sues you for vet fees etc? You end up with a CCJ and your credit score knackered for at least 6 years.
As a responsible dog owner, I agree that there are some people out there who shouldn't have a dog, but your "solution" is ridiculous.

I read something the other day that said that dogs replace their fur 9 times a year, which explains the amount of it round my place!
It's particularly bad at this time of year, as they're losing their winter coats.
As has been said, people lose hair and skin cells all the time too - it's what bed bugs feed on.

If you know your dog has a tendency to run and jump up to people then I think it's common decency to keep it on a lead. One of my friends has a staff/ pitbull cross that is excitable and so she only lets him off lead at the dog park when she's booked the slot and they are the only ones there. He's huge and though he's friendly I can see how others might perceive him as frightening.