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.

Then you’re not part of that section, are you?

I’m with you OP. Dog owners can be pretty irritating. The worst is when the dog bounds over and jumps up with muddy paws. ‘Oh he’s friendly’ they say. Well I’m not. So keep your sodding dog off me.

To be fair, I'd love to see a vulture in Sainsbury's.

I don't think prey is the correct word - vultures are scavengers aren't they? So he was looking for .. offal? Carcases?

Well, we live in North Yorkshire, so carcasses are tricky to come across. Apart from the odd sheep some dog has ripped apart. My Thor does like offal, but he seems to enjoy swooping down on live animals as well, although in Sainsburys that does tend to be small children. What can you do? It's just a bit fun. Some parents are such prissy vulture haters.

Come to my local!

I'm just going to start going out in public with my pet python and when a dog owner looks absolutely horrified, just say "oh, it's fine, he's perfectly friendly".

I don’t think the stranger thinks you/everyone loves their dog. They just didn’t think the dog would go over and lick your bottle. I think they should have apologised. But I also think you’re being a bit OTT.

I 🤔 there are some lovely dogs but a lot of not so lovely owners. I went to school with someone who bitten in the face by a strange dog as a young child and left permanently scarred. It has left me very wary.

"if you didn't want your dog swallowed, you should have kept it indoors"

I really feel for anyone who is allergic to/ plain frightened of dogs these days. I don’t agree with them in shops and coffee shops - I can just about go along with them being in old country pubs etc (well behaved ones) and that should be the limit. I had to put up with one doing continuous very loud yappy barking in Costa a few weeks ago- you could tell it was pissing people off massively. They are part of the family but they are not human and shouldn’t be treated as such.

DH went birdwatching at a local nature reserve early this morning. He said there were loads of people out walking dogs, but so many were off leads. Their owners watched indulgently as they bounded off into the shrub...despite signs warning them not to allow this as the site is full of ground nesting birds.

All they had to do was walk slightly further away or pull the dog back. I don't think I have acted OTT. I haven't done anything other than start a thread about a mild grievance like many others do on MN.

Yes they should have reigned the dog in but they didn’t and that was their mistake. But I think the title of your thread is a bit OTT.

Me too, my family have dogs but on farmland, the dogs aren't taken into cafes etc with them. I don't get why dogs seem to have to go everywhere? My ex-BF had a dog, we'd take her for walks but she was left at home if we went out for dinner or something. I was having a lovely evening meal recently, two dogs underneath two different tables, barking at each other every so often. The owners just told them to stop and carried on eating, then they'd do it again.

Thing is, dogs aren't very nice, are they?

They're dirty, they smell bad, look ugly, piss and shit everywhere, harass children ...

And, their owners are often even worse. They put shit in plastic bags and hang it from trees. No, really, they do! I've seen it myself. Urgh.

Live and let live ... OK. But don't expect us to like you and your bad habits or your horrible animals.

(And, really: what is it about these bags of shit you hang on trees? Are you just really stupid? Or what?)

Absolutely love dogs but the amount now in every single shop, cafe and restaurant is terrible. The poor things dragged around on hot days in town centres, I have never taken my dog shopping. She gets a good walk where there is grass and trees and then left alone to sleep when I go and do 'human' things.

I have to walk close to a bench by a children's play area when I take my dog on his usual route. I always keep him away from anyone sitting there unless they make a particular effort to lean over to fuss him. I understand that not everyone is a dog lover.

Not for many people. Just for a small group of people on Mumsnet…..

😄 come on. Don’t hold back. Do you like dogs, or don’t you? ……

Do you honestly think that's the case? It's just a small group of people on MN? You've not noticed that the number of dogs has significantly increased, and they're in most human spaces now?

There’s something deeply weird with dog haters.

In what way? If you don't like dogs, you don't like them. Maybe people have negative experiences, as outlined on this thread. Maybe the increase in numbers is an issue, or that they seem to be in every space?
People without empathy are weird, perhaps?

@KarminaBuranaevery week there’s a child hating or dog hating thread on here.

Two categories of being, that are in need of love, care and nurturing by grown adults.

If we don’t care for them properly, they can both have behavioural issues.

It strikes me, that instead of wishing they didn’t exist, we put more energy into making sure they are loved and nurtured properly by their owners/parents, everyone would be happier. And yet I’m the one lacking empathy… OK

I didn't say you lacked empathy. I think many dog owners do, because they don't acknowledge the impact of their animal's behaviour on others. I wouldn't wish harm to any dog, or any other living creature. However. Many - not all - dog owners lack awareness, shall we say? I'm not sure why a person would take a dog shopping in John Lewis, for example.