I’m so tired of people with dangerous dogs ruining the park for everyone else.

[Purplehat123]

I’m so tired of people with dangerous dogs ruining the park for everyone else.

Every time I take my children and our small cavapoo to the park, there’s always someone with an intimidating dog off the lead. Yesterday it was a man with a huge German Shepherd (and I mean huge), a bully breed on a lead, and an Akita off the lead just wandering around.

This is a busy, very suburban park, full of families and young children. And there I am, trying to scoop up my two toddlers, push the pram with the baby, grab the dog, and move away as fast as possible because I am not taking the risk of one of those dogs attacking. And let’s be honest, if something did happen, I’d have to sacrifice my dog to protect my children.

Even the two dogs that were technically on a lead, if they decided to go for another dog or child, there’s no way he could have held them back. They were enormous, powerful breeds.

And don’t get me started on the Akita. It was off-lead, trotting around freely as if that’s totally normal. Akitas were originally bred to guard property and hunt large game, including bears. They are strong, territorial, and known for being aggressive toward other dogs. They can be incredibly unpredictable and are not the type of breed you let wander freely in a public park full of children and pets.

Today it was a woman with a giant Rottweiler off-lead, paying absolutely no attention while she scrolled on her phone. Again, no control, no awareness. Rottweilers were originally bred to drive cattle and guard livestock, and they are incredibly strong, protective dogs. They have a natural guarding instinct, which can easily turn dangerous when not properly controlled. It’s no coincidence that they feature in so many fatal dog attacks, especially involving children. The number of child deaths caused by Rottweilers is horrifying and well-documented. It doesn’t matter how sweet you think your dog is at home but when a dog like that turns, it’s too late to stop it.

Far too many times my own dog, who is a total wimp and literally gets bullied by a chihuahua, has been attacked by dogs whose owners claim, “Oh, they never normally do that.” It’s always after the fact, once the damage is done.

And honestly, it’s the complete lack of awareness that really gets me. You might think your dog is friendly, but when you’re letting it freely wander up to children and other dogs, especially massive, powerful breeds, it’s terrifying. It might not scare you, but to everyone else, it’s incredibly intimidating.

I love dogs. I grew up with them. But this constant anxiety when I take my children out is exhausting. I shouldn’t have to be on high alert every time we go to the park because someone refuses to take basic responsibility for an animal that could cause serious harm.

Don't think OP coming back.
Maybe they've been eaten by a labrador

How do you avoid places where dogs are when they are almost everywhere?

That’s not my problem as I don’t want to avoid them.
I gave you two other options though so if you can’t manage option 2, you always have option 3 to fall back on.

Your definitely real migrant son who you keep in a cage 😂😂
I get the comparison you are trying to make, but it’s really not working.

Please do your research.

Have you ever looked at dog death stats? Jack Russells have killed. Staffies are not large but have been implicated in more deaths than Rottweilers.

Dog bite statistics are also interesting. The top 10 includes Labrador and Border Collie, both of which are considered to be perfect family dogs.

80% - 90% of bites to children occur in the home, with a family pet.

I have a vet in the family, she said the most aggressive dog she's coming across currently is Cockapoos that were bought during lockdown.

Two of the large dogs that the OP took issue with were on a lead. This is the reason that we take issue with this thread.

I have one of the gentle giant breeds but she is never off the lead in a public place, because her size intimidates people. She is not a status dog - I'm a 61 year old middle class, educated woman, living in an affluent area. I've had the same breed for almost 50 years, 8 dogs in total, all of them have been calm and good natured, trustworthy around children and dogs. I've had numerous attacks on them by off lead dogs, most of them small breeds.

I object to being told that my large powerful dog is dangerous. She is always on the lead and poses no threat to anybody.

I don’t even have a dog you wally 😂

Course you are!

Unfortunately, what you are saying is sensible and rational and intelligent so it won’t be received well by the rabid dog haters on this thread.
I appreciated it though!

Good for you. What I said still stands. Think about it.

I am thinking about it and it’s really funny. Thank you.

You're welcome.

If you can’t kill the dog in the moment it happens, do you go all Liam Neeson on them and use your special set of skills to hunt them down?

This is so disingenuous.

Yes, any dog could hurt a child. But the likely outcome if a child is attacked by an Alsatian, German Shepherd, Rottweiler etc. is so much worse than if they were attacked by a small dog.

For one, it's far easier to get a little dog off of someone. You can physically pick it up. Then there's teeth size and the actual power of their bite to consider.

I grew up with big dogs and remember them carrying full branches on walks. One's favourite game was to hang from trees by his teeth. My current small dog could only fit a small stick in her mouth.

I love dogs (including big ones), but not everyone should be allowed to own one with the potential to end someone's life. I'd like to see strict laws and licenses to ensure they were all properly trained, and that the owner was trained in how to stop an attack if it happened (In my view, if your dog hurts someone it should be legally the same as if you attacked them yourself). I can't see how any of this could be properly enforced though.

I’ve got an image of granny trying to throttle a dog with her bare hands.

Where are they exactly? They are either rare or non existent.

Im utterly ambivalent to dogs but I am increasingly aware that they are everywhere now and for those that actively don’t like them, they are very hard to avoid.

Recrbt examples I’ve witnessed first hand: dog brought to a funeral, barking incessantly as the coffin was carried in, a man outraged that he couldn’t take his dog into a theatrical performance.

@Overtheway
Any dog has the potential to end someone's life. If you look at dog death stats you'll find a fair few terriers up there. Don't make the assumption that you could physically pick up an attacking Jack Russell or similar without sustaining life changing injury.

It is not fair to penalise large benign breeds of dog just because they "could" be dangerous. That is no more logical than calling for a ban on men who are over 12 stone because they "might" hurt you. Any dog can kill, just as any human can.

But the dogs that exist in our society are the lifestyle choice of the owner, not the member of the public who wants nothing to do with them. Why should the member of the public have to deal with other people’s lifestyle choices?

“Every man is a potential rapist. No men in women’s spaces !”

”Every dog is a potential child killer. They are welcome in every park, cafe, pub and high-street !”

Campaign for dog free places then. Like woman are doing to keep men out of their spaces. I don’t mean write dumb posts on here. Do something positive about it.

I take it non of the "ban give breeds" brigade do risk assessments as part of their job?

You have to factor likelihood into the risk, not just harm.
So big dogs might have a high potential harm, but low probability. Therefore low risk overall.

Maltese by the sound of this thread have a lower potential harm but greater probability. Therefore the risk is higher than big breeds.

Some big breeds like XL bully's obviously have a higher probability so overall risk would be much higher (especially when you factor in no dog trainer would be insured to work with them so more likely to be poorly trained), but a well-trained German shepherd on lead is pretty much no risk whatsoever.

We all have to deal with each other’s lifestyle choices to a point.
In any case, I don’t know why you’re asking me because despite not owning a dog, I love them and I am quite happy to go to places where dogs are allowed so that’s a you problem 🤷‍♀️

I hate dogs in general, so it irritates me to have to avoid the things wherever I go.
They’re bloody everywhere.

And don’t get me started on people that can’t accept any criticism of dogs or bring kids into the conversation like they’re an equal comparison… 🙄

Who made you king of the world?

For someone that apparently doesn’t have a dog you seem strangely defensive.

You carry on trying to tell everyone who doesn’t like dogs what they should do and I’ll carry on thinking it’s bullcrap.

I was recently crowned in a top secret coronation ceremony on the island of Tuvalu. And it’s queen of the world, ackshully.

For someone who doesn’t like the options I offered, you’re giving option 1 a very good go.