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.

My own dogs have been attacked numerous times so you are having a go at the wrong person here. I know about dogs not being under control - it is a problem I face on a daily basis, when I'm walking my own dog ON A LEAD and tiny things come up and bark in her face.

What I do object to is being lumped in with all the macho meatheads with status dogs, and the assumption that all owners are irresponsible idiots and all big dogs are dangerous. Because I've lived with big dogs for most of my life and none of them has ever behaved aggressively. I'm sick of the stupid accusations being flung around on here by people who know nothing whatsoever about dogs.

Good for you…. And your dog. But you two don’t represent every large guarding breed and their owner out there, so if it’s all the same, I’ll continue to exercise caution. So I’m sorry,
but you’ll have to continue being offended. Your feelings don’t trump the safety of my kids. I’m not really sure how my opinion affects you anyway? Do you want every Tom, Dick and Harry to come over and start fawning over you and your dog every time you’re out walking? What difference does if make if I ignore you and walk past?!

Steady on. Please stick to the point of what I have said. My post was correcting that 1st paragraph of your post that I quoted. You were - and it’s been done time and again on this thread - misrepresenting the OP as just complaining about dogs on leads. That 1st paragraph of your post was wrong, that’s what I have said. The OP was clearly not just complaining about dogs on leads doing nothing wrong because she complained about dogs frequently attacking hers. Therefore, your statement was wrong, and you had not read the OP properly yourself.

Whatever you think about anything else I have said on this thread, I am right about this.

I honestly don't care if non dog people do ignore me. But I have just as much right to be out on the park as they do. And that is what this whole ridiculous thread has been about.

Complain all you like about of control dogs - large and small (like the antisocial pug snapping and snarling at my girl yesterday), but just stop with the "all big dogs are a threat" scaremongering. Because those of us who are responsible owners with friendly, well socialised dogs do not deserve to be treated the way you people treat us. Your attitude is really not healthy for your children.

Please stop being condescending.
The OP stated quite clearly that two of the dogs she took issue with were being walked on leads.
That is what people here have a problem with.
Nobody has denied that her dog has been threatened, nobody has denied that antisocial dogs are a problem. Because all of us have experienced this ourselves. Badly behaved dogs are everywhere.
But if a dog is being walked on a lead and is posing no threat, then there is no reasonable justification for complaint.

Absolute nonsense! The majority of German Shepherd owners are very conscientious, train their dogs well and are rarely off lead.

I am not a dog person but love cats. I will say I would rather give a big dog a love than a small dog. Where I live the big dogs are really well trained. There's one who's head is bigger that an adults. But he is so loving and just wants a love. It is the owners, not the size of the dog that is the problem.
I know that isn't always true.

From what you’ve described, it doesn’t sound like the dogs were behaving aggressively or doing anything wrong. It seems more like you have a fear of large dogs — which means the issue isn’t with them, but with your own reaction.

Right, ok. Sounds like we agree on more than I thought we did.

I thought you were saying ‘she’s only complaining about dogs on leads therefore her complaint baseless’. Many posters have posted along those lines, saying things like ‘she hasn’t complained about any anti social behaviour from dogs’. I thought you were joining in with that.

But if you’re actually saying ‘I agree that there’s lots of bad behaviour from dogs and i sympathise with the OP’s bad experiences but she shouldn’t be complaining about the ones on leads’ then we have some common ground and I will leave it there.

Thank you @eastegg
I'm glad we have resolved our differences here.
Your final paragraph accurately sums up my viewpoint on this.

I count myself very fortunate to live in a fairly affluent area where the majority of dogs are relatively well trained. I do feel for those who have to live in areas with a preponderance of status dogs.

All this guff about whether a dog is on a lead or not seems to me beside the point, particularly for those big dogs. Often big dogs seem stronger than the person on the other end of the lead; and even the most placid-seeming dog can change all of a sudden.

Solution? Muzzle all dogs when in public - parks, streets etc. By all means let your dog bite what it likes in your own house and garden; just make sure it can't bite me or my grandkids.

Training dogs looks pretty hit-and-miss, and certainly it would be irrational to trust a dog person's assessment of their own dog's capacity to do harm. So ...

I know you dog people won't like this. But really it's the only solution that makes any sense. Muzzles.

I think you're wrong...
The op doesn't sound scared of dogs at all, just people's incompetence and inconsideration around them and others.
When I see a large dog off lead I don't know whether it's kind or friendly, or it's gonna eat me!! Why should I have to worry about it? Just keep your dog on a lead.
I understand your point about small dogs being aggressive too, but their damage capability is nothing compared to a large multi stone breed.

Just show consideration for others and leash your dog when others are in the same area trying to have a relaxing walk with their pet.

@nund

I am absolutely not muzzling my dog just because of her size and weight. Only reactive dogs (or those legally obliged to wear muzzles) should be muzzled.

If any of my dogs had ever given me a reason to doubt their stability around dogs or people, then yes, I would have muzzled. But none of my past dogs ever showed any aggression, and nor does my current girl, so no, I will not muzzle just to suit the anti dog crusaders.

And FYI, handling large breed dogs is not all about brute force, it is mostly down to technique, and knowing your own dog well enough to predict how they will behave in any given situation.

All you have done in this post today is show your ignorance about proper, responsible dog handling and management. You are making yourself look even more of a fool than you did a few days ago.

@TheFunDog
Two points:
First, the OP also complains about big dogs that were on a lead. How is this fair to those of us who do keep our dogs on leads and under control?
Second, if you check out dog death stats and dog bite stats you will find a fair few terriers implicated in deaths. Mainly Staffies but also several Jack Russells.
Please check your facts before joining in with the anti big dog hysteria.
Thank you.

When I see a large dog off lead I don't know whether it's kind or friendly, or it's gonna eat me!! Why should I have to worry about it? Just keep your dog on a lead

This again?
It’s very easy to work out if a dog is aggressive or not. If it’s wandering about minding its own business and ignoring you, then it doesn’t want to attack you. If it comes over to you snarling and snapping, it’s probably aggressive. How many times have you experienced the latter exactly?

Christ I feel like posting two pictures side by side to show aggressive dog vs calm dog!!

I know you dog people won't like this. But really it's the only solution that makes any sense. Muzzles

Theres no point in even having an opinion about this statement because it will never happen.

Here we are…. One of these dogs is aggressive, the other is not. Now, can anyone tell me which is which?

I did the calm dog up thread, with my very chilled, placid LGD breed. Just to counter the "guard dogs can't be cute" argument.

We met a gaggle of giggling girls (aged 9 or 10) on our walk this morning and the all went in raptures over my pup. She was on a sturdy webbing lead, walking calmly, completely under control, but now, because of this thread, I shudder to think what the parents (or aggressive grannies) would have said. It's really sad that they are teaching their children to hate and not discriminating between a dangerous dog and a friendly, well socialised one. It never used to be like this.

She sounds lovely. I doubt the parents (or grannies for that matter) thought anything of it other than how lovely she was. I don’t think people whinging about dogs bigger than a Labrador on here are representative of people in real life. I have literally never encountered these opinions from anyone.

Everyone I know is either a dog lover, or indifferent towards them. I know no dog haters at all. I wouldn’t trust anyone who hated dogs anyway 😉

@TheGreatDownandOut
I'm relieved that you haven't encountered this in real life either. I had no real concept of dog hate before I joined MN. Fear of dogs, yes, I am respectful of that, but the rabid loathing and level of anger on threads here is quite surreal.

@CoubousAndTourmalet I am convinced some of them are on the wind up.

All logic and reason seems to have gone out of the window. It is my understanding that it is vanishingly rare for a dog to attack a human without being provoked. Can we always judge that provocation by human standards? Of course not. But if a dog feels that he, his owner or his territory is under threat he may exhibit reactive behaviour. But he will give several warnings prior to attacking, which is always a last resort.

Im sure I read somewhere that most dogs will choose flight over fight if they can. If they’re cornered, or interestingly - on a lead - they cannot run so they choose to make themselves big and intimidating and snarl and growl and if those warnings aren’t heeded, they may lunge and bite.

Reading some of the comments on here, it’s as if people believe that large dog breeds have one thought and one thought only in their heads - that they’re out looking for someone to attack. And that’s just not the case.

I personally believe the worst behaviour most people will encounter from large dogs is them excitedly jumping up at you. This is not good manners and should be trained out of the dog, and it could cause harm of course but it’s not aggressive.

I remember many years ago, a storm blowing down a fence between my house and the neighbours. They had a dog. I couldn’t tell you what breed as it was a mongrel but it was a medium sized dog and was quite clearly a young dog. He was so annoying. Every time I went in to my garden before my fence was fixed he would come and jump up at me and ‘bite’ my arm but it was a play bite, nothing more. It was winter, I had a thick coat on. No harm done and it was obvious to me that he wasn’t aggressive! Just hadn’t been taught to be less ‘puppy’ and more ‘adult’ - I did speak to them about it and they were trying to train him out of it.

Sorry - long waffle post but my point is, the majority of sensible humans can tell a mile off if a dog is aggressive or not! It’s inbuilt in to our species to be able to tell if any animal is behaving aggressively.

Yabu. These people are walking their dogs on a lead as are you with you're. Chihuahuas are one of the most aggressive breeds so your anxiety is not based on evidence. Big dog owners in my experience are very aware of their size and have trained them well (far better than my quite naughty little dog! )

All dog owners with dogs off lead in a public space are feckless!

You do not own the public space and are infringing on others freedoms. Too many entitled people around.

Even in places where dogs are allowed off lead, have excellent recall and ignore everyone and every dog in their vicinity? Are those owners feckless, too?

You do not own the public space either, and if dos are allowed off lead and have good recall, then those owners are doing nothing wrong.

You are the entitled one.