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.

I have a big rescue dog. I would honestly say that he is better trained and managed than the vast majority of smaller dogs we meet. I know that he could come across scary and could do more physical damage (even accidentally) than a small dog so I am accordingly more careful although he is a friendly chap on the whole. I do not take him to busy places or at busy times of day for his own sake as I have learnt that it stresses him out and I have him on a lead nearly all the time apart from in more remote places with a good line of sight. If I come across another person or dog I recall him and put him straight back on a lead. People tend to assume that he is reactive or unfriendly because I do this but he actually isn’t I just want to be better safe than sorry and I feel that at his size any unwanted approach at all would be perceived badly. It’s people with small dogs Jack Russels, mini poodles, cockatoos, shitzus who always have them running about off lead and coming up to my dog. Most of them jump up on me too. Big dogs don’t do that as they don’t need to. I don’t massively care it doesn’t bother me but occasionally I do think that I would never get away with allowing mine to do half of this stuff.

Went for a meal out with MIL and her mini dachshund and I had my dog. I usually would not take mine to an indoor food place but she was insistent. Mine lay down quietly under the table whilst the dachshund sat on her lap trying to climb on the table, beg for food and was constantly whining. It did make me think that mine just doesn’t have an option on that. No one would think it OK to have a massive dog on their lap at a table but a small one gets away with it and it isn’t a good thing for the dog. Same to carrying them around and taking them unsuitable places like clothes shops. Just because you can with a dog that size doesn’t mean you should.

Dangerous dogs should indeed not be in a public park but a large dog that is on a lead I really can’t see the issue and I think OP should review her criteria for dangerous.

Two dogs were on leads, not technically on leads, they were on leads.

If you don’t like the park, go elsewhere with your small dog?

Echo that. Had to give up Saturday morning Parkrun with the kids due to maniac dog owners!

I was in the park on Sunday at a kids event with a picnic. Some idiot had let a German Shepherd loose to roam round stealing food and sniffing children. I remembered the MN thread last week about a dog eating a box of grapes, and realised the GS was trying to get grapes out of our cool box. It made me so angry for the dog that its owner was being so careless. If I could have found them I would have had strong words. I dislike dogs close to me any time, but this seemed extremely ill judged. Surely a Picnic in the Park event is an occasion for a lead? Or are dog owners exempt from consideration for others? I know, not all owners are the same, but it only takes one to ruin the day.

To all those who may wonder why people are starting to hate dog owners so much..

Really sick of so many dogs. It’s completely crazy how many there are. Some irresponsible owners around.

Yes, I do know this. But I don’t understand why you made this point.

The OP hates large dog breeds for just existing. I was trying to talk about all the wonderful large dogs that I know or have met.

I get nervous seeing big dogs off lead but to be fair it’s generally the scary breeds are the best trained dogs (owner of cocker here who would run for the hills if let off lead!).

They do but there are also individual characteristics. And nearly all dogs chase squirrels and most will chase cats and rabbits too. We do let our greyhound off the lead- her biggest risk is dawdling and sniffing everything and being dopey, she would barely notice anything unless it were under her nose. She doesn't chase our cats and we stop her chasing other cats, and she is generally very good with other dogs. I usually end up with her on the lead so that she keeps up rather than in case of running off. We were of course much more careful when we first got her though and she did like a good big run around the playing fields when it was quiet when she was younger.

Some greyhounds have a huge prey drive though but it does vary quite a bit between individuals.

I too am sick of dogs off lead.
We have a lovely promenade and though it’s banned, people let their dogs off lead, the dogs run on ahead and the dogs defecate and the owner doesn’t know or care and the poo is left there. ☹️
It spoils it for the rest of us.
And I’m a dog lover.

My Lhasapoo (inherited from my brother's feckless ex!) can be a knobhead, tbh. He is always walked on lead unless in a dog field with others running freely. Seems to have a tolerance for a certain number of other dogs, will sniff nicely etc (although we don't approach other dogs, he just reacts well to most off lead dogs) and then it's like he's hit his limit and will bark and sometimes snap. Never done anything too bad, and if your off lead dog is approaching my on lead dog and you're ignoring my 'he can get stressed' warning, you need to bloody listen.

This is basically to say you're right and and dog can be a sod, so actually pay attention and listen to owners

I second this. I'd like to know the source of this claim.

I think all owners of big dogs have a responsibility to put their dogs back on the lead in crowded places, or near smaller dogs. My dog is a Border Collie cross, he's a lot bigger than ordinary Border Collies as his mum was a Ridgeback. He's a massive softie, gets upset when other dogs bark at him. But, other people don't know that! I always put him back on the lead if we're in a crowded park, or there are children or small dogs nearby as I know he can be intimidating.

Yay. Again 🤦🏼‍♀️

Doesnt sound like any of these dogs did anything wrong, you just think they shouldnt be allowed there.

I've given up running in parks, commons, beaches, rural areas etc.
Too many incidents of dogs jumping up at me, with no recall, and owners who think I shouldn't have been there in the first place.

I don't think people realise how many people have had to avoid areas, not take young children to green areas, not take the nice woodland path but walk on roads instead etc. People are routinely adjusting their own needs to accommodate dog owners who think their right to allow their dog freedom to do whatever it pleases should take priority.

And dog owners win - because they have the dog, which could be lovely or could be aggressive but its a chance people are less and less willing to take as dog attacks increase.

It's getting terrifying even going for a walk because of those dangerous animals.

If only the world revolved around you all eh?

It’s taken years to get my child comfortable around dogs again. DS was 2 and a medium sized dog ran towards him, then licked his face. The owner just shouting how he’s friendly don’t worry.

i never said anything as I was too shocked but if a horse the same height at me ran towards me stopped, opened it’s mouth then licked me I’m pretty sure I would be panicked too.

To many dog owners saying don’t worry they are friendly but I don’t want your dog on me or my children. Just because they are friendly doesn’t give automatic consent to everyone

Only dogs we have ever had issue with where the small cute ones.

A chihuahua, a white fluffy thing? And come kinda Poo dog.

Husband bitten, child bitten, our own dogs bitten.

Never so far had an issue with a gsd or rottie.

and those little dogs where all off leash with owners who thought they were cute and being friendly or playing.

Sure a bit dog can do more damage but your more likely to be attacked by one of those handbag sized things.

I think there are several threads to unpick here.

1. @Purplehat123 appears to be anxious of dogs, despite owning one. I work with dogs every day, and I can say with 100% certainty that dogs gravitate towards nervous people and / or people who want them to stay away.
2. Leading on from point 1, anxious owners have anxious dogs. Dog ownership per capita has increased exponentially, and as the population is growing, there is a massive increase in dog presence. Couple this with more people having some sort of issue, it is no wonder that there are more dogs with issues too.
3. Leading on from point 2, very few people appear to know how to operate a dog. Or even understand that they are sentient beings. I suspect most owners would be better off with a cuddly toy.
4. Leading on from point 3, basic training is non existent in many cases.
5. Once you get past all that, many people don't understand normal dog behaviour. They don't know the difference between an aggressive bark or an excited bark. Personally, I would rather have a so called aggressive dog, barking, approach me than one that is dead silent, tail bolt upright, and a death stare on its face.
6. Breed isn't really relevant to any of the above, however some dogs have been bred to undertake specific tasks more than others. A good many people don't understand the history of their breed though.
7. Bad breeding is on the rise, so whatever you think you have might not be.
8. It is actually against the law (banned breeds excepted) to walk your dog on a lead constantly (see animal welfare act 2006).

I could go on, but it is a more complicated subject. Mainly, I agree that owners fall into three categories. Those who know what they're doing. Those who know they don't know what they're doing but are trying to learn, and lastly, those who don't know what they're doing and don't even realise it.

The whole big dog vs small dog risk issue isn't because all big dogs are assumed to be badly trained or aggressive, but because they do pose additional risk if they did attack just because of their size.

In risk assessment it is usual to score both the chance of something bad happening and also how bad it would be if it did happen, then multiply these together to get a total 'risk score'.

With dogs your chance of something bad might be eg:
trained, on lead - 1
untrained, on lead - 2
trained, offlead - 3
untrained, offlead - 4

(exact numbers may vary, you might also think untrained/lead is worse than trained/offlead if the dog is strong enough to escape the owner)

and the danger that would be posed might be
small dog - 1
medium dog - 2
large dog - 3

In this situation a well trained small dog on a lead scores 1 (and only 4 if it is untrained and loose) but an untrained off lead large dog scores 12.

Well it is - revolving around dog owners. Fewer and fewer spaces are now dog free.

It's a shame as dogs can bring a lot of joy and can be wonderful. All it would take is changes in legislation (mandatory and continued training, tougher licensing with proper checks, tougher penalties for breaches, better enforcement etc) to deal with irresponsible owners.

It's not always big dogs, some of the most gentle dogs I've come across are the large breeds. The only issue I've ever had is with a staffie, I was out walking my labrador and out of nowhere a off lead staffie came out of nowhere and grabbed my dogs throat. Neither I nor the owner could get the dog off mine for a while, she had to kick her dog off.

I do think all dogs should be on leads in publilc places, especially when there are lots of people, other dogs and children.

Unfortunately, big powerful dog breeds are particularly prized by dim people.

I'd be alarmed to encounter anything like that off lead, and avoid parks etc with my average-sized dog for that very reason.

Completely agree with all of this!!
I was surprised by number 6, though! And not because I disagree with it - quite the opposite. Just didn’t realise it was a thing!