To say you'll know if I hit your out of control dog

[Lovedogsbutnotyours]

Don't you just love it when you're in the park with your 4yo, 2yo and dog (who is, as a dog should be, well trained and under control) and someone else's out of control dog comes charging over and starts jumping up and grabbing at your ball thrower while the owners do... absolutely nothing? And then when the dog finally goes they don't put it on lead, but let it do exactly the same thing again five mins later nearly knocking the kids over.
Owners finally ran down when I pushed the dog away. Apparently I'm in the wrong for moving their dog away and he's "scared" of the thrower (least scared dog I've ever seen, he was having a whale of a time grabbing, tugging and barking at me) and I'm a bad mum for hitting their dog. Mate, you'll know if I hit your dog and if you can't control it I'll control it for you and will absolutely push it away from me and my kids. For future reference, the correct response is to apologise profusely the first time, put your dog on lead and get some training.

Personally I think all dogs should be on leads all the time when public places, unless it is a separate, secure area just for dogs.

Well you didn't hit it if you pushed it away.

Best thing you can do for all concerned but especially your dog is to get rid of the ball thrower.

Oooh careful OP...... I had 2 dogs corner me and my 4 & 2 year old a few years ago, they got us in a corner and we're barking and growling at us ( they wrre well known in the area for biting people on the school run ) I kicked out at one when it was lunging at my toddler to try and get it away from us and everyone on here said I was being unreasonable 😅

"It's alright, they don't bite", shouts the dog owner from half a mile away, as their 'precious' bounds towards me and jumps up, muddy paws all over my coat. "Ah, maybe not, but I f***g kick!"

Completely agree. They’re failing their animal.

This place is not representative of how normal people think. If an out of control dog is bothering my kids they are going to get moved out of the way or I’m going to shout at the owners to get their bloody dog.

I hate taking my daughter to the park as guaranteed, there is either off lead dogs that come running and barking up to you, scaring the shit out of us, OR there is a dog in the kids play area. Guaranteed. The result is I hate and despise dogs. And their owners. Its just too much!

Oh look. More shit, entitled dog owners spoiling things for other people by letting their dog do whatever it wants. Shocker!

I’m a dog owner - spaniel so needs off lead time. I’ve trained her in safe spaces before going where children would be and if we see a child looking worried I pop her back on the lead. There’s a special kind of arrogance and lazy dog ownership where their dog will misbehave but they’ll blame someone else with “my dog doesn’t like a ball thrower” or “my dog gets scared of other dogs” and don’t seem to comprehend that if they spot a situation that’ll cause their dog to misbehave then they need to get it back on the lead. Sadly these people are the same thick people who don’t pick up their dog poo.

Now that's insane but dog owners on MN do not like their dogs being criticised or told their houses smell 🤣

Exactly. I pushed it away. Repeatedly, because the owners were incapable of getting or controlling it (the female owner was actually stood in a queue to get a coffee from the cafe at this point - while calling over "don't hit my dog"). But if I'd have hit it they would have known the difference.

I have zero interest in helping these entitled idiots have a more enjoyable walk. The onus to train their dog to behave appropriately in the environment they take it to is on them. And as for my dog, thanks for your concern but she has a thorough warm up and cool down before and after and enjoys playing fetch about once a fortnight, normally in water so there's no joint damage issues.

I wish dog owners would just keep their bloody dogs on a lead. I’m sick to death of those people “he’s friendly” “he’s fine”. Well ours bloody well isn’t! He’s dog reactive after being attacked twice! To make things worse ours is a Staffy and would obviously get the blame if an altercation were to happen. We’ve taken to wearing a go pro when we walk him now.

Second this 👆
You pushed it away, that's fine. But never to hit a dog, unless it's attacking you. Owners should have put their dog on the lead after the first incident. I never throw a ball when other dogs are near as most will do the same as that dog. I'm move away then throw the ball for my dog.

I threw a shoe at a dog that was pissing up my son's sandcastle on the beach, while he was building it. The owner appeared from nowhere and went ballistic. I told her that her dog was not under her control and I will throw more stuff at it if it bothers us again. She kept repeating that she's allowed to have her dog on the beach (which I wasn't disputing) and couldn't understand that her dog should not be bothering other people. When did dogs become more important than humans?

This happened to me when ds was 2 and dd was 8, we were taking a quiet break under a tree on a grassy area on the path home (main route for the school run and also for dog walkers) and a massive dog came charging at my ds and kept trying to get past me to my son. In the end I pushed it away with my foot. Owner initially nowhere to be seen and then was trying and failing to recall his dog. I shouted at him that if he has no power of recall dog should be on a lead and he hurled abuse at me. Then a random lady passing by had a HUGE go at me because I “kicked a dog” and was an animal “abuser”.

I was so shocked by the whole thing, I never walked that way again.

Dogs on leads AT ALL TIMES unless on private land, that should be the answer. They should NEVER be roaming in public spaces where they may be pedestrians or cyclists who take priority every single time.

I was on the beach with my 3yo DD last week and a massive black dog ran over (nobody else on the beach) and started barking at her. Male owner was a long way away and didn’t call the dog back once. Daughter was terrified, and she loves dogs.

it wasn’t even that it wasn’t trained, the guy just didn’t care.

I'm really sorry you had to go through this, as A responsible dog owner and longtime dog walker, I've been through a situation like this many times. People should not let their dogs off the lead in a public place, ever. In a enclosed dog park, you know what you're in for, your chose to go there, otherwise, it is against the law for dogs to be off the lead.

"Oh he's friendly" "Oh he doesn't bite" "Oh he's just excited"... You know what, I love dogs, but I hate owners like this. And yes, the dog may be friendly and typically doesn't bite and maybe excited but that doesn't mean that there won't be an accident, someone especially a small child won't get knocked over or accidentally bitten, I say accidentally, because it can happen, just the edge of the dogs tooth as his mouth is open as he's panting can smash against a child's skin and tear, I know, cuz I've seen it happen.
It wasn't a "bite", but it was a dog mouth/teeth causing lacerating damage to human skin.

I began carrying a high-powered and brightly neon colored water gun. (Think super soaker.) The kind you can pump up with air. Brightly colored because you don't want anyone to think that you're actually carrying a weapon. Not gigantic, but enough that it's got some oomph to it. I hang it off my belt, and when I go for a walk It's pumped and ready to go.
I also carry a large walking stick that is very solid.

100% I agree with you that this other dog owner was in the wrong. I don't blame the dog so much, dogs are just doing what they do, but the dog should have been on a leash and under control. Your dog or your children or both could have been injured, intentionally, or through play. Doesn't matter.

Most dog owners are responsible, law-abiding, poop picking, leash using, and careful.
The irresponsible dog owners should be neutered.

I'm very happy for dogs to be off lead, I think the vast majority need to be, but they absolutely need to be well trained and you need to be paying attention. If your dog isn't at that point you use a long line and keep training. If your dog goes near someone who actively isn't trying to engage them you call them back straight away. You absolutely do not let them harass people multiple times. We have also had sandcastles and even bags pissed on 🤮 Like the idea of a super soaker!

I walk my spaniel leaded up, till we get to the woods, out of nowhere up bounds an overly friendly dog, it’s ok says it’s owner, he’s very friendly, just wants to play…. well my dog doesn’t and I always yell, well I’m not fucking friendly, so off you go😀

So, I will say that 'training' doesn't always work. I've spent thousands of pounds and thousands of hours on improving my dog's reactivity, but we are still at the point where a simple walk garners 'train your dog' comments when she decides to start barking at an innocent spaniel across the road. Like, thanks dude - never thought of that.

However, the difference is that I'm fully aware of this truth and, as such, take no chances. My dog is on lead at all times in public, even if no other people or dogs are around, and I've become very good at forseeing potential hazards and keeping her well away.

If I let her run freely up to others, being her worst self, I'd fully expect her to get a kick and it would be my fault for putting her in that position. As it was these owners fault for forcing you into a situation where you had to lay hands on their dog. Not unreasonable at all.

I'm completely with you - there's a lady who walks a muzzled lab who kicks off every time we pass it but she's always trying with him and always has him under control. Some dogs struggle, and that is in no way easy for them or their owners. I'm always friendly with her, she (and you) are doing the best they can for their dog and the general public

Just curious. Why are ball throwers bad for dogs?

It's the types of dogs I'm seeing around lately that worry me too, there's a man with a huge GSD that goes so crazy he has to brace himself close to the ground when it sees another dog where I used to live and I would see him with it off the lead when he thought he was somewhere "remote", it completely ruined a nice walking spot I used to go to. A gsd/pit mix charged my older dog and I hit it with my ballthrower and the useless slime owner threatened to punch me, and most recently before we moved a caucasian shepherd ran out of an industrial estate alot of people walk their iffy dogs on and went straight for my pomeranian. My other dog got infront of it and my partner who does muay thai kicked it like a football and suddenly the owner appeared and threatened to rip out his spleen, guess I should have just sacrificed my cute little pet so fluffy gets to maul freely!

It wasn't the best area to live in but most of the bother apart from some scruffy gardens was loose dogs and barking dogs, as soon as I found out I was pregnant we moved because the thought of trying to take a toddler out here where people keep fighting breeds and mountain bear protection breeds was too much. There's 0 accountability from these owners and I hate how many of them have the worst kind of dogs to have 0 accountability about. I didn't walk my dogs alone because since covid there are so many stupid dogs around and it used to be the highlight of my day. Luckily here it's mainly soft spaniels and labs.