To consider reporting this dog owner?

[AInightingale]

Once a week for the last couple of months, I've had to walk a particular route with my son (re. an activity he's been doing). We pass a house on our way, and the owner has a Doberman dog kept in the garden. Every time we pass, this dog comes charging across to the fence (a high metal one) barking like mad. Naturally, given the breed, it's a bloody terrifying sight if it catches you unawares. I'd forgotten about it today and it scared the living daylights out of me. The house is next to a busy road.
It made me think back to my son when he was about four or five and petrified of all dogs, when he would just scream and run if he saw one. I had to keep a pretty tight hold on him because of it, was a stressful time. We now have our own dog and he's okay with them. But the way this animal behaves is concerning me for the safety of other children - the traffic on this road is non-stop. Surely dog owners aren't allowed to let animals roam about their gardens behaving in this way? No doubt the owner would say it's a guard dog just doing its job (god knows why, the house is a shit tip). I don't like dogs being penned but I don't like having the bejasus scared out of me either.

Sounds like it hasn't, and can't, get out? What are you planning on saying, that they have a dog that they are containing safely in their garden?

Presumably the high metal fence is there to contain the dog on private property. Which law do you think is being broken or do you think it is being neglected?

(Not a dog owner)

If the dog is in its own garden, behind a high fence, why are you concerned about the safety of children? I understand it must give you a fright, but you can't report a dog for barking in its own garden? I feel sorry for it being stuck there all day.

So the dog is contained and can’t harm you? It sounds like a guard dog and it’s doing its job….

I get it could be alarming, but they’re doing absolutely nothing wrong.

The dog is on a private property behind a secure fence. If you are uncomfortable about it barking, then you could cross to the other side of the street and not pass the house.

No it can't get out obviously, but it is just unpleasant, to say the least, to have that couple of seconds of sheer panic when an enormous aggressive dog comes bounding towards you out of the blue. People shouldn't have to cross the road to avoid triggering it.

Does it look emaciated, sores on the body, tied by the neck or other signs of neglect, or the issue is that its barking and protecting its property?

Edited to say that I agree its scary if a dog suddenly appears from behind a fence and barks at you, but I doubt you could notify anyone unless you had neglect concerns. Have you tried speaking to the owners?

Dobermanns were bred as protection dogs, it’s protecting its property, barking as a deterrent. This doesn’t mean that the dog is aggressive. I have two, they will bark at noises in the garden and are either told to be quiet or brought straight in. I personally wouldn’t leave them outside to bark at passers by. We pass lots of gardens on our walks where dogs are going berserk barking at us, we usually take a different route. It isn’t ideal but there’s nothing we can do about it, most dogs will protect their territory.

I always think that those big dogs that behave like that are so aggressive because they lead such a confined life and must be bored and frustrated. Someone on our street has a breed that was bred to guard livestock and have a free range out door life style on grassy mountain slopes. Instead it is stuck in a central London terrace with no garden. It is very aggressive towards people and goes completely bonkers when it sees another dog.

I can't get out what you think anymore can fo about it. Unless the dog is being hurt in anyway. It's in its own garden and secure

No, it looks healthy enough though the house is a bit of a dump (rubbish, old cars up on bricks etc). Wouldn't imagine the people that actually live around there are happy living next to them, or about a massive dog charging towards them every time they walk down the road, but it's not illegal I guess - though putting people in fear might be something councils take a dim view of, I'm not sure. It's the safety aspect of potentially putting a child in danger if they panic and run towards the road that concerns me tbh. Some young children are petrified of dogs.

Who are you thinking of reporting it to?

Don’t walk past that house then. What a ridiculous post. “Report this dog owner”? For what? Keeping their dog safely contained in their own garden?? What next? Your neighbours “reporting” you for your offensive Christmas illuminations they don’t like?

Nothing fir the council to get involved with.

young kids/child out on the streets on there own without adult supervision?

This is all highly hypothetical. Some young children are indeed petrified of the dogs. So what can we do about it? Absolutely nothing. It's the job of the parents to deal with their child and it's the job of the dog owner to keep the dog contained as he, indeed, is doing.
The option to cross the street is still available to you. And no, it's not to avoid triggering the dog. It's to avoid triggering yourself and your child.

You’ve got nothing to report. The dog is contained and looked after. You don’t know if there is a noise issue because you see it once a week and only the neighbours could lodge one. What would you tell the RSPCA? A big contained dog is barking at me and gives me a jump every week? They will not action that as there isn’t anything to action. If a child is young enough it runs across the road, then that child shouldn’t be unsupervised, it isn’t the dogs fault if it’s properly contained

Report them for what?

Get an actual life. HTH.

So, people can keep vast aggressive dogs which they don't need for any real purpose and if it makes life unpleasant for their neighbours or passers-by, they can just suck it up or get a life.
Sorry, I forgot this was mumsnet, where a child not clamped to their parent's hand until the age of eight or who behaves unpredictably for any reason is a feral lowlife and improperly parented. Silly me!

A child could get a fright and run out on to the busy road.

I agree with PP that it’s not illegal but it feels like very irresponsible dog ownership to me. It’s not fair on the dog, the neighbours or the passers by.

and yes the OP could take another route or cross the road but what about anyone else walking past who’s not aware and experiences this for the first time?

I have a large dog breed myself and would definitely not accept this from my dog. My own dog used to bark and growl at next door neighbours dog through the fence if they were both in the back garden at the same time. A few weeks of training and it’s no longer an issue. If I hadn’t managed to train my dog not to be reactive in that situation I wouldn’t have left her out the back alone - it would drive my neighbours insane!

YABU, what exactly are you going to report? A dog barking in its own secure garden...

A child that is scared of dogs could also potentially run out in the road when passing a house that has a yappy dog in the window. If the dog is secure, then it is up to the parent to manage their child's fears.

Report and then come back and tell us how you got on. Doubt you will get far or just go a different route or cross the road.

You'd have more to worry about if it were a Doberman that was absolutely silent in a garden without a massive steel fence.

Report what and to who? You sound very classist