AIBU to think dog owners should actually be responsible for their dogs in public spaces?

[Dilemma87]

I’ve had a couple of situations recently that have really annoyed me.

First one I was out running along the beach and a dog coming in the opposite direction suddenly ran straight at me and jumped up. I had to shout several times to find the owner, who was on the other side of a wall and couldn’t even see their dog.

Then today in an estuary car park, two dogs came flying towards me. I shouted to the owner that I’m scared of dogs and asked him to call them back. His response was to tell me to “go to therapy” because there are “plenty of dogs around.”

I don’t have an issue with dogs being in these places at all. Plenty of owners have them on leads or keep them close and under control.

But surely if your dog is going to run up to strangers, jump up, or not respond to recall, it should be on a lead?

AIBU to think that’s just basic responsibility as a dog owner

To be honest , your dog is being annoying and out of control
There’s nowhere you can go these days that you can go for a nice walk dog free

And this is the issue . . . 🙄

There are dogs EVERYWHERE now and because of the pandemic of dog ownership a very large number of them are badly trained and out of control. I don’t mind dogs but I’m not overly keen on them throwing themselves at me because they’re “being friendly”. I’m not going to avoid dogs in public spaces because people can’t train them - that’s very much a dog owner problem not a non dog owner enjoying open spaces problem. FFS.

People have been killed, maimed and injured by their own family dog when something triggered it...

as a dog lover I agree - owners should be more aware of where their dogs are - if not then keep them on a lead. Beaches are unfortunately more common where you get dogs running away from owners for longer distances. Teddy was attacked by a staffy on a beach and the owner eventually ran up to us holding a muzzle and a lead in her hand. Other day, Teddy curiously walked up to a woman who didn't want to stroke him, so we called him away and he came back to us instantly - no issues. I'm afraid seeing these anti dog posts that the well behaved ones like Teddy are going into the minority.

I am a dog owner, but you are an arsehole! People should be allowed to go places without dogs running up to them. If your dog is off lead you should have enough control over them that they will not run up to another person.

I have a family member who is very anti dogs, they go walking most days as they love being out in nature. If they come across dogs they will ask owners to keep them away, if they don't they will attempt to shoo the dog away and if that doesn't work they will kick out. I do not support this and have told them that they need to stop but I can totally understand why they do it. If you let your dog run up to random people that is a risk you take.

You can’t go anywhere without dogs now even cafes etc so the least owners can do is keep them on a lead and not let them jump all over you

You dog should have sufficient recall such that you can call him back before he reaches another person.

Seriously - you have no business letting your dogs run up to strangers, however friendly. They should be properly trained if off lead not to do this.

This is dog-owner entitlement.

People have a right to 'insist' on visiting the beach, the park, John Lewis....

And I like dogs.

All dogs should be kept on a lead in public and only allowed off in designated areas. Don’t even get me started on those long extendable leads!

😂

You are not a minority I am glad to say and I really do appreciate people who call the dog back and keep them under control

My son has had dogs chasing after him, or running up to him to say ‘hello’ and then won’t leave him alone and keep jumping up to him that he’s now terrified of dogs and won’t go to the local park where that keeps happening. Every time I confront the owners, every time I’m told that particular dog is friendly etc. he’s young, he finds it frightening, it’s disruptive, keep dogs on a lead unless you can ensure they won’t chase and approach others. Infuriating.

My dog is beautiful and friendly and everyone that sees her wants to make a fuss of her. However if she ran up to someone just to say hello I would be mortified! She is offlead only where there are no peoples around at the moment as she is only 9 months. I take her out on lead to places with lots of people so she can practice not running up or jumping up. Only when and if I am confident she would stay with me would she be off lead.

I love dogs but I think they should be under control. This does take a lot of work though and some people don’t bother.

I have lost count of the number of times a dog has jumped up at us and on every single occasion the owners attitude has stunk.

Some aren't too bad and just tell you that you are a sad individual if you don't like their dogs, others insist on telling you that their dog is friendly and then get in a huff when you tell them that you don't care, you just don't want the dog near you and ask them to take it away. One charming individual told my husband that he must be mentally ill.

We have yet to meet one who simply apologises and removes their dog immediately.

We have also had the response that we shouldn't walk in places where people want to walk their dogs!

The most asinine phrase that owners of uncontrolled dogs come out with when the dog is bothering someone minding their business: “don’t worry, he's friendly!” Friendly until it isn’t. Even if it is friendly, respect boundaries.
I’m afraid it’s because of this sort of owner - and there are many of them - that people like me who were indifferent about dogs have very little patience with them now.

That's a typical response from someone who simply doesn't get that not everyone loves your dog.

For the record, I don't mind dogs, but no-one's dog should be running up to strangers and jumping up on them with their muddy paws.

I'm not sure this is a serious post

As a dog owner, I agree entirely with you. We not only should keep them under control, but are legally obliged to.

And it’s because of people like you give responsible dog owners a bad name.
my dog Can be reactive to dogs approaching him even when I give fair warning that my dog is reactive.
I feel the same about people too.
you have no idea how someone else or another dog will react to your ‘friendly’ dog.
If you can’t train him to ignore people keep him on a fucking lead.

people like you are the bane of my life.
Get control of your dog.
The rest of us manage.
And to the OP you definitely not being unreasonable

Oh God make it stop.

Since 2025 we've had this thread just about every week and often multiple times per week.

Your thread title is asking a ridiculous question which I'm quite sure you know the answer to.

Your complaints are valid but is there any need to pretend you think you might not be unreasonable?

I feel very sorry for responsible competent dog owners who have taken trouble to properly train their dogs, and who have common sense and consideration.

I have recently experienced:
A dog pissing on my rucksack while I was with Dc in a rock pool 20 m away. Owners response? "Well what do you want me to do? Have your bag dry cleaned or something?" in a nasty sarky tone
A dog forcefully thrusting it's head between my very frail parents at a pub table and grabbing some of their meal from their plates. After I had already asked them to keep their dog by their table rather than roaming about under ours. Response from owner: "awww hahahaha, how sweet, she's so greedy" (lunch was ruined for my parents)
Dog approaching me on a path on the fells, 'guarding' the family who were sitting on rocks. It had its tail down, side to side, head down, growling at me. I called over and asked them to call her. Response: "she's friendly, look she's wagging her tail! She's a rescue so she isn't socialised, just ignore her". Nope. No Way - she was preparing to have a go at me if I kept moving forwards.

And have a look at the Horsey Gap Seal Charity - a video of a dog biting and harrassing a young seal on the beach as it desperately tries to get away - while the owner half heartedly and totally ineffectively calls the dog back - while videoing it

I am so so tired of entitled dog owners. Two incidents just the past weekend-

Walking in a nature reserve with many clear signs saying dogs must be on short leads. Got a load of abuse for asking someone to put their dog on a lead as it was rampaging around terrorising the breeding waterbirds. Another reserve near me has had to close entirely as this is such an issue.

Dh waking locally and being relentlessly harassed by a jumping snarling dog. Woman refuses to put it on a lead with the classic 'he's just being friendly' even as she's having to hold it by the collar as it growls at him.

I'm very much an animal lover, dogs included, and this is 100% a people issue. Hopefully it'll calm down once the pandemic dogs start dying off!

My dog are always lead in public, they are friendly but big and bouncy with selective recall so I don’t let them get into trouble.

I don’t have an issue with dogs being around, especially on the beach you expect that. You can usually tell the difference between a dog just wandering near you and one that’s going to leave you alone vs one that won’t.

That sounds awful about your dog being attacked as well, and then having to try and track down the owners afterwards. That’s exactly the kind of situation people are worried about.

Glad I’m not the only one that feels like this. I see loads of dogs on these routes and, even though I’m not comfortable around them, I feel fine when they’re close to their owners or on leads and under control.

There are also rules in place for a reason, like certain beaches requiring dogs to be on leads or banned during parts of the year, and those tend to be enforced pretty strictly.

I do think since Covid there’s been a big increase in dog ownership, but not everyone seems to understand the responsibility that comes with it, especially around control and training. It’s not just about the dog, it’s about other people, children, and other dogs being safe too.

My dog is a very friendly dog and I have her off the lead more than on, however I would never allow her to approach someone unless they also had an unleashed dog. Common sense really....