Completely outrageous dog owner behaviour

[Onepeople]

Went for a walk this evening. We live by the sea and my walking route was along the sea front, popular with dog walkers. I am often bothered by dogs off their leads coming up and sniffing me, running round my ankles etc. I find it bloody annoying and inconsiderate really but, whatever.

Tonight though. Dog comes running up to me, leaps up and covers my trousers with his muddy paws. This annoys me and I tell the owner to control her animal. She gives the typical 'He's only saying hello!' response, which always makes me wonder whether I should go up to dog owners and slobber all over them as it's 'only saying hello' apparently. Anyway, the dog carries on jumping up at my so I kick out at it to make it go away.

Obviously in an ideal world I wouldnt have needed to do this. And I kicked out at it, rather than actually kicking it. I knew I wouldn't actually make contact.

Owner comes running up to me, suddenly showing a burst of speed she wasn't capable of when the dog was misbehaving. She screams 'Dont you dare kick my fucking dog!' then shoves me with two hands right in my chest. I almost lost my balance, but just about stayed upright before her friend dragged her away. I honestly thought she was going to punch me.

Not sure why I am writing this other than the fact that I am still a bit shocked and shaky.

I know that not all dog owners are like this, and that this woman seems to be particularly twatty. But God sometimes I hate them all. Bloody dogs and their bloody inconsiderate owners. Control your animals!

I have clearly acknowledged the dog owner is wrong in an earlier post.

Again, you don’t have to agree with me but you don’t need to be so rude either. A little civility goes a long way.

I walk daily in my local park. I’m never bothered my other people’s dogs. <misses point of thread>

My apologies.

Thank you. I get it because I used to do it and probably still do more than I should. I am trying though.

You sound very unpleasant. Yes, it’s irritating, but to strike out kicking though you “didn’t kick the dog” is more aggressive on your part and signals you had the intent of kicking the dog.
And if it was my dog, you’d bring out aggression in me. People’s dogs are important members of the family!

I was out for a run once and someones yappy wee dog started chasing after me and snapping at my ankles. Apparently was being friendly too. Would not leave me alone
I actually had to turn round and go the other way home. It kept bloody chasing me but then it made contact with my foot and stopped. I didnt kick it but more it ran into my foot. Stopped the bloody dog in its tracks though.

Also had someones dog muddy my trousers too. Woman laughed thinking i would too. She was genuinely shocked i was annoyed! She thought i would enjoy her dogs 'playfulness'.

Pointed out i was on my way to work covered in mud. No apology just and embarassed woman walking away.

Christ, the lengths people go to to defend an out of control animal lunging at a person.

I actually have IRL experience of this, as a dog went for my baby daughter (a long time ago). I did kick it, and made contact, and the owner called the police. The police were completely understanding and gave the owner a formal caution.

I appreciate the attempts to give advice such as raise a knee or turn away, but many people are not dog owners or specialists and have no obligation to be. Everybody should be safe to walk around parks and green spaces, regardless of their knowledge of dog behaviour/reactions.

To those criticising the OP, if a random man lunged at you in a park and you kicked him, and then people here said you behaved badly because you should have employed X de-escalation strategy or Y self-defence technique, you'd call it victim blaming.

Did this really happen, though?

I find it strange how there are so many feral dogs that happen to attack MNers.

Do you all wear t-shirts out in public and smear them with Spam or something?

A dog that physically touches me...I have a right to force them bsck. A responsible owner needs their dog under close control at all times.

Wr are insanely lenient with dog behaviour nowadays and it's absolutely unfair on people and particularly children who are afraid of or just don't like dogs

For those doubting this

One of my children is autistic and terrified of dogs. We are frequently approached by off lead dogs. Even in areas where dogs are meant to be on leads or in cafes and indoor spaces

There are large numbers of very very bad and lazy dog owners. Not all.but a large amount.

It’s not unlucky because it’s very common, there’s out of control dogs everywhere. I see them in parks, cafes, shops etc.

I usually don’t get jumped on only because I am quite hyper vigilant and give them a wide berth and walk the other way etc.

I would have kicked you into the middle of next week if you had so much as looked at my dog in an aggressive manner.
Be warned

OP I’m sorry that happened to you. Next time if you see her again start recording just in case.

I have been dealing with some health stuff and to cut a long story short if a dog jumps up on me I could end up in hospital. So I recently asked my building managers to ask al dog owners in our block to get a handle on their dogs as a few were running loose in the communal areas. Apart from the disgusting fouling and it being annoying it’s dangerous as dogs can be so unpredictable and may even harm you without meaning to.

I haven’t had a dog jump on me for years, but last time one did I froze in fear and got scratched up on my upper thighs. I did report the owner and we had words!

If a dog does run towards me I may well need to stick a foot out to protect myself.

Never trust someone who doesn’t love dogs. Crazy fuckers

That’s awful. They can be so selfish. I bets they just ignore the look of fear on your child’s face. I hope you tell them it’s not okay and their dogs are not more important than your child who is minding their own business.

I wouldn't allow any of my dogs to be off lead and out of control. The young one would run up to people, so I don't let him off in public. The owner was in the wrong for not having her dog under control, but so were you for kicking. You can't tell the difference between what you describe as "kicking out" and kicking with intent to harm.

While I wouldn’t advocate harming an animal, you clearly weren’t, and were acting in self defence. You were in the right and she was bat shit.

Pity you can’t carry an electronic cattle prod with you. I like dogs but find it so annoying when owners say, it’s just being friendly when they bound up to you.

control your dog then and it wouldn’t be a problem

I wouldn’t think twice about kicking your dog to get it away from me and again I wouldn’t think twice about reporting you for assault

It’s perfectly reasonable to kick an out of control dog to get on away

I have no interest in yours or anyone else’s dog so If you are a responsible dog owner it wouldn’t come anywhere near me .
me kicking it would be your fault not mine
not everyone want to say hello to your dog respect that

Wow this thread is bringing out some very violent people. @Goodtosayso you need help to control your aggression.

i dont understand why the dog was supposedly muddy

I don't blame you OP.

I was bothered by 3 off lead dogs sniffing me when I was sitting on a bench by the rowing lake. When I finally got the owner's attention, they wouldn't come back to him. I told him he needs to train them to come back if he's got them off the lead. Nope, apparently I shouldn't sit where people walk their dogs.

For everyone who says dogs never run up to them, I noticed a dramatic difference moving from one part of a city to another.

The terribly middle class, family friendly zone, I suspect they all have dog walkers during the week and the dog is something of a weekend accessory, they go for a walk and the dog runs riot around them, they don't actively walk the dog, and they rely heavily on everyone being too middle class polite to complain about their dog's behaviour.

New area, not quite as affluent and borders rougher parts, more people actually properly exercise and socialise their dogs daily themselves, and there is a higher risk someone will tell you to your face if your being an arse, or possibly twat you.

The popular park in less affluent area is bordered by roads as well. In the posh bit it's a massive wooded area with one way in and one way out so less chance of your dog just fucking off out of it if you're not paying attention.

What complete and utter, utter bollocks you absolute prat