To have kicked an old man’s dog?

[itsme189]

This morning I was walking my 2 very small elderly dogs on lead in the woods near me where it’s nice and cool for them.

they love people but they don’t love when dogs run up to them and get all in their face, valid I wouldn’t like that either. If a dog on or off lead just walks past or gives them a quick sniff they don’t mind. I always tell people not to let their dogs come right up to them.
Theyve never bitten just growled and I just don’t want to risk anything.

there was an old man walking a large greyhound type dog off lead and he’s miles away from it it runs at us very fast so I stick my leg in front of my dogs and the dog doesn’t stop runs straight into my leg. He then excitedly throws his foot on top of my smallest dog he squeals in pain and my other dog starts growling and showing teeth.

so I picked them up and then the big dogs starts jumping up at me to get to my dogs so I kick it away.

Old man then starts screaming at me for “abusing” his friendly dog and a lady walking passed then said to him “I saw her kick the dog”

and now I don’t know if I did too much but I was so overwhelmed and worried it would become a fight and there’s no way my old boys would do well in that situation. To make it worse the lady made a post about it in our local Facebook group (luckily no pictures) and everyone’s saying awful things but they only know one side!

For the record the dog was not hurt didn’t even squeal!

I probably would have done the same in that situation. I have read not to pick smaller dogs up as it can trigger the prey drive in larger dogs so makes them just want to get at them more- possibly causing the jumping up on you? but equally if there is no where else to go then my instinct would be to do the same, protect my dogs and probably try to shove the other dog away somehow, with a foot/leg so be it!!

I always put my dog on the lead when I see another dog approaching on lead, and he does have good recall, but you just never know if he takes to a smell or something and could still be off after them!

Surely that’s just good dog etiquette to have them on lead if other dogs are around on lead or your dog has bad recall.

It all sounds quite implausible to be honest - a huge dog pinning her in place, her arms full of her own dogs and she managed to kick the dog? I’m unconvinced.

Ah, yes: the preacher strikes.

To quote a Child ballad:I'll come and go how I do choose, and ask no leave of thee.

Dog owners need to accept that they must keep their dogs under control. It is a mystery to me why this is so difficult for them to understand and why out of control dogs have become so commonplace. Unless another walker indicates that they/ their dog would like to interact, keep the dog out of their way. If this chap had done this it would have avoided the whole incident.

I'm sorry you were subjected to this OP.

You can’t control the actions of others, so do what you can to protect yourself. That’s not victim blaming, it’s just sensible precautionary advice.

Clothing makes no difference to whether a person will be victimised by a sexual abuser. What a grotesque analogy.

I find it quite plausible, in fact: I suspect that if the dog was stretched up to put its paws on her shoulder(s), its belly and genitals were in easy range of a raised foot and what we used to call a "cow-kick". She wouldn't have had far to reach if the dog was that close to her. Nor would it have been possible for it to be a particularly hard kick; not enough travel to it. Just something to shock the animal into leaving off.

You have a strange world view where a big dog getting in the face of a small dog is the fault of the small dog for being aggressive.

I mean a greyhound - it was probably harmless as they are generally really lovely, but also given 90% of greyhounds in private ownership are ex-racers*, he should certainly have it on a lead and probably muzzled because their recall is completely hapless once the chase drive kicks in

*Statistic from Chatgpt

OP said herself the dog was not being aggressive and just wanted to play.

Nice try but OP didn't say this. Someone else suggested this.

The OP was there, the OP gave the facts and asked for advice.

Bit rich given OP said her dog was hurt by the big dog and you don't believe her.

It’s a greyhound not a mastiff, easy to push back without kicking I’d think. But we can all only speculate, we’ve only got one side of the story and all bring our own experiences.

It obviously didn’t seem reasonable to the woman who witnessed it and posted about it in a local Facebook group.

so do what you can to protect yourself

Which is what OP did.

The clothing of the victim used to be a standard thing brought up at rape trials, you know, along with whether the victim had been a virgin: she was wearing a mini-skirt, so she was asking for it and deserved what she got. Quite usual defence attitude. So the victim ought to have been wearing a maxi, or better yet, a twin-set and pearls, I suppose. In the same way it is being suggested the OP ought to train her dogs not to mind being attacked, or walk her dogs in private (because she and they have been victims of an assault): you see?

If reply anonymously on the fb page explaining what had happened and that the poster hadn’t seen it.

This is the most arse about face comment!

You're saying that it's fine for a largely untrained dog with no recall and no manners to be off lead in a public area, but owners of elderly dogs being walked on the lead should only be allowed to do so if they rent private field?

Do you also believe people who don't want a greyhound jumping all over them are only allowed to walk in fields they've rented and not on public footpaths?

How could OP push big dog back when her arms were full of dog?

Yes, and her question was whether it was reasonable in the circumstances. I don’t believe it was, based on what she has described.

So it's fine for other people to protect themselves but not OP.

Next time kick the old fella too and for good measure the busybody passerby who poked her beak in. You did nothing wrong OP.

Really, do you have no upper body strength other than your arms? This is why women need to lift weights!

In your world force is always reasonable, regardless of whether it’s proportionate then? If you’re walking towards me and I feel arbitrarily endangered I can kick you, your kid, your dog? No?

So you think OP should have butted the big dog back with her upper body / chest? She would have had to bend and put her own dogs right in the face of the big dog.

Make it make sense.

Self-defence should be proportionate, which it sounds like it was. OP said big dog wasn't hurt.

I have a dog whose recall is hit and miss… so she’s on the lead / long line when we’re out. She’s a sociable little thing and can recall most of the time… but I can’t trust her nearly enough to let her off.

I’ve also rarely experienced such hot emotion as when another dog came up to her and pinned her. I’m not ashamed to say I adore my dog the way many people adore their children!

I didn’t kick the dog but I roared at the owner. I understand the panic and the need to get your dog to safety. The only thing I can think of is to throw treats for the off lead dog or carry a corrector (like compressed air)…

Not appropriate for training but in an uncomfortable situation that could escalate, I wouldn’t hesitate to use it (or tell the owner why!)

Exactly my point. From what she has described, I disagree it sounds proportionate, but none of us actually know for sure. The most reliable witness is probably the woman who saw what happened, and she clearly didn’t think it proportionate if she shared it on Facebook.

If the paws were on her shoulders she need only shove forward with her torso. If that doesn’t make sense to you I can’t help you any further.