Are there still any responsible dog owners left?

[Cla7]

I just got attacked by three dogs in our local park when I was out with my toddler. Knowing what might happen, I always stay right at his side so I was able to lift him up when the dogs charged at him. They started to jump up at me and nipped me, luckily not him. I screamed at the dog owners but they weren’t even that bothered, just half heartedly called them back. No apology, apparently it’s fine because they only nipped me and ‘had they actually attacked I wouldn’t be standing here talking anymore’. I have red bite marks but no broken skin. They doubled down saying that toddlers reassemble prey and that everyone with a brain should know that, so why would I take my toddler to a park where dogs are around.

Am I really expecting too much wanting to walk in the park with my toddler and not get attacked? Sadly this is not the first time it’s happened. Where have we come to and in the light of dog owners not being responsible, is it time for stricter rules?

But you said it's not the first time it's happened. If I were you, I'd call now. Why wait for something bad to happen with 3 dogs attacking people in the park?

Take your bitchy eye roll and jog on.

Surely if you believe there are 3 scary out of control dogs running around your local area attacking people, and treating toddlers like prey it is a “right now” issue you should be contacting the police about?
unless of course your original post is a slight exaggeration

101 or an online police report.
You can even use another tab on your browser so you can keep us all updated about these savage beasts that didn't wound you.

OP didn’t say the dogs were treating the child like prey, the actual owner said that which is AWFUL.

So why wouldn’t that be a ‘right now issue’?

I know what you mean! I feel the same way about parents

There are several things at play here. I work with dogs, so am out and about in places where dogs are walked more often than many. I find that there are several types of owner:

1. Those who are self absorbed, on phones, listening to headphones or whatever. Essentially, the dog is about number ten on the list of priorities while they are actually walking their dog. The dog is allowed to be a hooligan because the owner is not aware at all.
2. Those who believe they have trained their dog, but actually haven't (Fenton?)
3. Those who don't think their dog is doing any harm, despite it actually being intimidating for people who don't like dogs, or just plain don't want to be charged at.
4. Those who just don't give a shit.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on your view, the norm is one of the first three, or maybe all of them combined. Owners who genuinely don't give a shit are actually quite rare fortunately.

Whilst you should not have to do anything @Cla7 and should be able to go about your business without being accosted, my suggestion would be to carry a short piece of rope (I used a dog lead for this, so anything similar will do), and when a dog runs at you, just swing the rope from side to side without looking it directly in the eye. This stops 999 dogs out of 1000. Try to carry on without showing any other attention to the approaching dog, or turn and walk away when the other dog stops. You don't need to say anything.

I get this all the time while I am trying to work with nervous dogs, other owners allow theirs to run up all the time with shouts of "it's OK, he's friendly" only to scurry around madly when I reply "mine isn't, it'swhy he is on a lead".

I think most people are just wrapped up in their own bubble and don't really think beyond themselves.

@Cla7 large dog owner here and I am with you. There are far too many owners who don’t care. If dogs have no recall they should not be off the lead. If they’re jumpy they should not be off the lead.

I’m sorry this happened. It’s owners like this who give dog owners a bad name.

Ignoring the snarky comments to make a genuine comment on the ‘police or not’ question…it’s always this grey area of no one got seriously hurt, so where’s the problem. Just like many posters on here seem to think. Personally I think dogs charging at people, jumping up, nipping - whether or not that is playfully - is not ok. To those saying I exaggerate, I never said that I got seriously hurt, my first post said that it left some red marks but didn’t break the skin, I do realise that a dog actually biting would cause a more serious injury. I’ve explained though why this, combined with the dog owners attitude, is still not acceptable in my opinion. So why I don’t class it as an emergency that needs immediate police involvement, I do think that it should be addressed and discussed.

I would honestly say 90% of dog owners I witness are irresponsible/clueless/ineffectual/haven't bothered training or handling their dogs properly.
This is since the Covid lockdowns when a lot of people who really shouldn't have dogs got them.

@HappiestSleeping agree but what about 5. The ones who give a shit.

I’m a dog owner but seriously considering not getting another, for exactly this reason. I’m so sick of encountering out of control dogs.

I actually work in a building in a very busy park.

Yes of course there are bad dog owners and some very good ones, but given that over 40% of households own a dog, the OP's question isn't a very intelligent one.

It’s been going on long before Covid lockdowns I don’t know how many times my eldest dog who was a puppy in 2014 got harrassed or attacked by dogs on Wandsworth common who’s owners couldn’t care less because their dog is a lab or a spaniel and they’re ’friendly’ or it’s a dachshund ‘and they have small man syndrome’.

@daffodilandtulip I agree. @INX as a dog owner it’s a question I ask myself most days. I’ve even taken to booking a field most days so my dogs can enjoy a peaceful walk offlead without being harrassed.

It's the hyperbole.

Yes, what happened to the OP was absolutely unacceptable, but she's applying her bad experience to all dog owners, which is shit and ridiculous. It's like saying you met a red head who punched you in the face once, so all red heads are aggressive - was going to use an example relating to kids but that would just summon the even crazier people 🤣

I'm sorry to hear that about your dog.
I know there have always been bad owners (I certainly remember plenty from my childhood/earlier life).
IME though, at least in my neighbourhood, dog ownership exploded over the pandemic. They are a particular cohort of people: youngish families with kids with one of those batshit 'designer crossbreeds'. They have not taught them recall, so they career over to me and sniff/lick/jump up/grab coffee cups, bags and other items while the owner shouts uselessly. They have not taught them to walk on leads/at heel, and they have them on long extending leads, so a dog that looks at one moment like it's following close by its owner is the next second suddenly very close to me/right in front of me with it or its lead almost tripping me up (if I were running or a child or both I'd have gone arse over tip many many times).
I like dogs, to be clear. And I'm not annoyed with the dogs. I'm pissed off with irresponsible owners.

Absolutely awful op. Dogs should be on leads and under control in public places except specifically designated dog parks. Definitely report the incident and I hope you are your toddler are OK.

Anti dog/anti dog owner threads are just the 'easy option' when someone wants to start a thread that'll get most people on their side and kick off a bit of a heated discussion - hence the unintelligent question in the thread title I expect.

It's just the '2026 MN topic' which has replaced the 'FF v BF', 'P&C parking' and blue badge parking threads.

Next year it'll be something else I expect.

There is no grey area.

Were you bitten by an out of control dog? Yes.
Is this a criminal offence? Yes.
Do you want the authorities to take dog behaviour seriously? Yes.

Report the crime.

Would have been better to report immediately, but second best is to report now.

We’re not all bad OP, but the bad ones ruin it for the others.

I have 2 Labs who are the most lovely dogs, very well trained, both have actually done the training required to go into the local care home as therapy dogs and we have never had any issues whatsoever with them, great with our children, great out & about, we have worked really hard to raise them this way.

It was a LOT of work, time, money on training etc to get them to become these dogs though and I think a lot of people get dogs maybe without realising actually how much time and effort it takes to actually train a dog.

They were.

It flew right over the head of OP 🛩

She was bitten by a dog that was out of control.

'encounter' is mealy-mouthed.

@AlwaysExtraHot i agree with you on this. I also think location comes into it. Prior to Covid if we took our dog to the in-laws in Dorset, or Lake District or to my home town in the North East we had much better experiences than in London.

I’m always annoyed at the owners not the dogs.

Although on the other side I do think people have also got a bit more lax with expecting to say hello to dogs and not asking before touching etc.