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?

All dogs have to be chipped at 8 weeks and have been since the law was changed in 2016.

I don’t know anyone with a dog who is irresponsible with their dog & not encountered anyone who has been attached or bitten by an out of control dog. So from my personal experience yes there are many responsible dog owners out there.

Sorry you went through that, OP. But I don’t think MN is a useful place to get answers about dogs and responsibility. Hardcore dog lovers here are massively over-represented against the population generally.

When the police shot two out of control XL Bully dogs in East London a few years ago there were posters frothing about how the police had been cruel. And a similar reaction on here to a news story about a dog that was shot after a motorway closure because the dog was running across the lanes.

Every fireworks night there are many threads about the bangs upsetting dogs and calling for a ban.

And of course the inevitable brainless and distasteful equivalences drawn between dogs and children.

I’ve only once come across people like that in the real world. On a beach there was a club of dog owners all out with their dogs. The dogs were running everywhere harassing people. I asked the group politely to leash the dogs and was met with anger and was told “no, the dogs come first”.

I do think those sorts of batshit attitudes are rarer than MN posts would suggest.

That's only reported attacks. That number is not the full number. Many owners never report their dogs biting a family member.

Unfortunately there's also all the behaviour from dogs which falls into 'anti-social' rather than an actual attack.

This is absolutely awful. I hope you’re ok and that you’ve reported it as too many irresponsible owners are getting away with this behaviour. I have two large breed dogs, I walk them separately so I have full control and they’re always on lead. My male is reactive and I’m sick of owners allowing their aggressive dogs to run over, usually in areas where dogs should be on lead. My female is very friendly and I wouldn’t risk her running over to a child as she would chase and potentially knock them over. We hire a secure field a few time a week for a good run.

Come on, this didn't actually happen did it?

3 separate dogs attacked you at once, and all 3 separate owners didn't care. One (or all?) even said that toddlers resemble prey??

I call BS, sorry.

It may not be true. Or it may be exaggerated. But that doesn’t justify the answers that have been given by some.

True, I was more thinking about the ones who cause problems and are more the topic. You are correct though, there are the ones who do give a shit, work with their dogs, and generally don't cause an issue. They tend to be largely invisible though as they aren't causing an issue 😁

This can't be real. I'm a dog owner, but if three dogs charged at me and my child and 'nipped' me, and the owners response was to say toddler resembles prey so it's expected, I would be calling the police there and then.
The owners are confirming that the dog is likely to attack a toddler.

My dog chases cats. It pisses me off and we're trying to stop it. That's actual prey and I would be very apologetic if a cat owner saw her chase.

Contact the police, OP. What happened is totally unacceptable. Yes, there are a lot of irresponsible dog owners about but I’m sure most aren’t.

Of course yabu to say all dog owners. It is terrible irresponsible for an owner to have 3 dogs off lead they can't control. The fact they didn't seem concerned is shite and yes should be reported. Most dog owners would keep their dogs on a lead or have decent recall. I'm a dog owner and most other dog owners are decent but like anything in life if you have one bad experience it holds more weight than the hundreds of decent interactions. The fact is there are dickhead humans fullstop, dog owners or not.

This fits one of my criteria as the owner believes she has the dogs trained, but they really aren't. Dogs jumping up for anything is, IMHO, unacceptable.

In her instance, the dog is likely to interpret the shouting as "wahay, jump more", so it is probably getting worse and not better.

Neutering isn't necessarily the solution, however an entire male can smell a bitch in heat from miles away. Also, dogs have inherited genetic learning (there is a term, the name of which I can't think of currently), and hence the line a dog comes from is almost as important as its sex, and in some instances its breed. She doesn't sound like anyone I would want a puppy from as, if that is an example of the learning the dog has been exposed to, it will likely have troublesome puppies.

They are out of contriol if they do not obey a command from the owner to come back to them and are not on a lead. So many owners just bleat their dog's name but get no response as the dog is not trained. You can minimize by calling out-of -control behaviour overzealous, but far too many "friendly", "overzealous", or "just puppies" cause mayhem and real distress to others, which is not acceptable.

Three attack dogs, one toddler, no action apart from a post on MN and the us/them begins.

Call the police. Call the MPs. Call the DailyMail.

Otherwise, carry on.

The hysterics are tiresome and below my IQ.

0.2% of dogs attack
Obviously its not zero but let's be honest about the size of the problem here and then look at how certain posters respond when anything happens. We've got posters saying all dogs should be destroyed.
Let's be clear that would mean no sheep dogs, no guide dogs for the blind, no service dogs for the disabled, no military dogs, no police dogs and no search and rescue dogs all because of the hate towards dogs and the behaviour of 0.2%.
Have some sense of proportion and as for on the rise in attacks in 2019 it was 0.15% of dogs that attacked so were talking about an increase of 0.05% so again how about some common sense when we talk about this is what is needed not the rage bait posts like @Cla7 or those agreeing with them.

They belonged together, not 3 random dogs and with their 3 owners. 2 people walking together with 3 dogs between them. Now I’m not a dog behaviourist and I don’t know if one dog decided to come at us and the other 2 joined in, or if all three dogs independently thought that this was a good game, but I don’t think it matters. Both owners defended the dogs actions.

Responsible dog owners are just as pissed off with irresponsible dog owners as non dog owners are. They don’t want their family or dogs attacked. They don’t want be lumped into the same group as irresponsible owners

I don't think minimising a problem that police chiefs, health leaders and politicians are also concerned about is sensible.

You haven't got it in proportion.

The reported attacks are the tip of the iceberg. There are really concerns about dog behaviour.

You seem very complacent about people experiencing life changing injuries.

The vast majority of dogs don’t attack people, so you’re probably generalising a bit here…

No, not dog free. Dogs have as much right to the land. Just free from dogs who aren't trained. So there need to be better and swifter options for dogs who attack people. If you know your dog will be put down immediately for attacking someone, you will damn well keep it muzzled or on a lead at the park.

...you will damn well keep it muzzled or on a lead at the park.

Ideally both.

I know of a few dogs who've been aggressive to mine and not only are they not muzzled, they're still being let off their leads. I've told one of their owners that I reserve the right to boot his dog into next week if it attacks either of us. And I bloody mean it too. He just looked blankly at me. 🙄

I would happily rid the world of all pet dogs. Genuine working dogs have a role.

I’d have reported it to the police, surely there were witnesses too?

You can see why by the way the devotees reply.

I’m a dog owner, my dog has on ocasion randomly growled and ran at people. I’ve been mortified, so much so that I put her on lead whenever we pass people. To actually bite something, with a toddler, would be super upsetting for me. I’m appalled people would be so unconcerned about their dog doing this