To think people need to realise dogs are animals and act as such?

[thisbloodydog]

I had an altercation with my dog yesterday and I’ve gone from mortified to annoyed!

My dog is 8 and is a Labrador. Until yesterday he’s genuinely had 100% recall and never given me any reason to doubt him. He comes back from anywhere with one shout of his name and if he didn’t then he wouldn’t be off lead.

Whilst walking in a local park (where off lead is permitted) he suddenly ran off. I can’t explain how out of character this is for him. I shouted him and it was like he’d gone deaf.

I ran after him as he’d gone over a hill. When I caught up to him I saw a family group having a bbq (illegally). They were about to hit him and were furious.

It turns out he’d sniffed their food, gone off on one and had basically ransacked their bbq.

Of course I was absolutely mortified and apologised profusely. I explained it was completely unlike him and that I would of course not let him off the lead again unless I was 100% sure his recall was in place.

They responded by shouting and swearing at me and saying that they were going to report my dog as dangerous. When I asked why he was dangerous (ie if he had growled at the food etc) they said the fact he took the food off the bbq was dangerous.

Whilst I was trying to apologise they said I owed them £40 for the bbq food he ate and kept insulting my dog and threatening to report him. At this point I said enough was enough and that they shouldn’t have had the bbq in the park anyway (it’s not allowed usually and it’s especially not allowed with the dry grass). I basically said if they wanted to report my dog then I’d be happy to report them back.

At this point they lost it even further and I walked off as there were children present and it felt completely inappropriate to descend into a shouting match.

I am a big believer in dogs having 100% recall if they are off lead and as I said until today he has. We will absolutely go back to basics with training and not running off for food etc.

BUT at the same time he is a dog and not a robot and I cannot possibly predict his behaviour in a completely unknown random situation. He should not encounter a bbq in this place and it was a complete surprise to us both. For once he followed his instincts and went for the food and ignored me. Again, he wasn’t dangerous and didn’t snatch food from a person or growl at anyone etc, but he did take food off the bbq.

I feel like the people needed to consider that he is a dog and he did something bad, but they were also in the wrong for having this bbq when it strictly isn’t allowed!

aibu?

doesn’t a dog area mean dogs can roam free not necessarily nobody else can use this area? I’m not starting an argument, this is just what I assumed so maybe these picnickers did as well. I didn’t know I wasn’t allowed in a dog roaming free area without a dog?

We arent discussing whether people without dogs can go in or not.

But whether or not it is a bit dim to choose that area to spread food out in the floor knowing there will be off lead animals.

The dog shouldnt approach of course , but it doesnt make the decision any less dim

Well of course you can use the area @Favouritefruits but you can’t then complain that there are off lead dogs when you have other options to set your picnic up. The dog walkers only have one space, you have choices.

Forget about whether they should/shouldnt have been having a barbecue, thats a different "wrong", 2 wrongs dont make a right.

He's your dog. At the point where you took him off lead you have to accept responsibility for the damage & upset caused. You needed to be apologising profusely & offering to pay. Even then they can't magic up another pack of sausages & burgers in the middle of the park, your dog has completely ruined their lunch.

But screaming and shouting and being threatening isnt the way to deal with it.

The woman is Screwfix today totally messed up. It was her fault entirely. But i didnt scream and shout because that is wrong.

Which she intended to do before she was verbally abused.

Im torn as i believe one of the biggest issues with dogs just now is that owners aren't treating them like dogs.
but
When ds was tiny and in a pushchair, a lab came up and grabbed food out of his hand. By doing that, Ds got minor scratches on hand and obviously started to cry. The labs owner went mental at me at this point. I haven't even said a word to her.

A lot of people have dogs instead of having kids now. That used to be considered weird or selfish, but it could be seen as a good thing that women in particular have a choice. Some of them see the dog as a baby. As a mum of human children, I don't really get that, but I suppose at least they're paying all the health/care bills themselves. Well bred/trained dogs are still probably safer than most humans.

This!!!!!
Honestly I can just picture the scene. Labs are so hilariously greedy.

They should not have been having a bbq in the first place, so the dog did them a favour.

I can beat this OP. As a puppy our labrador plunged into the middle of a NYD beach picnic and smatched a sandwich. Only after I had marched him away and apologized I realised it was 3 members of the Welsh rugby team and their families. They thought he was very funny.

Op you need to take from this that your dog's training considerably weakens where food is concerned.

This would be a huge worry for me. What if its a young child holding the sausage next time? A dog who cannot be recalled because there's a burger cooking just cannot be off lead in public, no matter if its an off lead area. Its a safety thing.

This is why dogs should ALWAYS be on leads, as someone else has said they’ve got 100% recall until they don’t recall!! It really irritates me people having their dogs off leads in parks when you’re scared of dogs it makes a lot of places very difficult to go to dogs should be on leads at all times. Don’t get me started on why with an earth we allow dogs in shops and restaurants!!!

YANBU. Also - no dog has 100% perfect recall. They just don’t. There is always one time they will bolt. It doesn’t mean they are dangerous. It just means their excitement got to them.

My dog once ignored the recall whistle. He ran straight through a picnic and snaffled a cocktail sausage en route. I just legged it off in the opposite direction, and he followed me which I knew he would. 😂 There was no time for a discussion with the sausage owners.

No matter how you dress it up, your dog ruined their lunch. You should have given them the money. (Speaking from experience as someone who's Setter/Spaniel demolished a picnic once).

Because they are better than human beings in all ways. HTH.

Typical comment from a dog owner 🙄

I was once having a picnic and a lab stole my salmon and cream cheese baguette. I was furious. Owner just laughed and walked off.

Years later I got a dog, when she was a puppy she ran across someone's picnic and ate a wax cheese wrapper. Apologised profusely, lady laughed and said no problem. She has a dog at home and gets it.

Never been annoyed by a dog in a café.

Had countless brunches ruined by people playing stuff on their phones, irritatingly loud shrieking kids banging their toys on the table, blocked aisles with bikes and buggies....

a dog people watching from under a table? Never a problem

ETA of course someone will be along to tell a story of how they saw a 40kg red setter take a shit on the pastry display at Gail's 🙄

Being on the lead all the time is a shit life for a dog.

So dogs should be on a lead in a dedicated off lead dog walking area in case someone who is scared of dogs goes in there? Don’t be ridiculous. If you are scared of dogs then stay out of dedicated dog walking spaces and go elsewhere.

How on earth would you know that!! It’s time we stop putting human emotions onto dogs. Dogs are just animals that will be absolutely fine on a lead & not shopping and not eating human food and all the other crazy things dog owners have decided that dogs like!

And this is why all dogs should be on short leads and muzzled in public places at all times. No exceptions.

So don’t get a dog if you cannot afford a garden large enough to exercise your dog in. It’s THAT SIMPLE! We - the rest of the public - are not responsible for providing you facilities to exercise your dog in.

Having major Jesus Christ Fenton flashbacks here!

That would be fine if ‘dedicated dog walking’ places weren’t interpreted as ‘everywhere’. Some total dickheads have even started walking their dogs in our local university campus, leaving nowhere for anyone who just wants a quiet jog to go whatsoever.