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?

Some ridiculous comments on this thread. Team Labrador here 🐾 ❤️

He wasn’t greedy. He was just a dog,

I love this cat! What a generous hunter!

Generally people don’t care if the dog “usually” is well behaved and “usually” has great recall when it’s come charging at them 100 miles an hour and has eaten their food.

After apologising when they started being rude and asking for money I'd have told them to shove it and left with the dog. YANBU.

Ah well, don't have an illegal BBQ on tinder box dry grass then and risk setting the park on fire, and dogs also won't eat your food.

I don’t. But I have had poorly trained dogs ruin my lunch and picnic before. I’d expect a dog owner to offer to pay for food their dog snatches or slobbers over, just the same as I’d over to pay if I had young kids and they trashed something belonging to someone else.

My DM used to tell a tale about a colleague's cat, an Egyptian Mau, who came in through the patio door one Sunday afternoon dragging a whole hot, steaming roast chicken. Which, it turned out, he pilfered from the Vicarage.

I would be annoyed as heck. I hate having dogs everywhere because they ruin things, because yes, they are animals!

Not to muddy the waters here, but people are animals too. And immensely destructive ones at that ... I'm sure a number of other animals hate having us around everywhere too!

Yes you should definitely accept that your dog is an animal and is capable of harming people, even if he hadn't up till now, and that humans have a right to peaceful enjoyment of their surroundings and take priority over your dog.

You should also protect your dog from being (justifiably) hit by strangers who are terrified of him or terrorised by him, by keeping him on a lead, or accepting that he might misbehave and get intro trouble.

Signed, a German Shepherd owner who understands exactly how dogs can sometimes behave, no matter how well trained, and accepts reality.

Dogs do behave like dogs and steal food. If you let your dog off lead, and he does something like this, people will get angry with you and your dog. It is a pretty natural response to someone ruining your lunch.

I wish all dog owners thought like you did.

Exactly this!

youve put this so well. That’s exactly how I feel, humans should be able to go around Wherever they want (and this is especially true when you are terrified of dogs) without worrying about them popping up everywhere , I avoid parks I avoid forests I avoid beaches because of awful owners with their off lead dogs but I really should be able to go to the shops and cafés and restaurants without worrying about somebody’s dog coming anywhere near me.

he is a dog and not a robot and I cannot possibly predict his behaviour in a completely unknown random situation.

I agree with this, and for this reason, I think dogs should always be kept on leads in public. It doesn't matter how well behaved they are usually. You cannot possibly predict their behaviour in every situation.

The BBQ family obviously shouldn't have been having a BBQ in the park, so no sympathy for them.

I do think you should have control of your dog when you are in a public space though.

Totally agree! If a group of teenagers came up and started taking your food off the barbecue & running round it & you in circles you’d be absolutely furious & rightly so! They probably would call the police & they would plaster those teenagers all over social media but why is it okay for somebody’s dog to come and do exactly the same, but we’re all supposed to say oh never mind it’s just that dog.

That's because the teenagers have moral agency, which animals don't have.

In the OP's case her dog was in an off-leash area and the humans were doing what they shouldn't have been doing at all in a public area.

Don't dwell on it OP. They were complete muppets having a BBQ in a designated off lead dog walking area.

I guess in general it is good to be able to see the area where your dog is before letting them off lead to risk assess any potential issues. As you say no dog has 100% recall, police dog handlers will tell you this.

Have you read the OP's first post about what the humans were doing, and where?

Unfortunately many people seem to believe their dogs ARE human these days. That’s part of the problem.

I think it was perfectly understandable for those people to be pissed off in the moment. The old ‘my dog doesn’t usually behave like this’ defence is wheeled out so many times that nobody knows or cares whether it’s true. The fact they shouldn’t have lit a barbecue is irrelevant. Unless your dog is more human than you think and was deliberately punishing them for their idiocy. It is a proper comedy scenario though😆

I just wanted to add something.. I've always had dogs since I was a child. A few years ago we had a Phalene,we were walking on a local beach,dogs allowed off season, there were workmen having their lunch,he siddled over and took a sandwich off a bloke,I rushed over mortified, offered to pay, they were all laughing and perfectly fine. We had a Border collie at the same time,Dh taken her for a long walk,to the top of the South Downs, she turned and ran off,he couldn't find her. She was in the next road to home,"missing" 30 minutes,picked up by the dog warden (we don't have one now) it cost me a fortune, they charged for the pick up and a days Kennelling, which she obviously didn't have. The point I wanted to make was this was unusual behaviour and we subsequently discovered, they had CCD.

I agree with the title of your post- people should realise dogs are animals. So they shouldn't be in shops, cafes etc and people should stop treating them as "fur babies". They are unpredictable, no matter how well trained, as your post shows. So should be kept under control in public.

I thought op was in a park with her dog, not a cafe or a shop?

The situation wasn’t ideal but if you’re going to use a public park to cook sausages then you’ll have to deal with the consequences.

I’d be so annoyed if a dog ate my food - can’t believe you didn’t offer to pay for it. Sure, they shouldn’t have been having a bbq but that’s not in case a dog gets too tempted and runs at it. It’s a separate issue. The dog is in the wrong and as he’s a dog it’s you that takes the flack.