to think that an "oh dear, sorry about that" is a piss poor apology from a dog owner......

[VeniVidiVickiQV]

Whose sea-drenched dog bounded up to me and jumped up at me on the beach, and then bounded over to 3 yr old DS and jumped all over him and knocked him over?

Both of us were filthy (was a late afternoon stroll - no swimsuits etc) and although the owner asked if DS was okay (he wasnt hurt), when I replied that he wasnt hurt but he was now filthy dirty - he just said "oh, okay" and wandered off....

Two swans once attacked a lab who was swimming in a large pond in a London park. The lab actually drowned

[nods]

Nobody understands that actually the greatest threat to our health and sanity are birds.

Dogs? Puhlease, they are nothing compared to the horrors flying above our heads at this v. minute.

It's not the rights of dogs, starlight, but the rights of dog owners.

We do have lesser rights as we are relegated to the worst and most inaccessible beaches.

Goose phobia is justified.

That is awful, wig

It is isn't it SqueakyPop. I wasn't there but mum was walking her dog and the lab was too far out for anyone to help in time, it was a very large pond. Apparently he just got knackered trying to stay above water and gave up in the end. I don't know why the swans took such a dislike as there are dogs swimming in there alongside them the whole time.
Awful

My next door neighbour was attacked by a seagull, it swooped down and bit his back.

I am trying to train dopey spaniel to KILL birds. It isn't going v. well. He lacks a killer instinct. But he does chase them, so that's good. Except the other day he ran at a flock in the park and they flew the WRONG way, and over my head, and I could hear their wings flapping and I had to lie down on the grass for a while.

Its not about phobias. Why should anyone have to put up with someone elses dog coming over and sniffing them? Control your dog please. Why do owners get uptight about that? All dogs should be fully trained to voice control and obey instantly. If they don't, they shouldn't be off a lead. Its not that hard and all dogs can be trained.
I have had dogs and I appreciated not all people want them going up to them so I trained them. My mother, on the other hand, lets hers go up to people, pee on their fences and generally treats them like little children with a fond smile.

My spaniel is very interested in next door's chicken , and the chicken is stupid enough to stray into our garden.

The don't have to put up with unleaded dogs. They can go to places where dogs are either not allowed, or only allowed if they are kept on a lead.

ahundredtimes, are you being serious. I think to teach your dog to kill birds is awful. Not all birds like dogs are prone to attacking! You've been watching too much Alfred Hitchcock!

I don't like chickens either, I hope he gets it. Their bones are all small, and I don't like that thing they do with their necks. It's not nice.

Well, it'd be serious Daphne if this dog actually frothed at the mouth and had some blood lust and looked like he might actually kill one. I wish.

No, he just runs about with his ears flapping and his bottom waving in the wind and sniffs leaves and writes poetry about the beautiful sunshine and things. He's drippy.

I don't think there will ever be a consensus on this one. I'm also at risk of repeating my pov endlessly, which would be very boring! So I'm bow-wow-wow'ing out of this thread now

I am pmsl at this thread now!

A few weeks ago we (me, DS1 and DS2) were walking across the local park. A lady was was also on the park walking a black lab and another creature that resembled a large rat.

The woman was about 200 metres away from her dogs who were both running around (as dogs do)- The rat like thing ran very fast, (yapping) straight up to DS1 and jumped up nipping him on the backside.

DS was terrified, the dog ran straight off back towards its owner, who proceeded to laugh and wave at us. I was dumbstruck- ds was inconsolable.

laugh and wave. Utter twat.

I took my dog into Waterstones today. I did. On a lead. He is a v. erudite dog.

You are preaching to the converted, starlight. I don't think anyone here would advocate letting their dog run loose where/when not allowed.

Dogs are allowed on a few scrappy beaches, leaving the nice ones for people who would otherwise complain about ballsports, teenagers etc.

Problem dogs/owners are from a stereotypical echelon of society, and no amount of tut-tutting here will ever reach them.

But what did you want her to do tiredemma? Burst into tears, shoot her dog/rat thing? Promise to sew it's mouth together?

You should tell your ds to pull himself together. It's only a dog or possibly a rat. He doesn't need to be terrified, he must just move away and tell the dog to get down. And you need to call out 'CALL YOUR DOG OFF.'

Tell ds it could have been a bird. Then he'd have been trouble, and there would be nobody for you to shout at.

A woman screamed at me in the park last year when I asked her to get her dog away from my picnic. She let it run all across my picnic rug, stick it's face in my coolbag and lick my food while we were playing cricket next to it.

She said "I'VE GOT ENOUGH ON MY PLATE WITHOUT PEOPLE LIKE YOU WHINGING ABOUT MY DOGS".

I went ballistic in a dignified and self-controlled kinda way without resorting to foul language either - which was an achievement I felt. My kids both cried and asked to go home.

I was livid.

How do the dog owners know they are allergic?

Can they wear a sign or something? That would help enormously.

You can't seriously expect a dog not to sniff! How does the owner stop them from doing that???

If a child is so allergic to being within 6 inches of a dog, they need to have an epipen or a hazardous waste suit.

Did they cry and want to go home because a dog licked their cool bag and stood on the picnic rug, or because you and the lady had a row? The latter, I suspect.

I am pronouncing 'unleaded' and 'leaded' dogs like the petrol in my head.