...to be cross with this dog owner.

[EvilTwins]

Have just come back from our local park with my DTs (3.4) We went to feed the ducks, and go on the swings. Whilst we were feeding the ducks, an enormous dog suddenly appeared (it did seem to come from nowhere - the duck pond is in a dip, surrounded by bushes, so we didn't see it coming, and anyway, we were engrossed in conversation about the ducks) My girls are not used to dogs, as we don't have one, and none of our family do. They are usually a bit wary anyway, and I try to deal with it with as little fuss as possible. Anyway the dog in question was huge (I'm not a dog person, so couldn't say what breed, but it was nose-to-nose the same height as the twins, and, on hind legs, would have been taller than me) and the first we knew of its presence was when all the ducks suddenly scarpered. The dog then tried to get the bread that my one daughter was holding in her hand. Not surprisingly, she thought it was trying to eat her hand. Both twins were pretty hysterical, so I was holding them both tightly, trying to to calm them down (and prevent them from flailing around and falling into the pond) Meanwhile, the owner of the dog was nowhere to be seen. I then spotted two women standing on the path above the pond, obviously looking for something, so I shouted "Is this your dog?" They meandered down to the pond, and despite the fact that they could see the twins in a state, did nothing to take the dog away. In fact, rather than grabbing the dog's collar, she grabbed one of my daughters. I got really shirty then - told her to let go of my child and take her dog away. At this point, another woman, who'd seen what had happened, came past and told me that it was ME scaring the children, NOT the dog. I was speechless. All three women and the sodding dog then wandered off,complaining loudly about what a hysterical so-and-so I was. I was livid. The twins were really shaken and both crying.

On the way out of the park, I noticed that the sign by the gate said "Dogs must be kept under control. Do not allow your dog to frighten children" so I did feel slightly vindicated.

Sorry for long post. AIBU to be cross?

NSF you live in one weird, weird world area.

One where there are only, IYO, 400 well trained dogs in the UK, where you personally rarely see a well trained dog, where IYO a Staffie is the most likely to bite and the Swiss are cowards because of their ancestry and history.

FYI I regularly handle and interact with abandoned and/or abused Staffies of all descriptions. So do my children. We do so because we know that so many are in pounds and rescues across the country or worse still killed just for being a Staffie and not having a home. We do so because we know thay the law and society should blame the deed, not the breed and that certain dogs, SBTs in particular, have become the victims of Daily Mail reader-type's paranoia and scare stories. My experience teaches me to be far more wary of Jack Russells than SBTs.

Compare NHS/govt/RSPCA etc figures on harm done by dogs to humans, harm done to dogs by humans, and harm done to humans by other humans. Think about it, seriously. Which of these causes the most incidents of aggression - and whats the common factor here?

We should perhaps accept that there are risks everywhere. Yes, your little DC COULD be at risk because of a dog in a park. They are also at risk from cars. I don't hear anyone calling for them to be banned though.

Woah, nigelslaterfan! First the entire Swiss nation, now all dogs and all dog-owners...

I don't think there's a single dog-owner on here who hasn't agreed whole-heartedly with the OP about how totally unacceptable it is for dogs to roam around off lead in areas where they're supposed to be controlled, or for lazy owners not to clear up poo. No one is "sneering" at the dog phobia some people have after distressing experiences with badly-owned animals - far from it.

Myself and my parents have dogs - they are well trained and do not run at or jump up at people. My parents dog is a Rottie though and so people just see a big dog and can be pretty off about it. I got gobbed at by a guy the other day when out in the park with her( with a separate childrens area that we were nowhere near), as she dared to stand about 15 yards away from where he was walking past pushing his child in a buggy. Now I could understand if she had been making a nuisance of herself,
but she was stood there sniffing something. I just politely said (and repeated) that the dog would not be off her lead if she was going to hurt anyone but he continued his tirade until he was well past me.
Its people like that who cause issues, not the owners of well behaved dogs. And before you can say how did he know, the clus is in the fact that the dog was taking no notice of them whatso ever!

NSF My dog is walked at least four times a day, inc one 45 min walk. He is not stuck in a house all day.

He gets a 10/15 min walk first thing on a morning before I have even had my coffee , I don't even interact with my children before my coffee, but he won't poop in the yard so needs walking to relieve himself. He then gets another 'poop walk' after lunch, for about 15/20 mins around the park. Dd1 likes to walk him around the park after school and his main walk is when DH gets home on an evening. He has another short walk just before bed.

Yes he tries to jump up at people, and has been apparantly been allowed to do so before he came into my home, it is something we wil be working on when he joins obidience classes next week.

Shiny, how's the little fella doing?

I want pictures! Give him a hug from me please.

btw, your experience led me to gain some more rescue contacts in your part of the world - I owe you one, thanks hun.

Riven, don't you dare! The motor trade made me a small fortune in my younger days!

Lol @ (with!) Riven

The only sneering I have seen on this thread has been from NigelSlaterFan. Only 400 well trained dogs in this country? All dog owners soppy idiots about their ickle darling? What rubbish!!

Read the thread, NigelSlaterFan - with your prejudices switched off - and have the grace to acknowledge that no-one on this thread has condoned what happened to the OP and her children!! No dog owner on this thread has claimed that their dog is an ickle darling that can do whatever it pleases and that they have no responsibility for its training or behaviour.

Dog owners have spoken out in favour of greater regulation of dog ownership, compulsory obedience training, compulsory insurance, dog owners being punished for their dogs misdeeds - how you can characterise that as hysterical beggars belief.

No-one here is speaking up in defence of the bad dog owners. No-one.

He's doinmg great. Dh has taken most of the photos I will upload them when he gets back from work.

The vet says hye has dermatitus and has given him special shampoo which he is to bathed with once a week. He loves walkies and is great with the kids and guests. He's fairly quit and just likes to sit and look out of the window or be cuddled.

He attempts to hump everything in sight inc my male cat so will be off to the vets sooner rather than later. We have a few issues iwth him holiding his bowels/bladder overnight but have decided to get a dog flap to solve that.

First off, I LOVE dogs. But I work with a young man who has autism and who is terrified of them. He copes really well, though needs a lot of reassurance, if he sees a dog go by on its lead. If it's off the lead, his mood to begin with is a huge factor. If he's in a good mood, he may be able to cope, if the dog's near its owner. But if it's running wild, there's no chance. He completely panicks and will immediately self-injure, hit out at anybody nearby, and try to run away. (It's worth noting he's over 6ft tall so a big man.) On top of his autism, he has epilepsy, and stress can cause seizures. And if he's about to take a seizure, we (staff) need to be near him, to ensure that he doesn't go down and crack his head on concrete. All round, a very dangerous situation for us all to be in, if somebody decides it's okay to let their dog approach him.

When I had my dog, I did let him off the lead in parks/on the beach, but he was well trained and knew to stay close to me, and not approach other people/dogs. Had he not been well trained, I'd have bought an extendable lead but he wouldn't have gotten off it!

And never mind the danger from cars - some children grow up to be dangerous, wild killers, and some parents are utterly neglectful and take no responsibility for ensuring that their child grows up into a decent human being - and human beings kill and maim far more people and animals than dogs do - so lets ban people from having children shall we?

Nb: my last post is not serious suggestion.

First off, I LOVE dogs. But I work with a young man who has autism and who is terrified of them. He copes really well, though needs a lot of reassurance, if he sees a dog go by on its lead. If it's off the lead, his mood to begin with is a huge factor. If he's in a good mood, he may be able to cope, if the dog's near its owner. But if it's running wild, there's no chance. He completely panicks and will immediately self-injure, hit out at anybody nearby, and try to run away. (It's worth noting he's over 6ft tall so a big man.) On top of his autism, he has epilepsy, and stress can cause seizures. And if he's about to take a seizure, we (staff) need to be near him, to ensure that he doesn't go down and crack his head on concrete. All round, a very dangerous situation for us all to be in, if somebody decides it's okay to let their dog approach him.

Irresponsible dog owners really make me angry!

When I had my dog, I did let him off the lead in parks/on the beach, but he was well trained and knew to stay close to me, and not approach other people/dogs. Had he not been well trained, I'd have bought an extendable lead but he wouldn't have gotten off it!

Calling Vallhalla/Shinyandnew and Staying Sunny! Can't remember which one of you said it but it was something about being more wary about a Jack Russell, which got me thinking. My parents live next door to someone with 3 totally untrained JR dogs, and I'd feel uncomfortable letting the DC go anywhere near them. But, despite the fact they're pretty unpleasant, I'm not scared of them, whereas I'm really frightened of big breed dogs. I think that's because I feel like I could protect the DCs if a small dog went for them, whereas it'd be harder with a large dog. But I would genuinely like some advice on how to conquer my fear of bigger dogs. Are they really no more likely to attack than a small dog- wouldn't it be harder for an owner to gain control over a big dog due to its sheer size? I hate being scared of large dogs - I'd like to reach a state of mutual respect and disinterest, but not sure how to!

It wasn't me, juicy - I hope that Vallhala or Shiney comes along soon to answer your question. They are more experienced dog owners than me, too - so more likely to be able to advise.

Ta, hope they come back!

Well I had a JR as my first very own dog all to myself and had to enlist the help of my dad and a behaviorist to train her. OTOH the GSD my dad got me when I was a tweenager aws trained pretty much soley by me and was fine. As was the Akita. It was certainly me who trained them recall and not to jump at other dogs and socialiastion as I was the main walker.

However my JR was a wonderfull, if a little 'barky' little dog once she was trained. She did hopwever have an abundance of energy and would tear around the local field chasing seagulls , she was much more difficult to train, due to her exciteability.

I doubt I'd have another one, but my experience of her has not put me off the breed entirely, they are more suited as working dogs.

She was very protective of her family and would 'warn' any one who came to close to dd1 when she very small.

She never ever theatened myself, DH or my Dds in anyway though.

I'd advise asking around for friendly, calm larger breeds for you to meet. That should help with your fear.

JR's are not renouned for being great with children, so you are right to be wary with your dc.

By nigelslaterfan Wed 18-Nov-09 11:24:31
I should probably have those posts withdrawn!!!

Yes, you should. I'll help you by reporting them.

Juicy12 > I wish I could introduce you to my old housemates dog, I was kind of scared of big dogs before I met him, but he's such a soppy and well trained animal. Despite being a bit hyper.

Nigelslaterfan, you do talk a load of dog poo.

Got to get some work done at the mo Juicy, but will come back here and make some suggestions later this pm, promise.

THank you! I shall check in later.

"Yes, your little DC COULD be at risk because of a dog in a park. They are also at risk from cars. I don't hear anyone calling for them to be banned though"

Ah that one again. That argument could be used to defend mugging old ladies because the old ladies are also at risk from cars. Someone always tries that, but it's just daft.

Personally I don't think we should be so accepting of how many people are harmed by cars either, but I guess we can't do anything about that because after all people get killed in wars which are worse.

Getting back to the point. If we went with the suggestion of compulsory classes which both the dog and owner had to pass in order to keep the dog then that could be self financing. The cost of the classes would be whatever it took to achieve that. If that was too expensive for many people then hard luck. I can't afford to maintain a yacht either.