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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To expect dog owners to keep their dogs under control?

200 replies

topher40 · 18/02/2010 10:22

My son and I were on the beach the other day when a dog came charging out of nowhere and almost knocked him flying .I asked the owner to be a little more considerate and she did apologise BUT 20 minutes later the same person was with another group who had 3 dogs which all came running over to where we were. Now I am not paranoid about dogs, I grew up with them, but I think it is a little off to allow your hound just to run around where there are small people especially when they are obviuosly not in the control of the owner. When I got a little testy with this person they gave me a look as if i was at fault. I have no problem with people walking their animals but is it unreasonable to expect them to keep them under control?

OP posts:

luciemule · 18/02/2010 10:41

I think this country desperately needs to introduce an 'all dogs on leads at all times' policy as in Germany. So many dog owners let dogs off leads and it would only take a second for a dog to attack a child/adult and then it's too late. On private land, it's different but when it's public areas all dogs, imo, should be kept on a lead. The lady was very rude to make you feel at fault.

violethill · 18/02/2010 10:47

YANBU - dog owners who can't control their dogs and think it's ok to let them tear around jumping up at people are dickheads

Notalone · 18/02/2010 10:47

God, its a tricky one. This lady was at fault because her dog was not under control at all and would have been better on the lead. YANBU to want to be left alone and not harrassed by someone elses dog

However if an "all dogs on leads at all times" policy was introduced then it would be a nightmare for us. Our dog gets incredibly anxious on a lead and feels threatened by everything. However off the lead he is a completely different dog and is not interested in anything other than his ball and us therefore would not make a nuiscance of himself. If he was on a lead all the time his life would be miserable. However I appreciate that this is not the case for some dogs who should not be off a lead if they are aggressive or too boisterous around kids

GhoulsAreLoud · 18/02/2010 10:47

Yes, I agree.

Our dog is kept on a lead on walks and the number of loose dogs who come up and pester her is unreal. She's not keen on other dogs and generally tries to crawl away with her tail between her legs but the owners never bother calling their dogs back.

I shoo them loudly now if they linger too long, I don't mind them giving her a friendly sniff or whatever but the pestering drives me nuts.

sowhatis · 18/02/2010 10:48

all dogs on leads all the time is a bit harsh TBH.

as for dog running over to you - what did it do exactly? run past or want to play etc?

nickytwotimes · 18/02/2010 10:50

Yanbu.

illgetyoubutler · 18/02/2010 10:53

yes agree, dogs should be on leads.

luciemule · 18/02/2010 10:54

It doesn't seem 'a bit harsh' for the entire nation of Germany - there isn't a choice. A bit more harshness in the UK would probably reduce a lot of problems, not just with dogs.

Whether or not the dog was coming over for a friendly hello is a bit irrelevant - if you have a dog charging at you full pelt, would you really want to hang around and see if he just wants to say hi. Whenever this happens with our DCs - and it does a lot when we're out walking in the woods/parks etc, I just pick up the kids out of the way and DH makes aa loud comment about irresponsible dog owners.

Notalone · 18/02/2010 11:00

Sorry Lucie. I agree it would solve problems for those who are irresponsible, but what about those who are responsible? It would penalise them too. Many many dogs are fine off leads and need more exercise than a gentle plod on a lead.Our dog is a border collie who needs a lot of exercise - a walk on a lead would just not be enough even if that walk was repeated 5 times a day. He needs to run like a crazy thing catching his ball. He would never run up to a strange person or dog, he just wants to play with his ball. If he was on a lead all the time he would be utterly miserable as he feels threatened by many things. He is a rescue dog and I still do dog walking for the kennels we got him from and sadly this is quite common.

Original poster

topher40 · 18/02/2010 11:04

sowhatis
We were playing with the ball when the dog came running over from a good 100 yards away. As I said I grew up with dogs but we had ours trained properly so they would stop on command. This particular beach has a total no dogs policy between march and september as it is a very popular place. What really annoyed me was that i had words with this one person who then met friends with another 3 dogs who then all came running at us. I said to them that even if they knew the dogs were safe i did not and alittle more control would be nice. Had one of them attacked or just snapped at my son I would have taken it out with no hesitation whatsoever. I understand that a dog needs to run around but surely if you are going to take your dog to a public place then train it to stop on commend or keep it on a lead. Training a dog is not difficult and a damn sight cheaper than being sued for thousands should the dog bite somebody. It was reported on our local news yesterday that at least 1 child a day is taken to hospital as the result of a dog bite. Where is peoples sense of responsibility?

OP posts:

tethersend · 18/02/2010 11:07

There's not much point me posting my view that we should just do away with dogs altogether, so I won't bother.

Notalone · 18/02/2010 11:09

Why is there so much hatred over dogs tethersend? Its the owners who are at fault not the dogs. YABVU

tethersend · 18/02/2010 11:11

I'm not the OP, notalone , I can be as U as I like!

illgetyoubutler · 18/02/2010 11:13

"Whether or not the dog was coming over for a friendly hello is a bit irrelevant - if you have a dog charging at you full pelt, would you really want to hang around and see if he just wants to say hi?"

Agree.

WynkenBlynkenandNod · 18/02/2010 11:18

Totally agree that dogs should stop on command or be on lead. Ours is on a long line when there's any risk of bumping into anyone as being young we haven't got her completely trained. I've found places where we rarel bmp into other people and go at lunchtime so she can go off Lead.

I'd have been very cross in the OP's position.

Notalone · 18/02/2010 11:19

Lol tethersend - how about YABU by default?

Morloth · 18/02/2010 11:20

The crazy dog people will be along soon to tell you that YABU and dogs have a perfect right to do whatever they like, jump on whoever happens to be around and crap wherever available and there is nothing, nothing I tell you that the owners of said dogs can do about it.

If you can't control it, you shouldn't have it.

luciemule · 18/02/2010 11:23

I don't hate dogs at all but as a mother, I know I would rather all dogs be on leads.
It's also a bit irresponsible (imo) to say that your dog would never hurt a child/run after a child etc because everyone knows that dogs can be lovely as pie most of the time but then for some unknown reason, attack out of the blue. I would never trust any dog even if it were my own.

tethersend · 18/02/2010 11:25

Notalone

That's why I'm not mentioning that although I'm not advocating a cull as such, I'd like to perhaps just put them all on a boat and send them on a little 'trip'

Because if I posted that in AIBU, that would be ridiculous.

Romanarama · 18/02/2010 11:29

I agree, and walk my dog in a park at a time when the only people there are dog walkers. And I still get totally annoyed by the owners who don't/can't call back their snappy or boisterous dogs.

You can't keep all dogs on leads all the time though - they need to run and play like kids do. And you can know that your dog would never attack anyone. Obviously you can't know that about a dog you don't know, but it's nonsense that dogs are all unpredictable and could be delightful for years then suddenly savage a toddler to death.

As has been said many times, banning dogs because they're dangerous makes as much sense as banning cars because they're dangerous.

birdofthenorth · 18/02/2010 11:30

I have two large dogs who need plenty of off lead excersize but I tend to take them out at 7am when kids are less likely to be around just because I know some children/ parents are understandably nervous of large animals bounding over to them. My dogs are briliant with kids but I do appreciate even a friendly sniff from a dog isn't always welcome.

Please no to the 'no dogs off lead' policy though, there are ways you can take you dog for a much needed off-lead run without causing anyone else concern!

In the case of the OP situation I'd say one intrusion from this dog owner was unfortunate and two was very inconsiderate indeed.

tethersend · 18/02/2010 11:32

"And you can know that your dog would never attack anyone"

Can you? Did your dog tell you that? Perhaps they signed some sort of legally binding contract?

I'm confused...

laydeestardust · 18/02/2010 11:49

My poor DS1 had (has) a terrible phobia of dogs that he's really only got over in the last year or so, and he's 17 and tbh, he's still jumpy around them ,just he's learned to disguise his fear.

I put it down to an incident in a local park when he was 2 ish in which an enormous dog ran out of nowhere, knocked him flat on his back and wouldn't get off. DS1 was hysterical, I was pulling and pushing at the dog to get it off, oh btw while also wearing DS2 in a sling which kind of added to the excitement

Then the owner, a large man, came over and started screaming and shouting at me for pushing his dog;

"which only wanted to play and people like me shouldn't bring our brats to the park."

It was very traumatic, luckily DS1 was completely unhurt other than scratches and bruises etc, well, physically at least , but as I said above has never got over it

I love dogs, trained dogs that is, and grew up with a beautiful lab that I miss to this day, and my younger three would probabaly love a dog but it would never have been fair to DS1 to get one.

I think dogs should be on leads unless the owner can guarantee they won't go out of control, jump up etc.

Anyway, I quite enjoyed that rant, its been cathartic

BlauerEngel · 18/02/2010 11:57

luciemama mentioned that there is a general rule in Germany that dogs have to be on a lead in public places. This is true, but in many places there are specially designated areas (and I mean big areas - parks and so on, with lakes so the dogs can go swimming) where dogs are allowed to run off the lead.

In Berlin there are 5 areas around the city, for instance. It's understood that if you are worried about dogs going up to your toddler you would simply not go to one of these designated areas, but would choose one of the many parks where dogs have to be on the lead at all times.

Now there is a downside to this, of course - the 'dog' area nearest to us is a beautiful lakeside location, but the dogs have dug up the shore and crapped everywhere (dog owners in Germany feel no compulsion to pick up poo and there are no fines), and the lake is pretty much ruined for everyone else. But it's worth the destruction to be able to tell people elsewhere to keep their mutts under control, so a good compromise generally. Most dog owners walk their dogs around the block during the week and then drive them out to the special 'dog' zones for a runaround on the weekend.

BlauerEngel · 18/02/2010 11:58

Oops, luciemule...

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