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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to wonder why the hell people NEED such big scary dogs :(

49 replies

superv1xen · 27/04/2010 17:10

there is a HUGE alsatian dog that lives nect to me and it scares the shit out of me. it is literally about 6 foot when it stands up. (which it regularly does, up the fence barking at everything)

i have a paranoia that it could get over the fence (i reckon our fence is about 4 foot) and have heard so many horror stories about dogs attacking kids, i don't even like my DS (4 YO) playing out, even though our garden is lovely, safe and enclosed).

earlier on i was outside putting some fertiliser stuff down on my lawn and as i was walking up n down the lawn putting it on, the dog was, kind of, following me up and down the garden (from their side), growling ominously, omg it really shits me up.

the maddest thing is is that the family have got 3 little kids, aged from about 1 to about 6 or 7 i would say. i just would NOT have a dog like that never mind with little kids in the house.

AIBU?

OP posts:

Alambil · 27/04/2010 18:36

My friends have two Shepherds and two kids... no issues whatsoever, other than the puppy eating the walls

His shepherd was nearly killed by a west highland terrier.

It isn't the size of dog that's the worry; it's whether the dog is trained or not (which it sounds like that one isn't if it's allowed to growl at all and sundry)

skihorse · 27/04/2010 18:37

Equally annoying are people who are ridiculously scared and pass on these fears to their children.

2shoes · 27/04/2010 18:39

yabu

FioFio · 27/04/2010 18:39

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

rainbowinthesky · 27/04/2010 18:42

yabu. You might as well say you wonder why women need such big scary men who of course could cause far more damage than a small man if they beat them.
I wonder what the stats are re domestic violence compared to dog attacks.

GrimmaTheNome · 27/04/2010 18:42

I do however think you should have a license and be made to do and complete a training course

Good idea though there might be practical difficulties with it. How about mandatory 3rd party insurance too.

FioFio · 27/04/2010 18:43

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

rainbowinthesky · 27/04/2010 18:45

fio - I was at readign the first part of your post then read the last part - so true. Plus I have never allowed my great dane to drink vast amounts of alcohol and pick a fight.

OTTMummA · 27/04/2010 19:09

i don't see why it would be impractible to have a license and a basic traning course set as standard.
if you really wanted a dog then you would do it.
if not then clearly its not that important to you then probably best not to have a dog/animal that could potenitaly kill another human being.

insurance is a good idea, however i really believe that preventative action and education is the only way we can reduce instanses of fatal attaks and maiming of children/adults.

Ewe · 27/04/2010 19:10

I'm not scared of them, I just really dislike them. They are smelly, unnecessary, shit everywhere and the worst thing about dogs is that the owners think they are the best thing in the world. It's like PFB in the extreme!

I think there is an easy solution though, people who don't like dogs (like me) can go to dog free parks and people who like dogs can go to dog parks where they can be let off the lead etc.

I actually prefer larger dogs to little ones, if I had to pick, I think wondering why people intentionally get intimidating dogs and encourage aggression and don't train them is a more valid question. Although these people are in the minority of dog owners.

Can you approach neighbours and speak to them about it? They probably don't have any clue how scared you are.

OTTMummA · 27/04/2010 19:10

sorry for my spelling, its always been awful!

jillsgymkhana · 27/04/2010 19:13

Poor you. I have never met a dog I didn't like but have met plenty of dog owners I couldn't stand. I never let my dogs pester other people's children or indeed other people's dogs. In public they are on leads.

It is not on for the owner to let the dog behave in this way towards you. No responsible owner would, but then no responsible owner would leave it in the garden all the time. Sounds like the dog is nervous of you, it may well know you are scared of it. Dogs often don't like children near their territory, the high pitched sounds and unpredictable fast movements make them nervous.

It won't attack you though, if you are not aggressive towards it and don't try to get into its space. Don't look at it, don't speak to it, but hum calmly to yourself to lower your stress levels. Hard to explain but you are signalling 'something wrong here' to the dog by being worried about it.

Have you tried talking to the neighbour?

OTTMummA · 27/04/2010 19:16

SKIHORSE- Even though i do cross the road, i always point the dog out and encourage my DS to say hello dog, bye bye dog, ahhh dog.

I don't think letting little children touch strange dogs is a good idea TBH, I don't know the dog or owner and the dog doesn't know me or DS.

My mum has a dog he's 9 ( the soppyest dog ive known )now and when we visit, he has to be outside or in the kitchen with a stairgate on as we have always know he doesn't like little children, they scare him and has snapped at one before, dispite my mum warning the mother and trying to walk away.
I wouldn't want my son to be scared of dogs, but i don't encourage him to be mowgli from the jungle book and climb/hang all over a strange animal either.

EggyAllenPoe · 27/04/2010 19:22

i think the OP should talk to her neighbours about putting up a higher fence so that the dog can't see her. GSD's have strong guard instincts and this is the behaviour she is reporting.

I don't think that means the dog is dangerous, but i don't think the OP should have to have a dog snarling at her whilst she's putting her washing out.

Vallhala · 27/04/2010 20:07

Superv1xen, forgive me for reading only your OP.

The breed of dog you're speaking of is actually called a German Shepherd Dog. They're used by the Police and prison service for their loyalty and intelligence.

They're also used by the Guide Dog and Hearing Dog organisations, for the same reasons. I know quite a few who are PAT dogs (Pets As Therapy) too, going into hopitals and old people's homes to cheer the patients/residents up.

I have children and own a German Shepherd Dog. He too is 6 foot tall on his hind legs and he's the second Shep I've owned. I've also fostered them. I'm a dog rescuer and so have met and handled literally hundreds, no, thousands of dogs. And I can tell you this...

...you are very misguided and very, very unreasonable.

darkandstormy · 27/04/2010 22:42

yabu Another mumsnet dog hater, yawn.As I have said before it is time people realise dogs have just as much right to be here as we do.Get real and worry about something more substantial.Even better get over this irrational mindset and do some voluntary work with dogs, you may get to like them, who knows.

tiredlady · 27/04/2010 22:49

darkandstormy

if your leg has been ripped open by a dog(like a previous poster) how exactly is your mind set irrational.

Vallhala · 27/04/2010 22:55

tiredlady, I was beaten shitless by my husband. I do not, however, have an irrational fear of all men.

There is no proof that the dog in the OP is a threat or a danger to anyone.

Blame The Deed, Not The Breed

runnybottom · 27/04/2010 23:00

yawn another dog-obsessive. Voluntary work with dogs? Get a grip.

paisleyleaf · 27/04/2010 23:03

I can understand how you feel.
We had a neighbour who had an english bull mastiff (? - that's what he said it was). He was a small guy and this thing was like a lion. Jumping at the fence, snarling, barking - we were scared walking past and knew that he was too small to actually control the dog. We'd often talk about the what to do if it broke out of the garden.
It had to be shot in the end - it turned on it's owner. (I'm just glad it wasn't one of us).

KERALA1 · 27/04/2010 23:03

Because they are dealing drugs and need the dog as protection (one can't call the police if a client refuses to pay I understand). Learned this from our old neighbours who had an aggressive dog - they are no longer our neighbours we have moved far far away...

darkandstormy · 27/04/2010 23:06

runnybottom why not, face her fear, and help a charity at the same time.

PrammyMammy · 27/04/2010 23:57

Some people just like big dogs, and a 'big scary dog' to you is probably a much loved pet to them.
We have a dog, she is a Cavalier King Charles, she is beautiful. I have had comments from people before asking 'how can you walk that thing, it's like a hamster on a leash'? blablabla.
My parents, who have always had dogs, an Alsation from when i was a baby to a teen, then a Dalmation who passed 3 years ago, now have a Grate Dane - he is huge, his bark shakes my rib cage it's so loud, but he is their pet. They hear 'where's teh saddle' and such like.
You either like dogs or you don't, people who don't will always have a comment to make no matter the size of dog.
Each to their own i guess.

If the dog seems threatning to you, you could mention it to them? OR you could put a fence up at your side, double slat it so you can't see through, or pannels?

wannaBe · 28/04/2010 10:03

But family pet or not, why do people need to have a dog that paces up and down its garden growling and barking through the fence at anyone who passes by.

I have two dogs. One of them would bark if I left him out in the garden so I don't.

My neighbour has a little cocker spaniel who barks when my dogs come out or if other dogs bark over the back. When she does my neighbour comes out and fetches her inside.

If you have a dog then its not unreasonable to expect said dog to be kept under control, and that includes not allowing said dog to stand snarling at its fence intimidating the neighbours.

Gsd's are highly inteligent dogs, but one of the reasons why they are used as police dogs is because of their agression.

Very, very few are now used as guide dogs, partly because they're a very different type of dog to the average lab/retriever so require a different kind of handling, but also because of their intimidating nature. The withdrawal rate of GSD's as guide dogs due to agression is very high, much higher than the other breeds that are used. Many of the withdrawn guide dogs go on to the police force and do have careers though.

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