All those who don't like dogs leaping up at them while they're out, look away now....

[TsarChasm]

Here

And at a 12stone dog too! It'd have totally flattened a child.

Actually i would happily exterminate the lot - but it's not an hysterical generalisation but an accurate picure of what I see on a daily basis.

I have been attacked by dogs twice as a small child. I have never forgotten both incidents and I just get so angry at articles like this.

Guide dogs too, Nancy? See what silly things you say when you make hysterical generalisations?

Nancy66, is it the fault of the dogs that you have encountered that they have not been properly trained?

Dogs can be wonderfull loving companions given the right care and training.

If dogs had to be kept on leads at all times then most dog attacks could be avoided.

I can't believe that they have ruled that it is OK to let a 12 stone dog run about where he likes in a public place, jumping up at people

I ran around a reservoir regularly and had to stop due to the number of dogs jumping up at me whilst off the lead. I am scared of dogs though so it meant I as zigzagging all over the place to avoid dogs (I suppose good as I got a longer run ).

I really don't like dogs, but do appreciate that some owners are responsible and don't agree that they should all be exterminated
I just don't understand why we should have to put up with other people's pets jumping up at us etc in a public place (not to mention the shite, how much would a 12 stone dog produce ???)

If dog owners were liscensed and made to train their dogs properly and given dog parks then most dog attacks could be avoided.

Most dog owners are responsible.

A lot of dogs need off the leash time to exert their energy. And who's going to round up all the sheep? If all dogs are on leads at all times?

I wonder if that would've had a different outcome had the owner not been an RSPCA official.
And, the article says "former RSPCA official", yet there he is in his uniform in the pic.
Just can't help but look at that pic....swap the owner with someone else, and think he wouldn't have got away with it.

What about Scooby Doo?
Stop making daft arguments - I'm not talking about sheep dogs or guide dogs - I'm talking about every day pets amongst people - not sheep.

And yet you still don't see that YOU included sheepdogs and guide dogs in your sweeping generalisation, making you look silly, imo.

Well considering that you think it's the responsbility of pedestrians to navigate their way around dogs in order to not upset them - I'm not surprised.

I used to live in a little village in Scotland, in the park they had an area for dogs only, it was fenced off and large enough for them to run around.

My dd was chased by a rottweiller last summer and we got the usual claptrap of "oh it wouldn't have hurt her". In that case what did it chase after her, snarling and snapping. I was also left in a position of either trying to help my dd or leave my ds in the street on his own when the dog could have about turned and would have been at face level with him (he was on his bike). I never ever want to be in that position again.

If you are happy to let your dog run around off its lead then you have to take the responsibility of what happens. But as I find frequently around here, people don't give a damn about anything.

Gone are the days of politeness. If a dog jumps up then if a child/person is scared surely the done thing would be to say "sorry". Any dog owners I have come across though seem to think its the dog's given right to do so.

There maybe responsible owners out there who have trained their dogs well but where I live they are very very very few and far between.

Yes but like I said a lot of dogs need time of their leash. Should they and their responsible owners be punished because of the actions of a few?

many larger breeds and terrier breeds need time to run to get rid of their energy.

The park we walk through on the way to school is full of dogs off the lead, mainly Staffordshire Bull Terriers and Collies. Never once have we been jumped on. We did recently have a SBT fall at our feet and start rolling around the ground in front of the buggy. Dd2 found it most amusing. "Sorry he got in your way, he loves children" was what the owner said when she collected him from the floor and back onto his feet.

Now I imagine that had I or dd2 been afraid of dogs we would have been less than pleased, but, the dog didn't jump at us or run uncontrolably around us.

Should that dog owner be forced to keep her pet on it's lead? Or what about my fathers Akita, who doesn't even approach people and would get obese and bored without his off the leash time. Should he have to stay on his lead? Or what about the lovely collie we see everyday who has never once approached us or chased dd1, even when she has been running wild?

You cannot punish responsible owners because of the actions of others. It's silly and hysterical.

Fimbo - I completely agree.
Every dog owner claims their pet is harmless and that they pick up after their dog.

yet the streets are overrun with aggressive dogs, there's shit everywhere and the numbers of dog attacks are rising. So, as the yanks say, you do the math.

I'm scared of dogs so this didn't make my day when I read it. I think that the Court got it wrong as well, owners should be accountable for the actions of their animals, especially in this instance. If an adult was bowled over by a 12-stone dog (which is more than I weigh) what chance would a child or elderly person have?

Dogs should be licensed as they used to be, and insured once the owner has undertaken a suitable training course. Then we might start seeing more responsible people keeping them.

My fil was brought up on a farm and maintains that all dogs are hunters. As he says you just never know when the most placid of dogs will turn.

Calling people silly and hysterical is not exactly helping.

You dog owners expect us to see things from your point of view, how about just a tiny fraction of the opposite.

Dogs do need time of leads, but in a place that is appropriate as I said before in this Scottish park there was a place especially provided for this purpose. Not in children's playgrounds, in residential streets or similar.

I don't think it is silly nor hysterical to want to be able to enjoy public spaces safely without fear of dogs jumping up/attacking you or your toddler ending up face down in dog shit.

Truly, I don't want anyones dog near me, if I did then I'd buy my bloody own.

It is selfish to have a pet and to not discipline it and let it run riot, at best it is a bloody nusiance and at worst lethal (which many breeds are).

Not all places have that available though Fimbo. Our town doesn't.

FWIW though I do intend to allow my dog off the lead time at early evening in a quiet part of the park that is generally accepted as being a part for dogs.

Or at the part of the beach that is generally accpeted as the part for dogs.

That's what I said earlier actually, instead of getting hysterical about it and demanding mass culling or that all dogs should be on leads, should we not be looking at ways to promote responsible dog ownership? Such as liscensing and dog parks?

Our town doesn't either, that was my point. Something imho needs to be done.

My friend got those"don't let your dog poo here or you will be fined" from our local parish council for putting up on the road notorious for dog poo we walk up to school. She put them up one lunchtime, by school run time someone had pulled them down and thrown them in the road (they were pinned on to wooden posts).

The reservoir near me does have a dog park, next to it. Not as nice a walk, I agree, but rarely (if ever) used.

Shesells, I know that not all dog owners are irresponsible, but a lot are and it can be really scary when you are afraid of dogs anyway.

This case is backwards.

"His barrister, Giles Mooney, successfully argued: 'Most human activity bears some risk, but was it reasonably foreseeable by Mr Whippey that his dog might cause any damage?'"

The last time a dog approached my DS, the owner said "don't worry, he won't bite you" and the dog promptly did. DS now won't go anywhere near them Can you guess what the owner said next? "Oh, he's never done that before"

What it should have rested on is that no-one can guarantee a dog won't cause any damage and that it is better to err of the side of caution.

I don't think dogs should be kept on a lead at all times so I thank the dog owners who will call their dogs back when they see them approaching other people, but too many are complacent, just lazy or both by letting them do what they like from such a distance that they can't control their dogs.

Now the dog poo thing I wholly agree with. Our park has bin everywhere. All the vets and the council give out free dog poo bags, yet it is still full of dog shit.

Harsher penalties and more wardens need to be put in place to prevent people leaving their dogs dirt all over the place. I pick up after my dog and fully expect any other owner to do so, if they can't they shouldn't own a dog.

Lizzylou, I used to be afraid of GSDs and Rotweillers. So I know how you feel. But most dogs are okay.

I can always tell if someone is afraid of dogs by the way they tense up when they see my dog, especially if I am with my fathers Akita, so I will pull him closer to me, or cross the street. And I never allow him off his leash if there is anyone nearby, if anyone turns up he is called back to me and we go to a different place.

I would not be happy at all if I was made to keep him on his lead at all times. I would use a dog park though. If there was one available to me.

"Well considering that you think it's the responsbility of pedestrians to navigate their way around dogs in order to not upset them - I'm not surprised."

I assume that was aimed at me, Nancy. If so, it would appear that you didn't bother to read my post properly. I think I made it pretty clear that BOTH parties have a responsibility to eachother - the dog owners clearly have a responsibility to make sure their dog is properly trained and behaves AND others have a responsibility to be reasonably careful around dogs they don't know.

What I actually said was:

"Nancy66, I don't think you are being utterly reasonable here - the jogger should leave enough space when they run past a dog so that they can react to any sudden move by the dog - and the same applies to running past a cyclist, a child or another pedestrian. You don't know if someone's about to fall over, or a small child is going to suddenly change direction, so it is your responsibility to be able to react to such things just as much as it is the responsibility of the dog owner/pedestrian/parent to try to anticipate these things and prevent them."