I've just been screamed at by a woman in the park.

[TantrumsAndBalloons]

I have 2 staffys, one is a pup 18 weeks.

I was walking the puppy in the park, it's a massive park, lots of dogs running about off lead, no problems.

The pup was walking next to me, we passed a woman with a toddler in a pushchair on a bench. Milo went to one end of the bench to chase a plastic cup.
The woman screamed "getting your fucking dog away from my child"
I called him, he came over.

The woman then came about 2 inches from my face screaming I was an irresponsible person, I shouldn't let my dog off the lead, he was out of control, she was going to report me.

I don't know what I did wrong tbh, Milo was nowhere near the toddler but she kept saying that he was licking her child's feet, but he was nowhere near her feet and he came back as soon as I called him, he was in no way out of control.

I understand people do not like dogs but isn't this a big of an overreaction?

Some staffys are aggressive, I think we have established that.
It's due to irresponsible owners, the dogs are not born "dangerous"

I could google violent crime in the last 24 hours and find many violent people. We don't suggest banning people on that basis do we?

I could google thousands of stories of humans harming other humans, it's hardly going to prove that all humans should be kept away from others though.

Again kitson have you missed the part about his happening in a designated off lead area?

No darling they are not bred to bite onto a child or any other prey.

Please please accept you are taking whatever you need from the press in order to prove a point. You have no experience and no opinion other than what you have read in the press about dog attacks.

So sshh.

They are not trained to bite and hold bull's heads they are BRED to do it, so their tenacity is a genetic trait, as is their ability to hold onto "prey", a child, or someone's poor cat. But I wouldnt expect you to understand that

Kitson - this is not the 'Greyhound killed my cat' thread. You are getting yourself terribly confused. SBTs do not have a strong prey drive (that you learnt about on the other thread).

If you "Fucking hate dogs" [quote] why on earth are you in the Doghouse. It's bad manners to jump in with two feet about something you have no clue about. How would you feel if I jumped into the Home Education area and posted that all HE kids are shallow, cannot socialise, and are products of their overbearing mothers own insecurities about school? That would be wrong, rude and hurtful of me. Just like your opinions here are wrong, rude and hurtful.

This imposing physique was needed for the dogs to fight one another, as well as dodge and grab an ornery bull with their powerfull gripping jaws and hold on to it without being tossed aside!

taken from www.staffy-bull-terrier.co.uk/history.html

So, this breed site is incorrect then, Darling

Im sorry, I didnt realise that it was ok to call a woman in a park, being bothered by a dog a "hysterical drama queen", and that this was a thread to just comfort each other about how awful she was to be scared of the dog.

For your information many many posters have come onto H.E to do JUST that.

What, so is this just a bit of 'tit for tat' then? How very grown up.

kitson try looking here www.the-kennel-club.org.uk/services/public/breed/display.aspx?id=3080

Wait a minute....sbts are bred to hold on to children and cats and other prey?

Better wake mine up from sleeping next to my 9 month old and tell her, she won't be happy

She wasn't being bothered by the dog. He was by my side.

The fact you are actually googling facts about staffys proves my point, you don't know anything.

I havent brought up anything from any other poster's history, and the dig at HE was totally out of order.

If you cant show the slighest bit of empathy, consideration for others or understanding about why the woman in question was scared of your dogs, then I suppose there is nothing I can do about it.

lemon mine is sleeping on the 8 year old and the cat is on top of him.

I guess he didn't get that memo either.

But she wasn't bothered by the dog. Unless you think a dog being in her eye line was enough to warrant her screaming abuse in the OP's face. Her life must be so difficult if seeing every day objects drives her in to a frothing frenzy.

Yeah, it's out of order to bring up things you know nothing about isn't it kit

Kitson are you deliberatly ignoring my posts about this being an area specifically for OFF LEAD dogs? Why go there if you don't like dogs who are off leads?

And I have sympathy for people scared of dogs.

But not people who go to a place knowing its full of off lead dogs, and then scream in my face when my dog is by my side.

In which case, the woman was in the wrong for being upset at unleashed dogs. Where I CAN avoid it, I do so. I can't in the Country Park, and WILL react shoutily, through fear, if an unmuzzled Staffie approaches my DC's. I just can't help it, but it doesn't mean that my DC's shouldn't get to go for walks in the Country Park just because that path is the only option. It's not that hard to keep a Staffie muzzled, so as not to cause undue alarm to people like me. They can be off leash but muzzled and I wouldn't have an issue.

Oh, and the jaw-lock thing is a myth. They just don't WANT to open their jaws, it's not that they CAN'T.

I get that her reaction seems puzzling to you, and in THIS case, she could have chosen OTHER places to go to, but in some situations, a calm explanation IS NOT POSSIBLE. Not through choice, but through fear.

I just ask that any dog breed that can exert far more pressure in a bite than smaller dogs is muzzled. It is the difference between a stitchable injury and death.

They can be off-leash and still muzzled, you know. I used to have a muzzle for public places for my Labrador. It's common courtesy in public places.

And I have had counselling for my issues with Staffies. At one point I had issues with ALL dogs. The fact that I have been a dog owner since should tell you that I know it's an 'irrational' fear of a particular breed, but just CANNOT get over it. I've been trying for 10 years. I still reacted the same when soneone's (more than likely as she had a DD of about 6yo with her) Staffie licked my DS3's feet as he was unleashed and unmuzzled. I DID shout. Because I was SCARED. I shouted at her to call her dog away. She started talking about how he was a softy BEFORE she called him to heel. I don't CARE if he is a softy, I want him muzzled if he is going to come within 10 feet of my DC on the path in front of my own home that I have no other option but to use to get in or out of my own home!!

I meant more than likely WELL TRAINED. Gah!

couthyi cant even imagine how terrifying it must be for you.

I know a lot of dog owners think they are reassuring you by saying he is friendly, dont worry, but obviously after your experience you just want the dog away

I learnt a long time ago not to let any dog go up and greet strangers even if the dog is friendly.
When I was a teenager we had a dog who loved everyone and everything. He was a little Heinz 57 dog from a rescue, we used to let him run in another dog park and woods, he had good recall but I thought because I knew he was friendly everyone would love him. But one day he ran up to a woman with a pushchair, to say hello and the woman was petrified. She asked me to call him, I didn't do it quick enough tbh and did the same thing "oh he's friendly etc"
She was shaking and she explained her son had been really badly bitten and she was really scared it would happen again, she thought it was her fault because she didn't stop it.
I felt awful, I've never let a dog of mind approach anyone again, I never would.
Sometimes it's hard to understand someone's fear, now I realise I don't have to understand it, just be considerate.

I havent brought up anything from any other poster's history, and the dig at HE was totally out of order

Yes it was, I agree. It was supposed to be, because it is no more out of order than you having a dig at SBT owners.

I know nothing about HE, you know nothing about dogs. How about I don't slag of Home Edders, and you don't slag off dogs?

Kitson children and cats resemble bulls near where you live?

It sounds to me as though the woman was aggressive and disliked dogs rather than being scared, though you never know. Really don't think tantrums had any need to apologise, if anything it should be the other way round. I've never in my life spoken to anyone like that, no matter how frightened or upset I felt, and I don't think it's acceptable.

I remember once I was out with BearDog in a woodland area very popular with dog-walkers, he was trotting along quietly at my heel when a woman coming towards us dragged her children off the path and screamed hysterically WE DON'T LIKE DOGS!, which of course set the children off wailing too. At least she wasn't aggressive or swearing, and I'm sure she was genuinely frightened, but I had not done anything wrong. I didn't apologise, though I resisted the temptation to say actually I don't much like kids, but you don't see me screaming about it.

BearDog is a rottie, which I understand some people have a problem with. He's also a dog, which can be an issue in itself for some. He can't help that though, and he hadn't even looked at them until all the screaming started. I have never and would never let him run up to a stranger, that's just good manners. But I won't apologise for his existence, and I certainly won't muzzle him to appease hysterical mummies.

Of course this woman over reacted. She sounds a little unhinged. But I really really don't understand why people insist on keeping breeds that scare people. There are loads of types of dogs out there. I sometimes think it's sheer bloody mindedness!

It's not bloody mindedness seeker

The reason is I used to volunteer at an animal shelter. 14 years ago a 2 year old staffy was bought into the reception, he had been found outside. We tried desperately to find a home or a rescue to take him in but no luck, he would have been PTS so we rescued him.
He had been very badly treated, was untrained, unsocialised, scared of everything. But we got through that, he was a kind gentle dog, the DCs loved him to bits. When he was 10 he was diagnosed with cancer and sadly died. We were heartbroken. I did not want to replace him with another dog, so we started fostering staffys whilst they were in the process of being rehomed.
Big dog came to us 3 years ago, he was supposed to be a temp placement but again would have been PTS so we kept him. He is a jelly. He really is. And the pup was put in a box outside the shelter as the owner had him for a week, left him all day and wondered why he barked, cried, wasn't toilet trained etc.

I bought him home initially for a week to see how he got on with big dog. They loved each other. So we kept him.

So no, I dont have staffys just to piss people off