What's your take on this - bit scary.

[LimitIsUp]

So my adolescent dog is pretty good - but is intrigued by anything new.

We were walking in our local beauty spot and a man rounded the corner with a toddler in a child carrier on his back - an unfamiliar sight to my pup. I didn't have time to process his sudden appearance as he had emerged from around a bend (my usual practice is to immediately leash her as people and dogs approach just to be considerate - in case there are people who aren't keen on dogs or dogs that are reactive) before she barked twice and cantered over to him, stopping 4 feet short and just sat there looking up at him. Within seconds I put my whistle to my lips to recall her and just as I was about to blow it he raged at me - with his face contorted with disgust and anger "Call your fucking dog"!! and "Fucking dogs should be on a lead". He looked so hateful and angry and it was horrible. I would have understood if she had continued to bark or had jumped up at him (in fact I would have been horrified if she had done that), or if I was just standing there and taking no action - but none of this applied

It seemed disproportionate and aggressive. If he has simple said "Recall your dog" I would have apologised (although she had done very little 'wrong'), carried on with recalling her (I had my whistle in my mouth poised and ready!) and we could all have gone on our way.

I'm a lifelong dog owner of GSDs and Terriers but I shit my pants now when a large dog comes careering towards me and my little chap. I'm an older person and my dog isn't great on recall..he's a knob tbh. So he stays on the lead. It's scarey you just don't know what the other dogs are going to do; to you he was just cantering sweetly over after a barking greeting and then sitting prettily...to the guy it was a possible dog attack involving him and his child. You know your dog he didn't.
Coming round a blind corner with an off lead dog is never a good idea IMO.
Of course his attitude was wrong but when people are scared and annoyed they often go ape shit.

What kind of dog do you have?

We'll probably get a drip feed that it's a chihuahua

Except obviously op won't be back, they've wound 'em up and sitting back enjoying watching them go.

What a spectacular cheek he has to blame you for the toddler crying. I think he was within his rights to express annoyance at your dog running up to him, although the dog didn't jump up and his toddler wasn't other floor so no harm done. I am not a dog owner but grew up with dogs and love them but didget irritated by people who let their dogs run up to my small kids (I know tht isn'/ quite what happened in this case) and do get annoye at people that let their dog jump muddly paws all over my nice clean jeans or the picnic destroyers which happens surprisingly often here. I would never speak to the owners like that though. His aggression and choice of language were totally unwarrented and I think his comment about you making the child cry goes to show he was just an arse who wanted a row rather than someone experiencing unbridled panic ue to previousky being attacked by a dog. I bet he came home late and drunk and his wife made him take the dog and the toddler out as punishment and he was pissed off!

OP that was a nasty encounter but I'd be very sure the guy only swore at you because he was frightened and his angry outburst was him evacuating that adrenalin in a rush of shocked fury once he realised your dog wasn't about to attack him (you cant adequately protect yourself if you are carrying a child).

I also expect he would have sworn at your DH too, because it would be the shock driving his reaction not an intention to intimidate or frighten you as a woman.

PS 7am isnt early for a walk if you have a toddler! In my house my toddler is alert instantly when he wakes usually 6am to 6.30am, so in fine weather we will often head to our local park before nursery starts.

The only time I've ever had a problem was on the school run when I was with my toddler walking on the grassy area adjacent to a busy public pathway, when a large black lab rushed at me and my son. The dog's owner was chatting to another dog-owner about 50 feet away and completely failed to recall the dog then called out "don't worry he's friendly" belatedly after he caught up to us and eventually recalled the dog. I gave the owner an earful. No child should have a panting dog that is as tall as their face cantering at them. I UNDERreacted assuming the owner could recall a dog that was loping around unsupervised. I just told DS not to be afraid and stay very still and quiet and tuck his hands away while I stayed very calm and put myself between son and dog. However the dog came right up to us and tried to push round me to get to my son. In the end I had to lift him up and turn my back and push the dog away with my leg.

I will never underreact again as it was pure luck that the dog was after all friendly. So I whilst I wouldnt swear, I'd definitely give a dog owner without adequate recall a firm telling off regardless of gender, and that includes owners on winding pathways who don't anticipate corners. You need to gave your dog under an appropriate level of supervision and if you don't, then you are asking for trouble really.

It took over a year to get my son back to normal after that experience btw, he was very frightened even when dogs we knew approached us.

Yes I won't be back since I have got what I needed from this thread - a broad spectrum of opinion and now I am getting on with my Sunday. Thanks all - feel free to talk among yourselves

I think his reaction was disproportionate. His kid was on his back out of harms way.

Really? Dogs can jump. The child’s foot would have been at around the man’s waist height.

He overreacted. Swearing aggressively with a small child is hardly helpful in that situation either.

Neither of you were wrong. I’d be upset if someone was so hateful towards me…it happens occasionally on walks, especially when you own a yappy dog. As you’ve found, it’s when someone unexpectedly comes round the corner…mine are on retractable leads but they often get tangled and often people don’t notice me struggling to untangle and carry on walking. Mine are only little fluff balls but to be honest I’d be scared if my yappy dog ran up barking. It’s still hurtful though when people are so hostile and don’t give you the chance to apologise or explain.

But on the other hand, I’ve shouted at owners of big dogs who come running up to us because it’s frightening. I tend to do a lot of running away and hiding behind gates if I see a big dog approaching way ahead of its owner.

She must have a medium/large dog otherwise she would have said.

It’s not other dog owners you need to consider, but other people, who may seem to react extremely but it’s because they have a dreadful fear of dogs. Maybe keep your dog on a lead when in a public place.

I’m a dog owner and I can see why somebody, particularly one carrying their child, might not take too kindly to a strange dog barking and cantering over to them. He doesn’t know your dog and whether it’s a softy or a savage.

He had a fright, perhaps overreacted and took it out on you. You had a fright. I’d say you were even.

Dogs who cannot walk at heal and be un-reactive should be kept on a lead.

I say this as the owner of a reactive dickhead dog who will not walk at heel.

He over-reacted because your dog scared him. It is VERY worrying with small children when unknown dogs are bouncing at you. The dog's stance may have looked like it had gone into an aggressive pose, so he may have been fearful it was going to attack. Scared people don't always chat calmly and reasonably. Next time keep your dog on a long leash and recall IMMEDIATELY, not casually on your own time. It's a shame you got upset too, but best just to recognise that your dog frightened him first and put it down as one of those things.

His behaviour was way over the top & dramatic. I have had a similar issue with people who walk in the countryside, open fields & woodland where a lot of dog walkers have off lead dogs & expect all dogs to be on leads which is ridiculous. One time a child (toddler) came running over to my dog who was healed beside me & my dog barked at him, I had to ask the child's owner to recall their child & was abruptly told ‘he’s autistic’ to which I replied well my dog doesn’t know that so maybe you should put your child on a lead. If people don’t like dogs don’t walk where you know dogs are off lead.

This thread is 6 months old - wish Mumsnet would take away the 'other threads you might like' option. Just causing zombie threads to pop up all the time.

All dogs should be on leads this time of year to protect ground nesting birds

I haven't read the full thread but can see by your replies op that you don't really care what anyone else thinks. In your opinion your dog did nothing wrong so why bother asking? Fwiw I hate being around off lead dogs. Especially when I have my baby with me in the carrier. You should be able to walk in public spaces without the fear of a random dog approaching you. The man had no idea if your dog was friendly or not. He was protecting his children. Keep your dog on a lead in places where other people are and you won't find yourself in these situations.

See I would have responded "No need to be so aggressive" and left it there. You encounter some nasty people in passing sometimes. You're ok to stand up for yourself.
I'd most likely turn it into a good story for the dinner table later. It wouldn't shake me up significantly.

Old thread alert...