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Out for a lovely walk away from the crowds today.
Two dogs run down the track towards us. Both mrs_oab and I stop walking and try to ignore them, they both are sniffing, nudging hands and typically zeroing in on mrs_oab as she is nervous of them.
'please could you call your dog's?' was asked three times politely.
Response three times was 'they won't hurt you' and 'they don't need to be on a lead up the hill'.
One now jumps up at mrs_oab who panicked and shouted 'will you call your f*ck*ng dogs off!'.
All of a sudden we're being shouted at - Mrs_oab being called ugly hag, stupid bitch, frightened wee c*nt, you swore first etc..
Again I'm asking them to call the dogs - both are now around mrs_oab who is clearly frightened and crying.
I'm telling them the swearing is a frightened reaction and could they call the dogs, can they help the situation.
Nope, told to stop being silly, that they don't need did to, and were should just go home if we don't like dogs.
Utterly nuts.
It's becoming a weekly occurance locally to have some out of control puppy or dog running over, regularly jumping up getting us muddy.
The reply is always 'they won't hurt you'.
FFS, I know this is an extreme incident, but please, if you see someone nervous or are asked to call the dogs, please do it.
Yeah I got jumped on this morning, owners seemed to think this should be charming.
I'm sorry to read this, I completely understand as my wife is fearful of dogs.
There is no thought for others in how it might make you feel if a dog is off a lead no matter what the size, not all owners are the same of course.
Good points well made. So many dog owners seem to have had a bit of their brain removed.
That’s totally unacceptable, so sorry for your wife. It is an unfortunate thing that dogs will tend to be attracted to people who are not calm with them but as a responsible owner one should be all to aware of this and keep them under control, especially if asked politely. To simply say everyone should be ok with dogs or not walk out is the worst mindset and arrogant in the extreme. There are a couple close to us like that, who never put their dog on a lead even when walking up the main road. Unfortunately like in all walks of life you meet people who don’t observe rule number one. As a (hopefully) considerate dog owner I would be mortified in such a situation.
Good points well made. So many dog owners seem to have had a bit of their brain removed.
This is unhelpful as it’s kinda really aimed at all dog owners isn’t it?
matt, shit incident. Hope missus oab was ok - not helpful when the person most nervous around dogs seems to be the one they just can’t bloody stay away from.
I’m not sure what can be done to prevent it in the future. I guess they’ll have taken (what I feel was a perfectly reasonable use of “****ing”) your wife swearing as license to be abusive back. Sound like arseholes. And arseholes, as we know, will be arseholes.
We were discussing it - we would have reacted strongly if someone swore near/at our kids. And to many thier dogs are surrogate children...
But we would have tried to call the kids, probably even apologised for our kids behaviour etc. It wouldn't have got to the stage it did, even in the 20 seconds or so from start to swearing.
It just feels that the "they won't hurt you" is an excuse to not react or take control of the animal.
Sound like arseholes
Well and truly in that category.
It isn't all dog owners.
But it feels here that there are more and more dog owners - and a fair proportion just have no interest in recalling the animal (or the animal isn't going to listen).
You should just carry some fireworks with you. Dog owners love that shit.
I think the standard response to 'They won't hurt you' is 'maybe not but I'm gonna hurt you if you don't get your mutts away from me'.
On a more sensible note this belief that their dogs are special really annoys me, any dog can attack under the right circumstances, if someone perceives themselves to be threatened by your dog your opinion doesn't count. It doesnt even need to be aggressive behaviour to be threatening.
Plenty of good - and gormless - dog owners around here. Had one with an excited thing on an extendable lead the other day who gave the perfect demonstration of the amount of control that type of lead gives you, ie next to zero.
'He's only being friendly' type dog owners really are arseholes, though. They love the adorable little rat, so everyone else must love it too.
I'm glad i haven't had this happen as i genuinely do not know what would happen if i was out with my son.
I know it isn't the dogs fault but i suspect it wouldn't be in a good way as it is hard to justify beating the shit out of the owners
I love dogs, I just wish some of the owners could get it through their heads that a dog that jumps up at strangers is out of control and should be on a lead. None of us want to see "he won't hurt you" changing into " he's never done that before" but that's where some of the bad behaviour ends up.
On a more sensible note this belief that their dogs are special really annoys me, any dog can attack under the right circumstances, if someone perceives themselves to be threatened by your dog your opinion doesn’t count. It doesnt even need to be aggressive behaviour to be threatening.
This, definitely.
And if a person is genuinely fearful of the dog whether the owner thinks it is acceptable behaviour nor not, it could be argued that they are dangerously out of control which is an offence. How far the authorities would take such an incident is a difficult one.
https://www.gov.uk/control-dog-public
Don’t worry, there will be someone along soon to tell you you were both in the wrong somehow.
I grew up round a lot of dogs being from a big shooting area so they don’t frighten me. You would have thought I’d have one now but it’s the last thing I’d have. I know how to react to one coming at me or jumping up at me, which generally means shouting very loudly at them - I have a weirdly loud shout which seems to work pretty well! This however upsets the moronic dog owners who think I’m attacking them somehow - just protecting myself and my wife! Seems to be a very distinct correlation between dog owners who won’t shout at or discipline their dogs and misbehaving dogs - training them isn’t about sitting on naughty step or giving treats it’s about discipline but they don’t have the spines to do it properly.
Unfortunately the explosion in dog ownership and the subsequent infestation of badly trained and idiotic owners out and about had made me really detest dogs just as much as their owners.
I think the standard response to ‘They won’t hurt you’ is ‘maybe not but I’m gonna hurt you if you don’t get your mutts away from me’.
That’s a good idea!
p1ss boiled.
I'm sick to death of dogs off leads and the over entitlement that goes with it.
Any new parent does the same with their 1st born child...but at least they don't have teeth, don't destroy ground nesting birds and their shit is kept in a nappy!
This is unhelpful as it’s kinda really aimed at all dog owners isn’t it?
Unfortunately it seems, maybe in the last 5 years or so, that the badly behaved dogs or owners are now the majority. I genuinely worry when I come across a dog on the trails whether walking or cycling, not about the dog itself but the brain dead owners response when I dare to challenge some out of control mutt.
I had once recently on the TPT where I ended up having to stop completely while some yappity piece of crap was darting around in front of me and around people. I made the decision to stop for its safety and mine and made a decision to not say anything or have any sort of expression on my face and let them pass by - the owner then had a right go at me!!! It just beggars belief sometimes.
I’m glad i haven’t had this happen as i genuinely do not know what would happen if i was out with my son.
If dogs were crowding my family member and causing serious distress I'd be grabbing the nearest stick and beating them off or kicking them away.
Almost every other day I want to start a thread like this to alleviate the rage I feel at arsehole dog owners but I refrain.
I KNOW not all dog owners are dicks but it does seem, lately, that MOST are dicks.
Genuine question; what would the legal consequences of me seriously hurting a dog that I felt was threatening me, my wife or kids?
Yes, I understand it’s not the dog’s fault but it is the thing that’s threatening me.
This is unhelpful as it’s kinda really aimed at all dog owners isn’t it?
Unfortunately it seems, maybe in the last 5 years or so, that the badly behaved dogs or owners are now the majority.
I’d say that was a fair and accurate somethingion.
Sadly all too common. On Friday my mate was telling me about a similar situation wherein an Irish Wolfhound was jumping on his 3 year old.
Owners were not apologetic.
I absolutely adore my dog but I'm very well aware that not everyone does. We take a lot of time to train her and make sure she is under control but she still does get nosy and wants to say hi a lot.
People are dickheads though. Without a doubt Covid has changed they way a lot of people act and what amazes may was how unaware i was until recently of the sheer entitlement levels of a lot of people. I think i just didn't encounter them before and now i am.
To all the keyboard warriors saying they would escalate the violence, would you really?? and is that the best way of dealing with these people?
If dogs were crowding my family member and causing serious distress I’d be grabbing the nearest stick and beating them off or kicking them away.
This, and I like dogs and we have two.
To all the keyboard warriors saying they would escalate the violence, would you really?? and is that the best way of dealing with these people?
What would you suggest instead?
I have 3 small dogs(harmless) but can be bit excited/barky. Dog people understand I apologise to non dog folks. I know some folks are just terrified of dogs of any size but acting nervous just escalates the issue.
Not much help I know but being calm showing no fear is the way to deal with it. But again always easier said than done !
Guess I’m saying ? Actually not sure what I’m saying 🙂 I love my dogs and keep them in check if they get boisterous. But !! I will take offense to anyone being overly nasty/nippy with my dogs !
We had some old bag and her yappy little rat dog jump all over my 4 year old, I told her to put get it off him. She was laughing say he shouldn’t be scared of dogs and it would toughen him up, what a he didn’t know was his best mate is a 35kg GSP who then came up to see what was going on and nudged her dog off and then sat on command and went on the lead(he was playing in sea with the wife at the time). Rocket is a reasonable sized dog, and soft as anything but having him run at you would be quite scary so he goes on the lead a lot around other people.
The other thing that gets me is people letting their dogs other dogs on the lead, that dog could be fearful, reactive, training or just be a bit of a dick.
Mactheknife - i think if my son was under threat and upset by a dog and i couldn't get it to back off then yes i would take steps.
I'm just hoping that i don't end up in the situation as i don't want to hurt anyone or anything.
To all the keyboard warriors saying they would escalate the violence, would you really??
Against the thing that was attacking me, yes. If it was biting me or my wife I’d react in whatever way would make it stop. Seems fair.
This is unhelpful as it’s kinda really aimed at all dog owners isn’t it?
No.
she still does get nosy and wants to say hi a lot.
I assume they are on a short lead. If they aren’t then you are the one at fault. No exceptions, no arguments.
Genuine question; what would the legal consequences of me seriously hurting a dog that I felt was threatening me, my wife or kids?
As long as it was for defending yourself you’d have nothing to worry about. Doesn’t pass the public interest test for prosecution.
jumps up at strangers is out of control and should be on a lead.
Mine’s done this once, I was mortified & very apologetic. He had never done it before 😉 and luckily never had again.
Ours is pretty good 90% of the time and gets put on the lead where I’m not sure I can trust him, if there are a lot of people about or if there’s dog coming the other way on the lead.
I notice there are a lot of people that are less worried about how their hound behaves though & it’s got worse recently - I’m not sure if it’s because the near us is busier than usual or there are more dog owners or a bit of both.
I’m looking forward to those ****ts joining and saying they’ve seen more people bitten by kids than dogs.
Tell that to those families in the news lately whose loved ones were killed by dogs or ignoring the sad story about Freddie the seal in London.
grahamt1980
Full Member
Mactheknife – i think if my son was under threat and upset by a dog and i couldn’t get it to back off then yes i would take steps.
I’m just hoping that i don’t end up in the situation as i don’t want to hurt anyone or anything.
Sorry, i didnt make that clear. Im talking about the escalation of violence towards the owners.
If a dog was threatening your son or anyone else then yes you are well within your rights to do whatever it takes to protect them. I would be exactly the same and i love dogs.
My mum bred Rottweilers when i was a lad and i grew up around big strong dogs. I am well aware of the amount of training they need to be controlled and most people dont get them to then spend this amount of effort sadly.
We live in a world where self entitlement rules. its pretty depressing really.
Yes it winds me up too. My four year old is now scared of dogs because of this sort of behaviour. I just put it down to the unceasing rise of the self absorbed and scowl internally
Owners like this are in the minority, but that doesn’t make the situation any easy for those on the receiving end. I can see why it feels otherwise, even after only a few meetings with the poor ones.
If you can’t recall your dog, it should be on the lead anywhere you are sharing space with people or animals. Full stop. No “he’s never bitten anyone yet” or “she just wants to play with your child” … control your dog, and ask people if they are okay to have contact with it before they have no choice in the matter.
No worries. The sad reality now is that if you did have to take steps with the dog, then i would be surprised if it didn't end up in an issue with the owner sadly.
I keep clear, and make sure my boy does too. His great aunts dog loves him to bits though and has on a few occasions put himself between my son and the dog he didn't like, so am well aware that not all dogs are like that
A lot of people are ****ing thick. More people have got dogs during the pandemic. Ergo, more thick idiots now own dogs.
We always ask people and hold our dog back on his lead before understanding if people want to go up to him. Same with other dogs, not all dogs are fluffy friendly little things and will occasionally go for other dogs.
For these reasons our dog is almost always on a lead, especially at this time of year with pregnant ewes and ground nesting birds all over the place. Sorry to hear your experience MOAB, hope your wife is ok.
b230ftw
Full Member
she still does get nosy and wants to say hi a lot.I assume they are on a short lead. If they aren’t then you are the one at fault. No exceptions, no arguments.
Maybe you shouldn't assume anything. Dogs have a natural noseyness. Mine is no different. But as i said she is well trained. She comes back straight away.
b230ftw
Full Member
I think the standard response to ‘They won’t hurt you’ is ‘maybe not but I’m gonna hurt you if you don’t get your mutts away from me’.That’s a good idea!
Give over. There are a lot of people out there much handier with their fists than you are. I think if you start spouting that nonsense you will find out the hard way.
Owners like this are in the minority
Possibly. But in my experience the vast majority of owners I've politely asked to call their dogs back have responded by accusing me of being the problem. Just call your dog back that's all, oh, you can't as you have absolutely no control over it.
Sadly this happens all too often. It’s not the dogs fault, it’s poor training by crap owners. My Lab is getting on in years but it’s wasn’t long ago that he was very bouncy and over affectionate of anyone who gave him a look of affection - I’m the same 😂 - but these days he’s far more placid, but, I would’ve hit the roof of this happened on one of our family walks; they were entirely in the wrong and utterly lacking in empathy.
I had two very large bags of shit thrown at me after I pointed out that one of the fat oaf’s fat dogs had dropped another fat turd on the sports field he was on. Summed up most of my interactions with dog owners in many ways. (Not the words I used to alert him BTW, I was very polite.)
Summed up most of my interactions with dog owners in many ways
You are the Daily Mail and summed up most of your interactions with cyclists!
Obviously not your first priority, which is your wife, but whip out phone, pics of dogs, pics of owners, report to Police as failure to control under the Dangerous Dogs Act (assuming it applies north of the border)
Some people are arseholes, some of which own dogs.
Hope your missies is Ok.
To all the people like plus one and others who use the phrase 'terrified of dogs' all I can say is I'm not terrified of dogs, I'm terrified of idiot dog owners who can't control them and have zero empathy or intellectual capital to work out that rather than not being a dog person I'm actually not an idiot person. In fact literally the only thing I'm scared of in this world is idiots, whether they are in charge of dogs, 3 ton SUVs or countries.
Unfortunately the explosion in dog ownership and the subsequent infestation of badly trained and idiotic owners out and about had made me really detest dogs just as much as their owners
Yep, it's gotten ridiculous now. My current favourite are owners that wait until just the wrong moment to call their dog over (often not in the way and minding it's own business) and make it run across right in front of the bike. Can barely go out now without the experience being marred by dog shit everywhere and dangerous aggressive loud dogs off leads chasing people or blocking the way. The rest of civilisation shouldn't have to put up with it. "He's just scared of bikes" or "he's got just as much right to be here as you" seems to be a common and absurd excuse for nearly being eaten.
But in my experience the vast majority of owners I’ve politely asked to call their dogs back have responded by accusing me of being the problem.
But that is a self selecting sub group. It rules out anyone who knows what to do and gets on with doing so…
- those who have their dog under full verbal control and can recall it before it even gets to you
- those who have trained their dogs to stay away from others
- those who have trained their dogs to stay close by ‘till given the command that they can run free
- those who have their dog on a lead due to lack of other effective controls
- those exercising their dog elsewhere to avoid people while they are training it
So if we just have to put up with arsehole dog owners who won't (can't) effect any control over their dog, that means that those who don't want dogs jumping up at them need a solution that tells the dog to sod off in a harmless way. Does that exist?
I'd take a water pistol filled with a solution of lion shit if I thought it would do any good.
It rules out anyone who knows what to do
Not necessarily. Walk last year up Skirrid, owner looked the proper country fella part. His dog starts jumping up at my partner, and he only decides to call dog off with simple command after we had to go through the plea several times along with the reverse accusations and argument. He could have controlled that dog straight away but chose to be an arsehole.
I was dog walking for a friend so had to take dogs (an old dog and a tiny sausage dog) out for a walk. On the walk saw 3 local lads with their "pit bull" (some sort cross breed) looking dog from afar without leash. Their dog didn't seem to bark but had the predator instinct of zooming onto the prey (dog was looking at something and was in attack mode). My first instinct was to avoid going anyway near that dog within 200 metres and quick without being noticed. Owner(s) was yelling and calling the dog back but took a while. I hate to imagine that how that dog would react if it considered others as "prey".
Certain breed of dogs, perhaps all, should be put on leash when in public.
But in my experience the vast majority of owners I’ve politely asked to call their dogs back have responded by accusing me of being the problem.
That’s a majority of a minority.
Ive a dog and in no way do I interact with anything other than a very small portion of other dog owners.
Not to deny it’s a problem. And it’s going to get worse, the current thing that I’ve noticed recently is an increase in poorly socialised and reactive (aggressive) dogs that are now turning 1 year old following the start of people buying lockdown dogs.
Was having this discussion with a friend today. We reckon that about 75% of dog owners rank as a 3 or below on a scale of 1-10.
Extending dog leads - walker on one side, dog 30ft away on the other side and somehow it's your fault that the owner needs to frantically reel it in.
Dog shit not picked up or they go to the effort of picking it up only to then lob it into a tree.
Zero effort to train or engage the dog...
Excuses for everything like the dog jumping up or barking endlessly.
We were outside the cafe today and this collie just appeared in the middle of the junction looking lost and confused. We got it to one side, nabbed some biscuits from the cafe and kept it occupied as it obviously had no owner nearby and seemed a bit distressed. No tag or collar. 5 minutes later a panicked woman came along saying she'd been looking for it, it had "just run off but it was OK because it had been heading home".
No, you had it off lead completely, the dog has zero recall! It was running down the middle of the road! It's a collie FFS, it's supposed to be one of the most trainable dogs! Stupid owner!
That’s a majority of a minority.
Understand that, but you can only go on your own experiences. Saying 'owners like this are in the minority' isn't evidence for all dog owners across the country either.
Not necessarily.
Well, that guy sounds like an utter cockwomble. Horrible. But your selective edit left out…
But that is a self selecting sub group. It rules out anyone who knows what to do and gets on with doing so…
Which is much the same as this…
That’s a majority of a minority.
Tarring all dog owners because of the impact on you of the many either useless or selfish ones you encounter doesn’t help solve things. What’s needed is education for those that are useless, and action against those that refuse to improve. Dog owning needs to become a privilege not a right without corresponding responsibilities. There are many people who own a dog, understand what they must do, and do it. My assertion that they are in the majority is of course just hand waving without proof and based on my experiences… but so is claiming that they are in the minority.
Its a problem without a solution sadly. People do not want to hear that they are at fault. And their dogs being out of control or scaring people is most definitely their fault.
Weirdly i don't seem to have all these interactions that a lot of people on here do. I tend to keep well away from people. But as with the OP thats not always the answer.
I think the best solution is to take the dogs picture along with their owners and report to the police. But that again escalated the aggression factor in some people.
So apart from moaning on here, whats the solution?
Edit. Just saw Kelvins reply and i agree. Dog ownership is actually too easy these days.
Tarring all dog owners because of the impact on you if the either useless or selfish ones doesn’t help solve things. What’s needed is education for those that are useless, and action against those that refuse to improve.
Yeah agree. Point I'm trying badly to make is that you have to engage the owners before you know what they're like, and the majority I've engaged have been ****s.
I have had dogs all my life and am really careful where I let my current one off, never round livestock or in areas of lots of people etc, couple of occasions where we have come across people I was not aware of and he gone up to them. He has come straight back but one man gave me a torrent of abuse and the dog never got closer than 15 feet to him, and I was apologetic. I put it down to his fear at the time he did say he would kick it to death if it came across again. Dog was on the lead by then so empty threat in reality,had my 10 year old son with me so not on on his part. Don't condone the behaviour OP has suffered though but there are lots of idiots out there and more dog owners than ever.
Yeah agree. Point I’m trying badly to make is that you have to engage the owners before you know what they’re like, and the majority I’ve engaged have been *.
In a way, I don’t think direct engagement is going to produce any significant positive results. Quite probably it’ll just produce negative results.
There are loads of mirror threads to this btw, on dog based social media. Basically cyclists are rude self entitled * At work we organise a “walkathon” at a popular nature trail and every year there are complaints about cyclists, same happened at an event we used to run in Holyrood park.
I can’t see how poor dog ownership can be improved with groups forming to lobby for education, legislation and enforcement. It should be easier for people to lose the right of dog ownership, there’s already a couple of places I won’t go in town due to dangerous dogs being allowed off lead because “never see anyone down here”.
People swearing at each other in public is just going to result in those people posting on the respective social media outlets and often entrenching views.
Two dogs run down the track towards us. Both mrs_oab and I stop walking and try to ignore them, they both are sniffing, nudging hands and typically zeroing in on mrs_oab as she is nervous of them.
You probably don't want to hear this but as you have no control over other peoples dogs and presumably don't want to avoid all the places you could potentially meet them is there anything you could do to get Mrs Oab more comfortable with dogs? The number of badly trained and controlled dogs out and about is sadly only likely to increase.
Had a similar situation last summer. Went for a stroll down a local lane with the Mrs that we use often. Bloke & Rottweiler heading towards us, dog off the lead. We just kept walking but suddenly the Rottie headed for me & started barking then jumped up at me, I turned away & put my arms in the air. My mrs was starting to panic (thinking of my well-being no doubt) & the dog backed off. All the dippy owner said was, ‘ sorry about that’. He had the dogs lead around his own neck so I told him where it should be. I may as well have spoken to the nearest tree.
Divvy.
In a way, I don’t think direct engagement is going to produce any significant positive results. Quite probably it’ll just produce negative results.
Sad isn't it? I'm well aware of how my initial request may not come across as something they want to hear, but it's always done politely. In my head I politely ask them to call their dog(s) back, they do so effectively with a laughing sorry, I respond with a laughing sorry and all is well. Never goes like that though unfortunately.
Trying to explain to the owner how some people are afraid of dogs? They'll understand won't they, being reasonable people? No.
I'd feel embarrassed and guilty if I was unable to call back my dog who was harassing (albeit lovingly) someone who really didn't appreciate the attention. I wouldn't turn it on the person having a shit time, but many do.
Like I said, there therefore needs to be a harmless way of deterring dogs where you don't have to engage with the owners. Throwing sausages in another direction feels like it won't work, so what would?
What’s needed is education for those that are useless, and action against those that refuse to improve. Dog owning needs to become a privilege not a right without corresponding responsibilities.
That sounds absolutely great. When and how's it going to happen?
As a dog owner its easy to see how many dog owners are complete morons. It's actually just as bad if you own a dog. Recently Ivwalked round a corner on a path with my old lurcher to be met by a German Shepherd with a stick, it dropped the stick and ran at my dog growling very aggressively. My dog legged it. Stupid woman said oh is your dog a bit nervous, I responded I'd by ****ing nervous if that thing was running at me growling. She got the hump and wandered of. Even more recently riding bike with my son and dog ran out at me barking, I stopped then we started again and it ran at my son, almost getting run over. When I said it should be on a lead or it would get run over, I was out of order apparently. I mean these people don't even seem to care that the dog might be run over and it doesn't seem to enter their pointless excuses for brains that a brain Barking and running at people might not be good.
How about a dog licence?
Oh wait.....
Have been txting some biking mates on this very subject today.
I have two lovely scars in my leg from a weimaraner. It was off the lead and the owner said it was my fault for trying to ride past.
I've since been a wee bit wary of dogs off leads when riding. Thankfully most chavs where I live seem to go for stumpy legged mutts that I can currently outrun. I do think they can sense my wariness and come for the kill. I don't particularly blame the dogs but its the owners shuffling along the trail with the dog off the lead, headphones in and focusing on their phone. I suspect they've been like that since they got the dogs which is why they're so unruly.
I've been caught out swearing at owners and it definitely makes things worse as they're almost invariably the wrong kind of owner. I now (if I can't get away) stand with bike between me and the mutt and try and work out when is the right time to club it to death with a bicycle all the while politely addressing the loving owner to see if they might be interested in taking control. Occasionally they manage.
I do my best to be courteous to other trail users but there are a minority of dog owners who do not.
I hope mrs_oab is ok after that, it's really not a pleasant place to be!
I'm also very wary of dogs after being bitten multiple times, first one was when I was a toddler. Have been bitten by family pets twice and by stranger's dogs 5 times now. Don't know what causes it as it's a different scenario every time. I'm ok with dogs I know, I even walk my mum's dog every time I'm there, but new dogs I'm always wary of until I can be relatively sure they won't bite me. My mum's dog always welcomes me by running around like a hooligan, jumping on and off the sofa (my sofa that's at my parent's place as it won't fit in the flat!) and I am always trying to get away from him until he calms down slightly. That's with a dog I have known since the day he was born and he doesn't have a nasty bone in his body whatsoever! He's always on the lead with me as he has poor recall at times and if given half a chance will just make a beeline for the nearest stream and go for a paddle. I always keep him on a short lead round other dogs even though he doesn't run up to them, he just stands there and waits for them to come to him.
I have noticed a lot of entitled owners while walking him though, especially ones that assume that as I'm walking a dog theirs can jump up at me without issue, they quickly get told otherwise.
None of us want to see “he won’t hurt you” changing into ” he’s never done that before” but that’s where some of the bad behaviour ends up.
That exact order of phrase was used on two times I was bitten. It's almost always a lie.
For me, today's incident was the extreme tip of the iceberg and doesn't represent most dog owners.
It does for me seem the iceberg is growing. There's more owners. There's therefore more without the proper control of the animal or concern that not everyone loves Fido as much as they do.
In a way, I don’t think direct engagement is going to produce any significant positive results. Quite probably it’ll just produce negative results
Today's incident was direct engagement. It resulted in shouting of personal abuse, dismissive of any concern or request, and a seeming resistance to actually even controlling the dogs.
To add : me posting on here was a half arsed effort to remind dog owners of thier responsibility.
and of course to relay an infuriating incident.
That's rubbish matt, and sorry to hear it.
We get a bit less round here, but maybe more outdoor options. Some owners are rubbish too - I think they maybe know they're in the wrong, but go all defensive.
I and we are ok round dogs but some are pretty freaky. Good encounter today, came round corner on remote track, lovely young dog stood stick still, bet didn't go forward, and waited til put on lead; was pretty strong too so well enough trains I think.
Thanks @zinger - a safe deterrent is just what I was after. Will buy for future outings, no communication with owners required!
A water pistol or a jif lemon full of water works well as a deterrent . Squirted in the dogs face not the owners obvs .
I’m sick to death of dogs off leads and the over entitlement that goes with it.
Yup, couldn't agree more.
Get shouted at for someone's lab aggressively chasing after me, so I intend to outrun it as usual but he shouts and swears at me to stop and has a go because his uncontrolled dog continues to run after me and is now a long way from him and out of sight.
Hell no, get your dog on a lead. Deal with the consequences of being an idiot.
Squirted in the dogs face not the owners obvs .
No, in the owners face as well.
Anyone seen that video of a dog attacking a massive carriage horse in (I think) Central Park. Nuts. Wasn't on a lead, and was the bestest harmless goodboy up till then. Unfortunately the shire horse made good on its internet threats.
A water pistol or a jif lemon full of water works well as a deterrent .
This wouldn't work with my collie, she'd think it was a game!
She doesn't get off lead though as her recall isn't good enough yet.
A jif lemon full of lemon juice is more effective.
Quite common in parts of north america for mountain bikers to ride with bear spray strapped to their bikes, so why not dog deterrent!?
Is there any kind of whistle available that might send them scuttling off?
Hope Mrs oab is okay now and not too badly shaken by this. I love dogs and it infuriates me to see idiots owning them. Lots of people are wary or just outright scared of dogs and it’s down to the owners to ensure that their dogs are under control at all times. Going for a walk or bike ride should be a pleasant endeavour. Really sorry this happened and wish I knew what the answer was other than putting the owners to sleep and giving their dogs to somebody who knows how to look after them.