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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.
She doesn’t get off lead though as her recall isn’t good enough yet.
Keep her on a lead.
I rode with a mate 3 weeks ago, heading down a trail and a lady was walking up with 2 dogs both off the lead, so we slowed down and moved over. One dog came towards us and was quite aggressive/barking but passed by, as we started moving off it ran back and starting barking at my mate, the owner called it back but the dog wasn't interested and the dog took a chunk out of my mates leg. Even whilst the dog was hanging off the leg of my mate the owner just stood there calling it. The dog got a kick and then my mate got the phone number off the tag and reported her and the dog to the police however she told a very different story to the police who are not taking action. My only hope is that the dog doesn't do the same when a child on a bike passes. We must have passed about another dozen dogs/owners, all had control over their dogs were very polite.
She's good funkmaster - at the time upset.
We were in the hills, easy to put things in perspective.
Glad she’s feeling better 👍🏼
There's loads of people out there, it's an increasingly crowded world we live in.
A significant percentage are thick/entitled/inconsiderate/ignorant.
Some of these also own dogs/drive cars/ride bikes.
I guess my point is, it's not a dog owner problem, it's a people problem. For me the only solution is to try and avoid the general public as much as possible. The less interactions you have, the less chance you have of bumping into one of life's pricks and spoiling your day. This generally works for me, as a dog owner/driver/cyclist.
OP sorry to hear about this as a responsible doggo owner - my Bert reflects me and my training of him. I would be absolutely mortified if Bert did something like happened to you - but it wouldn't get to that point. Bert is always on lead and immediately upon encountering someone else on the path/trail we stand off to one side and wait for them to pass.
People don't realise the amount of training needed with a dog. I'm 3 years into being Berts guardian and it's constant repeating of instructions, same words and tone, praise, repeat over and over again. And he loves it - dogs need direction and leadership but he very rarely goes off lead and only when there are no people about and only in a few local benign/wildlife free areas.
Lockdown has brought out the worst dog owners, black (non degradable) poo bags tossed in the bushes, garden dogs whose sole excercise used to be getting kicked out into the garden now been taking for a 'walk' offlead and lockdown dogs bought on the spur of the moment.
People don’t realise the amount of training needed with a dog. I’m 3 years into being Berts guardian and it’s constant repeating of instructions, same words and tone, praise, repeat over and over again.
Same here, every walk and every run involves training. It's just a part of the daily routine, day in, day out. Same as you, it is in part for his mental stimulation. Enjoys being given something to do.
And the venison sausage that occasionally serves as a reward.
Keep her on a lead.
Thats exactly what happens.
She's not allowed to jump up at anyone or approach anyone uninvited. She's 16 months old and training is ongoing and continuous, every time we go out.
I've found an effective method when out on my bike and a dog is barking at me is to lift my foot off the pedal as if I'm about to kick it. Obviously I wouldn't kick a dog unless it attacked, but the owners tend to call the dog back then.
Not had any issues walking. But get chased a lot on my bike. If the dog sounds aggressive I just sprint off. Some owners get angry shouting out for me to stop but I won't put myself in any danger of a dog bite.
I haven't read the thread, but:
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.
This isn't actually a response to the request to put them on a lead - it's an instinctive response to being asked to do something that they didn't feel was necessary by a stranger; and the implied allegation that they've done something wrong.
Most people have this response - me included.