[Closed] Another entitled dog owner... 😡

More often than not, the owners are able to get their dogs under control

Round my way more often than not most don't even try here. When I walk my dog in places where I'm likely to see a bike my main concern is her safety tbh, I don't want her being hit so she'll likely be on a lead or under closer control than normal. What always surprises me when I'm out on my bike is how much people don't seem to worry about the dogs welfare

 I do try to follow a philosophy of suffering ignorance with a smile

yep, this is mostly my response. Did encounter one owner and their dog, (off the lead) she saw me approaching, I wasn't moving quickly as there were other folk about, but dog was standing plum in the centre of the path, not really enough room either side of it, she came over to drag the reluctant dog out of the way, but looked daggers at me for some reason. My thoughts were pretty much, "Hey, it's your dog"...I'm English though, so I just smiled and moved on,..

As I predicted, someone would be along to say how the OP was in the wrong. The thread title is oh so apt indeed.

Who has done this mystic meg?

The reply is always ‘they won’t hurt you’.

Or more accurately "they haven't hurt anyone yet".

Dogs that do hurt people generally don't have a great life expectancy.

Why doesn’t everyone calm the * down and just try and be nice.

No need to try and kill dogs through booting it or exhaustion. Most of the time a dog has bounded up to me it’s usually been pretty young, followed by loads of apologies and an explanation that they are still training it but not quite there yet.

Some dog owners are *. Lots in fact. But the people here who get glea from the possibility of hurting their dog is just as much of a ****.

The majority of people are nice we all have to co-exist. Be nice, spread happiness

What an utterly vacuous post.

I have a dog, he is super friendly, loves other dogs, loves people, wouldn't hurt a fly. He wants to jump up at every person he meets to say hello hence he's kept on a lead.

What an utterly vacuous post.

Seems pretty sensible for the most part.

Genuine question - if I/my kid are feeling threatened by a dog, how much force can I use to defend ourselves.
I mean, I get it that it's not REALLY the dog's fault, but.... if a dog is pushing over and barking near my TINY 6 year old daughter, I've no issue with giving the thing a hefty boot to get it away.
Politely asking the owner ANYTHING at this point is too late..

BUt how far can I go? If I hoof a dog away, and it keep running back towards us aggressively...what can/should I do?

Just a thought. The most o've ever had to do is punt a nippy dog away, and frequently push them away with a foot. But i've never actually snapped and beaten one to death! but... if I had to, could I???

DrP

My dog hate YouTube, wont watch it

I lolled 😂

But the people here who get glea from the possibility of hurting their dog is just as much of a ****.

I never said i'd get any pleasure from defending myself or my family from a dog who we felt threatened by - but i'd also not loose any sleep over booting it into orbit.

As far as i'm concerned - if it doesn't respond to an owners command to back off/heel/whatever then its out of control and is a potential threat.

I wonder how many owners have actually bothered to properly train their dogs -confirmation bias probably but I reckon it must be quite low.

I would say it's rare enough to elicit a surprised and delighted response from me. I never cease to be amazed by the incredible control a few people seem to have over their pets. The rest however...

@DrP - Why not just grab the dog by the collar and wait for the owner to clip a lead on? If you boot the dog and it turns on you how you gonna boot the dog if its got your leg/arm/neck in its chops, whose going to protect your daughter with you bleeding on the ground? (Obviously worse case scenario)

The amount of people who are so quick to turn to violence and in one cases killing someone's dog here is bonkers and why is everyone's answer to this escalating the situation??

Yes dogs should be under control under all circumstances and what happened to the OP was a horrible situation, I'm not condoning that in the the slightest. Dogs do have collars, grab it.

Some people on this thread must live their lives in constant fear if most family pets are seen as potential threats, what other everyday occurrences are people terrified of? I get that some people like the op's wife have genuine phobias, but the internet hardmen who are posting on here are really curious.

Why not just grab the dog by the collar and wait for the owner to clip a lead on?

I'm often on my bike, so a quick 'unclip and toe punt' lets the dog know I don't want to play..This is probably nicer than running the damn thing over!

Also, the occasion I FELT like my daughter was in danger (the key here being my perception... it might be the gentlist dog in teh world, simply going to lick her face.. but i'm not going to chance the split second that that's needed to decide this..) I wasn't in a position/desire to lean IN towards a dog, try to grab his collar, and act in that way.
My leg/shoe was the best chace of distance between us!

Please don't think i'm a dog murderer!
Normally I actually just bark at the dogs - that scares them away!

DrP

last week, going through central London, i saw a guy on an electric scooter, running behind him were 3 pit bulls, he couldnt see them and expected them to follow, which they did, the dogs looked really happy, he was riding his scooter as if he was alone, not stopping to cross the road, going through traffic lights etc.
i dont know his powers of recall, but if they were interested in something else, im pretty sure they wouldnt have come back, he had no chance of restraining 1, let alone 3.
when a dog does something bad, the owner seems to say "he/she has never done that before" suggesting they are surprised at what happened.
i think the minimum if you have your dog off a lead is the dog should be muzzled, better to be safe than sorry.
my ex gf used to always keep her dog on a lead, it was a greyhound, but when an agrressive dog came over, the greyhound was defenceless, it got bitten twice and she had to go elsewhere to walk as it became really nervous about other dogs off leads.
Personally i dont like dogs, im not scared of them, but i dont want to be touched, licked or interact with them in the slightest way, unless it is the dog in my family. not being a dog lover seems to be the worst possible thing to most dog owners, they just cant seem to accept there isnt anything wrong with you.
i reserve the right to take any action i feel is appropriate when a dog off the lead runs at me or my family.

Normally I actually just bark at the dogs

😃😃😃😃

Just a thought. The most o’ve ever had to do is punt a nippy dog away, and frequently push them away with a foot. But i’ve never actually snapped and beaten one to death! but… if I had to, could I???

DrP

Go for the standard police officer response, "I was in genuine fear of my/ my daughter's life and reacted instinctively" repeat as required, furnish no other comment or explanation. obviously delete the forum history

For the average family pet you won't need to do that, for the ones which have a far stronger fighting instinct or training then you need to expect it to be messy

I'd also expect to have to deal with the dog owner and their friends slightly distressed their £3k lockdown investment in Fluffy is not being welcomed

Sorry to hear about the experience Matt, and hope the wife is OK. I have two spaniels who love people, dogs, water, trees, squirrels, pretty much everything. I love them to bits but they are easily excited and can be a pain in the arse sometimes, they will however come off when called, which we do if there is any sign that their attention is unwanted. There is no excuse for badly behaved dogs, and owners need to take some responsibility.

Our younger spaniel is 2.5 years, small, and usually wants to play with other dogs. I've noticed recently that games of chase with younger dogs (most of whom are larger than him) very often turn into him looking scared and running away with the other dog nipping and biting. I think this is probably down to a lot more people getting dogs for the first time during lockdown, without knowing how to train them etc, and the dogs themselves not being socialised properly.

Why people think being locked down for a year is an ideal time to get a puppy that will live for 8-14 years I really don't know. Unfortunately I think we'll see an increase in badly behaved dogs and moronic owners in the short term, followed by a lot of very poorly treated and/or abandoned dogs when we get back to normal and people realise that owning a dog means you can't go out all day/weekend/on holiday at the drop of a hat.

i'm an animal person. I like all of them. I'm not nervous of dogs, as i'm not nervous of cats. They're just not for me.

however, dogs can (can!) be a pain (similarly cats, with offerings left in the garden). If I'm running/cycling/walking, and a dog bounds towards me, I'm wary. I don't see it as a

potential threat

I just don't want to get involved with it. I'm out doing my thing. I don't want to be interrupted, by something else.

I'm wary - generally - because I don't know what the dog will do. You - the owner - have a good idea, as it's yours. I don't. Never met it before. It could bite, it could get caught in the wheels, it could just annoy the hell out of me, and interrupt my KOM attempt (ahem). The point remains it's interrupting me. You may not mind that, I do. If it's a owner/dog I know, I have a vague idea of what will happen.

As an aside - along the river here the farmer has just put up a load of signs "please keep dogs on leads...livestock...can be shot' etc, in preparation of sheep going in soon. Obviously every (no hyperbole here!) dog owner still has no lead (or what seems like control) on them. That's at all times of the day; 7am run, 2pm walk, 7pm walk etc

I have no problem if people have dogs. But a) please clean up after them and b) understand that some others do not like dogs, or are wary of dogs, and do/will not like the attention

I just don’t want to get involved with it. I’m out doing my thing. I don’t want to be interrupted, by something else.

I find the same with cars when I'm out on my bike, some are really badly behaved and do unpredictable things, when I rule the world everyone will be forced to stop driving when I am out on my bike. Until then I just have to try and share the road and take sensible precautions to protect myself. I also try and keep my fantasy's about kicking bad drivers to death to myself.

Lots of drama queens on here using words like 'attacked' when talking about their experience with dogs. Were you honestly attacked or did the dog just come up in an over excited manner..

Now don't get me wrong if the attention is unwanted then you are perfectly entitled to be annoyed, and in op's case the subsequent owner reaction is entirely out if order

Yet every post we ever have about dogs brings out folks calling out the constant menace of attacking dogs. I have never in all my life been attacked by a dog. Ive had a few come up to me and jump up and down in an over exuberant manner, and if I didn't like dogs that would be unwelcome, but it's hardly an attack.

Some people on this thread must live their lives in constant fear if most family pets are seen as potential threats, what other everyday occurrences are people terrified of? I get that some people like the op’s wife have genuine phobias, but the internet hardmen who are posting on here are really curious.

You do realise there is no correlation between being scared of / disliking dogs to be afraid of everything including your own shadow.

Some people on this thread must live their lives in constant fear if most family pets are seen as potential threats, what other everyday occurrences are people terrified of? I get that some people like the op’s wife have genuine phobias, but the internet hardmen who are posting on here are really curious.

You do realise there is no correlation between being scared of / disliking dogs to be afraid of everything including your own shadow.

have to try and share the road and take sensible precautions to protect myself

indeed. Cars are - however - slightly more predictable than an exuberant dog.

jump up and down in an over exuberant manner

but that is an "attack" to some people...You may disagree, but some people do not like it, and indeed are quite scared of it. It's not dissimilar to showing a tarantula to an arachnophobe. Irrational fear to most people (even hard to comprehend), but terrifying to them.

It's just about respecting others. And as you don't know the other person, you have to be more cautious until you do.

indeed. Cars are – however – slightly more predictable than an exuberant dog.

Not in my experience, never been attacked by a dog, have been attacked by a car on lots of occasions.

Fortunately I've never been attacked by a car. But I can understand how people do not like it, even if the car is only being friendly, exuberant and excitable.

See - almost as if the situation can be reversed.

However, I fear this will just descend into the usual camps; those who can't understand how anyone can dislike dogs, and those who are indifferent or actively dislike them.

Just had a dog snap at me whilst riding down at the woods. When I came back the other way the elderly couple constrained the dog and gave a very old-fashioned look as though I was to blame for something. I suppose if you live in an alienated, divided society generating anxiety and vulnerability you will find people full of bile and false entitlement.
I'm wary of dogs having done the xmas post and the complete mismatch between what the owners say and what the dogs do. Oh, and I had to move the car to get everything back in without getting covered in the dogshit in the carpark. It's taken me decades to come to terms with how kin awful some people are, I don't blame the dogs but I'd still happily give a sharp flick of the foot than receive a bite.

I'm 61. I've been bitten by dogs three times in my life. I've lost count of the number of times I've had to clean shit off my shoes, had my face licked, my crotch sniffed, my clothes muddied or slobbered on, or been put in genuine fear of another bite. Dog apologists, please explain to me just why I should have to put up with this? Why is it ok that someone else's right to own a dog allows them to impinge on my life like this?

I completely understand unwanted attention by dogs being unwanted, even my dog does, she gets out of control and sometime aggressive dogs running up to her regularly, she doesn't like it. It's just moaning and acting tough saying you will kick a dog if it comes near you is not going to help anyone. For the most part taking sensible precautions like slowing if on a bike or, grabbing a collar if it jumps up or just pushing it away will allow you to get on with life quicker, more calmly and happier and are much less likely to cause the idiot owners to react aggressively.

Although tbh I did a few years ago get into a physical confrontation with a bloke after his staffie ran across a road growling at my on lead dog after I bent down and held its collar to keep it away from my obviously scared dog. "Don't ****ing grip up my dog"...FFS....it wasn't my finest moment.

Anyone tried a dog tazer?

Are these effective /legal?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dog-Dazer-II-Ultrasonic-Deterrent/dp/B000IBRI2Y

Why is it ok that someone else’s right to own a dog allows them to impinge on my life like this?

Because the dog is owned by a moron, if they werent pissing you off with a dog they'd be driving at you in their car or some other equally annoying/downright dangerous thing. Just don't tar every dog and every dog owner with the same brush. I mean even I will admit not all white van drivers are homicidal sociopathic bike haters

but that is an “attack” to some people…You may disagree, but some people do not like it, and indeed are quite scared of it. It’s not dissimilar to showing a tarantula to an arachnophobe. Irrational fear to most people (even hard to comprehend), but terrifying to them.

Absolutely this. What one person finds quaint and happy; the dog jumping up being friendly, saying hi, whatever another person could easily find absolutely terrifying or mistake it for an attack.

I know a forum member like that - she hates dogs so while I'd be happy to have a big waggy-tailed lummox bounding over to say hi, she'd be terrified.

Yet every post we ever have about dogs brings out folks calling out the constant menace of attacking dogs.

because it's a thread about dogs attacking people?  most dogs, most owners are perfectly sound, but I do think that 1.dogs are more popular than ever and 2, standards of training have gone down.

Because the dog is owned by a moron

There has been an awful lot of 'it's not the dog, it's the owner' on this thread. Makes me think that there should be some kind of licensing scheme with compulsory training and testing.

I got recently bitten by a dog on a ride, even though I always pass people with dogs at walking pace and announce myself on a shared path. The owners were apologetic, although the female, who seemed startled that a bike was on a shared path despite there being several other bikes around, said 'oo - he might bark...', the dog was elderly I think, off the lead and seemed startled by a bike (still at walking pace..) and proceeded to run up and bark at my shoes - and caught me, breaking the skin. 'oh has he grazed you ?' - she says. Her partner was a bit more switched on and said 'no, he bit'.

Being a dog lover I had a few words, they seemed genuinely upset, so I left it. Had to go and get a jab, and the hospital reported to the police, even though I had made it clear I wasn't going to. Police incompetence meant they never successfully got my head cam footage. There ends my story.

Dogs are great, people who don't look after or train their dogs to be around others, including children, are part of the general human condition of uselessness.

I'm just going to leave this here for any remaining dog lovers who got this far..

https://www.wedontdeservedogs.com/

I know a forum member like that – she hates dogs so while I’d be happy to have a big waggy-tailed lummox bounding over to say hi, she’d be terrified.

A responsible owner should know if a dog will act like this. Thankfully mine has never been a jumpy uppy dog, but then she was trained that this was unacceptable from the start. Even then a responsible owner will read a situation, see a nervous person and put the dog on the lead or call it away. We regularly see people with learning difficulties taken out where I often walk my dog offlead. She won't approach them but I still call her back and hold her collar as we pass. Some are very scared some very interested and want to stroke her, I try to think off boths needs.

Disclaimer: I do not own a dog, nor do I have a problem with them.

I cant help but find it difficult to stomach some of the responses to the "dog murderer", you know the one who made it very clear that dogs terrify them. Almost like, I dont know, a fear so bad they believe they really are in serious danger. I mean its not like there's ever any posts on here of members bashing/kicking out etc towards those over exuberant big metal boxes (that are also owner controlled) that get a bit close when they are on the road on the bike that they believe put them in danger of injury.

this:

Why doesn’t everyone calm the * down and just try and be nice.

No need to try and kill dogs through booting it or exhaustion. Most of the time a dog has bounded up to me it’s usually been pretty young, followed by loads of apologies and an explanation that they are still training it but not quite there yet.

Some dog owners are *. Lots in fact. But the people here who get glea from the possibility of hurting their dog is just as much of a ****.

The majority of people are nice we all have to co-exist. Be nice, spread happiness

and this:

The amount of people who are so quick to turn to violence and in one cases killing someone’s dog here is bonkers and why is everyone’s answer to this escalating the situation??

really? I just cant fathom this thought process from people who are usually fairly empathetic and logical.

Anecdote: At the park with my kids, a mate and his kids on the bikes. My mates daughter is terrifed of dogs. And I mean terrifed. So much so, that while we had stopped on our loop around the park (just me and the 4 kids for a bit) she burst into tears and was inconsolable as there was a dog, on a lead, controlled by its owner over by the bin nearly 15foot away. The fact that there seems to be people that simply cannot grasp the fact that some other people are simply that scared of dogs is, quite frankly, pathetic.

There has been an awful lot of ‘it’s not the dog, it’s the owner’ on this thread. Makes me think that there should be some kind of licensing scheme with compulsory training and testing.

It sounds like a good idea but morons gonna moron whatever you do. Look at cars and how they are driven.

Anecdote: At the park with my kids, a mate and his kids on the bikes. My mates daughter is terrifed of dogs. And I mean terrifed. So much so, that while we had stopped on our loop around the park (just me and the 4 kids for a bit) she burst into tears and was inconsolable as there was a dog, on a lead, controlled by its owner over by the bin nearly 15foot away. The fact that there seems to be people that simply cannot grasp the fact that some other people are simply that scared of dogs is, quite frankly, pathetic.

Cant see the point you are making, what was done wrong in this case?

I used to be pretty nervous around dogs but I'm a fair bit better these days. I'm not usually particularly interested in them but they don't make me as jumpy as they once did.

On Saturday I was walking along the path by the local river when I bumped into a friend. We stopped and had a chat for a while. Every single dog that came past while we were talking decided they really wanted to come up and say hello to us, me in particular. Neither of us made any move to engage with any of the dogs yet they all still came up to us and ignored the calls of their owners to leave us alone. One or two jumped up a little at me but as I was wearing scruffy clothes I wasn't bothered about getting muddy.

It didn't bother me, but after reading this thread and thinking back to my younger self, who could be very nervous around dogs, the fact that none of the dogs' owners had enough control over them to stop it happening was rather unimpressive. (Childhood me was bitten by a neighbour's dog mere seconds after the classic "he won't bite" line had been delivered, which definitely contributed to my longstanding nerves about dogs.)

Cant see the point you are making, what was done wrong in this case?

This exact case? Nothing. But what if instead of a 6yr old girl with me, this is a "20 stone lorry driver" on his own with this exact reaction (terrified) and the dog in question came over fussing/jumping up whatever. Do you really think this sort of person wouldn't lash out??? I'm sure in a scenario like this a dead dog isn't the aim, but big guy kicking out in fear+little dog+wrong spot this could feasibly be an outcome.

I would hope a 20 stone lorry driver would have acted like a grown up and got help with his issues tbh, but seeing as my dog doesn't approach strangers I wouldn't need to worry myself