Reported by mrs aracer, not experienced directly by me (I’d have been a lot more rude). She’d left her bag round the other side of a pond the kids were sailing their toy boats on, when a dog came up and started sniffing/investigating the bag. She shouted at the dog to get away from the bag. Which resulted in the dog owner having a go at her, telling her that it was a public place and dogs were allowed to go wherever they liked and anyway it was only a puppy so what did you expect.

I think I’d have been tempted to get my phone out and ask if I should call the police to get their advice on whether dogs were supposed to be under control in a public place. But then I’ve had too many experiences of entitled dog owners.

she was right though they had a point if it was just a curious puppy being curious – I thought the dog was going to either eat bag or wee on it tbh – still time to edit 😉 ]
Could have been a childs face next time though

BREAKING NEWS: Dog Sniffs Bag In Park!

You would have called the police regarding a puppy sniffing a bag ………
Do you call the RSPB when bird shite in your garden 🙄

she was right though they had a point if it was just a curious puppy being curious

What?

It was a puppy so it needs disciplining so it can learn. Exactly what Mrs Aracer was doing, no?

But the issue was the owner complaining at her shouting to the dog to get away from the bag (because the owner clearly wasn’t going to), and also suggesting to her that it was her fault as she wasn’t allowed to leave her bag in a public place.

I’d have suggested calling the police due to owner’s attitude – I don’t really have anything at all against dogs, just their owners.

Get a life. I guess you felt you were entitled to put your bag down in a public space. Own that space do you? Both parties sound stupid here.

Er, yes she is entitled to put her bag down in a public place without it being interfered with. Dog isn’t entitled to mess with other people’s stuff even in a public place.

Why’s she been stupid? She shooed a dog away from her stuff, what on earth is wrong with that?

I’d have called the police and put up the bat signal. Sniffing can kill. Puppies can kill. Put the two together and you’ve mega-armageddon-death-spiral-apocolypse.

If it was my dog sniffing someone’s bag then I would have called it away. However, I can’t really see what crime is being committed here. Being “under control” does not mean being on a leash. It’s a park, dogs go to parks.

It was a puppy so it needs disciplining so it can learn.

Trying to teach a dog not to sniff things is like trying to teach a goldfish to keep its mouth closed. 🙂

the issue was the owner complaining at her shouting to the dog to get away from the bag

Agreed – a reasonable owner should have just said “Sorry”.

But then I think your wife should have just said “That’s alright. He’s just a puppy. Aren’t you boy.. aren’t you.. yeff you are.. awwwhh..whoo’s a wittle cutey…” 😀

substitute dog with child – even though you wouldn’t want someone else kid poking through your stuff, if you shouted at the kid i expect most parents would get offended – rightly or wrongly. imo talking about calling the police because a dog sniffed your bag is probably taking things a bit far. the owner moaning at you cos you shouted at his dog for poking in your stuff is probably upset at the shouting, and not thinking clearly about the fact he was poking in your stuff, he probably should have apologized for letting the dog get at your stuff and moved on.

i’d forget about it and go and do something else.

The issue was that the dog owner didn’t call the dog away, hence not under control, and didn’t think it reasonable for mrs aracer to tell it to go away.

What graham s says to save me some cutting and pasting time 😉

if you shouted at the kid i expect most parents would get offended

yes i just defend my kids even if what they are doing is wrong

Some would but we are discussing right and wrong not what folk do.

Most folk will cut you up and then give you the finger if you beep them.

If the owner didn’t call the dog away, how do you know it wasn’t under control?

I think I’d have been tempted to get my phone out and ask if I should call the police to get their advice on whether dogs were supposed to be under control in a public place

“Hang on lads, put that rape case investigation on hold, frame someone quickly for the murder last week. There’s a puppy sniffing a bag in a park. That SOB is going down!”

scotsroutes Imagine it was savaging a childs face then if it helps 😉

I don’t know if its the general feeling of lethargy in the workplace this morning, or the subject of this thread, but I can’t be bothered to say anything.
So here’s a man who once sniffed a boy’s arm.
Big chin or what.

I don’t tihnk this thread is about the dog. It’s about the owner shouting at aracer’s wife.

It’s generally not ok to abuse strangers.

The dog/bag incident is not really the issue.

It the dog owners attitude of ‘it’s a dog, it can do whatever it wants and to hell with the rest of you’ that stinks.

I’m with you OP and would have confronted the owner (not the police bit!). I’m also sore right now after being knocked off my bike by a dog yesterday. Owner – same attitude. Dog out of owner’s sight and therefore not in control at the time.

Phew, I’m glad some people get it – clearly I didn’t write the original post very well if folks think it’s the dog acting like a dog which is the problem (though I’d have thought the title might be a clue).

Maybe I’m just touchy because I got a similar attitude when I got bitten by an out of control dog (in that case getting my phone out and suggesting calling the police did result in a change in attitude).

If your bag was so important to you that left it on the other side of the pond, then you had a go at my dog / puppy for sniffing it, then I’d probably not have been particularly receptive either! 😆

What exactly was she trying to achieve by shouting at the dog anyway?? Trying to train it to ignore unattended property??? Bet it won’t do that again 🙄

Hmm, so you’re also entitled. Bag was important enough to keep in clear view, with the assumption that social norm is not to interfere with other people’s stuff (one which dogs belonging to entitled owners are exempt from, because dogs can do what they like).

Not her job to train the puppy – I’d imagine shouting at one is a reasonable way to get it to stop doing what it’s doing though.

A dog once ate my packed lunch in Richmond Park. I was rather upset about that, as I had ridden 15 miles to get there, I was very hungry and completely skint.

The owner did apologise, which was decent of them. If they’d yelled at me for shouting “oi! gerroff my lunch you knob!!” at their hound I would probably have killed them and buried their corpses in a shallow grave.

Phew, I’m glad some people get it

aye, quite a minority tho it seems.

(currently suffering from a high incidence of crap dog owners on my commute so a bit of a touchy subject)

You could kick my dog up the arse. Wouldn’t bother me in the slightest.
(Lethargy again, sorry)

I think the general reaction of people when someone is shouting at a pet or child (whether they are in the wrong or not) is a defensive one.
Anyway, why was Mrs Aracer so worried about the dog sniffing the bag? Hmm did it find the large stash of heroin that she was dealing to the little kids in the park…?

Such anger.

and also suggesting to her that it was her fault as she wasn’t allowed to leave her bag in a public place.

Actually its a bit irresponsible leaving the bag for a number of reasons

did it find the large stash of heroin that she was dealing to the little kids in the park…?

Or just mummy’s secret stash of Nigella’s Finest Baking Powder? 😉

Actually its a bit irresponsible leaving the bag for a number of reasons

only a puppy so what did you expect

I don’t get this. The owner should be thinking about what a puppy is likely to get up too, and then showing a bit of common courtesy.
IMO if you take your dog out to a public place then the dog is basically an extension of you, and you should control it accordingly.

and you should control it accordingly.

And I don’t get this – what the hell did the puppy do that was so objectionable that it was out of control anyway?? I can understand your righteous indignation if it had curled out a walnut whip in Mrs aracer’s handbag, but it had a bit of a sniff of an unattended bag. So what? Not really a big deal, is it??

Did none of the entitled dog owners on this thread read the “investigating” bit in the OP?

Dogs sniff, puppies are generally safe. Owners are sometimes rude. Non-owners are sometimes rude. Work it out, folks.

Our dog is totally harmless, very friendly but nosy – he once peed up a sports left bag near a goalpost on common land. We were very sorry and handled it like champs – ie ran away and hid behind a bush while the dog caught us up 🙂

Few days ago our dog got attacked by another dog on the street because the owner wasn’t good at controlling his ‘not friendly’ german shepherd. No remorse from the beller, except when it was suggested by Mrs Rider that he was a pole-smoker.

People and dogs eh?

Did none of the entitled dog owners on this thread read the “investigating” bit in the OP?

Dog investigates seemingly abandoned bag in park. Impressive dog.

Reported by mrs aracer, not experienced directly by me (I’d have been a lot more rude). She’d left her bag round the other side of a pond the kids were sailing their toy boats on, when a dog came up and started sniffing/investigating the bag. She shouted at the dog to get away from the bag. Which resulted in the dog owner having a go at her, telling her that it was a public place and dogs were allowed to go wherever they liked and anyway it was only a puppy so what did you expect.

my wife experienced similar when she with friends decided to picnic in the local park with small kids, dog owners not bother that their dg was trying to snaffle food off someone else’s picnic and from small children

personnaly I don’t get the logic that dog owners can freely toilet their dog in spaces where we want kids and families to congregate and play and that the only (supposedly) dog free space is the fenced of little kids play area.

the priorities should be reversed with a fenced off dog toilet/ exercise area and zero dog presence for the rest of the park

not that I’m fed up of “in-control” dogs chasing after my kids whist I try and teach them to ride in a traffic free environment

I once encountered something similar but it was actually a child’s face! well nearly any way.

A dog came up and took some food from my 2 year old daughter, I shoo’d the dog away and told the owner he should learn to control his dog or put it on a lead and the owner got very upset and ended up offering me out for a fight, swearing and everything in front of my and his kids/wives. His wife dragged him away looking very embarrassed!!

Some dog owners are tits, but most aren’t. I think.

Dogs normally sniff things before peeing on them so I would of shooed the dog away but not of shouted. Mind you there are so many dimwitted dog owners who feel its okay to let their dogs piss anywhere.