Inability to control dogs

anagallis_arvensis – Member
over excited muddy mutts jumping up

this is a problem as well though, a lot of dog owners seem to have no concept of how unacceptable this actually is.

this is a problem as well though

It is but its not on the same level as being bitten and keeping the two as separate problems helps to maintain perspective.

i don’t think it’s a different problem, both stem from an inability of people to properly train and control their dogs, so same core issue, imo.

i don’t think it’s a different problem

Really, I know which I’d rather have Fido do.

i’d rather fido did neither.

It is but its not on the same level as being bitten and keeping the two as separate problems helps to maintain perspective.

They aren’t separate problems, they’re differing severities of the same problem.

Shit entitled dog owners being shit and entitled.

Body language should never be an issue as a dog owner should never put you in the position where it would matter.

Personally, I’ve no problem hoofing a dog, and have done so in the past when one has knocked my lad off his bike (aged 5).[1]

And I agree with the sense of entitlement dog owners seem to possess over parks. My local park has a dedicated wheeled sports track, funded by the local cycling club. Despite the massive park surrounding it, it seems to be a favourite for dog owners to walk their dogs on. And then you get abuse for daring to ride your bike around it. And daring to be a runner in a park? $deity forbid! Although it is fun seeing how far you can make a dog run away from it’s slave.

The classic though, was overheard from a couple of mutt owners whilst training with the running club a couple of weeks ago… “It’s rubbish, we can’t walk up there, the cycling club are using it for training”. FFS, they paid for it!

[1] Yes, all bed-wetting keyboard hero. Don’t give a monkeys. Dog comes near my kids in an aggressive manner, it gets aggression back. Same as if it was a person.

They aren’t separate problems, they’re differing severities of the same problem.

I dont agree, if you have a dog that may bite someone taking that risk is reckless if your dog may jump up at someone the risk is merely careless. If someones dog bit me I’d be rightly ver very angry and would be contacing the police, if their dog jumped up at me I’d think they were bellends, maybe tell them that and then get on with my life.

Personally, I’ve no problem hoofing a dog, and have done so in the past when one has knocked my lad off his bike (aged 5

TBH I’d be too busy checking my son was ok to look like a tough guy

I dont agree,

That’s fine, it’s ok to be wrong. (-:

if you have a dog that may bite someone taking that risk is reckless if your dog may jump up at someone the risk is merely careless.

So… careless vs reckless, the difference is severity, which is what I just said. Cf. careless driving vs reckless driving, you’re still driving badly.

You have to love at good dog thread – especially as we haven’t had a religion one for a while.

Some real heroes emerging…..who you going call?!?!

I haven’t read the whole thread but I think the whole thing could have been resolved by punching every one and everything thing in the face.

who you going call?!?!

Skim read since commenting on first page. If you can’t control your dog, keep it on a lead. What do I win?

I love dogs and up until recently have pretty much always had one. I am, however, under no illusion that they are people. Training and consistency is needed and I honestly don’t think a lot of people actually realise this. They buy a dog based on looks rather than breed suitability.

Used to watch the young couple who lived across from me walking their Rottweiler. Beautiful dog, but it just dragged them down the street each night and didn’t listen to a word they said. I had more control over it than they did. If it had turned they would have been utterly ****. My last dog was a Newfoundland and she was awesome. Smart, soft and cuddly. Still trained her to walk to heal, sit, stay etc. If she was scared or wasn’t controlled I dread to think what a dog of her size could have done, albeit in slow motion.

I would not hesitate to yell at or, if pushed, physically hurt a dog if it was attacking my son. I wouldn’t take any pleasure from doing so, but protecting my child would be paramount. I’d rather be beaten by an angry dog owner than my kid be scarred if it came to it.

Owners who can’t control their dogs should be stripped naked, covered in meat juice and have one of those packs of feral chihuahuas set on them.

I think it’s about time we all just accept the dogs are in charge now and any unaccompanied humans should be banned from public spaces, especially the ones that don’t have a cute face and doe eyes.

Priorities init, humans can get teh ****, cute animals #mrfwibblewibblesoooocute, ugly ones meh.

I’ll vote for the Kennel Club running tings get dem tories oooutt like.

anagallis_arvensis – Member
I dont agree, if you have a dog that may bite someone

funkmasterp – Member
Rottweiler. Beautiful dog, but it just dragged them down the street each night and didn’t listen to a word they said. I had more control over it than they did. If it had turned they would have been utterly ****

Not everyone has the super powers you seems to have, to know if a strange
aggressive dog, that’s just appeared out of nowhere is going to attack them, so on that basis, aggression should be met with appropriate aggression. Especially if a child is at risk. tbh I don’t even know why this is debated, dogs aren’t people.

1, people picking up their dog/child to protect them, it sends him nuts, he will stand on his back legs yapping like terriers do.

2, dogs that run up to his face (as apposed to his arse) he just doesn’t like it & will yap/bark & lunge at the other dog (without biting)

I read your post and was waiting for the point at which you said ‘so I keep my dog on a lead when in public because it is too unpredictable’ but alas it never came. I’m not sure how exactly you expect the other dog owners to explain to their dogs, who BTW do not speak English, that it is only safe to approach another dog when it is facing away from you!! Dont be so utterly sodding ridiculous!

As a dog owner whose behaviour I take very seriously, she’s 38kgs, I’m getting more and more annoyed with other dog owners too. I will more often than not cross the road if I judge from a distance that the dog is gonna be a PITA. Only yesterday a small terrier was off lead at the bottom of it’s driveway with the owner not two metres away from it, I thought nah I’m not doing that dont be stupid, so before the dog had even seen us I crossed to the opposite side of the road. Cue the dog spotting us, barking and yapping and ran straight across the road towards us (lucky for the owner that there wasn’t a car at the time) with the owner doing a feeble ‘oi get back here’ at which point I shouted aggressively at the dog, fully ready to kick it in its stomach if it proceeded on towards us and made an effort to bite. Luckily the shout was enough to make it back off and guess what, no apology or recognition at all from the owner. My dog would bark at the dog but only after she has been bitten or attacked and I’m sick to the back teeth of her getting attacked, she already has two bald spots on her back where a GSD bit her.

Unfortunately being a mostly walking alone female my chance to actually shout at people whose behaviour with their dogs is completely wrong is few and far between. I’d rather seethe on a forum than get smacked in the face! I get really annoyed when peoples dogs are barking and snarling and snapping and the owner doesn’t even say a word to them errrrrr hello how about you try correcting your dogs behaviour and telling it a firm NO so it understands what is right and wrong!!!

Dogs are a wonderful thing and it would be a shame if your son was scared of dogs so I hope you find some well behaved dogs that he can spend time with. Dogs are common place and everywhere and life will be really difficult for him if he’s not confident or happy enough round dogs. However, I would also counter act this with please can parents teach their children to not walk straight at a dog without asking if its okay first. My dog is taught to walk to my left side and to ignore everything when she’s in that ‘on lead’ situation. Yes she’ll say hello and be lovely as pie but that’s not how I’ve taught her to behave and not all dogs want every random person who passes to poke and prod them. Equally I’d be pretty annoyed if some random person walked up to me in the street and randomly hugged me or stroked my shoulder, I have a personal bubble you know!

I love dogs and up until recently have pretty much always had one. I am, however, under no illusion that they are people. Training and consistency is needed and I honestly don’t think a lot of people actually realise this. They buy a dog based on looks rather than breed suitability.

Pretty much where I’m coming from TBH.

Friends in the US have just bought a Husky puppy. FB is awash with cute photos. I’m fairly sure it’s only going to end one way. (Also, it’s cute as hell, but its colouring unfortunately makes it look like one murderous bastard. I’ve told them this. <g>)

+1 everything GolfChick just said. Perfect summation.

If you cant keep your pet under reasonable control, it should be leashed, or muzzled. That applies to the ones on two legs, or two wheels too 😉

but its colouring unfortunately makes it look like one murderous bastard

hahaha 😆 I can picture exactly what you mean! Some scary dogs out there!

Cf. careless driving vs reckless driving, you’re still driving badly.

Whilst one warrents a shrug and an expletive maybe the other warrents full on internet hard man action

Both merit prosecution, n’est-ce pas?

They should just ban the blooming things(possible exceptions for Police /rescue dogs and sheepdogs, guide dogs etc). Get every dog in the country neutered, stop imports and the problem would be over in around 15 years. The parks and streets would be cleaner and there’d be a lot less whinging every November too.

Both merit prosecution, n’est-ce pas?

What if a dog jumps up at you with muddy paws?

What if a dog jumps up at you with muddy paws?

Is it reflecting some aspect of its owner’s character, consideration for others perhaps?

Edit to say I wrote that before I saw pinetree’s post.

No dramas. Please don’t think I’m an over-protective parent though – arguably I’m the farthest thing from it, and generally have no problem with dogs irrespective of size. However when I see an unknown staffie-type (big head, wide jaws) dog running at speed towards my young child I think I’m justified in being a bit concerned.

Point is, as you sound like a responsible dog owner who knows the flaws and behavioural tendencies of your dog, if you knew your dog acted aggressively in certain situations, surely you’d try to keep it out of those situations if possible, right?

This would be my solution as well.

scotroutes – Member
They should just ban the blooming things(possible exceptions for Police /rescue dogs and sheepdogs, guide dogs etc). Get every dog in the country neutered, stop imports and the problem would be over in around 15 years. The parks and streets would be cleaner and there’d be a lot less whinging every November too.

Right, I have no idea what I’m getting myself into but(t)

I read your post and was waiting for the point at which you said ‘so I keep my dog on a lead when in public because it is too unpredictable’ but alas it never came.

As a dog owner whose behaviour I take very seriously, she’s 38kgs, I’m getting more and more annoyed with other dog owners too. I will more often than not cross the road if I judge from a distance that the dog is gonna be a PITA. Only yesterday a small terrier was off lead at the bottom of it’s driveway with the owner not two metres away from it, I thought nah I’m not doing that dont be stupid, so before the dog had even seen us I crossed to the opposite side of the road. Cue the dog spotting us, barking and yapping and ran straight across the road towards us (lucky for the owner that there wasn’t a car at the time) with the owner doing a feeble ‘oi get back here’ at which point I shouted aggressively at the dog, fully ready to kick it in its stomach if it proceeded on towards us and made an effort to bite. Luckily the shout was enough to make it back off and guess what, no apology or recognition at all from the owner. My dog would bark at the dog but only after she has been bitten or attacked and I’m sick to the back teeth of her getting attacked, she already has two bald spots on her back where a GSD bit her.

Unfortunately being a mostly walking alone female my chance to actually shout at people whose behaviour with their dogs is completely wrong is few and far between. I’d rather seethe on a forum than get smacked in the face! I get really annoyed when peoples dogs are barking and snarling and snapping and the owner doesn’t even say a word to them errrrrr hello how about you try correcting your dogs behaviour and telling it a firm NO so it understands what is right and wrong!!!

Dogs are a wonderful thing and it would be a shame if your son was scared of dogs so I hope you find some well behaved dogs that he can spend time with. Dogs are common place and everywhere and life will be really difficult for him if he’s not confident or happy enough round dogs. However, I would also counter act this with please can parents teach their children to not walk straight at a dog without asking if its okay first. My dog is taught to walk to my left side and to ignore everything when she’s in that ‘on lead’ situation. Yes she’ll say hello and be lovely as pie but that’s not how I’ve taught her to behave and not all dogs want every random person who passes to poke and prod them. Equally I’d be pretty annoyed if some random person walked up to me in the street and randomly hugged me or stroked my shoulder, I have a personal bubble you know!

OK, have I not already said I try to avoid situations?

I’m not sure how exactly you expect the other dog owners to explain to their dogs, who BTW do not speak English, that it is only safe to approach another dog when it is facing away from you!! Dont be so utterly sodding ridiculous

Dogs, & if you knew them I’m sure you would agree generally great each other by sniffing arses, the angle of approach is not the question here.

However, I would also counter act this with please can parents teach their children to not walk straight at a dog without asking if its okay first. My dog is taught to walk to my left side and to ignore everything when she’s in that ‘on lead’ situation. Yes she’ll say hello and be lovely as pie but that’s not how I’ve taught her to behave and not all dogs want every random person who passes to poke and prod them.

That sounds like you need to keep control of a 38kg dog in a situation it doesn’t want to be controlled in, I hope you’re strong.

pinetree
Please don’t think I’m an over-protective parent though – arguably I’m the farthest thing from it, and generally have no problem with dogs irrespective of size. However when I see an unknown staffie-type (big head, wide jaws) dog running at speed towards my young child I think I’m justified in being a bit concerned.

Point is, as you sound like a responsible dog owner who knows the flaws and behavioural tendencies of your dog, if you knew your dog acted aggressively in certain situations, surely you’d try to keep it out of those situations if possible, right?

As said, I do, but my dog is not vicious, it’s not even aggressive as terriers go, but he doe’s have little dog syndrome of which I can’t cure him.

Cheers.

After near on 40 years of running I have a number of scars on my legs, and thrown away several pairs of torn tracksters, tights etc., all due to uncontrolled dogs.
Apologies are in the minority. Their behaviour is usually ‘justified’ by:
He/she is only playing.
He/she is young.
He/she is a bit excitable.
Why didn’t you stop running?
Last week I had a Staffie, off the leash, run across the road and jump up at me at waist height. A half hearted call from the owner. I stopped, and when the dog came back towards me again I fended it off with my foot, not kicking out. Of course the lunkhead then shouts at me – no need to kick the dog.
When I pointed out that he should have the dog under control I got a mouthful.
I don’t blame the dogs, it’s the increasingly common half wits who are too stupid or lazy to train their pets, and take responsibility for their behaviour.

anagallis_arvensis – Member
I wouldnt worry too much, despite what the bed wetters on here write its very unlikely to happen. My 6 year old comes walking the dog most days so see’s lots of other dogs. We’ve had a number of numpty owners with unruly dogs but he’s never even looked like actually getting bitten.

So unlikely it happened twice in one day. Of course, you’re super cool, so it won’t happen to you.

I made the mistake of checking back here just before bed, and read that. Now I’m pretty much as cross as I was yesterday.

Bed wetter, am I? Probably my fault for allowing my son out in public at all, isn’t it? I mean, what was I thinking, wanting a nice family holiday on a public beach? Next time I’ll know I should leave it just to the dog owners.

Just to be clear – my son didn’t approach either dog, wasn’t playing with a ball or anything else which might excite them, and he didn’t have a raw steak tied round his neck.

One minute he’s playing on his own, the next he’s terrified because a dog has come running in from nowhere and attacked him.

It’s not because of his body language, it’s not because he encouraged it, it’s not because we were on a beach that was only for dogs and not humans. It’s because the idiot owners cannot control their animals. Plain and simple.

What if a dog jumps up at you with muddy paws?

Then it’s an out of control dog. That’s the point. Are you arguing that this behaviour is acceptable?

Dog #1 bounds over and takes a lump out of my leg.
Dog #2 bounds over and slathers my suit in mud whilst I’m on my way to a job interview.

The severity of the outcome is different, but the root problem is the same, it’s an uncontrolled animal with an indifferent owner. Should I be happy to be covered in mud because I’m lucky enough not to have been savaged?

Out of control dog and owner out of order.

My OH got bit on the toe last week. Owner was asked to apologise!

Then it’s an out of control dog. That’s the point. Are you arguing that this behaviour is acceptable?

No, do you have trouble reading?

The severity of the outcome is different, but the root problem is the same

Yes the root of the problem is the same a stupid dog owner. The behaviours being displayed by the dogs are very very different

So unlikely it happened twice in one day.

That comment was made regarding dogs attacking with intent to harm, which is not common. The incidents you describe sound more like unruly dogs owned by bellends, had the dogs had intent to do harm the sad fact is they would have inflicted it.

A dog nipping at a small child obviously has done some harm of the psychological kind. Regardless of what the root of the issues is the owner has an obligation to control the dog. If they don’t or can’t then they shouldn’t have a dog.

Dog ownership is unfortunately not taken as seriously as it should be. Hence why shelters are always full. I wish there was a simple solution, but unfortunately there isn’t. Mainly because people in general are lazy bastards and can’t be bothered putting the effort in.

Many dog owners think it’s ok for their dog to run at people and jump up because it’s just playing.

This is NOT ok. Bite or not…it’s annoying, intimidating, dirty and all round out of order. I’ll go along with the ‘ban dogs from the world’ plan.

We went to stay with friends when my oldest son was about 4 years old.
The people we stayed with had a very excitable spaniel puppy and it terrorised my lad, causing him to cry and run which the puppy thought was a great game.
This went on for the first day or two, with the friends feeling terrible and resorting to locking the dog away.

Half an hour of training the kid to stand his ground soon sorted the problem, and it’s a skill that has stayed with him.
We walk our own dog on the beach most evenings. There’s a fairly small section of the beach where dogs are allowed during summer months, and it’s a popular spot so the density of animals can be quite high (as can the density of irresponsible owners)

At 7 years old my boy can now confidently and cheerfully deal with any sized hound he encounters (as can his younger brother)

It’s not within your power to equip every dog with a responsible owner, but it IS possible to equip your child with the skills he needs to stay safe in that environment.
I’m not victim blaming, cos it sounds like you had a particularly awful experience, but for us it’s just another valuable life skill

I’ve not read all the posts but would like to echo the ones that have suggested you familiarise your kid with some friendly dogs again, and fairly soon. A similar thing must have happened to me when I was younger because I spent a lot of my childhood scared of dogs. It’s not a good thing at all and I’m sure it could have been avoided if I’d socialised with some friendly dogs.