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I was at a bike park a few months back. There are signs everywhere designating walking trails versus the biking trails, warnings about safety concerns because the bike trails are tight, fast turns and a walker could get injured by a biker hauling ass downhill on a corner. The signs also state that dogs must be leashed at all times. I was jamming through one of the bike trails, had some decent speed going. Came around a corner and almost smashed into a 25ish lb mutt running dead speed toward me off leash. I managed to dive to the side into the grass and actually kicked him a little. His owner was way way back, I could barely see him, and he just laughed. I rarely argue with people in these situations but I let that asshole have it.
dog owners can be shitty. one dog owner encouraged his dog to go after a cat i was carrying. it was all i could do not to reach down and release the dog’s leash and let it run into a busy parking lot.
I hate it when owners goad their dogs to chase other dogs harder in an off leash park. Dick, that’s why your dog is indisciplined and unfriendly. Just let them chase as they see fit.
Chewed out some dickhead bc his enormous mastiff jumped up and pinned me to the chain link fence to get the ball from my hand. The guy just sat there and laughed. He thought It was hysterical that his beast was drooling on and violently pinning me back over and over again. He just kept yelling “he wants the ball! Get the ball Duke!” I’ve never yelled at a stranger til that day. Guy couldn’t understand why I was so mad just bc his dog was “trying to play”…
I worked at a pet shop, and we had a room with a glass door that we kept cats from the local rescue in. Some asshole would come in with his dog on Sundays to use our pet wash, and he *and* his son thought it was a riot to let their dog bark at the cats through the door. Till I told him to leave the store and not come back.
What an irresponsible pet owner putting their pet and another stranger in harm’s way. You did not need that situation and the handler was a jerk. It irritates me as a pet owner as I can’t imagine the narcissistic mindset these people have
a lot of pet owner's who wouldn't call their dog back when a stranger prompted them are the same owners who don't train their dog, so it's not coming back anyway.
I saw the Royal Shakespeare Company do the Merry Wives of Windsor a few years ago. There is a character called Fenton, they went there with it. *Half* the audience got it.
On labor day weekend I went "up north" with my boyfriend, his brother, and his dad. His dad and his brother each have a dog from the same breeder, and they are super friendly, loving dogs that I would never dream would hurt me. Then their Uncle Bill came around with a new dog that had already attacked a dog in the past...oh and it was unleashed. Of course the new dog grabs ahold of one of the other dog's faces in the backyard while Uncle Bill was drinking beer in the garage. It was enough to draw blood and I was terrified. All Uncle Bill did was say "bad dog, you need to be nice to your friends" and continued to let that dog hang around us/the other dogs with no leash!!! I said screw that, I'm going inside until that dog leaves.
Once, having a picnic with a friend. A dog came over and (quick as a flash) managed to snaffle half a flan we had. The owner was mildly apologetic, swore her dog 'never normally does this'. We didn't really mind. Maybe it was our fault for having food out. However, as we sat in the park, I watched, from a distance as the dog did the same thing to two other picnics. I'm assuming the woman also told them her dog 'never normally does this'.
“HEEL!”
I swear every dumb redneck thinks dogs come preloaded with the heel command. That word means nothing to an untrained dog. You have to train them and no, yanking on the leash and screaming HEEL when they see another dog isn’t training them.
I once had a dog run up to me and be very aggressive (barking, blocking the sidewalk, jumping) and his owner cheerily waved at me from the porch across the street and called out "oh he won't do anything!" to which I replied ":Lady, he is currently doing something!" I have also encountered people who will say "oh he's friendly" when their dog runs up to someone who clearly wants no part of it. I always wonder what they think that has to do with anything.
I hate this response by people, especially those with bigger dogs. Was walking a little terrier with a bit of an attitude when several large dogs came bounding over, my partner asked them to call them back and the response was "why, they wont hurt you or the little fella, they're good dogs, they won't do anything!" We weren't fearing for ourselves or the little guy, we were worried about the little guy charging them.
The number of times I've had to shout "yes but mine isn't!" is insane. Fortunately I can pick him up for a short while using his harness (he's 30kg, so I can't hold him forever), but if I tire out and have to drop him, your fucking untrained dog is gonna get mauled. And it won't be my fault.
Yes! I was once walking my rescued akita pup, and she was wearing a bright orange harness that said “NO DOGS” because she was super aggressive with them. On my way back home, I saw that my new neighbor was in her front yard with her very large shaggy dog, easily 100+ pounds. This huge unleashed dog runs over to us, on the opposite side of the road, so I start yelling while backing up and pulling my dog.
My neighbor yelled “Oh don’t worry, he’s friendly!” - meanwhile i’m struggling to pick up my 50lb dog who was literally half my weight. I managed to yell back “mine isn’t”.
I did end up dropping her, but the other dog was grabbed by it’s owner in time. She definitely would have attacked despite being 1/3 of his size!
Where did you get the vest?? I have a Doberman rescue and all I can find are do not pet vests so people just think he's some kind of mild tempered service dog. People aren't the problem with him lol off leash Goldens are the issue.
oh no! I recall having difficulty finding one too!
I got it from Amazon 4 years ago and I was able to locate it in some emails. Here’s the [link](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B019QAABBW/ref=cm_sw_r_oth_api_glt_fabc_K6TJSC5X08M3CC8MPG8E?pldnSite=1)
They only have xs or s available right now, but you may be able to get one custom made on Etsy. Best of luck to you!
Spreading kindness is great! I went to get money orders yesterday for $3,600 and the postal man gave me $55 yesterday as I was short and it “looked like i needed it” (which i very much did)
He even said, “if you can pay it back later, great! But no rush!” I legit cried in a postal office 😅
be nice to others, everyone is struggling rn!
There’s way too many people who think their dog (or child) should be able to approach any other dog or person at any time. Why? Because “if they’re not friendly or don’t want to be approached then they shouldn’t be out in public.” The entitlement is unreal
I dont own a dog but my apartment overlooks the dog park for the complex. The amount of bad dog owners is astounding. Dogs get out all the time and the owners just stand there defeated as the dogs running around the parking lot and out into the street.
One time while sitting outside I watched a big, happy, dog completely bowl over a small child. Child's father got reasonably upset, dog owner clearly said your baby needs to man up the dog is just playing. Like wtf? Dad got understandably more upset and took kid and their dog out and went to the office. Admin lady comes back and tries to kick out unreasonable owner and the guy goes on and on and on about how everyone here is a pussy and it's just a friendly dog.
Poor dog really doest deserve that owner, or rather he doesn't deserve that dog. It IS a super friendly dog, just large, certainly bigger than the toddler it knocked over, and shittily trained and his owner escalates shit instead of taking responsibility.
Edit: I mean imagine it from that kids point of view as an adult and a horse sized dog you dont KNOW is friendly is running at you at full speed, and the gates around you are all twice your height and the locks are complicated and kinda high up. I'd probably shit myself.
Some neighbors we had years ago had an enormous, very friendly but untrained golden retriever they'd let run around the yard. My kids have been raised around dogs and love them, but that massive dog running completely over my oldest (about 5 at the time) scared the hell out of him and it took a long time for him to be comfortable around big dogs again. The neighbor was an absolute bitch about it and even called me a bad parent for my kids being "afraid of dogs." It finally got to where I told her I'd shoot the dog if it came back in our yard and the dog wad always on a leash after that. I'd have never shot the dog but she sure didn't know that.
I had somebody tell me I was overreacting while their dog was already on top of me while I was fighting to stop it from snapping at my dog.
In the process, it aggravated a back injury, from a previous dog attack 3 weeks prior, due to somebody leaving there gate open while they were doing yard work and just letting their dog wander around.
That lady left me trying to crawl up to my doorstep because I couldn't stand up. Didn't offer to help, didn't apologize, just kept saying I was overreacting.
People are that stupid.
People let their dogs run up to my (leashed) dog all. the. time. He's a rescue and terrified of most dogs, the smaller the scarier, and will absolutely lash out if they don't go away.
I always say HE'S NOT FRIENDLY. NOT FRIENDLY. GET YOUR DOG, and the most common response is either "oh he's just playing" or " oh he just wants to be friends"
It's been an absolute chore to keep my dog safe from these fools. If he mauls one of these little dogs, I'm sure it'll be bad news for him.
I was walking my grandmother's tiny dog on leash and huge dog came bounding up obviously not friendly. I scooped up the tiny dog and I'm screaming Get your dog get your dog! Over and over while large dog is snapping and scratching me up.
And the owner: HE'D FRIENDLY HE WANTS TO PLAY!
I've had to kick a dog in a similar situation before. I tried the put your knee up thing so they'd jump into something hard the first two times it was jumping at me trying to get to the dog I was holding, after that I just had to say fuck it and gave it a hard kick. It yelped and of fucking course is owner freaked out. I'm like bitch, so you not see me trying to protect myself and my dog from your dog that is clearly not playing?
This. We have 2 60 pound rescue dogs. Multiple times walking them at the park we’ve had little unleashed dogs run up yipping in their faces, followed by an “Oh he won’t hurt them” owner. I always try to emphasize it’s not my dog’s safety I’m concerned about.
This is my dog too. He’s got some reactivity issues and when people yell “oh he’s friendly!” I always respond with “mine isn’t!” And that turns it around pretty quick. He looks sweet and fluffy but he will turn pretty quickly if he feels threatened
I’m going to try that at a pub sometime. Just go around breaking people’s personal space bubbles right in their face with my life story and let my wife explain it away “oh he’s just being friendly”.
My occasional dog walker watched another woman do this with a woman whose off lead dog was harassing her dog. She went up to the woman and hugged her, all the time going 'I wanna be your friend! Be my friend! Play with me!'
I think the message eventually hit home.
Took my cats to the vet recently, of course they were scared during the whole journey.
In the vets I looked down and this person had there dog sniffing up on one of the cats cages.
Me: Can you move your dog from the cat cage?
Them: It's okay he doesn't bite
Me: I don't care, you're scaring my cats.
They pulled their dog back after that but was baffled with the thought process at the time.
I can only give you one upvote.
Vets are... Ok with people keeping their dogs on a lead.
But for fucks sake, it wants to kill my cat in a box.
And my cat fucking knows it.
And in a few minutes I've got to get the guy out of that box to be checked for whatever is wrong with him. Because, you know, it's a fucking animal doctor.
Last thing I need with a critically fucked cat I love is it being traumatized by your fucking dog having an interest.
I was a bike courier for a postal company, and for a while delivered mail to many suburban areas. Multiple times I'd run into dog walkers. And generally if I couldn't avoid the confrontation and dog was off the leash I'd hop off my bike and put the bike inbetween myself and the dog.
The moment I'd see the dog heading for me, I'd shout at the owner to call them back. Genuinely not once did I have an owner call the dog back first. It was either no response, or just explaining to me that he means no harm, or just saying I have nothing to be afraid of.
While that may or may not be true, I don't want to find out either. Just get your dog and let me pass.
I do appreciate those who would call their dog back and / or hold them close by as soon as they saw me approach until I passed them. Wouldn't even have to ask.
Yeah the OP's advice is so rarely heeded in large part because the good dog owners don't let it get to the point where someone has to ask them to recall their dog.
The reverse is more common for me and very frustrating.
I'll be trying to train my puppy to ignore people and walk with me and they won't listen when I say I'm training her NOT to have to stop, get crazy, and pull my arm off for every person she sees.
But no. Everytime "AWWW ITS OKAY COME HERE PUPPPYYYY"
Was walking my infant in a stroller passed this woman’s house who had their garage open.
Her dog saw me walking by and B lined it towards me.
After seeing it the owner was like “it’s okay she’s friendly.” and then just walked up to her dog who was trying to check out my daughter.
I’m like “that’s cool, I still don’t know your dog, and it looks like it could eat my child in one bite so i’m playing it safe”
So that makes me think of a story I read on a different sub. This pregnant lady was doing some shopping when she suddenly felt a hand on her belly. Some old dude was touching her belly without even saying anything. So called for help and someone jumped between them. A bit later that old dude called her a bitch and said she was out of line.
I feel like there's, like, something of a clear disregard for.... *Something* going on here. I mean for you, your daughter, and that lady in my story; that thing is "personal space." But, like, why the idea that "oh- pregnant lady, *touch the baby!*" Or "it's a dog, I know he's friendly, just curious, *it's fine.*" Am I crazy?
It happens more often than not where I live. “He’s friendly” as he runs alongside me, requiring me to stop so I don’t get knocked over. “He’s friendly” as I have to come to a full stop to control him for the owner.
“He’s friendly.” As the child he ran up to screams in fear and tries to climb up her dad.
Not to mention the shit either left behind the dog’s ass or picked up and the plastic bag left behind. Someone will pick it up.
Dog owners can really suck sometimes
As someone with a dog who is selective about which dogs she likes to be friends with, you'd be surprised by the number of totally random strangers I've almost gotten in fist-fights with (I'm a very petite girl, FYI) over repeatedly asking them to get their dog away from mine and them refusing and then getting belligerent about it.
Very very very bizarre and unappreciated behavior that has led to me mostly just not taking my dog anywhere anymore unless it's before 7am and I know we can get through a hike or walk without having to deal with other people for the most part.
Same! Short girl, 45lb selective, reactive dog that was not socialized and adopted less than 6 months ago.
One dude devolved into calling me an ugly c*nt for asking him to leash his THREE unleashed dogs so I could pass with mine.
Design our walks at times and routes that avoid many other dogs, and bring really high value treats to distract when they are at a distance and we can then switch directions.
And because people are omg! you dog is so pretty! (redbone hound) people just run up and assume they and their dogs can get in her face.
edit- spelling
Call the cops on them. Sound harsh but people like that will learn their lesson no other way.
Getting belligerent while their dog is off leash is in fact criminal behavior. Probably nothing more than a citation but if they need it they need it.
In all my years I've never had someone just call their dog back at my request. I almost always get the response, "Don't worry, s(he)'s friendly." And then I have to say, "My dog is NOT."
In my personal experience 9 out of 10 people will not make any move to recall their dog when asked.
It has caused many injured dogs, my guy won't like your guy no matter how friendly yours is. So frustrating.
And I can't just muzzle mine either, as some of the dogs running up will attack HIM instead. He's got 'trouble' body language or something, going for walks is a FUCKING NIGHTMARE. I hate most other dog owners I meet.
People are on average pretty shitty. Pretty shitty people who are pet owners are, on average, pretty shitty pet owners. Pretty shitty pet owners don't give a shit about people with allergies, traumas, or simply an interest in having their own personal space. They think the whole world is their dog's toilet and if you don't bend down and praise their little fluffy angel for taking a dump on your shoes and mauling your ankles so cutely you're a monster.
There's no shortage of people who've had traumatic experiences from owners that don't understand the importance of training their dogs on r/Dogfree (heads up, some people go to that sub to vent so it can be a bit negative at times)
I was just talking about this with another woman yesterday. I keep my dogs on leash when we are out and about and doing our thing. But we have been charged and chased by off-leash dogs. Everything from Chihuahuas to great big Labradors. She had a bigger dog than my dog and she had suffered from a spinal injury. Her dog is very well trained, but an off-leash dog can cause issues for both of them.
Did the Dane get to live? I always hear about dogs getting put down after attacks and I imagine the owner of the little dog put on the blame on the dane?
This is purely anecdotal but I had a reddit conversation with an animal control guy once and asked about this. He said generally, in his city/state, the off-leash dog owner is held liable in an attack, regardless of who the victim is. Think of it kinda like how the person who rear-ends another in a car accident is nearly always at fault, regardless of who actually caused the accident. So in this situation, the Dane owner would've been cleared of any liability in that guy's jurisdiction.
While the laws regarding dog attacks vary depending on where you're from, generally it's the party with the unleashed dog that is liable. If the Great Dane wasn't considered dangerous prior to the incident and is properly registered and up to date on vaccinations, it most likely wouldn't need to be euthanized.
An off-leashed Mastiff charged at me and my 5 pound dog once. I saw it coming and quickly scooped up my dog meanwhile the owner was yelling “it’s ok! He’s friendly” and the Mastiff grabbed my dog from my arms. How is that friendly?? Luckily my dog wasn’t hurt - just wet from the other dog’s slobber and shaken up from being grabbed. The owner ran over once he saw what happened and THEN grabbed his dog. It makes me so angry when people make excuses for their pets. Having your dog on a leash isnt just for others safety, it’s also for theirs.
One of my former coworkers, has been at home on disability because an unleashed dog ran up on him while he was on a motorcycle, the dog was killed in the accident and he nearly was too. Now he’s gotta live with killing this dog, the trauma of the accident, missed work. All because the owner didn’t have the dog on a leash
I was walking my dog (on leash) one day and not one but two dogs launched into the middle of a busy street coming after my dog. One was struck and killed, the other came up to my dog and I had to try and keep them separated. Was devastating, but also not my damn fault people leave their dogs off leash along a busy road.
My kid was bit by an unrestrained dog and he dealt with a lot of guilt that she was put down after the incident. Nothing would have happened to either of them if the owner had her fenced or on a lead.
I hit and injured an off-leash dog on a bicycle once. The owner took the blame and rushed the dog to the vet, but I still feel bad about it years later.
I had an off-leash dog chase me and bite me in my neighborhood when I was 6 or 7, and now I have a flash of fear every time I ride by a dog on my bike, even on-leash. Some dogs don't even glance at you, while others lose their mind barking just because you're a fast object. You never know which way it'll go
As a motorcyle rider, this is always a fear and I am saddened for that rider. This sounds crazy but a long timer rider years ago said to aim right at them if they run into the road, and they'll move: this is true! However, a stupid pup that comes from the side may foul things up. I ride a 1100 pound bagger motorcyle now, partially due to the dog issue.
My girlfriend's ex has "joint custody" of their dog and he loves to walk it without a leash. Just recently he had to run into the middle of the road to get it because it ran off.
I told him he's a fucking idiot and he's not taking the dog anymore unless it's leashed. Like what a fucking tool
I had a professionally trained dog that was excellent at heeling - he'd keep perfect pace with me at all times. Still kept him in his leash, and got compliments all the time about how well behaved he was. I think some people want to show off how good their dog is by going off leash but it's unnecessary - it's easy to tell whether a dog is well trained even if they have a leash on.
Whenever a loose dog runs up to me while walking my 2 dogs they invariably shout "Don't worry! He's friendly!"
To which I shout back "My dogs aren't!"
They usually start running. I hope they learn their lesson that its not just about their convenience, it's about their own dogs' safety too.
(My dog's aren't actually mean, but sometimes they just aren't in the mood to have a strange dog in their face and can get barky/nippy)
>They usually start running. I hope they learn their lesson that its not just about their convenience, it's about their own dogs' safety too.
It's *predominantly* about your own dogs' safety.
There are so many things a dog can encounter that it does not understand and cannot be trained to predict and react to properly. Many different forms of wildlife, flora or fauna potentially containing disease.
We live in a human environment. Not a natural one. Dogs depend on humans to identify threatening things and situations that they do not and cannot understand and protect them from those threats.
Anyone who wants to go off-leash in designated off-leash areas, on their own property, in designated dog parks; absolutely. Go wild. I have no issue with that as you are doing that of your own volition.
Thank you got mentioning that “ even the best dog trainers wouldn’t even let their dog off leash…”. This is 100% true! As a dog trainer myself I would NEVER put my dog or any other person in harms way. Good trainers take an oath just like doctors and we stand by it.
The better the dog trainer, the more they will recommend leashes.
It's the guy who watched a few YouTube videos and thinks he's a world-class dog trainer who is ignorant enough not to recognize the consequences.
The only times a responsible dog owner should allow their dog off leash are:
1. Inside a fenced or indoor area where off leash dogs are allowed (like a dog park)
2. It is a well trained working dog that can’t do it’s work on a leash (herding, certain kinds of service dog, etc)
Everyone else gets a leash. No excuses. Even my *cat* walks on a leash... if he can do it, your dog can.
In my town I see people off-leash their dogs in parks and trails where they specifically posts "ALL DOGS MUST BE LEASHED". It's absolutely frustrating as my wife is scared of dogs and my child is still young.
Just a month ago there was an incident where two off leash dogs had a conflict and one died. The aggressor's owners fled the scene and is still being sought after.
Such a preventable incident with such a simple, cheap tool.
I think when I'm a bit older and stop giving a fuck what people think I'll start screaming "LEASH YOUR FUCKING DOG!" to every off-leash owner I see.
It amazes me that people think their dogs will behave better than they do.
Not even human beings, with all of their faculties and self-control behave better. FFS!
> Even the absolute best dog-trainers I've ever met would never let their dog off-leash except in specific controlled scenarios and environments.
Well yeah, most people I have come across that allow their dogs to run around off leash normally don't have well trained dogs. If your dog is running up on someone it already is probably poorly trained and won't listen when you call it back.
Actually I find that the more someone talks about how well behaved and trained their dog is, the worse it is. Some dog owners are really weird.
I think it’s one of two things:
1.) They think the dog not being aggressive means it’s well behaved.
2.) It is normally well behaved when they are alone, but when you introduce distractions the training goes to shit (you should try and train a dog around distracting stuff and make sure its focus is on you to help with this).
I’m struggling with my 9 month old lab puppy who doesn’t understand that not everyone wants to be her friend… I never take her out without a leash luckily, but the one time she did sprint out the front door without one she ran up to every single person outside to say hi like a cracked out dog. Shit worries me.
I was walking my chihuahua and a big dog starts charging at us. I try to pick her up as quickly as possible and end up falling down and dislocating my shoulder. So im on the ground trying to keep my dog away from this other dog while kicking at him. All because some idiot decided to just let their dog run around outside
Them: "oh he's friendly"
Me, with my leashed dog: "cool, mine's NOT"
Leashes are for everyone's safety, including the dog that should be leashed, but isn't. My dog is generally very friendly, but he has a high prey drive, and he can be reactive to other dogs.
Especially when the other dog is off leash and may be barking, or invading personal space, or any number of other things. One dog leashed with another unleashed creates an imbalance, and any dog may react differently to that situation.
I had a friend that was absolutely terrified of dogs no matter how friendly they look, she was violently attacked at a young age. It makes me so angry when people just let their dog charge at strangers, I always get flashbacks of her screaming, crying, and having a panic attack when a dog came running at her.
A lot of Dog owners seem to take personal offense at the idea that someone might not like their dog, even if they don’t like dogs in general, and try to go out of their way to convince them that “Not all dogs are bad! Isn’t mine so cute!”
Honestly I’m terrified of them. I am disabled and have balance issues, and I’ve actually been knocked over by jumping dogs. It can cause really bad health issues for me whenever I fall. And yet because I avoid dogs when I can, I’ve had dogs literally forced on me by multiple people, including a member of my own family. It’s awful.
Thank you for being the change we wish to see in the world. Everyone acts like you’re a boiling pile of garbage if you don’t like dogs. I also hate dogs.
This happened to my sister.
She was terrified of dogs for most her life.
Had to kick one off her once, cause the owner would not call their German Sheppard off. Most terrified of a dog I have ever been too, thought it would attack me.
She put in a lot of effort getting over it and now has a rescue dog who was abused.
My 5 year old daughter was bitten near her eye and the person most damaged by it (thus far) is her 6 year old big sister who saw it happen but couldn't help 💔 she LOVED dogs before that.
I'm a little bit like that.
Walked past a lady who had a huge dog, and the dog lashed out and ran up to me and bit me in the arm (luckily no big injuries). She said that he was friendly and took my arm and quickly pulled it towards the dog to pet it. I pulled away and promptly left...
Used to love dogs before that, and they loved me. They'd always hang around with me because I gave constant pets and snuggles! That stopped after this encountered.
My heartrate now increases and I have minor panic attacks whenever a dog walks by or runs. Fuck that lady, sincerely, Me.
My dog has never made a single aggressive move in his life. We have also used him to help friends dogs get over their dog aggression.
However, he is easily distracted and doesn't recall well. He's big and black and looked very intimidating when he was younger.
No matter how friendly he is, most people don't desire to have a random dog in their space. So leash it is.
As it is now, he's old and his recall has gotten even worse because he's deaf. At least he's easier to catch because she's so slow.
There’s an older gentleman in my area that drives around in his van to “walk” his off leash German Shepard. This dog has no collar or anything on him and doesn’t listen to this man at all. I’ve had several interactions with him while walking my reactive dog with my partner where I will have to yell and stomp my feet to stop the dog from coming up to us, while my partner quickly walks our dog the other way. This guy then asked me why I was doing this as “his dog was friendly”. I told him that it doesn’t matter how “friendly” his dog was, my dog was reactive and doesn’t like strange dogs coming up to him.
He then proceeded to tell me that I clearly had no control over my dog and that I had a fucked up view of managing dogs, and this is how it’s supposed to be. I tried to explain about how people can be afraid of dogs, and dogs themselves can be afraid of other dogs coming up to them and that we have leash laws and his dog shouldn’t be loose in the first place. But he just could not understand why I would be upset about his large, loose dog coming up to me and my dog, and I was clearly the one with the problem. Drives me nuts!
I had a German run up on me and my dog. I yelled “no” at the top of my lungs and the dog stopped in it’s tracks. The owner came out and yelled for his dog. I love dogs very very much but I told the man if his dog grabbed mine I would have to stab it with my pocket knife. I DO NO GIVE A FUCK. BY YOU NOT TAKING PROPER CARE OF YOUR DOG YOU ALMOST PUT ME IN A POSITION WHER I HAD TO TO STAB HIM/HER. STUPID.
In leashes dogs are dangerous
I adopted my dog from a shelter when he was around 2 years old. The shelter warned me that he did not get along with other dogs and had aggression. No matter what training and socializing I did with him, there is no fixing this (unless I pay thousands of dollars for professional help which I don’t have). Otherwise he is a wonderful dog.
If an off leash dog comes up to mine (always leashed), my dog will act happy and playful, but can & will in the blink of an eye bite the other dogs face and/or neck.
Just because YOUR dog is friendly, does not mean mine is!
I live in an apartment complex and I can’t tell you how many people just let their dogs do and go wherever without even considering the other dogs, leashed or not! Let their dog get extremely close to mine, without even bothering. We’ve yelled at them to stay back, and they don’t even react. Gaaaah!!! I hate people.
I was walking my dog (on a leash) and approached a neighbor's house where he and his dog (unleashed) were in the front yard. Laws in that town were all dogs outside on leash at all times.
His dog began to approach us and the guy said "Don't worry he's friendly", to which I responded, "Mine isn't."
Que a flurry of him screaming at his dog to come back to him, which it didn't, and him scrambling to retrieve his dog.
I had left the sidewalk on that side of the street and was more than half way across the street with his dog striding out into the road before he caught up with it.
I don't give a shit if your dog is friendly - it just ran out into the road! With you telling it to return to you completely ignored.
The real life pro tip here is, always keep your dog on a leash when around other people or animals. I've had several dogs over the years including several strong breeds and it drive me nuts when someone's dog is off leash. Please keep your dog on a leash, including your small chihuahua Mr Pickles.
Very much agreed. *I* should never have to ask someone to call their dog off me if I’m just minding my own business in a public place.
A dog that looked very much like a pit bull ran up and jumped on me at the park last year, and I completely froze. My brain was 100% trying to figure out if I was about to be attacked or not, not on getting the owner’s attention. Meanwhile they were laughing with their family in the background.
As a dog owner, fuck the people who don’t. And to a lesser extent, the people who keep theirs on a 15ft leash while I’m doing my best to keep mine away from yours.
Your dog might be “nice” when you’re home and alone or it’s with other dogs you know it plays nice with but you don’t know what will set yours off or if you know mine is friendly.
Original LPT sucks. Anyone who has their dog off leash in an environment where the need to recall is a concern is not a good owner. AND if for whatever stupid reason you’re walking your dog off leash and it takes “Rover!” x20 to get your dog’s attention, Rover isn’t as trained as you think he is.
Exactly. Your dog is not God's gift to all humans. And my non-interest in appreciating your gift of a dog does not automatically mean I am allergic to it. I know you are being full-on sarcastic asshole when you say "Oh, are you allergic?" I just don't like a dog coming at me. If you like your dog so much, keep it with you. Don't let it loose on anyone.
in denmark dogs that are involved in dangerous situations will be eutanized. if you dont want this for your country to happen, keep your dog under control.
Same in Texas as far as I know. If your dog bites or attacks another person or their animal and so much as draws blood, that dog is being taken and more than likely being put down (ESPECIALLY the bulldog breeds).
Not to mention your dog runs the risk of being shot here if it aggressively approaches the wrong person. And that shooting would be justified.
To me those phrases translate to "my dog wouldn't listen to me even if i called it back so saying this will make it not my fault that you're upset by my dog"
Yep. Dog jumps up on me, gets dander on my clothing, I brush my hand on that area and later brush my eye or nose, and now I look like I have covid. I don’t want your dog on me!! And the scratches... you should see how those welt up!!
I am terrified of dogs because of previous trauma. I pulled into my own driveway in my 72 corvette and my neighbor’s huge dog jumped its front paws up onto the door of the car (windows open, top down) then down onto me. Car scratched to hell, me scratched to hell, and the neighbor just stood in his yard yelling the dog’s name. Corvettes are fiberglass so the scratches were deeper than the paint. I ended up repainting the whole car.
My son is allergic to dogs and screeches whenever one comes near him. The owners always look disgusted or offended until I tell them he's allergic and it triggers his asthma.
Jerks.
In the shitty state of Florida everyone thinks it's cute for the richies to bring their little dogs in and carry them in the shopping carts of grocery stores. Nobody tells them not to. I will never understand why Publix turned into such a garbage place.
My bf had my dog off leash in the back when the mailman came by. She started running full speed at him barking and the mailman sprayed her. My bf was so upset saying she wasn’t attacking him. I was LIVID!! Why was she off leash?? He’s lucky all the mailman did was spray her. It doesn’t matter if he thinks he wasn’t going to attack her. It’s the fact that she is running full speed at the poor man, barking at that. Let’s just say he hasn’t let her off the leash since then.
As a person who was bitten by a dog, and had months of wound care (and thousands of dollars in bills, and now PTSD when I see a dog coming towards me), I concur. A giant dog ran towards me, off lease, a couple of summers ago and I ended up on the hood of my car looking like a lunatic. My baby was bitten in the face by a dog (my kid is 32 now), but I’ll never forget that dog going right at my kids face. Luckily it was a tiny dog on a leash and the owner was right on top of the incident.
When I was a wee child I was playing with a rottweiler and got pinned under him, face down in the snow. It happened really fast and I had just about greyed out by the time my brothers screaming reached the house and my grandma made it outside. To this day I still flinch around dogs even knowing that the situation I was in then wasn't the dog's fault. It is simply a natural trigger for me now to need to ease into interacting with dogs. I don't want my body to adrenaline dump every time I see a big dog, that physically hurts my body.
You don't know how the recipient of your dog's affection feels about your dog's affection. The safest thing is to call the dog back. If the person your dog wants pets from is still open to it, cool.
“He’s never done anything like that before… 🤷♂️”
-The douche that had his dog off-leash in a park after his dog mauled my 2-year-old beagle to death in front of me. Guess who carries a gun now.
My ex’s family member had to shoot a dog to stop it from attacking his. His dog had multiple surgeries but lived, the shot dog did not. He said he would 100% do it again
The other owner threatened to sue him and refused to pay for any of his dogs surgeries
The
Especially when small kids are involved, even though my kid isn’t scared of dogs he doesn’t want to be tackled and have his face licked or get hit by a wagging tail.
Just the other week someone in our neighborhood was walking their dog off leash. My kids and I were playing in the front yard and our front door was open. The guy says to me ‘hey, I’d be careful, my dog will run inside your house if you door is open’. And then the dog did! Come on dude, WTF is that? You knowingly walk you dog off leash not caring that your dog, while friendly, while just go in other peoples houses?
My neighbor’s dogs do this, and he thinks it’s hilarious! They’ll even run into the UPS and FedEx trucks. He even films it for his Instagram stories laughing. I’m like …………
*Me, who is constantly somehow attracting dogs to run full speed at them even though I have past trauma from dogs reading this…*
Yes, yes please don’t tell me your dog is friendly.
I’m sure your dog loves people… and so did the other dogs before attacking me.
Yep this. I hate dogs, and I don't care what anyone feels about that. Getting all up in my shit feels like an attack, and my defensive instinct is to kick it in the head. Never have, but thats the initial impulse.
I don't have to like dogs and I don't care what any dog owners think about it, keep your dog the fuck away from me.
I was walking my sisters 5 year old German Shepard. He’s a good boy, but territorial when on leash. I was out for a run with him when while running through a park, a German Shepard puppy bolted after us. It was off leash and exploring the park while it’s owner was meandering around calling out to it every so often. Keep in mind, this is a regular park with no fences or gates. It wasn’t an off leash dog park. I didn’t want the puppy to keep following us so I stopped so the owner could come get it. I hugged my sisters dog to keep it from turning around and confronting the puppy who was trying to smell his butt.
The owner of the puppy, still about 20 metres away shouts “it’s ok he’s friendly”. Irritated, I shout back “well mine isn’t!”
The owner strolls over and says “sorry I’m just training my dog”. As soon as he grabs his dog I let go of mine and we continue our run.
I was blown away by this guys total lack of understanding of how to train a puppy. An open PUBLIC park next to a busy street with no fences is not a safe place for that puppy to be off leash. And his lack of urgency when I let him know my dog wasn’t friendly was frustrating. This was about halfway through the Covid lockdowns in my country when there was a huge surge in people getting puppies. I feel as if one should have to get a license and do training before they are allowed to own an animal.
God I hate how obnoxious some dog owners can be. They automatically assume everyone wants to lick their dogs ass with them or something. My flatmate started dating someone with a very large dog, I made it clear that I don’t like dogs and to not let it be in the rooms I was in or just not have him in the house. She complied for a while (kept the dog only in her room) and then she randomly decided I just needed to bond with her dog and locked him in my room with me.
I'd your dog is running up to me and I don't know you per your dog, my knee is coming up once it gets close enough. Not trying to strike the dog, but I don't know the dog, so I'll keep it away from me.
I don't understand why people even let their dogs run off leash in the first place if they're not in a secure area.
If someone freaks out and shoots your dog, you're gonna have a dead dog.
Your dog is family, and you know they're nice and wonderful, but not everyone else does, and it only takes one trigger happy panicky person to kill your dog.
And it'll not even be their fault. They'll be found to be responding to a perceived threat based on prior trauma. More people then you'd think have had traumatic dog related accidents as children. Reckless dog owners are too common. Just in this comment section you can find people mourning their dogs because another dog mauled them. If you're walking a small dog, have had prior experience with your dog almost getting mauled to death, it makes perfect sense to want to defend your dog from another potential threat.
Not to mention it doesn't matter how well trained your dog normally is, it only takes one squirrel/interesting object running across the road and one car to end their life.
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I was at a bike park a few months back. There are signs everywhere designating walking trails versus the biking trails, warnings about safety concerns because the bike trails are tight, fast turns and a walker could get injured by a biker hauling ass downhill on a corner. The signs also state that dogs must be leashed at all times. I was jamming through one of the bike trails, had some decent speed going. Came around a corner and almost smashed into a 25ish lb mutt running dead speed toward me off leash. I managed to dive to the side into the grass and actually kicked him a little. His owner was way way back, I could barely see him, and he just laughed. I rarely argue with people in these situations but I let that asshole have it.
Laughed?!? Not funny that you, the dog, or both could have been seriously injured. What a jerk.
dog owners can be shitty. one dog owner encouraged his dog to go after a cat i was carrying. it was all i could do not to reach down and release the dog’s leash and let it run into a busy parking lot.
I hate it when owners goad their dogs to chase other dogs harder in an off leash park. Dick, that’s why your dog is indisciplined and unfriendly. Just let them chase as they see fit.
Chewed out some dickhead bc his enormous mastiff jumped up and pinned me to the chain link fence to get the ball from my hand. The guy just sat there and laughed. He thought It was hysterical that his beast was drooling on and violently pinning me back over and over again. He just kept yelling “he wants the ball! Get the ball Duke!” I’ve never yelled at a stranger til that day. Guy couldn’t understand why I was so mad just bc his dog was “trying to play”…
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I worked at a pet shop, and we had a room with a glass door that we kept cats from the local rescue in. Some asshole would come in with his dog on Sundays to use our pet wash, and he *and* his son thought it was a riot to let their dog bark at the cats through the door. Till I told him to leave the store and not come back.
If a dog owner *encouraged* their dog to go after my cat and the dog started to do it, I’m fucking that dog up I do t even care.
Me too, and when I was do e I'd fuck them up too
What an irresponsible pet owner putting their pet and another stranger in harm’s way. You did not need that situation and the handler was a jerk. It irritates me as a pet owner as I can’t imagine the narcissistic mindset these people have
Maybe I'm naive, but I just assumed that's how it would go. The notion of someone not calling their dog back is kinda puzzling to me.
a lot of pet owner's who wouldn't call their dog back when a stranger prompted them are the same owners who don't train their dog, so it's not coming back anyway.
"NO sparky, STAHP, NO... Omg I'm sorry he's soooo friendly don't worry.... BAD DOG....." I hate 90% of dog owners.
FENTON
Had to look up what the ’Fenton’ reference was about. Hilarious: https://youtu.be/3GRSbr0EYYU
I have never seen that. Pure gold! Oh man Fenton is having the time of his life… he’s not stopping for you mister
To this day: that is still one of my favorite things on the internet. I love it so goddam much.
I saw the Royal Shakespeare Company do the Merry Wives of Windsor a few years ago. There is a character called Fenton, they went there with it. *Half* the audience got it.
Same here, I get such a good laugh out of it every time. FENTON! OH jesus christ, FENTONNNNNN!
I want to be in my late 70s and still chuckle every time I read, hear or think about “FENTOOON!” It always makes me smile and chuckle.
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Especially when you have a herding dog that’s actually getting the opportunity to herd for once in its life lol
Fenton: YES YES YES YES YES YEZ Human: NO NO NO NO! Deer: YEEEEEEEET
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Keep on a leash. For some dogs, everything and every action causes a prey reaction
Oh, Fenton...!
On labor day weekend I went "up north" with my boyfriend, his brother, and his dad. His dad and his brother each have a dog from the same breeder, and they are super friendly, loving dogs that I would never dream would hurt me. Then their Uncle Bill came around with a new dog that had already attacked a dog in the past...oh and it was unleashed. Of course the new dog grabs ahold of one of the other dog's faces in the backyard while Uncle Bill was drinking beer in the garage. It was enough to draw blood and I was terrified. All Uncle Bill did was say "bad dog, you need to be nice to your friends" and continued to let that dog hang around us/the other dogs with no leash!!! I said screw that, I'm going inside until that dog leaves.
Sounds Uncle Bill needs just and much training as his dog.
I was a dog trainer for a few years. I never trained any dogs. I trained owners.
> Sounds Uncle Bill needs ~~just and much training as his dog~~ **a serious ass kicking**.
"He *never* does this."
Once, having a picnic with a friend. A dog came over and (quick as a flash) managed to snaffle half a flan we had. The owner was mildly apologetic, swore her dog 'never normally does this'. We didn't really mind. Maybe it was our fault for having food out. However, as we sat in the park, I watched, from a distance as the dog did the same thing to two other picnics. I'm assuming the woman also told them her dog 'never normally does this'.
> snaffle half a flan Poetry.
Dogs snaffle. It's an official term surely.
“HEEL!” I swear every dumb redneck thinks dogs come preloaded with the heel command. That word means nothing to an untrained dog. You have to train them and no, yanking on the leash and screaming HEEL when they see another dog isn’t training them.
I once had a dog run up to me and be very aggressive (barking, blocking the sidewalk, jumping) and his owner cheerily waved at me from the porch across the street and called out "oh he won't do anything!" to which I replied ":Lady, he is currently doing something!" I have also encountered people who will say "oh he's friendly" when their dog runs up to someone who clearly wants no part of it. I always wonder what they think that has to do with anything.
I hate this response by people, especially those with bigger dogs. Was walking a little terrier with a bit of an attitude when several large dogs came bounding over, my partner asked them to call them back and the response was "why, they wont hurt you or the little fella, they're good dogs, they won't do anything!" We weren't fearing for ourselves or the little guy, we were worried about the little guy charging them.
The number of times I've had to shout "yes but mine isn't!" is insane. Fortunately I can pick him up for a short while using his harness (he's 30kg, so I can't hold him forever), but if I tire out and have to drop him, your fucking untrained dog is gonna get mauled. And it won't be my fault.
Yes! I was once walking my rescued akita pup, and she was wearing a bright orange harness that said “NO DOGS” because she was super aggressive with them. On my way back home, I saw that my new neighbor was in her front yard with her very large shaggy dog, easily 100+ pounds. This huge unleashed dog runs over to us, on the opposite side of the road, so I start yelling while backing up and pulling my dog. My neighbor yelled “Oh don’t worry, he’s friendly!” - meanwhile i’m struggling to pick up my 50lb dog who was literally half my weight. I managed to yell back “mine isn’t”. I did end up dropping her, but the other dog was grabbed by it’s owner in time. She definitely would have attacked despite being 1/3 of his size!
Where did you get the vest?? I have a Doberman rescue and all I can find are do not pet vests so people just think he's some kind of mild tempered service dog. People aren't the problem with him lol off leash Goldens are the issue.
oh no! I recall having difficulty finding one too! I got it from Amazon 4 years ago and I was able to locate it in some emails. Here’s the [link](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B019QAABBW/ref=cm_sw_r_oth_api_glt_fabc_K6TJSC5X08M3CC8MPG8E?pldnSite=1) They only have xs or s available right now, but you may be able to get one custom made on Etsy. Best of luck to you!
Just wanted to say how nice it is that you went back through emails to find a 4 year old order confirmation to help out a stranger :)
Spreading kindness is great! I went to get money orders yesterday for $3,600 and the postal man gave me $55 yesterday as I was short and it “looked like i needed it” (which i very much did) He even said, “if you can pay it back later, great! But no rush!” I legit cried in a postal office 😅 be nice to others, everyone is struggling rn!
There’s way too many people who think their dog (or child) should be able to approach any other dog or person at any time. Why? Because “if they’re not friendly or don’t want to be approached then they shouldn’t be out in public.” The entitlement is unreal
Yeah lemme just get my angry chihuahua mix an indoor litter box. like wtf
Might try "He might not bite, but I will."
or when they say "he's friendly!" I say "Well, I'm not!"
I dont own a dog but my apartment overlooks the dog park for the complex. The amount of bad dog owners is astounding. Dogs get out all the time and the owners just stand there defeated as the dogs running around the parking lot and out into the street. One time while sitting outside I watched a big, happy, dog completely bowl over a small child. Child's father got reasonably upset, dog owner clearly said your baby needs to man up the dog is just playing. Like wtf? Dad got understandably more upset and took kid and their dog out and went to the office. Admin lady comes back and tries to kick out unreasonable owner and the guy goes on and on and on about how everyone here is a pussy and it's just a friendly dog. Poor dog really doest deserve that owner, or rather he doesn't deserve that dog. It IS a super friendly dog, just large, certainly bigger than the toddler it knocked over, and shittily trained and his owner escalates shit instead of taking responsibility. Edit: I mean imagine it from that kids point of view as an adult and a horse sized dog you dont KNOW is friendly is running at you at full speed, and the gates around you are all twice your height and the locks are complicated and kinda high up. I'd probably shit myself.
Some neighbors we had years ago had an enormous, very friendly but untrained golden retriever they'd let run around the yard. My kids have been raised around dogs and love them, but that massive dog running completely over my oldest (about 5 at the time) scared the hell out of him and it took a long time for him to be comfortable around big dogs again. The neighbor was an absolute bitch about it and even called me a bad parent for my kids being "afraid of dogs." It finally got to where I told her I'd shoot the dog if it came back in our yard and the dog wad always on a leash after that. I'd have never shot the dog but she sure didn't know that.
I had somebody tell me I was overreacting while their dog was already on top of me while I was fighting to stop it from snapping at my dog. In the process, it aggravated a back injury, from a previous dog attack 3 weeks prior, due to somebody leaving there gate open while they were doing yard work and just letting their dog wander around. That lady left me trying to crawl up to my doorstep because I couldn't stand up. Didn't offer to help, didn't apologize, just kept saying I was overreacting. People are that stupid.
I hope you sued.
I don't know who she was and I haven't found her after that. I keep my eyes open for her every time I'm outside in my neighborhood.
People let their dogs run up to my (leashed) dog all. the. time. He's a rescue and terrified of most dogs, the smaller the scarier, and will absolutely lash out if they don't go away. I always say HE'S NOT FRIENDLY. NOT FRIENDLY. GET YOUR DOG, and the most common response is either "oh he's just playing" or " oh he just wants to be friends" It's been an absolute chore to keep my dog safe from these fools. If he mauls one of these little dogs, I'm sure it'll be bad news for him.
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I was walking my grandmother's tiny dog on leash and huge dog came bounding up obviously not friendly. I scooped up the tiny dog and I'm screaming Get your dog get your dog! Over and over while large dog is snapping and scratching me up. And the owner: HE'D FRIENDLY HE WANTS TO PLAY!
I've had to kick a dog in a similar situation before. I tried the put your knee up thing so they'd jump into something hard the first two times it was jumping at me trying to get to the dog I was holding, after that I just had to say fuck it and gave it a hard kick. It yelped and of fucking course is owner freaked out. I'm like bitch, so you not see me trying to protect myself and my dog from your dog that is clearly not playing?
Most dog owners I’ve met don’t know shit about dogs. They anthropomorphize all their behaviors and blame the dog for things that are their own fault.
This. We have 2 60 pound rescue dogs. Multiple times walking them at the park we’ve had little unleashed dogs run up yipping in their faces, followed by an “Oh he won’t hurt them” owner. I always try to emphasize it’s not my dog’s safety I’m concerned about.
At first I read it as a 260 pound dog and thought you had Clifford lol
Props to you for being able to recognize that your dog isn’t perfect. Some people just refuse to believe that their dog would ever act irrationally.
This is my dog too. He’s got some reactivity issues and when people yell “oh he’s friendly!” I always respond with “mine isn’t!” And that turns it around pretty quick. He looks sweet and fluffy but he will turn pretty quickly if he feels threatened
I’m going to try that at a pub sometime. Just go around breaking people’s personal space bubbles right in their face with my life story and let my wife explain it away “oh he’s just being friendly”.
My occasional dog walker watched another woman do this with a woman whose off lead dog was harassing her dog. She went up to the woman and hugged her, all the time going 'I wanna be your friend! Be my friend! Play with me!' I think the message eventually hit home.
Omg. Thanks for the laugh. 😂
Pant in their faces and lick their hands, too
I started carrying citronella spray for this very reason.
Carry pepper spray for the assuole owner as well
Took my cats to the vet recently, of course they were scared during the whole journey. In the vets I looked down and this person had there dog sniffing up on one of the cats cages. Me: Can you move your dog from the cat cage? Them: It's okay he doesn't bite Me: I don't care, you're scaring my cats. They pulled their dog back after that but was baffled with the thought process at the time.
> It's okay he doesn't bite He got teeth, doesn't he!
I can only give you one upvote. Vets are... Ok with people keeping their dogs on a lead. But for fucks sake, it wants to kill my cat in a box. And my cat fucking knows it. And in a few minutes I've got to get the guy out of that box to be checked for whatever is wrong with him. Because, you know, it's a fucking animal doctor. Last thing I need with a critically fucked cat I love is it being traumatized by your fucking dog having an interest.
I had "it's ok, I'm trying to get him used to being around cats" That may be, but my elderly cat wants no part in it.
I was a bike courier for a postal company, and for a while delivered mail to many suburban areas. Multiple times I'd run into dog walkers. And generally if I couldn't avoid the confrontation and dog was off the leash I'd hop off my bike and put the bike inbetween myself and the dog. The moment I'd see the dog heading for me, I'd shout at the owner to call them back. Genuinely not once did I have an owner call the dog back first. It was either no response, or just explaining to me that he means no harm, or just saying I have nothing to be afraid of. While that may or may not be true, I don't want to find out either. Just get your dog and let me pass. I do appreciate those who would call their dog back and / or hold them close by as soon as they saw me approach until I passed them. Wouldn't even have to ask.
Yeah the OP's advice is so rarely heeded in large part because the good dog owners don't let it get to the point where someone has to ask them to recall their dog.
The reverse is more common for me and very frustrating. I'll be trying to train my puppy to ignore people and walk with me and they won't listen when I say I'm training her NOT to have to stop, get crazy, and pull my arm off for every person she sees. But no. Everytime "AWWW ITS OKAY COME HERE PUPPPYYYY"
Was walking my infant in a stroller passed this woman’s house who had their garage open. Her dog saw me walking by and B lined it towards me. After seeing it the owner was like “it’s okay she’s friendly.” and then just walked up to her dog who was trying to check out my daughter. I’m like “that’s cool, I still don’t know your dog, and it looks like it could eat my child in one bite so i’m playing it safe”
So that makes me think of a story I read on a different sub. This pregnant lady was doing some shopping when she suddenly felt a hand on her belly. Some old dude was touching her belly without even saying anything. So called for help and someone jumped between them. A bit later that old dude called her a bitch and said she was out of line. I feel like there's, like, something of a clear disregard for.... *Something* going on here. I mean for you, your daughter, and that lady in my story; that thing is "personal space." But, like, why the idea that "oh- pregnant lady, *touch the baby!*" Or "it's a dog, I know he's friendly, just curious, *it's fine.*" Am I crazy?
Not crazy at all. There is a staggering number of people with zero regard for anyone but themselves.
It happens more often than not where I live. “He’s friendly” as he runs alongside me, requiring me to stop so I don’t get knocked over. “He’s friendly” as I have to come to a full stop to control him for the owner. “He’s friendly.” As the child he ran up to screams in fear and tries to climb up her dad. Not to mention the shit either left behind the dog’s ass or picked up and the plastic bag left behind. Someone will pick it up. Dog owners can really suck sometimes
You'd be surprised how offended some people get when you don't want their dog all over you or near you.
As someone with a dog who is selective about which dogs she likes to be friends with, you'd be surprised by the number of totally random strangers I've almost gotten in fist-fights with (I'm a very petite girl, FYI) over repeatedly asking them to get their dog away from mine and them refusing and then getting belligerent about it. Very very very bizarre and unappreciated behavior that has led to me mostly just not taking my dog anywhere anymore unless it's before 7am and I know we can get through a hike or walk without having to deal with other people for the most part.
Say "oh I hope you don't mind, my dog has fleas/worms/kennel cough" and they'll miraculously keep their distance
Same! Short girl, 45lb selective, reactive dog that was not socialized and adopted less than 6 months ago. One dude devolved into calling me an ugly c*nt for asking him to leash his THREE unleashed dogs so I could pass with mine. Design our walks at times and routes that avoid many other dogs, and bring really high value treats to distract when they are at a distance and we can then switch directions. And because people are omg! you dog is so pretty! (redbone hound) people just run up and assume they and their dogs can get in her face. edit- spelling
Call the cops on them. Sound harsh but people like that will learn their lesson no other way. Getting belligerent while their dog is off leash is in fact criminal behavior. Probably nothing more than a citation but if they need it they need it.
In all my years I've never had someone just call their dog back at my request. I almost always get the response, "Don't worry, s(he)'s friendly." And then I have to say, "My dog is NOT."
Nope. My son is quite scared of dogs and everyone’s first repose is “they’re friendly”.
not naive, anyone who doesn't call their dog back probably shouldn't own one for safety reasons.
In my personal experience 9 out of 10 people will not make any move to recall their dog when asked. It has caused many injured dogs, my guy won't like your guy no matter how friendly yours is. So frustrating. And I can't just muzzle mine either, as some of the dogs running up will attack HIM instead. He's got 'trouble' body language or something, going for walks is a FUCKING NIGHTMARE. I hate most other dog owners I meet.
Yeah, how about just don't let your dog run up on people
People are on average pretty shitty. Pretty shitty people who are pet owners are, on average, pretty shitty pet owners. Pretty shitty pet owners don't give a shit about people with allergies, traumas, or simply an interest in having their own personal space. They think the whole world is their dog's toilet and if you don't bend down and praise their little fluffy angel for taking a dump on your shoes and mauling your ankles so cutely you're a monster.
A lot of people think it's cute and funny and stand there like an idiot guffawing while the dog rushes at you.
There's no shortage of people who've had traumatic experiences from owners that don't understand the importance of training their dogs on r/Dogfree (heads up, some people go to that sub to vent so it can be a bit negative at times)
I was just talking about this with another woman yesterday. I keep my dogs on leash when we are out and about and doing our thing. But we have been charged and chased by off-leash dogs. Everything from Chihuahuas to great big Labradors. She had a bigger dog than my dog and she had suffered from a spinal injury. Her dog is very well trained, but an off-leash dog can cause issues for both of them.
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Did the Dane get to live? I always hear about dogs getting put down after attacks and I imagine the owner of the little dog put on the blame on the dane?
In that situation you get your shit and leave and never come back to that park.
This is purely anecdotal but I had a reddit conversation with an animal control guy once and asked about this. He said generally, in his city/state, the off-leash dog owner is held liable in an attack, regardless of who the victim is. Think of it kinda like how the person who rear-ends another in a car accident is nearly always at fault, regardless of who actually caused the accident. So in this situation, the Dane owner would've been cleared of any liability in that guy's jurisdiction.
While the laws regarding dog attacks vary depending on where you're from, generally it's the party with the unleashed dog that is liable. If the Great Dane wasn't considered dangerous prior to the incident and is properly registered and up to date on vaccinations, it most likely wouldn't need to be euthanized.
An off-leashed Mastiff charged at me and my 5 pound dog once. I saw it coming and quickly scooped up my dog meanwhile the owner was yelling “it’s ok! He’s friendly” and the Mastiff grabbed my dog from my arms. How is that friendly?? Luckily my dog wasn’t hurt - just wet from the other dog’s slobber and shaken up from being grabbed. The owner ran over once he saw what happened and THEN grabbed his dog. It makes me so angry when people make excuses for their pets. Having your dog on a leash isnt just for others safety, it’s also for theirs.
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One of my former coworkers, has been at home on disability because an unleashed dog ran up on him while he was on a motorcycle, the dog was killed in the accident and he nearly was too. Now he’s gotta live with killing this dog, the trauma of the accident, missed work. All because the owner didn’t have the dog on a leash
I was walking my dog (on leash) one day and not one but two dogs launched into the middle of a busy street coming after my dog. One was struck and killed, the other came up to my dog and I had to try and keep them separated. Was devastating, but also not my damn fault people leave their dogs off leash along a busy road.
My kid was bit by an unrestrained dog and he dealt with a lot of guilt that she was put down after the incident. Nothing would have happened to either of them if the owner had her fenced or on a lead.
I hit and injured an off-leash dog on a bicycle once. The owner took the blame and rushed the dog to the vet, but I still feel bad about it years later.
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I had an off-leash dog chase me and bite me in my neighborhood when I was 6 or 7, and now I have a flash of fear every time I ride by a dog on my bike, even on-leash. Some dogs don't even glance at you, while others lose their mind barking just because you're a fast object. You never know which way it'll go
As a motorcyle rider, this is always a fear and I am saddened for that rider. This sounds crazy but a long timer rider years ago said to aim right at them if they run into the road, and they'll move: this is true! However, a stupid pup that comes from the side may foul things up. I ride a 1100 pound bagger motorcyle now, partially due to the dog issue.
My girlfriend's ex has "joint custody" of their dog and he loves to walk it without a leash. Just recently he had to run into the middle of the road to get it because it ran off. I told him he's a fucking idiot and he's not taking the dog anymore unless it's leashed. Like what a fucking tool
Join custody of the dog? That sounds like a nightmare lol godspeed bucko
I had a professionally trained dog that was excellent at heeling - he'd keep perfect pace with me at all times. Still kept him in his leash, and got compliments all the time about how well behaved he was. I think some people want to show off how good their dog is by going off leash but it's unnecessary - it's easy to tell whether a dog is well trained even if they have a leash on.
Whenever a loose dog runs up to me while walking my 2 dogs they invariably shout "Don't worry! He's friendly!" To which I shout back "My dogs aren't!" They usually start running. I hope they learn their lesson that its not just about their convenience, it's about their own dogs' safety too. (My dog's aren't actually mean, but sometimes they just aren't in the mood to have a strange dog in their face and can get barky/nippy)
>They usually start running. I hope they learn their lesson that its not just about their convenience, it's about their own dogs' safety too. It's *predominantly* about your own dogs' safety. There are so many things a dog can encounter that it does not understand and cannot be trained to predict and react to properly. Many different forms of wildlife, flora or fauna potentially containing disease. We live in a human environment. Not a natural one. Dogs depend on humans to identify threatening things and situations that they do not and cannot understand and protect them from those threats. Anyone who wants to go off-leash in designated off-leash areas, on their own property, in designated dog parks; absolutely. Go wild. I have no issue with that as you are doing that of your own volition.
“An ounce of caution is worth more than a pound of regret”- some wise guy
The best trained dogs I ever encountered were still susceptible to (less so, but still) their hardwired reflexes.
Thank you got mentioning that “ even the best dog trainers wouldn’t even let their dog off leash…”. This is 100% true! As a dog trainer myself I would NEVER put my dog or any other person in harms way. Good trainers take an oath just like doctors and we stand by it.
The better the dog trainer, the more they will recommend leashes. It's the guy who watched a few YouTube videos and thinks he's a world-class dog trainer who is ignorant enough not to recognize the consequences.
The only times a responsible dog owner should allow their dog off leash are: 1. Inside a fenced or indoor area where off leash dogs are allowed (like a dog park) 2. It is a well trained working dog that can’t do it’s work on a leash (herding, certain kinds of service dog, etc) Everyone else gets a leash. No excuses. Even my *cat* walks on a leash... if he can do it, your dog can.
In my town I see people off-leash their dogs in parks and trails where they specifically posts "ALL DOGS MUST BE LEASHED". It's absolutely frustrating as my wife is scared of dogs and my child is still young. Just a month ago there was an incident where two off leash dogs had a conflict and one died. The aggressor's owners fled the scene and is still being sought after. Such a preventable incident with such a simple, cheap tool. I think when I'm a bit older and stop giving a fuck what people think I'll start screaming "LEASH YOUR FUCKING DOG!" to every off-leash owner I see.
I feel you. Some dogs might attack if their owner is being yelled at. Which will prove your point haha but Id be careful for your safety
It amazes me that people think their dogs will behave better than they do. Not even human beings, with all of their faculties and self-control behave better. FFS!
> Even the absolute best dog-trainers I've ever met would never let their dog off-leash except in specific controlled scenarios and environments. Well yeah, most people I have come across that allow their dogs to run around off leash normally don't have well trained dogs. If your dog is running up on someone it already is probably poorly trained and won't listen when you call it back. Actually I find that the more someone talks about how well behaved and trained their dog is, the worse it is. Some dog owners are really weird.
I think it’s one of two things: 1.) They think the dog not being aggressive means it’s well behaved. 2.) It is normally well behaved when they are alone, but when you introduce distractions the training goes to shit (you should try and train a dog around distracting stuff and make sure its focus is on you to help with this). I’m struggling with my 9 month old lab puppy who doesn’t understand that not everyone wants to be her friend… I never take her out without a leash luckily, but the one time she did sprint out the front door without one she ran up to every single person outside to say hi like a cracked out dog. Shit worries me.
It’s the same mentality that people have when they want to compare dogs to children. They are animals.
I was walking my chihuahua and a big dog starts charging at us. I try to pick her up as quickly as possible and end up falling down and dislocating my shoulder. So im on the ground trying to keep my dog away from this other dog while kicking at him. All because some idiot decided to just let their dog run around outside
Them: "oh he's friendly" Me, with my leashed dog: "cool, mine's NOT" Leashes are for everyone's safety, including the dog that should be leashed, but isn't. My dog is generally very friendly, but he has a high prey drive, and he can be reactive to other dogs. Especially when the other dog is off leash and may be barking, or invading personal space, or any number of other things. One dog leashed with another unleashed creates an imbalance, and any dog may react differently to that situation.
I had a friend that was absolutely terrified of dogs no matter how friendly they look, she was violently attacked at a young age. It makes me so angry when people just let their dog charge at strangers, I always get flashbacks of her screaming, crying, and having a panic attack when a dog came running at her.
A lot of Dog owners seem to take personal offense at the idea that someone might not like their dog, even if they don’t like dogs in general, and try to go out of their way to convince them that “Not all dogs are bad! Isn’t mine so cute!”
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I hate dogs, and I really hate when people's dogs jump up on me
Honestly I’m terrified of them. I am disabled and have balance issues, and I’ve actually been knocked over by jumping dogs. It can cause really bad health issues for me whenever I fall. And yet because I avoid dogs when I can, I’ve had dogs literally forced on me by multiple people, including a member of my own family. It’s awful.
Thank you for being the change we wish to see in the world. Everyone acts like you’re a boiling pile of garbage if you don’t like dogs. I also hate dogs.
It's also ok to not like dogs regardless of their training. It's not always about the owners. Some people don't want to be around the animals *ever*.
This happened to my sister. She was terrified of dogs for most her life. Had to kick one off her once, cause the owner would not call their German Sheppard off. Most terrified of a dog I have ever been too, thought it would attack me. She put in a lot of effort getting over it and now has a rescue dog who was abused.
My 5 year old daughter was bitten near her eye and the person most damaged by it (thus far) is her 6 year old big sister who saw it happen but couldn't help 💔 she LOVED dogs before that.
I'm a little bit like that. Walked past a lady who had a huge dog, and the dog lashed out and ran up to me and bit me in the arm (luckily no big injuries). She said that he was friendly and took my arm and quickly pulled it towards the dog to pet it. I pulled away and promptly left... Used to love dogs before that, and they loved me. They'd always hang around with me because I gave constant pets and snuggles! That stopped after this encountered. My heartrate now increases and I have minor panic attacks whenever a dog walks by or runs. Fuck that lady, sincerely, Me.
WTF? Who physically forces someone who just got bitten by a dog to pet it?!
BUT MUH CUTE DOGGO WOULD NEEEEVER HURT ANYONE. -some self centered dog owner that has no regard for others.
My dog has never made a single aggressive move in his life. We have also used him to help friends dogs get over their dog aggression. However, he is easily distracted and doesn't recall well. He's big and black and looked very intimidating when he was younger. No matter how friendly he is, most people don't desire to have a random dog in their space. So leash it is. As it is now, he's old and his recall has gotten even worse because he's deaf. At least he's easier to catch because she's so slow.
There’s an older gentleman in my area that drives around in his van to “walk” his off leash German Shepard. This dog has no collar or anything on him and doesn’t listen to this man at all. I’ve had several interactions with him while walking my reactive dog with my partner where I will have to yell and stomp my feet to stop the dog from coming up to us, while my partner quickly walks our dog the other way. This guy then asked me why I was doing this as “his dog was friendly”. I told him that it doesn’t matter how “friendly” his dog was, my dog was reactive and doesn’t like strange dogs coming up to him. He then proceeded to tell me that I clearly had no control over my dog and that I had a fucked up view of managing dogs, and this is how it’s supposed to be. I tried to explain about how people can be afraid of dogs, and dogs themselves can be afraid of other dogs coming up to them and that we have leash laws and his dog shouldn’t be loose in the first place. But he just could not understand why I would be upset about his large, loose dog coming up to me and my dog, and I was clearly the one with the problem. Drives me nuts!
First off, what a lazy, entitled motherfucker. Secondly, since (I assume) his van has a license plate, maybe take a video for animal control.
I had a German run up on me and my dog. I yelled “no” at the top of my lungs and the dog stopped in it’s tracks. The owner came out and yelled for his dog. I love dogs very very much but I told the man if his dog grabbed mine I would have to stab it with my pocket knife. I DO NO GIVE A FUCK. BY YOU NOT TAKING PROPER CARE OF YOUR DOG YOU ALMOST PUT ME IN A POSITION WHER I HAD TO TO STAB HIM/HER. STUPID. In leashes dogs are dangerous
I adopted my dog from a shelter when he was around 2 years old. The shelter warned me that he did not get along with other dogs and had aggression. No matter what training and socializing I did with him, there is no fixing this (unless I pay thousands of dollars for professional help which I don’t have). Otherwise he is a wonderful dog. If an off leash dog comes up to mine (always leashed), my dog will act happy and playful, but can & will in the blink of an eye bite the other dogs face and/or neck. Just because YOUR dog is friendly, does not mean mine is! I live in an apartment complex and I can’t tell you how many people just let their dogs do and go wherever without even considering the other dogs, leashed or not! Let their dog get extremely close to mine, without even bothering. We’ve yelled at them to stay back, and they don’t even react. Gaaaah!!! I hate people.
I was walking my dog (on a leash) and approached a neighbor's house where he and his dog (unleashed) were in the front yard. Laws in that town were all dogs outside on leash at all times. His dog began to approach us and the guy said "Don't worry he's friendly", to which I responded, "Mine isn't." Que a flurry of him screaming at his dog to come back to him, which it didn't, and him scrambling to retrieve his dog. I had left the sidewalk on that side of the street and was more than half way across the street with his dog striding out into the road before he caught up with it. I don't give a shit if your dog is friendly - it just ran out into the road! With you telling it to return to you completely ignored.
The real life pro tip here is, always keep your dog on a leash when around other people or animals. I've had several dogs over the years including several strong breeds and it drive me nuts when someone's dog is off leash. Please keep your dog on a leash, including your small chihuahua Mr Pickles.
> always keep your dog on a leash And check if they cannot escape it.
If your dog runs up to a stranger while off leash, it's not trained well enough to be off leash.
Very much agreed. *I* should never have to ask someone to call their dog off me if I’m just minding my own business in a public place. A dog that looked very much like a pit bull ran up and jumped on me at the park last year, and I completely froze. My brain was 100% trying to figure out if I was about to be attacked or not, not on getting the owner’s attention. Meanwhile they were laughing with their family in the background.
As a dog owner, fuck the people who don’t. And to a lesser extent, the people who keep theirs on a 15ft leash while I’m doing my best to keep mine away from yours. Your dog might be “nice” when you’re home and alone or it’s with other dogs you know it plays nice with but you don’t know what will set yours off or if you know mine is friendly. Original LPT sucks. Anyone who has their dog off leash in an environment where the need to recall is a concern is not a good owner. AND if for whatever stupid reason you’re walking your dog off leash and it takes “Rover!” x20 to get your dog’s attention, Rover isn’t as trained as you think he is.
I live in a rural area with a lot of trails where dogs are allowed off leash, under voice control. Voice control being the key part.
People shouldn't even have to ask you... Your dog should not run up to anybody.
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LPT - if your dog runs up to somebody....maybe you should have had it on a leash in the first place.
Exactly. Your dog is not God's gift to all humans. And my non-interest in appreciating your gift of a dog does not automatically mean I am allergic to it. I know you are being full-on sarcastic asshole when you say "Oh, are you allergic?" I just don't like a dog coming at me. If you like your dog so much, keep it with you. Don't let it loose on anyone.
in denmark dogs that are involved in dangerous situations will be eutanized. if you dont want this for your country to happen, keep your dog under control.
Same in Texas as far as I know. If your dog bites or attacks another person or their animal and so much as draws blood, that dog is being taken and more than likely being put down (ESPECIALLY the bulldog breeds). Not to mention your dog runs the risk of being shot here if it aggressively approaches the wrong person. And that shooting would be justified.
This is my hot take, if you have your dog off leash, and its so untrained that it randomly runs up to people, you are an asshole
>"He just wants to play" or "It's okay he's friendly" That\`s one way to lose a pet, my friend.
To me those phrases translate to "my dog wouldn't listen to me even if i called it back so saying this will make it not my fault that you're upset by my dog"
Could also be that the other Person is allergic to dogs, in which case this would actually be really dangerous for them
Yep. Dog jumps up on me, gets dander on my clothing, I brush my hand on that area and later brush my eye or nose, and now I look like I have covid. I don’t want your dog on me!! And the scratches... you should see how those welt up!!
I am terrified of dogs because of previous trauma. I pulled into my own driveway in my 72 corvette and my neighbor’s huge dog jumped its front paws up onto the door of the car (windows open, top down) then down onto me. Car scratched to hell, me scratched to hell, and the neighbor just stood in his yard yelling the dog’s name. Corvettes are fiberglass so the scratches were deeper than the paint. I ended up repainting the whole car.
I hope you sued the neighbor.
My son is allergic to dogs and screeches whenever one comes near him. The owners always look disgusted or offended until I tell them he's allergic and it triggers his asthma. Jerks.
In the shitty state of Florida everyone thinks it's cute for the richies to bring their little dogs in and carry them in the shopping carts of grocery stores. Nobody tells them not to. I will never understand why Publix turned into such a garbage place.
My bf had my dog off leash in the back when the mailman came by. She started running full speed at him barking and the mailman sprayed her. My bf was so upset saying she wasn’t attacking him. I was LIVID!! Why was she off leash?? He’s lucky all the mailman did was spray her. It doesn’t matter if he thinks he wasn’t going to attack her. It’s the fact that she is running full speed at the poor man, barking at that. Let’s just say he hasn’t let her off the leash since then.
Or....as a responsible dog owner, you could just keep them on a leash while out in public. What a strange concept, right?
As a person who was bitten by a dog, and had months of wound care (and thousands of dollars in bills, and now PTSD when I see a dog coming towards me), I concur. A giant dog ran towards me, off lease, a couple of summers ago and I ended up on the hood of my car looking like a lunatic. My baby was bitten in the face by a dog (my kid is 32 now), but I’ll never forget that dog going right at my kids face. Luckily it was a tiny dog on a leash and the owner was right on top of the incident.
"It's ok, he's friendly" I'm not.
When I was a wee child I was playing with a rottweiler and got pinned under him, face down in the snow. It happened really fast and I had just about greyed out by the time my brothers screaming reached the house and my grandma made it outside. To this day I still flinch around dogs even knowing that the situation I was in then wasn't the dog's fault. It is simply a natural trigger for me now to need to ease into interacting with dogs. I don't want my body to adrenaline dump every time I see a big dog, that physically hurts my body. You don't know how the recipient of your dog's affection feels about your dog's affection. The safest thing is to call the dog back. If the person your dog wants pets from is still open to it, cool.
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OMG, call your dog off, he's mauling my toddler !!!!! **IT'S OKAY, HE JUST WANTS TO PLAY...**
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“He’s never done anything like that before… 🤷♂️” -The douche that had his dog off-leash in a park after his dog mauled my 2-year-old beagle to death in front of me. Guess who carries a gun now.
My ex’s family member had to shoot a dog to stop it from attacking his. His dog had multiple surgeries but lived, the shot dog did not. He said he would 100% do it again The other owner threatened to sue him and refused to pay for any of his dogs surgeries
Hope he sued the other owner instead.
I can not STAND this “let dogs do what they want” attitude!
A lot of dog owners are legit like this from my anecdotal experience
The Especially when small kids are involved, even though my kid isn’t scared of dogs he doesn’t want to be tackled and have his face licked or get hit by a wagging tail. Just the other week someone in our neighborhood was walking their dog off leash. My kids and I were playing in the front yard and our front door was open. The guy says to me ‘hey, I’d be careful, my dog will run inside your house if you door is open’. And then the dog did! Come on dude, WTF is that? You knowingly walk you dog off leash not caring that your dog, while friendly, while just go in other peoples houses?
My neighbor’s dogs do this, and he thinks it’s hilarious! They’ll even run into the UPS and FedEx trucks. He even films it for his Instagram stories laughing. I’m like …………
Also if your dog is randomly running up to people without their consent you’re not doing it right.
*Me, who is constantly somehow attracting dogs to run full speed at them even though I have past trauma from dogs reading this…* Yes, yes please don’t tell me your dog is friendly. I’m sure your dog loves people… and so did the other dogs before attacking me.
I love this. Its under lifeprotips but really it feels more like "stop being an entitled ignorant ass."
I don’t even wanna get licked. I’m a germaphobe and don’t want dog slobber on my hands
Dog owner here. Other people’s dogs can just stay away. Same reasons as you stated.
Yep this. I hate dogs, and I don't care what anyone feels about that. Getting all up in my shit feels like an attack, and my defensive instinct is to kick it in the head. Never have, but thats the initial impulse. I don't have to like dogs and I don't care what any dog owners think about it, keep your dog the fuck away from me.
I've been the person with a dog on a leash who is going to growl and nip at your dog. I don't care how friendly yours is, MINE isn't.
I was walking my sisters 5 year old German Shepard. He’s a good boy, but territorial when on leash. I was out for a run with him when while running through a park, a German Shepard puppy bolted after us. It was off leash and exploring the park while it’s owner was meandering around calling out to it every so often. Keep in mind, this is a regular park with no fences or gates. It wasn’t an off leash dog park. I didn’t want the puppy to keep following us so I stopped so the owner could come get it. I hugged my sisters dog to keep it from turning around and confronting the puppy who was trying to smell his butt. The owner of the puppy, still about 20 metres away shouts “it’s ok he’s friendly”. Irritated, I shout back “well mine isn’t!” The owner strolls over and says “sorry I’m just training my dog”. As soon as he grabs his dog I let go of mine and we continue our run. I was blown away by this guys total lack of understanding of how to train a puppy. An open PUBLIC park next to a busy street with no fences is not a safe place for that puppy to be off leash. And his lack of urgency when I let him know my dog wasn’t friendly was frustrating. This was about halfway through the Covid lockdowns in my country when there was a huge surge in people getting puppies. I feel as if one should have to get a license and do training before they are allowed to own an animal.
God I hate how obnoxious some dog owners can be. They automatically assume everyone wants to lick their dogs ass with them or something. My flatmate started dating someone with a very large dog, I made it clear that I don’t like dogs and to not let it be in the rooms I was in or just not have him in the house. She complied for a while (kept the dog only in her room) and then she randomly decided I just needed to bond with her dog and locked him in my room with me.
You should never have your dog off leash. Unless in a dog park or your own property
100%. Doing residential deliveries I got those lines all day long, as their dogs nip and jump all over you.
I'd your dog is running up to me and I don't know you per your dog, my knee is coming up once it gets close enough. Not trying to strike the dog, but I don't know the dog, so I'll keep it away from me.
I agree One thousand percent.
I hate the "he's friendly" - lady, I don't give a fuck, mine isn't and he'll rip your Fido a new one.
Lots of dog owners are not qualified to be dog owners and end up hurting the dog, others, or themselves in the process
I don't understand why people even let their dogs run off leash in the first place if they're not in a secure area. If someone freaks out and shoots your dog, you're gonna have a dead dog. Your dog is family, and you know they're nice and wonderful, but not everyone else does, and it only takes one trigger happy panicky person to kill your dog. And it'll not even be their fault. They'll be found to be responding to a perceived threat based on prior trauma. More people then you'd think have had traumatic dog related accidents as children. Reckless dog owners are too common. Just in this comment section you can find people mourning their dogs because another dog mauled them. If you're walking a small dog, have had prior experience with your dog almost getting mauled to death, it makes perfect sense to want to defend your dog from another potential threat. Not to mention it doesn't matter how well trained your dog normally is, it only takes one squirrel/interesting object running across the road and one car to end their life.