Out of control dogs

I imagine you are committing an offence if you allow your dog to knock someone over in a public park. I don't think an apology quite meets the bill. I think, also, that the law on dogs on leads tends to be local to the area.

My daughter was walking with her dogs in a local dog walking area earlier this week, when a woman lost control of a huge horse she was riding, falling off. The horse then cantered towards my daughter and her friend, who had a small child in a pushchair.

I agree dogs should be controlled but my blood ran cold when I thought of the injury the horse could have caused if my daughter and her friend hadn't managed to get out of it's way.

aternativegran, do not let it rest there. Contact local authority and tell them the problem then ask about notices being put up to keep dogs on leads.

Local authorities cannot just put up such a notice. It would require consultation and a change in your local bye laws. Dogs are entitled to run free without being restricted to leads in many public places, but they should certainly be under control. Sadly, the actions of a few irresponsible dog owners can spoil it for the majority. Your GS should not have been knocked down, and doubtless the experience frightened him, but it is not fair to think that most dogs are this boisterous. Most are well behaved and child friendly.
It would benefit your GC to meet some of these wonderful dogs and it would restore their confidence as I expect you do not wish them to end up dog phobic.
As a responsible dog owner, I too would like to see all dogs microchipped by law and licenced.

"He's just being friendly" - how many times have a heard this! - is simply not good enough. Dogs that are boisterous can be a danger to children and elderly people, even if they are friendly dogs.

Rules for keeping dogs on a lead are flouted all the time because they are virtually unenforceable. There are dogs running free on the Pembrokeshire Coast Path all the time,even though there is a by-law forbidding this. How many of us ring the police on our mobiles when we see this? - we would be doing it all day long!

I have no idea what the answer is, but I do know it is a problem. Politicians steer clear of it for the same reasons that US politicians are scared of facing up to the gun lobby. The might of the dog lobby would land upon them!!

We have a problem on our local common where I take my GC. It is very scary for a little one to have a dog bounding towards them across a wide space; and they do tend to stand in the s**t! - yuck!

When Princess Anne was prosecuted for the behaviour of her staffies (a long time ago), the law was quoted as being that there only had to be a perception by the potential victim of the possibility of being harmed for an offence to have taken place. I don't know if that holds true nowadays.

Also, I would hate it if any child became scared of dogs because my own dog had, in any way, alarmed them. Consequently, if she's off the lead and I see a child approaching, I put her back on it until we have passed each other, so I am in full control.

You're lucky you got an apology. Two dogs raced over to my grandson when he was little in a small residential park. Their owner was a long way off, back turned & on her mobile phone so I had to call to ask her to call them off. She marched over to us & gave me a load of verbal abuse before turning to my 3yr old grand-daughter & in abusive language told her I was a witch & other unsavoury things. Now 5, GD still remembers it.
In this park the kids have a tiny fenced off area while the dogs have loads of space to run free. Why don't more parks have fenced off areas for dogs?

Owners should be more responsible and able to control their pets at all times.Otherwise they should not have them .

DD told me that they had taken 8mnth DGS to the park for the first time thats due to the weather year. He had his first encounter with a little dog. DD says DGS was so excited and noisy the poor little dog looked rather scared!

Most dog owners are responsible.

Going off the subject somebody around the corner has complained about the number of dogs in the close I live in and they are supposed to be frightening their grandchildren when they visit.
There is a dog in every house but there is no law against it and as far as I know there have been no justified complaints so the only thing I can say to these people if they do not like the dogs move.

Frank

I wish I could somehow persuade Grace that she is not a lap dog and that friendly visitors do not need to be greeted with front paws on the shoulders and wet kisses. She doesn't do it to us and frankly I blame my good friend and neighbour who always used to make a huge fuss of her when she came to let her out or feed her if I was in London. My attitude is to make as little fuss about greeting and leaving so that it is no big deal.
To be on the safe side, if the DGS are coming poor Grace has to go into the k place or (if summer) be shut in the garden where they can "like" her from the safety of the french windows!!

A few weeks ago I was walking to the shops. There was a lady in front of me with a labrador on a lead. As I passed them, the dog leapt up at me and put its muddy front paws all over my (white) coat, pushing me backwards. The lady didn't apologise - just saying 'oh Benji (or whatever) you are naughty.' She was actually smiling, but he was obviously too heavy for her to control as she had a job to pull him off me. My coat was filthy, I was so shocked I didn't say anything. How I wish I had.

Because I am a total 'dog nut' there are very few dogs which bother me apart possibly from alsatians. I do try to keep my dog under control and act in a responsible manner and I put her straight back onto the lead if I see children but only because she loves children which could prove overwhelming for them. Mind you having done that I tend to walk my dog towards the child, noting its reaction so that they can stroke her if they want. It would be a shame if any action of mine caused a child to be more scared.

I know it is up to me to control my pet but I do love it when a child asks if he/she can stroke my dog. That child has obviously been 'trained' well too. Just a little warning because younger dogs don't always respond to verbal command, if a dog starts running towards you do not raise your arms but plant your feet carefully or turn away and keep calm. Waving arms can make the dog think you are having a game. I had one lovely golden retriever crossed with a red setter who was an amazing dog but he would charge and leap into my arms; fortunately only with me. Please, please, please don't offer dogs treats whatever you might do with our own pets. One lady on my dog walk did this despite being asked not to and five years on she is still mobbed by my big, daft dog.

When my - now - dog was a puppy, being a lurcher she was big and boisterous so when near to less abled people I would always keep her on a tight lead. It's common courtesy really. Another thing, the two of us fill a path so if there are people coming towards us WE step off the kerb.

Oh dear, I do go on - sorry

KatyK has the problem in a nutshell. A dog jumps up, ruins her coat, and the owner just chats fondly to her dog - what a naughty boy! There is no combatting this mindset - nothing you can do. It is another world.

You wouldn't believe the amount of bullying I got on an expat forum when I said I had stopped using a restaurant because they had a puppy lying in the doorway between the kitchen and the restaurant and the doting owner stroked it every time she passed. I was told that dogs were cleaner than my grandchildren! Fall foul of the dog lobby at your peril!

Help!!!

Don't worry, Mishap, I'll protect you

When we went for lunch in a posh restaurant in Brussels our table was the only one that didn't have a dog. Most of them were lap dogs carried in handbags. I can not get my head round dogs in eating establishments, I don't eat in houses that have dogs why should I pay to be subjected to them ?

Harrigran. It's the same in France. I couldn't believe it when I first saw that in restaurants over there.

I have 2 dogs, one very well trained, and one on her way as she is only 9 weeks, but already sits and recalls

Personally I think people should be licensed to keep dogs, after undergoing training... there are so many stupid people who have no idea about dogs, you see them all the time being dragged down the road, using those stupid extending leads that encourage dogs to forge ahead, why don't they just teach their dogs basic recall and heel !

Trouble is people walk their dogs on leads till they are older, then let them off without recall, whereas they should really let them off from the get go once they are allowed out, and they are too timid to stray far, and practice the recall and instant stop continuously (garlic sausage helps here...) then we wouldn't have any problems such as knocking tots over

Just come back from walking my two dogs in the local park. Lots of families there already, runners, cyclists and other dog walkers. We all co-existed in harmony as far as I could see, but I have to report that most of the children were outside their restricted 'fenced off areas'! Several we're happy to pat my pooches and most asked first if it was ok to do so. Pleased to see that most families had their children under control and walking to heel.

But I suspect some dog-owners only see the world through eyes that are quite intolerant of anyone who dares to mind about their spoilt clothes, un-binned dog poo & hairs that cause allergic reactions. Dogs are fine, so of course are many owners, but there seems to be a significant number who become quite nasty if anyone prefers not to show the same passion for their beloved hound as they do.

I agree wholeheartedly Gadabout