Please call your dog

If the dog has jumped up on you then under the dangerous dog act you can call the police and report the owner for not having control of their dog,
I hate it when dogs run up to my dogs when they are on lead , and the owner says "oh they are being friendly" i am afraid i lose my cool and tell them that they as the owner and their dog has no manners , when my oldie dog is growling , it means go away ,

Nothing you can do I am afraid. "He's just being friendly" is a particular bugbear of mine. There is no reasoning with irresponsible dog owners - like the one who nearly knocked over my OH (who has PD) by allowing their dog to wind the long lead round his legs several times. I grabbed him - if he had fallen he would not have been able to get up; if he had broken anything it could have been the end of him. All jolly japes from the smiling owner!

I don't think Id report them Jacksmum. I expect they are just being friendly mostly. I just don't want them to be friendly with me! Is standing still the best thing though. I know I'm giving off bad vibes. Should I keep walking?

Can't you buy high pitched whistles which will act as a deterrent to the dog, I think they are used as aversion therapy for training purposes.

I have googled them but the reviews arent positive and it seems they only work as part of training programme where the dog has been taught to stop doing something by hearing the whistle.

A few years ago we were walking on a beach and a dog kept growling/barking at a young boy. The owners did absolutely nothing so we apologised to the boy [and his parents when they caught up with him]. Also have problems with dog owners whose dogs attack my dog because 'she's on a lead, if she wasn't on a lead my dog wouldn't have attacked her' . As someone that has had dogs for most of my adult life I get furious at how irresponsible many dog owners are [dogs off lead by roadside are a particular bugbear]. Would it be an idea to carry a walking pole, Eglantine; something I do when walking Hattie on the beach so's to keep other dogs at bay?

I'm allergic to dogs so try to keep my distance from them. I hate the excuses/reasons why dog owners think that they can let their animals take priority over humans. I have no problem if they're under control but that's not always the case. I'm not interested if the dog is 'being friendly', 'just wants to play', 'is only a puppy' or any other reason they offer. I do not want to be put in the situation of having an allergic reaction simply because the owner thinks everyone should love his/her animal.

One of my beloved greyhounds was attacked , by a dog whose owner wouldn't call back because " he only wants to say hello", and died shortly after. I am now understandably nervous, yet when I explained the reason to a woman whose dog kept pestering my remaining two, she STILL wouldn't call her dog off! Some owners give the rest of us a very bad name.

I know what you mean. Not just out walking though! On the train last week two people sat next to me and allowed their dog to slever(spelling) over my trousers. I am allergic to dogs, there was nowhere to move to on a very busy train, unless I stood and the dog needed a good shampoo. guess I am a grumpy old woman. Bring back the guards van!

Guard's van

I don’t recognise this scenario or I think you are exaggerating. Very rarely do I meet dogs who jump up at me. It happens very rarely indeed.

I was in a book shop a few weeks ago and a woman had two spaniels on a lead just inside the shop. Both beautiful dogs; in fact I'd spoken to the woman and said how gorgeous they were. A few minutes later, a woman walked into the shop with two small children. One of the children reached out to one of the dogs [the woman was sitting in the entrance to the book store] and the dog went for her. The child screamed, the dog owner didn't apologise and the mother blamed the child for approaching the dog. I would imagine that child will be traumatised by it. The S.O. and I watched in disbelief .

DH and I were in a wetland's park and I turned to look at a bird in a tree and a Great Dane ran at me, jumped up and put it's paws on my shoulders. I nearly had a heart attack I got such a shock. I was left shaking and did not receive an apology from the owner. I was afraid it was going to bite my face.

Sorry, Anya, but saying very rarely do dogs jump up at me means they jump up at you.
If you are allergic to dogs then you never want a dog to jump up at you!

In a park with "Dogs Must be on a Lead" signs, one of those dogs with heavy jowls ran up to me & was slobbering over my shoes, coat & trousers - when I complained I got the "he's only being friendly" reply so I said that I didn't want her dog being friendly and anyway he should be on a lead - I won't tell you how she responded - too many asterisks.
Dogs off the lead are a menace - an estimated 15,000 sheep killed last year - I've mentioned to owners on at least 6 occasions that there are sheep in a field and their dog should be on a lead but they either ignore me (as they ignore the signs) or say "my dog doesn't chase sheep" - and once an owner had to run after his dog who was chasing sheep and even when he finally caught him he didn't put him on a lead so I said "perhaps he should be on a lead" and the bloke replied "Oh no, he's never done that before".
Last year there were 7,227 hospital admissions for dog bites and goodness knows how many who didn't have to be admitted.
People have a right to walk in their local park without being made afraid by uncontrolled dogs.
Rant over - but please don't get me started on little plastic bags of dog poo hanging from trees & bushes - who on earth do these dog owners think is going to remove them?

Anya, the OP said dogs run up to her, not jump up.

I expect you also Very Rarely have dogs run up to you, barking and growling and then plunging their teeth into you.
But it has happened to the OP who is now, understandably, nervous of dogs.

FN I too have been bitten by dogs, twice. Both times by bloody corgis in fact, when I was as child. However it merely made me a touch wary of corgis as I recognise most dogs, the vast majority of dogs are friendly, and even over friendly. If it’s causing a problem in everyday life, so much so that she needs to write about it, then the OP might be advised to get some help treating this fear.

I’m putting the other side of the case and reminding people that dogs are not fearsome beasts, any more that all humans are potential attackers. Indeed I’d agree entirely with this who blame the human owners. And those who have reason to thank dogs for the good they can do and how they add to the experience of many, many people will also know this.

If you’ve ever watched the various programmes about rescue dogs you will see that more harm, pain, and viscous neglect is directed at dogs by own so called ‘animal loving’ society than is ever directed by dogs on people.

I was attacked by a large dog when a very small child so am now understandably nervous around them. I avoid areas where dogs are allowed to run off the lead - I understand they need the exercise. However, if I am on a street and some dog not on a lead jumps up at me I don't want the owner to tell me it is just being friendly or wants to play, I want the owner to keep it under control. If it is free to jump up at me then it is also free to jump on a child or run into a road.

I know my fear is my problem Anya and I would love to be near a dog and not be frightened of it but it doesn't work that way, not even with my daughters dog who I have known since a puppy. Dogs a a distance or on a lead, no problem. Dog charging towards me, utter panic.
It was a bad bite, not just teeth marks but down to the bone and required surgery and months of aftercare.
I'm not a anti dog but I don't see that asking an owner to call their dog away is unreasonable.
I'm willing to take advice on what to do when the running up happens, which it does lots, jumping up only now and again with larger dogs. Stand still, keep walking? I'm afraid if I took a walking pole as suggested earlier Im so frightened I might actually hit out in my panic.

I don't blame the dogs. They're just being dogs. They want to greet and be acknowledged. I totally blame the owners. Police dogs and guide dogs don't try to 'make friends' with me so that that behaviour can be controlled if the dog is trained and controlled by the human.

The most stupid response from a dog owner was that the only reason I was allergic to dogs was because I avoided them. If I spent time with dogs, stroking and letting them sit on me then I would cease to have allergic reactions. I pointed out that I preferred not to have eyes so swollen and weepy I could hardly see, itchy skin and hives and I rather like to be able to breath through my nose not feel as if I have the worst cold ever. So I wouldn't be putting his theory into practise.

Also what is it with allowing puppies to nip. Yes I understand they're only milk teeth but when they break my skin the reaction is painful.

Back in the day, I'd always call my dogs if they ran up to anyone, and a well trained dog shouldn't do it. But yes, I see it happen, and have had dogs leap up at me, and scare my DGC by rushing at them. I've another excuse for the list. One ran up and bit my DH, drawing blood through his jeans, and the owner said it was because he didn't like people carrying newspapers. The onus is on the owner to get the dog trained or keep it on a short lead.

Englantine, I am so glad you started this thread. I thought I was the only one who was frightened of dogs. I was also bitten as a child. I too have all the same responses from dog owners about him being friendly etc. I too freeze every time one comes near (not the thing to do I am told) and my heart starts racing. I used to love walking in the countryside but nowadays it seems every other person has a dog off a lead, so much so, my walks these days are restricted to National Trust properties where dogs are meant to be kept on a lead. I also thought of buying a high pitched whistle but the reviews were not great.

When I was about eight, my brother and I were doing what children do and fighting. A dog jumped at us and bit my arm. I still have the scar.
The reason dogs can be kept as pets is because they have been trained to behave differently to what their instincts tell them, surely. They are pack animals and shouldn't be kept on their own.