Irresponsible Owners

[Cinnamontoast]

Off lead at all costs mentality isn't it, after all keeping it on the lead for two minutes would be an affront to the dog's right to run. ?

So bonkers. I took Bear on a separate walk today-he’s a bad example to the puppies and comes back like this ?) and we came across a group of primary kids with their play worker. One of them screamed so I popped Bear on the lead rather than let him walk past them. I don’t see the point in upsetting anyone, particularly in an enclosed area.

 

[Nasicus]

Off lead at all costs mentality isn't it, after all keeping it on the lead for two minutes would be an affront to the dog's right to run. ?

I think this was more plain old stupidity and a several lack of dog sense in this situation. But I've definitely encountered my fair share of 'It's my dogs right to be off the lead' types over the years and they're just as unpleasant! I've been threatened with murder if my pony did anything to hurt some morons precious wolf-a-likes when they decided to go for us.

 

[CorvusCorax]

Saw my twatty neighbour hauling poor lab from buggy to house on way home from work....front legs walking, back end being held up with a lead, back feet completely powerless and dragging on the tarmac. I found it really disturbing and won't be able to get that image out of my head.

Then when I caught up and passed his house the poor thing was just lying there having been plonked in the open doorway, the **look** it gave me

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Saw my twatty neighbour hauling poor lab from buggy to house on way home from work....front legs walking, back end being held up with a lead, back feet completely powerless and dragging on the tarmac. I found it really disturbing and won't be able to get that image out of my head.

Then when I caught up and passed his house the poor thing was just lying there having been plonked in the open doorway, the **look** it gave me

That just pure cruelty imo. I can't understand why vets for it.

 

[Caol Ila]

I was hacking alone today, and a lab puppy ran at my horse, barking. The owner was on a mountain bike, and he slammed on his brakes, which squealed like a dying thing, and the bike skidded on gravel. Six months ago, that would have launched my horse into the stratosphere but he just stood there, staring at the guy. Good Fin! Puppy had nothing resembling recall, and owner stood there yelling uselessly at it, then he turned and raced off down a different trail. In fairness to him, that did sort of work. Thinking it was being left, the puppy ran after him, and Fin and I continued on with our ride.

(1) Why is it that so many dog owners stand 10-20m away from you, yelling their dog's name over and over when it's clear that the dog gives zero sh1ts? Very few of them actually move towards their animal or make an effort to grab it.

(2) I'm sure I remember reading somewhere that you have to be careful with exercising young puppies, as too much too soon can damage their joints. This dog looked like it was only three or four months old. The owner was a fast, aggressive mountain biker, and the pup had to run flat-out to keep up with him. Is that irresponsible or alright?

 

[Clodagh]

Saw my twatty neighbour hauling poor lab from buggy to house on way home from work....front legs walking, back end being held up with a lead, back feet completely powerless and dragging on the tarmac. I found it really disturbing and won't be able to get that image out of my head.

Then when I caught up and passed his house the poor thing was just lying there having been plonked in the open doorway, the **look** it gave me

Can’t like that. Awful. Poor dog.

 

[fiwen30]

Saw my twatty neighbour hauling poor lab from buggy to house on way home from work....front legs walking, back end being held up with a lead, back feet completely powerless and dragging on the tarmac. I found it really disturbing and won't be able to get that image out of my head.

Then when I caught up and passed his house the poor thing was just lying there having been plonked in the open doorway, the **look** it gave me

That is grim. Buggies have their purpose, but being used as an excuse for dogs who can no longer weight bear is not one of them. Or shouldn’t be, at any rate.

 

[teapot]

Stumbled on this post despite not being a dog owner. I’ve noticed a huge difference in both how many dogs there are and how badly they’re controlled on my local beach, especially since the first lockdown.

I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve had to give a wide berth to dogs ‘playing’ with each other, and have developed a very strong ‘no’ and growl. Had too many ‘he’s just being friendly’ to which my reply is ‘I’m not’ to put up with it anymore.

My all time fave though - people throwing stones for Fido. So not only do you run the risk of being taken out by the stone, but the overweight uncontrollable lump of canine hurtling at your legs too. Usually followed by that that fake laugh and ‘oh, sorry’ comment. Ffs.

I actually don’t mind dogs, but only those with manners. Give me a working dog any way.

 

[splashgirl45]

apart from the harm it will do to the dogs teeth and the danger of it swallowing a stone while running..whats wrong with using a tennis ball?

 

[Cinnamontoast]

I was hacking alone today, and a lab puppy ran at my horse, barking. The owner was on a mountain bike, and he slammed on his brakes, which squealed like a dying thing, and the bike skidded on gravel. Six months ago, that would have launched my horse into the stratosphere but he just stood there, staring at the guy. Good Fin! Puppy had nothing resembling recall, and owner stood there yelling uselessly at it, then he turned and raced off down a different trail. In fairness to him, that did sort of work. Thinking it was being left, the puppy ran after him, and Fin and I continued on with our ride.

(1) Why is it that so many dog owners stand 10-20m away from you, yelling their dog's name over and over when it's clear that the dog gives zero sh1ts? Very few of them actually move towards their animal or make an effort to grab it.

(2) I'm sure I remember reading somewhere that you have to be careful with exercising young puppies, as too much too soon can damage their joints. This dog looked like it was only three or four months old. The owner was a fast, aggressive mountain biker, and the pup had to run flat-out to keep up with him. Is that irresponsible or alright?

Actually going to get your dog really helps!

Massively irresponsible, imo. I’m probably over-cautious, but no way I’d do this.

 

[Caol Ila]

Actually going to get your dog really helps!

Almost nobody does that. It’s like the fourth law of Newtonian physics here: a stationary dog owner at any distance from their dog accosting a horse or another dog remains stationary while screaming, “Fido, come here!!!!”

 

[GSD Woman]

So bonkers. I took Bear on a separate walk today-he’s a bad example to the puppies and comes back like this ?) and we came across a group of primary kids with their play worker. One of them screamed so I popped Bear on the lead rather than let him walk past them. I don’t see the point in upsetting anyone, particularly in an enclosed area.

The other evening I had ordered Chinese for delivery. The man delivering it was terrified and kept looking over his shoulder walking to his car. I waited until he had driven away before I opened the door to retrieve my food. My dogs know a wait back and know that breaking it is very bad. It was only considerate to to wait.

 

[Karran]

Almost nobody does that. It’s like the fourth law of Newtonian physics here: a stationary dog owner at any distance from their dog accosting a horse or another dog remains stationary while screaming, “Fido, come here!!!!”

Oh god I have been guilty of this. Mrs Collie can be headshy and me trying to grab her when the red mist has descended and she's fully engaged in chase/herd mode can result in a game of keep away with her still doing laps around whatever it was that set her off. So i used to just stand and yell for fear of making situation worse. Thankfully Happens less and less the older she's got and my distraction/observation skills have improved to get the recall and back on lead before anything can happen.

 

[SOS]

The other evening I had ordered Chinese for delivery. The man delivering it was terrified and kept looking over his shoulder walking to his car. I waited until he had driven away before I opened the door to retrieve my food. My dogs know a wait back and know that breaking it is very bad. It was only considerate to to wait.

I always put my dogs in another room when answering the door to delivery drivers or anyone new. Yes mine will stand back and wait but it’s not very nice for someone nervous of dogs to have to stand there whilst a door opens and the dogs stare at them in the background (especially if delivering food!).

I also always ask tradesmen if they are okay with dogs/cats before they come in. I just think it’s the polite thing to do and any worries I put them all away.

 

[Cinnamontoast]

Almost nobody does that. It’s like the fourth law of Newtonian physics here: a stationary dog owner at any distance from their dog accosting a horse or another dog remains stationary while screaming, “Fido, come here!!!!”

Or worse, saying nothing! One bloke told me it was my fault his dog had run under Zak one day (who was on the lead by the time the thing got to us) because he’d been off lead-hard to retrieve on lead. He didn’t even call for the dog, then told me he needed to work on recall! Yeah, mate, like by calling for your dog!

 

[Cinnamontoast]

I always put my dogs in another room when answering the door to delivery drivers or anyone new. Yes mine will stand back and wait but it’s not very nice for someone nervous of dogs to have to stand there whilst a door opens and the dogs stare at them in the background (especially if delivering food!).

I also always ask tradesmen if they are okay with dogs/cats before they come in. I just think it’s the polite thing to do and any worries I put them all away.

Mine get shut in the lounge, last thing you want is 3 excited springers saying hello!

 

[splashgirl45]

My front door is a stable door so that my dogs can’t get to anyone who knocks. I find it really useful and wish I had thought of it with my previous house.. if I have anyone who is going to do any work I ask if they are ok with dogs, if not they either get shut in the garden or put on leads so they can’t jump all over them. Mine are always happy to say hello to visitors but can be a bit over the top so I can imagine they might frighten some people even though they are small. It’s only good manners which seem to be lacking these days..

 

[daydreamer]

The other day I was driving home from the yard through a village and saw a big dog off lead right next to the road. I couldn't see a person so kept looking and managed to pull in. This was right opposite a turning to a slip road for a dual carriage way. I got out, got a lead rope and tried calling to the dog. He backed away and then took off into a large stubble field. I then saw an anxious women coming towards me so shouted to ask if she had lost a dog because I had seen one. She said "which one?" It turns out the big dog (Great Dane!) I had seen had chased her Border Collie so she'd had to let it go and she didn't know where it was.

So I set about trying to find the owner of the Great Dane - thinking they might be worried about their dog. I called a friend of mine who walks her dog near there a lot, she called a friend of hers. I went and asked in the village shop who gave me a road name, then I went to that road and asked the post man I saw. He knew the house it belonged to (which was very close to the stubble field) and said it can get out and that he had told the owners before. My friend had also managed to find out who owned it and said it had got out before and that they had someone to walk it but they struggled to hold it/it didn't get walked any more.

So I went and knocked at the house and was met by 2 barking dogs in the other side of the door. A teenage lad appeared (I'd guess about 17/18) and then came out of a side door. I said that there was a Great Dane loose, did he know where another one lived as clearly his was in the house. He said "err, well it might have been him, I don't know - I was inside". When pushed a bit he said that it most likely was his dog that had been loose. So I was like "well your dog just attacked another dog which is now loose and some poor women is looking for it!". He was then really quite rude to me and seemed completely unconcerned that his dog had been loose right next to the road and had chased another dog. Not the concerned owner I was expecting!!

I then went looking for the Border Collie owner, found her, and then her sister who had been helping her search appeared with the lost dog who was fine. Phew! The Collie was apparently quite young and it must have been very scary for the dog and the very petite owner!

 

[blackcob]

Anyone who is unconcerned about dogs being loose near roads can never have seen what happens when a dog is hit by a car, and although I wouldn't wish that on anyone I do wonder if it would give them the teensiest ounce of perspective.

Only slightly related but it makes me laugh when people suggest that reactive dogs shouldn't be walked where you might reasonably expect to find off lead dogs, the usual meaning being parks/fields/woodland, when they are absolutely everywhere, pavements and roads included.

 

[TooScaredToJump]

Absolutely. I had this conversation with my vet when Daisy was sick earlier this year. When it was thought she may have a tumour I said that I would only treat palliatively (no chemo, surgery). My vet was visably relieved.

I had the same experience with my vet and horse, you could see in her face she wanted to tell me it was time but couldn't, so I said it for her. She is the only "horsey" vet in our area (mainly small pets and agri) and the weight she must carry on her shoulders from owners like this must be suffocating.

 

[GSD Woman]

If I have workmen in I don't even ask. I just crate the dogs.

 

[BSL2]

I have given up. I have two chihuahuas. One is tiny but very reactive due to bad start in life. The other is just nervous. I've tried to let them interact with others, but my town is full of numpties who have no control over their dogs, plus really dont have a clue re animals and it always nearly ends in carnage. I will not put them at risk anymore. Enough is enough. I have bought a stroller. We now use stroller to get to my field. They have a blast around off lead, then sit in stroller and wait to he pushed home. No more stress, no more tears or arguments with ****** dog owners....I am that old lady with two Chi's in a pram, all I need now is the plastic head scarf..?

 

[AmyMay]

..I am that old lady with two Chi's in a pram, all I need now is the plastic head scarf..

They can be quite glamorous…… ??

 

[BSL2]

They can be quite glamorous…… ??

View attachment 97011

????

 

[Landcruiser]

It's very hard for vets when owners refuse to PTS. We've had some very difficult situations at work, for example the dog brought in for PTS (long overdue) then another family member turned up and shouted the odds and refused to let the vet go ahead. Difficult situation for everyone in practice. We have had other variations on this theme too, along similar lines. One night recently the clinical staff waited hours for a family member to turn up and say goodbye, which took out a consult room (1 of 2) for most of the evening surgery, but the owners refused the PTS to go ahead until the other family member arrived.

Or the non ambulatory ancient labrador that the owners fed and toiletted in his basket, the owners of which received calls every few days from our head nurse (free of charge) to check up on him and try to persuade the owners it was time to let him go. This almost had to go to enforcement on welfare grounds - finally, long overdue, they allowed a home visit and the poor thing was allowed to end his sorry life.

This is from RCVS guidelines:" 8.11 Where a veterinary surgeon is concerned about an owner's refusal to consent to euthanasia, veterinary surgeons can only advise their clients and act in accordance with their professional judgement. Where a veterinary surgeon is concerned that an animal's welfare is compromised because of an owner's refusal to allow euthanasia, a veterinary surgeon may take steps to resolve the situation, for example, an initial step could be to seek another veterinary opinion for the client, potentially by telephone."

In practice, this can be very difficult, and the threat of legal action is very real.

 

[CorvusCorax]

This guy was telling all and sundry (not me!!!) about how much he'd spent on vets and they weren't able to do anything for him. Sigh. Then he took it to a chiro and an acupuncturist and they were amazing.
The dog has no use of it's back end FFS and is morbidly obese. Not ranting at anyone on here, it just makes me ill thinking of that poor dog.

 

[ycbm]

Just got home from a walk to the shops. This happened a few minutes ago.

Man walking 3 Jack Russells. One approaches my feet so I stop and quietly explain to him that I am partially sighted at my feet and feel his dog is a threat. It won't return to him when he calls it. He eventually comes over and drags it away from my feet, whereupon the second dog climbs up my leg. I tell him to get the dog off me or I will kick it in the ribs and he says if I do that he will do the same to me. That dog leaves me and the 3rd dog takes its place scrabbling up my jeans, at which point I explode and tell him to put his dogs on a f[><_/g lead. He tells me not to swear at him so I tell him to control his f[=</÷g dogs in a public place. He asks where it says that he has to do that and I tell him it's the law. At this point he says he'll now have to wash his dogs because they've been in contact with me.

Honestly, I feel so sorry for responsible dog owners when people like this are out in public.
.

 

[Smitty]

Just got home from a walk to the shops. This happened a few minutes ago.

Man walking 3 Jack Russells. One approaches my feet so I stop and quietly explain to him that I am partially sighted at my feet and feel his dog is a threat. It won't return to him when he calls it. He eventually comes over and drags it away from my feet, whereupon the second dog climbs up my leg. I tell him to get the dog off me or I will kick it in the ribs and he says if I do that he will do the same to me. That dog leaves me and the 3rd dog takes its place scrabbling up my jeans, at which point I explode and tell him to put his dogs on a f[><_/g lead. He tells me not to swear at him so I tell him to control his f[=</÷g dogs in a public place. He asks where it says that he has to do that and I tell him it's the law. At this point he says he'll now have to wash his dogs because they've been in contact with me.

Honestly, I feel so sorry for responsible dog owners when people like this are out in public.
.

Perhaps if they had been on a lead in the first place, he would not have to wash them (were you very grubby??). Walks must be very hard work for him as no doubt they accost everyone, resulting in the necessity to bath them on return home (just as if!!). Sadly, another entitled dog owner ....

 

[Smitty]

Just got home from a walk to the shops. This happened a few minutes ago.

Man walking 3 Jack Russells. One approaches my feet so I stop and quietly explain to him that I am partially sighted at my feet and feel his dog is a threat. It won't return to him when he calls it. He eventually comes over and drags it away from my feet, whereupon the second dog climbs up my leg. I tell him to get the dog off me or I will kick it in the ribs and he says if I do that he will do the same to me. That dog leaves me and the 3rd dog takes its place scrabbling up my jeans, at which point I explode and tell him to put his dogs on a f[><_/g lead. He tells me not to swear at him so I tell him to control his f[=</÷g dogs in a public place. He asks where it says that he has to do that and I tell him it's the law. At this point he says he'll now have to wash his dogs because they've been in contact with me.

Honestly, I feel so sorry for responsible dog owners when people like this are out in public.
.

Perhaps if they had been on a lead in the first place, he would not have to wash them (were you very grubby??). Walks must be very hard work for him as no doubt they accost everyone, resulting in the necessity to bath them on return home (just as if!!). Sadly, another entitled dog owner ....

 

[skinnydipper]

Sadly, I think responsible dog owners are in the minority.

I don't go out walking the dog in cashmere and pearls but I do go out clean and tidy and resent coming home looking like I've been mud wrestling because of someone else's ill mannered dog jumping up or climbing my legs. Don't anyone tell me it's part and parcel of owning a dog, it isn't.