Yet another idiot owner thread!

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

Im getting more and more to the point i think it should be law for all dogs to be on a lead. I know this should not happen, many many dogs/owners are in control or good natured but its so stressful being out in fear. My old staff was very dog aggressive, i knew this and she was never ever off lead unless we were literally alone (when she got older she got very clingy and had no teeth so walking up the deserted beach was considered ok lol) but we didnt really seem to have much issues cause anyone who saw a snarling staff quite quickly had their own dog under control or under their armpit.

One thing im getting really sick of hearing though is the owners of off lead unrecalled dogs yapping about how their dog got injured by an ON lead dog because they let it go up to it. A friends elderly lurcher (on lead) was bounced on by a young lab, she reacted obviously because she was in pain from arthritis etc and this bloody dog had just jumped on her..but the owner of said lab had it posted all over FB saying how dangerous lurcher was and what a bad owner she was and her dog only wanted to say hello and that it will be a child it attacks next etc etc makes my blood boil.

Our LA has a by-law that all dogs should be on a lead on council property. The idiot owners don't take a blind bit of notice, whether they are in the town centre public park, or walking along the narrow, pavement-and-verge-less 40 mph roads near my house. There have been umpteen near misses, even though most drivers crawl along at snails' pace, because the owners stroll along oblivious to where their dogs are and what they are doing.

 

[GSD Woman]

There was a grumpy old woman trainer in Maryland that wanted people to push for an off lead permit test. I agree, that there should be a way that responsible owners should be able to have their well trained dogs off lead in certain areas but getting it in place in the land of guns, guts and glory isn't likely.

 

[CorvusCorax]

There is a tag system in Boulder. I think it's the green tag that allows the dog off leash in Open Space.

 

[fankino04]

Well today I met owners from both ends of the spectrum. Of the dogs I walk 2 are best kept at distance from other dogs so I choose quite but open spaces or areas with "getaway" lanes. First dog is a fear aggressive collie, he's come a long long way but still needs a little space to avoid boiling over. Today I was approaching a cross roads in a little series of lanes, I saw a collection of dogs and owners so waited for them to move on however I thought the lab was going with one of the others down the path opposite away from us but I was wrong and we would have met in the middle, the owner told her dog to go and get his ball which low and behold was practically at my feet, I asked her if she could hold onto him for a second while I went past which she did, no fuss, no drama, took 2 seconds and everyone carried on on their merry way. Cut to this afternoon walking a completely unsocialised and highly excitable Akita x Malamute and I spot an off lead gsd in the field we had just entered. It was on one fence line and it's a reasonable size field so I think no worries I will head the other way to the other side. Almost a whole field between us and the gsd sets off at pace to us, called of the owner to get their dog, no response ( not sure they could hear they were that far away). Luckily a friend had come with us for that walk so she took the akita off me and I grabbed a stick and ran towards the oncoming dog to try to engage it in playing, which worked and I managed to get it back to its owners who said those immortal words of " oh he just wants to play with everyone he meets". I tried explaining that not every dog wants to play with a rude obnoxious big dog and that if the 2 of them came to blows it could have been quite nasty but got told that it would do their dog good to be told off by another dog sometimes then he might learn. FFS how about YOU teach your dog!!!;

 

[Clodagh]

Well today I met owners from both ends of the spectrum. Of the dogs I walk 2 are best kept at distance from other dogs so I choose quite but open spaces or areas with "getaway" lanes. First dog is a fear aggressive collie, he's come a long long way but still needs a little space to avoid boiling over. Today I was approaching a cross roads in a little series of lanes, I saw a collection of dogs and owners so waited for them to move on however I thought the lab was going with one of the others down the path opposite away from us but I was wrong and we would have met in the middle, the owner told her dog to go and get his ball which low and behold was practically at my feet, I asked her if she could hold onto him for a second while I went past which she did, no fuss, no drama, took 2 seconds and everyone carried on on their merry way. Cut to this afternoon walking a completely unsocialised and highly excitable Akita x Malamute and I spot an off lead gsd in the field we had just entered. It was on one fence line and it's a reasonable size field so I think no worries I will head the other way to the other side. Almost a whole field between us and the gsd sets off at pace to us, called of the owner to get their dog, no response ( not sure they could hear they were that far away). Luckily a friend had come with us for that walk so she took the akita off me and I grabbed a stick and ran towards the oncoming dog to try to engage it in playing, which worked and I managed to get it back to its owners who said those immortal words of " oh he just wants to play with everyone he meets". I tried explaining that not every dog wants to play with a rude obnoxious big dog and that if the 2 of them came to blows it could have been quite nasty but got told that it would do their dog good to be told off by another dog sometimes then he might learn. FFS how about YOU teach your dog!!!;

Despair!

 

[ponyparty]

If I posted every incident I had here I’d never get off this forum ? and I already spend too much time on here..! Glad you had someone to assist you, could have been nasty if not, as you say.

I was out walking last week and spotted two ladies with an off lead black cockerpoo type thing. It was a footpath along the edge of an arable field, but I’d only just come through the gate and started walking along it, so retraced my steps and stood well to the side to let them pass. F was on lead (as he is 90% of the time now). The ladies, however, also stopped walking; so I called out to them, “are you coming this way?”
“Are YOU coming THIS way?” was the response...
“Well yes, but I’m just getting out of the way so we can pass without your dog coming up to my dog... actually, would you mind not letting her approach him?” (As by now the dog had seen F, and was meandering over).
“Why, is he vicious?”
“Well no, not normally, but he’s had some negative experiences with off lead dogs so I can’t guarantee how he’ll react if she comes into his personal space”
“OH, it’s YOUR dog that’s the problem then.... there’s nothing wrong with MY dog!” as she begrudgingly puts her dog on the lead.
Red mist starts to descend - the suggestion there is something “wrong” with my dog, whose loss of confidence and defensive behaviour has come about because of being attacked by off lead dogs! I say, admittedly quite tartly, “Well, to be honest, it’s just good etiquette to not let your off lead dog approach a dog on the lead!”
She actually said these words ? “well I’ve been walking these footpaths for years and never heard anything like it...”
My fuse blew: “I’m sure you have, love, but right now I don’t really give a sh**!” ? before stomping off ? it just came tumbling out! Not the most eloquent thing I could have said, admittedly - I’ve just absolutely HAD IT with people though! If I had a penny for every owner who says that their dog is not the problem.... just friendly... just HAS to come and say hello etc. The sense of entitlement is mind boggling.

Think I’ve become a bit “reactive” myself ?? I need socialising..! And maybe muzzling ?

I’m actually going to get a vest/something for F (and maybe one for myself ?) saying “anxious/scared of other dogs” - something like this: https://neondog.co.uk/gb/dog-coats/...-fluorescent-neon-yellow-dog-coat-jacket.html
Not that I think it will stop the idiot owners..! Just gives me a bit of extra clout, when they STILL insist on letting Fluffykins come and jump all over F.

 

[CorvusCorax]

Yeah Spangletw@t had his cur offlead again and she fought through the gate with puppy this morning. Every time I get somewhere with her, he magically appears.
Although she's stopped shouting at random dogs in the park now.
I just dragged her back into house as I couldn't trust myself not to lose my cool when he finally caught up with his ****ing dog. Between that and neighbourhood cat mating season starting, I can't even have my dogs offlead in their own garden...

 

[ponyparty]

Spangletw@t is an excellent name for him ? but that is a ridiculous situation ?

 

[CorvusCorax]

The big boys are just bemused by it, even the eldest, who can be quite spicy at times. I don't *want* them to kick off at another dog but neither he or it will learn until something awful happens and that's not fair on the dog.

 

[GSD Woman]

The big boys are just bemused by it, even the eldest, who can be quite spicy at times. I don't *want* them to kick off at another dog but neither he or it will learn until something awful happens and that's not fair on the dog.

Could you oh so innocently turn the garden hose on the dog? I have a nozzle end that has several settings and one is a very strong, direct stream.

 

[limestonelil]

Ponyparty, just made me laugh out loud. Could just picture it.

 

[CorvusCorax]

Today's offering, older couple having a picnic with grandkids and two offlead standard poodles running about (could have been Doodles but I didn't hang around to check, taller than mine anyway). On outward journey one runs over and gets in dog's face, I block it, my dog growls quietly (but is holding toy).
Man: OH THAT'S THE FIRST TIME TODAY HE'S NOT BARKED OR GROWLED AT ANY OTHER DOG TODAY HAHA.

Yes mate, cause I managed the situation.

On inward journey, same thing happens only my dog does a NO REALLY FARK OFF growl so I got a cheery SORRY!

Then around the bend, another dog has a massive go (I don't mind this one so much as it's an older lady with a foreign rescue who has really put the work in and it was a narrow bit of path and she was caught unawares)

And as I type, older child/young teen leading a labrador, I go into the side and stand in front of the dog to shield him as I imagine he's fed up now....and he just lets it keep coming/shove it's nose up his arse. Cue more growling.
So I say 'please don't do that, he doesn't like that'.

And that's just one dog/one walk!! Poor spud.
First walk was two collies going absolutely nuts at the other dog but at least they were on lead/muzzled/owner does try to hang onto them. And yesterday was the screaming Rottweiler of Doom ?

 

[CorvusCorax]

And I've stood in dogshit. FML.

 

[Clodagh]

Was chatting to a friend today, she has a mastiff x something (possibly brick outhouse?) biggest dog ever. He is always walked on a lead as his recall is sketchy and he frightens people when he goes and says 'HI' at them. He has been attacked by 3 labradors this week, all off lead.
Friend says how much longer will he continue to take it? Hes only about a year old, I imagine one day the amaibility button will just wear out.
Then on her local FB page there has been a long whinge about the woman with the big dog getting shitty at the landowning lab owners when they go to see her dog off. Apparently if she let him go he would see the labs off himself and peace would resume. She is so rabid, she is trying hard to do the right thing.

 

[CorvusCorax]

Why would they want to chance it/risk their own with an unknown dog who is much bigger?!

My middle one is still a friendly, goofy big sod, I use him as a stooge dog, he's been gobbed off and snapped at umpteen times and I think it's a combination of genetics and positive early experiences/very careful management.

On a positive note we've had no gobbing off at any neighbours from the smallest today.

 

[fiwen30]

Our cul de sac only has a narrow pavement on 1 side, and Rogan is still rehabbing from his cruciate injury but is always so excited (on-lead, at a distance) to see other dogs, so we retreat down driveways to let other dog walkers pass us and lessen his bouncing.

Today was a woman with 2 small children, maybe 5 & 6, and a Great Dane puppy of maybe 3-4 months on a lead and collar, taking it in turns to let the children hold the lead, but when the puppy spotted us about 4m away down the drive, it planted and refused to walk past. I put Rogan in a sit & watch me, and the woman tried to cajole the puppy into walking whilst shepherding her kids along, and the poor pup got tugged at so hard the collar almost straight off over it’s ears. Then the child holding the lead clearly got fed up, dropped it, and the puppy buggered off back up the street.

I’m really not looking forward to further encounters with them as that pup continues to get bigger & stronger.

 

[SAujla]

I know what I'm about to complain/rant about isn't on the level of some of the stories on this thread, especially CC and the idiot spaniel owner but I've definitely noticed an uptick in the amount of dogs barking at my Clover and generally being terrible on the lead.

Not sure why but she's always been barked at from young, but recently the amount of times it happens is ridiculous and it's definitely getting worse. 50% of the time it's followed by the owner shouting no shut up no no no etc.

I know socialising is difficult and in fairness my pup is a lockdown pup so maybe I shouldn't complain about other pandemic dogs but she's not once barked back and now just completely ignores the barking and carries on sniffing or walking. There are plenty of ways to socialise a pup during lockdown it just requires some effort.

 

[KEK]

Other peoples idiocy with dogs is the main reason we bought our acreage. We used to live on a park, but it was so stressful everything we took the dogs out, constantly scanning for incoming dogs. My greatest sympathies to everyone.
We do still walk on the local bridle trail, to give them one long walk a day. Of course always giving way to the horses (going well off the trail, getting all 4 dogs to sit and wait until the horses have gone well past). Today we were riding horses on said trail. Got to one point and saw a elderly lady, with a stick, and a collie x . It sees the horses and starts to go berserk. We stop, she puts the dog on a lead but then says to us "I'm wobbly and I don't want him to pull me over!" Whilst said dog is lunging towards the horses who are standing stock still (luckily they are super used to dogs). I suggest she takes her dog off the trail so we can get past but she doesn't move. Eventually we manage to get past her but it was horrible for the horses and I kept seeing visions of the horrendous situation we had here where a horse was mauled by a staffy at the beach and had to be PTS.
Said dog was on a flat collar! He should have been on a halti and muzzled. Or better yet not on the bridle trail (we have so few of these over here).

 

[blackcob]

Slow clap for today's owner. We arrived at the gate to a footpath at pretty much the same time and did that awkward little social dance. I smiled and said hi and asked if I might overtake and the response was to unclip the dog's lead and tell me to let mine off too as her dog was super friendly. I responded er, mine's not, if we could just get past please we'll be out of your hair, tinkly laugh...

Now, if I had just been told that a dog wasn't friendly I wouldn't then let mine follow it and repeatedly stick its nose up its arse and make it growl, but maybe that's just me. Good job he's not actually aggressive, innit, just not interested in playing with a strange large breed dog next to a main road for some reason.

 

[GSD Woman]

I honestly think you all have a harder time with idiot owners than we have where I live. We have idiot COVID deniers and anti-maskers. (See Ted Nugent, poster boy for dumba$$e$ who now has COVID).

 

[CorvusCorax]

I've never experienced the same sorts of problems in the USA. I did meet a group of people walking in Boulder (where dogs have Guardians, not Owners) and they asked me why was the dog on a leash/was it unfriendly (yellow lab).
I just said no, it wasn't my dog and I wasn't taking any chances with other people's dogs. She had a green tag which meant she could go off leash in Open Space.

I think there, if your dog is not under control and meets a mountain lion or a deer, you and it are in trouble either way!!!!

 

[TheOldTrout]

Yesterday 2 rottweilers near here escaped from their owner's house and attacked 2 different jrts, one of which is now dead and the other of which had to have surgery yesterday. I knew the one that survived slightly as he is walked past our house, a lovely little family pet who used to trot alongside a pushchair. We couldn't find out if the rottweilers had been caught so both of us together walked Blue yesterday, one with the dog and the other one acting as lookout for dodgy stray dogs.

 

[Clodagh]

Yesterday 2 rottweilers near here escaped from their owner's house and attacked 2 different jrts, one of which is now dead and the other of which had to have surgery yesterday. I knew the one that survived slightly as he is walked past our house, a lovely little family pet who used to trot alongside a pushchair. We couldn't find out if the rottweilers had been caught so both of us together walked Blue yesterday, one with the dog and the other one acting as lookout for dodgy stray dogs.

That is awful. You can’t imagine seeing it happen.

 

[Bellasophia]

Old trout ..that’s dreadful.Let’s hope the little one survives.
My immediate neighbor takes in her daughters big male rott. every day as the daughters neighbors won’t tolerate his aggression and howling from her balcony,whilst she goes to work..
.so instead my neighbors leave this dog on their balcony ,to howl and growl at my household.If I go in my garden to put out washing,read a book etc..growl/ bark and attack fence line)....if my st poodle boy goes in our garden..the big rott really kicks off and my boy runs inside.It’s just so wrong..Rotten dog doesn’t officially even live there.I’m not amused.

 

[GSD Woman]

Old trout ..that’s dreadful.Let’s hope the little one survives.
My immediate neighbor takes in her daughters big male rott. every day as the daughters neighbors won’t tolerate his aggression and howling from her balcony,whilst she goes to work..
.so instead my neighbors leave this dog on their balcony ,to howl and growl at my household.If I go in my garden to put out washing,read a book etc..growl/ bark and attack fence line)....if my st poodle boy goes in our garden..the big rott really kicks off and my boy runs inside.It’s just so wrong..Rotten dog doesn’t officially even live there.I’m not amused.

Bellasophia,

Is there anyway to report the dog and neighbors? Around here dogs that make noise for more than 10 minutes can be reported and the owner fined, repeatedly.

 

[DirectorFury]

I had one today on a bridlepath too narrow for a person to pass a horse. Normally the person or horse closest to a passing place will turn around and backtrack until it's wide enough. It's also important to note that there are 3 footpaths around the area that start and end in the same place as the bridlepath.

Horse and I meet giant wolfhound/poodle adolescent thing bumbling along with its owner quite far back around a twisty bit. The dog gave no indication of being scared or worried by the horse, just glanced at us and kept sniffing on one of the banks so we just stopped and waited for the owner to appear. Owner appears and puts dog on lead (good!), turns on her heel and marches off the way she came. I assumed that she was heading to a passing place so we followed with about a 20ft gap between us. She walks straight past the passing place so we just continued following her to the end of the bridlepath, at which point she turns around and shouts at me that her dog is terrified of horses.
Lady, in case you're reading this:
1) don't walk on a bridlepath then;
2) your dog wasn't scared at all, it didn't give a shit;
3) keep it on a lead where it might meet horses;
4) if you'd said that when you first saw us I'd have turned and gone to the other end of the path to wait for you.

She was very much definitely not local from her accent, also I've never seen her around there before, so she'll learn quickly enough .

 

[TheOldTrout]

Yesterday 2 rottweilers near here escaped from their owner's house and attacked 2 different jrts, one of which is now dead and the other of which had to have surgery yesterday. I knew the one that survived slightly as he is walked past our house, a lovely little family pet who used to trot alongside a pushchair. We couldn't find out if the rottweilers had been caught so both of us together walked Blue yesterday, one with the dog and the other one acting as lookout for dodgy stray dogs.

Apparently the police went to the owner's house and seized 4 Rottweilers and some puppies.

 

[GSD Woman]

I feel sorry for the dogs since it is the dogs that will pay the price for their owners' laziness and lack of responsibility.