Raging Angry...

krlyr

Does there have to be a right and wrong party in every situation?
OP is wrong to allow their dogs to run up to strangers - they may be friendly but as said, you can't expect strangers to know this. They have as much as a right to be there as dog owners, even if the place is "known" for dogs - it's not a dog park, as said. My local countrypark is a hotspot for dog owners but it's also popular for its scenery and lake-side walks, and if I take the dogs there then I respect that not everyone there is a dog lover.
But that doesn't mean that the man was wrong for kicking at the dogs. I assume his reaction was one out of fear and not really that rational but he could have dealt with the sitation differently. He'll probably set the child up with a fear of dogs if it didn't have one already. But that is that man's problem, OP's dogs are their responsibility - you can't trust strangers to have your dogs' best interests in mind and that's why you need your dogs under control. Whether that's with a 100% recall or a longline, that's part of dog ownership. I own two dogs and if I'm in any doubt that they won't come back when called in certain situations, they're on a longline. OP, you should be grateful that two little dogs are going to be pretty easy to control on a longline - try a Rottie x and a GSD, my arms don't half ache sometimes if they've had to stay on-lead for the whole walk but I chose to have dogs and general members of the public have the right to a dog-free walk if they choose not to own one.

arunadasi

Just wanted to put in my 2c:
I am a dog lover. I own a dog. He is a member of my family. I like him to run free in parks.
I am reponsible for my dog's behaviour in public places. I do not allow him to run up to strangers, though it's hard as he is very friendly indeed. I would be very angry is someone kicked him. BUT:

DOGS ARE NOT CHILDREN.

I am sick and tired of dog owners saying "my dogs are my children" and equating the two.
Just no. I have children as well as a dog. They are not of equal value.

Yesterday, a neighbour's dog flew at me and tried to bite me -- in fact, he did bite me, except that he got a bunch of my coat in his mouth instead of flesh.
I don't care about this dog's right to sit outside his owner's house all day. If the owner does not keep the dog indoors in future (this dog hates me for some reason - never lets me pass the house in peace) it will be reported to the police.

(Just to clarify: my dog is not living with me at the moment; he's with my daughter, who is the actual owner.)

loopy136

Hope your dog is gaining the trust back now. It's a difficult topic as I understand your points exactly. If you go to a woodland walking area there is nothing better than your dogs having a good run.
I know when I was training my dog to come back there were one or two occassions where children were involved and the recall didn't go to plan. She loves children but you have to realise not everyone is brought up with dogs or even knowing dogs in the family. It only takes a child to run or scream and something unexpected could happen. In our cases she ran up to young children who loved dogs (luckily) and once she had a sniff she was straight back to us.

Now she is trained to come back before she gets to them, something we never thought would happen. Just have to monitor other people body language, and if a dog looks elderly we call her to stay with us. We started by just turning around and telling her we were going that way if there was something we wanted her to ignore, seemed to work for us and then develope it from there. Dogs don't tend to want to be left so might follow.

It would be lovely if only dog-lovers/owners went into these places for a walk but it's not the reality. I find some groups of ramblers are the worst around where i live, and they must see alot of dogs rambling around, but many don't want to see dogs and tut even if they are on the lead. But thats a different story.

The man shouldn't have kicked the dog, that was out of order. Protecting a child would have been his priorty but kicking is not needed.

Sorry you have experienced this and I would be fuming as well, but strangers do not know ours dogs and we have to keep that in mind.

BECKIN1507

I think you was both in the wrong and sometimes I think people with little dogs think they can have different rules to people with big dogs. Would you like a big dog running up to you jumping around barking? The man had no right to touch your dog but he may not of thought they was friendly.
My advise would be to teach your dogs to lie down as soon as they are told to (I was told this by a trainer) dogs look less aggressive and look submissive when in the down position. My rottie who is very friendly but loves people to much is allowed off lead everywhere apart from near roads, If I see people, children other animals he is simply told down and he will lie down untill told to move. I usually walk to him and stand by him untill the people have gone incase he does decide to get up. No one wants a 45kg rottie running up to them, they don't know him, or know what his temperment is like, just the same as they don't want little dogs running up to them. My trainer's dog was killed because it ran across a road, he strongly believed if his dog had known down on command this wouldn't of happened.

Person_one

arunadasi wrote: »

Just wanted to put in my 2c:
I am a dog lover. I own a dog. He is a member of my family. I like him to run free in parks.
I am reponsible for my dog's behaviour in public places. I do not allow him to run up to strangers, though it's hard as he is very friendly indeed. I would be very angry is someone kicked him. BUT:

DOGS ARE NOT CHILDREN.

I am sick and tired of dog owners saying "my dogs are my children" and equating the two.
Just no. I have children as well as a dog. They are not of equal value.

Yesterday, a neighbour's dog flew at me and tried to bite me -- in fact, he did bite me, except that he got a bunch of my coat in his mouth instead of flesh.
I don't care about this dog's right to sit outside his owner's house all day. If the owner does not keep the dog indoors in future (this dog hates me for some reason - never lets me pass the house in peace) it will be reported to the police.

(Just to clarify: my dog is not living with me at the moment; he's with my daughter, who is the actual owner.)

What a useful bump of an old thread.

I'm not sure what you think the police will do about a dog sitting on the owner's property.