dee lee Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 (edited) I'm so cranky right now. Yesterday when walking with my dog up to my local cafe, along a busy inner city street, I came across an offlead bull mastiff "puppy" (must be about 2 and weighing roughly 40kgs). Now I know this dog, when it was little its owner let it jump all over Honey, who didnt appreciate it and grumped at her. Silly woman had no idea so I would avoid going near them (our kids go to the same school). So this time when it approached us OFFlead, stalking, I became rather uncomfortable. The silly woman was seated outside another cafe and tried unsuccessfully to call it over, I put my hand up flat to it and said "NO"! to stop it coming any closer to Honey. I kept walking and finally she got hold of the dog. :p I made an angry comment about how "a lead would be helpful"- her response? "its ok he's a puppy" (WTF? ) and "he's under control" I said, "yes I can see that..." and walked away fuming. I saw them again this morning but made an obvious move to cross the road when I saw her get up to grab her dog. Once I have calmed down a bit I am going to approach her and explain how not only is it illegal, but dangerous. I have had a dog die from being attacked by an offlead dog (who was "fine"!) and have owned a DA dog who would have attacked an offlead dog that got into her space. To complement this little scenario, when afterwards sitting down at our usual cafe, an ON-lead GSD tried to attack Honey as it walked past. Now, I do have some sympathy for the owner in this instance- at least he had his dog under control (though not managing the situation correctly to my mind, but that's another rant...). Can you imagine if it had been walked past the offlead BM? So in the way of all these kinds of threads- bring it on, let lose with all your Stupid owner stories. Edited March 17, 2011 by dee lee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megan_ Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 When I just had one dog - my boy who I've had since a pup who is very friendly, always walks away from a fight, and seems to know which dogs to avoid - I thought that most dog owners were okay. I didn't like off leash dogs running up to him, but he always handled it well. Now that I have another dog - puppy farm rescue who doesn't like dogs getting in her face - my views on dog owners are very different. As much as I hate to say it, coming across someone who is responsible is a pleasant suprise. I can't even go for a walk down my own street at 7pm on a weeknight without being harrassed (and I mean harrassed) by off leash dogs. I can't take my dogs to the beach (even at 6am!) because there is always some idiot there and I can't risk their lives (Lucy will retaliate if a dog gets in her face, but she only weighs 10kg so she'd be no match for a lot of dogs). Even at DogsVic sactioned events (Big Dogs Day Out) when I have walked around other dogs to give mine space I have had large dog owners (club members) laugh at me and tell me their's would "sort mine out very quickly". If that is how dog club members behave what hope is there? So I get up at 5.15am every morning so that she can get her morning walk, and then she gets her even walk at about 8pm. I only choose these times due to the lack of other dog owners out-and-about at these hours. I can feel my blood pressure rising just thinking about it! I really wish that all dog owners would take 5 mins to think about how their actions impact other people's daily lives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ons Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 I had a huge mastiff dog off leash bound up to my dogs one day when we were out on a walk - all my dogs on leads of course under control - the owner called out "He's friendly, don;'t worry he just wants to play" yep right, and that probably is 100% correct. But my coolie gets very protective of me, my female dog and hates dogs in his face, one growl from him, the mastiff may have reacted and I know who would of been the worse off keep your dogs on leads and under control! Simple! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dee lee Posted March 17, 2011 Author Share Posted March 17, 2011 I had a huge mastiff dog off leash bound up to my dogs one day when we were out on a walk - all my dogs on leads of course under control - the owner called out "He's friendly, don;'t worry he just wants to play"yep right, and that probably is 100% correct. But my coolie gets very protective of me, my female dog and hates dogs in his face, one growl from him, the mastiff may have reacted and I know who would of been the worse off keep your dogs on leads and under control! Simple! That is exactly why I got upset, despite the fact that I was able to prevent it getting closer. This dog was coming into maturity, the owner did not have good control of it and obviously had no clue about dog body language. We would have had no chance if it had decided to attack Honey. My past experiences have shown me that most owners will say, "dont worry" and THEN say "Oh gosh he's never done that before..." I'm sorry but I'm not playing russian roulette with my dog. There are so many reasons why it isnt a good idea- how can anyone be 100% sure they can stop their dog from bolting onto a road after something or being attacked by an onlead dog? Stupid. AND what are the benefits of having a dog offlead on the street? The only thing I can think of is that these people think its COOL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jumblyjunior Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 I hear you.... Our silly neighbour leaves her jack russell off lead all the time and he chases people up and down the street and cars - we have told her someone is going to have an accident and she just says "he's friendly" we have demanded now he stay off our property - which she is doing but still he runs up and down the street - we want to complain to council but she will know it is us and we would not put it past her to do something horrific to our lab puppy - she is a stupid owner and a witch to boot. On another note until I was an adult I was terrified of dogs - and people do not realised the effect of fear when an off lead dog approaches you can have - you feel like you are going to have a heart attack - and they usually say " hes okay he won't hurt you" all the while you are almost wetting your pants... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laneka Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 I live in a rural area, one side of our street is acreage and the other side (my side) is all one acre blocks. Every day a man who lives two doors down walks his staffy girl past our house, she is off lead. She races into our property and our dogs hate her. She is also very vocal. One of our dogs literally screams when she sees this bitch and I am quite sure would do a lot of damage to this staffy if she got out. We have yelled out, put your dog on a lead or it is illegal to walk a dog off lead. Walking today, a dog was being walked without a lead. Luckily it's owner grabbed it and held it as we walked passed. Told my young boy to leave and he was okay. I feel like putting up a huge sign out the front stating it is illegal to walk a dog off lead. Okay feel better now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluefairy Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 Why is it that most dog owners, always say "Don't worry my dog just wants to play" they don't know the other dog, it might attack them....why on earth don't they think of what the other dog will do? Whenever I have taken my dogs out for walks, I don't think "Oh my dog is so gentle and wouldn't hurt a fly" I worry about the leadless dog rushing mine....just like I would worry if my dog was off leash (would never happen), and rushing a dog on a lead....you cannot tell if any dog (including your own) would attack another dog if the circumstances were right.... Some dog owners are clueless BF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolfgirl Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 I have far too many stupid owner stories to tell Unfortunately people like this will never learn through education, you may as well tell it to a brick wall. My suggestion is to ring the Ranger and let them learn financially maybe that will sink in to their small brains Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piperspal Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 I walk 4 dogs at once, ranging from 45kgs down to about 4kgs. My pet hate is owners who let thier dogs run up to mine, even while mine are on lead, and then say 'Oh dont worry about him.her, he's friendly, he just wants to play with yours.'. My usual reply? 'I wouldnt worry about the dogs if i was you, its the owner thats gonna hurt your dog if he comes any closer....' They usually put thier dog ona lead after that.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussielover Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 I totally sympathize with you dee lee. I've even had off lead dogs bothering my dog (who was then a guide dog trainee) when i've been sitting at cafes on busy roads. When I asked the owner to remove their dog, they implied that I should leave as I was the one with the problem, even going so far as to insinuating my dog was not well trained enough to be off the lead!!! To which I implied that they were right, my dog wasn't well trained enough to be off the lead she is IN TRAINING as at this stage i probably could not prevent her from wandering off and annoying other dogs and owners and the cafe (hint, hint). I also have the opposite problem- i always call my dog back to my side and make her sit and she has to be given permission from me before i allow her to meet new dogs, even at an off leash park, even on the lead. This leads to the assumption that i am a "mean mum" (yes people have actually said that to me!) or that she is aggressive- totally the opposite, she is very submissive. And I also do not like small dog owners who allow their dog to intimidate my dog by barking, growling and lunging at her and then thinking its "cute" or "funny" or "brave". Its idiotic. If I allowed my dog to do that she would be declared dangerous! They also get offended when I block my dog from theirs and say "hes only small, he cant really hurt her' or "he needs to learn his lesson" rant over Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remarkabull Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 I had a rant a couple of weeks ago about a dog fight that I broke up and almost got my face punched in by the owner of the offending dog for my trouble. Since then I have seen her walking this dog OFF LEAD at least 3 times! Her dog cause massive trauma to the other dog and the initial cost of the surgery it required was over $1000 and yet she is still walking it without a lead. Another annoying thing is a lady that lives up the road from us. She walks 2 dogs every afternoon, one of which she has admitted 'doesn't like other dogs' and she walks behind our house (we back on to a fairly busy road) with her dogs of lead and they run up and down our fence with my dogs chasing them snarling and snapping and barking like maniacs. We always call our dogs back inside and just yesterday she calls out to my husband 'it's ok they're just playing'! How can she not realise that if the fence was not there there would be a serious dog fight happening? Some people really give me the s!*ts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agility Dogs Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 I always find, "Oh, by the way you might want to keep an eye on your dogs, mine have been coughing a bit lately" tends to get the desired result......... We have one idiot who lives behind us who thinks it is OK for his Lab to wander in and out of people's yards and can't understand why my boy HATES this dog. He has twice wandered into our garage when CK was tethered in there and spends much of his days barking at my dogs over the fence. As my Dad would say, 'You can't put brains in statues.' I've found the best thing I can do is to remain calm and upbeat while we walk away. This gives the right message to my dogs and usually the people get the message if I just completely ignore them. CK doesn't like dogs in his face and well belt any dog (esp off lead) that gets too close to us - unless I tell him not to and I don't have eyes in the back of my head, getting cranky at the owners just inflames the situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwenneth1 Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 I always find,"Oh, by the way you might want to keep an eye on your dogs, mine have been coughing a bit lately" tends to get the desired result......... . As my Dad would say, 'You can't put brains in statues.' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dee lee Posted March 17, 2011 Author Share Posted March 17, 2011 Dobesrock, I remember your post about the fight- I cannot believe that dog is offlead!!! How frightening!!! Can you call the council and dob her in? Sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. Speaking of which, Wolfgirl, I'm planning to dob the BM owner in if I see her again- I think you are right, she's dumb enough to do it in the first place, she'll just think I'm being "uptight". Aussielover, I'm a mean mum too (to my kids too ). Wear it proudly when Mindy is showing up all the naughty dogs at the park. Aaah, it's good to share isn't it? :D My OH was getting that glazed look in his eye when I wouldn't stop talking about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumtoshelley Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 I wouldn't blame you for being angry, I too hate it when people let there dogs offlead and they have no control over them. In saying that my Shelley mainly gets walked offlead but i have spent alot of time training her and she listens to me very well. Shelley was bullied by a jack russell once. The owners had no control over the dog at all. The whole time Shelley was sitting beside me or walking around around me trying to get away from the dog. I couldn't keep walking cause the dog kept following me so i had to stop and let the owners come get it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loveleroy Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 Dogs off lead and ignorant owners whom think their dogs are excluded from the 'dogs on lead' rules are making my life unbearable. We were attacked on a main road path with a rottweiler running away from its owner 300m back down the road to maul my dog and when I kicked at it it went for me also, im now terrified. A couple of weeks after that I was outside my home throwing my dog a ball in the vacant house lot when a staffy came flying out of nowhere with its owner chasing it i promptly told my dog to go out the back and he did but the staffy followed onto my property growling and being aggressive. We have a high number of staffy's and bull arab type dogs around my area and noone walks them on a lead even though they are pretty renowned for not liking other dogs and being aggressive. I have not reported the attack as fear of retribution and also in the last instance my dog was off lead but technically on my private property. I would like the council to have a presence here and notify all dog owners of the need to be on lead or hefty fines will be dished out, Im going to carry an umbrella or stick and possibly some spray and will have no hesitation in using it against any dog that rushes at me or my dog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluefairy Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 We used to have a woman walk her med. size dog past our house with no lead....I got so jack of it...so one day while coming back from the shops in the car I stopped to tell her its illegal to not have the dog on a lead....she did the usual rant and walked off. Then a week later I saw her again walking her dog off lead and I went outside and shouted at her to put the lead on the dog or I will call the council (I am so non confrontational normally)....again she walked off mumbling not so nice words at me I thought OK last chance. I rang the council, I knew where she lived... :lol: when I mentioned the breed of the dog they knew exactly who she was and I never ever saw her without a lead on her dog...Though OH did see her dog off lead in another part of the town. Now for the last few months we have had a dog roaming the streets. It appears to be some sort of GSD mix, but its as skinny as hell, though looks old by the grey on his muzzle. He wears a leather collar, but you can't get close to him as it is terrified of people. We see him every couple of weeks, for a day or two, always around the same area. I know of no one that owns a dog like this. I ended up calling the council and they were going to send the dog catcher out to find him. It appears like the owner visits the area regularly, or the dog just escapes regularly....but the owner never does anything about it. I feel so sorry for this dog, it looks like it is not looked after very well. I hope they manage to catch it BF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dee lee Posted March 18, 2011 Author Share Posted March 18, 2011 (edited) Dogs off lead and ignorant owners whom think their dogs are excluded from the 'dogs on lead' rules are making my life unbearable. We were attacked on a main road path with a rottweiler running away from its owner 300m back down the road to maul my dog and when I kicked at it it went for me also, im now terrified. A couple of weeks after that I was outside my home throwing my dog a ball in the vacant house lot when a staffy came flying out of nowhere with its owner chasing it i promptly told my dog to go out the back and he did but the staffy followed onto my property growling and being aggressive. We have a high number of staffy's and bull arab type dogs around my area and noone walks them on a lead even though they are pretty renowned for not liking other dogs and being aggressive. I have not reported the attack as fear of retribution and also in the last instance my dog was off lead but technically on my private property. I would like the council to have a presence here and notify all dog owners of the need to be on lead or hefty fines will be dished out, Im going to carry an umbrella or stick and possibly some spray and will have no hesitation in using it against any dog that rushes at me or my dog. I read your thread, and I'm so sorry you have had to deal with all that. :D I completely understand your fears, I used to have a DA (Dog Aggressive) dog who I was scared to walk, for the opposite reason- that is, I was scared offlead dogs would run up to her and there would be a fight. :D So now when I walk my (non DA) dog and see an offlead dog, I am nervous that she will be attacked. I trust no dog I don't know. Even at a local offlead park this morning I had to contend with an idiot and his 2 extremely large (a Dane x mastiff and a Sharpei x lab is my guess) and dominant dogs. They entered the smallish park and proceeded to assert themselves over all other dogs- including Honey. :D One poor man was there with his rescue cattledog pup who they chased onto a road!! Luckily no harm done, the guy just belted his "bad" dog and came back to the park. So the rest of us cut our losses and left. Its irresponsible owners that are completely the problem. My DA dog I used to walk at 5.30am onlead for an hour and a half to keep her exercised and away from other dogs. I got very good at spotting offlead dogs and crossing the road. I accepted responsibilty. So frustrating. eta: No sign of the BM this morning though. Edited March 18, 2011 by dee lee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curlybert Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 I'm so cranky right now.Yesterday when walking with my dog up to my local cafe, along a busy inner city street, I came across an offlead bull mastiff "puppy" (must be about 2 and weighing roughly 40kgs). I am amazed that anyone would allow a dog offlead in an inner city street. It's just asking for trouble. Even out in the sticks in Canberra it can have tragic consequences - I once met a woman whose normally law-abiding dog had been run over and killed after it chased a kangaroo through a park and across a road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Dog Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 I just hate when you're walking your dog on lead and other people who have their dogs off lead let their dogs rush yours. Scarlett is 7 months old and has pretty much only been around balanced dogs so she assumes all dogs are nice, which isn't the case. I even hate it when people try to let their dogs near mine on lead. (Especially when they're clearly excitable.) I think it's polite to ask if you or your dog can approach/come say hello to your dog. Not everyone's comfortable with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now