People and Their Dogs (rant)

flabassmcgee

I was outside running on Saturday and some girl walked up to me. She warned me that she had dogs that liked to attack people and that I might not want to walk by anymore for my own safety. I shook my head, said, "Okay," and kept going. She's just warning me for my own safety and I shouldn't be so upset about it, right?

The entire time I'm wanting to scream, "YOU SHOULDN'T OWN DOGS THEN." There are no bad dogs, just bad dog owners. I'd been running by there for two weeks and hadn't seen nor heard any dogs, but it sure as Hell wouldn't be my fault if one ran up and bit me unprovoked! I almost had half a mind to run by there with a flyer for dog obedience lessons to tape to their door.

What are your thoughts on this?

SLLeask

Maybe she IS a dog trainer and has a couple of new residents that she is working with... maybe they are rescue dogs that she has just adopted and is working with... Were you on private property?

flabassmcgee

Of course not, just making a loop in a cul-de-sac down the road.

EZDUZIT68

Sounds more like the owner has issues. Some people are "a little off" if you know what I mean, and maybe she just doesn't feel comfortable when people get close to her house.

determined_ella

either that ^^ or she thinks that giving you warning will save her backside if her dogs did attack you ( well I did warn her etc etc )

ourtruelovewillneverdie

Honestly, if she is the owner and knows that about her dogs she is the one responsible for keeping them contained on her property. If it's a public sidewalk you shouldn't have to stop running by. It's not always the owner though if the dogs were adopted, but it is her responsibility to know their issues and keep them under control. My dog was adopted and was a bait dog in dog fighting rings and lost a leg and part of his tail. While he is great with people he can be dog aggressive, so as his owner it's my job to keep him in situations that I can handle him. I have a fenced yard for his safety from the free running dogs in the neighborhood and on walks we purposely avoid routes with other dogs because it is hit or miss if he likes them. I say keep running but avoid the obedience papers lol.

DemetraDawn

She should keep them restrained if they're a danger. My dog doesn't attack people, but I don't let him approach anyone unless they show interest first because not everyone is a dog person.

scottacular

Yep, if the dogs are a danger then they should be restrained. If they attack anyone, she is at fault and will likely have her dogs destroyed. Dogs with issues should be segregated. If you feel in danger, I'd tell the police.

futuresize8

Just had a brilliant conversation with one of my MFP friends yesterday about this very thing. It's 100% the owners responsibility to safely and humanely confine all animals, dangerous or otherwise. Our dog (pictured) is adorable and loveable and we keep him safely restrained because we don't want him to get hit by a car or hurt by another animal. The neighbor sounds a little off and I might re-route my walk, based on that. It wouldn't hurt to carry pepper spray on your walks for a number of reasons...

AmandaHugginkiss

I think your post should be Crazy Person and Her Dogs. Tell her that if you see her dog outside off-leash, you're calling animal control. Bite or no bite. She is aware she has an aggressive dog, so if she lets them out, she's endangering neighbors.

DawnieB1977

If she knows her dog is dangerous then it should be on a lead. What if some children were going past?
I live by the sea and dogs are supposed to be kept on leads on the seafront from May-Sept (I guess because it's busier then) but that's often ignored. Luckily I've never had any problems, but I have young children and I do worry. The dog *kitten* on the beach is pretty gross too.
I wouldn't allow my kids to run up and attack people, or poo on the pavement, so not sure why dog owners think this is appropriate.

djprice_69

In college my brother and I also had a rescue dog (beautiful AmStaff) that absolutely loved people, but she was aggressive towards other dogs. When we took her to public parks or places with other dogs we put a muzzle on her. She hated it, and so did we, but we tried our best to be responsible dog owners. We would just pick her up & hold her (all 50+ lbs), or walked well around people with other dogs; never told people, "Hey, don't come near me!" At least the owner is aware of her dog's aggressiveness, but she should actively be taking steps to protect people along with her dog. As another person said, if the dog attacks someone, it will likely be destroyed.

Owlie45

Just like with people, dogs can be bad. Love and training can not trump genetics. Dangerous dogs like that need to be PTS.
What's amazing though is that she knows they are bad dogs. Most are in denial about it.

Atleast she warned you.

MommysLittleMeatball

That is a strange situation. Some people just suck and some dogs unfortunately get stuck with them. Who knows what this person meant for certain, but if they have a "dog that likes to attack people" I would hope they would be working on some extreme rehabilitation. I know many people that rehabilitate dogs and they wouldn't handle a situation like that and the dog wouldn't be described as "likes to attack people" they would more likely explain they have a dog they are rehabilitating and doing everything in their power for everyone's safety.

I have 2 dogs. I've had dogs all my life. My two dogs love people and other dogs, but they can get overly excited which may be a trigger for other dogs, so they remain in my fenced in backyard under supervision, in my house, and on leash whenever outside our home. I take them jogging and when I see another person we leave the sidewalk and they sit in the grass until the person passes. We are working on ignoring people passing by.

The last neighborhood I lived in there was a woman that would leave her lab tied to a tree in her backyard (no fence). Sometimes she would leave her back door open for the dog. Her back yard was open to a large field that was open to the rest of the neighborhood and the front of my house. I had my dogs on a leash and as we walked by the field that dog came barreling at us. The dumba$$ women was screaming, "He's not friendly!!" I managed to command my dogs to stay and that other dog. The other dog growling, teeth bared, hair on end. That was a situation my dog and I could have been attacked. When the owner finally got her dog I'm pretty sure my eyes were lazer beams and I chewed her a new *kitten*! A few weeks later her dog ran out of her house and attacked another dog. Some people just suck and they fail their pets and their neighbors.

Be aware of your surroundings, hopefully that woman you encountered isn't like my old neighbor. And, there's way more awesome dogs/dog owners than crappy ones. We hate the crappy owners.

SwashBlogger

There are WAYYY too many owners and operators of dogs who should not be....much like children.

sentaruu

SwashBlogger wrote: »

There are WAYYY too many owners and operators of dogs who should not be....much like children.

Truth.

barongaston

Crazy people say and do crazy *kitten*. The fact that she is a dog owner is superfluous.

martyqueen52

This is why I support carrying a concealed weapon, or open sight weapon if your state allows it.

I love animals and give $200 yearly to my local shelter and own two dogs myself that are 100+, but, I will never allow myself, my wife, or my daughter to be in harms way due to an animal, or avoid going somewhere I frequent due to that animal, or animals.

seltzermint555

scottacular wrote: »

Yep, if the dogs are a danger then they should be restrained. If they attack anyone, she is at fault and will likely have her dogs destroyed. Dogs with issues should be segregated. If you feel in danger, I'd tell the police.

+1

cwolfman13

Let her know that you're on public property and there's no way her attack dogs she be unrestrained on public property. Let her know that if there's an issue you will be notifying animal control. I also carry pepper spray for this very reason.