Please call your dog

Thanks for this thread, l cannot tell you how many walks have been spoilt by dog and their owners . Once you buy a dog do you lose all sense of responsible behaviour, as it appears to me.

What about when the owners talk to the dogs as if they are babies. Heavens above.

You can and should say as politely as you can when feeling so scared to all of the dog owners who make these remarks you mention, "Yes, but I am terrified of dogs. I was badly bitten as a child. Please consider my feelings."

Plenty of people are scared of dogs and dog owners should take this into account. Most of them do, just as most dog owners have proper control of their animals,but some do not and they are a problem, both for people like you who are scared of dogs and people like me who are often accompanied by a cat who takes violent exception to anyone barking at his mistress!

In the past year [and I'd forgotten about this] I've had a scar on my leg as a result of having a large, overweight brown Labrador jump up at me at speed [to be fair, the owner was very apologetic but had no control whatsoever over the dog]. And the S.O. has to avoid walking our dog at a certain time of day having had a fellow dog walker threaten to 'punch his face in' when he asked him to keep his dogs under control as they were upsetting our dog.

It is really sad because I love all animals,always have done, but you get to the stage where you actually end up disliking dogs because of their selfish owners.

It is right that people who are anxious/fearful have to 'deal' with their phobia -- which is usually brought on by the unwanted attention of a dog off-lead in the first instance,an actual attack or being unfortunate enough to suffer an allergy ? I don't agree -- I firmly believe all dogs should be on-lead/muzzled in public -- this is the only way to prevent unwanted attention and/or attacks.Having a dog is not a 'right' but a 'privilege' and unfortunately many people abuse this, and put the rights of their dog to roam off-lead before the safety of others.Having an out-of-control dog off-lead is not lawful, however, this law is not worth the paper it is written on.How is it enforceable? The police only get involved after someone is attacked -- that isn't a risk anyone of us should take and I personally do not wish to take it with my grandchildren.

Oh I can relate to this. When I was nine we were visiting my aunt's farm. She had working dogs and I used to pet them. They seemed to love the attention. I was stroking one on the head. He put his head back then suddenly snapped, biting me in the corner of the eye and nostril. There was so much blood, my dress was soaked. I was given and aspirin and a change of clothes, that was it! It has left me with a life long fear of dogs. I really hate the way they bounce up to me when I'm in a park, and the owner shouts they're only playing, or being friendly.

I had a bad experience with dogs which left me with a full blown phobia and I would freeze with fear at the very sight of one, even a poodle on a lead on the opposite side of the road! Thankfull, now I am (almost) cured and I have even had German Shepherds of my own. One product I have found useful for training and deterring dogs from unwanted behaviour is Pet Corrector. This is in the form of an aerosol can which emits a loud hiss which the dogs immediately react to and stops them in their tracks. I only have to show my dog the can and he backs off! You can get pocket size cans from Amazon, give it a try.

I try to avoid dog walkers when I walk my dog. Lots of dogs scare me. I will change direct to avoid some dogs. I try to walk my dog at lunchtime. Not so many dogs.

"Unfortunately it is not easy to stop some ‘very friendly’ dogs from jumping up to greet someone. "

Err....yes it is - keep them on a lead.

My daughter has two large labrador dogs and from the moment she got them she spent money and time on training them to behave when outside and meeting other people - children, adults etc. It only takes a 'friendly' dog to jump up at someone who is frail or frightened, for the outcome to be unwanted and therefore, all these platitudes should not be tolerated. What you can do is to keep your mobile phone in your hand and make out as though you intend to take a photograph of the dog and the owner. You may do nothing with it but it will send a signal that you don't want this kind of 'doggy' attention. The other thing you can do is to google your nearest dog training centre because these days most responsible dog trainers also run sessions to help people such as yourself to overcome their fear of dogs - I have seen this done very successfully with adults and with children. It's all about desensitisation. I believe the onus is on dog owners, and those who have the fear to be socially responsible. However, you can't guarantee what dog owners will or will not do. Therefore, you can be proactive, take the matter into your own hands and take steps to deal with your phobia - you might end up actually liking dogs.

‘Difficult’ not diffi

Eglantine if you are able you could try lifting your leg so your knee is across your other (upper) leg. Sorry, it’s diffi to explain, but it is a method of fending off unwelcome attention. We have spaniels who, despite attending lots of training, still tend to jump, mainly at visitors to the house. When put, however, they are very good at coming back to the whistle, and we tend to call them back to us whenever we see other people, especially if they have no dogs, or have children with them. Sadly, my dogs would be an absolute nightmare of pent up energy if not allowed to run free, just running in the garden is not enough for them as one other poster suggests.

My spaniel is not good at coming back on command . And yes he is very friendly. But if he is off lead it is only in a place where you would expect dogs to run. Eg, on a forest walk, in the dog area of a park etc. I always keep him on an extension lead otherwise., always. My granddaughter is scared of dogs, it’s not fun. There are lots of irresponsible owners though, who give us a bad name.

I thought keeping dogs under control at all times was a lawful requirement. I have two dogs who have occasionally embarrassed me by barking at people as they go by. I always apologise, never make excuses as they are my responsibility and I recognise that not everyone loves dogs.

I will try to try the turn your back method though sitting here the thought that I wouldn't be able to see what they were going to do is making my blood run cold.
Therapy might work for illogical fears, but mine is based on experience so isn't totally just in my head. I know that it is possible for a dog to run up and bite and for the bite to have an enormous impact on your life.
So my logical mind says even if I could stop being afraid doesn't mean that the dog won't bite. I can't envisage ever not thinking that.

A more appropriate heading for this thread would have been “anyone else afraid of dogs “.

On the whole dogs who have responsible owners do not allow their dogs to jump up on people. Unfortunately it is not easy to stop some ‘very friendly’ dogs from jumping up to greet someone.
I can fully understand some people not wanting or not liking dogs who do jump up especially a dog who is not obviously friendly. It is very rare that I come across a dog who wants to jump up on me even one I might stop to say hello to. I have been walking my dogs (now sadly only one) for the last 16 years and before that for 12 years and it was only a couple of weeks ago that my husband and I encountered a very nasty woman who was walking her 3 dogs . It was someone we had never seen in the woods before and when one of her dogs pestered my dog I politely asked her to call her dog off. She didn’t and it was only when another of her dogs tried to mount mine that I gave the dog a tap when the riding crop I carry with me every day as my dog has now been attacked on 9 different occasions . Well, WW3 nearly broke out and she was vile. She swore and called us terrible names and I felt very lucky that she hadn’t actually punched me!.

Nobody likes dogs jumping up on them, even people like me who loves dogs and I can fully understand your alarm when a dog charges at you. It is not the dogs fault, it is people like the one I’ve mentioned who should not be allowed to own one dog let alone 3. All 3 were rescue dogs.

A dog friendly to its owner is not necessarily friendly to strangers - especially when they don’t know the dog’s habits. I would always advise caution since DS’s dog who was inseparable from DGS and such a good natured dog suddenly turned on DGS and ripped his face open. Luckly DS was there to pull the dog off, but the consequences could have been far worse.
The owners of these dogs are irresponsible if they allow their dogs to jump up at strangers, after all at best you don’t want muddy paws over your clothes.

I like most dogs but actually prefer large ones such as German Shepherds. Having a mobility scooter, my pet hate is people with little dogs on long leads who make no attempt to rein them in when they run up to my scooter barking. I don't want to hit the dog though I might have less of a problem running into the owner.

The whole concept of these animals having their natural instincts bred out of them to suit the whims of humans gives me the creeps.

Exactly, oldwoman. Why should we have to train ourselves to cope with other people's dogs.
Anya, my son has two dogs. My daughter in laws parents train dogs, so my daughter in law knows a lot about dogs.
She says they are pack animals. I believe her.
They have been trained over the centuries to stop obeying the pack leader. Why can't they be trained to not jump or run at people?

I am amazed at the dog owners telling those of us with a fear of dogs that we should "do something about it". No, dog owners should do something about their dogs jumping on or running at people.

Yes, dogs understand body language better than the spoken word!
I walked towards a small group ( of older people) when out for a country walk the other day and approached the stile where they were, a terrier of some kind ran towards me barking ( nervously) and a labrador came slowly but with a gleam in it’s eye and a wagging tail.The terrier may have tried a nervous nip at my legs, the lab was all for jumping and greeting joyously ( as they often do to complete strangers) and the two well dressed couples just stared at me.
Then a woman said ‘don’t try and pat him’ ( the terrier)
I said ‘I have no intention of patting him, but if he gets too close I may have to kick him’ and she grabbed him and put his lead one pdq.
I ignored the labrador, climbed over the stile and went on my way.I heard dark mutterings behind me, but rudeness from dog owners has to be met by rudeness ( or the truth in this case,)
I really like dogs, and most owners where I live are great and considerate, but there are some who think that their own dogs come before any other dogs or humans.

I am allergic to dogs and do not want to be in their proximity as they cause hives and asthma. I don't like loud, sudden barking and I am wary about being bitten. I am more than repulsed by dog faeces too.

However, I think we we who are cautious about dogs are onto a losing streak as British dog owners prefer their animals to people and they are nearly all blind to the problems they cause others.

The idea that, as one poster said, dogs 'have as much right to be there as [we] do' is absurd. Legally they don't and, in any case, dogs don't pay national or local taxes. I am paying for the pavement, not the dog which is being walked along it.

Dog owners should be considerate of others and keep their animals on short, non expandable leads at all times while out.

I was bitten by a dog on a lead. I informed the police and they took it seriously. My postman was also very pleased and relieved that I reported the dog owner. Supposing it had been a child's face. You have a duty to do something about a dangerous animal.

I agree Luckygirl