Please call your dog

That reminds me of an incident many years ago. Our dog at the time was still very young and impulsive,and seeing a cat on the towpath one day decided to chase it and raced off towards it. Thirty seconds later she was heading back towards us at full speed, tail between her legs, with the cat in hot persuit. She never tried chasing a cat again after that! Seems that cats are very good at training dogs

There’s a black and white cat which sits quietly by the fence in the car park opposite waiting for dogs and their owners to walk past. He stalks behind them and then attacks the dogs with great ferocity!

Strangely enough, for most of my adult life I've had cats but, now that I'm catless I've become very wary of them; feel they're going to lash out at me if I stroke them [I guess DD's cat, who used to do that, didn't help]. Same thing with horses; totally confident around them when I had one but these days the wariness has returned. The only dogs that I do tend to stroke when I'm out and about are young dogs that are learning to socialise because I think it's important for them to meet lots of people and have positive vibes from them.

Children in pushchairs are at dog level and I do worry about little fingers being snapped at.

Some years ago, when my grandson was still in a pushchair, a big dog rushed up to him in a London park and scared him very much. (I was quite scared, too.) I was grateful for the confident and authoritative way my DIL tackled the owner, a young man, pointing out that the dog should be on a lead and there were notices to that effect. The young man didn’t have a lead with him, but he removed the long lace from his trainers, threaded it through the dog’s collar and slunk away, shamefaced.

I hope he learn his lesson, but will never know.

(And I still think doggy play areas would be a good idea!)

I don't think the problem is the dogs. It's people's attitudes and manners. The lack of consideration for others and selfishness. At various times I've heard various people say in all seriousness that dogs should be kept on short leads and kept only in the countryside, cats should be kept indoors, horses shouldn't be ridden outside their fields and children not allowed in restaurants. A bit of consideration, such as properly training your dog (or cat/horse/child) and a bit of empathy and all would be well.

The washing machine engineer came this morning and was extremely fearful of dogs. Duncan stayed in the dining room then went out for his walk. No problem. Engineer is coming back and the same will happen.

I suppose my fear of big dogs goes back to the days when I was working, and had to do home visits. The number of people who had an alsation!
One time I visited a family who lived above a pub. The lady asked me in , sat me on a sofa and disappeared. A huge alsation came running in, tail wagging, placed his front paws on my shoulders, and started to lick my face . I was frozen to the spot. Another time someone called come in, and another huge alsation started to circle me growling, until she appeared.
These experiences made me cautious, though I still like dogs.

Oh dear.I stirred up a hornets nest.
To be clear I am fine with dogs running around at a distance, dogs on a lead, dogs that ignore me, even dogs that start the run up and are called back. I even bought a Christmas card yesterday for my daughters dog!
It's the uncontrolled bounding up to me that puts me back to "Its going to bite." because it happened once.
That might not be logical but it's like my friend who's car was hit by a lorry some years ago. She's grips the seat whenever a lorry comes towards us. Because it just might happen again.
Just call the dog!

Its irresponsible owners I dislike; I love animals.

Dogs are lovely creatures but need to be trained. I'm not worried about police dogs or guide dogs because I know they won't come near me. A neighbour has a beautiful Labrador which is trained and never interacts with humans unless given permission by the owner. My neighbour is just a normal person not a dog trainer but if he can have that much control over his animal than other dog owners can. He took the dog to training sessions when she was a puppy and they both learned how to behave.

I’ve never been bitten either. Or attacked. Perhaps I’ve been lucky. One thing I have noticed is that strange dogs are always a lot friendlier when I’ve recently had a dog in the house. When our last dog died I noticed that dogs tended to ignore me. When my DC got their dogs and they came to stay, dogs became friendlier and greeted me. This would last for several weeks after the dogs had left. I don’t think I smell that much. I do bath!

Same here NanaandGrampy - I haven't shown dogs but I've always lived with dogs and often have had three living with me. I walk my dogs for an hour every morning and half an hour at tea time. If we holiday in the UK the dogs go with us. My working life meant I was regularly visiting homes with dogs, many of whom weren't well trained.
I've never been bitten, or had a dog leap up onto its hind legs and jump on me in an aggressive manner.
None of my children, no-one in my extended family or friendship group have been bitten up jumped on by dogs when out walking either.
As I said earlier, my recent difficulties have been with poorly trained or supervised and over excited dogs creating mayhem in open countryside when off lead.

I know I must be in the minority - maybe even the only person - I’ve bred, shown and been around dogs all my life and I’ve never been bitten , jumped on ( unless by one of my own dogs) chased, rushed at or otherwise assaulted by strange dogs .

Maybe dogs sense I won’t be taking any prisoners, maybe I’m just lucky , I don’t know.

I'm nervous of dogs, having been bitten some years ago. Earlier this year I stayed at a hotel that welcomed "well behaved dogs". I hadn't appreciated that dogs would actually be allowed into the dining room at breakfast time though. As we walked into the dining room, one of the dogs rushed at us, barking loudly, it was very intimidating. The owners made little attempt to restrain it, even when a family with young children entered the room. The children looked terrified and had to be picked up and carried by their parents to get past the dog. Not the dogs fault; just dreadfully irresponsible owners.

Dog friendly cafe's and pubs are usually found in more rural or sea side areas. Lots of dog owners take their dogs on holiday with them rather than put them in to kennels. The sign also means that those who don't like dogs, can go somewhere else- most of the rest of the world!

I remember visiting France years ago and being horrified that people brought their dogs into restauraunt. It would never have been allowed here. Seems times have changed.

Actually, I do think owners should be thoroughly vetted before taking on a dog. That includes their accommodation too. I know lots of dogs which spend most of their lives shut away in their owners kitchen.

So, VQ what do you suggest, especially in urban areas? Should all prospective owners be inspected to see if their accommodation is suitable for the dog they want? Should they pass a test? Dogs are valuable companions, not just nuisances and deserve to have a little freedom don’t you think? A young dog needs to run occasionally. That’s why I think the Canadian/Danish idea of dog areas where they can run free is a good idea as it then gives the opportunity to enforce the dogs on leads rule in built up areas especially. We pay for expensive playgrounds, football pitches and skateboard parks why not a fenced field? No need to cut the grass, just a poo bin to empty.

And we only stayed at Sandy Balls because of the name. But it was great!

I think it cost more to implement than they got back from it. As a substitute isn't it illegal now not to have you dog microchipped?

I saw a notice today outside a local hotel which said 'dogs welcome', KatyK. I'm sure that's new, I haven't seen it before. Though I suppose dogs don't get drunk or swear or be rude to staff.

This is a rural area and tbf, most dog owners are responsible. I find it more of a problem down south, where there are more people and dogs crowded into smaller spaces.

About special dog areas in parks, maybe the dog licence needs to be reintroduced and the money used for that.

I can't get over the dog prams. People spend good money to push their dogs around in a pram.....what is all that about??????

On a recent visit to a seaside town, the amount of dogs was unbelievable. There were notices on some of the restaurant/cafe windows 'dogs welcome here' When did that start?

Dogs on beaches; dog noses in my crotch; having your leg humped by a randy dog..............no thanks!