“Don’t worry, he’s friendly”

[Anonymous]

Montgomery County wants you to report off leash dogs.

“Officials said anyone who sees an off-leash dog in Montgomery Parks should keep their distance, make note of the dog’s description and any owner who may be present, and contact Park Police at 301-949-8010 to report the issue.”
https://www.fox5dc.com/news/montgomery-parks-clamps-down-on-off-leash-dogs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have kids and I have a dog. I will not let my dog off leash in an area that's not specifically for dogs or is enclosed for dogs. Definitely not around a children't playground. No way. Never.

I have a wheaten terrier who is good with kids. Still, I would never let him loose in a public place that's not fenced in just for dogs. I don't get the mindset of owners who do that.

In the same vein, I get irritated when people let their kids run around in enclosed dog parks. But, that's not too common.

I appreciate this.

I love dogs but my kid is TERRIFIED of them. We don't know why, we are working on it. I have come to really resent people who let dogs off leash in non-designated areas because if a dog comes bounding up to my kid, even if the dog is friendly and not dangerous, she will lose it. It's terrifying to her. I do get it on some level because she's still small and a lot of dogs are bigger than her (though she is also terrified of small dogs, so it's not just this).

I am careful not to take my kid to parks with a ton of dogs (even if people are good at keeping them on leash, it's too much of her) and would of course never take her to an actual dog park. So it makes me mad when people let their dogs off leash on parks with clearly signed restrictions on this. We also have a number of playgrounds near us where dogs are not allowed and it's clearly signed and it makes me really angry when people bring their dogs to these places, even on a leash. These are some of the few places in our neighborhood where we can feel confident there won't be dogs. When people break those rules, it just makes it even harder for us.

And all of this is making it tougher to acclimate our kid to dogs, and maybe even get one some day. The more she encounters off-leash dogs, or dogs on playgrounds, the harder it is to get her to understand that dogs can be safe and even wonderful.

Please do not let your dog off leash in places where that is not allowed, and do not take your dog to schools/playgrounds where they aren't allowed. No matter how friendly and harmless they are. You cannot assume that everyone is excited to have a dog come up right up to them, for some people (especially some kids) that is terrifying.

My dog is terrified of kids so I would appriecate all kids to not come running at us waving their arms and screaming to pet my dog. And btw, I will walk m dog in the neighborhood past a playground if need be.

(1) Literally never seen a kid run up to a dog screaming and waving their arms. If that happens, it is not a common occurrence. Whereas I see unleashed dogs bounding up to strangers or other dogs all the time, that's a normal dog behavior.

(2) No one said you couldn't walk your dog past a playground. They are saying don't bring your dog onto a playground, especially not one with signs posted clearly saying dogs are not allowed. All the playgrounds in my neighborhood have fences and gates, so if there is a dog on the playground, it means their owner walked right past the "no dogs" sign to get there. D**k move.

Just because you haven't seen it doesn't mean it hasn't happened. It happened to me and I was with my dog trainer who had to yell "NO" and block the kid. Then another dad decided to let his kid follow us very closely on his bike even though he saw us try to get out of the way.

Btw, where I walk my dogs there are ZERO signs saying dogs are not allowed. I'm not going there when kids are there because kids have the right of way but, if I want to do agility with him and no one is there I will.

[Anonymous]

For a quick reply: “Don’t worry he’s friendly!”

“Im worried because he’s untrained!”

Optional: “That makes him dangerous!”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The PNW is horrible about this. Thank God IME people in DC are not nearly as unhinged.

I'm in Old Town Alexandria and experience exactly what OP describes. Plenty of dog parks and dog areas, yet some owners let their dogs go unleashed in playgrounds (that specifically say no dogs!), on the Mount Vernon Trail, and basically almost everywhere. I'm so, so, so tired of hearing "don't worry, he's friendly." I don't care. Leash your dog!

+1, on Capital Hill. It's far from the majority of dog owners -- it's a small number of either aggressive or totally clueless people who ruin it for everyone else.

The people who take their dogs to playgrounds when there are a ton of signs saying they aren't allowed are the ones who make me most mad. There will be a sign on the gate to the playground and then throughout the playground, and still people will wander in with their dogs. We have a playground across the street that is adjacent to both a rec center and a school. No dogs allowed. But dog owners really like to use the small field next to the playground to walk their dogs and let them use the bathroom (don't get me started on how absolutely obnoxious it is to let your dog piss on a field that is used for kids to play -- f*** these people). I see the same 4-5 people there. A couple of them were clearly initially just oblivious. I walked up to them and pointed out the signs and they were nice enough. And then I saw them there the next week, and the week after. They just don't care. This field is near their house and they don't want to take their dog to the dog park a few blocks away, or to just walk their dog on the side walk and find somewhere they are allowed to let their dogs pee, because you aren't supposed to let them use most tree boxes so it might require some actual effort.

I HATE these people. Most of their dogs are not great either because these are lazy people who also don't put effort into training their dogs or getting them enough exercise. I don't blame the dog, it's not their fault their owners suck.

When my kids were little we went to a large, local playground with numerous signs that dogs weren't allowed. Someone had tied their dog up at the bottom of the slide! Giant dog sitting at the bottom of the slide. No owner in sight. It was one of those play structures where you climbed up one side, walked along a ways, and then slid down at the slide at the other end, only no kid could slide down because the damn dog was there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have kids and I have a dog. I will not let my dog off leash in an area that's not specifically for dogs or is enclosed for dogs. Definitely not around a children't playground. No way. Never.

I have a wheaten terrier who is good with kids. Still, I would never let him loose in a public place that's not fenced in just for dogs. I don't get the mindset of owners who do that.

In the same vein, I get irritated when people let their kids run around in enclosed dog parks. But, that's not too common.

I appreciate this.

I love dogs but my kid is TERRIFIED of them. We don't know why, we are working on it. I have come to really resent people who let dogs off leash in non-designated areas because if a dog comes bounding up to my kid, even if the dog is friendly and not dangerous, she will lose it. It's terrifying to her. I do get it on some level because she's still small and a lot of dogs are bigger than her (though she is also terrified of small dogs, so it's not just this).

I am careful not to take my kid to parks with a ton of dogs (even if people are good at keeping them on leash, it's too much of her) and would of course never take her to an actual dog park. So it makes me mad when people let their dogs off leash on parks with clearly signed restrictions on this. We also have a number of playgrounds near us where dogs are not allowed and it's clearly signed and it makes me really angry when people bring their dogs to these places, even on a leash. These are some of the few places in our neighborhood where we can feel confident there won't be dogs. When people break those rules, it just makes it even harder for us.

And all of this is making it tougher to acclimate our kid to dogs, and maybe even get one some day. The more she encounters off-leash dogs, or dogs on playgrounds, the harder it is to get her to understand that dogs can be safe and even wonderful.

Please do not let your dog off leash in places where that is not allowed, and do not take your dog to schools/playgrounds where they aren't allowed. No matter how friendly and harmless they are. You cannot assume that everyone is excited to have a dog come up right up to them, for some people (especially some kids) that is terrifying.

My dog is terrified of kids so I would appriecate all kids to not come running at us waving their arms and screaming to pet my dog. And btw, I will walk m dog in the neighborhood past a playground if need be.

(1) Literally never seen a kid run up to a dog screaming and waving their arms. If that happens, it is not a common occurrence. Whereas I see unleashed dogs bounding up to strangers or other dogs all the time, that's a normal dog behavior.

(2) No one said you couldn't walk your dog past a playground. They are saying don't bring your dog onto a playground, especially not one with signs posted clearly saying dogs are not allowed. All the playgrounds in my neighborhood have fences and gates, so if there is a dog on the playground, it means their owner walked right past the "no dogs" sign to get there. D**k move.

Kids run up to pet unknown dogs all the time. It’s a real issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The PNW is horrible about this. Thank God IME people in DC are not nearly as unhinged.

I'm in Old Town Alexandria and experience exactly what OP describes. Plenty of dog parks and dog areas, yet some owners let their dogs go unleashed in playgrounds (that specifically say no dogs!), on the Mount Vernon Trail, and basically almost everywhere. I'm so, so, so tired of hearing "don't worry, he's friendly." I don't care. Leash your dog!

+1, on Capital Hill. It's far from the majority of dog owners -- it's a small number of either aggressive or totally clueless people who ruin it for everyone else.

The people who take their dogs to playgrounds when there are a ton of signs saying they aren't allowed are the ones who make me most mad. There will be a sign on the gate to the playground and then throughout the playground, and still people will wander in with their dogs. We have a playground across the street that is adjacent to both a rec center and a school. No dogs allowed. But dog owners really like to use the small field next to the playground to walk their dogs and let them use the bathroom (don't get me started on how absolutely obnoxious it is to let your dog piss on a field that is used for kids to play -- f*** these people). I see the same 4-5 people there. A couple of them were clearly initially just oblivious. I walked up to them and pointed out the signs and they were nice enough. And then I saw them there the next week, and the week after. They just don't care. This field is near their house and they don't want to take their dog to the dog park a few blocks away, or to just walk their dog on the side walk and find somewhere they are allowed to let their dogs pee, because you aren't supposed to let them use most tree boxes so it might require some actual effort.

I HATE these people. Most of their dogs are not great either because these are lazy people who also don't put effort into training their dogs or getting them enough exercise. I don't blame the dog, it's not their fault their owners suck.

When my kids were little we went to a large, local playground with numerous signs that dogs weren't allowed. Someone had tied their dog up at the bottom of the slide! Giant dog sitting at the bottom of the slide. No owner in sight. It was one of those play structures where you climbed up one side, walked along a ways, and then slid down at the slide at the other end, only no kid could slide down because the damn dog was there.

I would have walked near the dog and if the dog was wagging it's tail and not growling, I would have untied it and let the dog go. The owner could then go and hunt for their runaway dog.

If the dog was not friendly, I would have called the local police station and let them know that someone had abandoned their dog at the playground and it was threatening children. The police can come and deal with the dog and the dog owner when they showed up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have kids and I have a dog. I will not let my dog off leash in an area that's not specifically for dogs or is enclosed for dogs. Definitely not around a children't playground. No way. Never.

I have a wheaten terrier who is good with kids. Still, I would never let him loose in a public place that's not fenced in just for dogs. I don't get the mindset of owners who do that.

In the same vein, I get irritated when people let their kids run around in enclosed dog parks. But, that's not too common.

I appreciate this.

I love dogs but my kid is TERRIFIED of them. We don't know why, we are working on it. I have come to really resent people who let dogs off leash in non-designated areas because if a dog comes bounding up to my kid, even if the dog is friendly and not dangerous, she will lose it. It's terrifying to her. I do get it on some level because she's still small and a lot of dogs are bigger than her (though she is also terrified of small dogs, so it's not just this).

I am careful not to take my kid to parks with a ton of dogs (even if people are good at keeping them on leash, it's too much of her) and would of course never take her to an actual dog park. So it makes me mad when people let their dogs off leash on parks with clearly signed restrictions on this. We also have a number of playgrounds near us where dogs are not allowed and it's clearly signed and it makes me really angry when people bring their dogs to these places, even on a leash. These are some of the few places in our neighborhood where we can feel confident there won't be dogs. When people break those rules, it just makes it even harder for us.

And all of this is making it tougher to acclimate our kid to dogs, and maybe even get one some day. The more she encounters off-leash dogs, or dogs on playgrounds, the harder it is to get her to understand that dogs can be safe and even wonderful.

Please do not let your dog off leash in places where that is not allowed, and do not take your dog to schools/playgrounds where they aren't allowed. No matter how friendly and harmless they are. You cannot assume that everyone is excited to have a dog come up right up to them, for some people (especially some kids) that is terrifying.

My dog is terrified of kids so I would appriecate all kids to not come running at us waving their arms and screaming to pet my dog. And btw, I will walk m dog in the neighborhood past a playground if need be.

(1) Literally never seen a kid run up to a dog screaming and waving their arms. If that happens, it is not a common occurrence. Whereas I see unleashed dogs bounding up to strangers or other dogs all the time, that's a normal dog behavior.

(2) No one said you couldn't walk your dog past a playground. They are saying don't bring your dog onto a playground, especially not one with signs posted clearly saying dogs are not allowed. All the playgrounds in my neighborhood have fences and gates, so if there is a dog on the playground, it means their owner walked right past the "no dogs" sign to get there. D**k move.

Just because you haven't seen it doesn't mean it hasn't happened. It happened to me and I was with my dog trainer who had to yell "NO" and block the kid. Then another dad decided to let his kid follow us very closely on his bike even though he saw us try to get out of the way.

Btw, where I walk my dogs there are ZERO signs saying dogs are not allowed. I'm not going there when kids are there because kids have the right of way but, if I want to do agility with him and no one is there I will.

I'm a pp who has had kids run up to my dog, but you just reminded of another recent incident with bikes. The dad was a ways back, and 2 kids were biking around and literally chased after me and my dog on the sidewalk yelling about "look a dog" and startled us both. I quickly crossed the street and gave the dad a dirty look lol. So yes, it absolutely does happen. I'm glad pp has control of their kids, but not everyone does.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have kids and I have a dog. I will not let my dog off leash in an area that's not specifically for dogs or is enclosed for dogs. Definitely not around a children't playground. No way. Never.

I have a wheaten terrier who is good with kids. Still, I would never let him loose in a public place that's not fenced in just for dogs. I don't get the mindset of owners who do that.

In the same vein, I get irritated when people let their kids run around in enclosed dog parks. But, that's not too common.

I appreciate this.

I love dogs but my kid is TERRIFIED of them. We don't know why, we are working on it. I have come to really resent people who let dogs off leash in non-designated areas because if a dog comes bounding up to my kid, even if the dog is friendly and not dangerous, she will lose it. It's terrifying to her. I do get it on some level because she's still small and a lot of dogs are bigger than her (though she is also terrified of small dogs, so it's not just this).

I am careful not to take my kid to parks with a ton of dogs (even if people are good at keeping them on leash, it's too much of her) and would of course never take her to an actual dog park. So it makes me mad when people let their dogs off leash on parks with clearly signed restrictions on this. We also have a number of playgrounds near us where dogs are not allowed and it's clearly signed and it makes me really angry when people bring their dogs to these places, even on a leash. These are some of the few places in our neighborhood where we can feel confident there won't be dogs. When people break those rules, it just makes it even harder for us.

And all of this is making it tougher to acclimate our kid to dogs, and maybe even get one some day. The more she encounters off-leash dogs, or dogs on playgrounds, the harder it is to get her to understand that dogs can be safe and even wonderful.

Please do not let your dog off leash in places where that is not allowed, and do not take your dog to schools/playgrounds where they aren't allowed. No matter how friendly and harmless they are. You cannot assume that everyone is excited to have a dog come up right up to them, for some people (especially some kids) that is terrifying.

My dog is terrified of kids so I would appriecate all kids to not come running at us waving their arms and screaming to pet my dog. And btw, I will walk m dog in the neighborhood past a playground if need be.

(1) Literally never seen a kid run up to a dog screaming and waving their arms. If that happens, it is not a common occurrence. Whereas I see unleashed dogs bounding up to strangers or other dogs all the time, that's a normal dog behavior.

(2) No one said you couldn't walk your dog past a playground. They are saying don't bring your dog onto a playground, especially not one with signs posted clearly saying dogs are not allowed. All the playgrounds in my neighborhood have fences and gates, so if there is a dog on the playground, it means their owner walked right past the "no dogs" sign to get there. D**k move.

Kids run up to pet unknown dogs all the time. It’s a real issue.

I had a kid about 3 years old run up to my dog and throw her arms around his neck for a hug and then HUNG from his neck. My child-loving Golden boy is very tolerant and this was ok, but it was really alarming to see from a parenting perspective. For anyone who knows anything about dogs, a lot of them don't like being hugged and are skittish around fast-moving kids. This behavior is just asking for a bite.

[Anonymous]

I really dislike the "don't worry he is friendly!" or "I promise he is harmless" comment because that implies that the only dogs that have to be leased are dangerous, unfriendly ones. If you are a human I feel comfortable assuming that you're not going to let a dog you know to be dangerous walk around without a leash on. I don't assume you are a horrible person. I just think you should follow the rules.

Shout out to all the really nice dog owners who keep their dogs on leashes and say yes when my kids ask to pet their dogs.

[Anonymous]

Kids run up to dogs regularly, some screaming about a doggie. It's a bad idea. I had one woman tell me I was mean for not letting her screeching, flailing kid near my elderly dog. The dog was hiding behind me. My dog was not the problem.

I'm surprised the mom didn't say "don't worry, he's friendly ". 😉

[Anonymous]

I almost got into a bad fight with my good friend and neighbor who has an unruly dog. The dog bit me twice already and I refuse to go to their house. Her boyfriend often lets the dog run off-leash as they are walking up to the house. We were having a conversation about her needing to leash the damn dog at ALL times if she is outside because we have a lot of little kids around. She basically told me that she doesn't care if the dog bites anyone. I told her to get a grip because if the dog bites me (again) or my child we are going to have a serious problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have kids and I have a dog. I will not let my dog off leash in an area that's not specifically for dogs or is enclosed for dogs. Definitely not around a children't playground. No way. Never.

I have a wheaten terrier who is good with kids. Still, I would never let him loose in a public place that's not fenced in just for dogs. I don't get the mindset of owners who do that.

In the same vein, I get irritated when people let their kids run around in enclosed dog parks. But, that's not too common.

I appreciate this.

I love dogs but my kid is TERRIFIED of them. We don't know why, we are working on it. I have come to really resent people who let dogs off leash in non-designated areas because if a dog comes bounding up to my kid, even if the dog is friendly and not dangerous, she will lose it. It's terrifying to her. I do get it on some level because she's still small and a lot of dogs are bigger than her (though she is also terrified of small dogs, so it's not just this).

I am careful not to take my kid to parks with a ton of dogs (even if people are good at keeping them on leash, it's too much of her) and would of course never take her to an actual dog park. So it makes me mad when people let their dogs off leash on parks with clearly signed restrictions on this. We also have a number of playgrounds near us where dogs are not allowed and it's clearly signed and it makes me really angry when people bring their dogs to these places, even on a leash. These are some of the few places in our neighborhood where we can feel confident there won't be dogs. When people break those rules, it just makes it even harder for us.

And all of this is making it tougher to acclimate our kid to dogs, and maybe even get one some day. The more she encounters off-leash dogs, or dogs on playgrounds, the harder it is to get her to understand that dogs can be safe and even wonderful.

Please do not let your dog off leash in places where that is not allowed, and do not take your dog to schools/playgrounds where they aren't allowed. No matter how friendly and harmless they are. You cannot assume that everyone is excited to have a dog come up right up to them, for some people (especially some kids) that is terrifying.

My dog is terrified of kids so I would appriecate all kids to not come running at us waving their arms and screaming to pet my dog. And btw, I will walk m dog in the neighborhood past a playground if need be.

(1) Literally never seen a kid run up to a dog screaming and waving their arms. If that happens, it is not a common occurrence. Whereas I see unleashed dogs bounding up to strangers or other dogs all the time, that's a normal dog behavior.

(2) No one said you couldn't walk your dog past a playground. They are saying don't bring your dog onto a playground, especially not one with signs posted clearly saying dogs are not allowed. All the playgrounds in my neighborhood have fences and gates, so if there is a dog on the playground, it means their owner walked right past the "no dogs" sign to get there. D**k move.

Kids run up to pet unknown dogs all the time. It’s a real issue.

I had a kid about 3 years old run up to my dog and throw her arms around his neck for a hug and then HUNG from his neck. My child-loving Golden boy is very tolerant and this was ok, but it was really alarming to see from a parenting perspective. For anyone who knows anything about dogs, a lot of them don't like being hugged and are skittish around fast-moving kids. This behavior is just asking for a bite.

+1 I went to a winery with friends and they told their 5 year old kid "yeah you can go pet that [giant] dog [belonging to a stranger]" so my kid was like "Let's all go!" I had to be the bad guy and cut them off and say, "You have to ask the owner if it's okay, just pet it on the back not the face, etc." and the other parents (who have a cat, of course) tried to give me flack for it. "Larla loves dogs, and they love her. It's fine." No, it's bad parenting and if that dog snapped at your kid for surprising it you'd probably demand it be put down. Lots of people like dogs, that doesn't mean you get a free pass to sprint at them when you see one. And sadly you cannot count on the dog owners to self-select and only bring very well-trained dogs to public places (sincerely, a dog owner who quit going to her favorite VA winery because it's a GD dog park at this point and the dogs can be quite aggressive with each other and people).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I really dislike the "don't worry he is friendly!" or "I promise he is harmless" comment because that implies that the only dogs that have to be leased are dangerous, unfriendly ones. If you are a human I feel comfortable assuming that you're not going to let a dog you know to be dangerous walk around without a leash on. I don't assume you are a horrible person. I just think you should follow the rules.

Shout out to all the really nice dog owners who keep their dogs on leashes and say yes when my kids ask to pet their dogs.

I'm a nice dog owner but, I will say please don't pet my dog. That doesn't make me not nice but, my dog is nervous around kids and doesn't want your pets. Just like some kids don't like dogs the same can be true about dogs. Please respect those dogs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kids run up to dogs regularly, some screaming about a doggie. It's a bad idea. I had one woman tell me I was mean for not letting her screeching, flailing kid near my elderly dog. The dog was hiding behind me. My dog was not the problem.

I'm surprised the mom didn't say "don't worry, he's friendly ". 😉

dp cause she knew the truth!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We live in the PNW in an area that’s very very very dog friendly. There are as many dog parks as their are parks with playgrounds.

There are a few parks near us with really cool playgrounds next to soccer fields with a pathway around it and people will often walk their dogs. They have strict leash laws

There are several other parks where there are no leash laws plus the plethora of dog specific parks.

Yet we (and other parents) had issues with unleashes dogs running up to them and their children while between playground equipment or in the soccer fields.

Yes. 9/10 these dogs are friendly. Some just run up and sniff but others jump up on excitement and have accidentally scratched or gotten clothing dirty or even knocked down smaller kids.

Everyone, the owner comes slowly walking “oh, don’t worry he’s friendly”.

Yes, very clearly friendly and untrained. I do not want a dog jumping up on me. I do not want a dog running after my kids when I have no idea how this dog reacts to children. I do not trust dog owners who can’t follow basic leash laws to also have well-trained dogs. I don’t trust that they’re all friendly.

Thankfully we’ve never had any incidences beyond being knocked down or a scratch but a medium size dog bit an older kid playing soccer off leash and it’s created a Nextdoor debacle.

Dog owners vs. Kid owners. Dog owners feel just as entitled to the same space as kids and families. When we point out the leash laws they huff and basically say they’ll do as they please.

I’m not sure if this is just a very centralized issue or if you’ve experienced something similar?

Yes to all of this. The entitlement of dog owners is mind boggling.