PSA: please do not approach dogs and try to pet them without consulting their owners

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree 100%. We had to put down our beloved dog because of this. A strange man suddenly reach down to pet our dog and our dog bit his hand in self defense. The man then threatened to sue us. It was heartbreaking and I wish he would have just asked if he could pet him and I would have said no because my dog was a rescue and had always been afraid of men he didn’t know.

This happened to my former coworker. She had her dog out on a walk when an unleashed dog ran up to them. It was a noisy little terrier, all bark and no bite, but their dog saw it as a threat to its human and attacked the dog. Her dog had to be put down since it had killed the other dog, not just hurt it.

What???

This happened to me years ago. Both animal control and the police basically laughed at the other dog owners when they wanted my dog put down--she killed the other dog in one bite, not even a dog fight. They said the other dog wasn't exempt from being leashed just because it was a 15 lb dog.

This wasn't around here, though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you walking your dog to the right of you? Keep it on the furthest area way from other humans (walk on the right just like driving, and dog should be to the right of you).

Oh FFS. Dogs are traditionally trained to heel to the left. People walking dogs should walk to the left, and people approaching should get over the compulsion to act as though a sidewalk has to be treated like a road at all times.

This makes absolutely no sense, like it was leftover from some British dog training program. Dogs should be on your right to maximize distance between your animal and other humans, and other dogs/pets/etc.

This! Training your dog to heel on the left is due to the British walking their dogs to the left to stay out of peoples way. We are in the USA. You keep your dog to your right to keep him out of pedestrians’ way. Common sense

In areas without sidewalks you have to walk on the left of the road, though.

Also, my dog was (is) trained to heel to the left. It's the standard way to train, whether you like it that way or not. It's not just because it's left over from the Brits, otherwise they wouldn't do it in other countries.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look. Dogs are unpredictable. All animals are. A perfectly docile dog can bite suddenly if approached by a child.

You do not see your child as a threat. No human would. But dogs are different.

A dog that is walking along on A leash and that would never lunge or bite someone passing is perfectly fine.

the rules change however when people invade the dog's personal space by touching it.

The person walking the dog has responsibility to make sure the dog doesn't approach you and you have a responsibility to not approach the dog.



Period.

Sorry, not all dogs are the same. A dog that is aggressive and cannot tolerate any breach of its "personal space" is dangerous, and should not be out in public.

Keep on encouraging your stupid kids to run up and grab random dogs. Let me know if its really worth it to you to say 'its not MY fault' when they get mauled.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People are the priority. Train your dog, or get a different one if it’s too much for you.

[Anonymous]

I’m sure the OP and the rest of the apologists for biting dogs will be super successful at defending themselves legally when their dog mauls a child. Judges will be very swayed by the defense of “But, I posted a PSA on DCUM about how people should stay away from my dangerous dog, so the kid was knowingly assuming the risk.” ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m sure the OP and the rest of the apologists for biting dogs will be super successful at defending themselves legally when their dog mauls a child. Judges will be very swayed by the defense of “But, I posted a PSA on DCUM about how people should stay away from my dangerous dog, so the kid was knowingly assuming the risk.” ?

I'm super sure that your kid's scars will be worth it if you can just get a little cash out of that lawsuit. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m sure the OP and the rest of the apologists for biting dogs will be super successful at defending themselves legally when their dog mauls a child. Judges will be very swayed by the defense of “But, I posted a PSA on DCUM about how people should stay away from my dangerous dog, so the kid was knowingly assuming the risk.” ?

I'm super sure that your kid's scars will be worth it if you can just get a little cash out of that lawsuit. Good luck!

I am the PP you are responding to. I teach my children not to approach strange dogs exactly because threads like this make me aware of how irresponsible and indifferent to the well-being of children many dog owners are. So, it will not be my child that your dog mauls. But for the sake of other children, I hope that you think seriously about what you are saying and take steps to protect people from your dog, if only because you should realize that your dog will be put to sleep once it hurts someone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m sure the OP and the rest of the apologists for biting dogs will be super successful at defending themselves legally when their dog mauls a child. Judges will be very swayed by the defense of “But, I posted a PSA on DCUM about how people should stay away from my dangerous dog, so the kid was knowingly assuming the risk.” ?

I'm super sure that your kid's scars will be worth it if you can just get a little cash out of that lawsuit. Good luck!

I am the PP you are responding to. I teach my children not to approach strange dogs exactly because threads like this make me aware of how irresponsible and indifferent to the well-being of children many dog owners are. So, it will not be my child that your dog mauls. But for the sake of other children, I hope that you think seriously about what you are saying and take steps to protect people from your dog, if only because you should realize that your dog will be put to sleep once it hurts someone.

The whole thread is full of idiots arguing that their kids should be allowed to trot up to any dog and do anything to it without worry since it is the responsibility of the dog owner to prevent injury to their kid. I think that is a frighteningly foolish approach.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do people think this is acceptable?

Signed, the owner of a dog who is terrified of people. We’re training her but when a stranger gets in her personal space she lashes out and we move 10 steps back on the training curve.

This is one of many reason why people should ALWAYS leash their dogs. You do not have control over other leashed dogs, and their behaviors. If one dog owner is fulfilling their responsibility and has their dog leashed - you can not break the law and expect to be covered if anything happens to your unleashed dog.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m sure the OP and the rest of the apologists for biting dogs will be super successful at defending themselves legally when their dog mauls a child. Judges will be very swayed by the defense of “But, I posted a PSA on DCUM about how people should stay away from my dangerous dog, so the kid was knowingly assuming the risk.” ?

I'm super sure that your kid's scars will be worth it if you can just get a little cash out of that lawsuit. Good luck!

I am the PP you are responding to. I teach my children not to approach strange dogs exactly because threads like this make me aware of how irresponsible and indifferent to the well-being of children many dog owners are. So, it will not be my child that your dog mauls. But for the sake of other children, I hope that you think seriously about what you are saying and take steps to protect people from your dog, if only because you should realize that your dog will be put to sleep once it hurts someone.

The whole thread is full of idiots arguing that their kids should be allowed to trot up to any dog and do anything to it without worry since it is the responsibility of the dog owner to prevent injury to their kid. I think that is a frighteningly foolish approach.

literally nobody said that. what we said is that if you require a 10-ft radius of "personal space" around your dog so that it doesn't maul people, your dog should not be out in public. No dog that is so aggressive that it will bite merely because of being pet should be out in public.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m sure the OP and the rest of the apologists for biting dogs will be super successful at defending themselves legally when their dog mauls a child. Judges will be very swayed by the defense of “But, I posted a PSA on DCUM about how people should stay away from my dangerous dog, so the kid was knowingly assuming the risk.” ?

I'm super sure that your kid's scars will be worth it if you can just get a little cash out of that lawsuit. Good luck!

I am the PP you are responding to. I teach my children not to approach strange dogs exactly because threads like this make me aware of how irresponsible and indifferent to the well-being of children many dog owners are. So, it will not be my child that your dog mauls. But for the sake of other children, I hope that you think seriously about what you are saying and take steps to protect people from your dog, if only because you should realize that your dog will be put to sleep once it hurts someone.

The whole thread is full of idiots arguing that their kids should be allowed to trot up to any dog and do anything to it without worry since it is the responsibility of the dog owner to prevent injury to their kid. I think that is a frighteningly foolish approach.

No, the thread is full of people who are terrified and angry that people like the OP think dogs are justified in biting children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m sure the OP and the rest of the apologists for biting dogs will be super successful at defending themselves legally when their dog mauls a child. Judges will be very swayed by the defense of “But, I posted a PSA on DCUM about how people should stay away from my dangerous dog, so the kid was knowingly assuming the risk.” ?

I'm super sure that your kid's scars will be worth it if you can just get a little cash out of that lawsuit. Good luck!

I am the PP you are responding to. I teach my children not to approach strange dogs exactly because threads like this make me aware of how irresponsible and indifferent to the well-being of children many dog owners are. So, it will not be my child that your dog mauls. But for the sake of other children, I hope that you think seriously about what you are saying and take steps to protect people from your dog, if only because you should realize that your dog will be put to sleep once it hurts someone.

The whole thread is full of idiots arguing that their kids should be allowed to trot up to any dog and do anything to it without worry since it is the responsibility of the dog owner to prevent injury to their kid. I think that is a frighteningly foolish approach.

literally nobody said that. what we said is that if you require a 10-ft radius of "personal space" around your dog so that it doesn't maul people, your dog should not be out in public. No dog that is so aggressive that it will bite merely because of being pet should be out in public.

Nobody said 10 feet. They said, don't touch strange dogs. Apparently that good advice offends people who don't want to control their kids, or themselves.

[Anonymous]

OP I'm a dog owner and ITA with you. The problem is that we have a very friendly dog and my kids have such a hard time not sticking their hands into other dogs' mouths because they think all dogs are like ours, despite talking about it a million times. Please feel free to yell at the kids if you need to, it's totally justified. Can you also try walking on the pavement and not on the the sidewalk when the kids are approaching? I do that because I'm concerned about allergies and I don't want anyone to have an asthma attack because my dog will lick their hands.

[Anonymous]

^ but why? If you would not touch me, or my child, or my stuff, why is it okay to touch my dog?

I do not have an aggressive dog, but I do think if an owner controls his dog on a leash, and the only way that dog would bite is if it were touched, why is that not the problem of the toucher? Shouldn't the dog be allowed to walk without being touched?

If a child runs into the street and gets hit by a car, or runs in front of a switch g, do you blame the swing or the car, assuming they were doing the speed limit or didn't aim for the child?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m sure the OP and the rest of the apologists for biting dogs will be super successful at defending themselves legally when their dog mauls a child. Judges will be very swayed by the defense of “But, I posted a PSA on DCUM about how people should stay away from my dangerous dog, so the kid was knowingly assuming the risk.” ?

I'm super sure that your kid's scars will be worth it if you can just get a little cash out of that lawsuit. Good luck!

I am the PP you are responding to. I teach my children not to approach strange dogs exactly because threads like this make me aware of how irresponsible and indifferent to the well-being of children many dog owners are. So, it will not be my child that your dog mauls. But for the sake of other children, I hope that you think seriously about what you are saying and take steps to protect people from your dog, if only because you should realize that your dog will be put to sleep once it hurts someone.

The whole thread is full of idiots arguing that their kids should be allowed to trot up to any dog and do anything to it without worry since it is the responsibility of the dog owner to prevent injury to their kid. I think that is a frighteningly foolish approach.

No, the thread is full of people who are terrified and angry that people like the OP think dogs are justified in biting children.

Nope, the OP's leashed dog is not mauling anyone. It is being harrased by well mening, but ill-informed people. She'd like to know how to stop them while maintaining her right to use a public sidewalk. You are the same people who can stand for an hour on a crowded train and not touch each other. Why can't you walk past a dog and not touch it?