Apologies to BE-ers here who own a dog, but I am sick of the attitude held by many of them that us non-dog owners "should be more tolerant" as their [usually muddy] dog bounds all over you / your five year child whilst out on a walk. Comments like "it's okay s/he won't hurt you" really piss me off. **** off.

Dogs are animals and, even if completely trained, can be unpredicatable. I think all public spaces where there are children walking about should have a compulsory dog on a leash policy.

I ESPECIALLY hate yummy mummys who think it cool to run/cycle with their yapping animal running alongside them. For ****'s sake, walk your dog and THEN go for a run/bike ride.

Apart from that, Happy Thanksgiving everyone (even dog owners)!

I had to do a double-take the other day when, while driving, I saw an elderly woman driving towards me in the other lane. Not sure what food product she was holding in her right hand, but I'm certain she was sharing it with the little ******* ******** dog sat on top of her left shoulder (which had the front half of its body positioned outside of the wide-open driver's side window).

Some people trust their pets way too much

Maybe so but surely all children walking around in public spaces should be on reins.

I have 2 big dogs. We have 8 acres and they pretty much wander around as they please and I don't take them out to parks as I don't like other people glaring at me for having dogs.

I agree with you that dogs should not be allowed to pester people but I don't think it is a bad thing to get children used to dogs even if there are none in the home. There are so many dogs around that children need to be used to them to be able to deal with a situation which is bound to arise when out for an afternoon stroll at some stage.

May I ask. Are you afraid of dogs yourself?

Don't all parks in Canada require a dog to be on a leash? I always have my dog on a leash as he'd be off like a bullet from a gun, and I'd never see him again if not. I would yell at someone if their dog came anywhere near my kid, muddy or not. It's great for kid's and dogs to get on and play together, but an unexpected large dog jumping at a child is unacceptable.

I'm a dog owner. The only time mine is off leash is either on our property or at a off leash park. I drives me mad when other dog owners have their animals off leash in non off leash areas. Especially when there are signs telling said owners to leash their animals. It's usually these owners that say 'Is your dog friendly?' to which my reply is 'Yes, MY dog IS friendly and on a leash.'

Lots of people are frightened of dogs, Henry has to heel if we are on a path, we will move into the road/onto the grass if there isn't room to pass. Henry is a big and sometimes intimidating dog, most people want to meet him because he is unusual and sooo fluffy, thankfully, he usually wants to say hi too.

No, I'm not afraid of dogs. In fact, I grew up with them. It's since having kids that I've become more watchful of dogs and dog owners actually. My youngest was jumped on in Muskoka last summer (it grabbed his arm and floored him!) and he's now quite terrified by them. If you're only 3 feet tall it's quite intimidating to have a large retriever jump at you at the best of times ...

I don't want my kids to grow up dog-a-phobic at all, so I just plead with the dog owners of the world out there to stop assuming that everyone is comfortable with their dogs jumping all over them (kids or grown-ups) and leash them straight away if they do so.

We do do that. That is, if we see people coming we leash the dogs, if there are likely to be people about then they're leashed anyway. Still, if someone feels compelled to haul his or her progeny far up trails or deep into woods and then set them down to wail, puke and caterwaul amid the beauteous wilderness then I think they're fair game for a friendly lick from a dog who's owner didn't expect them to be there. I see that one cannot keep children entirely confined until adulthood but if one limits them to the child park, the doctor's clinic and places of education there should be no need for them to be exposed to animals.

The only circumstance where I can't see that an easy division of children and animals can be achieved is outside the pub. Neither children nor animals are generally allowed into pubs in Canada so both have to be parked outside. Dogs are best left on a longish leash so as to enable them to shamelessly beg for affection from passers-by. Children tend to be encased in those faux-sporty permabulators their owners shove or tow along the pavement mowing down pensioners and slashing ankles like a rollalong bag in the airport, these leave their faces exposed to licking. Given the need to leave dogs and children outside (and in the case of the latter, thank God) I don't see a simple way to prevent dog/child interaction during social events. Encasing the child in an American football helmet would keep it from biting and would keep the dog from licking its face but it's an expensive solution, maybe it'd be better to just lock the kid in its room.

When I had a dog we used a lead to take him for a walk.

I agree.... and I'm a dog owner.

Just like everthing in life, there are inconsiderate dog-owners. Lump them in with inconsiderate drivers, smokers, parents with unruly kids, etc. and we're not allowed to just shoot them (the parents not the kids).

I've always owned dogs and it's few and far between that I've come across a muddy dog jumping up on me when out on a walk - touch wood that my luck continues.

On the leash thing, I always bring one with me but I let my dogs run free. Then again they are sheep dogs that listen to commands. I live with the dirty looks of "why aren't your dogs on leashes" when out on walks. You see other dog owner approaching, call the dogs back, tell them to heal, walk by them with mine walking along my right side as the other dog owner is being dragged towards me as their dog trys to do the wet nose in the ass thing.

There are all kinds of dog owners - sorry you run into some of the crappy ones. Nice rant though.

Marley and Me springs to mind

I love my dog but would never trust him 100% simply because hes a dog.
I never let him run loose where he shouldnt be running loose and if we have lots of children round running around in the garden hes kept in. Its generally because I dont want any kind of tragedy that we just "didnt see coming", call it paranoia.
Hes a good boy but I am sure will bound up with muddy feet to some 6 year old and knock them over, so we need to avoid that.

As a new dog owner, I am getting really fed up of taking my dog for walk and dogs appearing from gardens and chasing us down the road.

I had a german shepherd come bounding out of a garden at us the other day whilst the owner watched us screaming at it coming towards the puppy. I had to shout "call your dog off" three of four times before they wandered out and spouted "aww she loves puppies and wanted to play"...yes and then EAT HER ALL UP!

sorry to hear you feel that way about dogs/dog owners OP, but I understand why you do. I have an 8 year old black lab/shepherd cross and while I know he is the biggest, dopiest, (quite) well behaved boy, others don't so I keep him in check whenever we are out. The law is quite clear on the use of leashes so I don't understand the number of people who let their dogs run free on the stretch of the Bruce trail that I usually walk on. I get jumped on and barked at too and on more than one occasion have had the 'he just wants to play' thing even though their dog is trying to rip my dog's face off. I get particularly annoyed with the owners of small, nippy, yappy dogs who laugh this behaviour off as cute - if it was my 100lb dog doing that, you'd have me arrested. But on balance, for every idiot dog owner, there's an idiot parent. The ones who bring their small children to leash free parks (one with biscuit in hand the other day!) and then complain because they get rushed or knocked over are a case in point. Ditto for those who just let their kids rush up to my dog and throw themselves on him for a cuddle. He likes kids as it happens, but he's still an animal and I for one am not naive enough to trust him 100%, so nor should anyone else.