I never thought Id hear it..

Today I heard something I thought I would never hear, Murphy growled at another dog.

He is so placid so easy going but he has just reached the end of his rope..

Id just told one owner of a very macho chi to be careful because his patience is running out when a poodle came bounding over and shoved its face into Murphy's and that was the last straw.. it was a growl and an air snap, the other dog ran back to its ball..

To be fair Murphy has put up with a lot and all from people who think because they have a small dog they dont have to play by the rules...Heres a heads up Yes you do..

Murphy has been attacked by the same jack russel 3 times in one week (drew blood from his lip) and had his path blocked by a snapping growling chiuauhua twice, quite apart from the yorkie who has tried to bite him several times and whos owner has had a very stern warning from me..

I dont want a reactive dog, I absolutly do not want a snappy dog so please for all our sakes can small dog owners please try to play by the rules and not let their dogs attack other dogs, just because they are small it really is no excuse for bad doggy manners.

We hear so much bad press about big dogs but really the atttude of a lot of small dog owner is absimal..

Re: I never thought Id hear it..

Once again I agree, Cass.

It's a bit like saying if we are 6ft we must not bash anyone, but if you're under 5.5" it's fine.

Re: I never thought Id hear it..

Well now Ive had to call the police..


For months now there has been a jack russell whos owner thinks its ok to let him run loose in the park and attack Murphy. Not once has Murphy retailiated even though the JRT has drawn blood on at least 2 occasions leaving a scar on his lip.

Today I was walking murphy (on lead) when the JRT appeared and went straight for him. The owner stood there and did nothing.

As always Murphy backed off but the jack russell kept coming so I used my foot/leg between them to fend off and scare the other dog away ..

Only at that point did the owner intervene. He came running over got right up in my face and shoved me, then he told me I was a c*** and if I came near his dog again he would kill me..
I told him you are 100% in the wrong, put your damn dog on the lead ..

A string of swear words followed with the idea that I should leave the park and not come back..If I did he would kill me.
The lady he was with (two loose running chi's) then called me a physco b**** !


I walked away but phoned the police straight away, luckily they had nothing to do and came over in time to take my statement and catch the man still in the park.

Why cant people just stick to the darn rules? dogs on leads means dogs on leads and if he had had his dog on a lead this would never have happened .

I am so angry not least of all because this bloke thought he could intimidate me ..That tells me Im getting old or looking weak and that really angers me..

So Ive made a report to the police and to the local council and Im wondering who else or what else I can do ..We dont have dog wardens so not a lot..I will not be forced to walk elsewhere because of this bully..

OH is fuming and swearing now too...So I have to control myself and calm him ! Murphy is Murphy chilling out in the garage where its cool!

Re: I never thought Id hear it..

Not fair is it, I have big and small and get very upset when people allow any size dog to approach them, Elsie can't see well so panics, Betty tries to help her by wading in, 5lb of teeth and claws.

I think it might be time for a law regarding dogs staying on lead in parks, on beaches etc. We use the common and downs where there are sheep and cows and horses that means most dogs we meet are on a lead because parks are just not easy to keep my temper in if people allow their dogs to annoy mine.

Re: I never thought Id hear it..

Thing is Julie we do have laws that specify that all areas are ON lead unless there is a signpost saying otherwise... This guy like so many others just think its ok to ignore that law.

Re: I never thought Id hear it..

Well I didn't know that I wonder how many do ? Not that it should need one just plain good manners should work.

Re: I never thought Id hear it..

Cass, that is horrendous!

Is it the same as here? Do your police have to give you an Incident Number?

Surely that is a dog dangerously out of control, plus exercising it off lead in an 'on lead' area, PLUS he cannot be allowed to exhibit threatening behaviour to you like that either.
Do you have dog control orders there?

It might be unfortunate he had a 'witness' in his partner/wife, and you have no witness, as obviously she will back him.

Are the police going to let you know what they are doing about it?

Google the law on this and know your rights.

Good luck, I can imagine how deeply upsetting the experience was.

Re: I never thought Id hear it..

Our Police are a bit lax so I imagine a stern word is the most he will get.. The lady with the chi isnt his partner as far as I know..

What I have done is use the councils online complaints form and referred them back to the police who have a record of the incident.. Ive logged it as out of control dog.
Hopefully now he has realised I wont be bullied he will back off , if not hes in for a surprise. Ive lived here 19 years and walked in my local park nearly every day with my dogs, I am not going to back down and run away just because of an overgrown playground bully...

Re: I never thought Id hear it..

What a very unpleasant experience for you Cass. Here too the law is that all dogs must be on a lead when out in public, and that includes the campo. All beaches have big notices stating in 3 languages and pictures, that dogs are not allowed on the beach and that walking along paths adjacent to the beach where they are allowed they must be on leads. The numbers of people, who either can't read or are just downright ignorant is amazing.
The police do react to complaints about dogs these days and people are being fined quite heavily when caught, so I suppose that is something at least.

I hope you don't have any more problems with this unpleasant man and his unpleasant dog.