Flippin' dogs ...

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chez

Joined: 13 Aug 2006
Posts: 35934
Location: The Hive of the Uberbee, Quantock Hills, Somerset

Posted: Sun Aug 31, 08 9:26 am Post subject: Flippin' dogs ...

Had a phone call from Mrs We Must Have Drinks up the road last night; one of her dogs had appeared with a VERY deceased one of our chickens.

I seem to know more dogs with badly-behaved owners than I do with well-behaved ones at the moment; we had friends to visit earlier in the week and they absolutely refused to admit that their enormous, friendly, unable-to-stop-barking lurcher-type thing might be intimidating for Leo, or, indeed, not being used to children might inadvertently snap at him and catch him wrong. So I spent twelve hours on tenterhooks trying to keep the baby a reasonable distance from the dog.

Mrs We Must Have Drinks was very shamefaced and offered to pay. But it doesn't make me any less p*ss*d off.

*grumbles off to have second cup of raspberry leaf tea*

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45432
Location: Essex

Posted: Sun Aug 31, 08 9:48 am Post subject:

Have to keep dealing with muppet up the road who bought a labradoodle puppy "because it looked so cute" it's now grown up to a huge (sheep size) uncontrollable mass of energy, of course muppet always omits to put loony dog on lead when they walk up the footpath, ensuring that loony dog runs around the back garden scaring our kids (we are dog free) crapless. We have suggested that he needs to enrol himself and loonydog on some kind of course, he seems to think the best solution would be for us to take it off his hands "you've got loads of space, he'd enjoy it here". Well mr Muppet Twathead, maybe you should have thought more carefully before you bought the poor thing?

chez

Joined: 13 Aug 2006
Posts: 35934
Location: The Hive of the Uberbee, Quantock Hills, Somerset

Posted: Sun Aug 31, 08 9:55 am Post subject:
Quite. Mrs We Must Have Drinks told Arvo "they keep jumping out and I'm not quite sure what we should do about it". Errrr .... well, if they jump out and start on the lambs in the next field, she'll no longer have a problem because the farmer will shoot them.

Rob R

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 31902
Location: York

Posted: Sun Aug 31, 08 10:02 am Post subject: Re: Flippin' dogs ...

Chez wrote:

we had friends to visit earlier in the week and they absolutely refused to admit that their enormous, friendly, unable-to-stop-barking lurcher-type thing might be intimidating for Leo, or, indeed, not being used to children might inadvertently snap at him and catch him wrong. So I spent twelve hours on tenterhooks trying to keep the baby a reasonable distance from the dog.

I wouldn't have stood for that, friend or no friend, I'd have felt quite justified in telling them that they either remove their dog or I would. A farmer can legally shoot a dog worrying sheep, but can you shoot a dog that is worrying your kids?

Excuse me while I just go pop my blood in the fridge for five minutes.

chez

Joined: 13 Aug 2006
Posts: 35934
Location: The Hive of the Uberbee, Quantock Hills, Somerset

Posted: Sun Aug 31, 08 10:24 am Post subject: Re: Flippin' dogs ...

Rob R wrote:

Excuse me while I just go pop my blood in the fridge for five minutes.

It's really difficult - they are very good friends, but the dog is their child-substitute and is INCREDIBLY badly behaved - over-excited all the time. And Leo is fascinated by dogs at the moment and wants to be all over him. And I kept trying to moderate both their behaviours and they just laughed when the dog barks and barked and barked, licked Leo so HE got over-excited too and started pulling fur etc..

I'd almost rather lost the occasional chicken to next door than to have to deal with that whenever they visit.

Is there any space left in that fridge?

Rob R

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 31902
Location: York

Posted: Sun Aug 31, 08 10:32 am Post subject:
The freezer is beginning to look favourite.

lottie

Joined: 11 Aug 2005
Posts: 5059
Location: ceredigion

Posted: Sun Aug 31, 08 11:19 am Post subject:
My eldest daughter has lost friends because she asked them nicely not to bring the dog in the house when they visited as it wouldn't leave the toddler and baby alone----and they took offence---but she said if that was how they felt it was no great loss, it took her years of treatment,pain and alot of money to have those boys---she's better things to do than let dogs maul them about.

chez

Joined: 13 Aug 2006
Posts: 35934
Location: The Hive of the Uberbee, Quantock Hills, Somerset

Posted: Sun Aug 31, 08 11:24 am Post subject:

I'm almost at that stage myself. AND the bl**dy thing chases the chickens so we have to keep them in when we know they are coming. It's also ruined a bead curtain and broken the cat flap by trying to get out through it; and damaged various other things, that they haven't offered to pay for.

Not happy.

In contrast, we visited Judith yesterday and her dog is beautifully behaved, despite being a funny-tempered rescue. And her guests also had two dogs, one a *tiny* puppy, just the right size for Leo to play with under supervision.

It's not the dogs, it's the people, isn't it?

woodsprite

Joined: 20 Mar 2006
Posts: 2943
Location: North Herefordshire

Posted: Sun Aug 31, 08 11:28 am Post subject:
I'm a life long dog keeper but it wouldn't enter my head to take my dog to someone's home! I too have a friend who just assumes that her dog can go wherever she does, it irritates the hell out of me, upsets Charlie ( my dog, who's getting on) and the bloody thing chases chickens. I don't invite her anymore.

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Sun Aug 31, 08 11:29 am Post subject:

A good dog owner will keep their dogs under control and ensure they don't hurt others. Sadly many people seem to treat them like cats these days and let them wander about.

I'm currently looking after a couple of hounds for some friends and even though the hounds behave very well near young children I wouldn't let them play with children against their mothers wishes. Just the size of the dogs means they can push people over and children have a habit of pulling tales etc.

Just come back from a walk where I had to pick up our puppy as an Alsation type dog slipped his lead and ran after me. Luckily I managed to control the stray until the owners turned up even while an impatient motorist tried to barge past.

Any room in that freezer?

On a serious note I think it's useful to get children, when they're old enough, used to dogs because I think they aren't as much of a handful if you stand your ground rather than act scared around them.

Rob R

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 31902
Location: York

Posted: Sun Aug 31, 08 11:34 am Post subject:

Treacodactyl wrote:

because I think they aren't as much of a handful if you stand your ground rather than act scared around them.

Children? Scary creatures though.

Last edited by Rob R on Sun Aug 31, 08 11:37 am; edited 1 time in total

hedgewitch

Joined: 26 Nov 2005
Posts: 5834
Location: Daft wench GHQ

Posted: Sun Aug 31, 08 11:34 am Post subject:

Chez wrote:

It's not the dogs, it's the people, isn't it?

Yes! As someone who has 3 large hounds, I totally agree. I was advised years ago that when approaching a dog I didn't know with my own dogs, don't look at the body language of the other dog to see if the animal is OK or not, look at the body language of the owner. This has been invaluable.

Collie owners seem to be particularly bad around me -- the local strain must be very aggressive and several problem owners don't bother putting them on leads (I suspect because they can't call them in) and pretend to look surprised when the dogs jump others despite the fact that the damned things launch themselves at every dog they meet every day.

That said, I have encountered problem parents who allow their small (and sometimes not so small) children to approach dogs on leads and scream or shout in their faces and even prod them. Of course, sadly if the child is bitten it would be the dog and not the parent who was put down.

chez

Joined: 13 Aug 2006
Posts: 35934
Location: The Hive of the Uberbee, Quantock Hills, Somerset

Posted: Sun Aug 31, 08 11:35 am Post subject:

They *did* ask, originally ... but that was pre-Leo. And I don't mind well-behaved dogs visiting, at all. Judith has brought Jif round quite often in the past; and the jocorlesses brought one of theirs when they stayed, with no issues. But it's the assumption that the dog can run wild ...

Edited to say: sorry, I am ranting about this: I'm just so CROSS!

Last edited by chez on Sun Aug 31, 08 11:35 am; edited 1 time in total

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45432
Location: Essex

Posted: Sun Aug 31, 08 11:35 am Post subject:

Treacodactyl wrote:

On a serious note I think it's useful to get children, when they're old enough, used to dogs because I think they aren't as much of a handful if you stand your ground rather than act scared around them.

You're right, we need to address this, but it shouldn't be down to us.

chez

Joined: 13 Aug 2006
Posts: 35934
Location: The Hive of the Uberbee, Quantock Hills, Somerset

Posted: Sun Aug 31, 08 11:38 am Post subject:

tahir wrote:

Treacodactyl wrote:

You're right, we need to address this, but it shouldn't be down to us.

Exactly - I want Leo to learn to respect dogs, which means not being scared of them and not being a 'running up and pulling their tails' kind of child.

Incidentally, children who run wild irritate me just as much

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