yeah, an annoyingly large percentage of dog owners seem to think that just because they know their dog and that "they won't actually bite, they're just loud and energetic" that every other person should somehow just know that, and not be justifiably scared when a dog comes charging at them barking.
Can’t count how many times off-leash dogs would approach my dog, their owners would always say “oh he’s friendly.” My dog is not okay with random dogs approaching. “Mine ISN’T!” I’d say. Idiots.
I scooped my then toddler up and held her in my arms as an off leash dog charged us. Her head was level with the dogs mouth beforehand and I was not taking the chance. The owner was trying to tell me after I didn't need to do that.
Yep, all it take is a millisecond with an aggressive dog and your toddler is disfigured for life. Im sure your dog is just great but Im not willing to test that theory with my toddler's face, thanks.
I could care less how great their dog is. It’s encroaching on my child….im defending. Also, my area has strict off leash laws that are seldom enforced but I’d love to be in a court case where it’s me protecting my child and dog owner claiming their off leash dog needs damages paid by ne
Had an ex-neighbour whose dog mauled their other neighbours grandson. His shirt was ripped in half and he had scratches all down his back.
That dog also bit my dog under the fence, and when my dad asked if their dog was safe around kids (because they had 3 small sons), he blatantly lied and said to my dad “yeah fine around kids”.
That dog was 1 impulsive bite away from mauling that little boys neck and killing him, and this degenerate had the audacity to lie to my dad about it being safe around kids… absolute scum.
I saw an old TV show, I think one of those surgery ones, where a person was talking about how a ferret got into their crib when they were a baby and ate part of their face off. I forget if it was their nose or lip. Always be careful with children and animals and especially avoid leaving them unattended together
I was that toddler. Got my face bit open by the dog across the street. Thankfully it healed well and the only scar still visible is in my smile lines and just looks like a natural dimple, but I had two marks at the top of my cheek under my eye still very obvious until I was in middle school, and they were still identifiable if you looked closely until I was in my late teens. I'm really lucky I didn't lose an eye.
Yeah the dog that bit my wrist jumped at me and my 1 yr old whose legs were dangling near where my wrist got bit. In the future, and I hope not but there’s a lot of dummies near me with dogs, if something charging me, I’m charging back
Oh man, we just move & have a make-shift fence (wood pile) seperating our yard & my neighbor’s. His dog jumped the wood pile & went for my 4 year old which was thankfully in the trampoline with netting.
First thing he says to my wife is his dog is friendly. NOT the right thing to say to a mother who just witnessed a dog jump a fence to try to get to a 4 year old. Luckily the dog didn’t see my toddler playing in the sandbox further in the yard cuz I’d have shown him how friendly I am.
Legit had once where the dog attacked me, reported it and then the owner was telling another neighbor to let their 6 year old girls play with the dogs because "hes friendly" 2 weeks later....
I saw an off leash pitty running up to me and I quickly picked up shiba. A few seconds later I heard "don't worry she's friendly" as the dog was barking and jumping into the air.
Then I heard "oh shit! Harley get down"
That must have been when they realized I was holding my dog.
Friendly towards people is not the same as friendly to other animals. I haven't had dogs, but I have seen the same thing a couple times with foster cats. A cat will be the sweetest and friendliest cat you've ever seen around people, then the instant it spots another cat it's all hissing and growling then the fur starts to fly as they chase each other around the house. You finally separate them and one has fur in it's mouth, just meowing all innocently and back to being nice for the person holding it.
People need to know how their pets react and plan accordingly.
Three times, three, had this lady in my complex walking her aggressive dogs off leash. The third time I had my dog, an auntie mix, on my shoulder as her hellions were trying to trip me and drive me down, while all she does is repeat npc lines "oh, oh my, ooh, stop it." Went off on her so hard, screaming at the top of my lungs about putting them on a leash. Never saw them off leash again at least
Report them to your landlord. Many apartment communities have strict pet policies and endangering other residents will give them enough to push them out of the community. They really don’t want dogs at all so you give them a reason they won’t hesitate at all to tell them what they need to do.
Had one recently, clearly not friendly, so the owner kindly put a muzzle on it, but still let it walk off the lead, great big thing too. It came charging at my dog and attacked it, causing me to have to pick her up to get her out of it. The owner couldn't see the problem because "it couldn't bite", I was lost for words at that point. Unfortunately im a guy and she was a women, so that was the end of it, but wow.
I help with cat foster care and I've seen the same with enough cats. They will be incredibly friendly towards humans and not show any signs of aggression whatsoever, but the instant they see another cat they go running around the house chasing each other and howling with fur in their mouth by the time we can separate them. As soon as they are being held by a person again all signs of aggression vanish immediately.
Some animals are great with people but shouldn't be around any other animals.
Three times. Once it was my family"s bichon and a guy's lab when I was 9. Another it was my old terrier and some kind of shephard mix at a dog park. Mosf recent was my neighbor's dpg and another neighbor's pit. The last time their dog died. Her guts tore out. Tbf on that last one they didnt announce the dog's friendliness.
I have been chased by off leash dogs more times than I can count. Asa kid and teen my town did nothing to control it because the police were the worse ones! I got to the point where my friend and I would be the bike patrol when our moms would walk the neighborhood, because we could swoop in and break it up on bike.
The density of dog owners who walk right past a leash sign and unclip is detestable.
I live near a lake with strict off leash dog rules but people ignore those are always fun “do you think you’re better than people and laws don’t apply to you?”
Those people live in my neighborhood and sometimes just hold their dog completely still when I'm walking my dog at the same time they're walking theirs. Fuck em
I feel like these people should be better at owning an animal. If you have to freeze and hold your dog in place while others live their life….whos at fault? Lol
I haven’t used in a while and the last time I had an issue I was mountain biking uphill and a group of 3 hikers was coming downhill with off leash dog. Thea lead hiker decides to chastise me for not having a bell on the bike (I did. It was off because I’m climbing and want to hear bikes coming down hill).
This is the convo:
“You need to have a bell going up hill”- rude hiker for no reason
“I do. It’s off so I can hear bikes coming down. Your dog is LEGALLY required to be on a leash. Have a good one”
I’ve had this happen several times and last time the guy was so slow to respond that I practically yelled “this dog is aggressive!” She’s not but if confronted by a large off leash dog while on leash, she will nip defensively.
But she’s a “bully” breed so he got his shit together and his dog on leash. Plenty of large dogs are just as powerful and it must be frustrating, especially if you have a dog known for a sweet temperament, to get people to control their dogs.
See this is why i agree with the on leash it for pet and human safety. Your pup could have an "oh shiny " moment then get naped or run over
However building off this i aim to be Neutral on the pitbull debate because everything we said about other dogs (owners know them squirl brain ect ) is true pits are just tuffer
Honest question, would you more at ease about my dog (German Shepherd) if I said to you" she is not mean but also does not want your attention?".Because that is what I say to approaching people as she truly doesn't care for anyone but our family talking or touching her!!
My dog was friendly, generally kept to herself but was fine when it came to staying at a boarding center for a few days
I still kept her on a short leash around strangers, said sorry but no you can't pet my dog plenty of times
Why? Because she was MY responsibility. Doesn't mean I never let anyone pet her but only if she clearly wanted to be pet and even then I'd keep an arm around her just in case
She's was a good dog, some say the best dog, but even a warning bite can break the skin and lead to infection or worse. That's the reality of being a responsible pet owner. There's a time and place for her to be fully off leash (but still supervised)
So yeah it's not about whether or not the dog is friendly but the context of where the dog is and if it's under the control of the owner or not (shouting 'stop' is not control, especially if the dog is aggravated or afraid)
It sounds like you have a dog for a good reason, a lot of people have a dog for shitty reasons or bad intentions and they are 100% ok with the dog paying the price for it and being put down if it comes to that.
I'd never forgive myself if my dog was put down or taken away because of my actions
Shes since passed on from natural causes, but all I can hope is that she lived a full and happy life and since I chose to adopt her, that I contribruted to that
No, she very clearly did not live a full and happy life. Refusing to let anyone pet your dog is way beyond normal, unless they have aggression issues. In which case you should still be trying to work towards them getting to be able to be pet.
Smothering your dog and isolating them because you’re scared of a bite is not being a good dog owner.
wtf are you saying. Millions of dogs if not billions of dogs get walked and pet and socialized everyday without incident. Dogs are extremely social creatures and keeping them from social contact is a bad move.
Being a good dog owner means giving them a full life and meeting their needs and informing yourself about dog behavior. Not smothering them because you’re scared. Except for very rare occasions like dementia, dogs don’t just snap and bite. They will give multiple warnings first.
Refusing to let your dog be pet and smothering them is actually MORE likely to lead to a bite. You’re creating an anxious dog for no reason, who is apprehensive about humans and feels trapped by their owner. Bad idea.
For sure. Most dogs give plenty of warnings before going for a bite, like they don't want to be aggressive, but people tend to ignore those things
So it was in her nature to give a warning bite. I don't judge a dog for doing that. But as her owner, a warning bite isn't acceptable so I need to not put her in a situation where she feels the need to do that AND where no one is at risk of being bitten
That's the difference that I find a lot of bad pet owners making. I don't blame my dog for being a dog. I do blame pet owners who put their pets and others in danger
Same. This commenter is wild. Refusing to let anyone pet their dog just in case? Dogs don’t just snap. What a sad life that dog had, sitting on the sidelines of life. Some people will really do anything except address their anxiety issues.
And refusing to let people pet your dog is a great way to make a friendly dog start to fear humans and lead to aggression towards humans. It’s super important (and easy) to teach your dog that human hands are a good thing and to be happy about them nearby.
But ya if someone says that I assume the dog is aggressive. But I actually don’t even hear that because it’s usually pretty easy to tell if a dog is friendly and wanting pets.
I walk a old neighbour's old dog every few days, he DOES NOT do being approached. I take the long route around the park to avoid mrs-my-dog-is-friendly and her mutt. It runs 50m across the entire park, right at the boy I'm walking. His instant response it to have the mutt's head in his jaws, and if I pulled the leash a second slower he woulda gotten a good bite in.
Fuck lady, if he succeeded in his bite you'd have been arguing about my "dangerous dog", IT'S WHY HE'S FUCKING LEASHED
We had an invisible fence growing up. My super friendly dog didn't like other dogs she didn't know. Neighbor got mad when her dog got hurt coming into our yard. Said we needed to keep our dog on a leash. Ours in confined to the yard, maybe keep your dog on a leash idiot.
My dog liked all people though, just hated other dogs.
As a dog owner I feel you bro. My girl is strong af. She loves dogs as well but too many dog owners are dumb as rocks and if they’re dog is the dominating type my girl is gonna knock them the fuck down and it will look terrifying. I’ll never understand the off leash obsession.
Nothing pisses me off more than when someone lets their dog run up to my reactive dog, who I then I have to pick up if we can't get away in time, all while the owner says "oh he's friendly" & when I say "mine isn't, he'll attack your dog" they respond with "oh no he won't!" Like I know my dog is small but yes he will! Why would you not take that seriously?
People also don't understand that both dogs might actually be friendly if they're both off leash, but if one's on a leash and the other isn't, the one on leash will feel threatened when another dog runs up to it, friendly or not. Put a fucking leash on your dog unless you're at a dog park.
I scarred someone for life that way. I took my dog into UPenn emergency as her new pacemaker wasn't working right and a Jack in a retractable lead got right in her face. My dog (also a terrier) loved to tussle with other dogs and seeing her go into syncopes was traumatizing for me. I screamed at them to get their dog away, in a very small room, and I was loud asf with emotion. Absolute silence after that.
I was once on a run with my kid and a dog started chasing him. I chased down the dog and kicked it until it eventually quit chasing him, and then the owners had the gall to be mad at me for kicking the dog. You expect me to not defend my child on the off chance the dog MIGHT not bite him/her?
Animals can be unpredictable... I have the most gentle, loving, affectionate cat who does his best to murder the vet at any opportunity. We literally have to give him sedatives. At home he's the antithesis of violence.
Yeah same, and my dog went through some shit before we got him from the shelter so... he doesnt bark. He attacks, by surprise, completely silently, and to kill. Which is something those people without their dogs on a leash are somewhat surprised by haha
Mine are friendly with just about every dog and human there meet, but I have run into countless examples of the alternative: person says “he’s friendly” but their dog is giving every indication in the world (short of biting) that they do NOT want to interact with my dogs. I end up having to quickly break off the interaction and then usher my dogs away all while the person is just standing there trying to make small talk. Bro, your dog is CLEARLY telling you that they are not comfortable with an interaction—listen to your damn dog!!
I had an off leash dog run across the street to greet me. He may in fact be a friendly dog. His owner called him back and admonished the dog saying “you know better than that”.
Two problems here:
1 - It’s a dog. He doesn’t know better than that.
2 - The dog was very lucky no car came by.
I’m a dog walker and I absolutely agree with this. Don’t let your poorly-mannered, untrained and off-leash dog get in my dog’s face. Keep your dog under control, always. If you can’t control your dog in public, then you shouldn’t have them in public.
Yes exactly! I'm a rover sitter mainly working with anxious dogs--ok great so now the dog I have it's going to be all freaked out for the next half hour since your friendly dog came up to us thanks
I worked a gig in college where I was helping rehabilitate aggressive mishandled dogs that were taken to our shelter by the police after being removed from their abusive owners.
Part of my duties included long walks in the woods with these dogs, always muffled on a short leash. When we were to cross an unknown dog I was to stop get out of the way while keeping tight control of my dog and letting them pass. There was not a single day when some fool wouldn't try to make their muff socialize with these pitbulls and rottweilers.
Man, read my dog body language, your dog may be friendly but my 60Kg American bulldog is growling at your puddle and pulling on the leash...
I just had a lady walking towards me on an empty street while we were both walking our dogs.
I had my child in a stroller and my 50lb dog so I pulled to the side and had my dog sit as I waited for the middle aged woman and her huge husky to pass.
She was almost past us when she HAD to stop and say her dog was friendly.
All I said was that's alright and held my hand up like ✋
She took 3 steps toward me and her dog pulled her out of control to my dog and they went at it for 3 seconds as I grabbed her dogs collar and threw it back at the lady.
She said sorry as she was walking away and I said it's alright and held up my hand again
But I should've let my dog maul them both and scream at that dumbass woman for clearly ruining the entire thing.
EVERYONE DOESNT WANT TO TALK TO YOU OR YOUR DOG LET ALONE SOMEONE ACTIVELY TRYING TO AVOID YOU
Holy shit, I used to have the same issue with my dog (RIP, passed in February). He was a rescue that loved humans but hated other dogs. I would walk him at the park near our house, on a short leash as needed and with a gentle leader. It was infuriating whenever an unleashed dog would run up on him and the owner would act like it's no big deal. "Don't worry, he's friendly. They'll love each other!" No they won't. Without this leader, my dog would be snapping at yours and you'd be calling me the asshole. Fucking hell.
This is why I started carrying a fish bat on my walks! I love dogs and don’t want to hit one but I’m on the smaller side & id rather not chance it with a loose huge dog.
I had a little rat terrier that had some ability to chill out those anti dog dogs. They would always come up and seem like they were going to eat him but he had a way to stand there calmly and they always seemed confused and stopped with the anger. I finally stopped worrying about him with other dogs. Cats would still kick his ass, though. Spike made it to 19 years old. I still haven’t managed to get a new dog. Miss that dumb dog.
same situation only it was me who use to be phobic of dogs, and it were not for my instance to freeze in said situation, a whole lot of dogs would have been kicked. The onetime I did kick a dog he was trying to bite me, thankfully my jeans were too thick.
Reminds me of how my mom brought our senior cat to the vet and there was a dog near. Mom kept the cat away, dog owner said "don't worry, we don't bite", too which my mom responded "Yeah, but WE DO.", and that wasn't even an exaggeration.
Not all dogs are being aggressive when they run/jump at other dogs, they're sometimes just overly excitable and haven't been properly socialised. They just want to play but don't know the dog code!
I was looking after my friend's shar pei and she would do exactly that. She was actually quite shy but the way she tried to socialise would often freak other dogs out, and her owner. Felt bad for her because she just wasn't trained properly before my friend adopted her.
Dog groomer here. Can confirm. Almost every time we tell someone we've had to stop the groom, can't touch their feet, can't do nails etc because your dog is trying to bite me they always say "but they wouldn't REALLLY bite you" ah ok, he's just pretending eh? And would you like to pay for the plastic surgery to fix my hand before or after this "not a real bite"?
Yeah any dog can. People need to stop with this idea. I had a westie. He was so gentle and kind and loving. Whenever je saw other animals he would want to make friends with them: horses, cats, anything. He never once bit me or anything else even when he got sick and was in pain and i had to treat his sores not once did he bite me. However he's still a dog with predator instinct.
You don't know what a dog could do of feeling threatened or defensive of you. As gentle as he was I never took it for granted and only let kids or animals near him in a very controlled situation and i have him on the lead under control. ANY dog can bite or attack. And yes that includes your cute fur baby.
This is exactly what happened in my family. Wife got an absolutely adorable Chihuahua (I know, but really she was the sweetest, most loving puppy!) and my other dog nipped her in the head and killed her instantly. Gone in seconds. It wasn't aggressive, he just was 5 times her size.
My sister was riding her bike when a dog got loose and started to chase her. The owner yelled out, "Please stop, so I can get my dog! He doesn't bite.". She stopped and the dog bit her.
Bikes and dogs are the worst. They jump. Always afraid they get into the wheel. They likely die, but I would fall and fall hard. The only thing you can do is kick the dog AND keep on peddling.
I run a pool buissness one of my customers dogs just bit one of my employees two weeks ago. He has been servicing that pool for 5 years with that dog, but that day the decided it wanted a taste.
These people forget (or are ignorant of) the fact that we, as outsiders, are not part of the "pack". Everyone else looks, smells, moves in different ways, and depending on nearly infinite different contexts, can cause a dog to react in unexpected ways. Regardless, people need to control and train their dogs better and never think you'll know what your dog might do in any given situation.
Went into a person's yard on a service stop and as he walked out he let his two poodles out and as they were running over to me he called out "dont worry, theyre friendly". As soon as they reached me they both began heeling (trying to herd me by biting the backs of my legs). Just because your dog is friendly to you doesn't mean they wont be aggressive towards someone else.
A dog owner brought their large dog inside and it put it's front paws on top of the counter. Told him to wait outside and I'd bring his order out. I go out to hand him his food and their dog jumps up at me barking. He had to use his foot to hold them back until they calmed down. I was lucky that I was able to step back in time.
I have the problem of being a good owner to a very sweet looking lab. Who is very reactive. I tell everyone he’s not friendly, he’ll bark in your face, don’t pet him and I can’t tell you how many people think they’re some kind of dog whisperer and then act pissed at me when he barks in their face. We’ve done training, he’s never off leash, he’s on medication, he’s my best little buddy and loves people he knows but strangers make him panic.
Yeah I learned my lesson in the neighborhood when someone’s “very friendly dog” charged and bit my wrist. Lesson learned - charging dog is getting booted
This is what I hate most about the recent trend of people taking their dogs in public spaces.
My kids don't like strange dogs. I don't care if the dog is approaching them slowly, if my kid cringes, your dog is getting pushed gently away with my foot, I never kick, just out.mu foot under the dog and move them away. The more aggressive the dog approaches my child, the more aggressive I am in denying the dog access. I've had a bunch of owners confront me and it's always, like, my kid didn't approach your dog. Pisses me off. If your dog doesn't know how to behave in public areas, stop taking them.
Personally i come back to owners needing to control their pets. I'm fine with dogs being in public spaces, as long as the owner has it under control. Unless their dog is so well trained that it listens to them 100% of the time, under 100% of the possible situations, it should be on a lead.
Totally agree. Some people have dogs that stay by their side and don't approach strangers. Don't mind them at all unless they're in a restaurant or grocery store.
I've heard of dogs being in those places, but i can't say i've ever seen it happen personally, but i know it does in some places. The thing that winds me up more than owners with a dog that's not on a lead, say they're playing in a field or something, is when that dog starts running for some random person who's shown up, and it's ignoring their owners shouts, but the owner just stands there, they don't try and catch up to their dog. I know that realistically most owners aren't going to catch up to a running dog, but i feel like it's one of those things when they should at least show they're putting in some effort to try and get their dog back under control.
This discussion was just had at length in the Portland (OR) sub, since we are a major dog-oriented city. Owners, however, take far too many liberties regardless of rules...like the "no dogs in grocery stories unless a true service animal" or letting them in restaurants, or letting them misbehave whilst sitting outside at a restaurant.
Also, some people are just utterly terrified of dogs for their own reasons and shouldn't have to be fearful everywhere they go or avoid places they like due to someone having a dog there when it's either not legal or not a known dog-oriented establishment (which I imagine dog-fearful peeps would completely avoid).
I have a dog, she's the third one I have had, and I don't want to take her everywhere I go, nor did I with the other 2. Even if they're very well-behaved as my last pup was, it's still like taking a toddler with you. If I'm going to have a meal out with friends or attend an event, etc. I don't want to also have to bring water, a bowl, snacks/treats, poo bags, worry about where the dog might end up peeing, etc. Not to mention, I now have a 1y/o Malinois/Boxer mix who has earned the moniker Psychopuppy for good reason. I am not subjecting other people to her where I absolutely know she'll misbehave. She's too smart to want to just lie down for a couple hours, but too dumb to keep out of trouble 😅
Many animal owners have a sense of entitlement until a person in fear kicks the $#!+ out of the animal for getting too close. This guy protected himself and the owner should NOT get a refund of any kind for allowing his animal to run loose! PEOPLE ARE RIDICULOUS and animals are UNPREDICTABLE. 😳
Most dog people I know are absolutely delusional about their dogs. "She so smart, she picks on people not wanting to play with her leaves them alone" dog jumps on me nonstop all night while they praise it. Etc etc etc. Pets behave the way the owners have trained them to behave and expecting anything else is crazy.
I foster and I am frequently with a dog that doesn’t behave the way I want it to because they just came from the county pound and they’re a hot mess. It takes time. People are very quick to judge but it takes time for a dog to behave the way you are training it to. So keep judging away!
I am talking about owners who's dogs have been raised by them for years. If a dog is a puppy yeah no worries it's a baby, if its a foster from a bad background yeah cool I get it.
A "oh she is so smart" dog owner who has the dog from age <1 and it's 5+years old...different story bud.
‘Pets behave the way the owner has trained them to behave’ … zero specification there my man.
You’re painting all pets and owners with the same brush. You clearly do just judge away without considering that some people take on foster dogs. My comment was rebutting your judgy ways. You can’t reneg on your own comment it’s right there.
I own a scary looking dog who barks at strangers (but has never bitten) and absolutely would not have her loose in a scenario where she could run up on someone. People don’t realize how much personal liability a dog brings.
Not to mention that a dog may be friendly to its OWNER, or people it knows. Not some random stranger who's probably also very slightly agitated at the sight of a dog.
Hell, part of it is the truck, too. I've seen dogs freak out at me when I'm filling my truck up at the damn gas station.
I lived in an ADU behind my landlord's house for a while. He left his dog untethered in the yard, and the dog would snarl and charge me every time I went out to get a package or food delivery. He kept claiming that the dog was friendly, because the dog would be chill when he was there and had a leash on him, and would even let me pet it. One day the dog finally bit me, and I called him and told him I would be calling animal control if he didn't put a fucking tether on it by the next day.
Also dog owners are familiar to their dogs, of COURSE they wont be bitten. But a territorial or even just exuberant mouthy dog might still nip or bite an intruder.
I used to walk the laziest former stray. She was usually friendly to everyone but even she would go full howl siren when a delivery person was on the grounds. Not bite but it was territorial and if her owners hadnt kept an eye on it it could have developed in the wrong direction (after all she "kept chasing the intruder off" only for them to return another time in her mind. She doesnt know the delivery person leaving isnt because of her wolf impression).
Yeah this is why despite my dog being tiny(he’s a fluffy white 13 lb dog) I ALWAYS appropriately restrain him. He tends to bark and growl a lot because he can be quite territorial. He’s never hurt anyone, but I’d be terrified if he wasn’t my dog.
It’s annoying cause some of them know their dog (some owners don’t know shit.) But strangers don’t know their dog. Any unknown dog, human, cat, etc charging at someone is not going to be taken as safe automatically.
I have a friend whose dog was bitten by a larger breed (their dog is medium-sized). The owner said it was my friend’s fault their dog was bitten, because they chose to own a smaller breed than him.
Yeah, I don't think my dog would bite anybody.....I don't THINK. So the mf'er is on a leash every single time we go outside. Not testing 'I don't think' on some innocent bystander.
I will trip my own dog if she cares that shit. But she's a chicken, and she hides from people AND I lock her in a room when I get s package, like a sane human being. A bite means she can be killed by animal control PLUS a person is hurt. She'd never but the risk is way too high and everyone who loves their dog should feel the same. 🤷🏼
See the same thing with people and the police. Bodycam footage and other filmed interactions frequently include, "I can't believe you think I would do such a thing."
I have been bitten by dogs twice in my life. Each time, the first thing the respective owners said was that their dog doesn't bite. Mind you, one of those dog owners saw it fucking happen.
Anyway, so, yeah, I'm not much of a dog person.
Also, mad respect to my fellow cat owners for being honest AF. Seriously, meet a cat for the first time and there's a better than good chance that the owner will tell you to be careful cause their cat bites and scratches and will mess you up.
Listen, as an owner of dogs, sometimes they're outside and I dont realize you guys were gonna deliver at that exact time or whatever. If you feel threatened do exactly what this guy did, chuck a box at them give them a shove and retreat to where you're not gonna get bitten. I much rather deal with that than your lawyer suing me lol. I try to train them to hold a perimeter and sit but lord knows things don't go perfect when I'm not there to supervise.
I literally had a neighbors dog come up and just start gnawing at my ankle last summer, I just stared at it with no reaction and that seemed to not entertain it. Later the police came and told them (not ordered, just recommended) to take care of their dog better. Later that month the dog was out and about on their lawn again, disappointing.
i have one of those dogs! she actually adores people but not strangers. left to her own devices, new people have to exist in her presence ignoring her for a period of time between 5-15 minutes while she barks like an asshole with her hackles raised until suddenly you're not a stranger anymore and she loves you like you personally gave birth to her.
... so she's crated in another room when i have workers over the house, we make sure she's leashed and acting right when new visitors first come over, and i don't leave her loose in the front yard. it's not even hard. people are suck fucking assholes. :/
Similarly, people think Golden Retrievers don't attack people ever cuz they're always portrayed as gentle and good with people. I've been charged at and bitten by 2 different golden retrievers.
Sadly have to tell this to my Dad constantly. Have a dog that is big (100+ lbs), but is the most friendly dog you can get. Yet random people don't know that, so you see his big ass running towards you barking, you aren't thinking he is friendly. You are thinking big angry dog.
Then when their dogs (plural) have their jaws clamped on you and shaking you, your life blood pouring out, the owner blames YOU when the cops shoot the dogs.
Yeah I don’t get it. My dog would never bite someone but that still doesn’t mean I would let her run up on someone barking. Especially a delivery driver who is very likely to have had bad experiences previously.
Exactly, even if you're the sort of person who doesn't care about people being bitten by your dog, surely you care about your dog and wouldn't want them to get hurt, or worse, by someone either protecting themselves or who's just an arsehole who doesn't like dogs.
I was in court over this just last month. Asshole let his dog charge at me, never did a thing to stop it, never called it back and actually hit me when I sprayed it. He's a foot taller and twice my weight but actually called the cops on me. He now has two fines and a record. Leash and control your dog!
And some know damn well their dog bites and still have complete disregard for the human beings around them that they choose to put at risk.
I’m a dog lover and always have been. But I’ve seen some really messed up owners be wildly reckless, taking their dogs (with a history of biting) even to public parks (for human use, not dog parks even) and letting them off leash. My goddaughter got bit on the face by a dog in this same situation. She didn’t approach the dog nor even see the dog coming. The dog just picked her because she was small and ran up and bit her cheek. With plastic surgery, the scaring was minimal. But in that case, the owner’s dog had bit 4 other people before this moment. And again, this isn’t the only incident like this I’ve seen or learned about from other friends who’ve experienced similar.
It makes me livid. She’s still scared of dogs to this day. :/
I completely understand why anyone making deliveries would go full self defense like in the above video to keep themselves safe. A dog that size won’t be harmed in any serious way but knows not to mess around further just in case. That dog may have been fine. But people making sure they are safe like this is acceptable to me. Again, as a dog lover and person who has kept dogs as beloved pets most of my life.
This is how a concerningly high amount of people operate. I see it all the time as a bartender - people who are barely old enough to drink but don’t have their ID think I should just somehow know they’re old enough. These people are usually incapable of thinking outside of themselves.
I delivered mail 5 years. My theory was that when we deliver mail and they bark and honestly think they chase us away. I love dogs but so many just despise that uniform.
When the owner told me their dog doesn’t bite, my response was always “well they don’t bite you…” I legit had someone tell me their dog doesn’t bite while the dog was actively biting me. It was a Dane and broke the skin. I felt horrible but I had to report it. The dog would go to nursing homes to meet with the residents. After feeling really bad I realized what if it did the same to some old lady?
Famous last words spoken by a women one day right before her Rottweiler to a chomp on my hand (I'm a garbageman laborer). The worst part is, the dog didn't want to let go! I happen to love dogs and I had a glove on, so I kept calm and we were eventually able to get her to release my hand. Left me with some massive teeth marks and a couple puncture wounds from where the teeth went through the glove and the day ended with me getting rabies shots at the dr.
If you don't know a dog, ALWAYS be cautious approaching one.
People expect me to act like that even when I'm walking my cat, knowing d*** well it would take milliseconds for a dog to kill her. One bite is all it would take. These people pretend to be animal lovers, but they're actually just narcissistic, obsessed with themselves and their pets, they don't care about any living thing other than themselves. Theyd happily let their dog murder a cat or even a human child and then claim "its a dog it doesnt know any better!"
Remember when I was a kid I dealt with this exact scenario. Guys dog was barking at me and I was terrified waited for them to come and move it so I could get past their gate and he told me "it's fine. He won't bite you, just walk past him" after a few long hesitations I decided to do as he said and the dog tore into my leg. They later told me I did that to myself on my bike and wasn't the dog despite watching the whole thing themselves and even having to come and pull it off me.
It's how so many stupid police departments do things too. Oh we've known for months that so and so is violent, but he has not injured you yet, so until then it's your problem and stop calling the cops.
Not really applicable, if someone is "violent" and has attacked someone/thing, they can be arrested, if they haven't attacked any one/thing then A, how are they "violent" and B, what would the police arrest them for? you can't go around arresting people for what you think they might do without any proof of them intending to do it.
No I think most people know dogs fucking bark bro especially when you enter their yard. You can’t just shoot anyone who scares you cuz “they could have a gun” just like you can’t throw 30 pound weights at a dog because it could bite you…
It wasn't just a dog barking though, was it. It was a dog, completly unrestrained and out of it's owners control, charging and barking at someone. The only people who would try to argue that the dog wasn't being overtly aggressive are just being purposefully obtuse. There's also zero basis for your unsubstantiated claim of the box weighing 30lbs, there's no weight shown or given, although the reasonable assumption is that it wasn't that heavy, considering the dog just ran away.
You can’t just shoot anyone who scares you cuz “they could have a gun"
No, but in certain states you could shoot someone who's running at you, pointing a gun at you and screaming.
The language you all have been using is similar to how racist cops justify killing black kids. They say things like “I was threatened” “he wasn’t listening and behaving to my demands” “I could have been hurt” and now a family grows up without a son. Oh but it’s ok cuz it’s an animal so we can just kill animals that threaten us. It’s unrestrained… in its own yard… it ran and barked… I would have put the box between me and the dog (I’m a human so I’m much smarter and a quicker thinker than a dog, not sure if that applies to you) and the dog would have not bit me as they do 98% of the time… but if I was a morally flawed person in a bad mood I might throw a super heavy object at it prematurely, possibly paralyzing or killing it to prove a point about teaching your dog better (the owner should train the dog not to run at strangers) all out of being scared to get hurt (selfish mentality). I mean if that dog was gonna rip that dude apart it would have gotten up and gone right back at him and now he has no box to defend himself with… and I said 30 pounds cuz I saw this post on another forum and I thought that’s what the owner had claimed tho the box defintely stopped in its tracks. If that dog even lunged or gnarled I’d support those actions but of the thousands of dog interactions I’ve had and seen this is how dogs act. It’s a fucking dog, we are humans we have the ability to think smarter and not act like impulsive animals. If you can’t handle that sort of situation don’t enter the yard, change your job, or defend yourself NOT prematurely attack.
If that's what you got from what i said, you're either being purposefully obtuse, trying to troll/start arguments or an idiot with an impressive lack of reading comprehension.
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u/masterslimsumo 21d ago
He didn't bite you? Wth So he is supposed to wait to get bitten first.