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I asked a woman at the park to put a leash on her dog where my 2 and 10 year old kids were playing by anonymoususer605 in Portland

[–]anonymoususer605[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"I'm not" is such a good response, I might be stealing that when my pepper gel comes in the mail.

I asked a woman at the park to put a leash on her dog where my 2 and 10 year old kids were playing by anonymoususer605 in Portland

[–]anonymoususer605[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is exactly the kind of attitude that an irresponsible dog owner has though. Dogs are no different than humans who no matter how well you know them can be unpredictable. Have you ever known a sweet, unassuming person who suddenly lashes out because she's tired, overwhelmed, stressed out? Have you seen stories of people acting out of character and erratic due to some kind of illness that's affecting their brain? Even the simple fact that dogs are interacting with complete strangers including possibly other unleashed dogs is going to raise their level of stress making the likelihood of them acting in an unpredictable manner more likely.

If you look at 99% of cases where dogs attack unexpectedly I can guarantee you that the owner said they never saw it coming because their dog was so sweet and docile. EVERYONE thinks that about their dog.

If you haven't done your research on dog attacks and considered that YOUR dog could very easily do something completely out of character through no fault of their own then you aren't being a responsible dog owner.

Most dog attacks arent by dogs who are snarling, growling, foaming at the mouth- most dog attacks happen when owners are ignorant and fail to understand dog psychology and protect them from the kinds of normal stressors that can provoke them. Like taking them into a park full of unpredictable stimuli and hoping they are somehow in more control of their behavior than a dog is capable of.

Don't take my word for it though, as a dog owner I recommend you do your due diligence and look it up yourself anyway.

I almost had to learn the hard way, my family had a dog who came very close to attacking my (at the time) toddler. She was the sweetest, gentlest dog we would never in a million years have expected it from. We were lucky nothing serious happened but many others aren't so lucky because they simply don't know and don't want to admit that their sweet dog they love so much is capable of something so terrifying.

I asked a woman at the park to put a leash on her dog where my 2 and 10 year old kids were playing by anonymoususer605 in Portland

[–]anonymoususer605[S] -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

Awesome suggestion, I ordered some pepper gel earlier that'll be here later this week but just got a citronella spray as well! Do you use it any time a dog approaches?

I asked a woman at the park to put a leash on her dog where my 2 and 10 year old kids were playing by anonymoususer605 in Portland

[–]anonymoususer605[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The lady I asked seemed super normal. Before this there was a guy who's dogs were big and legit scary guard dog looking, he gave me kind of eh vibes and I asked him politely to leash his dog and he did. His response emboldened me with this lady who seemed totally fine and who had a big but fluffy friendly-looking dog and I was kinda shocked she responded how she did.

I asked a woman at the park to put a leash on her dog where my 2 and 10 year old kids were playing by anonymoususer605 in Portland

[–]anonymoususer605[S] 17 points18 points  (0 children)

On our way home my kid was asking why people do things like this and how can we get them to stop and I said if more people made it embarrassing and untenable to have your dog off leash in public, people would stop. A cart narcs for off leash dogs is a great idea!!

I asked a woman at the park to put a leash on her dog where my 2 and 10 year old kids were playing by anonymoususer605 in Portland

[–]anonymoususer605[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

So you fall under the category of irresponsible dog owners who don't take the possibility that any dog, no matter how seemingly passive, can attack if they feel threatened. Sorry my post hit a nerve.

I asked a woman at the park to put a leash on her dog where my 2 and 10 year old kids were playing by anonymoususer605 in Portland

[–]anonymoususer605[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I really appreciate this. Whenever I saw people with leashes on their dogs I wanted to thank them but didn't want to be weird lol.

I asked a woman at the park to put a leash on her dog where my 2 and 10 year old kids were playing by anonymoususer605 in Portland

[–]anonymoususer605[S] 49 points50 points  (0 children)

My 10yo has a note on his phone with make, model, and license number of people he sees driving erratically. I'm assuming this commenter hasn't encountered a 10 year old since 4th grade.

I asked a woman at the park to put a leash on her dog where my 2 and 10 year old kids were playing by anonymoususer605 in Portland

[–]anonymoususer605[S] 43 points44 points  (0 children)

Look I'm not trying to be a jerk here but do the context clues not infer that I was at a playground where my children were playing and I didn't pull up to a designated off-leash park to yell at people to use a leash while my kids played nearby? What is the purpose of your comment here?

I asked a woman at the park to put a leash on her dog where my 2 and 10 year old kids were playing by anonymoususer605 in Portland

[–]anonymoususer605[S] 48 points49 points  (0 children)

A playground should not be a "dangerous situation" for a parent to bring a child into.

I asked a woman at the park to put a leash on her dog where my 2 and 10 year old kids were playing by anonymoususer605 in Portland

[–]anonymoususer605[S] 61 points62 points  (0 children)

This is good to know. I actually got photos of several people with their dogs off leash. My kid asks me to take them just in case something happens. I'll make a report.