2 weeks Ago By Pravina-rudra
OK, let me start with a disclaimer – my eldest daughter is very allergic to dogs. If she is licked just once she instantly comes up in a horrific rash and needs to be immediately given antihistamine. That fact is obviously always on my mind whenever I am in the proximity of a dog (or more accurately, a dog owner) but I would argue that rather than making me unreasonably biased towards those with dogs, it has actually made me suddenly appreciate how badly so many seem to be at controlling or even being aware of their animals.
To take one of many examples, on a walk through our local park the other day I witnessed a woman so clearly scared of a large dog off its leash she was literally cowering in a bush as it endlessly jumped around her. The dog’s owner could not have been less apologetic or concerned for the woman if she tried. Rather than running up and removing the dog from the scene, or shouting at the dog to move (while hurrying over), the dog’s owner slowly wandered past with a “oh don’t worry, he’s fine” and nothing more.
It was absolutely infuriating to watch and a scene I’m seeing repeated countless times of late. On a daily basis I watch dog owners walking miles ahead or behind their dogs with absolutely no interest in having them under any kind of control. If their pet was to suddenly lash out or behave erratically none of them would have any ability to stop it; some wouldn’t even notice.
I’ve watched children burst into tears and adults tremble in fear. The incidents I constantly witness do not involve lethal XL Bully-type dogs or obviously unsuitable owners either, it’s blissfully unconcerned pet owners who see no problem anywhere. I don’t know if it’s a result of how inward-looking we now all are or my just oversensitivity due to my daughter’s allergies, but one does get the distinct impression that those with dogs have become blind to the fact someone might not like their dog or want it thrust in their direction.
We seem to have gone beyond the old “oh don’t worry, he loves kids!” (response: your animal, which has never met my child, could fit her head in its jaws and rip her face off at any moment) to a new level where apparently it is universally accepted that we all love other people’s dogs so much they are now our problem to deal with too. Read Next Parents embarrassing themselves at sports day is a vital life lesson for kids When and how did this happen? I must have missed the memo. Parents have got much better at appreciating that most people aren’t interested in seeing or hearing their children, instead dog owners now seem to have picked up that mantle and run with it.
The irony in this is we love dogs as a family. If it wasn’t for the allergy I have no doubt my wife and I would be bullied into getting one at some stage in our children’s lives . And of course there is an element of “hashtag not all dog owners”.
Most are obviously inherently good people . Perhaps that’s the problem – they’re just trying to be nice and share their animals with the world, without appreciating that not everyone wants that. Another example of the behaviour I’ve witnessed of late was on a very short boat ride across the Thames last weekend when a couple boarded with an enormous dog and proceeded to let it push its face right into our daughter’s.
When we explained she was highly allergic, they either didn’t believe us or chose not to hear because they promptly walked the dog right up to her again and pushed the dog towards her. People don’t seem to want to believe her allergy, that someone might not want their dog near them. At worse this behaviour is starting to come across as extremely arrogant.
Everyone must adore and accept the dogs no matter the situation. In a cafe just yesterday a woman, clearly deliberately, let her dog loose to do whatever it wanted and every five minutes would look up from her laptop and give it the big “oh, what are you like!” as her pet continually sniffed around the other tables and rummaged behind the counter. The only time she actually seemed to notice what the dog was doing was when it came over and barked at my youngest daughter as I fed her in a high chair.
Yes, you clearly love your dog and yes, most of us find dogs extremely cute and joyous, but there are some who don’t want the animals in their personal space. Surely the default should be to check if they are happy with interacting with your dog before automatically thrusting it in their direction. As always, the dogs are at no fault in all of this.
I just wish their owners would drop the arrogance and behave a bit better..
