Thing is I have always felt I train my dogs to not be a nuisance to me, to generally live within my rules but they probably won’t be what others enjoy, but the key is I don’t inflict them on anyone else. If you visit I put them on leads and they sit happily at my feet but let them off they would mob you to death so leads are my way to keep you unmolested. Again out and about leads keep them from leaping all over anyone who doesn’t want to be leapt upon. But say it’s OK and you meet the close up and personal Molliepops and Bettypoos - no surface unlicked and no person uninvestigated thoroughly.
We have virtually stopped taking our two small dogs out due to irresponsible people who walk their dogs off the lead…completely illegal here. The law here is that ALL dogs MUST be on leads when out, no matter where, and as far as I’m concerned quite right too. Taking our dogs for a walk became a nightmare as other peoples dogs were constantly bounding towards us, some big, some small, but the owners think it funny. Well I don’t and more than once people have had the wrong end of my tongue and asked if they can read, there are notices everywhere saying that dogs must be on leads. Fortunately our dogs are small, but very active and we have a large garden where they can run and play in safety. Laws here regarding dogs are very strict, unfortunately of course impossible to implement, but those who are caught find themselves paying very large fines and all the dog’s paperwork checked. So basically I don’t care who you are as a dog owner, keep your dog on a lead wherever you are, safer for other people and their dogs, also safer for your own dog.
Well not really as the owner of the car does have control at all times which is not the case with a dog off a leash. A car without a driver is just a static lump of metal whereas an aggressive dog off a lead can roam at will and can cause mayhem wherever they go.
Can’t help but think a bit laterally with all this talk about responsible dog ownership. (With which, I do agree, though.)
While we’re at it, could we have parents compulsorily trained in responsible parenting too and sort out the out of control dangerous children?
:twisted:
Yes please - I would vote for that !
I wouldnt entertain the idea of owning a dog, unless a breed was introduced which didnt POO.
It is definitely the owner not the dog. I have never been nervous of dogs having been an owner myself in the past. Now I am wary.
I was attacked on two occasions in my own garden; the owner tried to bully me into believing that it was my own fault… you can see who the dog as copying! In light of the owner’s attitude, and besides next time the dog might kill a child, I called the police and a PC came along with the council dog warden to sort it out. The owner went sneaking around gossiping!
The result was that the dog owner had to erect a fence to keep the unruly dog in.
I can now visit my own garden without fear of attack, my garden is not covered in dog poo as it had been and the shy birds have returned to my garden, at times it is like sitting in my own private aviary, they disappear into the shrubbery as soon as said dog starts barking.
PS
after all that ranting I forgot to say that the owners have never apologised either for the dog attacks or for the woman’s subsequent behaviour and for that reason I pity the dog and consider the owners ignorant pigs!
Seconded!
Something to ponder 
The modern terms cynic and cynical derive from the Greek word kynikos, the adjective form of kyon, meaning dog.[39] Diogenes believed human beings live artificially and hypocritically and would do well to study the dog. Besides performing natural bodily functions in public without unease, a dog will eat anything, and make no fuss about where to sleep. Dogs live in the present without anxiety, and have no use for the pretensions of abstract philosophy. In addition to these virtues, dogs are thought to know instinctively who is friend and who is foe. Unlike human beings who either dupe others or are duped, dogs will give an honest bark at the truth. (Wikipedia)
Well I’d trade a human trait or two just to be able to trip up/fall over/walk into something and not worry first about if I looked daft/if anyone saw me rather than if I’d hurt myself - just like dogs do 
Story in our local paper today:
Postie Bitten By Dog on Private Sack (odd title)
Postie of 25 years, went into garden to deliver mail, dog ran up & bit him in the “privates” .He shouted, dog released him, put his hand down & he was covered in blood.
Poor guy had just recovered from a vasectomy!
Crikey - that is bad. I do think that if people have dogs that could bite, they should erect a post box for the postmen to use (that’s what I’ve done since ‘adopting’ my older dog) and over here, if your dogs are a serious threat to postmen, you’d be told to collect your own mail from the local sorting office.
We have some neighbours with those US type boxes. They’re a good idea, I like the way the posties over there collect post too! Although probably get nicked here!
We even put an extra door a few feet from the front door down the hallway to stop ours getting to the letter box as we were worried postie might get his fingers bitten.
I never understand people taking chances their dogs could hurt someone.
I agree with some of what Maggis said but this part:
In addition to these virtues, dogs are thought to know instinctively who is friend and who is foe.
I cannot agree with this, the dog senses his/her owners feelings towards someone. If the owner is an aggressive bully, so will the dog be. If the owner encourages the dog to attack, he will.
Ask the many posties who have been attacked, I think that they will agree with me.
Save our Posties, get a mail box! 
We have a post box but not to protect the postie, it is to protect our dogs from people who leave our gate open so the dogs could get out.
JUST as I have long suspected.
Here everyone has a postbox, I have never seen a door with a letterbox in it. If a parcel or something to big to go in the postbox is delivered delivery person will ring gate bell, if no reply then a “we tried to deliver” note will be left in the postbox or in postoffice delivery an official “collect from postoffice” slip will be left. I don´t think postmen or anyone else should have to risk getting bitten by dogs.
I go to our local Dog Training for Obedience and Agility, I think every dog owner should have to go to the Obedience Class. It’s amazing to see the way some Owners behave…they simply have no clue about their dog. I always find a trained dog is a happy dog. Also if we’re out walking I’m always alert, looking ahead and taking in what’s going on around us, and if I see someone coming I don’t recognise I call Dageus in to Heel at once, he’s a huge dog but still a pup and full of bounce, it can be scary if he heads for you and you don’t know him. Once I see things are ok then he gets to go and say hello. To my knowledge no dog is ever born bad…it’s once humans get involved the trouble starts.
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee315/Tanglehar/Bits%20n%20Bobs/59649_10151243637408184_662819127_n_zps53a91da2.jpg