Put your dog on a leash in the park if you don?t want it to get injured.

[DulwichGlobetrotter]

LD929 Wrote:

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> I was biking in Dulwich Park today with my six

> year old daughter. Two dogs we rough

> playing,running across the path very quickly and

> suddenly one jumped up and flew into my daughter.

> My daughter was fine, but I am sure the dog is

> injured. Had it been me the dog flew into, it

> probably would have been run over and crushed.

>

> I don?t want to start a full chat on here between

> dog lovers and dog haters nor do I want to have a

> discussion about the merits of dog walking versus

> cycling in the park. If you care about your dog

> and don?t want it to get injured or killed, either

> take it off the path or put it on a leash. It will

> be your fault if it gets hurt.

And the lesson of this thread is that life is complicated, accidents happen and we all need to be responsible for our dependents & pets.

The OP?s aggressive final 2 sentences are designed to be alarmist & anti-dog.

To any sensible person, it?s clear that dogs need to behave well & be under reasonable owner control / supervision.

So too do children who?ve been let loose on bikes, but dogs & kids can enjoy the same area without alarmist edicts about leads or impending doom for all.

What a silly thread.

[mimifantasia87]

the guy said the dog jumped into his way and his daughters!!! His point is... if you want to have a dog, then control them!!!!!!!!!!!

[DulwichGlobetrotter]

mimifantasia87 Wrote:

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> the guy said the dog jumped into his way and his

> daughters!!! His point is... if you want to have a

> dog, then control them!!!!!!!!!!!

No, the point made was ?If you care about your dog and don?t want it to get injured or killed, either take it off the path or put it on a leash?. That has nothing to do with controlling a dog that?s gone wild, it?s an edict to all dog walkers by an angry unreasonable person. If the point was your one then I wouldn?t have had any issue with the OP?s post.

[first mate]

rendelharris Wrote:

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> > It was an unfortunate accident I know, but if a

> > dog collided with your bike or your daughters

> bike

> > in that 'Shared use route' and if it was

> injured,

> > I would see it as being your responsibility not

> > the dog owner. And maybe rather than expressing

> > your anger here you could pay or contribute to

> any

> > vet bill?

>

> I can't quite believe what I've just read. OK, so

> it's a shared use area. That means shared

> responsibility. Someone's dog jumped at a six

> year old girl and knocked her off her bike, if the

> dog's injured mum/dad should pay for the vet's

> bill? Just to reiterate, the child didn't run

> into to the dog, the dog ran into the child. How

> in blue blazes does that make any injury the dog

> sustained the parent's responsibility?

Where does it say the dog knocked the child off her bike? It simply says the dog "flew" into the child's bike and the OP was sure the dog was injured as a result. By stating as fact that the child was knocked over the whole episode is reframed. The OP says the child was fine. Just think we have to be careful with the facts here.

[Earl Aelfheah]

Oh FFS. Just keep your dog on a lead when you're in a 'dog's on lead' area. Be respectful of other people and try not to impose yourself, or your pooch on others in ways which they may not appreciate. It's pretty simple.

[first mate]

Yup, agree when in a dogs on lead area owners should comply. Seems this was not a dogs on lead area. That said, I would not personally let dogs or pups playfight on a path used by cyclists.

[rendelharris]

first mate Wrote:

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> Yup, agree when in a dogs on lead area owners

> should comply. Seems this was not a dogs on lead

> area.

So there's no responsibility for control in an area where dogs are allowed to run off the lead? For goodness' sake, I can't believe how simple commonsense seems to be abandoned in pursuit of an hysterical "you're anti-dog" agenda. When I take the family dog out for a walk, I keep her on the lead in areas where it is mandated; when she's off the lead, I keep a close eye on her and whistle her away from any potential dangers, either things that could affect her or where she could affect other people. I don't walk her in Dulwich Park, but if I did I wouldn't let her go tearing across the road when small children were cycling on it, both for their safety and her own. I can't see why that appears to be a problem for some people.

ETA now you've edited, FM, we agree!

[Louisa]

Well isn?t this thread turning out to be gold. The oddly absent OP really has set the cat amongst the pigeons, or should I say the dog amongst the cyclists. *Bob* have you returned in an alternate guise just for laughs? I do hope so.

Louisa.

[first mate]

Rendel, yes, I got distracted mid post and had to go back to finish. Sweet accord prevails.

[taper]

The road and horse track are usually empty, so it's fine to let your dog run around there off the lead. At the weekends however, especially when the sun's out, it fills up with with people cycling, promenading, picnicking etc. So if you're walking your dog, you need to exercise a bit more caution. My dog's good at avoiding bikes, but a menace with picnics.

[chuff]

There are lots and lots of reasonable people that use the park and a handful of unreasonable and entitled people.

The title of this thread isn't great though!

I think i'm going to talk to the Park Keepers about the signs and see if anything can be done (I'm in there twice a day). Maybe if everyone knows where they can do things and where they can't then it makes it a bit easier. I only commented on this thread as there were a lot of people that thought the main path through was dogs on leads.

I agree that dog owners should be aware of their dogs and what they're doing. I personally don't want either of my dogs to hurt anyone or get hurt but sometimes they do stupid things, like chase squirrels and change direction suddenly. My kids were a menace when younger with changing direction too....

[Blah Blah]

Even a dog on a a lead can jump. This idea that dogs MUST but under perfect control is bonkers. It is quite clear the dog was playing with another dog and accidentally ran into the child on a bicyle. The dog can't have been very big or it would have knocked the child over, so we are probably talking about a smallish dog, and it was not in a dogs on leads area anyway! Be sensible about this.

[Applespider]

I do subscribe to the common sense theory. I ride through the park. If I see a person carrying a lead or a dog running around, I slow down further and keep a wary eye out. I try to avoid passing between a dog and its owner (dog on one side of road and owner on the other) just in case there's an extendable lead (I've seen it happen) or the dog is spooked. The owner might know their dog is 'bombproof' but I'd rather not risk it.

Most owners are great about keeping their dogs relatively close by while they're on the roadway - there's pile of grass for playing with balls etc. But there are a few groups with multiple dogs which spread out across the path and make it really difficult to get past at times.

[LD929]

hammerman Wrote:

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> Really hope the OP (active on the forum this

> morning) comes back to give their point of view

> about the responses!

Hi all:

Thank you for the lively discussion. The thread was written when I was still very annoyed at the dog owner. Generally, though, I have a couple of thoughts:

1) Everyone -- dog-owners and parents, in particular -- need to use the park and the paths responsibly and be conscientious of your surroundings. I am a parent of 3 young children that bumble around, change directions, run-off, etc. In the park, I am not a relaxed parent. I always have my eyes on my children and am capable of quickly reacting to ensure that they do not get hurt or injured.

That is just being a responsible parent. I don't concentrate on legal liability or whose "fault" it would be if my children were to get injured. I think dog owners should exercise the same responsibility -- some do, but many don't. This was just one incident. I also can't describe how many times we have been picnicking or simply enjoying a quiet moment on the grass when some dog comes running over to us and scares the kids, with the dog owner some 50 feet away.

My view is that if you can't control your dog in light of your surroundings, then you aren't being a responsible dog owner.

2) Given how busy the park is, especially when its nice out, there should be clearly designated areas for dogs where they can be off the lead. These areas should not be on the path. I don't know how many of you have been to New York, but there are a number of parks in NY with fenced-in dog play areas, which to me seems a wonderful idea.

I say all of this as someone who loves dogs. I grew up with dogs, having had 3 of them when I was younger and would love to have a dog here -- if it weren't for being in a big city (and for having a toddler). Having had a dog, I know that (i) they bite (I have a scar on my arm to prove it) and (ii) they act like little children. The reason for the title of the thread is because, as a dog owner, I am sure you would be devastated if your dog were to be injured because of some silly accident, because you, as the dog owner, weren't exercising enough control.

Best,

LD

[DulwichGlobetrotter]

I couldn?t disagree more with the OP. The bike traffic is a nightmare on a sunny day when you have a little kid and little dog as I do. Most families are fine but some treat it like a race track and it can be pretty intimidating walking there on a busy day with a toddler and a dog - if you don?t want to traipse through mud or break the ?dogs on leads? rule that applies in many parts of the park then the road is often the only alternative in the park.

Perhaps bikes should be banned (i?m not serious)! Or perhaps everyone should just be a bit more reasonable and tolerant of others. I?m sorry the OP had a bad experience but banning other people or limiting reasonable use of the park because of that experience is intolerant and unjustified.

Having spent the cold wet winter walking my dog there every week when nobody else is out, it seems completely unfair that the sun comes out and so do intolerant people who want to change the rules to suit themselves during summer. The park is for everyone, come rain or shine.

[chuff]

I agree DulwichGlobetrotter

[civilservant]

DulwichGlobetrotter Wrote:

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> completely unfair that the sun comes out and so do

> intolerant people who want to change the rules to

> suit themselves during summer. The park is for

> everyone, come rain or shine.

yes

[ollieloudon]

I think Dulwichglobetrotter just made the perfect post on the issue.

[Ann]

Agreed too DulwichGlobetrotter , come rain or shine.

[natnat]

I think it comes down to common courtesy and common sense. It is a shared space with rights for all but at the same timeffect. I have had two incidents where a dog has jumped into my pram on my child and also my toddler has had a piece of bread taken out of her hand in by a dog. The reaction from the owner was one that was far from apologetic. If you know your dog does not respond then in busy times keep them close until there is a space to run free. Also I think all need to be mindful of the surrounding and shared space.