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My dog has done this.
And I am sad and disappointed it has happened.
You are right to look after your son, full stop. You don't have to batter the dog when it approaches you. Just grab it by the collar, stay calm, and wait until the owner comes up. If you can do all this while your son is understandably upset you are a superhuman.
You can tell them exactly why you're doing what you're doing, words like "someone should have the dog under control and I thought I'd try" (@Constable_Savage for the quote).
And then you can explain. And then you can leave. You don't have to give any further explanation.Unfortunately, it will happen. But it's not up to you to try and plan for everything. You're right the law is there for a reason.
I think tower Hamlets are looking at changing/enforcing better the rule and making it "lead on" all the time because of situations like this with bigger dogs. Which means, it'll probably happen london wide at some point.I'm also going to guess your son's normal reaction to something running up to him that is not wanted probably whips the dog up a little bit.
Obviously, I'm responding from a place of "i've been that dog owner (but not the one that says "oh she's friendly!")" .
If my dog is on a lead, I'm very mindful (and demure..) of who is around and who is nearby and what they look like they're doing (are they scared, are they taking a wider line , why are they walking over to pet my dog?). And when she's off lead I try and pick a place that she will only be interested in what I'm doing. Obviously, there are times when this hasn't worked ("is that a dog 200m over there!? FUCK YOU I'M GOING THATTAWAY").
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Chalfie
Not sure if this is the place to ask but looking for a dog owner’s perspective.
Keeping a long story short-ish, my 7 yr old autistic son is terrified of dogs approaching and sniffing him when they are off the lead. He has a very obvious and strong fearful reaction, tears, screaming, shaking etc when a dog comes up to him.
The difficult part for me is that even when I shout over to the owner to recall the dog, I get a few seconds of being told ‘don’t worry he’s very friendly’ etc., which I can understand but given the extreme way my son is melting down in front of them I’d prefer them to understand that maybe he has a particular need and they should just get on with recalling their dog and then we can talk.
It’s got to the point where on one occasion I’ve felt I had to explain the legal situation (which is designed in favour of people like my son) because the owner was offended that I had pulled her dog away from him myself while she was 50 yards away shouting to me about how friendly he is.
I can feel myself getting a bit more impatient every time this happens but at the same time I can see how for the owners it is an unexpected situation to find themselves in while out for a pleasant walk, so I’m not totally surprised at how relaxed they are. I can’t call the owners ignorant - I think there could be more shared about the Dogs Act and why it exists, why it’s important for dogs to have recall etc. but in the moment isn’t the right time for me to explain this. The one time I did I was told in no uncertain terms that I was in the wrong because ‘we’re on open land, the National Trust say it’s ok’ etc.
So dog owners, short of never taking my son out on his bike in the countryside again, what can I do here that helps and doesn’t get me attacked for being selfish for wanting to make sure my son is ok. My running mate suggested I get some kind of high pitched anti dog alarm thing but I’m doubtful about it working that well based on the reviews. Any thoughts?