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Today? Or just me?

Grumpy Old Lemons Like You
XFool
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Today? Or just me?

#201047

Postby XFool » February 13th, 2019, 11:21 am

The world's gone firkin nuts. Or is it the UK, or 'Ingeland', or just me?

I went for my walk around the local park this morning, fell to musing interestingly about Brexit and such. As you do. ;) When I encountered the 'Dog Lover's issue' again. :roll:

Group of dog owners and their multiple charges strewn across the path as I approached. I don't own a dog; is it this, in the eyes of dog lovers, that seem to render me an Unperson? While not as big (overweight?) as I used to be I'm still over 6 feet, so not the invisible man.

Nobody bothers. So I wade through and step over 'man's best friend' {Disclosure: I was bitten on the hand by a passing American Bulldog last year} and continue on my way. Oblivious, they continue with whatever they are gossiping about (their dogs?).

Now let's be clear, I don't expect my arrival to be greeted with a band striking up "Hail to the Chief" or even a solitary rendering of The Trumpet Voluntary, but SURELY just a smidgen of recognition and general politeness and consideration for others can be rustled up when needed? And for those who say: "This is just one of those thing"; yes it is. It's one of those things that has happened more than once before.

I continue on my walk. Further on a man hails me over the railing. I stop to help. Does he need directions? Does he need local information? (He looks like my notion of an odds on Brexit voter, but that's just my prejudice!). "Have you seen a bloke in a hi-viz jacket walking up there?" "No." "Look up there, can you see a foreign geyser in a hi-viz jacket on the path?" "No". "He must have gone into the bushes for a piss. I bet he's hiding in the bushes. He's in the bushes having a crap." "Right".

I continued on my way, I didn't see anyone in the bushes with or without a hi-viz jacket. Foreign or British. But I wasn't really looking. On the way home, just where I live, I saw a 'foreign' (i.e dark skinned) guy wearing a hi-viz jacket walking up the road. On the back it said: 'Morrison data services'

Now about those Brexit thoughts... :twisted:

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Re: Today? Or just me?

#201092

Postby madhatter » February 13th, 2019, 3:12 pm

Or is it the UK, or 'Ingeland', or just me?

Just you, probably. I fairly often go for walks along paths and when crossing parks will often be approached by a dog or pass a dog on a lead.

If the path is narrow the owner will often go to some trouble to shorten the lead and stop it from jumping up or tripping me.

Usually if the dog shows an interest in me it’s owner will apologise and call it (even though it was not bothering me in the slightest).

It helps to lived in a family with dogs, as you can then recognise the body language that indicates that it is worried, aggressive or relaxed and friendly. Sometimes a dog I have never met before will even drop a ball at my feet and want me to throw it.

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Re: Today? Or just me?

#201096

Postby UncleEbenezer » February 13th, 2019, 3:41 pm

Indeed, the lengths people will go to to stop their dogs being naturally friendly can tend towards embarrassing. OK, there are situations where it makes sense to restrain a dog - like the muddy dog who might jump up on a person - but more often you see a perfectly clean and well-behaved dog being restrained to and well-beyond the point of cruelty. Pulling a dog hard - in extreme cases even lifting their weight off the ground - by a noose around the neck is cruel and all-too-usual punishment for doing nothing wrong.

What kind of insecurity causes people to treat dogs like that?

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Re: Today? Or just me?

#201108

Postby Lootman » February 13th, 2019, 4:45 pm

UncleEbenezer wrote:Indeed, the lengths people will go to to stop their dogs being naturally friendly can tend towards embarrassing. OK, there are situations where it makes sense to restrain a dog - like the muddy dog who might jump up on a person - but more often you see a perfectly clean and well-behaved dog being restrained to and well-beyond the point of cruelty. Pulling a dog hard - in extreme cases even lifting their weight off the ground - by a noose around the neck is cruel and all-too-usual punishment for doing nothing wrong.

I take a different view. I've been bitten by dogs twice and so really appreciate it when dog owners keep their hound on a tight lead in my proximity. The reality is that a certain percentage of the population is afraid of dogs and so it is considerate of owners to assume that any stranger on a path or pavement might be cynophobic.

The opposite extreme is where owners don't even bother with a leash, and their four-legged friend gives me unwanted attention. It sometimes seems that dog owners just cannot comprehend that other people don't like their little Fido as much as they do.

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Re: Today? Or just me?

#201110

Postby Howyoudoin » February 13th, 2019, 4:53 pm

Lootman wrote:The opposite extreme is where owners don't even bother with a leash, and their four-legged friend gives me unwanted attention. It sometimes seems that dog owners just cannot comprehend that other people don't like their little Fido as much as they do.


Ditto for other people's kids.

HYD

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Re: Today? Or just me?

#201113

Postby UncleEbenezer » February 13th, 2019, 5:06 pm

Lootman wrote:I take a different view. I've been bitten by dogs twice and so really appreciate it when dog owners keep their hound on a tight lead in my proximity.

By that argument, humans should always be kept on a very tight lead.

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Re: Today? Or just me?

#201133

Postby scotia » February 13th, 2019, 6:02 pm

Our surfaced former railway line is designated as a shared space - for bicycles, horses, pedestrians (and of course accompanying dogs). I use it for excursions on my bicycle, and pedestrians with dogs usually keep them to the side as I pass (slowly). If approaching them from their rear (with or without a dog), a ring of the bell gives them time to oblige. Indeed several have thanked me for using the bell - they dislike bicycles whizzing past with no warning. I normally thank the pedestrians as I pass. This is the usual harmonious state - but there are exceptions. A recent exception was a group of young men accompanied with a Staffie and carrying Buckfast - both badges of status.

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Re: Today? Or just me?

#201205

Postby XFool » February 13th, 2019, 10:28 pm

Just to add, as an animal lover I am still not afraid of dogs, just wary now around large dogs. My point about the group of dog lovers was their apparent self absorption and obliviousness to other users of the public pathway (me!) as they totally blocked the path making no attempt whatsoever to move themselves or their animals to allow another to simply pass by. Leaving me to have to step over their dogs in the process. Is this not simply a complete lack of manners in a public space? As I said, it is not the first time this has happened to me - at almost the same spot as well!

I do take the point about people who, unlike myself, are very frightened of dogs. I know someone who is. Many dog owners also seem oblivious to this. I wonder how many public parks - intended for use by all people - are effectively out of bounds to people who really are frightened of dogs. A large proportion of dogs in my local park are not on a lead, of course they are supposed to be. Then there are the 'professional' dog walkers. I once counted up to about twenty dogs with one, many if not most, bounding loose all over the place. I can well imagine somebody with a real fear of dogs would be freaked out by this sort of thing.

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Re: Today? Or just me?

#201222

Postby Sussexlad » February 14th, 2019, 7:17 am

As someone who walks fairly regularly on foot and bridle paths, often encountering both single and multiple dog handlers, I have say that my experience is quite the opposite. If the dog is free, the owner will often call out for the dog not to jump up, something i don't actually mind, because I enjoy interacting with them. Just yesterday, I made a fuss of a small and black and white terrier, it was just fantastic! In the case of obvious dog-walkers, I'm always surprised how a group of 'unrelated' dogs just jog along together. I guess rudeness can be encountered in all walks of life and unfortunately, your park sets a poor example!

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Re: Today? Or just me?

#201231

Postby sg31 » February 14th, 2019, 8:19 am

XFool wrote:Just to add, as an animal lover I am still not afraid of dogs, just wary now around large dogs. My point about the group of dog lovers was their apparent self absorption and obliviousness to other users of the public pathway (me!) as they totally blocked the path making no attempt whatsoever to move themselves or their animals to allow another to simply pass by. Leaving me to have to step over their dogs in the process. Is this not simply a complete lack of manners in a public space? As I said, it is not the first time this has happened to me - at almost the same spot as well!

I do take the point about people who, unlike myself, are very frightened of dogs. I know someone who is. Many dog owners also seem oblivious to this. I wonder how many public parks - intended for use by all people - are effectively out of bounds to people who really are frightened of dogs. A large proportion of dogs in my local park are not on a lead, of course they are supposed to be. Then there are the 'professional' dog walkers. I once counted up to about twenty dogs with one, many if not most, bounding loose all over the place. I can well imagine somebody with a real fear of dogs would be freaked out by this sort of thing.


I'm not a dog owner, I never have been.

It's not just dogs and their owners. Groups of people stand on the pavement chatting and you need to walk out into the road to get round them, People in supermarkets push their trolley along then stop to look on a shelf totally unaware that the trolley they still have hold of is completely blocking the isle. Badly parked cars that either impede pedestrians or other road users. worst of all parents on the school run completely lose all sense of common decency and road sense. There are many other examples.

None of them are aware of other people or the difficulty they might be causing, either unaware or don't care. It is just the way things are, maybe they have always been this way and I've only become aware of it now I'm older. I've no idea which, I've only just got this old.

I just put it down to people being fallible, we all make mistakes sometime. It does get my hackles rising sometimes though.

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Re: Today? Or just me?

#201249

Postby UncleEbenezer » February 14th, 2019, 9:20 am

sg31 wrote:I'm not a dog owner, I never have been.

Likewise.
It's not just dogs and their owners. Groups of people stand on the pavement chatting and you need to walk out into the road to get round them,

Indeed. Though that's usually down to pavements that are completely inadequate to a busy area, leaving them with nowhere else to go and chat. In the case of a shopping street in an old market town, it might be just about adequate if they got rid of cars altogether during shopping hours.
People in supermarkets push their trolley along then stop to look on a shelf totally unaware that the trolley they still have hold of is completely blocking the isle.

People in supermarkets who stop for a long natter while blocking something. Couples shopping together in supermarkets who will leave a big gap but close it if you try to pass (not realising they're a couple until the gap closes around you). People who stand in front of a shelf doing nothing at all.
Badly parked cars that either impede pedestrians or other road users. worst of all parents on the school run completely lose all sense of common decency and road sense. There are many other examples.

Cars parked to block a pavement. Or a cycle lane, bus lane, etc, forcing legitimate traffic from that lane to merge with general traffic. But especially a pavement, where some legitimate users are too frail to do that. Like my late neighbour who walked only very slowly and on two sticks, and was imprisoned at home by her inability to get round illegally parked cars.
None of them are aware of other people or the difficulty they might be causing, either unaware or don't care. It is just the way things are, maybe they have always been this way and I've only become aware of it now I'm older. I've no idea which, I've only just got this old.

I remember one day, I found my path in town completely blocked by natterers, totally oblivious to a 'scuse me. Later that day I was up Dartmoor on the bike, and heading for a little footbridge saw it and the approach occupied by ponies. The ponies, unlike the humans in town, had the intelligence and indeed presence of mind to clear a way past for me as I approached (not that I asked for it: as with walkers on a trail, I would of course have got off the bike if I had had to pass them somewhere too narrow to offer good clearance).

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Re: Today? Or just me?

#201265

Postby XFool » February 14th, 2019, 10:24 am

UncleEbenezer wrote:I remember one day, I found my path in town completely blocked by natterers, totally oblivious to a 'scuse me. Later that day I was up Dartmoor on the bike, and heading for a little footbridge saw it and the approach occupied by ponies. The ponies, unlike the humans in town, had the intelligence and indeed presence of mind to clear a way past for me as I approached (not that I asked for it: as with walkers on a trail, I would of course have got off the bike if I had had to pass them somewhere too narrow to offer good clearance).

So demonstrating that animals can have more awareness than many humans!


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