Oliver Keens is brave and correct to make this stand (Who has priority in public spaces – dogs or children? Where I live, we’re about to find out, 1 December). There is no rational argument against banning dogs from gated play areas and sports areas. Rather than children needing to be educated about how to behave around dogs, too many dog owners need a dose of realism about how others perceive their beloved pets.
There is a blind spot for many owners who just can’t comprehend that not everyone loves their dog and therefore allow behaviours that are antisocial and threatening to children and adults alike. How many times have people encountered dogs racing up to them in public spaces, jumping up on to them and generally not being under the control of their owners, whose only counter is “Oh, he’s just being friendly”.
Dogs may be of benefit to individuals, but are a net negative to the city and urban residents. It’s time the imbalance was righted.
Christopher Gray
Edinburgh
• Oh, the line “He won’t hurt you”. How am I supposed to know that? Given the rise in attacks, actually, he might. I fear we have drifted into a dystopia that needs to be redressed. We all need to be able to access walks, parks, forests and outdoor play. We know it is good for us, so dogs must be on leads in outdoor shared spaces to keep us safe as we do so. Why is this even being debated? If you own a dog, please learn how to control it, keep it on a lead and consider others. If you are a decision-maker thinking only of your own position and not a child’s right to play, shame on you.
Linda Alexander
Chirnside, Scottish Borders
• I was one of the dog attack statistics in Devon this year when I was badly injured by a dog that jumped at me from behind while running out of control on a beach, breaking three ribs as I fell flat. It has taken over six months to recover. We have a very bad situation down here in Devon and Cornwall, where many owners let dogs run and jump out of control. We need to re-establish dog licences, and have more dog wardens and less of a culture of dog worship. Good luck to anyone who can mount a campaign to regain our beaches, parks, streets, fields and moors.
Angela Farr
Kingsbridge, Devon
• I like dogs, but as a small person who walks a lot, dogs can frighten me. The current trend for dog‑friendly everything is getting ridiculous. I now search high street cafes for “No dogs allowed” signs. And don’t get me started on extendable dog leads.
Ruth Pritchard
Rhyl, Denbighshire
• Can we agree that the underlying problem here is a lack of green space for our communities? When we have enough public space, some can be for kids, some for dogs, and some that’s shared. Rather than pitting groups against each other, saying one can only win if the other loses, can’t we work together to get better spaces for everyone? That sounds like the sort of community that’s good for children, dogs and everybody alike.
Emma Wood
London
• Children are not innately fearful of dogs. My own such evidence leads me to suspect an alternative reason for why kids tense up if near a dog. When walking my dog recently, a mother, trying to control a “misbehaving” child, told him that if he didn’t “behave”, my dog would bite him. Parents often transmit their own fear or simple dislike of dogs to their children, yanking them away with a “Don’t go near the dog, dear”.
Fortunately, I have witnessed far more occasions on which, after friendly reassurances between parent and owner, both child and dog experience a mood uplift after some gentle petting and the child’s love of animals is reinforced.
Hugh Coolican
Broughton Astley, Leicestershire
• I have a strong allergy to dogs and cats and I’m feeling more and more discriminated against. My ability to enjoy a pub meal or a quiet time in a cafe is becoming almost impossible. Dog owners should be considerate of other people. It’s always the same basic principle: someone’s freedom ends when it stars to negatively affect someone else; at this point we need to agree on rules. Unfortunately, it often seems that this principle doesn’t apply to dog owners. Having dogs able to stroll around in pubs and restaurants and coming to sit under my table is absolutely too much.
Paolo Colombaioni
Warwick
• What angers me most about dogs on the loose is being lectured by their owners on how I should behave. I attempt to pick up my terrified three-year-old grandchild as I’m being told “He wouldn’t hurt a fly” and instructed “All you have to do is keep still/keep walking/keep your hands out of his way.”
Susan Tinsley
Sheffield
• This week I have scraped dog mess from the wheels of my son’s pushchair three times, cleaned dog poo from my daughter’s school shoes twice, and observed dogs fouling, with their owners nowhere in sight. Regardless of whether children or adults are scared of dogs, the selfishness of some owners is scary in itself.
Phoebe Molumby
Wandsworth, London
• Many years ago I was councillor in the London borough of Southwark and, in about 1999, I had a small budget for environmental improvements and decided to try to get my local open space, Warwick Gardens in Peckham, improved. Much to my confusion, none of the nearby residents could agree on anything from opposition to dogs, space to walk dogs, space for ball games, concerns over noise from ball games, and play equipment for small children or peaceful areas to sit and contemplate.
For a budget of less than £90,000 or so, admittedly 25 years ago, people agreed on a fenced-off playground for young children, a grassed area where people could walk through with dogs, and another fenced area for children to play without dogs, and a hard court for ball games.
The layout of the small park remains basically unchanged 25 years on, is well used and no one has complained. Indeed, the community has rallied round to support it.
By working with people and compromising, no one needs to be excluded and people generally get on.
Robert Cornall
Embleton, Northumberland
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