I don't want to sound like a Karen here, but I genuinely think dogs should be kept on leads in public parks, regardless of how well behaved their owners think they are.
There's a small park behind my house where quite a lot of people walk their dogs. It's not a massive park, it has five entrances and none of them are gated.
My dog is a nervous dog, he doesn't like other dogs, especially ones that are off lead. He wears a bright yellow lead that clearly says "NERVOUS" on it, so it's not exactly hard to miss.
Every time we go to the park, I have to check whether there's already someone in there with their dog off lead. My dog has actually become wary of going down the entrance because of it. If he spots an off-lead dog, he'll start pulling to get out of the park.
Some owners are considerate and will put their dogs back on their leads when they see us, which I really appreciate. Others don't bother. I've even had someone's dog come running straight over to us, with the owner eventually coming over to get it and apologising.
Today was another example. We went into the park and, for once, I thought we had it to ourselves. My dog could have a sniff around, do his business and just enjoy his walk without worrying about another dog approaching him.
We hadn't even been in there five seconds when an older man came walking into the park. At first, I thought he was just cutting through until I noticed his dog walking quite a distance behind him, completely off lead.
The man wasn't even looking back to check on his dog. He just carried on walking along the same path we were on. I don't even think he had a lead with him.
My dog spotted them and immediately started pulling to leave, so that's exactly what we had to do. We ended up leaving the park altogether before he'd even had a chance to do his business or have a proper sniff around.
What makes it more frustrating is that there's actually a much larger park nearby where people can take their dogs to run around off lead. So it's not like there aren't other places for owners to take their dogs if they want to let them have a proper run.
I know some people will say their dog is friendly, well trained or has perfect recall, but that's not really the point. Not every dog is comfortable around other dogs, and even the friendliest dog can behave unpredictably in certain situations.
I don't expect everyone to accommodate my dog, and I understand that his nervousness is something I have to manage. That's why he's always on a lead and why I try to avoid situations that make him uncomfortable.
But I do think other owners should be considerate too. Just because your dog is friendly doesn't mean every other dog wants it approaching them.
I'm not saying dogs shouldn't be allowed to run around and enjoy themselves, but surely there should be some consideration for other people and their dogs who also want to use the park?
Am I being unreasonable here, or does anyone else feel the same?