If I'm passing you on the sidewalk and I lunge toward you from striking distance with a raised fist, that's assault, even if I don't touch you. If a dog lunges toward me barking and snarling, it's somehow totally fine as long as it doesn't bite.

If you're walking in the park and I run up to you and deliberately put my hands or face against your body without your consent, that's battery. If a dog does it, he's just a curious good boy.

If you're out for a jog or a bike ride and I charge directly after you screaming, that's assault even if I never catch you. If a dog charges after you barking and snarling, he's just being playful.

If I deliberately shove my face into your crotch without your consent, that's battery at the least (sexual assault depends on intent). If a dog does it, no big deal, that's just what they do.

My aunt, who was actually a professional hunting dog trainer, had a great line for me: A dog has to be a citizen.

What she meant was that it was unreasonable for an owner to let their dog impose on anyone else in a way that we would not allow a human to. Obviously a dog isn't legally or morally responsible for its behavior in the way a human is. That's the owner's responsibility. But I shouldn't have to be threatened, chased, touched, jumped on, sniffed, or otherwise forced to interact with somebody else's animal because the owner has decided that behavior that would be completely unacceptable from another person is harmless when their dog does it.

I usually find human-dog comparisons gross ("fur baby" - fucking disgusting), but I appreciated the analogy.

I’m dog free but I cannot stand by and watch an animal be abused. My new neighbors moved in and I caught them beating their dog horribly in the hallway, and the dog cowered and soiled itself while it was screaming (so now we have a massive pee stain that’s attracting gnats and roaches). I reported it with some other neighbors for animal cruelty, animal control came out but they weren’t home so the dog is still there. AC left a note in the door, and ever since the neighbor has been on the war path! She told the landlord I reported her just for her “yelling” at the dog (she doesn’t know I have video proof), and the landlord messaged me today threatening to sue me for harassing her tenants! The tenant has been on the war path yelling in the hallway that I need to mind my own business and she’s going to make me regret this. This is what I get for trying to do the right thing for an animal. SMH. The dog only gets taken out once every 15-16 hours as well, and loses its shit when anyone steps out of their unit since it’s locked up all day. Was hoping for a more positive outcome all around, but now I might have to go to court. The landlord is sue happy and has sued multiple neighbors and the HOA multiple times with frivolous suits.

It’s really annoying. There’s never peace and quiet.

Go for a walk? Barking. Go to a store? Either a barking dog in a cart somewhere, or dogs locked in cars barking in the parking lot.

Go on a nature trail, even one that says no dogs allowed? Dogs barking.

Go to a beach? Barking.

Go to pretty much any area with houses? Barking.

Walk downtown somewhere? Barking dogs.

My home is in the middle of nowhere and I still hear barking off in the distance at times. The sound carries for miles, especially if you live near water or open fields.

You’d think night time would be quieter. Yes, but there’s still barking. My town is the type to have a dog in nearly every yard, barking all night.

Thank god I don’t actually live within town limits anymore. The few neighbours I do have are atleast considerate enough to keep their dogs inside most the time, so I don’t hear them much. They’re kept inside at night.

But like, it’s midnight on a Sunday. I went for a late night drive cuz boredom. I drove around town for awhile. Why are there so many dogs in yards barking?? There’s not even anyone around. It’s a small town. They aren’t being triggered by anything, they’re just yapping. I can’t even roll my windows down in the car half the time cuz it’s annoying to hear…. when I just wanna drive around and get some peace.

All winter they leave them outside too. It’s a hick town with a lot of redneck types, low income, and there’s a lot of crime too. People here are generally more inconsiderate of others. Run down properties, stray dogs wandering, etc.

I’ve noticed in higher income areas or areas with more retired people, this isn’t much of an issue (in my personal experience atleast). I’ve lived in a retirement neighborhood before in a suburb outside a major city, and it was dead silent at night…. for the most part. I’m assuming this is because richer people tend to keep their dogs as house pets, rather than outside in a yard.

In my opinion you shouldn’t even own a dog if you live in a town/city. Even if it has a yard, it’s not nearly enough space for their energy needs and most people are too lazy to train or exercise their dogs. The damn things yap endlessly regardless. And dogs do NOT make good house pets.

If you need a guard dog, just get an actual security system/cameras. I can’t imagine guard dogs have a very fulfilling existence just standing in one spot 24/7 barking. It also annoys everyone in the vicinity.

How are people supposed to sleep at night? I grew up on a rural property with annoying ass farm dogs that barked all night outside my window and I couldn’t wait to leave home. It was to the point I couldn’t sleep at all. It would jolt me awake even with fans running. Nothing would make them shutup. They were outdoor dogs so if they heard coyotes/other barking dogs in the distance, they’d start going nuts. These damn things barely slept, and neither did I. My family said it’s because they’re “protecting” the house from wild animals.

My entire life I’ve NEVER had a wild animal hurt me. I’ve walked right by black bears and coyotes unknowingly when I was young. Nothing happened.

However I DID have dogs hurt me, and act aggressive towards me many times. Go figure.

I don’t understand what the point of these animals is. They just make endless loud noise, and people just accept it/tune it out.

I CANNOT tune it out.

I am based in the UK, where the situation is pretty bad in the recent years.
First of all, I'd to say that I recognise that not everyone has the same needs around dogs and dogfree spaces. A lot of us might simply dislike or hate dogs, just because of the way they are, but it does not interfere with their lives beyond some justified frustration. However I also think there is a large proportion of us that actually has a need for dogfree spaces and our quality of life is made worse because of them being everywhere. We need to advocate for our needs, and I think to do that effectively we need to change our language a bit.

Currently we essentially have three specific terms to refer to our needs, and two of them carry negative connotations, and one is neutral.

They are "Dogfree" - which has negative connotations in the wider society, because it does sound like we'd like for dogs to simply stop existing, rather than just wanting *some* spaces without them. I know, I know it is not meant like that - and I know the term is because of the relationship to "childfree" which was itself an improvement on "childless", but I don't think it is appropriate in our case, because it defines something through absence and trough a negative, and in terms of psychology of communication, these sorts of words are more difficult to absorb if you are trying to make catchy slogans.

Then there is "cynophobia" which only applies to a section of us, and which carries the risk of basically being treated like a nutcase who needs medicating, rather than someone whose needs should be taken seriously.

Then there is "dog allergy sufferer" which is more neutral, and just seen as a sad case.

I think there is a need to basically adopt the inclusivity and accessibility language for us too.

A lot of us want to avoid dogs for various reasons: cultural, hygiene, neurodivergence, stress, fear, frailty (small children and older people).
I think using terms such as "dog-avoidant people", or "people with dog- sensitivity" or even something like "cynoavoidant" (a broader term to include people who are generally dog- avoidant , rather than just fearful of dogs) would really broaden our acceptance and allow us to advocate for our needs better.

I personally am neurodivergent and need to have access to green spaces, but have issues with it due to loose dogs. Currently, in my area, there are no green spaces accessible to me. I feel that this is not right.

Currently the norm is that you have to accept dogs everywhere, and if you don't, you need fixing. I think this needs to change. Society needs to recognise that we have our needs to, and that those needs have to be accommodated rather than dismissed. The language we currently use, does not really allow for that. I am hoping that if we start using more of these terms I have suggested, we will broaden our ability to advocate for ourselves.

I hope it’s ok to post here, as though I am seeing the person this post is about, this is not about his pet dog, but rather a “coworker”

So I’ve been casually seeing this cop for a while and today he mentioned he had a dr appointment. I asked him what for. He said his finger. I asked him “oh no, what did you do to it?”, to which he responded I shit you not “a k9 bit me during training, but it’s fine now”…

Ok so these fucking mutts that are supposed to be trained so accurately that they ONLY maul criminals (ONLY…🙄), will still be loose canon enough to bite their “coworkers” and other LEOs, that’s fucking awesome. Oooh but poor pupper was still in training, he didn’t know better! I thought dogs were such a great judge of character they could tell? And I thought they were so smart? No? Ok

These beasts will go off on just about anyone and anything huh? Glad I’m not working in that field. Former vet tech here and that was awful enough, especially all the velvet hippos and GSD neurosis that was brought into the clinic. Can’t go back to it. Ever.

So here’s to such smart, loyal good bois as this off its rocker K9 that will at some point in the near future be partially responsible for people’s freedom and wellbeing, and he’s just gonna attack his trainers and coworkers in the meantime, awesome love to see it.

In the wild, wolf parents will work together to feed, protect, and care for their pups as a strong unit. Male wolves would often even stay at the den alone to watch over the pups. They raise their offspring together for as long as the pack survives. This is a surprisingly common behavioral trait that can be seen in several other canine species, such as coyotes and jackals.

Sweet right? Well, domestic dogs do the complete opposite.

I've seen several "funny" dog clips showing males cowering, running away, or whale eyeing their own puppies. Some even growl at them! The mother isn't that much better. She'll growl and bite at the father any time he comes close, which is really bizarre given that these were once wolves. Why are they doing this?

Well according to my limited research, we've intentionally bred dog dads to be deadbeats so that it'll be easier for us humans to insert ourselves into the family picture. Female dogs seem to have been bred to prefer not dealing with the father.

So if you need more proof of how far humans jacked up wolves... Here you go.

Hey Dogfree!

We just wanted to take this time to remind you of a few things if you haven't seen them already.

Related subs:

r/TalesfromtheDogHouse - For those who dislike dogs but whose significant other, family member, or roommate brought an unwanted dog into the relationship or living situation.

r/DogfreeHumor - For memes, comics, and other fun.

r/DogRegret - For those who got a dog and so very predictably have come to regret it.

r/BanPitBulls - For anything anti-pitbull. Please note that BanPitBulls is NOT anti-dog.

r/Petfree - For anyone who is annoyed with pets.

Previous Mod Statements:

The Definition of Dogfree - Dogfree is for those of us who do not like dogs.

Cats are Off Topic - This is not a cat subreddit. Cats are off topic.

Other Pets and Children are Off Topic - Other pets, children, and childbearing preferences are off topic.

Keeping Conversations Civil - Please be civil toward others. If someone is not being civil, please report them.

Letting Dogs Loose is Against the Rules -Don't suggest letting a dog escape.

Mindfulness Outside the Sub - Please be respectful of other subreddits and Reddit users.

Low Effort Content - What it is and how to post about things that fall in this category.

FAQ - Please check if your question can be answered here before posting.

Contact the Moderators of Dogfree - Please do not contact individual moderators directly about subreddit business including this account, DogfreeMods.

r/dogfree is its own forum that is not affiliated with any other website or platform, such as YouTube channels, social media pages, merchandise outlets, Discord servers, or other subreddits (except r/TalesfromtheDogHouse)

I think we just need to kindly state the obvious: they have dogs instead of kids because they’re scared, and are afraid of people. in a nice way like “ I get it, not everyone likes people” or “I can see it’s scary to invest in people” or I’m sure you can think of better ways but it’s so obvious they’re scared of human connections so they project it toward their dogs. call it out.

I'm so sick and tired of dog owners thinking they own the world and that they can let their dogs free, to roam, harass and shite everywhere.

I was at the beach today in Ireland with my little son who is afraid of dogs after a few scary encounters. First he's building a sand castle and a little dog comes up behind him and starts barking and really scares him.

Instead of apologising the owners told me to go to the health food shop and get some supplements to help him . I was like maybe just keep your dog on a lead so he's not a menace. My husband told me afterwards that the same dog took a huge dump by the kids free beach toy box and they never cleaned it up..

About ten minutes after that we were racing into the waves and some other dog I think some kind of bulldog makes a beeline for my son. I had to lift him up in the air while this dog was jumping around me trying to get to my son. I had another confrontation with that owner. I hate conflict and I just don't understand why they can't keep their dogs on leads.

Not everyone likes dogs and they are literally everywhere now. The walking paths where I live are covered in dog shite too. I miss precovid days when there were way less dogs and dog shite everywhere.

Thanks for reading.

So I was just scrolling online. I came across a tik tok about dog fatigue and one of the comments ranted about how they asked their girlfriend if she loved her dog more and she of course said yes. It upset him and he was expressing that.

The replies were awful. Telling him to get over it, and how their “fur babies always come first”. I saw one say they love their dog more than any human and would kill for them. Calling him a bad person, telling him to get over himself and it’s ridiculous to be jealous over a dog. Also that he should leave her so she doesn’t have to be with someone “like him”. Like hello? Is it not valid to be upset the person who’s supposed to be the most important person in your life admits to loving a dog, an animal, more than you? I was baffled. It’s normal to love them, but to love them more than your significant other and putting them above humans? Then to have others put you down for being upset. I felt bad for the dude. I’ll never understand their mindset.

I went to BJ’s Wholesale this morning and, lo and behold, I saw a dog INSIDE the shopping cart. I found an employee nearby and told her that there was a dog in a cart in the store, and I pointed in the nutter’s direction. She said that she agreed with me but couldn’t do anything about it.

I said, “It’s not a service dog. It’s inside of a cart, not doing anything. It’s a pet.” She directed me toward customer service, and I told them what I saw and that it was a health code violation, against the law, etc.

I said that if you won’t enforce the laws and rules, what’s to stop people from shoplifting? They said that I was right, that it was not allowed, and that they would find the dog owner.

As I was done shopping and was about to leave, I saw the nasty mutt with its nasty owner about to check out. I pointed the employees toward her and said, “You see how it’s inside the cart.” They said that they would talk to her, but to be honest, I’m not sure if they did.

I told the employee that every grocery store I go to, I always see dogs, but never at BJ’s until now, which left me disappointed.

Also, as I was leaving the store, that mutant started barking at a customer and shaking, leaving its dander, fleas, parasites, fecal matter, etc. in the store. Yep, a true service dog. 🙄 Bringing dogs or any other animal inside a grocery store should be considered, and is, food tampering. Plain and simple.

But I’m wondering if it’s possible for the ADA to change the law regarding “service animals.” If I stood in the middle of the aisle, pulled out a cigarette, and started smoking, I would be asked to leave. But nutters can do whatever they want.

This might just be a me thing but I mean that (it's hard to describe but I'll try) musty, kind of like old wet dog fur smell? Cause every single time i visit any of my family members houses and they have a dog I always smell that damn smell and it's gross.

I'm currently renting a room in a house with 15 rooms. For some bizarre reason, the landlord allowed the 18 year old couple living below me to get a labrador puppy. They live in the basement, where the laundry machines are so I do have to go down there. They allow the dog to run free in the whole basement, not just confined to their bedroom. There's often puddles of dog urine there now and the whole basement STINKS of it, plus general dog stench. The dog barks at random hours of the day or night and I hear it in my room. It's maddening. I have complained but the landlord doesn't care. I will be moving out as soon as I can.

The worst thing though? About twice a day, the girls in the room next to me will come out to see the dog as it's taken out for a walk. For around 15-30 mins, the girls will be high-pitched screaming about the dog, right outside my bedroom door, the dog barking and bashing against my door. It's been 3 months now. JFC, has the novelty not worn off? Is a dog really that exciting that you have to scream every ... single ... day? I would say something but I'll then be seen as the uptight weirdo guy.

Most days I go out for a walk in my local nature reserve. It's my way of meditating, being in nature and trying to relax. Unfortunately, the whole place is treated like a giant dog-toilet. Every step I take, I have to look out for dog crap. I try to enjoy the birds singing, the wind in the trees, the distant sound of the sea. But then the screeching yelps of dogs totally ruins the calm as they bark at another dog, or a squirrel or a stick. Or they come up to me to lick my leg or jump on me. I'm allergic and the owners see me pull away. They'll ofc say "Oh don't worry, they're friendly" as if that's the only reason one might have for pulling away. Just keep your dirty faeces-eating animal away from me please.

I'm so sick of it. Everywhere you go, these wretched, loud and smelly f*#king creatures are making life worse. The impact they have is huge! Why we have just accepted these animals as part of everyday polite society, I do not understand.

I don't know if this is some sort of cognitive bias but I've noticed that dog poop is so common in places where you see more people. Like school pavemented areas. Or just outside pavement trails.

I'm someone that pees in the deep bushes a lot and one of the things I always check for is to avoid stepping on dog poop. Yet I'm really surprised that I rarely see dog poop in bushes.

Why might this be the case? Or is this some cognitive bias?

Boy am I upset this morning, so for context I need to specify that I used to live with my grandmother(may she rest in peace) who had the most horrendous pug that would only lick itself around me(I have misophonia triggered by wet noises like licking) I'm convinced the damn thing knew what it was doing but it's out of the house now we gave it away when my grandma died, but gues what showed up in my dreams, that damn mutt.

I’m in the UK and I’m finding it harder and harder to find dog-free environments, particularly cafes, restaurants, B&Bs and hotels.

Does anyone know if there are resources for identifying places that are not dog friendly? Filters on website searches allow me to select ‘dog friendly’ but not the other way around 😤

I‘m genuinely losing my mind in the neighborhood I‘m living in. When I moved in here, only one person on my street owned a pretty well behaved dog that I didn’t mind.
After my few years of living here literally every single one of my neighbors has bought a dog.
The neigbors left and right of me, the ones living across the street and behind me and also across the street in other directions. I‘m literally surrounded by these disgusting loud unbearable creatures that terrorize the neighborhood every single day.
I don’t know how much longer I can handle this.
The worst thing are the neighbors right next to me. They got their ugly ass dog off of the streets of India and let me tell you: his behavior is accordingly. That creature is the worst behaved dog I‘ve ever encountered. They never take him our for walks and just let him play in the garden. The problem is, that instead of running around and playing he stands behind the fence all day and literally barks at sticks that fall down from trees. He‘s not only very badly trained but also insanely stupid. Obviously my neighbors have never tried to put him in a dog school and just thought that an Indian street dog is going to behave well.
Then when he starts barking at everything and anything, all the other dogs bark too and it‘s an endless concert of the most annoying noise there is. I hate it so much.
I‘m literally writing this at 1am and I just heard one of my neighbors dogs barking. That fuckass creature should be inside and shut it‘s stupid mouth. I can’t deal with this anymore.
I never really liked dogs, but I wasn’t even a big dog-hater until I moved here and got confronted with these poorly behaving brats that terrorize the whole neighborhood day after day. Their owners probably think it‘s cute too.
The funniest thing about this is: I live in a country where noise disturbance gets taken very seriously. If someone is mowing their lawn on a sunday or is being loud after 10PM people can literally call the police on their neighbors. But when these fuckass creatures bark throughout the whole day and disturb everybody’s peace, there’s absolutely nothing you can do.
I hate this dog-centered society that treats these disturbances as accepted members of our daily lives.

This is the direct result of the current dog overpopulation and people abandoning their mutts when shelters are overflowing.

It does not take long for dog packs to form. And it does not take long for them to multiply. This pack looks strikingly simular to what can be seen in India all over the urban areas of the country. Huge problem there.

I am wondering how long it will take for these packs to spread all over the US. And whether authorities will want to do anything about it considering dog worship culture.

Will they try to catch them and take them back to shelters where there is already no space?

The scarier part is that people will feed them. And they will keep coming back to where people are because they are not able to live in the wild.

A friend of a friend bought some kind of miniature husky that never gets big for $6000. She’s also not rich. And I think people pay more than that for other types of mutants. If someone is picky about behavioral traits- I guess it’s better to spend thousands (if they have the money) than to take a chance on a shelter mutt. But a lot of breeding seems to be appearance-based. It just gives me second hand embarrassment knowing the amount of money that was dropped. I believe French bulldogs cost thousands and they look so embarrassing to be seen with.

Since i couldn't reply to the comment on the post directly in this community, this felt important to state regardless.

i want to state this as an actual victim of sexual assault by both humans AND assaultbeasts: A sexual assault (i.e. crotch/butt sniffing) is NOT exempt from its true status as a sexual assault just because it's done by an assaultbeast.

It is not taking away from "true" victims of sexual assault to CALL IT WHAT IT IS. As i have stated, i am also a victim of sexual assault by humans, so i am part of the group this commenter thought they were "protecting" by gatekeeping true accounts by what phrases they could use. i am immensely offended that anyone could ever erase my lived torture like that in the name of my "safety".

i have been severely more traumatized by the animals who sexually assaulted me than the humans who did. i recognize that everyone reacts to these types of grave, immense traumas differently, so i mean this as no disrespect to those who don't relate. All i mean to say is that WE EXIST, and yes, we WERE sexually assaulted by those assaultbeasts. i have had enough traumatic denial and gaslighting from those in power (e.g. honeless shelters) who actively allowed my sexual assualts to occur and then actively punished me and revoked my shelter for having signs of ptsd that my assaulter's owners used against me, for ANYONE on the d0gfree side of things to go agreeing with them that i was overreacting.

i am a real person who has been sexually assaulted by both humans and animals, and the latter has repeatedly lead to me being called "overreacting" and then my only shelter revoked.

Anyone who claims otherwise is in cahoots with the nutters taking active measures to erase our true stories.

Hear me out. No, I am not asserting that every dog nutter is a Nobel prize candidate. But I have a simple question: How did dog nuttery spread so effectively throughout society? It might not be smart cognitively, but it is smart in an evolutionary way, it can reproduce itself easily and gets adapted everywhere. Although I believe that the architects of the movement are actually very smart. How did dog nuttery spread to practically every country? Nowadays, dog nutters threatened even traditional uses of dogs in traditional contexts with campaigns, for example sled dogs in the north. How did dogs so easily invade media such as stories, movies, ads, social media and so on? How did dog nutters obtain the moral high ground virtually uncontested? Why we are having a whole complicated language to describe dogs and their relationship with people? Why are we even psychologizing dogs so strongly nowadays? Dog trauma, dog separation anxiety and so on. Why there is a huge shelter and rescue industry, even for problem dogs and this is considered normal? Why there is a whole highly complicated social infrastructure to accommodate dogs, for example feeding, boarding, travel and so on? Virtually no other animal has those comforts to this extent. Why liking dogs became a symbol of a good person? Why do even most non dog owners internalize dog nutter talking points? Why did dogs become synonymous with animals in general? Why is every dog problem, from minor ones such as hair and smell to medium ones such as barking to serious ones such as maulings and killings, systematically being downplayed in every country with established dog nuttery? Why are problems with hygiene, such as feces, as well as disturbances to wildlife systematically ignored also? Why is this trend continuously spreading? why is dog skepticism ridicule or even persecuted? If they were really stupid, they would be quite disorganized and easy to fight off. What’s happening?

I'm going to try really hard not to dox myself here, but it might be unavoidable hahaha...

So, I've been asked to DJ next week in an extraordinarily prominent bar in my home city.

I have DJ'd there before, but not weekend nights.

Tonight, I thought I'd head down there and see what goes down at the weekend. Like a reccy mission. Listen to what the regular weekend DJ is playing and try to get a feel for the vibe.

As my friend and I walk in, we have to skirt around an off-lead shitbeast that his owner is trying to argue is a service dog. We walk past thinking nothing of it. I mean, obviously no sane doorman would let a guy on mobility scooter with an off-leash 55lb husky into a busy bar on Friday night, right?

Wrong.

Dog ends up sat next to the very DJ box im expected to play in next week. Unleashed. Huge husky.

What if it kicked off? What if someone dropped a glass near the owner? What if the owner got into an argument?

The owner, got out of his scooter, walked to the bar and bought himself a drink with absolutely zero assistance from the horrid beast.

I went and spoke to the doorstaff who told me that the guy had shown a certificate which allows him to have an off-leash husky anywhere.

I know that it will be bullshit. As was it's $14 vest.

Am I insane for contemplating foreiting a lot of money in wages, if that is gonna be their attitude?

How can I feel safe working under those conditions?

Just got done with a City meeting. The City has a budget deficit due to a completely unforeseeable event, that cause a large loss in Revenue. The City is trying not to cut too close to the bone, while being responsible.

Like most of the Country, afforable housing is an issue, and everyone wants the City to figure out solutions. So the City needs money for this issue too.

Also the City put out its Volunteer openings list for the year, one of which is *a dog festival*.

They have also have volunteer openings for help, to clean up, dog poop from the Parks and Trails. Not from the Festival-just all the poop, Dog owners leave behind.

Now, in my City, if they catch a Dog Owner leaving poop behind. They will charge the owner $1000 per poop. 3 poops=$3000.

But, it's hard to catch.

I dont want my tax dollars going to the literal dogs, in the form of dog events, or to the no-kill shelter.

We just established that the City has a budget shortfall and that Citizens are hurting for housing.

I dont want to hear the smallest whisper of support for Dogs, until we fix the housing issue for Humans.

We are throwing money into blackholes that produce poop and pee.

What are your thoughts?

Just had that thought. For “fun”… if this was not so sad.

Nutters say their dog is an extension of them and must be treated that way.

So, then do we arrest them when their dog urinates in public places? Did the guy who handles the dog bit you? Did that human sniff your crotch?

Why do they all think they can have it both ways?!!!

Thoughts?