Problem owners!

In reply to the key points made as follows on a comment to "Dogs Days on the beach":

Out of the corner of my eye I see a large dog bounding up the grass (some kind of Labrador-cross I think), heading straight for the ball that my son was bending down to pick up. The dog knocked my son up into the air and made off with the ball!
Very glad to hear your son was not hurt. People do have a tendency to think lab type dogs are always friendly and gentle but this is not always the case! They are afterall working dogs and built accordingly! To a two year old child this type of accident can cause unnecessary injury.

She protested that he “only wanted the ball”.
Completely irrelevant!! She clearly had no control over her dog and hadn't checked out the area to be safe prior to letting the dog off the leash. By safe I mean for both the dog and anyone else around, especially children. How could she possibly know how far her dog would go to get this ball, she could not!

A ‘discussion’ ensued. My point was basically that this was an area of the park out of bounds to dogs in the first place, there were lots of toddlers around and if she couldn’t control her dog, she should have it on the lead. She was lucky nothing more serious had happened.
Absolutely correct! Unfortunately dogs have no concept of "out of bounds" so it is down to the owner to control their dogs. She should have had the dog on a lead if near this area so that the dog couldn't run off. There is a clear purpose for this restricted area - safety at play for the children!

She went to retrieve the dog and came back to us barely able to hold the dog on the lead! He was a strong, big dog and obviously fairly young, with bucket loads of energy. The ball was finished and she tried to pay us for the ball – like that was what mattered!No matter what I said, she would not accept that she should have had that dog on the lead the whole time, or that the dog had done anything wrong (the poor little thing only wanted the ball after all!). I gave up the argument, this was the kind of person who can do no wrong, let alone her dog!
I'm afraid to say there are all too many owners like this. A dog often mirrors the owners behaviour and clearly did so in this case. I concur that the dog only wanted the ball, but it was not his ball so he did do something wrong - this is a no brainer!
I love dogs, have nothing against them, but owners like that make my blood boil. My kid was lucky; many, sadly, are not.
I often come across such owners, they believe that it is their right to let their dogs roam where they wish, falsely believing that this makes their dog happy - I can assure them that this type of behaviour is not one of a happy dog, more of one who has power over the owner and is obsessive about a ball. Another phrase I often hear is "he only wants to play" as their dog thunders towards me and my pack ...how do they know this? Even the most friendly neutral dog may change it's normal behaviour in reaction to another dog's signals and an adverse situation results. Unless both owners agree to let the dogs play no one has the right to assume this and let their dog do as it likes. I will write more on this subject in another post as its huge!
What would you say to an owner like that? How do you train owners to recognize that they have responsibilities too – after all, I agree that it’s rarely the dogs fault…Won’t one of your toughest challenges be to train the owners as much as the dogs?
Unfortunately, as you found out there is little one can say as it falls on deaf ears! Staying calm and standing upright - head up, shoulders back and not tense, when a dog is behaving like this is the best action - owning your space if you like. Shouting, chasing or responding to the dog in anyway other than a firm "NO" will only escalate the problem. Once the owner has the dog under control, say your piece being precise and repeating as necessary - try not to be drawn into an argument and keep your cool - this usually works as these type of owners are probably used to arguing their dogs case as they see it, so change the outcome and this usually stuns them into thought! I would say "Take control of your dog, the accident hurt my son, do not let this happen again, keep your dog away from restricted areas, always keep your dog on the lead around children". This type of owner gives us all a bad name, and the dogs suffer the consequences being banned from more areas! It is a tough challenge to retrain owners, in my business if I'm contacted regarding a dog by the owner it is because they want help which makes the process simpler. This type of owner doesn't know, too often doesnt want to know, any different and getting the message through to them is harder. Which is why we need more advertising and more articles published in local press to reach out to them, making repectfull behaviour common knowledge bringing about common sense. There will always be arrogant bullyish owners, so best advice is if you see a dog approaching in this way, remove any balls/toys and scoop up the toddler, remain calm and turn away from the dog ignoring it. If need be repeat the firm "no" making no eye contact and no touching. By not interacting with the dog in any way this avoids encouraging a "chase" behaviour or adding to the dogs "excited atate".On a brighter note, sometimes the message does get through, maybe not at the time but afterwards when the owner has calmed down, when an owner is acting defensive and rude they think they are protecting themselves and their dog, when really they know they are in the wrong, repeat behaviour is lessened. You can't stop this type of situation from arising but you can hope to change the outcome!