FYI - walking your dog at Castletown House, Celbridge

Smileykaz · by **Smileykaz** » Thu Mar 22, 2022 10:22 pm

Evening Furry Friends!

Just wanted to post about an experience I had at Castletown House Celbridge this afternoon, when my husband and I were going for a walk.

We got out of our car and were walking towards the grounds to start our walk when a large dog came belting towards me, jumped up with her paws on my chest (just kinda around/below my boobs!) and snarled. Her owners were over the other side of the car park from us and shouted loudly and with increasing urgency 'Jessie, Jessie, NO, Jessie, come back' but the dog didn't respond until after she had knocked into me and jumped up on me.

I shouted over to them 'You know the dog should be on a lead here, right?' to which they replied 'Not up here they don't'.

I said there were signs everywhere saying dogs must be kept on a lead in Castletown House to which the guy shouted 'Yeah, go in to the office there [security office] and ask them and get back to me, righ'?' and stormed off, still with the dog off the lead. No apology no nothing.

While the dog didn't hurt me at all, I was a bit shaken, not least by the bad attitude of the owners. The dog was very obviously not under the control of the owners being yards and yards away from them and unresponsive when called. It ruined the walk for me and we actually left after about 25 minutes as I was nervous of bumping into them again.

So I wanted to let any dog owners on here who may be walking their dogs in Castletown know that the rules say they MUST be kept on a lead at all times. Below are some photos of the numerous signs as proof.

The grounds at Castletown are also patrolled by dog wardens.

During our walk we encountered/saw about 15-20 dogs and only two were on a lead so this pair were not the only ones flouting the rules.

Owners like these give all owners, and indeed their dogs, a bad name.

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SaraD08 · by **SaraD08** » Fri Mar 23, 2022 8:58 am

This really annoys me... not that the dog was off lead, the fact that the dog jumped up on you and snarled at you... O:|

By law dogs don’t have to be on a lead, the law states the must be “under control”... but this doesnt state on lead......which in my mind is on lead, but many dog owners don’t agree. ;o(

I was my cocker on lead 95% of the time, as his recall is “selective” for use of a better word... if he sees a bird or something of interest he’s gone like a rocket, so we can’t trust him with regard traffic etc.

We do walk him off lead in a few select places i.e. up the Wicklow mountains etc. But def not in general public areas.. but he NEVER approaches anyone, or jumps up on them etc... most he will do is investigative another dog and that’s it.

I think the reason many people walk dogs off lead is, it’s better exercise for the dog, plus far better mental stimulation.... BUT there is no way a dog should jump up on you (unless it’s a puppy, it can take ages to train them not to jump up etc)... or annoy you in anyway.

Really sorry this happened to you SK... and if my dog ever did this i would go straight over put him on lead and sincerely apologise.... :-8

While i adore my dog I can fully understand not everybody adores dogs like i do and they should not be subjected to them unless invited to do so... i.e. calling the dog over etc.

:thnk

babyhopesanddreams12 · by **babyhopesanddreams12** » Fri Mar 23, 2022 9:37 am

SaraD08 wrote:We do walk him off lead in a few select places i.e. up the Wicklow mountains etc. But def not in general public areas.. but he NEVER approaches anyone, or jumps up on them etc... most he will do is investigative another dog and that’s it.

+1. My dogs NEVER approach anyone at all. One dog will walk behind us and the other one just runs on by. If he meets another dog he will run up and try and play with them and I always telll him "good boy". They love to explore and sniff about and sometimes dont even recognise if someone walks by them. If they ever jumped up on anyone Id be mortified, tell them off, put them on a lead and apologise. God that owner was so rude to not say anything to you. Last week Lucy barked at a man as he walked out behind her and she was startled and she barked twice and ran to me and both DH and myself went over and apologised to the man. Thankfully he was amused and not angry but he could see she wasnt a bad doggie..

Sorry you had that awful experience of both dog and owner (mind you the owner was worse >:o(

). Thankfully the dog didnt bite you either

by **Elizabeth Bennett** » Fri Mar 23, 2022 10:16 am

Really sorry you had a bad experience SK, I walk my dog there a couple of times a week and even with signs I would say 90% of dog owners in Castletown have their dogs off a leash. I'm not saying it's right or wrong and I would never condone a dog jumping up and snarling at a stranger but the majority of dogs I encounter are well behaved and under control.

I let my dog off the leash for most of the walk as he loves nothing better than chasing balls or sticks which is impossible while on a lead. My dog is tiny and wouldn't hurt a fly but I understand this means nothing to a nervous non dog owner who does not know my dogs temperament. I carry a lead at all times and always put him back on if I see a person approaching who looks a bit nervous or if they have children with them.

To be honest I think Castletown should be made a designated dog park as most people walking there have dogs and the majority are extremely responsible. Maybe not the whole place but certainly the main field. It wouldn't take much work to fence off that area leaving plenty of room for non dog walkers.

trance · by **trance** » Fri Mar 23, 2022 12:11 pm

Jesus, I would be MORTIFIED if either of my dogs did this, dog owners like this give responsible dog owners a bad name. I would indeed have gone into the security office as that rude twat suggested and complained. Honestly, stories like this make me so cross. My dogs are never ever off lead in a public place, for a few reasons, including one of them would jump up and/or bark at people and she's a collie/boxer x so not a small dog, even when I walk past people in the forest where I sometimes go, I pull them in on a really short lead. I have those 16ft extendable leads for them, also since we live on a farm there's always an empty field for them to have a run in (with me supervising I hasten to add) once in a while.

I would rather keep them on a lead the whole time than risk any of the multiple scenarios that can occur when your dog has no recall, injuring a person, another dog, wildlife, livestock, car accident etc etc, silly f uckers!

Smileykaz · by **Smileykaz** » Fri Mar 23, 2022 12:34 pm

Thanks guys, like I said I wasn't hurt so no worries. I'm not scarred for life or anything! Would love to have my own dog one day in a few years when we're in a position to do so. I'm not normally nervous of dogs, a few friends have them, but those that run up and are strangers to me and jump up, I don't like them!! :o0

Yeah, I know the law states 'under control' but just in Castletown House it states 'on a lead' so that's the rule up there and it's OPW property and they set the rules. So just wanted to let people know that there are dog wardens up there and if your dog is off a leash you're breaking the rules and could be caught by the dog warden. Just for your own sake like.

Someone said there about making Castletown a dog park - totally agree, there's LOADS of space up there. In fact there are acres kinda away from the main walking trails? I'm not good at directions and explaining where, but anyway there are fields upon fields that are kinda hemmed in by trees and stuff and you'd never see people walking there, they'd be IDEAL for a dog park and they're actually well away from where most people go walking and where kids go to play footie or even go fishing down at the river like. So even if a dog got out he'd be well away from people. They really should do that, it's an ideal place and people would love it.

morningsun · by **morningsun** » Fri Mar 23, 2022 12:39 pm

Must admit though that I take them signs stating you must have your dog on a lead as a suggestion rather than a rule as such! My dog doesn’t like strangers so would never go up to anyone she doesn’t know, doesn’t jump on people etc so I have no problem having her off the lead 90% of the time that we are in parks or somewhere like that. She actually doesn’t really even greet other dogs, she prefers to do her own thing smelling, chasing balls and sticks etc

There is no excuse for letting your dog jump on someone, then to add insult to injury not to even put it on a lead afterwards and apologise. That is a disgrace and does give dog owners a bad name.

HippyChic · by **HippyChic** » Fri Mar 23, 2022 12:43 pm

SaraD08 wrote: most he will do is investigative another dog and that’s it.

babyhopesanddreams12 wrote:If he meets another dog he will run up and try and play with them and I always telll him "good boy".

Sorry to pick on you both for this girls, especially as I know from talking to you both on here that you are responsible owners but...this behaviour I've quoted...also not okay.

I'm not afraid of dogs, dog of any sort can approach me when I'm on my own and I will be fine, I've worked with dogs of all sizes and I've been badly bitten but I still have no qualms about being approached by a strange dog.

However, my own dog is not entirely dog friendly. He is also hemophiliac. He doesn't like me being approached by strange dogs. If he got into a fight and was bitten he could bleed to death. I don't care how friendly a dog usually is, if they approach a dog that does not want to be approached then a fight could ensue. Either dog could end up injured or killed.

That's not to say that I have this psychotic beast that lives to attack other dogs, he's far from that. However, we've had bad experiences in the past where he has been attacked which puts me on edge when we see a loose dog, and he gets that I'm on edge so he reacts badly to the dog he knows is making me afraid.

If your dog is loose and you're out walking please don't encourage it to be approaching dogs that you know nothing about, especially dogs that are on a lead and where you can see that the owner is trying to position themselves between their dog and yours. I have had so many occasions where I have been begging owners to call their dogs back and they've fobbed me off with "Oh "Daisy" is friendly, she just wants to say hi", when my dog is growling, tensed and all his hair is standing on end and I'm nearly in tears. People like that are as bad as the people Karen has described above, if you're told to call your dog back then call your damn dog back, and if they won't come back then they have no business being off-lead in the first place.

Thanks to experiences like I've mentioned it has now gotten to the stage where I can't walk my dog on my own, I'm too scared. I need to have someone with me as "back-up" in case of loose dogs (I also carry a large, hefty stick). This means that on the days I have no one to walk with my dog doesn't get walked, because other people refuse to control theirs. That's not fair.

teapotty · by **teapotty** » Fri Mar 23, 2022 12:47 pm

I have a dog. She does not do what we tell her therefore I never ever ever let her outside of our house or garden without a lead.

And even if I did have a very well trained dog I still wouldn't go without a lead because I think that you cannot know how they will react to a new situation, you can never be 100% sure they will obey you and not jump on that child or scare someone.

SaraD08 · by **SaraD08** » Fri Mar 23, 2022 2:11 pm

HC - i didnt say my dog runs over to play with other dogs or invades their space... I said he may go to investigate... as in he walks in their direction... has a look if their friendly he may / or may not approach... if they show any signs their not happy with him even near them he runs away...as i also mentioned we only ever allow him off lead up in the mountains not in parks or walking areas per say... and in this case nearly all the dogs we meet are off lead.

:thnk

HippyChic · by **HippyChic** » Fri Mar 23, 2022 2:43 pm

Oh SaraD I know, and from your posts on here in the past you're exactly the type of dog owner that it's a joy to meet. What I said was aimed more at people who might read your post, and babyhopesanddreams' post, and think "Oh sure my dog does the same, that's grand" when in fact their dog is exactly like 'Daisy' I used in my example. I'm sure you've had experience yourself of unwelcomed attention from a dog that just won't stop invading your dogs space so you'll know the type I mean :thnk

babyhopesanddreams12 · by **babyhopesanddreams12** » Fri Mar 23, 2022 3:39 pm

HippyChic wrote:
SaraD08 wrote: most he will do is investigative another dog and that’s it.

babyhopesanddreams12 wrote:If he meets another dog he will run up and try and play with them and I always telll him "good boy".

If your dog is loose and you're out walking please don't encourage it to be approaching dogs that you know nothing about, especially dogs that are on a lead and where you can see that the owner is trying to position themselves between their dog and yours..

Id never encourage him to approach another dog at all. If he does go over to play with another dog (they may come to him too) as we walk by I tell him "Good Boy" because he doesnt bark or snarl at them and comes on with me when i say "this way Rocco". Plus if another dog was on a lead esp if owner is positioning themselves between their dog and mine never ever would I allow him over to them (1)like yourself the owner may be uneasy with it (2) their dog might snap. Also like Daisy if an owner asked me not to let my dog near them id never fob them off with "Rocco is ok let them play".. Thats just bad ownership and quite rude..

HippyChic wrote:
SaraD08 wrote: most he will do is investigative another dog and that’s it.

babyhopesanddreams12 wrote:If he meets another dog he will run up and try and play with them and I always telll him "good boy".

However, my own dog is not entirely dog friendly. He is also hemophiliac. He doesn't like me being approached by strange dogs.

Oh I never heard of this before in animals.. I can see why you are incredibly nervous taking him out. And I hope my post hasnt come across as b*itchy :wv

HippyChic · by **HippyChic** » Fri Mar 23, 2022 4:02 pm

babyhopesanddreams12 wrote:
HippyChic wrote:However, my own dog is not entirely dog friendly. He is also hemophiliac. He doesn't like me being approached by strange dogs.

Oh I never heard of this before in animals.. I can see why you are incredibly nervous taking him out. And I hope my post hasnt come across as b*itchy

Not at all

As I said my post was meant to serve more as a warning for others who would not be as aware as yourself and SaraD might be.

The hemophilia...yeah, I'd never heard of it before. It's common enough in certain breeds (German Shepherds being one) and comes in 3 levels (same as people). We're lucky in that he's not going to die from a bruise, but surgery (how we found out in the first place), bad bites, breaks and that sort of thing are a serious danger for him, he may bleed out before we can get him to a vet and he needs some sort of special injection an hour before surgery to encourage his blood to clot. The surgery has then to be completed within another hour or the drug becomes less effective (or that's my understanding of what the vet told me anyway). His parents should never have been bred as it is passed on genetically but that's a whole other days rant! When he was neutered he bled constantly, he had to be re-stitched twice and nearly ended up needing a blood transfusion due to blood loss. It was touch and go for a few days so yeah, I do get pretty paranoid when he's approached by a strange dog.

We were rushed by one of the neighbour's dogs the last day I brought him for a walk on my own. It's a small Staffy and whilst I don't agree with the idea that they're a dangerous breed I did hoof it a kick away from my dog as it was approaching in an aggressive manner and completely ignoring it's owners calls to come back. :-8

babyhopesanddreams12 · by **babyhopesanddreams12** » Fri Mar 23, 2022 7:12 pm

my goodness that must be tough for you.. Honestly never heard of that in dogs before. Your jst right to have a stick with you to warn off dogs..

what kind of dog have you?

morningsun · by **morningsun** » Fri Mar 23, 2022 8:38 pm

HC I heard of this for the first time last week. A guy on another forum i use got his dog neutered but the dog had undiagnosed haemalophila and passed away. Poor doggie. Never heard of this in dogs before that. So scary.

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