Dog nipped child

I would never risk tying a dog up outside a shop for the pure reason of someone taking them, you hear about dogs being stolen all the time. It’s not worth the risk.
As for the child it was failure by all the adults, the father for allowing the child to approach a strange dog and you for leaving the dog tied outside the shop. The dogs instinct was probably to run but he couldn’t do that so he attacked

You can't leave your dog unattended again in a public space, ever. I love my dog who is the softest, stupidest animal on the planet and who, at 12, has never even come close to nipping anyone, but I still won't leave her tied up outside a shop. People are unpredictable, as are animals. It's just not worth the risk -even an incredibly tiny risk.

I would never leave my dog tied up outside a shop as a) there's the possibility she could be stolen and b) she would be terrified.

It is about time parents taught children to not touch animals they don't know without first asking if it's OK. In the past week I've had 3 incidents where I've had to stop children grabbing at my dog while their parents looked on and did nothing. Yes my dog is a very small cute looking dog that doesn't mean she wants people she doesn't know touching her.

Don’t be so bloody ridiculous. It was entirely the fault of OP. I’d have been fucking livid if it had been my child. 🤬

The child should not approach an unknkwn dog a d touch him. Dog doesn’t know him and would feel defensive. Not sure what breed he is but some are more defensive than others (my lab would just wag his tail but would probably have jumped as a puppy tbh)

You'll have to get it pts or muzzle it in public.

I think you realise that it was not a good thing to do. And now just need to not do it again. Don't beat yourself up from it. Just learn from it.

The abolition of dog licences.

My dog would probably do the same if a young child ran up to him and he couldn’t get away, so I would never leave my dog outside a shop tied up. I don’t always let small children say hello to my dog, although he’s friendly, once he licked a child’s face and the child said he had bitten her, so very small children it’s a no.

Such a polarised thread!😆

My take is all the adults in this situation were to blame, not the dog or the child, who sounds as if they were too young to really understand why you shouldn't approach a dog without the owner's permission.

However, it's not the end of the world. Nobody has been badly hurt and it's given you an opportunity to think about what you will do differentlyin future. I would see it as a bit of a wake up call, if I were you, OP, and stop beating yourself up now.

Both in the wrong here. The parents for letting it happen and you for leaving your dog unattended

I wouldn’t risk leaving my dog tied up outside a shop. I think I did it once about 20 years ago and haven’t risked it since. Someone could accuse your dog of biting, another dog could go for it and it wouldn’t be able to get away, someone could hurt your dog or feed it something inappropriate or it could be stolen.

Your dog has given you a warning.

I agree that they were irresponsible with the child but if the dog had actually bitten the child, I'm not sure that would matter if they took it to the police. It's a dangerously out of control dog if it bites someone who runs near it. This child was running at it, but a child (or a jogger) could easily have been running past it along the pavement - would the dog react the same?

That poster clearly wasn't blaming the child, they were blaming the shit parents.

I really wouldn't leave him outside. Not to sound like a judgemental prick but I've seen too many posts on spotted where I live where they've been taken.

You are absolutely ridiculous

You are not being fair to your dog or the public having him tied up outside. He could have hurt the child seriously. He could also have been hurt himself. A child could have spooked or poked, or run into him. My grandmother years ago used to tie up her dog outside a shop, and once he was savaged by another dog. He was not the same again.

You need to be able to leave your dog at home when you shop. Dogs can also get stolen from outside the shop. It is not for you to trust your dog here. Your need not to put him in such a position. Please just learn from it.

Where did I blame a child?

And you would take zero responsibility for your complete failure to parent your child and keep them safe? You utter drama queen. The dog wouldn't be put to sleep and the OP wouldn't be prosecuted, not in the instance the OP described.

Can you leave your dog at home? I wouldn’t consider tying mine up outside a shop. For his own safety. Someone could nick him or he could get upset a random people in his face messing with him.

If this is the first instance then just don't leave your dog in such a vulnerable position in future. I would say it felt threatened and it reacted as a dog would.

No need to muzzle, just don't put the dog in the position in future 🙂

A quick civil case against the dog owners would soon put a marker down. Trying to blame children for being attacked by dogs is grotesque.