WIBU to reassure this child that my dog is friendly

That’s not what op said.
Where was this said, op’s dog was trying to interact with anyone, apart from just going on a walk, where dogs are allowed.Calm down 👏

Dogs are disgusting and I don't want one near me. I don't care how friendly you think it is with you. You have no idea if it may react particularly badly to someone for whatever reason.

People have dogs off the leads all over the place whether they are allowed to or not. Play parks, cycle paths, woods.... I like dogs myself but yeah I don't think they should be allowed in cafes and restaurants unless they are outside. Especially ones that bark constantly.

Your daughter is scared of dogs, then it’s quite simple don’t go to places where dogs are allowed off the lead, there are plenty of places, where dogs must be on a lead.
This is the problem, the people who are complaining on here, just don’t like dogs.And quite frankly, would prefer it, if dogs, weren’t allowed out in public, which is ridiculous and cruel.I bet you’re seething dogs are welcome in some cafes and pubs.

There was no need for the woman to be rude

Where was OP actively trying to encourage interaction?

OP's dog did not want to interact with anyone either.

She was just trying to reassure the child that her dog was not a threat. Unfortunately, she used the line that people tend to use to excuse bad doggy behaviour.

Yes this exactly! A friendly dog is awful to someone who doesn’t like dogs. Much more likely to jump all over you and lick you which is an unpleasant experience for many.

You trotted out the line that every dog owner - good or bad - trots out about their dog whether they are friendly, unfriendly, or indifferent.

People 👏🏻don’t 👏🏻want 👏🏻to 👏🏻interact 👏🏻with 👏🏻your 👏🏻dog. Why is this so hard for people to get into their heads?

Oh give over!

In what land of make believe was OP’s comment chastising the child?

It’s honestly a very sad world if a person cannot offer a comment, kindly meant, to try and reassure someone.

Even if the dog had already been on lead, the child still would have been scared. At the point of the comment, the dog was on lead. Did the fear magically disappear? No, OP took steps to eliminate the problem and calmly moved on.

She offered a reassurance, which according to some posters would have been fine if she’d said something other than ‘she’s friendly.’

Again, it was hardly ‘Calm down! Stop being hysterical!’

I never understand why owners say 'don't worry, he's friendly!'. Nope. I do not want to befriend your dog. I would be happier to be told that 'he's shy and uninterested' as friendly sounds a lot like it's going to jump on me or get too close!

Reassuring things to say are things like 'I'll wait here until you pass' or 'I've put him on the lead so he's under control', things that reassure that the dog is not going to approach.

You should have had the dog on a lead. It was rude of you to chastise the child for being rightfully wary of a strange dog by saying it was 'friendly'.

The girl is scared of dogs, how you perceive your dog is irrelevant. We have a dog but as a child I was petrified of dogs. A dog being friendly isn’t friendly seeming if you’re scared of dogs and it’s not your place to tell someone otherwise.

The child's mother was rude IMO.

It's been said many times before. All dogs should be kept on a lead at all times when in a public place. If that rule were to be applied it would make for a much more harmonious community of dog owners and non-dog owners. We could all enjoy the countryside on equal terms.

I'd rather meet a dog than you tbh.

OP - you did everything right. There’s just no satisfying some people. you were also polite whereas the mother ‘snapped’.
If anything the parent increased anxiety levels with her response.

And a lot of scared people unreasonably think their phobia should be every dog owners problem.

There’s good and bad on both sides of this argument but in this case OP did everything morally and legally correct.

She cared enough to ask if she should have done anything differently and we are all now aware of how loaded ‘friendly’ can be as a reassurance, including OP.

So no need to suggest she needs to ‘keep her trap shut’. She hardly said ‘here, my dog’s hungry, can she chew your child?’.

Every dog owner that had a dog that bit someone or attacked someone always said but they were a friendly dog!

Rubbish, keep your dog on its lead and keep your trap shut. Better for kids to treat every dog rightly with suspicion as a lot of bad owners are full of shit.

She was rude.
She'd have a point if your dog went up to them. It didnt. Ignore it.

My daughter is scared of dogs after a bad incident. YANBU to put dog on lead and give as much distance as possible.

YABU to “reassure” someone your dog is friendly. Literally every owner thinks their dog is friendly. That doesn’t stop the dog from randomly jumping, sniffing or licking, which is very frightening to young children who are scared.

Did you read a different post? OP put her dog on a lead simply because she could see the child was scared. Not because the dog was jumping. No one was being unfair

I agree.

My daughter is scared of dogs and would be the same if one was off the lead near her. Just cause they are friendly doesn't mean she isn't scared of them. I personally don't think dogs should be off the lead at all in public places apart from enclosed dog fields.

Trying to reassure the child was a thoughtful thing to do, but next time honestly I wouldn't bother.

I usually just leash my dog and completely ignore them 🤷🏼‍♀️

If they want to work on their fear then I'm sure they will somewhere else with someone else... but that's none of my business.