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AIBU?

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Original poster

AIBU to be upset after a dog jumped at our baby?

945 replies

KellyK2026 · 15/09/2026 12:14

Okay, so myself, DH and baby were at a country park the other week. Baby was getting hungry so we sat ourselves down on a park bench and got some food out. A woman was walking with her family and dog and the dog must’ve smelt the food as it suddenly
comes bounding over and is jumping at baby (who is on DH knee) to get the food. We don’t know this dog and don’t know what it's capable of. I scream at the owner that we have a baby and to get her dog under control. At this point, she’s pretty far away and is taking her time to come over. My DH then kicks the dog to get it off them as it just will not stop. The woman wasn’t particularly apologetic and seemed shocked. Did we overreact?

OP posts:
FreshJalapenos · 15/09/2026 21:14

Lacksie · 15/09/2026 21:05

It didn't start jumping out of nowhere- it jumped because you had food.

Is it really your claim that trained dogs, never put a food wrong, ever??

do you apply the same beliefs about parenting, because you have a big shock coming!

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Well trained dogs don’t do this and good owners keep their dogs on leads if they can’t leave food alone

Animals aren’t like humans, FYI.

I I know dog loons expect the world to bed to their fur baby but a family having a picnic in the park is a perfectly reasonable thing to do and expect without some twat and their mutt coming to spoil things.

BuildbyNumbere · 15/09/2026 21:12

KellyK2026 · 15/09/2026 21:11

Who said I was screaming blue murder? I shouted to the dog owner to get her dog under control because we had a baby. What a weird question.

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And your husband then has no other option but to kick the dog?!? What a weird reaction … hence my question, which I assume the answer is yes.

Lacksie · 15/09/2026 21:11

KellyK2026 · 15/09/2026 21:07

Well trained dogs don’t simultaneously lose basic skills all at once, no. If they do then they aren’t well trained.

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It's not "losing a skill" my dear. dogs arent machines that you program to do things, they are sentient creatures capable of a range of complex behaviours and moods.
sometimes even usually-well-behaved dogs refuse to listen / chose to be stubborn/ chose their own agenda. So do children- even those with good hearing, language and listening skills will chose to ignore instructions sometimes I can assure you!.

Original poster
KellyK2026 · 15/09/2026 21:11

BuildbyNumbere · 15/09/2026 21:09

Unlikely if it was going mad, jumping about and you were screaming blue murder … most babies would start crying. Are you a first time parent?

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Who said I was screaming blue murder? I shouted to the dog owner to get her dog under control because we had a baby. What a weird question.

OP posts:
BuildbyNumbere · 15/09/2026 21:09

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Unlikely … straddling a baby and kicking a dog, super smart!

BuildbyNumbere · 15/09/2026 21:09

KellyK2026 · 15/09/2026 21:08

Well it did and the owner apologised. So…

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If you say so … All sounds so over the top.

BuildbyNumbere · 15/09/2026 21:09

KellyK2026 · 15/09/2026 21:04

Because a baby doesn’t understand the risk? There’s not an awful lot to compute. Babies would also sit in front of a gorilla happily eating not knowing the risks.

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Unlikely if it was going mad, jumping about and you were screaming blue murder … most babies would start crying. Are you a first time parent?

Original poster
KellyK2026 · 15/09/2026 21:08

BuildbyNumbere · 15/09/2026 21:07

But baby was sat there ignoring the entire situation escapade continuing to eat?!? Dog couldn’t have got that close.

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Well it did and the owner apologised. So…

OP posts:
KellyK2026 · 15/09/2026 21:07

This reply has been deleted

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BuildbyNumbere · 15/09/2026 21:07

KellyK2026 · 15/09/2026 21:01

No because unlike my baby, I’m not defenceless and I have a duty of care to protect them. If your dog gets hurt then that’s on the owner and the law agrees with me.

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But baby was sat there ignoring the entire situation escapade continuing to eat?!? Dog couldn’t have got that close.

Original poster
KellyK2026 · 15/09/2026 21:07

Lacksie · 15/09/2026 21:05

It didn't start jumping out of nowhere- it jumped because you had food.

Is it really your claim that trained dogs, never put a food wrong, ever??

do you apply the same beliefs about parenting, because you have a big shock coming!

Show quote history

Well trained dogs don’t simultaneously lose basic skills all at once, no. If they do then they aren’t well trained.

OP posts:
BuildbyNumbere · 15/09/2026 21:06

Notsosweetcaroline · 15/09/2026 20:37

Exactly, you just stand up, how on earth do people get through the day when something so basic results into this dramatic scene no wonder the owner looked shocked you couldn’t make it up

straddling rhe baby, instead of just calmly standing up and lifting the child.

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The DH sounds a bit of a dimwit tbh

Lacksie · 15/09/2026 21:05

KellyK2026 · 15/09/2026 21:02

I’ve never known a well trained dog start jumping up out of nowhere, trying to grab food and also lose the ability of recall. You’re clutching at straws here.

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It didn't start jumping out of nowhere- it jumped because you had food.

Is it really your claim that trained dogs, never put a food wrong, ever??

do you apply the same beliefs about parenting, because you have a big shock coming!

Original poster
KellyK2026 · 15/09/2026 21:04

BuildbyNumbere · 15/09/2026 21:02

But yet your baby was sat there, completely happy and not scared or affected by your screaming and continued to eat? Something not adding up!

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Because a baby doesn’t understand the risk? There’s not an awful lot to compute. Babies would also sit in front of a gorilla happily eating not knowing the risks.

OP posts:
Original poster
KellyK2026 · 15/09/2026 21:02

Lacksie · 15/09/2026 21:01

I was answering your question which is that you overreacted to the situation .

There is no basis for assuming the dog was "untrained". It almost certainly has been trained- most dogs are.
And maybe the dog is well behaved 99% of the time. Just this one instance it smelled some food and was less than perfect. That happens with animals as it does with children and adults too. We can't expect perfection from dogs. It's not realistic. No animal or human is perfect.

the advice to you is to develop a safer, more pragmatic and less fearful approach to animals- for the benefit of your child more than anything. or alternatively go to spaces where you entirely avoid them.

Edited
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I’ve never known a well trained dog start jumping up out of nowhere, trying to grab food and also lose the ability of recall. You’re clutching at straws here.

OP posts:
BuildbyNumbere · 15/09/2026 21:02

KellyK2026 · 15/09/2026 20:51

It jumped up and my baby, putting its paws on them several times. Do you understand how much a baby weighs in comparison to a a medium sized dog? It shouldn’t have put its paws anywhere near my baby and its owner should’ve trained it. It couldn’t get to the food and kept lunging at my DH and baby. You’ve no idea how scary that is when you don’t know the animal, it clearly isn’t listening to its owner, and you’re trying to protect a totally defenceless child. So don’t tell me what the dog was doing.

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But yet your baby was sat there, completely happy and not scared or affected by your screaming and continued to eat? Something not adding up!

Original poster
KellyK2026 · 15/09/2026 21:01

BuildbyNumbere · 15/09/2026 20:59

Maybe you have something to learn from your baby then.

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No because unlike my baby, I’m not defenceless and I have a duty of care to protect them. If your dog gets hurt then that’s on the owner and the law agrees with me.

OP posts:
Lacksie · 15/09/2026 21:01

KellyK2026 · 15/09/2026 20:57

You’re not answering my question at all. It was dangerous and irresponsible of the dog owner to let an untrained dog off the lead in a space like that. It could’ve seriously hurt a child. There are no excuses.

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I was answering your question which is that you overreacted to the situation .

There is no basis for assuming the dog was "untrained". It almost certainly has been trained- most dogs are.
And maybe the dog is well behaved 99% of the time. Just this one instance it smelled some food and was less than perfect. That happens with animals as it does with children and adults too. We can't expect perfection from dogs. It's not realistic. No animal or human is perfect.

the advice to you is to develop a safer, more pragmatic and less fearful approach to animals- for the benefit of your child more than anything. or alternatively go to spaces where you entirely avoid them.

BuildbyNumbere · 15/09/2026 21:00

Liverpool52 · 15/09/2026 20:44

Or dog owners could just control their dogs. Why should it be the responsibility of the person who doesn't own the dog to control it.

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Poster said to pick up the baby, not control the dog.

BuildbyNumbere · 15/09/2026 20:59

KellyK2026 · 15/09/2026 20:15

No they weren’t. They were busy trying to eat.

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Maybe you have something to learn from your baby then.

Liverpool52 · 15/09/2026 20:57

Lacksie · 15/09/2026 20:49

I think that's a completely callous attitude towards animals.

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Why? If you have a dog that needs to be off lead then you find those spaces. You don't take them to an area that is available for everyone because it quite clearly isn't appropriate for a dog that doesn't have 100% recall. Pet owners have the responsibility to take their animals to places that are appropriate for the pets.

Original poster
KellyK2026 · 15/09/2026 20:57

Lacksie · 15/09/2026 20:54

Even trained dogs aren't 100% perfect 100% of the time. I don't know why you are expecting standards of animals that aren't expected of people.
There is no binary that is "untrained" vs 100% perfect.

Edited
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You’re not answering my question at all. It was dangerous and irresponsible of the dog owner to let an untrained dog off the lead in a space like that. It could’ve seriously hurt a child. There are no excuses.

OP posts:
Lacksie · 15/09/2026 20:55

nomas · 15/09/2026 20:53

Where has OP said you can't give your opinion? Doesn't mean she can't disagree with you.

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It was the "don't tell me" bit I was responding to.

Lacksie · 15/09/2026 20:54

KellyK2026 · 15/09/2026 20:53

It was a children’s play area. I’ve said that numerous times but that’s another thing that isn’t sinking in. There’s a big play area with picnic benches dotted around the outside of it. That’s where we were. Can you imagine if a toddler had been standing there holding a sandwich and a dog jumped on them to get it. If it had hurt the child it could’ve been put down. The dog owner is the abusive one for even taking that risk with an untrained dog.

Edited
Show quote history

Even trained dogs aren't 100% perfect 100% of the time. I don't know why you are expecting standards of animals that aren't expected of people.
There is no binary that is "untrained" vs 100% perfect.

December11 · 15/09/2026 20:54

I don’t think you or your DH over reacted. I’m surprised the dog was off the lead if they did not respond to recall. I have a cocker spaniel and golden retriever mix, while gentle, he is super strong and very food motivated! I’ve spent a lot of time training recall but still wouldn’t leave him off lead in a picnic area!

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