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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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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:

user1464187087 · 15/09/2026 20:37

nomas · 15/09/2026 20:18

Hope you're ok now. I love dogs and most animals, and I'm also fine with touching spiders and field mice etc, but I still freeze for a panic stricken second when a random dog runs and jumps at me.

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Ah thank you, I am fine now, it was a few years ago. I also love animals including dogs but I still get nervous if a dog off the lead jumps up at me. x

worldshottestmom · 15/09/2026 20:36

user1464187087 · 15/09/2026 20:16

I wish I had kicked the dog that attacked me!

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Well if it is attacking then yes, of course. I got caught up in a dog fight once when I was walking my muzzled dog and this boxer ran out of it's house and started viciously attacking my dog. I took my dogs muzzle off so he could fight back but was waiting a good 5 minutes before the owner came out, after hearing me scream "do you wanna come and get your fucking dog before it gets killed".

I was 7 months pregnant at the time. I lost one of my front teeth as I was trying to restrain my dog and he whacked his head into my mouth repeatedly while fighting the other dog. The owners apologised heavily but I was so stunned and in tears that I just ran away to get away from the thing. Really wished I'd of kicked that fucker, and the owner, too.

CoffeeandCakeBreak · 15/09/2026 20:34

You are both unreasonable. Owner shouldn't have let the dog approach you, but it was a massive over reaction to kick the dog.

Nowhere in your description do you mention doing anything sensible, like giving a firm clear command to the dog, or one of you managing the dog while the other removed the baby out of the way. Screaming is just going to make the dog more excited. Kicking it was completely uncalled for.

A bit more common sense by everyone involved would have easily managed the situation without nastily kicking the dog and keeping your baby safe.

Original poster

KellyK2026 · 15/09/2026 20:33

Lacksie · 15/09/2026 20:31

This was a park where dogs were allowed off lead?

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Yes, but it’s generally expected that in a public park your dog should be trained and not jumping up at infants. If they do they should be on a lead or be in a designated dog park. Please read the dangerous dog act. A dog jumping up can be perceived as a threat and reported. So be responsible.

OP posts:

ThatCyanJoker · 15/09/2026 20:33

omg, you were definitely not being unreasonable. About time some of these dog owners realised this is totally unacceptable

laurini · 15/09/2026 20:31

Monty36 · 15/09/2026 13:32

The dog should have been on a lead. It should respond to recall and not jump up. All of that.
But, a spaniel. I think they are more likely to lick you to death.
Your husband kicking the dog does seems like an overreaction to me. Before a firm ‘no’ , standing up and trying to get him off.
In your situation I would have dropped the baby bag too. And taken the baby. So your husband can try to restrain the dog. More important than the bag.

Well, I wouldn't want a dog licking my baby either. Just because it might not maul a baby to death doesnt mean it's in any way acceptable.

Lacksie · 15/09/2026 20:31

KellyK2026 · 15/09/2026 20:28

There’s dog parks.

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This was a park where dogs were allowed off lead?

Palomiino · 15/09/2026 20:30

No YANBU. Dogs should be under control - it’s their owners responsibility. I’d be mortified if I were this dog owner.

worldshottestmom · 15/09/2026 20:30

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

Lacksie · 15/09/2026 20:30

user1464187087 · 15/09/2026 20:28

You sound like a dick!

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Because I have an opinion that's different to yours?

Or do you just like calling strangers rude names on the internet?

Original poster

KellyK2026 · 15/09/2026 20:28

Lacksie · 15/09/2026 20:27

What about your dogs need to run around/ exercise or is that irrelevant to you ?

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There’s dog parks.

OP posts:

Original poster

KellyK2026 · 15/09/2026 20:28

BeMellowAquaSquid · 15/09/2026 20:19

Maybe you should read the whole thread before commenting. OP stated somewhere in the back chain that she had previously seen well behaved dogs off the lead in the same park. I’ve no idea what OP did to the bench when she was on it but I sure as hell would have cleaned it before sitting on it with a baby.

What’s the cleanliness of a bench got to do with anything 😂

OP posts:

user1464187087 · 15/09/2026 20:28

Lacksie · 15/09/2026 19:55

I imagine she would have apologised if it weren't for the screaming and kicking; and she did apparently apologise just quietly/
quickly and dashed off- which is a normal reaction to a stranger screaming and kicking.

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You sound like a dick!

Lacksie · 15/09/2026 20:27

HoneyPie12 · 15/09/2026 20:10

My puppy is huge. And I mean huge. She also has terrible manners and when asked if a child can stroke her I usually say no.as she jumps up, licks and sometimes even bites (not hard but still uses teeth). Once we said yes to a 2 year old while I was fully restraining her and she still tried to rear up and knock him on his little bum. This is why, always and forever, she will be on a lead. I can't teach her manners fast, but I can adapt to her/act on behalf of her. The woman was so, so in the wrong. And I say that as a woman who's dog would have tried to snatch as much food as she could, and probably smack your baby with her fat paws too!

What about your dogs need to run around/ exercise or is that irrelevant to you ?

Original poster

KellyK2026 · 15/09/2026 20:27

Notsosweetcaroline · 15/09/2026 20:23

But that’s what you said it was I’d say it was slightly larger than a spaniel and had floppy ears like one, so possibly a spaniel mix.

now it’s bigger and wasn’t a spaniel mix, has it morphed into a German shepherd? A Rottweiler?

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Yes, like I said it was larger than a spaniel but had ears like one. That was a guess. A very broad guess. It could’ve been something entirely different, as I’ve said a million times.

OP posts:

Original poster

KellyK2026 · 15/09/2026 20:25

Ooohaaahjustalittlebit · 15/09/2026 20:22

I.cannot even begin to understand why neither of you could stand up? Unless you were more concerned about protecting the food than the child? It makes no sense.

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I’ve explained this a million times. I have mobility issues and physically couldn’t. DH was straddling the bench while holding the baby. His options were to shield the baby (which he did) or attempt to stand up while straddling the bench and then remain balanced as he swung his leg over while a sizeable dog is jumping up at him and potentially fall over with the baby. But I imagine if he had done that and fallen people would still be defending the dog and criticising him for standing up when it was risky.

OP posts:

Notsosweetcaroline · 15/09/2026 20:23

KellyK2026 · 15/09/2026 20:06

It wasn’t that either. That was if I had to guess but I don’t know dog breeds. But sure, if it makes you feel better, it was a spaniel
mix.

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But that’s what you said it was I’d say it was slightly larger than a spaniel and had floppy ears like one, so possibly a spaniel mix.

now it’s bigger and wasn’t a spaniel mix, has it morphed into a German shepherd? A Rottweiler?

Original poster

KellyK2026 · 15/09/2026 20:22

Ohdfod · 15/09/2026 20:17

Unlikely, biology says babies respond to screaming mothers, but if you are right, no harm done then?

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Even if that was the case, me shouting to the owner what was happening is what any responsible parent would do. Any responsible dog owner would be quick to react, but she wasn’t.

OP posts:

Ooohaaahjustalittlebit · 15/09/2026 20:22

KellyK2026 · 15/09/2026 20:04

It wasn’t a spaniel. It wasn’t little. It didn’t just come up to sniff some food. It had jumped up several times at my baby. We weren’t in a situation where we could easily stand up and there’s nothing funny about an owner that doesn’t have their dog under control.

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I.cannot even begin to understand why neither of you could stand up? Unless you were more concerned about protecting the food than the child? It makes no sense.

BeMellowAquaSquid · 15/09/2026 20:19

Ooohaaahjustalittlebit · 15/09/2026 20:18

RachTheAlpaca · 15/09/2026 20:10

Likely the unpopular opinion here with all of the dog worshippers excusing the terrible owner and lack of training, but if this had happened to me and I thought my baby might potentially have their face bitten off, we would've killed the dog right there and then to be honest

Surely you would have just stood up so that your child was out of reach or the jumping dog?

bangalanguk · 15/09/2026 20:18

The exact same thing happened to us on a beach many years ago when I was nursing my 6 week old daughter and we were eating a picnic. The dog bounded up to us and was running around us, it was wet from being in the sea and bit a chunk of the sandwich I was holding and pushed its nose towards my nursing baby. My 4 year old was frightened and was crying, my husband also kicked the dog as it wouldn't go away and the owner just stood and looked rather than trying to recall it. He didn't apologise either so no, you are not being unreasonable.

nomas · 15/09/2026 20:18

user1464187087 · 15/09/2026 20:14

Well the dog owner has to take responsibility for that. I say that as someone who has been bitten by a dog and it was nasty.

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Hope you're ok now. I love dogs and most animals, and I'm also fine with touching spiders and field mice etc, but I still freeze for a panic stricken second when a random dog runs and jumps at me.

Ohdfod · 15/09/2026 20:17

KellyK2026 · 15/09/2026 20:15

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

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Unlikely, biology says babies respond to screaming mothers, but if you are right, no harm done then?

user1464187087 · 15/09/2026 20:16

worldshottestmom · 15/09/2026 19:53

You didn't overreact but your DH did. Kicking a dog is not okay unless it's trying to attack. He should have taken it by the scruff to move it away until the owner arrived, and her callous behaviour was utterly disgusting. I'm not surprised he kicked the dog in the heat of the moment but still wasn't the appropriate response.

Though her reaction is what would bother me most. A dog of any size jumping up at a baby could be fatal in some circumstances. I hoenstly think dog ownership should require a licence. It's not the dogs fault the owner hasn't trained it and had it off the lead, much like it isn't a child's fault when they grow up behaving badly because they weren't raised well.

I think in future, given that you cannot control other people's behaviour, you need to keep yourself and your baby as safe as possible by sticking to child-only areas of parks and not places where dogs are free to roam off-lead. Sorry this happened to you though, it would leave me very unsettled, too.

I wish I had kicked the dog that attacked me!

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