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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:
Ladamesansmerci · 15/09/2026 15:16

I think that's an instinctive response to an animal coming up to your baby.

Dogs have no business being off lead where there is a play park where children are. That's the end of it.

Excited dogs nip. Even a small bite is large and dangerous to a baby.

theneighbourgotmycake · 15/09/2026 15:16

Vivi0 · 15/09/2026 15:13

I’ve never known anyone who has been bitten by a dog, personally.

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really?

My local groups has regular posts warning people after a necessary visit to hospital following encounters with unruly dogs, and we're not talking newspaper worth attack, just people being beaten while walking in fields or in the forest.

I have been beaten a couple of times while running, not enough to break the skin so not dangerous, just a big bruise. I was minding my own business, the dogs were coming the over direction and jumped at me while I jog past.

I wasn't too concerned but it would have been very different if they had jumped on one of my kids

Vivi0 · 15/09/2026 15:16

KellyK2026 · 15/09/2026 15:15

It wasn’t a spaniel

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What type of dog was it?

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

Vivi0 · 15/09/2026 15:12

Was the screaming and kicking the dog really necessary?

Your husband couldn’t have just stood up with the baby?

It’s a spaniel, not a tiger.

You’ll end up giving your child a fear of dogs reacting hysterically like this.

It wasn’t a spaniel

OP posts:
hangingplant742 · 15/09/2026 15:15

GoodGirlFaith · 15/09/2026 15:10

Your natural reactions to just continue sitting there do sound implausible, quite honestly.

The 'whole contents' of your picnic meant you could not stand up to move the dog or shoo it away, protect the baby? Why? What was in this magical picnic that harnessed you both to your seats?

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Harnessed to the seats 😂

Original poster
KellyK2026 · 15/09/2026 15:14

hangingplant742 · 15/09/2026 15:13

Dogs are a really easy read. It’s clear you have very little education on dogs and how to act around them. As you will probably experience more off lead dogs in parks with your child it is probably best you sign up for some dog education classes.

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Rather than the dog owner signing up for dog training lessons?

OP posts:
Thinkofnewthings · 15/09/2026 15:14

hangingplant742 · 15/09/2026 15:11

You need training in understanding dogs. You screaming at a friendly bouncy spaniel and your husband kicking it has taught your baby to be terrified of dogs. All you needed to do was get your husband to stand up with the baby so the food was higher up out of reach.

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No one “needs” training in understanding dogs. I personally think all dogs should be on a lead, if not muzzled, in all public places if they are to be allowed in.

Original poster
KellyK2026 · 15/09/2026 15:14

Vivi0 · 15/09/2026 15:13

I’ve never known anyone who has been bitten by a dog, personally.

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I’ve known a few and there’s been people of here who have spoken to their experience about being bitten.

OP posts:
Original poster
KellyK2026 · 15/09/2026 15:13

Melsy88 · 15/09/2026 15:12

And for that, i'm very grateful.

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Believe me, me too.

OP posts:
Vivi0 · 15/09/2026 15:13

KellyK2026 · 15/09/2026 15:10

And? So what if she knew her dog wasn’t a threat (and by the way, I’ve known many people say their dog isn’t a threat and then they bite), I don’t know that. I don’t know her or the dog.

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I’ve never known anyone who has been bitten by a dog, personally.

Original poster
KellyK2026 · 15/09/2026 15:13

hangingplant742 · 15/09/2026 15:11

You need training in understanding dogs. You screaming at a friendly bouncy spaniel and your husband kicking it has taught your baby to be terrified of dogs. All you needed to do was get your husband to stand up with the baby so the food was higher up out of reach.

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I don’t know if it was a spaniel, firstly.

And I don’t need training in understanding dogs. I have absolutely no intention of ever owning one. The people who own dogs should have training in how to train their dog and understand that not everyone wants a dog jumping up at them, especially when they are holding a baby.

OP posts:
hangingplant742 · 15/09/2026 15:13

KellyK2026 · 15/09/2026 15:10

And? So what if she knew her dog wasn’t a threat (and by the way, I’ve known many people say their dog isn’t a threat and then they bite), I don’t know that. I don’t know her or the dog.

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Dogs are a really easy read. It’s clear you have very little education on dogs and how to act around them. As you will probably experience more off lead dogs in parks with your child it is probably best you sign up for some dog education classes.

Melsy88 · 15/09/2026 15:12

KellyK2026 · 15/09/2026 15:11

You don’t know me lol

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And for that, i'm very grateful.

Vivi0 · 15/09/2026 15:12

Was the screaming and kicking the dog really necessary?

Your husband couldn’t have just stood up with the baby?

It’s a spaniel, not a tiger.

You’ll end up giving your child a fear of dogs reacting hysterically like this.

hangingplant742 · 15/09/2026 15:11

KellyK2026 · 15/09/2026 15:09

And I’ll always be for protecting children and dog owners properly training their dogs.

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You need training in understanding dogs. You screaming at a friendly bouncy spaniel and your husband kicking it has taught your baby to be terrified of dogs. All you needed to do was get your husband to stand up with the baby so the food was higher up out of reach.

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

Melsy88 · 15/09/2026 15:10

You can be supportive of those things without being a horrible person.

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You don’t know me lol

OP posts:
Original poster
KellyK2026 · 15/09/2026 15:11

GoodGirlFaith · 15/09/2026 15:10

Your natural reactions to just continue sitting there do sound implausible, quite honestly.

The 'whole contents' of your picnic meant you could not stand up to move the dog or shoo it away, protect the baby? Why? What was in this magical picnic that harnessed you both to your seats?

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No, I’m not going to try and grab a dog that I don’t know who is acting that way.

OP posts:
Original poster
KellyK2026 · 15/09/2026 15:10

hangingplant742 · 15/09/2026 15:07

She was sauntering over because she knows her dog is no threat to your baby. You sound hysterical tbh. Why would you think the dog wanted to bite anyone? What a weird assumption. You had food, a dog came over excited at the food. No more serious than that. Kicking the dog is abuse.

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And? So what if she knew her dog wasn’t a threat (and by the way, I’ve known many people say their dog isn’t a threat and then they bite), I don’t know that. I don’t know her or the dog.

OP posts:
GoodGirlFaith · 15/09/2026 15:10

KellyK2026 · 15/09/2026 14:57

No, we didn’t get up. We had the whole contents of the bag on the table at this point. Why is it up to us to move away from the dog and not the owner to put their dog on a lead?

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Your natural reactions to just continue sitting there do sound implausible, quite honestly.

The 'whole contents' of your picnic meant you could not stand up to move the dog or shoo it away, protect the baby? Why? What was in this magical picnic that harnessed you both to your seats?

Melsy88 · 15/09/2026 15:10

KellyK2026 · 15/09/2026 15:09

And I’ll always be for protecting children and dog owners properly training their dogs.

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You can be supportive of those things without being a horrible person.

Melsy88 · 15/09/2026 15:09

nomas · 15/09/2026 15:08

Her morals and common sense are to protect her baby.

I love dogs but they can be predictable and can attack in a split second. There's a horrifying video on YT where a pre-teen child has a small dog on its lap talking to a webcam and the dog without warning takes a big bite out of the child's cheek.

No way would I risk a dog getting that close to a stranger's child.

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And you dont think that kicking a dog is going to make it more likely to attack?! 🙄

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

Melsy88 · 15/09/2026 15:04

I'll always be against unnecessary violence towards animals. And i'm not sorry for that.
You're not doing your child any favours by firstly making them scared of dogs and secondly potentially making a friendly dog angry by being so horrible and dramatic.
But you clearly are only interested in views that match yours.

Edited
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And I’ll always be for protecting children and dog owners properly training their dogs.

OP posts:
nomas · 15/09/2026 15:08

Melsy88 · 15/09/2026 14:50

Could have also been avoided if you (and your husband) had better morals and common sense.

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Her morals and common sense are to protect her baby.

I love dogs but they can be predictable and can attack in a split second. There's a horrifying video on YT where a pre-teen child has a small dog on its lap talking to a webcam and the dog without warning takes a big bite out of the child's cheek.

No way would I risk a dog getting that close to a stranger's child.

hangingplant742 · 15/09/2026 15:07

KellyK2026 · 15/09/2026 12:57

I wouldn’t like to say what breed it was as I’m not that familiar with dog breeds. I’d say it was slightly larger than a spaniel and had floppy ears like one, so possibly a spaniel mix.

To be honest it all happened so quickly. Husband was straddling the bench and trying to shield the baby and I had my hands full with the baby bag. Neither one of us could grab the collar as it was so hyperactive and quick. Also, neither one of us is very confident around dogs and, with food being involved and it trying to get at it, we didn’t know if it would nip the baby. In a situation like that our main priority was the baby, especially as the dog didn’t respond to a recall. And we didn’t know if it was dangerous or not.

The dog’s owner was a young woman and perfectly mobile yet she was sauntering over. If I was her I would’ve been running over to grab my dog, especially after I had shouted that we have a baby so she knew who her dog was jumping up at.

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She was sauntering over because she knows her dog is no threat to your baby. You sound hysterical tbh. Why would you think the dog wanted to bite anyone? What a weird assumption. You had food, a dog came over excited at the food. No more serious than that. Kicking the dog is abuse.

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

Lemontree2 · 15/09/2026 15:03

I would be cross too but I don’t think kicking the dog was necessary or sensible. It doesn’t sound as though the dog was showing any aggression, and kicking it could have provoked an aggressive response.

I suppose that depends on your perception. At the time, the dog had jumped up at my baby and had made contact with its paws a few times. And given that we tried to block it and tell it to stop and it didn’t (in fact it was getting more hyper) the kick was actually the most effective. I’ve said that I don’t have much experience with dogs so I don’t know the signs of aggression, but I knew perfectly well even if it wasn’t being aggressive it could accidentally hurt my baby by jumping up at them or if it nipped them as the baby had food on them. That simply wasn’t a risk I was prepared to take.

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