Friend's dog bit a child, whose fault?

Everyone is at fault. Idiot parents and entitled dog owner

Children are expected to be taught not to touch dogs but dogs often run up to, jump up at, sniff, lick etc children and they are expected to put up with it as the dog is being ‘friendly’.

Youre both at fault here - child can’t be trusted around dogs and dog can’t be trusted around children so both should be kept apart. No harm done so you can just move on from it.

Gosh some people are so entitled!

Parents fault but then again adults are no better.I had my tiny dog in my coat once when we were on holiday as she didnt want to walk anymore(diva)
A woman walking past reached out to her and I said "no! Sorry she will nip you if shes not on the ground"
Woman looked very put out but that was better than the alternative.

The dog wasnt off the lead, totally the child's fault, and the parents for not telling her she shouldn't run up to strange dogs,especially then to wack it on the head. Poor dog

If you choose to keep pet dogs as a hobby then you are responsible for anything the dog does.

You stated “we were quite close already” in you OP. Either way my opinion stands of there being fault on both sides

My view is fault on both sides, more so on the child’s parents’ side.

But ultimately, if you own a dog you need to be prepared to encounter stupid people. If you choose to own an animal capable of causing serious injury, it’s up to you to prevent that happening - even if other people are being reckless.

I was well into my fifties when a very nice dog owner with a bad Labrador told me never to pat the top of the dog's head and explained that the dog might perceive it as a threat. I had never been told that in all my years of patting dogs so I wouldn't blame the little girl's parents for not knowing that. Maybe this situation is just why it is always a good idea to teach little chlldren not to pat dogs they don't know without asking the owner first? The owner should maybe have a shorter lead if they are walking on narrow footpaths. The family were overly aggressive.

Absolutely this. You treat animals with respect or they will react. It’s their only way of defending themselves.
My beautiful gentle lab has never been vicious (apart from knocking things over with his waggy tail). But if someone smacked him or poked him in the eye or similar I would have little sympathy for them if he snarled at them.

This is on the parents. If you approach any dog then it's down to you. Under these circumstances it's quite possible that the parents are encouraging the child to be traumatised unnecessarily. My dog is super friendly and approachable but I don't think that any child has petted without the parents asking permission first.

No everything has to be someone's fault, and sometimes accidents just happen. If neither child or dog had ever behaved like this before, it's fair enough that their responsible adults didn't plan ahead for it and take adequate precautions.

Going forwards, parents need to keep a closer eye on their child and dog needs to be on a shorter lead in busy public places - also consider one of those warning vests for him if you want to be doubly sure.

The girl's family sound aggressive, but I guess they will have read a lot of stories about kids being killed by dogs, and I suppose the event scared them. They probably aren't evil people.

50/50 imo.

Parents should teach children not to touch dogs without asking, but she's 4 so still very young and perhaps she's never done this before either.

owners should keep dogs close when passing others as you simply never know what might happen, as this case demonstrates.

Muzzling obviously - although some nuzzling is fine too as the dog didn't do anything wrong

Both. Parents should have made sure the child didn’t go towards the dog. Dog owner should have had the dog closer. This is why when I see someone with a dog approaching I make sure child is on other side of me to the dog.

As has been demonstrated - on lead was not under control.

Owner's fault. Dog should have been kept at heel once children had been seen.
Dog needs nuzzling now.

100% kids fault but owner maybe needs a shorter lead to keep full control.

Older dog probably can't see and hear as well as they used to so that will hopefully stop dog getting a fright and lashing out.

Regardless of fault, its not worth the risk as imagine how awful your friend would feel if their dog chomped a toddlers finger off.

Personally, if I had people following me round the park acting in a threatening manner I would have called the police for my own safety too.

Both are at fault. When I’m passing people on a street I always pull my dog close so that he’s at my heal. I also think the other parents need to teach their child not to approach a dog without permission.

Your original post says passing on a path so quite close together already which is probably where posters took narrow from

It would be a shock to the child and parents, but they should've been in control. I walk my niece's Staffy and I'm so careful with him. I have to say though, anyone that wants to say hello or pet him always ask. I haven't encountered any kids rushing up to him, thank goodness. Maybe my stern face puts them off

I had a friend who always had Boxers. She was walking them one day and two kids came running over to them. She stopped them and told the mother off!

Who’d let their kid slap a random dog on the head then complain when it reacted? I’m no dog lover but jeez

1.5m is not a long lead. That's only 1.5 steps ahead and if walking that's totally normal. My dog is on a normal lead and is probably that far ahead of me when walking, otherwise I would trip over him.

My DC have know since they could walk that you never approach a dog, you always ask the owner first. We have been lucky that this has always been the case when kids have wanted to say hello to our dog when out and about. They have asked very politely and we have asked them to be nice and calm because he's still young and can get a little bit excited. There have been zero issues.

The parents are fully at fault here. Plus it's an older Staffie, they look hard as hell but in reality they are mostly absolute wimps, the dog gave a warning which is what it should have done in the circumstances. Hopefully the child and parents have learnt a valuable lesson.

The idiot parents are responsible. They should have taught their child not to run to random dogs and touch them.

The dog was on a lead and minding its own business...