dogs at school gates again

[nikkershaw]

fgs can people not keep them a little away from the entrance, it's not alot to ask for? we don't all want to pet your pongy pooch and i'm sick of detouring around them.

thank you

Budge over on that 'not giving a sod' bench Wildy and Spikey. I've just come back from town where I met a lovely mum with her little girl who was about 5yo and who asked if they might stroke my GSD and two little brats of about 7 and 8 who thought it funny to try and wind him up by standing just out of his reach and barking at him whilst their doting mother looked on smirking.

I love dogs, my kids do and there''s no issue for us

but...

the dog owners stand right by all three entrances- so close they can lick teh toddler's hands in his buggy as we go through (very narrow single entrance gates).

there's also a dof that is often tied up opposite whilst his owner goes to the shop before the pick up, so probabloy about 30 minutes or mroe, and it barks like amd. Ipve known him since a pup and he's lovely but he's also very large (German Shepherd) and the school teahcers tell me his barking upsets some children trying to dos choolwork.

We also get some parents actually carry their dogs in to try and exempt themselves from the no dogs rule.

Seems to me it's the differnece between compassion and not: steer clear, keep your dog quiet and let people through with space.

I just don't think dogs and children who don't know each other can be mixed without considering that one might harm the other. I have seen loads of toddlers mauling dogs (he/ she loves dogs) and although I've never been bitten, a lot of my friends were bitten or knocked over as children.

It's a bit like the NRA line about people killing people, not guns and thats true, but then who wants to in a violence prone gunned up society?

I'd rather not have to worry about your dog, although if it's on a lead and kept away from my children / muzzled.

I am scared of dogs, but if they are calm kind of dogs sitting still and owner is with them then I would find it okay. But to leave them tied up unattended where people have to walk past is not on. The owners should be supervising the dog properly, keeping close to them and willing to move just to let people past if someone asks them due to being scared/allergic or that their dc is scared. If all that is complied with it should be okay, as that is a bit of give and take, but if someone persist in arrogantly blocking the way with a huge dog and not moving aside for people, getting an attitude problem if people ask them to move or anything then i think they should be reported and headteacher have a word with them.

how long is this going to go on for??? val wtwtw and spikey any room on that bench???

Personally I think children should be kept away from dogs because they are untrustworthy, dangerous, snappy, creatures......and thats just the children!

spikeycow, dogs are NOT part of life, they are pets hence responsibility of their owner. I do not like dogs and do not want to have anything to do with them. Keep your darling Poof where it doesn't interfere with my daily life - as mentioned above - dogs are not part of everyones life, only that of their owners.

But dogs are part of life, whether you like it or not, you will come to face to face with dogs on a daily basis. Not just pet dogs either but working dogs, who facilitate independent living for many people. Police dogs and rescue dogs, sniffer dogs etc.

Both my cat and my dog are very important parts of my life, Rollmops!

FGS what has happened to mutual respect and a bit of tolerance?

It is the responsibility of dog owners to keep their dogs under control and to be considerate of others - picking up our dogs' poo, keeping dogs away from narrow school entrances etc.

But a bit of tolerance from the other side would be nice - not all dogs are ravening wolves, and not all dog owners are feckless and careless of the safety and comfort of others. I am not some tattooed drug lowlife with a vicious dog that is a status symbol and has never had a day's training in its life - I am a middle aged mother with a volvo and a soppy labrador. I always pick up after her, and do my best to make sure she behaves in a socially acceptable fashion - so please don't tar me with the same brush as the feckless lout!

tooposhtopost Wed 22-Sep-10 17:38:53
"Cory, I couldn't agree more about cars! Many more children are killed/ injured by cars than dogs and an awful lot of bad driving happening around schools is by parents parking and unparking with no consideration for pedestrians and cyclists. Most of those arriving with dogs will have walked which is much better for all concerned."

I think you misunderstood my post. What I meant was, I don't have to hate dogs to dislike dog owners who tie them up in inconsiderate places, any more than I would need to hate cars in general to dislike them being parked inappropriately.

"In the interests of balance, I also believe that any owner of a dog that they are worried about not being 100% reliable being petted and stroked and surrounded by excited children, should be keeping their dog well away. But it is fair to assume that someone who ties their dog up at the school gate knows that their dog is fine with it."

So how do you explain that on the occasions when my dcs have been knocked down or bitten (by dogs running loose in the park), the incident has been immediately preceded by the dog owner calling out "he won't hurt you!" or "he never jumps up"? My own take on this would be that some owners would know- and others wouldn't. Fortunately, ds did not go on to develop a fear of dogs after he was bitten, but if he had it would have been very difficult to pooh pooh them by claiming that owners know that their dogs won't bite, as he knows that that isn't always true.

And btw the owners involved in our case were not feckless louts, but middle aged, perfectly respectable looking people. Ds was particularly impressed by the elderly woman who after her dog pinned his leg didn't even ask if he was all right, but merely called to her husband "it's all right, it was only his clothes" and walked off without a word to ds or his dad. Apparently they were a respectable looking elderly couple. But obviously of pfb type- except that the pfb was a dog.

How many times have your dc been knocked down and bitten by dogs cory? Your dc do seem to be extremely unfortunate.

I would hope that any dogs at the school gates are on leads and the owners are picking up any dog poo.

I'm not scared of dogs and I don't want the dc's to be scared of them but we steer well clear of certain owners (groups of teenage lads and young men mainly as they are a nightmare). I don't let the dc's go up to strange dogs and chat to the owner first if the dog seems nice enough to stroke.

Here we go again! Better training o dog owners - and perhaps some mandatory classes in order to own a dog, basic training - can solve this problem. It should be banned to tie dogs up in public (have managed a good 15 years not done this once to my dog) as leaves dog and other folk vulnerable. Which is wrong. Also, aduls should teach children how to behave around domestic creatures- whether they like them or not they are part of our day to day lives! Then maybe there can be more respect and understanding!

Meant to say, respect and understanding beween the animal owning and non-animal owning communities. Fear is ignorance after all. We all need to be more aware of how actions affect others- especially in these less socially aware and media-hyped times.

Linenbasket, they have been knocked down a number of times as toddlers/young children, jumped up on and had ball (which he wasn't playing with, just walking sedately along) snatched out of arms once, bitten twice I think (the second time was the clothes comment).

Fortunately, dcs are now fine with dogs, and we would rather like to have one of our own. However, dd was very wary for years after she had been knocked down: some young children do remember incidents that scare them, however much you try to play them down as a parent.

I am not personally scared of dogs and I think I have managed to convey that. I just feel that my attempts to train my children out of their fears have not really been helped by dog owners who put them in a position where they have to squeeze past a dog in a narrow space. And definitely not helped by dog owners who swore blind that the dog wouldn't jump/bite- and then the dog did.

It is not dogs that are the problem. It is (a few) dog owners who are not good at risk assessment. And ime this is as much a problem, if not more, with well dressed middle aged women as with teen louts.

Threelittleducks - I would be more than happy to be subject to mandatory classes (we did classes anyway, and continue to work on our dog's obedience), and a law banning the tying up of dogs in public places also sounds very reasonable.

My dog isn't perfect yet. She is still young and boisterous, so I am careful to walk her away from other people, and to catch hold of her if I do see someone else. Sometimes I get it wrong, and she does run up to people - and then I apologise profusely - I cannot understand anyone who doesn't apologise in those circumstances - let alone if their dog actually does damage, as in Riven's and cory's experiences!

Can I put in a kind word for groups of teenage young men? There's a group around here who hang around the local late night superstore. They look dead scary and they often bring pitbull type dogs with, yes, leather studded collars. But they always move politely out of the way, taking the dog with them. Now if all elderly ladies were as considerate...