Or was the dog owner? I'm not sure.

[IcingOnTheCake]

Yesterday me and my friend took our dc out. We decided to sit down on a bench, in what you would call a walk (long path with trees and bushes eitherside leading from the shops to the seafront). In the middle of the walk is a bandstand with a grassed area. We were sat on a bench on the grassed area.

My dc are 2 and 4 and my friends are 11 months and 4. So we are sat having our lunch when a couple of dogs come racing over, one a black labrodore and the other a small bull dog type dog. They ran over and without hesitation ate my 2 years sandwich that was on my lap at the time then ate my friends 4 year olds sandwich that she was holding and putting in her mouth. The dog bit her finger as he did it and she cried.

The owner sort of came over, shushed the days away and muttered sorry to us and walked on. No "Is your dd ok" as she was crying and the dog had just eaten her lunch.

I don't know if you are supposed to have the dogs on leads and i don't want to be a killjoy to dog walkers. But surely if you know your dog is like that (will go and eat anything in sight) then you should be more careful. I was pissed off because the dog had come over and frightened the children and eaten their lunch. My children aren't normally frightened by dogs but they were so quick.

So aibu or was the dog owner, i don't know.

YANBU.

I have a dog and would be mortified if he behaved like this, would be so apologetic.

If the owner didn't realise he dogs had eaten your sandwiches you should have told him, those dogs needed checking.

A friend of ours has a lab that stole food from my ds's hands when he was smaller and they were mortified.

But agree with Mr Spoc, the dog did not bite your dd, just nipped her finger to get the food but scary for a small child none the less.

I think you should have said something. Alot on the anti dog brigade on would have been calling the police I'm sure!

I walk other people's dogs for a living - perfect job during termtime. No-one goes off the lead until we're deep into the countryside, even the good dogs.

I am disgusted on your behalf Icing. You are not being unreasonable the owner should have had his dogs under control. That's their responsibility not yours!
Yesterday 3 dogs chasing each other up, down and across the path through the park crashed into my daughter on her bike and she landed flat on her face - now has 2 wobbly teeth. Just milk ones thankfully.
Dogs should be kept under control in public spaces, and if you can't control them off the lead they shouldn't be off the lead, end of!
I used to love dogs but sadly irresponsible dog owners who don't keep their animals under control or clean up their crap are starting to make me view all dog owners with suspicion :(

I don't mind dogs and i think like alot of things, you get good and bad owners. Personally i wouldn't have a dog myself but i see why others do. It's just a shame that the ones who let their dogs shit everywhere and don't pick it up and don't control them give responsible ones a bad name.

I have a elderly lab who is VERY greedy. He wouldn't hurt a fly, despite getting ridden on, poked in the eye, ears pulled and tail bent by small children (Some parents think it is totally acceptable as it looks 'cute' whilst he, admittedly just stands and takes it with no complaints or even the tiniest of growels).

He is also deaf but knows after about 5 m to keep keeping an eye on me incase I sign him to do something.

I am not perfect, I have been in that situation before (he did it to me, I was stupid to be wiggling a peice of chicken in the air) but I know this is his one weakness despite being 1000% reliable with kids in every other way.

I think we need to keep this in context- the dog was a lab, not a particularly aggression prone breed and did not do this intentionally, if I was in this situation I would be mortified (luckily he has managed to nick breadsticks, donuts and sausages without any harm to the kid, but has often made them giggle from his greedyness as bad as it sounds, we have always brought replacements).

That said, if I know there are kids with food about (or anyone under 5ft) I put him on lead as I know he is shameless. However, if the owner wasn't aware of kids with food, I would advise them to keep a better lookout in the future, however if it was blatent irresponsible ownership with a truely out of control dog, then you may have grounds to report them.

Mine has been obedience & agility trained and has won various awards including the CGC title, but he still has his moments. I would suggest that if you see any dog offlead approaching, you take any food out your little ones hands as a precaution, just as I would put my dog into a long down to make him look less intimidating (he is 1m tall) if you were approaching without food as I know dogs make some kids nervous, or put him on lead if I know there is food.

I think that would be a reasonable step to take.

webbygeek91 the dogs didn't come strolling over in front of us giving us time to put away lunches. They came racing over and approached us from sideways and i didn't see the dogs until i looked to my right and saw them sprinting over by which time the lab one was already nicking the sandwiches. It was so quick there is no way we would have the chance to put sandwiches away. I'm sure as a dog owner you must have come across a fair few sprinty dogs in your time.

Also i don't like this attitude where it seems it's our job to hide our food. We are perfectly in our rights to sit in a park/walk and eat lunch on the bench. As a dog owner it is your responsibility to train your dog NOT to run over and steal food. If you can't then you should keep them on a lead.

It doesn't matter if the labridore wouldn't hurt anyone, the point was he ate our dcs lunch!

Yes I agree icing, you should be entitled to eat without it being nicked by a lab! I think, like webby, as I know what some dogs are like I would move my food if approached by a dog I didn't know and firmly tell the dog NO.

The dog owner here was out of order by not checking the dog.

My dog, also a lab is amazing around food. He is used to young kids though and would never take from the hand of a child. A friend of mine has a 20 month old dd and she holds a biscuit just at nose height of my dog. He follows her everywhere hoping for a crumb and drooling looking longingly at her but never steals.

I have known dogs to come and sat and give you a pining stare so you will give him some food. But never before have i known a dog to sprint over like that and just grab food. The dogs just came from no where!

oh my god;my little dog goes for peoples picnics;I try and keep him away from people eating,but have been known to come across people unexpectantly,say,sat behind a rock,when I thought the beach was empty.I,m usually the one screaming 'picnic'at the top of my voice,and running after dogs.If it was practical to keep dogs on leads,or if beach or park was really busy I would,but one of my dogs is really lively,and needs to race around to get rid of energy.You wouldn,t dream of keeping an energetic boy or girl on a lead!
As vigilant as you try and be,dogs love food,and can be quite naughty,like children can be.Sometimes my dogs will catch my hand by accident if jumping for a treat or ball.Its not an actual bite,but children who aren't used to dogs,might think its a bite.I would have bought you more food though and been mortified,but I'm getting used to my dogs shaming the family.If my children are eating and a dog runs up I get them to cover or pick up there food,because I'm used to what dogs can be like.

I'd just like to add that training a dog is just as hard if not harder than training a child,and sometimes they are naughty.you wouldn't dream of getting rid of your children for the odd naughty moment and dogs ,once you have them are like family.Watch Marley and me.

Yes, whilst my dog won't steal food from youngsters he is quote partial to a stick or two....

Oh i love Marley and Me

Although Marley had more then the odd naughty moment didn't he! He ate an answering machine

I love it too;its a great film if you have a mad family like mine..puts it all in perspective.,and the characters in it are lovely.I want them as my best friends.

I love Marley and me too. We all cried.

It's true, us humans could learn an awful lot from dogs.

It's up to dog owners to make the effort to keep an eye on their dogs and prevent them rushing up to small children. I am astonished at how often this happens and the dog owners rarely even apologise, they just say the dog is "being friendly" as if that makes it fine for them to jump up at children.

IcingOnTheCake, I didn't realise that. However, even the best trained Crufts obedience dog will have its moments- I would be lying and so would be 99.9% of the dog owning population if we said our dogs were under complete TOTAL control utter robots all the time. They are just like kids, no ones perfect! Can you seriously say (not attacking anyone here) that your kids have never annoyed, irritated or hurt anyone ever physically or emotionally due to you having less than perfect parenting skills? You can only do your best.

I do my best, took mine to 7 different training classes in various disciplines and and had one to one from a police dog handler. I do not 'let' my dog run riot, I know he has his weakenesses and it is MY responsibility to overcome this, however he NEVER bites, barks, chews, pulls, jumps up, goes upstairs or on furniture and apart from the food issue is 100% (as much as a dog owner can be) fine around kids, other dogs, horses, guinia pigs, cats and chickens. He is also well trained enough to walk next to a crowded football match, throughout our local police HQ, elderly carehomes off lead without any concerns.

Thats only my 2p, we are only human, I will do everything I can to be a responsible dog owner, I'm sure 99% of parents will do their best to parent a child, but no-ones perfect.

The bottom line is:

Yes the dog owner was being responsible and caused irritation and hurt in the process, and it is ALL dog owners responsibility to make sure we don't cause annoyance to other people, but none of us are perfect, despite trying to work through these problems, as I'm sure you have encountered with either your own or other peoples kids, we all have our moments and because on occasion we might, that doesn't make us bad owners/parents.

WOW I know I'm going to get flamed.

grasps flame proof suit

YANBU, all dogs out in public should be on a lead, no one can predict if their dog is going to attack or be a nuisance to people, it should be made law that all dogs have to be on leads in public areas, even parks. I think dog owners have cheek to allow their dogs to run freely and intimidate people & children & allow them to shit wherever they want.

Gospel I disagree, dogs should not have to be on a lead in all public places..... that would mean all of the outside world.

GospelTruth, hate to say it but that will make it worse. What if I said I don't want to see anyone under 16 in a supermarket, park, air travel, restraunt or public transport? I bet there would be uproar- if people don't learn to behave in certain environments and are then banned after one incident they will never learn to behave properly in that environment. Same for dogs. And think of the pent up energy and domino effect issues such as lack of socialization, exercise and stimulation?

I've had dogs come running upto me and frighten the daylights out of me, barking, jumping, terrifying experience. My DH was riding a bike in a country lane and was chased by a vicious rottweiler for no reason, tried to bite his feet, if it had of been on a lead this would not have happened. You simply cannot compare a dog to a human being, ridiculous, let them loose in your garden but not in public.

GospelTruth, you yourself have had a bad experience with a out of control rottie. Most likely in the 1% of dog owners.

Does this make all muslims terrorists?

Does this make all state school educated teenagers chavs?

No. However I feel its unfortunate you have had this experience due to a stupid owner- believe it or not, I had the same experience with a rottie attempting to attack my dog last year, in the control of an 8 year old child. However, due to having a balanced outlook I know not all rotties are like this- I know 2 that, without being trained, will help their frail 76year old owner up when she falls and have the placidity of a lab.

It really is about ownership, training and breeding with dogs, as it is with parenting , education and various environmental effects with children.

Does this mean all screaming kids have bad parents? No it could mean they are ASD and suffering from a sensory overload.

Think outside the box.

Am a dog owner. That dog owner was unreasonable and you were not unreasonable. I am not saying my dog wouldn't have done that (she might, had I not been vigilant enough...) but if she had, I would be mortified, uber apologetic and keen to make amends in any way I could

HMC, exactly my point :)