To wish this country was more dog friendly?

[lesley33]

I know some dogs are badly behaved, but surely not all dogs should be tarred with the same brush? My dog is a very well behaved labrador. On the continent dogs are allowed into lots of pubs and cafes and in places like Paris dogs are regularly walked along City streets. But in the UK, lots of people do not seem happy to let dogs share their space anywhere, which I think is vvu.

I don't run around screaming when I see clowns, nor do I flap my hands and demand that someone controls them, even though they're not doing anything. I made myself control my fear because it would have been damaging to my DDs if they saw it.

It's called getting a grip. More people need to do that imo.

Sarah that is little bit too sensible for a dog thread.

And you expect a 4 year old to be able to control their fear the way you can, do you?

No, I expect parents not to inflict their irrational fears on their children. But maybe that's just me.

Clowns don't go around killing people? Does John Wayne Gacy ring a bell?

I don't like cars much and they are dangerous, kill many people daily. I think all cars should be kept in garages only and exercised on fenced racing tracks.

Vivi - I find that too - and my dog is a dachshund so about as cartoonish as they come. My best friend from uni (sikh) won't come to visit me because of the dog .

I'm not sure its just the 'unclean' issue - there's a rational basis to wariness in places where rabies is still endemic.

I think 4 year olds can't control their fear of dogs because a lot of people don't teach their children how, so there is nothing the child can actively do about it. I know there are copies of the material used with US kindergarten children somewhere online, and they have been linked to in previous threads.

It is all that kind of roll up like a rock or stand still like a tree age appropriate advice.

No, I expect the parents to control their fear and not pass it on to their child.

My sister's children are deathly afraid of dogs. I couldn't for the life of me work out why because most of our family own a dog or three and she herself was raised with at least two large breed dogs all of her life. I learnt why when I was walking with them one day. Dd2 and nephew were skipping ahead through the park when dd2 spotted dog owner she knows and went to say hello. My sister bellowed "Don't touch the dog DS it might EAAAAAAAAAAT YOU" at the top of her lungs, scaring the crap out of me and her ds.

Dammit, I'm sensible.

I have a cow phobia. It terrifies me when the public footpath I'm walking goes through a field with cows. Sometimes I can brave it, if they are on the far side. If not, I have to back track and find another route. In future I shall write to the farmers and demand that they be leashed.

So do I. It is perfectly possible for achild to be frightened of dogs when their parents aren't. See my previous post about relative nose levels.

Of course we don't expect 4-year old children to control anything. I have noticed though that 4-MONTH old PUPPIES are required to to behave impeccably and control their fear or excitement, god forbid if they happen to bark or jump..

Not too good with sheep either.

Or horses.

The two best things in the world.
Dogs
dog friendly pubs

Nothing better than a sunday in the pub with your dog, the papers and football on tv.

I am afraid of cars, heights, knives, hospitals, walking up the stairs at the same time as somebody else and cervical smear tests.

Grimma that's interesting, being SO vehement I thought it must stem from a rational fear of the parents, so rabies would make sense. I actually find it interesting from a social perspective. As Dooin says though, its the responsibility of the parents to appreciate that that particular fear is irrational here in the UK and not pass it onto their child, but I guess when something is so culturally ingrained, that's a big ask.

That never happens to me Haka . I'd love to be harangued by bouncy balls of fur every time I leave the house, but despite the fact I often have pockets full of cheese cubes no-ones dog ever bounds up to me, especially not SBTs.

Where do I need to move to to be harassed by strange dogs daily?

See, I will admit that I struggle not to be afraid of dogs. When I was small I remember three things which formed the way I felt about dogs:

1. big alsatians next door which barked whenever you went past and snarled over the wall
2. a dog running up to my brother on the beach and jumping and barking and ultimately biting him, whilst the owner sauntered along and when he eventually got to the scene, shouting at my dad for shouting at the dog
3. getting out of the car in a pub car park and two alsatians running up to us, round us, up at us, and biting my brother. This went on for what seemed like hours (to a nine year old) though probably wasn't that long in reality.

As an adult and a parent, I really try. When dogs ran up when the kids were small I would say (more to convince myself probably) 'oh look, it's a NICE dog, this dog is obviously a NICE DOG, oh look at it wanting to play, it's fine, it's ok' etc. And my kids aren't afraid of dogs (though not madly fond either).

However the one time this was almost undone was when dd1 was 3, and we were walking along a pavement by a busy road - some big dog raced up, it was about as tall as she was, and barked repeatedly at her frightened face whilst the owners sauntered behind and then gave a sort of braying snigger when they finally got there are told the dog to come on.

I, and lots of people who are by nature not very comfortable around dogs - which I would say is our perfect right - do really try, and try not to let our children become afraid of dogs. But that is all rather undermined when the matter is taken out of your hands when a dog races up barking and baring its teeth - especially to a small child, than whom it is quite probably much bigger.

It's not for you, me or anyone else to decide what it's ok to be afraid of, and who should conquer their fears, or when, or how. And it's common decency and good manners to keep your dog close to you in public places, and not in other peoples' faces.

(reading back, I now wonder whether my parents secretly rubbed aniseed into my brother's trousers or something, though).

I was once harassed in my house by a strange dog. He'd managed to jump over the back fence and let himself in the back door. My pint sized westie was going psychotic at this home invasion.

Right. So it's ok for for q puppy to jump up and frighten a 4 year old child because it is a puppy and has equal rights to the child?

I'm fairly scared of dogs, DD adores them. I always control my fear around them tho, as I don't want her picking up on it. I DO hold her hand, and remind her not every dog wants to be her friend. 9 times out of 10 the owner will say "Oh, he's OK" and I'll tell DD she can stroke if she wants. I try to teach her to respect dogs but not be scared. Yes, I prefer them out of pubs and restaurants but if they're there and behaving, the problem is mine and noone elses. I treat all dogs the same, regardless of breed (and the only dog I've ever been attacked by was a very tiny one). I work on the theory that despite my fears, not every dog wants to savage me or eat my child!

And actually, I would very firmly stop my 4 year old child frightening a puppy. Why doesn't it work both ways? If dogs have equal rights then they have equal responsibilities.

It could be said that the often-seen fear of dogs in some Asian peoples is a direct result of man's cruelty.

There are a HUGE number of abandoned, unwanted, neglected dogs on the streets of many places in the Orient. Places like Nepal, where they are often dying in front of the public's eyes. And a hungry dog, a sick dog, a suffering dog... a desperate dog is a greater risk by far than the average family pet back home in the UK and Ireland.

Man created these problems.

Thank God for a lady I have worked with and who I admire as I do few others, Bernie Wright, for fighting like buggery to make amends and save lives by founding the Street Dogs Of Nepal rescue.