to have kicked off at another mother for confirming her child's fear of dogs!

[MrJugsMummy]

Just taken my DS and our 1 year old springer spaniel for a walk in our local park. He was running off his lead as he always does and a toddler walked around the corner without her mother. Our spaniel is quite a caring dog and loves children and often tends to mother them somewhat (he worried himself senseless when my DS was ill last week slept on the sofa next to him and woke every time he so much as sniffed!) so he went up to the child the child screamed I called Brian away and said to the little girl "it's fine he won't hurt you he just wants to say hi", the kids mother then decided to make an appearance and pick up the child and had a go at me saying that I shouldn't let my dog off of his lead! She then turned to the child and said "Did he bite you?" to watch the child now upping the screaming and crying actually said "No" she then turned to me and said my dog was a menace and shouldn't be allowed near children!

I snapped at this point and said "My dog was concerned about the fact your child was seemingly by itself in a park, he simply went up to her to check she was ok, he didn't even jump up at her let alone bite her" she then started saying again that he shouldn't be off his lead!
I really got riled up then and shouted "My 5 year old son is here right next to me, I would have no qualms about leaving him alone in a room with my dog as he is well trained and good tempered and adores him, if I had any doubts about his behaviour I would not have him as a family pet and if I had any concerns about his behaviour around children do you seriously I would let him off his lead in a park after school with loads of children around!" I then stormed off and muttered that she was a stupid bitch!

I get so annoyed at parents who do this if your child doesn't like dogs don't take them to places where dogs are, I get that all children are scared of things but why confirm the fear?! If my DS ever shows fear about something I either reassure him that nothing will hurt him or tell him how to avoid being hurt.

Grr rant over

OP, is your dog actually the reincarnation of Lassie?

Did he point his paw and woof as-if-speaking to alert you of his concern for the lone toddler?

Apart from that YABU. Your dog is not a controlled dog if he runs off to sniff toddlers.

hackmum the dog was frightening. It's not the mothers concern that made it so, it's the fact that the bloody thing came bounding up to her!

Perhaps the mother just wanted to know whether her child had been bitten? Just a thought. Seeing as there was an uncontrolled dog bounding about and her daughter was crying and all that?

Someone once used the 'he's fine, he's friendly' line to my ex when he was out with our severely autistic ds. Ex pointed out that the dog might be but our ds bites.

Ds is terrified of dogs.

Is anyone else now singing 'Briiiian! The wonder dog!' to the tune of 'Champion the wonder horse'? No? Just me?

No, me too!!! I loved that programme!!!

if your child doesn't like dogs don't take them to places where dogs

They were at the park!

Yabu for every reason stated so far.

You're one of these dog owners who think your dog can do no wrong and could never possibly bite. All dogs can bite, no matter how friendly you think they are. And I do not want any dog running up to my toddler, as his mum that's my right.

Your dog wanted to make sure they were ok? Did they tell you that? Hahaha, what a load of bollocks!

I have noticed considerable change in public attitudes to dogs over the decades. When I was young, owners kicked them out of the house for the day to take themselves to the park. Clearly that would be unacceptable today (and wasn't too nice back then as the street were full of dog mess). However I believe we are going further and further against dog ownership and that soon keeping a dog will be seen as an antisocial pursuit so that all dogs will have to be muzzled and leashed at all times in public parks and on streets. Just a prediction. Personally, I am not sure if that will be a good thing or a bad thing: parks are primarily for people to enjoy and loose dogs spoilt the enjoyment of some, but OTOH lots of folk get immense enjoyment from dog ownership and that is important too.

OP you are being a little over confident of your dog - a 1 year old springer is not that reliable. OTOH I agree with you about the other mother provoking a worse situation than it need to have been. Probably you were both BU.

...if your child doesn't like dogs don't take them to places where dogs are Really? Are you mad?

Oh woe is Brian!! A lone child, probably abandoned by an unfit mother, his chance to be lassie and save the poor bairn from the modern day mine shaft. Thwarted! Cut down in his canine prime.

Such a sad sad tale.

YABVU but thanks for asking.

Ha, ha, ha!
YABU.

I can smell some goady fuckery.

I want to know what the dog was going to do if he decided the child wasn't alright?

Is it just me thats singing 'Brian the wonder dog' to the tune of Champion The Wonder horse?

Another one thinking this must be a reverse AIBU, surely?! But where is the OP?

This has got to be a reverse?!

Yabvu, and ridiculous.

A strange child's fear of dogs is not yours to change, fear is fear is fear.

A dog that runs over to people that haven't called it, is not a controlled dog IMO.

YABveryveryU.

I'm a dog owner. I love dogs.

But I know that not everyone loves dogs, some people (especially small children) may be terrified of dogs. My DD was petrified of dogs when she was a toddler because a dog which was off the lead bounced up at her and knocked her over. In the end, the only thing that got her over her fear was to get a puppy!!

As a dog owner, you have a responsibility to control your dog in public, and NOT allow it to approach a stranger until you are sure that stranger is ok with it. I will only let my dog off the lead once I am sure there is no one around that will mind.

When you saw the toddler, you should have called your dog straight away. When the mother got angry, you should just have apologised. Whether you agree with her or not, your dog scared her child.

While the mothers reaction wasn't ideal, yours was odd, over the top, selfish and completely unreasonable.

I want to know what the dog was going to do if he decided the child wasn't alright?

Well, of course every dog trained in looking out for lone children carries a little bottle of fruit shoot around its neck too soothe the poor abandoned little human.

Is THIS Brian?

Looks like she only started posting on MN yesterday.

Maybe she just doesn't realise how it works around here?!