Children on a school trip allowed to pet my dog... I'm bloody LIVID.

[HarderToKidnap]

Should I phone the school about this? Every week I walk up to a local cafe with dog and toddler DS. I secure dog to pushchair on a short lead, he tucks himself behind the pushchair and snoozes in the sun. DS and I have cake and tea and sit by window so I'm next to dog, who is outside.

Today lots of primary school kids were out on a trip going from shop to shop collecting money for something. They went in the cafe before me and they left as I arrived. I placed my order, turned round to look at dog out of window and there must have been ten or twelve children crowded round him stroking him. He was covered in children. Teacher next to them smiling benignly and agreeing with kids how cute he was.

Dog is ten year old toy breed, is very cute but also very very nervous of children and has snapped at kids before. I never let unknown children stroke him. I was LIVID. For on,e he could easily have bitten one of the children and then they would be hurt and he may be put down. For two, who in their right mind lets lots and lots of children crowd an unknown dog???? I marched out there, said loudly "he doesn't like children and they shouldn't be touching him without asking the owners permission!" I was quite sharp but not snouty. Teacher said "yes yes OK" without really making eye contact and shepherded them off.

Should I phone the school concerned? Or was my sharp comment enough? Dogs are left unattended outside shops etc quite often and really the teacher should never be allowing the children in her charge to touch them, let alone crowd them. AIBU?

If you know the dog is snappy with children you shouldn't leave it outside a cafe tied to a pram. It's ludicrous and for that reason it was you putting the animal at risk as well as you were not close enough to intervene.

The teacher was also at fault, but I'd say you more so.

I'm sorry but I think YAB a bit U. I completely agree that the teacher shouldn't have let the children pet the dog, so yanbu there, but I never leave my dog tied up simply because she is wary of strangers and I don't want her to feel threatened and snap, or someone to get snapped at. I never, ever leave her anywhere unattended.

I'm sorry but your dog is your responsibility (and I say that in the most sympathetic, non-judgy way I can!).

The teacher was being irresponsible and so were you. Plenty of dogs would have been fine in that situation but if you particularly know your dog is snappy around children it is your responsibility to make sure he is not put in such a situation.

OK, OK, how about this:

OP: Should I report this?
Someone: If you reported that, I'd report you!
OP: Well if you reported me for reporting that, I'd report YOU.
Someone else:

Stalinist Russia Yes, that's EXACTLY how it happened.

Teacher was BU. You shouldn't let kids pet random dogs on the street without owner permission/supervision. Its common sense.

However you are also BU to leave your dog unattended outside the shop. You say in your OP that "he has been known to snap at kids before". You are the most unreasonable out of the two IMO.

(Haven't read whole thread - sorry if this has already been said).

BTW I'm not saying I've reported the fred. I haven't. Bet someone has though.

Totally agree with you. Sometimes, kids on the school run try to stroke my dogs. Usually, they ask first and I tell them not too. One of my dogs is very nervous of kids and I would hate him to snap at one of them.

Actually I guess the first lot of posters are teachers or in education and backing each other up.

Op is right. Teacher is a bloody moron. I'd be writing to school head. What else will she/he do? Let them engage with strangers too?

You don't approach dogs without owners. You don't do it with a herd of kids and you really shouldn't be allowed out with them if you are this dense.

I'm with u op.

You don't approach a dog with a hoarde of kids

You don't leave a temperamental dog alone outside a cafe either.

YANBU, anybody in charge of children should be explaining to them not to touch any dog without the owner's permission.

ANY dog which is in an unfamiliar situation can bite/snap. And children can hurt a dog by accident-resulting in a snap.

The fact that your dog is nervous and perhaps more likely to snap is somewhat irrelvant. Glad nobody got hurt.

My dog is large, but soft as anything however I still don't like it if random kids just run up and pet her without asking me.Their parents/guardians should warn them about dogs.

People are saying that everyone disagrees with the OP. That is not true. I and many others have agreed that: 1. any dog might snap under these circumstances 2. unaggressive dogs don't all need to be muzzled, if they are tied up out of the way for brief periods 3. children should not be allowed to gather around unknown dogs.

I expect the teacher thought that if the dog was tied up and no responsible person with it that it would not be a snappy dog.

Having said that I wouldn't go near it or let any child I was with go near it, but I can see how the teacher may have thought it was ok.

blimey!

"A kid could get really hurt. That's why I was livid!"

I wanted to post to say I think you over reacted. I think a concern would have been warranted but livid is ... a lot to feel. Maybe you felt taken advantage of? Or your dog is older and you worried? Or maybe you just don't like people touching your stuff, and pets and things. I don't know, but 10 kids stopping to pet a dog that they don't know doesn't sound like that great of a threat to me.

I expect the teacher thought that if the dog was tied up and no responsible person with it that it would not be a snappy dog

Makes no difference. Even the most placid, never snapped, docile dog can snap if startled/not feeling well/stung by a bee/catching a fly.

Unknown dogs should NEVER be approached. Teacher was completely in the wrong.

Oh and I'd be livid too - because it would be my beloved dog that was killed if it did bite one of those children.

OP if as you said at 5 past 2, that any dog could turn at being surrounded by ten strange children and you were aware of that why were you so negligent in leaving your dog? just because it hasn't happened before as you yourself said in that post doesn't mean it wouldn't at sometime. YABVU to keep trying to defend your flawed decision, My Bull Mastiff has never snapped when dcs and dgcs have sat on her and I would never risk leaving her alone.

A fine Friday afternoon thread. The highlight was the invocation of the ghost of Stalin. He'd certainly have sorted out any misbehaviour by teachers, dogs, owners, or just about anyone really.

I agree with the OP. I have a lovely dozy dog but who knows what could happen if he was surrounded en masse with a load of little ones in that situation. In my cabbage the teacher was very irresponsible and should be told not to encourage the petting of strange animals without the owners position. Please do call the school. Perhaps they could do an assembly on it?

FYI my dog is a working farm dog on an educational farm and is actually quite cool with large amounts of kids but we ALWAYS insist the kids don't crowd him and teach them that just because he looks friendly doesn't mean he wont snap if someone treads on his tail. He has only snapped once and that was when a child decided to hit him with a stick on the back when the teaching assistant wasn't paying attention gossiping with the other TA.

owners permission not position!!

My Alsation (RIP) , I would have trusted to the end of the earth and quite often left him outside shops etc.This was a good few years ago though. I grew up using him as a babywalker and pulling on his fur to help me get up off the floor, holding onto his ears to steady myself, trying to get on his back etc. I make exception.
The dog I have NOW, I have seen playing with my friend's 2 year old recently and I was wary, watching them both like a hawk (my friend didn't seem concerned at all! ) not because she's vicious, she's far from it but I just don't generally trust ANY dog, if a kid pulls a whisker, pokes him/her in the eye etc. I wouldn't ever leave her outside a shop or anything for this reason, I never have plus she's a sought-after breed and might get nicked .

I was more amused by the autocorrect from 'school' to 'cabbage' liquid

In your cabbage? What was that a typo for, liquidstate?

You put it well Harold!

And "horde of ignorant school children"? FGS. They're children, about as responsible in all this as the little dog.

Teacher should keep better control and owner should take more responsibility for this situation (in which nothing actually happened.)

The local paper headline next week might be:

CHILDREN PET UNATTENDED DOG. NOTHING UNTOWARD HAPPENS. OWNER LIVID!!

that wasnt a typo!!! in my humble cabbage. It means in my opinion (for use by simple country folk loike)