AIBU to think parents should teach their children how to be around dogs?

[Glitteryconverse]

I have two young children and a dog. My dog is very gentle and tolerant and plays so nicely with my children. Her negatives are that she is quite a barky dog (non-aggressive, just vocal) and tends to jump up at people in excitement. She also is easily scared and will jump out of her skin if she is busy sniffing and then suddenly notices another dog/person/leaf next to her. With that in mind, if a child approaches, I always squat down with her to stop her jumping up and keep her calm and explain to the child that she is very gentle but gets very excited. If I take her on the school run and have to tie her to the fence outside the playground, I always put her at the furthest point from the gate so she is away from everyone (there is a really yappy dog that is usually there anyway!). The only way to have contact with her like this is if you come off the pavement and climb up a small grass bank to get to her.

Today she came on the school run and I tied her in her usual place. When I came out of school one of the mums was waiting for me and said that from the playground she had seen a small child run up to my dog and that my dog seemed to snap at her. She wasn't sure of the exact details but said that the little girl had cried and gone off with her mum and so she wanted to let me know in case anything was said later.

I would bet my house that my dog didn't bite the child, I really would. What I suspect happened is that the child ran up the bank to my dog and made her jump which made her bark, or that she jumped up at the child. I have always taught my children that they are to ask the owner before they stroke a dog and to let it sniff their fingers first as you just never know what a dog is like. I'm a bit worried in case I am going to get told off my someone for this!

AIBU to think that IF my dog had snapped at the child, then it wasn't my dog's fault considering that she was well out of the way and had been approached by a stranger? What else could I have done (other than left her at home!)

Sorry, I meant to add that there is often a police presence outside school due to some sort of parking wars and nothing has ever been mentioned by them (or the school) about the dogs.

*No of course it's not your dog's fault

It's the fault of the irresponsible owner who ties it to the railings of a school, knowing full well it gets nervous around children!*

Well said worra.

Somebody should take your dog and tie her up somewhere totally different. Parents at my sons school is not allowed to leave their dog alone and tied up anywhere.

How do you expect children to learn to be around dogs, when you have not learnt how responsible dog ownership?

Rommell I can guarantee that the owners who don't pick up their dogs' shit, don't train them, allow them to bother other people, only have them as status symbols and all the rest of it bother me even more than they do, because I try to be a responsible owner and do all the right things, and it's the ignorant or arrogant arseholes who think they don;t have to bother, or the well-meaning fluffy-wuffies who think everyone has to love their dog as much as they do who end up getting us all tarred with the same brush, and that is fucking frustrating.

(I'll ignore your last sentence as you're obviously being deliberately provocative )

than they do you

It's more the responsibility of a dog owner to make sure their dog doesn't hurt anyone than of a human child to know not to approach it.

For example a 2 year old toddling around in a park is too young to be expected to understand. Dog owners don't seem to get this. A bit off topic I know but an example of why that 'parents responsibility' line is rubbish. Humans trump dogs EVERY time when it comes to safety.