to pepper spray a dog?

[happydazed]

well not actual pepper spray, its intended specifically for dogs and tested and approved so I am hoping wont actually cause them any harm.
My ds has been bitten once, not badly just nipped, my friends little girl was bitten again not too badly but drew blood, my ds has also been knocked over twice, on one occasion he was only 18 months old, toddling along next to me and a dog ran over jumped up and knocked him backwards his head hitting a stone wall, he was dazed, very upset and had a big lump on his head. All this has happened in local parks, with owners saying oh dont worry the dogs friendly, and then oh dear he's not usually so boisterous...

Because of this I avoid parks with the kids, which is such a shame, I have a beautiful park at the end of my road and I haven't been in it for 3 months, today we ventured in to feed the ducks with 5 kids under 3 between us, a dog ran up knocked 2 of the kids over, it was a staffy type and very boisterous, the children were very upset, we picked them up but it kept jumping up at us, the owner said it was our fault because the children were playing with sticks and the dog wanted them.

I have tried to train the children how to behave around dogs, to keep calm, to keep their hands by their sides etc, I am used to dogs, but if a dog runs at any 3 year old I know especially one who has been hurt by a dog before they scream and run away, I really don't know what I can do about that, it s often suggested to me by dog owners that it is my fault for not having the children behave appropriately but if they keep their dogs with them it wouldn't be an issue!

Summer is coming up and I don't feel I can safely take my children to the park or the beach which is just as bad. I know there are plenty of lovely responsible dog owners out there but unfortunately not all are. over 6000 people were admitted to hospital because of dog attacks last year so I don't feel I am being paranoid. Am I unreasonable to pepper spay the next dog that runs towards me or should I just accept parks have been given over to the dogs and children should stay in the fenced in playground areas.

She says herself it's not actual peppers pray. It's dog spray. Smells really minty and puts them off. Pepper sprays dangerous. Minty freshness isn't

Children are not dogs, that's why you can't have them destroyed when you are bored with them, or they are more bother than you thought they would be.
So an excited child has more rights than an excited dog.

IMHO (as a dog owner) there should be some kind of 'dog driving test' - there used to be dog licences so why not now? People should have to prove that they know eg to put their dog on a lead unless they can guarantee it won't run up to people or to other dogs - mine is always on a lead around children and other dogs on leads because I know her recall is patchy (we are working on it!). They should know how to teach their dog basic commands and how to interact with people and other dogs before they are allowed to take it home.

I cannot stand small dog owners who think it's funny when their yappy little dog snaps at my Rottie - I don't care what the size of dog is, it should be trained not to be aggressive. (Incidentally I have nothing against responsible small dog owners )

I don't ever let mine run up to children or indeed to adults and it really gets my goat that irresponsible owners give the rest of us a bad name!

it's not me that's scared of dogs, I like dogs and have owned many. I just want them to stop knocking over and nipping my children and the children i look after.

There are too many cases of children and adults being seriously harmed, my incidents with dogs and children have so far been minor, but I want to take steps to avoid something more serious happening.

Super I have a rottie too

But in answer to the original question, I think yabu to use the post and I'd go mad if you did it to mine... But then I wouldn't ever let mine run up to your kids and I agree you shouldn't have I deal with that. I agree too with other posters who say it would be a dangerous thing to do as you don't know how the dog will react. Go with the reporting the owners.

Post? I meant spray!

I'm willing to try an envelope at this stage all suggestions considered!

Zebbidy, were u in football factory?

Seriously now, no not because she has a fear. Because the dogs gone for her. She stated she won't use it casually. I can't see it ending well for the dog or op. I can't see why there are so many rogue dog owners in that area tho so what do I know.

So we are agains hurting the poor doggy that is jumping all over the kids and 'nipping' (biting) them because its not the dogs fault is it?

But we are happy to threaten the OP with violence if she happened to have cause to spray our dog?

So on average MN thinks hurting a dog that is attacking a child is unreasonable but attacking someone who is hurting a dog to protect a child is fine?

Only if I can pepper spray your child when they run squealing up to my dog and pull her ears and tail, or, once, throw stones at her face

This^ completely agree.

Don't know if anyone has mentioned this already but I tend to find that carrying a ball works.
Never had a child harmed by a dog but have had dogs aggressively approaching my dog and it is scary. I don't want him attacked, but he's a Great Dane so can't exactly pick him up either
So, the ball. Throw it in the general direction of the dog, most will be distracted by it, it's always worked for me anyway.
Yabu for wanting to spray a dog with anything, they might react badly.
Sorry to hear your dc was bitten my dopey dog is deaf so have to get his attention by arm waving then hand signals, once he ran off towards a family playing with a football which I hadn't spotted and usually do I was mortified, apologised profusely - then the dad called me a cunt and grabbed me so I knocked him flat on his arse. ( The dog had only run over btw he hadn't knocked into anyone but the kids had got frightened which wouldn't have impressed me either)

So yes, I'd say throw something to distract them, and definitely you're doing the right thing by teaching them how to be around dogs, as they get older teach them how to tell from a dogs body language if it wants to be approached or not, its easy

Plus what banana said about a dog owners test

Totally agree

Dogs are dangerous in the wrong hands

My dog is really friendly and gets very excited around children, she'll run up and knock you over out of excitement but would never deliberately hurt someone.

Regardless of the fact that she's friendly though she is never off the lead when out because of this. I really hate owners that just let their dogs run wild as they're friendly.

I don't think you'd be unreasonable to use the spray and if my dog somehow got off the lead and knocked over your child I wouldn't be angry if you used the spray on her. However, I'd be concerned that another dog may react aggressively or that you'd get another owner being aggressive towards you.

As a dog owner, I think there should be more regulation about owning dogs too and I am not perfect by any stretch of the imagination

I think it's fair that people who are scared of dogs should feel safe to walk and play wherever the want (apart from a dog designated area).
However, as a dog owner and mum myself I wish to feel safe that I'm not gonna be attacked just by simply owning a dog. The fact that someone would be carrying pepper spray at all scares me.
If someone is scared of dogs, they might use this spray if the dog simply walks past and stops to sniff. This is what my dog would do. She stops, has a little sniff and carries on her merry way. When we are walking in parks with lots of children and my DS I always keep her on her lead but when we go walking through fields and come across the occasional other walker or child she would not be on the lead but would have a sniff.
When I lived in a busy urban area, I was leaving my house with my dog (securely on her lead) and a man walking by told me to 'get the f*ck away from him and his children otherwise he was gonna stab the dog and then come after me.'
He then followed me to my local park shouting abuse and threatening me. I was terrified because he saw me come out of my house and knew where I lived. I ended up calling the police but he did a runner.
Is this acceptable behaviour from someone who is scared of a dog or should he have gone ahead and pepper sprayed my dog straight away?

All I'm saying is, by agreeing that it is ok to pepper spray a dog you are also agreeing it is ok to carry pepper spray which it is not.
I'm so sick of dog owners being attacked as a group of people just for loving their pets when the majority of us are responsible people.

If you don't like dogs, fair enough. I don't like some dogs. I was attacked by a Yorkshire terrier when I was 4 and still have scars on my leg. please don't taint all dog owners.

YANBU to be really concerned and unhappy about this. However, I agree that using something like pepper spray could provoke an aggressive response in any dog, as they will potentially and quite naturally want to fight back.

You used to be able to get a special whistle that emits sound at a frequency that dogs apparently hate. This is unlikely to go down well with dog owners though. I think the dog is supposed to retreat when it hears it, but I guess there is still a risk of an aggressive response in a dog.

Our local council is advertising some dog behaviour clinics/workshops in the park. You could approach your local authority and ask if they would do the same, perhaps with some funding. They have a responsibility to ensure that the parks are safe, and if here are frequent problems with dogs, it would be worth letting them know about this and encouraging other parents to do the same. The workshops would not necessarily appeal to the type of dog owner that you describe (the ones who do not understand or care about the impact of their dog on others) but it is better than nothing and will give a clear message to all park users.

I can't remember the name of the organisation that is actually providing the workshops but will have a look when I am next in the park.

I hadn't realised that dogs were reaching to my bitchy resting face too but they must be because the amount of times I get approached by dogs off the lead when I'm with my children is so rare. Sometimes they circle a few metres away as they're nosy but that's about it. They're more likely to come up when I have my dogs with me and even then I can't remember a time when a free running dog was aggressive.
I'm glad I don't live where some posters on here live.

(My dogs are very rarely off leads. One is a young pup and the other needs a completely people and dog free space as I worry about her being distracted- she once ran into a car)

I have lived in a lot of different places, and it really does make a difference.
Horsham seems to be a hotbed of lovely dog owners and dogs with beautiful manners. I've not felt defensive so far during any encounters.
Telford, much scarier. Likewise NW Manchester.
York, lovely responsible owners. Bristol, variable as is Brighton.
All completely anecdotal, but if you live in an area with polite, well-trained dogs as the norm, you might struggle to empathise with those that have snappy, off-lead dogs and aggressive owners as their norm, or to understand why they want to be pre-emptive and avoid that crotch sniff becoming a snap.

i get why your angry i woudl to ..

i HATER HATE HATE owners who think its ok to let their dog walk off the lead and way a head of them in public places.. like pavements. i dont give a fuck if you think its friendly or not.. its not responable.
if your dog is not trained enough to walk by your side of lead when walking down the road put i ton a frigging lead.

i also HATE HATE HATE people who dont teach their children that you dont just randomly touch some ones pet, esp dogs. you ask the owner if its ok and then you stroke them nicely if they say yes, no ear pulling.. no brushing the fur backwards.. just nicely.

my fear of dogs comes from when i was little and having to walk to my babysitters house...past a ahouse that would keep their giant ass rottie in the open front garden, unleashed and he would comes out and chase you/ bark at you if he saw any one.
but its ok he was "friendly"

rant over!

My sister got bitten on her bottom by an Alsatian when she was a child. It didn't break the skin but did tear her clothes including underwear. Luckily she was carrying a large, hard plastic, lunch box and hit it on the nose with that.

My DH was chased by a bull terrier type dog when cycling. That was terrifying. Luckily my DH is quite fast on his bike and it gave up before the uphill bit. I stopped and the owner grabbed the dog and put it on a chain.

My 5 year old DD got chased by a large dog the other week. The elderly owner simply had no control over it didn't seem to have the energy to do anything about it

There are a lot of irresponsibly dog owners out there and I think it's awful that OP feels unable to take her children to her local park. Perhaps one of those soft children's baseball bats might come in useful. And a totally reasonable thing to be taking to a playground. Might ward the dog off without hurting it.

I really do think it's high time issues re dogs were tightened up.

So many people these days are getting hacked off it's ridiculous.

Why is it taking so long?

Perhaps we need to start bombarding MPs.

My friend and I went for a walk yesterday and she got repeatedly jumped over and eventually chased by a dog not responding to it's owner(told us off for calling it a she not a he when she asked him to do something).

Now it wasn't as bad as when my son got bitten but why should people have to put up with that(and muddy footprints all over her coat)?

On and I have a list of other minor incidents too.

I wouldn't do it but I can understand why you would want to. My son has severe learning difficulties and has no understanding of dogs or even that they could hurt him. In parks and on the beach I am worried about owners letting their dogs run up to him (he would never be allowed to run up to a dog) because I know he may jump about, make loud noises or try to touch it. I also dislike it when owners let dogs sniff around him in the street as I don't know how he will react. I tend to take him to places where dogs are not allowed or have to be on leads but these rules are frequently ignored most often by people with children who think their dog should be allowed to play on the playground too.

I am glad to see so many people (especially dog owners) showing an understanding of peoples anxiety and dislike of over excited / aggressive dogs. I just wish there was more responsible dog owners in my area who understand that their dog might upset other people by running up to them barking etc and so keep them on leads.

As for the posters who are comparing an excitable dog to an excitable child; have they not considered that most people don't have a fear of excitable children because they tend not to bite and we don't hear news stories about children biting dogs (or humans) to death or leaving people scarred for life due to having a sudden out of character aggressive outburst.

I like going to play sports in the park with my children but have given up doing so because of the amount of dogs who approach us barking. I should be able to go and play rounders, cricket, football or whatever without fear that some dog will become aggressive or over excited because we happen to have a ball. I had to stop attempting to play ball games with my children in the park because the temptation to wrap a cricket bat around a dogs head which was very aggressive almost became too much.