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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Dog snatched babies sandwich

342 replies

IsithormonesoramIamadcow · 02/04/2017 20:40

AIBU to think that it's not unreasonable to ask someone to put their dog on a lead....

When it's just come over to a family sitting on a bench having a picnic and chomped the sandwich out of a 17month olds hand - the whole of DS arm was inside the dogs mouth although the dog didn't actually 'bite' him.

I jumped up, shouted at the dog and asked the owner to put him on a lead. Explained he had just taken my DS hand as well as the sandwich. Dog owner paid no attention until DH lost his shit and threatened to deal with the dog himself... by which time our lovely relaxing afternoon had evaporated. Am I supposed to just be glad that DS still has all his fingers?

I am fed up with people saying their badly behaved off lead dogs are 'really friendly'. How am I supposed to know which ones are and which ones aren't.

OP posts:
optionalrationale · 03/04/2017 22:50

Just checked the law.

You / your DH would have been entirely within your rights to protect the life of your child or to prevent your child being injured - up to and including lethal force against an out of control and off lead dog if the dog was causing injury or if you perceived that there was a real risk that this was possible.

You do not need to wait to find out if the out of control and off lead dog might only be being friendly. Believe me, you don't want to wait until after the event. It is NOT worth the risk.

If the dog owner then attacks you, he/ she will be liable for prosecution for assault as well as for having an out of control dog.

However you are not allowed to "punish" the dog after it has attacked as this could leave you open to a charge of animal cruelty.

So the message is don't risk your loved one being injured or killed by an out of control and off lead dog. Take swift and sure action as soon as you perceive the risk.

MsAdorabelleDearheartVonLipwig · 03/04/2017 22:58

I'm always a bit hmm at the but he/she's friendly so you should accept it kind of attitude.

There are so many threads about exactly this over in the Doghouse section, from proper responsible dog owners about the feckwit owners that give the rest of us a bad name.

Also, as the law now stands, if you even think that a dog may be threatening the owner can be prosecuted and the dog made to wear a muzzle in public.

optionalrationale · 03/04/2017 23:21

The feckwit dog owners on here should be on notice that THEY are responsible for the behaviour of their dog and for having it under control. If they chose not to, then they will only have themselves to blame. After reading some of their comments here I think we should all make sure we are carrying the right equipment in our picnic baskets. That is not a threat. It's a precaution against your irresponsible attitude. I speak as someone who witnessed a dog lift up the scalp of a toddler.

WeirdnessOfDoom · 03/04/2017 23:22

YANBU OP. Unfortunately some dog owners are bonkers and think the world revolves around their animals. I once told off the owner of the dog jumping on 2yo DS,I got told that I'm rude and should train my kids how to be around the dogs so they wouldn't be scared of them.

My son hopefully will overcome his fear of dogs but at his own pace and not at somebody's convenience.

Woman and her charming DH who shouted at me to not to walk on the pavement near their dog still doesn't speak to me and vice versa. Arseholes.

AwaywiththePixies27 · 04/04/2017 00:11

There are so many threads about exactly this over in the Doghouse section, from proper responsible dog owners about the feckwit owners that give the rest of us a bad name.

I agree. I'd sit down and fuss a dog all day if I could bur the feckless ones just don't understand. The one that let her bouncy off the lead dogs bound up to the man training his couldn't / wouldn't see what was blindingly obvious. It wasn't the mans dog, leashed and commanded that was out of control at that time. It was hers. Hence the mans frustration.

As a random sidenote. Despite the whole incident with a lab thing, my DS will when in the mood, ask to stroke your dog. If your dog is off its lead and someone comes by with the its friendly, he'll politely ask you to put it on a lead please. He will tell you he wants to stroke it but he's scared, the thing he's actually frightened of? A dog licking him. (sensory thing). Obviously not all dogowners are telepathic to know this and DS shouldn't expect everyone to solid-state m accommodate accordingly but a little mutual respect on both sides wouldn't hurt.

MsAdorabelleDearheartVonLipwig · 04/04/2017 00:26

My dog licks anyone and everyone. He licks my hands constantly. It just seems to be his way of bonding with me. I am constantly having to wash my hands, it drives me bonkers. Grin

smallchanceofrain · 04/04/2017 00:51

Not sure if I'm Hmm or Grin at the idea of going equipped with a tooled up picnic basket optional. Water pistol? Bread knife? AK47? I guess it depends on whereabouts you live and what the density of feckwit dog owners is in your local park.

ShamefulDodger · 04/04/2017 01:12

I once had to kick a husky in the face.

Was lucky he wasn't vicious really, me and baby dd were in a very vulnerable position, and would probably have been fucked.

Thing was I had no idea what that dog was about to do. I was sat on my own, with 4 week old dd on a picnic blanket.

Then all of a sudden this great big muscle bag of a dog was hurtling full pelt towards us.

It was just sort of instinct. So I kicked out as hard as I could.

Then had a tearful and rather nasty argument with a stupid simpering dog owner trying to tell me how he wouldn't hurt a fly.

Not that easy to see love.

Anyway, dog was just a bit shocked but unhurt. The owner probably to this day remains an irresponsible arse and now I'm mousing what sort Irma arsenal I should be packing at the next picnic Grin

kali110 · 04/04/2017 01:57

WateryTart are you one of those parents? Hmm

wheresthel1ght yes, some people should definitely be muzzled Grin

Op i'm not quite sure how you Are making your dd scared of dogs by holding her hand Grin

CustardOmlet · 04/04/2017 04:32

Hmm some of you are a bit neurotic, perhaps get a grip and stop reading DM, dog attacks are not as common as they want you to believe.

And it's my cat you want to be afraid of at picnics, he will bite you for a piece of chicken.

optionalrationale · 04/04/2017 04:56

Custard - never read the Fail but you might be a tad neurotic too if you had personally witnessed a "he's only being friendly" off lead dog cause a horrible injury to a child. One minute you're having a perfectly innocent picnic in the park, the next minute you're wondering what you're supposed to do when a dog bite has left a child's skull visible.

Smallchance - what equipment? Water pistol, breadknife, AK47...two if those options are legal where I live. One would be slightly ess out of place than the other on a picnic.

WateryTart · 04/04/2017 06:49

WateryTart are you one of those parents?

A parent who doesn't want children mauled by dogs? Yes.

And a teacher who had a child in her class miss nearly a term of school while she had a series of operations to rebuild her face after an unprovoked attack by a dog while playing in her own garden. It jumped over the fence and went for her. The fuckwit owner even tried to not have the dog put down. Feelings among neighbours made sure it was.

Some dog owners are totally irrational and the public need to be protected from their out of control animals.

Pentapus · 04/04/2017 08:13

DH lost his shit and threatened to deal with the dog himself.

Over a missing sandwich when your child was unhurt? This does not sound like a proportional response.

Of course dogs should not steal food from small children, but they do tend to be rather fond of the stuff. A bit of reasonableness on both sides would not go amiss I think.

WateryTart · 04/04/2017 08:42

A bit of reasonableness on both sides would not go amiss I think.

There is nothing reasonable about having an out of control dog approach DCs. In what world is that reasonable?

Pentapus · 04/04/2017 08:46

Do you really not see how the OPs DH was unreasonable Watery?

And did you miss the part of my post about dogs not stealing food from children?

WateryTart · 04/04/2017 08:54

I really don't think he was unreasonable. The dog was out of control and stole food from a baby, who knows what it would do next?

The idiot dog owners should have had it on a lead.

Not sure what your dog's got to do with it, tbh.

CustardOmlet · 04/04/2017 09:03

When everyone seems to have an anecdote of a vicious dog attack, I'm inclined to think those people are bull shitting.

Pentapus · 04/04/2017 09:07

My dog Watery?? What do you mean?

Regardless of your seeming confusion, if you don't think threatening violence to an animal who has merely taken some food and left a child unhurt is unreasonable, then you too are clearly unreasonable.

I again draw attention to the fact that I have said the dog should not have taken food from the child.

Mouthfulofquiz · 04/04/2017 09:15

I've been trying to deal with my little boy's fear of dogs for over a year now. All because some idiot who could neither control his dog off lead nor keep up with it, stuck his face into the buggy and stole food that my son was eating. At the time I told the owner it was fine. As I didn't know the effect it was going to have on our lives. If I could go back in time now, I would be bloody furious. I still remember his face so I'm sort of hoping to run into him one day to tell him how the last year has been for us!

Doowappydoo · 04/04/2017 09:24

The dog had the 17 months old's arm in his mouth. I am Shock at the suggestion we should all calm down dear because " it's only food". Yes I would "lose my shit" in that situation as well.

I love dogs but I really really can't stand the massive entitlement and lack of basic empathy/manners of some owners.

ChardonnayKnickertonSmythe · 04/04/2017 09:26

The dog was out of control and stole food from a baby, who knows what it would do next?

The dog would most probably eat whatever he has scavenged, is the simple answer.

Of course it shouldn't have happened though.

Laiste · 04/04/2017 09:58

I cannot believe there are people surprised at a parent getting physical or threatening to get physical with an animal which has it's mouth near or ON their child.

If your dog has made it as far as getting away from you, getting into my space and getting it's mouth on my child or my property then you've lost the right to your dog being treated the way you would prefer i'm afraid.

A dog being a pain in the arse or posing a danger in any situation when out in public is directly the fault of the owner. That's where the buck stops when you own an animal and take it out in a public space. This includes these dogs on a lead which the owners actually know are likely to bite if approached by a person or another dog the 'wrong way'. Muzzle them when out in public rather than thinking the rest of the world is responsible for not getting bitten by it FGS.

WateryTart · 04/04/2017 10:03

Regardless of your seeming confusion, if you don't think threatening violence to an animal who has merely taken some food and left a child unhurt is unreasonable, then you too are clearly unreasonable.

Yes, dear, of course I am.

Let's just let dogs run rampant everywhere shall we and hope no one gets their face bitten off? After all they are so much more important than children.

Or maybe we should make dog owners act responsibly. Because dogs aren't as important as children.

BertrandRussell · 04/04/2017 12:22

It doesn't actually matter wht the dog did. It was out of control. And an out of control dog and it's owner have to take the consequences.

Beansonapost · 04/04/2017 12:42

What a thread Shock! OP YANBU.

This is why I avoid dogs/dog areas and keep my child away from them.

My reaction in this situation would have been to kick the dog in its throat or kill it... favouring the latter.... properly losing my shit.

My DH, DD and myself were at a park.. DD about 10months. Off the lead dog sat with its owners I don't like dogs so I am always Hmm when in public spaces with them.. dog decides to chase some ducks and was coming straight for my DD... I kicked it... hard. Otherwise it would have steam rolled my child. Owner was not pleased... neither was DH. Few minutes later the same dog steam rolled a child doing the same shit. It was not a dog park and everyone else who had dogs had them on leads as a lot of families were there with children.

I do not care for the feelings of dogs or their owners.. as has been made clear on this thread it's "funny" when their animals act up... and people should just get on with it because "it's friendly". exactly what I was told...

Well I hope you get on with it because whether or not your dog is friendly I have no idea of knowing and will perceive it as a threat and act accordingly... especially if that threat is towards my child.