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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:
KitKats28 · 02/04/2017 22:03

Whilst I agree that the dog should have been on a lead, your husband "losing his shit" sounds seriously over the top. Your child wasn't hurt and by your own admission, your husband's attitude ruined your afternoon.

I would actually be more bothered about your husband's temper than a non-aggressive dog. You let your baby feed a dog from his high chair (seriously bad idea) but then you are freaking out because a different dog wants to eat his food.

ChardonnayKnickertonSmythe · 02/04/2017 22:08

That's really worrying, I agree, your husband losing his shit.

It might be a dog this time, but who knows what he will lose his shit with next time.

This is what is worrying here, not a random greedy dog scoring a sandwich. He needs to deal with his issues.

Good luck!

Scaredycat3000 · 02/04/2017 22:08

are you sure you are not exaggerating slightly Yay made it to page two before the victim blaming started properly! Even better I should
pack more sarnies and share the with dogs Wow, just wow, how fuckin' entitled?

seafoodeatit · 02/04/2017 22:08

YANBU, dog off a lead was running all over our picnic today and snaffling what it could, owner pathetically trying to call them from a distance until DH told them to take their dog away from our picnic as clearly it wasn't going to listen to them anytime soon! I have a phobia of dogs due to being attacked as a child, I shouldn't have to have to put up with someones pet eating my food.

ChardonnayKnickertonSmythe · 02/04/2017 22:09

Oh sorry, didn't mean to bold the losing shit.

MadMags · 02/04/2017 22:09

Can't believe people are trying to blame a dad who got cross because the dog owner didn't give a shit that it was at his baby!

The afternoon was ruined because of the dog owner, not OP's husband!

ChardonnayKnickertonSmythe · 02/04/2017 22:11

Not just cross, Mad, but losing his shit.

MipMipMip · 02/04/2017 22:12

Just wanted to correct one thing on this thread - an owner calling from a distance may be doing it because coming towards the dog encourages it. Often dogs will follow their owner if they are walking away but but carry on with what they're doing if the owner comes towards them - as they've obviously found something so interesting their human wants to see too!

KitKats28 · 02/04/2017 22:14

Getting cross is fine. Telling them to put their dog on a lead is fine. Losing your shit about something that didn't actually cause anyone any harm, is a bit excessive.

MadMags · 02/04/2017 22:15

Chardonnay you have said that you allow your dog to eat people's food so your hardly going to admit that the owner is the real problem.

Losing his shit is an expression and I think it's terribly unfair to make OP's dh's behaviour out to be worrying because he got pissed off in this situation. Anyone who's not a bit of a knob about his/her own dog would be the same, tbh!

And I say that as a dog owner and lover!

ChardonnayKnickertonSmythe · 02/04/2017 22:17

And I said I was joking in my next post, didn't I?

Next time OP's DH loses his shit with something a dog might not be available to be conveniently scapegoated.

MadMags · 02/04/2017 22:18

You were joking? So your dog hasn't taken food from other people?!

ChardonnayKnickertonSmythe · 02/04/2017 22:20

Only when invited to do so. He is partial to salmon sandwiches.
But he has tried many times and will try again, undoubtedly.

Original poster
IsithormonesoramIamadcow · 02/04/2017 22:21

DS is 17 months. He is quite small. The dogs muzzle was long enough for his nose to be above DS's elbow. I'm sorry if I mislead munsnetters about his 'whole' arm.

DH only shouted after the bloody dog owner ignored my ( I thought polite in the circumstances) request. DH is a dog lover, and is generally very mild mannered. He said he would deal with the dog, I didn't say he'd beaten it.

We don't encourage DS to feed Dogs from his high chair, much the opposite, but it has happened. What I mean is I know there is a gentle way for a dog to take food from a child fingers...

OP posts:
YolandiFuckinVisser · 02/04/2017 22:21

My dogs love to come across a picnic when we're out on a walk. They have learned the command LEAVE when confronted by tempting situations and back off, however we frequently come across picnickers who give them pork pies or crisps or nice pieces of cheese and therefore compound the attractiveness of picnics as far as the dogs are concerned.

I would be mortified if they actually stole a child's sandwich though.

MadMags · 02/04/2017 22:23

Right, I don't really get the joke, but anyway...

notanothernamechangebabes · 02/04/2017 22:23

I have a very large, greedy, incredibly gentle lurcher who will eat ANYTHING. He's v well trained but his greedy guts are a genetic trait that cannot be trained out of him.

What CAN and has been trained out of him, is bouncing up to babies and small children for ANY reason.

We have a six month old DS and "gently!" is our training word for DDog and the keyword we use with the baby for their interactions. DDog is so far proving the gentler of the two by far Grin

It's a pisser when people don't take this sort of thing seriously. And hard not to panic and accidentally make your baby nervous of dogs. No realworld solution in picnic season, but as a dog owner and parent I have lots of sympathy.

BertrandRussell · 02/04/2017 22:25

Lots of posters on here are showing why so many people hate dogs and dog owners.

ChardonnayKnickertonSmythe · 02/04/2017 22:26

And I don't get people being offended with everything, but anyway...

ComeOnSpring · 02/04/2017 22:26

Yanbu. The dog owner should have apologised and moved the dog on..

JumpingJellybeanz · 02/04/2017 22:27

YANBU

My friend is like this with her dog and it drives me mad. She just laughs at the fact her dog shot off, jumped into the middle of someone's picnic and ate their salmon. When I tell her off she thinks I'm being unreasonable as 'nobody minds'. She came camping with us once and wouldn't put him on the lead even though he kept stealing food out of other peoples' tents.

CatThiefKeith · 02/04/2017 22:31

Dog owner was a dick. Unless of course you are the person that was eating their picnic on the dog ramp into the pond in the local country park, in the off lead area, last summer and then complained when my dog splashed their picnic as she jumped in.

HazelBite · 02/04/2017 22:32

For Ds1's 6th birthday I made and decorated a lovely cake and we took it with a picnic to the local park.
A dog off the lead ran across the picnic putting its foot in the birthday cake, completely ruined the cake. When my DSis called out to the owner to "look at what her dog had done" she was ignored, no apology nothing.
Ds was really upset and his cake was ruined.

Crashbangwhatausername · 02/04/2017 22:35

My dog did this to a child on a beach last year. He sat very nicely in front of her and then gently took the sandwich as a treat. I was absolutely mortified, dog straight back on lead (dog friendly beach, thought it was empty but family were hidden behind a large rock) and obviously offered to buy a replacement sandwich/ice cream/anything to stop the crying. Luckily the dad saw the funny side even if I didn't but in all honesty while I accept my responsibility with regards to the dog, if he had have kicked my dog I may not have felt quite so bad amd I might have kicked him back

BadTasteFlump · 02/04/2017 22:38

OMFG so some dog owners would rather suggest that the ops DH has anger issues because he 'lost his shit' with the owner of the dog that had his baby's arm in its mouth?

They are clearly as ignorant as I always suspected.

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