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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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:
brickinitIam · 03/04/2017 12:28

Worse than dogs stealing food is when you're having a picnic and male dogs (always males) cock their leg and pisses on your picnic.
I've had that happen a few times.

LoupGarou · 03/04/2017 12:28

I have to say I really don't get the comments about Labradors not being able to help themselves around food, no matter how much you train them.
The majority of the guide dogs I've met have been Labradors and I've yet to see or hear of one of them snaffling food from strangers, or nabbing it as they walk past a child. I do realise guide dogs are carefully selected for temperament/ability, and a lot are weeded out, but to blanket say "he will always be an opportunistic food thief as he's a Labrador" just seems very unlikely.

AwaywiththePixies27 · 03/04/2017 12:29

Madmags If you kicked my dog you'd' get a swift kick in the chops back

Charming! Hmm

I adore dogs. I really do. I'm like a kid in a sweet shop and know practically all the dogs names we meet on the school run route. You can even ask the owners, I always stop to give my two favourites a fuss. A great Dane and a Husky. Then there's a lady with two poodles, I always stop to give them a fuss and say hello to the lady too.

It still didnt stop me from being absolutely bloody terrified once when I was walking along minding my own business when this dog came out if nowhere. Just stood here barking at me aggressively. I froze. Owner came out of nowhere, out him on the lead and went "sorry, he's just friendly".

REALLY?! Confused

The only thing I was grateful for that morning was that it was me that encountered the dog and I knew what to do. A child would have been petrified.

brickinitIam · 03/04/2017 12:29

Building sandacastles with DC on the beach and a dog runs and cocks his leg on that.
Disgusting.

MadisonAvenue · 03/04/2017 12:31

Slightly off topic but I really do sympathise with people with little children who are scared of dogs. My son used to be terrified, ever since a Boxer bounded up to him and jumped up him when he was small. Scared just because someone couldn't control their dog, making no apology but just saying that the dog "only wanted to play". It didn't help either that my mother in law had a snappy little terrier that would bite for no reason.

We decided that we wanted to get a rescue dog so had to talk him around (he was 11 by then) and he was adamant that it had to be a small one. Instead we got a rescue puppy, and not a small one as he turned out to be a Collie/GSD. Our son was unsure at first but adores him now.

If I see a child though when I'm out with my dog then he goes straight back on his lead. I'd hate to put a little one through the misery that my son used to go through when he saw a dog.

Mummyoflittledragon · 03/04/2017 12:35

I had a lovely lab and he used to swipe things from dd if she put her hand down too low in her high chair. Opportunistic buggar. She was also a food thrower, one thing in 4 put on her high chair was eaten when handed to her and the rest thrown, so the dog ate a lot that year. Given the chance, he would have devoured picnics and grabbed food from little kids, which is why I kept him on the lead and away from dd when she was walking around with food.

Chloe84 · 03/04/2017 12:50

Mmm, so hypothetically your shit dog control skills (which they must be if your dog is in a position to bound up in the face of a child) have forced a parent to react to protect their child. Your response would then lead to you being done for assault. Winner

Perfect response, SecretNetter

SomethingBorrowed · 03/04/2017 12:50

Quick question: according to dog owners, what is a person supposed to do if a dog approaches and you want him to go away (to protect your food, because there is a baby/toddler, because you are scared, etc)?

Genuine question, I am not scared of dogs but not very comfortable either. And I would definitely not see the "funny side" of a dog eating my food, so how do I prevent it - without kicking the dog obviously...

chocatoo · 03/04/2017 12:51

I am a bit frightened of dogs (terrified when they jump up) and I get really cross when owners don't have them under control. It's really irritating when people say 'oh it's really friendly' - I don't want to be friends with it! - I just want it to be away from me! I would have been sick with fear if a dog had done that to my child.

contrary13 · 03/04/2017 12:55

A few years ago, when out walking, my mother's dog caught the scent of a picnic in the distance and took off towards it. Not only did she open a seemingly abandoned picnic bag (mother had wandered off to smile adoringly at her two little angels as they tore young saplings to shreds) but from what I can gather, she ate its contents.

As soon as I realised there were (a) children and (b) abandoned bags which probably contained food up ahead, I had my dog walking next to me... but my mother's dog was somewhat of a liability law unto herself. Akin, actually, to the little angels who were destroying the saplings, whose sarnies she'd snaffled.

I'm not entirely sure if the mother confronted my mother, or not. Because my trained hound and I were ahead and past the posssibility of food thievery at that point. I do know that my mother caught up to us with a dog who looked incredibly pleased with herself, with a face like thunder, so...

There is no such thing as a bad dog.

There are, however, bad owners whose poorly trained dogs are blamed for their human's ignorance towards their needs.

Mind you, OP, if your toddler was sitting between you and your husband... why didn't either of you do something to prevent your child's hand/food ending up inside the dog's mouth?! You were incredibly fortunate that your DC didn't end up hurt as a result of your lack of awareness towards your surroundings.

Just as the dog owner ought to take responsibility for their dog... you need to take responsibility for the fact that it was able to get near your son/his food in the first place, I'm afraid.

(And yes, Labs are notorious for greed. One of my dogs was half-Lab and would quite happily eat her body weight in food, and then ask for seconds!)

WateryTart · 03/04/2017 13:06

Just as the dog owner ought to take responsibility for their dog... you need to take responsibility for the fact that it was able to get near your son/his food in the first place, I'm afraid.

If that's a typical attitude of a dog owner the sooner they are banned from all public places unless muzzled the better.

You've taken "entitled" to a new level.

SparklyUnicornPoo · 03/04/2017 13:07

pack more sarnies and share the with dogs and ducks. Or not, bread is bad for ducks and dogs shouldn't be encouraged to swipe picnic food.

I have a large friendly dog, unfortunately he knows from my DC that children, especially toddlers, often have food and fall for his puppy dog eyes, he has never snatched off anyone but given half a chance he will sniff round picnics hopefully and look pathetic until someone feeds him, his favourite trick is to lay down beside small children and try to look cute while looking from them to the food and huffing, he will also try to look into buggies in the hopes of dropped food/crumbs, and once to my absolute horror licked an ice cream covered toddler (who thankfully giggled) so I keep him on a lead.

ThouShallNotPass · 03/04/2017 13:08

Mind you, OP, if your toddler was sitting between you and your husband... why didn't either of you do something to prevent your child's hand/food ending up inside the dog's mouth?! You were incredibly fortunate that your DC didn't end up hurt as a result of your lack of awareness towards your surroundings.

I don't think that's really fair. The OP doesn't say which way they were facing, never mind how quick the dog was or even that they had foreknowledge that the animal was about to snatch the food.
I don't think many parents stand around their children acting like presidential secret service. Perhaps they did see the dog and attempt to grab it or move their child but without, as some posters suggest, kicking the animal, the dog kept coming regardless.

MustBookADentistAppointment · 03/04/2017 13:10

Watery, don't be so ridiculous. Muzzling all dogs in public places is unenforceable and unnecessary. People with well trained, non aggressive dogs shouldn't have to muzzle them just because you don't like them...

SparklyUnicornPoo · 03/04/2017 13:17

Mind you, OP, if your toddler was sitting between you and your husband... why didn't either of you do something to prevent your child's hand/food ending up inside the dog's mouth?! You were incredibly fortunate that your DC didn't end up hurt as a result of your lack of awareness towards your surroundings.

To be fair to OP, one of my mums labs is a super stealthy food thief and has been known to appear from under benches and tables and launch lightning raids to snatch sandwiches, he's swiped my lunch more than once when I've been opening stuff for one of the DC and I know he's there.

BertrandRussell · 03/04/2017 13:20

Classic dog owner victim blaming.

There is someone that happensto some dog owners brains, there really is. It!s a bit lik e smokers- a very specific area of entitlement.

MadMags · 03/04/2017 13:20

Ultimately, I think the problem is that there's no talking to some people.

Even the gleeful, oh-so-hilarious stories on here prove that.

How could it possibly not be hilarious that your disgusting, slobbery dog has ruined some family's afternoon!

And the thing is, I'll bet those same people would be far less tolerant if a child did it!

WateryTart · 03/04/2017 13:27

People with well trained, non aggressive dogs shouldn't have to muzzle them just because you don't like them...

If dog owners don't act responsibly it will come to that. I'm indifferent to dogs but think children matter more than dogs and muzzles would stop this behaviour that se dofgs owners find amusing.

Not impossible to enforce. Bring in dog licences to pay for dog wardens. They could police those who let their mutts shit everywhere as well.

WateryTart · 03/04/2017 13:27

*Some dog owners.

RaspberryOverloadsOnChilli · 03/04/2017 13:30

Mind you, OP, if your toddler was sitting between you and your husband... why didn't either of you do something to prevent your child's hand/food ending up inside the dog's mouth?! You were incredibly fortunate that your DC didn't end up hurt as a result of your lack of awareness towards your surroundings.

I've seen some dogs as stealthy and fast as the seagull that swiped my DD's sandwich last year. The gull took it by swooping down from behind over her shoulder and there's no way I could have prevented that.

MadisonAvenue · 03/04/2017 13:43

chocatoo when a dog's run towards you and jumped up you, you don't know that it's friendly do you!
We have a neighbour with two very strong, very bouncy and slobbery Boxers. He does nothing to control them and while they bounce around and jump up he just stands there grinning, it amuses him. I've spoken to quite a few people, dog owners, who turn and walk in the opposite direction if they see him and his dogs approaching because they're such a nuisance.

blueskyinmarch · 03/04/2017 13:49

I won’t take my Dog (Labrador) to the beach in the summer. She isn’t actually a food stealer but i rather suspect all those picnics could be too much of a temptation.

The other day, while i was walking her on lead, some students stopped to make a fuss of her. One was carrying a big pot of yogurt which was open. Before i could stop her DDog had given the outside of the pot a big enthusiastic lick! Luckily the student thought it was hilarious.

StrangeLookingParasite · 03/04/2017 13:52

You were incredibly fortunate that your DC didn't end up hurt as a result of your lack of awareness towards your surroundings.

Oh look, new heights of victim-blaming.

IsithormonesoramIamadcow · 03/04/2017 14:14

contrary dog appeared, I was watching closely as I though he might start begging and DD can be nervous around stranger dogs. Dog looked at me, then DH before he suddenly lunged at DS. Obviously saw him as an easy target. Lightening fast.

I think I shouldn't have mentioned the bloody sandwich. I wasn't worried about its loss (although the bloody dog didn't like peanut butter and spat it out anyway).

What is the mumsnet definition of 'losing his shit' for my DH leaping to his feet and shouting at someone (no swearing..) is as extreme as it gets ( or at least that's most I've seen in 6 years). Maybe I should LTB for caring about his kids.

OP posts:
20nil · 03/04/2017 14:17

MsAd I'm not scared of dogs, but I don't want to swim with them. They do shit in there you know.

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