to be angry when a staff. bull dog wanders into my garden with my DS playing

[daisycat01]

I am quite angry, but also shocked at how unconcerned the owner was. We live about 2 fields away from a farm. My boys were playing in our garden, at the end of the garden is a hedge and behind are fields. I had just finished hanging out the washing and was inside when I noticed a white staffordshire dog wandering in the garden. I got my 1.5yr old and 4 yr old inside and shut the back door as the dog started running up to us. I had no idea where it came from or what it would do if I tried to touch it. I am not a doggy person, I dont mind them but dont know how to deal with them. I went to get my neighbour and when we came back it wandered into the field. I went onto the field to see a lady calling it (the dog just ignored her) I went up to her and asked her if it was her dog, yes she said, I said that it was in my garden and she just said "oh she is always wandering off!" I was really annoyed by that, especially given the breed. I said "can you make sure it doesnt again as it was in my garden with my 2 ds who are very small" she said "oh she wont do any harm, she loves children", How am I suppossed to know that. If I see it again I am reporting it to the police!!! Is that unreasonable??

yeah, but if your dog got out and it ended up in the garden with young children I am sure you would have appolgised. This lady was quite arrogant. She said that they wander the farm and sometimes wander off. It would have had to been gone a while to get across the fields and then into my garden.

If a fox came into the garden there is nothing really I could do about it as no-one is resposible for it, also, generally they are wary of humans and arent domesticated. Yeah it could poo in the garden but thats part of being in the countryside I suppose. Dogs however, generally, are domesticated, and will happily wander up to people. I dont expect to see a dog sniffing around my garden and my children, especially one that looks quite tough and like it could do harm. You dont read about kids being attacked and killed by labradors, or foxes (apart from that freak fox a while ago!)
My garden has a hedge at the bottom and proper fences to the sides, its rented, so really I would have to get onto the landlord for him to put in a fence. I would only report the dog if it happened again, as I feel that my children should be able to play in the garden without the threat of a dog like that coming in.

Couldn't agree with you more Daisy!

Where do foxes poo anyway? do you think some of the "dogs" that poo in the street are actually foxes?

at my old house, the fence was not very secure, but my kids couldn't get out. One morning I looked out and saw a strange dog wandering around my garden, I went out and called the dog, who came trotting up to me. He was a beautiful dog, but I didn't know if he was nasty, luckily he wasn't. He had a phone number on his collar so I phoned his owner. He had been missing for days.
It shocked me that a dog could get in, which meant my dog could get out, so I secured the fencing.
I would secure your fencing and ask the farmer to make sure that their dog is kept in a secure place.

I generalise that those breed are fighting dog as I dont know an awful lot about them as I have never chosen to have one I am sure that they can be affectionate and that the recent media have given them a bad name. However they can do a lot of damage if they want to, especially to children. I always thought they were bred to fight or for security like rottwielers, or collies for rounding up sheep.
I wouldnt expect a dog to be tied up if I visited it at its home, I am entering its territory. I am not afraid of dogs, just wary of unknown dogs. I wouldnt start stroking a dog unless the owner had said I could. I think that is sensible. If it had been a lab or another similar breed then I may not have been as annoyed.
The lady wasnt walking her dog, she wasnt with her dog. She told me that the dog is allowed to wander the farm and often gets out and wanders off. The dog had wandered 2 fields and along the back of 4 gardens before pushing under our hedge and into our garden. I then went to get the neighbour and returned. When I went out the back the lady was 1 field away. She had not been watching the dog, if they know it has a tendancy to wander then it should be always supervised or kept fenced in. My children could wiggle under the hedge if they put their mind to it, but, I know that they have a tendancy to wander so I watch them. I would have had them under my arm and back in the garden before they had traveled 10 meters let alone a farm, 2 fields and 4 gardens.

This has happened to us before,Daisy,
nearly poohed my pants....but that's because i'm scared of dogs.
I,m desperate not to inflict this fear onto my dd's, so i 'played it down'.
Have never called the police, but i think you have every right to be shaken, esp if you don't know the dog.
I would do as others have suggested and make your property harder to get into, also i would expect the dog owner to offer an apology, esp since it frightened you.

Dogs can be dangerous and you certainly can't tell either by looking at them (or often by asking their owners) whether or not they are dangerous. My eldest stepdaughter had her nose ripped off when she was a toddler by a dog that was small, no particular breed and whom the owners had vouched for as being good with children a few minutes earlier than the attack.
I personally do not think that you shouldn't wait until you see the dog again to report it to the police. Dog owners are responsible for keeping their dogs on a leash at all times when they are in public. They can still take their dog for a walk....just on a leash!!!! I would either write a polite, but firm letter to your neighbors expressing your concern and asking that they keep their dog leashed in public at all times, or at a minimum fence in any space that the dog is going to be unleashed in. I don't think that it matters what breed the dog is. And if they ignore you or are unhelpful in their response, then I would report it to the police.
Wannabe, if your dog bolted out your door and was running around unleashed for 5 minutes it is YOUR FAULT for not making sure that your dog was somewhere tied up before you opened your door. Hardly a difficult task for a human. If I had come across your dog, I would have reported it to the police. And you should have been mortified for being so irresponsible as to have let it out, not just because you got caught.
It isn't daisycat01's responsibility to fence in her yard....it should be the dog owner's responsibility to fence/tie in their dog.

Don't be too quick to assume you can cuddle a lab or retriever. They are being overbread nowadays and some nasty personality traits (sp) are emerging.

Chances are, if this dog is a farm dog, who is allowed to wander the farm freely (and unfortunately escape) then it is a good-natured dog.
So-called fighting dogs are only aggressive because they are made aggressive by bad owners - ie kept on a chain, beaten, taunted, and used for fighting.
This dog sounds more like a farm dog. Dopey but harmless.

So yes, you are over reacting by calling the police. The owner however, could have been more apologetic. But on the other hand, perhaps she was a bit bemused by your over-reaction, and was too embarrased to apologize.

SofiaAmes - was your stepdaughter being supervised with this dog?? How do you know that she didn't (in a toddlerish inquisative way) poke the dog in the eye and the dog reacted??

As for dogs escaping - they do. By all means call the police, they will laugh at you. Cows escape from fields, horses bolt from stables, cats crap everywhere, and any dog, will occasionally wander away from home. It is the nature of the beast. And no, it is not always possible to tie the dog up/lock it away. Accidents happen!

YES, my stepdaughter was supervised. My dh had arrived at at his friend's house, entered the house, saw the dog and said, "is that dog ok with children?" They said yes, and 2 minutes later dsd toddled towards the dog, tripped and the dog leaped and bit her. There was no teasing going on (not that that should matter). It was a small dog. Turns out that they had only had the dog a short while and had gotten it at the pound and really knew nothing about it at all, despite having said that they did.

Not that it should matter? Of course it matters, IF a child (or anyone) teases a dog, the dog has a right to defend itself!

But as that was not the case here, it is a moot point.

Eh? If a toddler teases a dog it has a right to bite her nose off?

Eh? If a toddler teases a dog it has a right to bite her nose off?

so if a toddler pulls a dogs ear then the dog has the right to bite its face off??

BULLSHIT!

It is a dog, it will do these things. It does not have the ability to think things through, it just reacts.

So, best not tease the dog!

ALL DOGS SHOULD BE KEPT ON LEADS IN PUBLIC PLACES - FOR EXERCISE LET THEM OFF THE LEAD IN YOUR GARDEN

GARDEN NOT BIG ENOUGH? THEN YOU SHOULDNT HAVE A DOG

AND I AM A DOG OWNER!

but she didnt tease the dog, she fell over and it bit her nose off

hows that the childs fault?

Kitty, I have already explained how - given the dogs uncertain past - how it could have interpreted her fall.
Am not going to go over it again, sorry xx.

Of course no dog has a right to attack a human. But we cannot attribute blame to a dog as it is just a dog in case it was reacting to something it perceived as danger.

And please take those caps off and stop shouting at me.

Anyway, have answered the OP, stated my two pence worth and am going to leave it at that!

Imho all dogs are unpredictable (as are all animals and children!)
and can do a lot of damage.
I don't trust dogs, have also witnessed an attack on small child, also was attacked myself by german shepherd when i was 14.
The dog owner must take the responsibility.

Dogs are unpredictable. Exactly why they should always be tied up in public and why their human owners should always take responsibility for never having a dog in a position where it can harm a child (or another animal).

Hippi...you appear to be confusing where I feel the blame should lie. I am not putting blame on the dog...the dog did what dogs do...I am putting the blame 100% on the owner for not expecting the dog to do what dogs do. And the unfortunate result is that the two blameless parties bear the brunt of the interaction...the child looses a nose and the dog gets put down. And the owner walks away saying....but what did I do wrong.

sorry, loses

dogs should not bite children. but ...

children should not tease dogs.

I am always when people say "oh my dog is so wonderful, the kids pull its ears and ride on its back and pull its fur and it never does anything". IMO this is unacceptable. children should not be pulling dogs' ears or their fur or treating them like playthings. Dogs are animals and should be respected. If a child is hurting a dog and the dog bites then the child is at fault - not the dog. If the child is too young to know better then the parent is at fault for allowing the child to physically hurt the dog.

If a dog bites a child for no reason then the dog should be put to sleep, but if the dog is provoked i.e. child pulling its ears/riding on its back/sticking its fingers in the dog's eyes, it is doing what all animals do and defending itself.

hippi- I was actually very wimpy when I saw the lady, I did say to her " I have small children, and I am not used to dogs" but n reflection I wish I had said a bit more. Thats probably why I walked away feeling so angry as I felt she had put my children at a potential risk and didnt see it.
Also with regard to cows escaping from fields etc, yes that happens but it normally is a freak incident. My kids could be playing in the garden and a car could crash into it,it would be an unforseen accident. The owner knows and admited that the dog wanders, So she should keep it under supervision. If a cow escapes, the farmer will make sure the fences are secure. I dont want the £%$!ing dog in my garden!
I agree that if a child teases or taunts a dog it will react, kids and dogs are blamless as they dont know any better, so it falls to the owners of the child and dog to be responsible. In my opinion it is not responsible to let this scenario occur. My garden is my property and if a dog wanders into it again then I will call the local police. I wouldnt have thought that the local police will "laugh" at me, a dog coming into my garden where my young children are playing is dangerous. Being out of control of a dog in a public place is an offence. I dont live in the wilds of the country, my house is on the edge of a large village and it is not acceptable to have dogs wandering the area.

So wannabe, if my son had pulled the dogs ear in my garden, and the dog had bitten my son, would I have been responsible for stopping that? As the owner had no idea where her dog was, she couldnt control the situation. And I was watching my kids in the kitchen "safely" playing. My toddler could easily have run up to the dog and cuddled it as he has no fear at the moment. It could have resulted in something similar to what another poster described. Luckily DS2 was playing by the door.