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??

Dogs don't have the same grasp of property boundaries as us humans. I haven't read the whole thread but it seems like an over reaction to me, but then I am a dog person.

Sorry to all the dog lovers out there, but if that had happened to me, I would have been livid. Children should have the right to play in their own gardens unhindered by strange dogs.
Cannot understand people who put their dogs over children lives...(oh, they poked it in the eye...oh, it's just in their nature) if it's in their nature then bloody well control it.

Im a dog person but stand by my earlier comments: dogs are the responsibility of the owner and if it cannot be controlled in public, then it shouldn't be out in public. Your kids should be able to play safely in their own garden.

Justustwo- I can agree with your post if I had been in a park, or walking along the road and a dog came up to us off the lead. But as we were in our own garden, I dont think I am overreacting. I am not going to call the police now, as once is an accident. She should have appolgised and then I wouldnt be angry and feel that she wasnt being responsible for her dog. What if I had a dog in the garden? Would I be responsible if my dog attacked hers?

Spider- Just because dogs dont understand boundaries shouldnt mean that it is accepted that they can wander where they want. Its not like it is a wild animal. Owners should be responsible for their animals. My kid could have thought it was a cuddly dog and squeezed it etc and ended up being bitten. It happens, kids get bitten/killed even when the dog is a family pet. I am just protecting my kids and if the owner wants to protect her dog then she wont let it wander into my garden again.

daisy, no, the dog shouldn't have been in your garden and the owner should take greater steps to ensure it doesn't get out again in future. The point I was trying to make was more at people who allow their children to manhandle dogs and are then annoyed if the dog snaps at said child.

Animals can be unpredictable and so can children, and it is therefore generally not adviseable to leave young children alone with dogs, because if the dog were to bit you would have no idea what has happened, but I know people who have been in the same room as their child and the dog, and who have thought it very cute that the child is pulling the dog's ears/lying on top of the dog/pulling the dog's paws etc. IMO if a parent witnesses a child treating a dog, or any other animal for that matter, in that way, the parent is then at fault if the dog bites that child because the parent did nothing to stop the child from mistreating the dog. and yes, pulling a dog's ears/climbing on top of it is mistreatment of a dog.

You need to invest in a high fence. Put some barbed wire over the top. That should stop 'em.

i will invest in an electric fence and switch it on when it comes back

Once a dog ran up to me fast, I didn't know what its intentions were, and I just froze. I went up to the owner and told her I didn't think she should let her dog go hurtling up to people. She was bemused & said 'He won't hurt you' and I said 'But how was I to know that?'

Anyway, I now have a gorgeous, soft, friendly dog, and found myself in the same position. She ran up to a girl a bit fast and scared her; I tried to explain to the girl's father that there was nothing to worry about; he wouldn't listen. HE was in the position that I had been in earler.

My point is that the woman knows the dog, she knows it's friendly and that your DCh are safe with it; BUT she is in the wrong. She is complacent, she has a knowledge that you don't (although of course she can't 100% know it'd be OK with your DCh).

She should be made to realise must keep it off other people's gardens, but I'm not sure the Police is the right way to go.

She should have apologised, but didn't see that. Some people are like that. It's perfectly reasonable that people keep their dogs out of other people's gardens. I think you're wise to say 'Once is an accident'. She knows how you feel now; hopefully she'll take note.

I still think a polite, but firm letter to her would make it very very clear that it is unacceptable to let your dog run wild. (If it was your child, people would think you were a terrible parent.)