Neighbours dog has just attacked me and DD.

[katkat90]

Have had issues with them in the past

They are elderly, with two large breed dogs (think Great Danes?). They cannot control them. Honestly the amount of times I have seen them nearly pull them over in the street/simply pull out of their grasp and go bouncing off and jumping all over people is untrue.

Was walking back from the shop and saw them coming from a distance so I stepped to the side into another neighbours driveway and next thing I know- one of them had pulled out of its owners grasp and came bounding over and knocked DD (who is just about getting confident with her toddling) over.

It was over in seconds- by the time I put the break on the pram (was stood on a slopes drive so it would of ran off into the road) and went to grab DD she was already on the floor the dog barking at her- so I kicked it to get it away, and it bit my leg.

I was furious. Owner very embarrassed an apologetic but I’ve said enough is enough and I would be contacting the police and the RSPCA.

Heaven forbid it bounded on the pram and just decided to bite my 2 week old. It would of taken her head off no doubt.

V shaken and waiting for DH to get home to call the police and RSPCA.

I’ve also messaged his daughter on Facebook

There's a farm dog I come across occasionally on our dog walk and I've given it a swift kick twice when it became aggressive. It's learned and now keeps its distance, so a win:win, I'd say.

No that's not lucky, this aggressive dog needs to be kept on a lead.

It sounds like it does need to be on a lead but it didn’t bite until it was attacked itself. The outcome could have been far worse - a mauled or permanently scarred child. I would call it lucky that that didn’t happen. The same way that if you step into the road without looking and get hit by a car you are lucky you didn’t get killed. Ie something much worse could have happened.

No that's not lucky, this aggressive dog needs to be kept on a lead.

Technically this in no way proven to be aggressive dog sounds like it was on a lead...the lead just wasn't being held by anyone

I like dogs but damn there's some batshit dog owners on this thread Just as there's been some crazy posts by non dog owners, it's certainly been a weird thread to read.

I agree though that the dogs should not be put down, that's very over the top for this incident. I also think ridiculing someone whose child was frightened of a dog on the lead because its owner obviously had an issue with control is also just ridiculous. Yes thankfully nothing happened but it shouldn't have occurred in the first place - PissedOff, you seem rather sensible and grounded with your comments, thank you for showing that there are dog owners that are realistic.

Some of the advice on here is all fair and well but unfortunately not always practical and those methods don't always work. I am friends with several people who have dogs and are experienced with them (one is actually a trainer) and they will say the same thing, an animal can be unpredictable full stop. Even if the OP does have 4 dogs (as someone keeps pointing out amongst other things unrelated to this thread ) she is use to them 4 and I'm assuming has them trained, her neighbours dogs if unruly as she says are another matter.

No, the OP probably shouldn't have kicked the dog, I can understand though, that in a moment of panic, when the dog has knocked over her child and was barking (aggressively or not, it shouldn't have happened) I can imagine she had a knee jerk reaction as a few people would and the dog has retaliated in this case, thankfully nothing fatal as yes, the poor dog could be facing being put down which I feel would ultimately be the owners fault for not having control over them in the first place. Hopefully the OP has also learnt something from this experience. The owners need to be reported and either train their dogs or rehome to someone who can control them, not only for humans sake but for theirs.

I can be one of those that does prefer animals over humans at the best of times but try not to lose perspective people, some good points are being over shadowed by some pure nonsense on here.

Yidette86 thank you. Having dogs is my choice & my responsibility, ultimately their behaviour is down to me. I hate the idea of dogs being PTS because of bad ownership & have taken dogs on to avoid that - but by the same token I'm not stupid enough to think that no dog is aggressive.

I'm glad someone else has also reiterated the whole unpredictable thing. Whilst the advice on here CAN work it can also escalate situations depending on the dog.

This thread has been so entertaining! Well done posters of MN for distracting me from my work rhis has been thoroughly worth the read haha

I second that Pengaly. With an honorary mention of @Wordthe whose calm/humour in the face of mounting hysteria was a fab read. Good stuff.

Great Danes are big dogs... if it meant to bite you you would have had more missing than a trouser leg ... more likely scenario; large dog, yes admittedly slightly out of control, bounding over but from what you say not acting maliciously, more like an idiot ... you kicked it , and it responded out of fear and surprise more than simple aggression. I get so fed up of dogs getting the blame for people’s misunderstanding and mismanaging of both them and situations... both owners and onlookers.

And being a vet I have had to put far too many animals to sleep because people simply do not understand them .

Autvet: A massive dig, barking and looming over a toddler lying on the ground and you are pissed of with the OP for not understanding dogs?

I agree dogs get the blame when humans are at fault. The owners of this dog need to understand toddlers and parents and how they react when a dog that you say could do serious damage is knocking them over and barking at them.

And what it means to have a did that size not trained properly.

I get so fed up of dogs getting the blame for people’s misunderstanding and mismanaging of both them and situations... both owners and onlookers.

I can see why you would be fed up with foolish owners; but it’s misguided to blame ‘onlookers’, in this sort of situation at least.

Whether the OP reacted naively or hastily, she did not want the attention of a massive out of control dog and she feared for her child. There’s a respectable argument for the use of much greater force than the OP used against an animal like that, in my opinion.

I really do think dog ownership should be massively tightened up. A very significant annual licence fee, in the thousands of pounds, and compulsory third party insurance should be the first steps. If people want to keep these animals they must take responsibility for the public nuisance they inflict - fouling as well as attacks and out-of-control behaviour - and pay for it.

I don’t think you need to be a dog expert to realise that licking any animal is going to piss it off and it’s not the best idea to do that when it’s looming over your toddler!

*kicking!

That’s the thing, it’s not dog knowledge, it’s just common sense.

If a 12 stone man was shouting aggressively at your toddler, you wouldn’t kick him because you’d suspect he’d react violently and it’s unlikely you could defend yourself... a dog that size you have even less chance of defending yourself against because it has great big teeth too.

If a 12 stone man was shouting aggressively at your toddler, you wouldn’t kick him because you’d suspect he’d react violently and it’s unlikely you could defend yourself... a dog that size you have even less chance of defending yourself against because it has great big teeth too.

That’s absurd. (And you left out the knocking over.) You’re really only confirming just how dangerous such a dog is.

“That’s absurd.”

I don’t think it is, and I didn’t say the dog wasn’t dangerous.

If someone or a dog is behaving erratically and aggressively but not yet actually violently, you being violent isn’t the best idea because it’s only going to escalate faster.

I would imagine that the OP was in a complete panic so didn’t have time to debate how to respond.

People simply need to control their dogs so they are not knocking people over.

Please can one of the dog experts explain what to do if a huge dog is stood barking at your small toddler who is lying in tne ground?

I would want to get the dog away from the toddler. I would worry that if I quickly grabbed the child the dig would want to grab it back, with potentially terrible consequences.

I would be scared to put my hand near the dog yo grab its collar and lead it away, plus then there is a 1 year old / 15 m old (OP said just walking) terrified, possibly running from dog and no adult to hold her hand. By a road.

So, all the dog owners who have abused the OP for kicking, or helpfully explained that it wasn’t the right thing to do,

WHAT SHOULD / COULD THE OP HAVE DONE?

As a dog owner I agree that a dog that bounds over to people and doesn't come away when the owner calls it has poor recall and is out of control. It may or may not be aggressive but members of the public aren't to know that, only the owner can.
Dog owners who justify this to happen are the kind of shit dog owner who are just making excuses for the fact that they have poor recall of their dogs and haven't trained them properly.
I have a Labrador, most lab owners will know that generally labs are the friendliest dogs there are, who love to say hello to people and have a fuss made of them. They are also big and clumsy and perfectly capable of knocking a small child over. It's not acceptable for me to allow her to run over and jump up at people so recall is vital.
Anyone who tries to blame the OP here is just being a bit of a twat. If you see your dog approaching someone with a small child and the person looks frightened or worried then you call it away, the dog responds and job done. The only reason you wouldn't do this is if you basically can't control your dog.

Bloody lab ran up to me recently jumped up legs on my shoulders mud all over me . Owner didn’t apologise but weakly said “he never does that” to which I obviously replied “he just bloody did”. No offer to clean coat or apology he just scuttled off. I am not a dog lover keep your bloody dogs away from me thanks.

In the scenario described I’d help my child up and speak to the owners. There’s no indication the dog was being aggressive - just bounding around with predictable consequences for the toddler (which it shouldn’t have been allowed to do I agree).
I can’t see how you’d be scared to go near the dog but happy to kick it and make it angry. That makes no sense.
I’m not a dog owner btw but I do have a cat. If someone kicked them it would probably scratch or bite. If someone kicked me I would become aggressive. You don’t have to be a dog person to know that kicking a living thing is going to aggravate them.

OntheHop it is difficult to give general advice as you need to adapt what you do to the situation but:

As the dog is approaching put yourself between the dog and the child, put your hand out and say firmly stop.

Use a coat or large bag to stop eye contact (this works well with dog to dog aggression).

Turn your back and use your arms to hug the toddler to you away from the dog, keep turning and showing your back to the dog.

Water or compressed air are the two things that have some effectiveness in stopping actual dog attacks, other ideas like kicking, punching and pulling tails are only likely to get you bitten when you meet a truly aggressive dog (people who have success with these approaches have not come across truly aggressive dogs).

In this case I would have pulled the dog away as I dont think the dog was truly aggressive, but it’s a judgement call which I am making second here from a description. If the dog was so aggressive that pulling the toddler away would escalate the attack no amount of kicking would affect it either.

You appear to have created bizarre vision of the world being divided into 2 camps: pet owners (lonely, irrational and unable to form social relationships) vs non pet owners (sane, socially functioning people who the only ones able to act rationally)

Dog owners are lonely irrational and unable to form social relationships 😂😂😂
I am definitely not lonely or socially inept. I live with a DH and DC. I work with some lovely colleagues. I walk my dog with different groups of dogs and their owners. Hell, I spent most of yesterday having lunch and some down time relaxing with several friends, some dog owners and some not.

The only people who could be seen as irrational are those who believe once a dog hits a rescue centre it should be put down- because, you know, they might bark on the other end of a lead or bounce up to someone, at some point, looking to play or just being friendly.

So, Blue, why did you say that you “much prefer dogs to people”?