children that are firghtened of dogs and how i find some parents are encouraging their fear

[haychee]

I have 2 medium to large dogs and i get so cross when i come accross children that just lose the plot if the dogs go near them. I can understand that they are frightened and i call the dogs away from the child instantly. But what makes me cross is the parents responses, "that dog should be on a lead" or i just get looks that could kill you dead. My arguement is, that if the child is that frightened then why would you take him or her to a place where dogs are everywhere in a dog walking area. Why do parents encourage their childrens fear by making these comments? what good does it do for the child? I actually saw one mother once who picked her child up every time the dog was anywhere close (like 4-5meters away). The child got increasingly anxious and the mother ended up having a go at me. I know and fully appreciate that some dogs are dangerous but mine arent and i think that when parents react like this infront of their children the message they are displaying is that its ok to be this frightened of dogs.

My daughter was once frightened of thunder so i purposely sat up with her watching a storm and saying things like "wow, that one was very loud" and " cor, look at that lightening isnt it beautiful". Because of this time i spent with her and the way we watched it together has dulled her fear - infact she gets quite excited if there is a storm brewing now.
Any one else feel the same or can understand where im coming from? or maybe your one of these types of parents that react like this? I would like to discuss the issue if anyone has any comments?

Well I got annoyed with the Haychee trolling about halfway up the thread but just wanted to agree with what UnquietDad said about children being fenced in and dogs roaming free. Haychee said that if children were scared of dogs then they should be taken where dogs are not allowed. Seriously?

Haychee do you even have any children?

Or common sense?

Your dog should be on a lead. You seem to be implying that it is the children that should be.

furthermore im not dictating to any of you and how you should raise your kids at all, or in the slightest!
I wish there wasnt so many bad dog owners around because it seems we are all tarred with the same brush now and that is very unfair. I take my dog ownership very seriously and it really annoys me that those people who have had bad experiences expect all dog owners to be the same because it is so not the case.

haychee taking her dogs for a walk

your opening post suggests otherwise!

mine are not jitteryor neurotic. Very calm and placid actually.

I do not mean that kids should be kept on a leash. I was trying to say that there are several parks in my area some dog friendly and some not. I do not take my dogs where they are not allowed - so why do parents who have kids that are frightened of dogs insist on taking them into a place where dogs are abundant and running around off their leads. If my child was that frightened of something i wouldnt take them into a place such as this if i knew they were going to have a horrible time.

but they shouldnt expect a horrible time, they should be able toe xpect people to control their dogs, like a said a park is a public place and if a dog is going to run to kids it should be kept on a lead!

I'm kinda of going to ignore Haychee, cos in refusing to put her dogs on a lead in a public park I think she is not facing the facts of what responsible dog ownership is these days.

On the other hand, I do think it's helpful to educate children about what to do around dogs, and to teach a fear response is actually dangerous. It's analogous to cars: no-one should be allowed to drive a car without being completely in control, but on the other hand, it is sensible to educate children about how to be safe with roads. Things like: don't run up to dogs you don't know, even if on the leash, stand still and quiet if approached by a dog, if you see a strang dog loose don't approach it, tell a grown up.

I've been to several nurseries and schools to pass on the American Kennel Club's code of safe conduct around Dogs, and it's amazing how few children have any contact with dogs these days. If we don't tell them how to be safe, who will?

mine dont "run" around kids they lollop around, trot and sniff.

sorry didnt realise 'lollop'(??) and trot were totally different to running around? silly me!

dd1 is terrified of dogs, if she sees one off a lead she will go insane with fear, I have to abandon everything and hold her in my arms until the dog is put on a lead or physically removed from her.

I've never lost my temper at the dog owners for this, as generally they can see a toddler is scared and call their dog back. I do get pissed off at owners who stand there bellowing, 'it's Ok he's harmless' and doing nothing to call off their dog, when my terrified dd is being accosted by a slobering dog and is obviously petrified by it.

dd2 otoh will try and kiss and cuddle the most vicious looking of dogs because she seems to be of the opnion that they are cute and fluffy...even when I'm not of this opinion

I actually think there is a big difference between lollop and trot I can see what she means.

??..can you?, i dont know this 'dog moving' terminolgy?

I meant between that and 'run'

Fuzzywuzzy that's awful . Does it happen often?

I'm wondering if there's anything you can give her that will give her just a little more confidence The pure terror thing is, sadly, likely to make dogs curious, which is probably the last thing you want. Is there anyway you can just get her to stand still for a little while until the dog wanders off?

Ah, PinkChick, were you ever into ponies when you were little? Cos it's basically trot/canter/gallop for dogs...

Am scared of dogs, trying not to pass that on to DS's.
Firmly believe that owners should have dogs on leads at all times.
Let them run round your own garden sh*tting everywhere

..no gizmo, sadley not..we had dogs..no really we did

Small dogs don't seem to do the canter/lollop thing: they're just too stumpy and tend to zoom straight from trot to flat out gallop.

I do think all hildren should be educated ti be respectful of these animals though,
I have said many times in this debate I think there are places for dogs o run which they have to do if this means taking them further afield that is my responsibility as a dog owner

I hate dog poo as I have also said and I dont like my childen to go up to strange dogs

But if you pulled a dogs tail or bit it as sugested earlier you cant vouch for its behaviour

Dogs have teeth end of 3rd old children bite sometimes so do Dogs but cause more damage therefore IMO its better to be safe than sorry

I have never been told off about my dog or asked to leash it I think its fairly easy to spot a frightened child so the dog goes back on a lead till we are away from them even in a dog walking park

Childrens saftey has to be paramount and this comes from someone who adores her dog

our first dog used to do mainly
Eat sleep fartsleep
..he loved his belly scarached and couldnt be done with children or fuss..our last two(both died now) where great big marshmallows but terrifying to look at and IMO they bounded..is that a term?..if you saw them coming it was like a bulldozer!, hence never leting them run off in park

Agreed Peanutbear. I don't actually have a dog at the moment and this is largely because I think it's difficult to give them sufficient exercise in an urban area and be safe with children.

It's very sad: in a way it perpetuates the problem, since the fewer positive experiences children have with dogs, the more likely they are to have fears when they get older and the fear brings calls for more stringent controls over dogs.

Oh bollocks to on leads at all times Lizzylou. That's facist.

There is nothing wrong with a dog off lead in woodland or forest land, where the following conditions apply:
*the dog is placid and obedient and doesn't run up to / leap at strangers
*the dog owner calls the dog to heel when other people approach (showing consideration to those with dog phobia)

QED

But public parks HMC? In town?

Where stand you on that? Eh?