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?

Sorry Fillydora but I am at the idea of viscous dogs!!

dogs savage and kill children
even dogs whose owners swear they would never do anything like that

responsible parents need to discourage their children from going near dogs unless they know them well and it is naive to expect that parents will be able to accurately asses whether your dogs are dangerous

How to make a viscous dog

A friend of mine was about 4 years old when she was playing in a park. She ran after a ball during a game of catch with her parents. A dog in the park thought that this was a "game" for him too and proceeded to bite the crap out of her arm as she had reached the ball before the dog. She has horrendous scarring on that arm.

Therefore YABU.

Ah, now I have read the rest of the thread.

My ds1 and ds2 were really affected by a bad dog experience last summer when we were in an open space and a dog came running up and chased one then the other - this went on for at least a minute before the owner lazed over and took his dog. He did not apologise. A minute is a very long time in a situation like this.
Yes, they did scream and run. What would you do if you were being chased by an animal that frightens you?

My sons are still scared of dogs. They know that some dogs are nice but unknown dogs terrify them.

quiet withdrawal or cautious approach are both good ways to teach children to behave around dogs. Running and screaming either in delight or terror are not

WHY is it that EVERY dog owner is 100% positive that their dog will NEVER hurt ANYONE until they DO

They dont
why do you have to tar everyone with the same brush

not every one who has a dog is an irresonsible moron who doesnt understand young children and dog dont always mix and isnt aware of the dangers of having a pet with teeth

It's not true that all dog owners claim their dogs would never hurt anyone.

Responsible dog owners know that there is a tiny possiblity that they would, and take appropriate precautions.

thank you peanutbear
hysterical responses have never made for an intelligent debate IMO

oops, crossposted with peanutbutter

oh a bit of a tangent i had someone ask me a few weeks ago if i was happy to leave dd/ds in the room alone with my mums dogs, to which i replied yes, and she was distinctly surprised! i trust my mums dogs, they stay out the kids way and if the kids get too close they move off. if there was any incling (sp?) of them ever not being happy with what the kids do then i wouldn't have left them there!

Naughtymummy, 3yo do not understand about withdrawing quietly. if they see a huge bounding dog with fangs, they naturally start screaming.

KerryMubbledore (love the name btw), I have to disgree when you say 'WHY is it that EVERY dog owner is 100% positive that their dog will NEVER hurt ANYONE until they DO!'

I am a dog owner with two dogs, and I am in no doubt what so ever that any dog, even mine, CAN turn. ALL dogs, no matter how well trained and how placid can turn
Please do not tar all dog owners with the same brush.

I do agree that dogs should be kept on leads in public places. That is why my dogs only ever come off their leads in specific dog walking allocated areas. This is something our council have done. If there were not any of these dogs walking area in the twn where I live, my dogs would ALWAYS be on a lead when in a public place.

Oh and I always scoop the poop, as it is mine and my Dh's responsiblity, we chose to have dogs and we clean up after them.

NOT ALL DOG OWNERS ARE IRRISPONSIBLE.

I have just seen this thread,am at the OP .
My DD is absolutley terrified of dogs ,to the point we have real difficulty just walking down the village where we live as she worries we might see one!
I think all dogs should be on leads in public places as there is no 100% guarantee that they will not do anything wrong.
I try to assure my Dd that she will be ok ,but its hard when she goes from the footpath to my shoulder in one jump.
Sorry if I am upsetting all you dog owners ,but My first thought is for my child.

Have to say I agree with Goodgollymissmolly that if an area of the park HAS been designated as being for dog walking that its unreasonable to expect that there will not be dogs in it. I would not go to this area of the park - I would go to another area where this was not the case.

Its the same argument almost everyone else on here is making that if the park is not for this purpose (and most are not) that dogs should be on leads to protect the children playing there.

To get in a strop because dogs are off leads in dog walking areas is as unreasonable as the dog owners who think its fine for their dogs to rampage through publiuc parks frightening small children

FillydoraTonks
You are being totally unreasonable!
Ive said (you probobly didnt read thorugh fully) I do take mt dogs away or put them on the lead as soon as i think someone is frightened. I go to frequent training classes so i know i can control my dogs. They are highly trained, they chase children because they are playing, that is what my kids have taught them to do at home.
Have them put down? honestly! They have never jumped up, they have never harrassed anyone, as soon as i notice any signs of fear from anyone else at the park i am responsible and take them away or put them on the lead. Why should i put them down??
They are not vicious! The word vicous was used in the phrase vicous circle that was all! I suggest you read the posts fully before telling me to have my dogs put down!

But you said you get into a vicious cycle of chasing, screaming and running

And then you said you call them back immediately and keep them under control

Am I being thick here, or are these two things mutually exclusive?