Dog walker let dog put head in pram

[m4rdybum]

I have a 6 month old DD and she is now in her upright pram seat, so more exposed than the carry cot part.

This morning I was waiting for the bus when a man walking his dog approached (walking past on the path). The dog is what I would call a husky or a malamute so was quite large and was strapped to the man's waist. As they went to pass, dog stops and leans into the pram to sniff daughters face - I was just quick enough to put my hand there to block it.

Man gives a couple of half hearted pulls of the lead and does the whole, chuckling "come on you" thing. But dog doesnt budge - and man just stands there laughing.

I am clearly at this point showing the man I dont want his dog there and even say "off you go" to the dog. Eventually he tugs hard and off they walk.

IABU in that I didn't say anything directly to the man but honestly, I'm just seething that he didn't have more control over his dog or thought that it was okay to let his dog do that, no matter how friendly it may be at home.

Not sure if a PFB reaction though, as dog was only sniffing - IABU?

What a twat. Yes, any dog can cause harm, no matter what the besotted/neglectful owners want to believe. Sad but I guess you will have to take pre-emptive action next time you see a dog approaching, turn the pram or block with your body.

Wow! As the owner of a newfoundland (giant breed) who would do exactly this if he was allowed, I'm horrified. My dog is very friendly but I would never allow him to approach small children and certainly not go near a pram. This was not ok.

Yeah glad I'm not being too precious!

YANBU. Over many years of observation I have reluctantly come to the conclusion that many dog owners have a level of intelligence or common sense that is not much better than their dogs.

YANBU. The number of dog owners who do this is staggering. I physically turn the pram away when a dog approaches off the lead. 9 times out of 10 I get “Oh don’t worry, he’s friendly” or “He won’t hurt her”.
A) I don’t give a shit, I don’t want it to “say hello” and get it’s disgusting germs all over my baby and
B) There’s no way they can know for sure it won’t nip, they’re talking bullshit.
I’ve stopped engaging with the dog owners, if they so thick that they think it’s ok for their dog to do that, then they won’t understand if I try to explain it. So I just physically put myself between the dog and my baby, shoo them away and walk off.

Woah, that dog walker is totally out of order and I have 4 very large greyhounds who adore kids and babies. I would never allow them to do this.

You are definitely not being unreasonable. You don’t do that, as a dog owner!

Bizarre behaviour from dog owner, I have a dog (always have) know lots of people who have dogs, no one would do this, not acceptable at all

YANBU ...I didn’t even like people getting in close to my babies ...let alone big dogs.

OMG that is the height of stupidity by the dog owner! Your sweet baby girl was so freaking vulnerable! I'm hoping the dog owner has double leg cramps and explosive diarrhea simultaneously tonight!

YADNBU that would have made me very cross!! I'd be double sure next time to be assertive much faster and tell him to get the dog away (should it ever occur again which I doubt)

I feel very angry on your behalf. I always told my German Shepherd to lie down when we saw a pram approaching - he was a very large dog and (even though he was a well trained and good natured family pet) he could appear intimidating. Lots of the mums thanked me and said they wished all dog owners would do this as they had similar experiences to yours.

Some dog owners are complete idiots and arrogant to boot.

That is really bad and gives dog owners a bad name. I have two medium/small dogs and they are always kept on lead. Sometimes children come up and want to pet them as they look cute but I always make them sit down first, and tell them to shake their paw. We would never go near to babies in prams or pushchairs. He is a CF. YANBU OP.

YANBU and you know you aren’t so did this actually warrant a thread which you know will just turn into a slagging match between those who think all dogs should be exterminated and pet owners who call their pets fur babies?

Seriously what was the actual point when it’s obvious YWNBU? It just sounds like a klaxon to weirdos on both sides to me.

@Unfinishedkitchen wow sorry didn't mean to offend?

Many a time I have been told IABU on MN when I think I'm not. A lot of the time it's the PFB thing. It's sometimes good to get perspective on whether you're overreacting or not.

That was uncalled for @Unfinishedkitchen. Who turned you into the thread police?

a dog head must be terrifying to a baby, imagine that appearing in your face. i hagte the 'oh he doesnt bite' thing too. thats what they all say - before they bite. and even if it doesnt bite on that occasion, i dont want it physically touching me.

i dont think youre being unreasonable.

unfurnished she probably made a thread, like everyone else, because she wanted to talk about it. i think that's the point of this website.

mardy in the future i wouldn't try to engage with them, i'd just physically remove the baby and pram away from the dog as soon as you see it.

I've got a 5 month old puppy. When we got her, she would jump on people. Not in a nasty way...she's just friendly. We've been working on it, and now it's lessened to the point she only does it when people approach her for attention. However I have always been wary around babies/small children. I keep her away from them, if im in the park and she's off the leash I call her back if she's approaching them as I don't want her scaring them.

Sometimes a parent will ask if their child can pet her. I'm happy to, but will keep her on a short leash and warn the parent that sometimes she can be over friendly and the child needs to follow my instructions.

ps we're still working on her not jumping up at all, btw.

YANBU, my dog would happily get into every pram she sees but she's certainly not allowed and knows she has to stay well away! Sometimes people ask if their child can stroke her but I still make her sit down and I keep hold of her.

YANBU. I've had two similar incidents which has made me mistrust any dog owner now. First was an English bull terrier approaching us in the park (me, 2 year old and baby in pram)- I told 2 year old to stand between me and the pram and called out to the group of dog owners nearby to ask whoever's dog it was to come get their dog. A man shouted back- "don't worry, he's friendly". By this point the dog had jumped up with its front paws on the carricot to look inside. I shouted that he come get his dog immediately- he reluctantly came and told me I shouldn't be in the park anyway as it was dog walking time. I'm terrified of dogs myself and don't get how some dog owners assume that everyone likes their pet and will take a strangers word that their pet is friendly.

Second incident was a woman's dog jumping on and knocking over my 2 year old DD twice (She didn't put it on the lead after the first time). DD was distraught understandably but the woman refused to apologise, wouldn't talk to me and kept on trying to address my sobbing DD to tell her that the dog was only playing and knocked DD over because it liked her. By this point my DD was too scared to walk having been knocked over twice so I had to carry DD home (didn't bring the pram as she's used to walking that distance) on a 10 minute walk while 7 months pregnant.

Now as soon as any dog comes within 10 metres of my children I start shouting at its owners- which makes me look crazy but I'd rather that than take the risk.

Oops that was an essay sorry.

I think as part of being a responsible dog owner, you need to ensure others (including children) do not feel threatened or scared by your dog. The other day she approached two teenage girls who were clearly scared, i immediately grabbed her lead before she got to them (the lead was on but I'd let go of it to let her run round the park) apologised to the girls and took her to a different part of the park and distracted her with her ball.

Yanbu. I have come across this a lot and it is so rude.

Just the other day a huge dog, I think an Alsatian came running over to my pram. The owner was nowhere to be seen. The dog jumped all over my 6 month old, sniffing him. I am nervous of dogs, especially ones I don’t know around my children so I gently moved the dog off the pram and it then went for my 2 year old, jumped up at him, knocked him over and started sniffing him. I ended up having to pick the toddler up, while getting the dog away from my pram as it had gone back for the baby. The owner then approached, no apology whatsoever and just called the dog away.

Things like this are a pretty regular occurrence. Usually I get a ‘don’t worry he’s friendly’. I don’t care if the dog is being friendly I don’t want them jumping all over my children and if they can’t stop themselves they should be on a lead.

The owner is an idiot.