AIBU about dog at the park?

[atthepark]

Was at the park tonight with my dd6 who has asd. She was playing in the play park that is fenced off with a gate when a Labrador came running in the park towards her. This caused my dd to start screaming and running away. The dogs owner made no attempt to get the dog and I asked her to put the dog on a lead and keep control of it. The woman then started shouting at me saying My daughter was out of control and my daughter should be locked up if that's how she is going to react to a friendly dog approaching her. I tried to explain that my dd has asd and has a fear of dogs but she was not listening.
I am still shaking up by this even though it happened hours ago so was IBU asking to put her dog on a lead?

Both children and dogs need to be trained.
A dog jumping up at my 3 year old great nephew and knocking him over resulted in him becoming hysterical everytime a dog was within 10 feet of him. Fortunately with a lot of hard work by his DM and various calm dogs that belonged to various friends and family he has largely got over it.
I am heartened when I take DS's dog out at the number of DC's who ask if they can stroke her, is she friendly etc. The dog and the Dc's both benefit from the interaction.
Dogs and children should never be foisted on one another!

Dog owners are by and large idiots.

'but, my dog's friendly, guv...' I hear this once a day at the park.

Just put your dog on a lead and keep it away from me. Ta.

Thanks. I'll just take my thick self off to the park, see how many small children my puppy can scare the shit out of... should get quite a few on a Sunday... might eventually have the park to ourselves!

I get frustrated with the "you need to teach your kid not to be afraid of dogs" when I ask someone to please control their dog as it's running up to and/or jumping on my dc. My dc is autistic - god knows, I've tried to get him over his fear of dogs but when you have many many dog owners in the park that do not control their dogs and he gets chased and jumped upon by those dogs, it only makes it worse.

I was told by one person that we should go into the "No Dogs Allowed" area of the park, because she claimed dogs were allowed to roam loose in the rest of the park. No, they're not. They are still supposed to be "in control" and not running up to children.

@Redsheep - are you serious?

The dog owner should always be able to recall the dog in a childrens area / park, or else the dog should be on a lead.

I have a Labrador - he's entirely soppy but extremely bouncy. He's always on a lead or long lead, and I hold his harness if I spot a runner or child in the distance.

It's the dog owners responsibility to be aware and vigilant.

Dog owners are by and large idiots.

Nothing like a ridiculous sweeping statement to move a discussion along.

@HarryElephante 🤫🤫🤫

Wow. I may just have to Advance Search you to see if you have any other gems to share...

(Most) Labradors are a bloody nightmare in these scenarios. Massive, heavy, over-exuberant. I'd never take one to a park with kids because of this.

Good look finding a park without kids, Gummybear.

Our cities are getting overcrowded, we all have to share, adults, children and dogs. We all need good manners to avoid frustration.

What I meant to say is "to a park with kids off lead"

But kids are always off the lead...

Sadly, in some cases.

They should be muzzled in public. Dog parks need to be more common, so they can be banned from public parks.
Seriously? How ridiculous, dogs have to be banned from parks, I’d rather the screaming spoiled brats were.
The PP moaning about dogs because she wants to lie on the grass but is allergic to dogs; you are beyond unreasonable. Why should one section of society be banned from an activity because your kids/you don’t like them?

Dog owner here.

My dog has been off the lead a few times and run up to people. He has zero malice in him but loves a fuss and immediately forgets all the recall he's been taught when he catches sight of another person/dog.

The answer is to keep him on a lead at all times. I learnt this the hard way.

The woman was wrong for having her dog off the lead in a public place if she can't control it. She was doubly wrong to blame you. I'm sorry this happened to you and your dd.

I have a very excitable lab and he is never off lead, as the bugger never comes back lol. If anything i take him up the hills where there is hardly any people about.

YANBU. Dogs should be banned from parks and public spaces.

@starzig
Public spaces are for everyone, not just children, that’s a very narrow view.
Stop being so bloody precious and expecting the world to revolve round your bigoted opinions.

Dogs should be banned from parks and public spaces.

Bollocks to that!

When I was a child, dogs were roaming free everywhere. Parks, streets, woods and beaches. Sometimes with their owners, sometimes not.
Lots of strays, lots of dogshit.
That doesn’t happen so much now, the laws changed mostly because many dog owners were arses and many dogs misbehaved. The laws are going to continue to get tougher.

YANBU. Dogs should be banned from parks and public spaces.

As someone who nervous around dogs I think this is a ridiculous statement 🙄 It’s only a minority of owners who are irresponsible so it’s grossly unfair to tar them all with the same brush.

I live next to a park and whilst most dog owners are relatively reasonable, it only takes one to ruin it for everyone. One dog shit in the middle of the park is enough to ruin a trip out for most people, one dog running up to my 3-year-old is too many.

I am allergic to dogs and the number of times I simply come out of my front door and have an over-excited, poorly trained dog rush up to me in my own driveway is astonishing and it's hugely irritating. Trying to keep a dog who is towering over my youngest away without condemning myself to a week of cracked bleeding hands is hard. There is always some oblivious idiot trilling 'he loves children - he won't bite' which is the absolute bare fucking minimum I expect from a dog anyway, and it doesn't help when we both just want to not be bothered by them.

My previously dog-loving child is now nervous of strange dogs after a few too many times being chased around by a poorly controlled dog frolicking around the woods with their owners nowhere in sight. There are plenty of considerate dog-owners around but it's hard to remember that when you're confronted with so many others just making excuses instead of taking action.

My DD is a neurotypical 5 yr old who happens to be wary around dogs. Given the average Labrador is the same height as her I think it's perfectly reasonable to be scared if one she doesn't know comes running up to her. I'd be fucking terrified if a 5 foot 8 slobbering beast with sharp teeth came bounding up to me.

Dog owners need to control their dogs, if they cannot be recalled immediately they should not be off lead.

In a normal park then no the dog owner was out of line. At a dog park, well what do you expect? And to be honest I find it irritating when children start screaming about a dog that isn’t even near them. You need to get children used to dogs. But in your instance your child has asd of course that is going to be challenging and the owner should have been more understanding.

@SuzieQQQ the dog was near my daughter that's when she started screaming when he was chasing her. It was a play park with swings and a slide so I don't think a dog should be in it.
My aibu wasn't about the dog being in the park it was about was aibu by asking the owner to put the dog on a lead and keep it under control she tried to call him back but he was too busy chasing my daughter.

It’s not this difficult surely?

I have a child and a dog. . The child isn’t allowed to go off being a hooligan, trespassing etc. The dog is always under control and not bothering anyone else. End of. That’s my duty as a parent and pet owner.

I don’t like other people’s children/dogs acting like arseholes, being irritating, disruptive, intimidating etc.

So if you think it’s ok for your kids/dogs to do as they like, I guarantee you’re the problem. Not the people with allergies, phobias, or other concerns. It’s you.