To expect parents to teach their little children not to approach my dog?

[joystir59]

It happens all the time- young child screams "Little doggie" and reaches towards Dog with outstretched hands. My dog hates little children doing this and would probably snap at them if they managed to actually get their hands on him. Why don't parents teach their children to ignore strange dogs?

Man. I have twins. When they were toddlers, like the average toddler, they had poor impulse control and were surprisingly fast on their feet. I did try reins on them but they tended to cross over them and fall over. So whenever they were anywhere where there might be something dangerous, I had to put them in the buggy. Everywhere I walked to, they were in the buggy. They stayed in the buggy at the supermarket, in the shops, in the bloody library (automatic doors only, they had a free run from the kids' area to the busy road outside and the escalators), the doctor's - basically everywhere they went in their small lives except the children's centre and, sometimes, the park. I used to worry that they were getting too little exercise and they wouldn't learn to walk and run. Apparently what I should have been worrying about was whether they pissed off someone's dog.

Dogs in public can fuck off as far as I'm concerned.

You sound delightful, I was nearly knocked over by a jogger running behind and overtaking me. Joggers in public can fuck right off and should be banned

I also wonder how those who rely on assistance dogs would manage, seeing as dogs need to fuck off from public life.

Yet again its the dog owner's fault. kids come bounding over wanting to stroke the dog and not asking, therefore scaring the dog which could get a nervous reaction or warning. If the child took the time to ask, they would then be approaching calmly and there wouldn't be any issues. Dog owners can't avoid children, they're literally fucking everywhere, Parks, roads, towns, dog walking paths???.
Cut us some slack that actually it's not always the dog that is the problem, sometimes it is actually the kids.

My dog is terrified of children (due to being on the streets for a while and tormented/hurt by them). She is otherwise a very sweet, well behaved dog. There is no way she will ever get over her fear of them now (and also footballs, that were clearly kicked at her when she was a stray). Whenever there are children approaching on our walk, she goes on the lead (she is very happy about this as it makes her feel safer) and most of the time it is OK and we can walk past them without them coming over to her. Some children do ask first and I explain that she is scared and it is not safe for them to pet her and tell them about her background and thank them for asking. Then there are small children who gravitate towards her whilst parents make no attempt to stop them and we have to keep moving further and further off the path to keep away from them. There are also people who don't think there is something unsafe about letting their children run shrieking past a dog on the lead whilst waving a stick in the air. My dog shakes and shrinks away but if they got within close touching distance she would assume that they intended to hurt both her and me and would snarl and snap at them.

YANBU OP.

If a parent doesn’t ensure their child doesn’t run up to any dog whether strange or known to them, they’re a fucking idiot.

What I have noticed on this thread, is that parents of small children seem quite willing to accept that their children need supervision around dogs, have already laid down ground rules and etiquette and if they haven’t already, have accepted that they might need to.

The dog owners have said, it’s only a lick, I won’t muzzle, dogs have a right to exist, kids always touching my dog, keep your child away from us, he wouldn’t actually hurt anyone etc. The extreme reactions have all come from dog owners.

I think there does need to be more acceptance among dog owners that if you aren’t going to bother to train them to recall properly, then you are the problem.

If a parent doesn’t ensure their child doesn’t run up to any dog whether strange or known to them, they’re a fucking idiot.

And there you go. If your dog comes over to my picnic and helps himself/comes over to my baby and licks it/jumps on my toddlers back then I’m not the idiot here.

And there you go. If your dog comes over to my picnic and helps himself/comes over to my baby and licks it/jumps on my toddlers back then I’m not the idiot here

I don’t have a dog. I am the parent of a child who has been taught not to approach dogs without asking.

These threads are always the same just because some Dog owners are irresponsible does NOT mean that some parents aren’t fucking idiots.

So the dog owner is just irresponsible but the parent is a fucking idiot for the same behaviour ie not controlling their charge properly.

if your dog comes over to my picnic and helps himself/comes over to my baby and licks it/jumps on my toddlers back then I’m not the idiot here.

I agree, but I also agree with this:

If a parent doesn’t ensure their child doesn’t run up to any dog whether strange or known to them, they’re a fucking idiot

To me the dog doesn't need to be muzzled. It's like letting a toddler run up behind a horse and complaining if they get kicked. If the dog is on a lead and you let your child run up and poke/prod/annoy dog without asking then on your own head if they get bitten

So the dog owner is just irresponsible but the parent is a fucking idiot for the same behaviour ie not controlling their charge properly

You clearly don’t understand.

Countless people have responded to the OP saying “but what about dog owners who don’t control their dogs”.

This ISN’T about that. This is saying parents are unreasonable who allow their kids to run up to dogs that are on leash.

I don’t know how to make it any simpler

If you allow your child to approach any unpredictable animal, especially ones they don’t know then yes, you’re a fucking idiot. YOU can control your child, you cannot control an animal that isn’t yours.

And there you go. If your dog comes over to my picnic and helps himself/comes over to my baby and licks it/jumps on my toddlers back then I’m not the idiot here.

Yes, the dog owner is the irresponsible idiot in these scenarios. That doesn't change the fact that a parent who allows their child to approach strange dogs is also an irresponsible idiot.

That’s what I’m saying, everyone is complaining about the other persons behaviour and not looking at their own which is the exact same behaviour.

1. Control your dog
2. Control your child

Everyone gets along.

But if it’s a dog/dog owner being a bastard everyone on here is quick to minimise.
If it’s a child, people are chanting “fucking idiots” around the place.

*1. Control your dog

1. Control your child

Everyone gets along*

Why does the OP need to look at her own behaviour. She is doing 1, she is complaining about people NOT doing 2.

The only person you can rely on in a potential situation with unpredictable animals is yourself. If as a parent you choose to allow your kid to take the risk, more fool you.

Yanbu OP but whenever I tell my DS he's not to approach strange dogs and to say hello and ask the owner of he can pet the dog I get looked at like I'm bat shit crazy...

Because there could equally be a thread about OP or any dog owner letting their dog jump all over someone/lick their baby/eat their picnic. There are countless comments on here about dogs misbehaving. Very few call the owners fucking idiots. Yet most of the ones attacking parents use language like yours against people expressing the same behaviour. If you are going to start calling people names, then at least be consistent.

My dog has a perfect recall and wouldn't say boo to a goose however if a child was coming screaming and shouting 'DOGGY' to them and he got scared and gave a warning growl to say he didn't like it, no way would i tell my dog off. Just goes to show how kids can never do no wrong in some parent's eyes. We, the dog owners are the devil in disguise.

Because there could equally be a thread about OP or any dog owner letting their dog jump all over someone/lick their baby/eat their picnic. There are countless comments on here about dogs misbehaving. Very few call the owners fucking idiots. Yet most of the ones attacking parents use language like yours against people expressing the same behaviour. If you are going to start calling people names, then at least be consistent

Top tip, respond to the thread you’re on. It’s so much easier rather than creating imaginary situations to try and negate your parental responsibility.

MN isn’t a homogenous mass. It’s pointless using other threads as some kind of comparison unless you’re sure that it’s exactly the same people who respond.

I have young children who know not to approach dogs without asking. When they were too young to understand, they weren’t given the opportunity to approach without asking - just like not allowing them to run out onto the road. It’s not hard.

But if it’s a dog/dog owner being a bastard everyone on here is quick to minimise.
If it’s a child, people are chanting “fucking idiots” around the place.

The only instance I've seen on here is a dog's behaviour being minimised is the that one granny who kicked a dog for licking. You're clearly reading a very different thread because the vast vast majority of dog owners on here are basically saying 'if my dog is leashed and under my control, don't let your children disturb/grab/manhandle it'. There have been a number of posters saying that dogs shouldn't be in public/every dog should be muzzled/I'd kick a dog if it licked my baby so the picture you're trying to paint of tolerant and nice parents vs aggressive and intolerant dog owners is not quite accurate.

The only instance I've seen on here where a dog's behaviour has been minimised is in response to that one granny*

Well the comments are on this thread so I am responding to the thread im on. I’m pointing out the inconsistency of the attitudes to the same thing dependant on whether it’s dog parent or child parent.

If one is a fucking idiot, the other one must also be a fucking idiot. Yet a lot of posters on this thread have minisimed a dog being out of control whilst throwing insults at parents with children who are out control.

How about we all accept both dogs and children both need to give each other respectful distance and stop calling each other fucking idiots.

Depends really on whether you think I’m unreasonable to be immensely irritated by the dog owners that allow their dogs to run at my three year old on a playing field and then say oh it’s ok he’s a nice dog. Doesn’t stop my child being terrified of them...also doesn’t stop the dog having an off day and snapping.

I grew up with dogs, you are right that even if they’re nice they’re still animals with instincts that mean they might bite in a given situation. I would never allow him to just let even a dog if someone we know well if he’s never interacted with the dog before.