Dog barked at my child

[Kitchendrama1]

We were at the park and two year old was having a moment so sat down on the pavement. Dog came over and barked at him. Dog went away. It felt ok and I was looking out.

We started to do a lap of the oval and big again started to stare and bark from us at a distance and wasn’t looking at the other dog he was playing with, or his owner. Dog was getting closer (but also stopped). I grabbed kid and went.

Was the kid in danger?

[TomFuckery]

@MeredithGreyishblue

When the dog eventually came to her and I scoped up the child in my arms and walked away in the opposite direction and occasionally looking back (not walking too fast and not making eye contact).

Oh bless you. I'm howling at this. Do not look the dog in the eye and do not run!

Was it the enormous dog guarding the Philosopher's Stone? Such dramatics.

Lmao

[LetItBe80]

@MeredithGreyishblue

When the dog eventually came to her and I scoped up the child in my arms and walked away in the opposite direction and occasionally looking back (not walking too fast and not making eye contact).

Oh bless you. I'm howling at this. Do not look the dog in the eye and do not run!

Was it the enormous dog guarding the Philosopher's Stone? Such dramatics.

Philosophers Stone 😂

[Mumontour85]

I dont think it's it's case of being unreasonable, I think it's parental instinct and keeping your little one safe.
My only thought is please don't raise a child with your fears! I have a friend that is terrified of dogs and will grab her daughter and run at the very sight of one, now her daughter thinks every dog is an absolute monster and is also terrified of them. Makes me really sad.

[sgtmajormum]

As a dog owner, it's difficult to read the situation without seeing the dogs body language as their signals are very subtle.
However my dog will bark to get me to cheer up his best buddy (my son) if he is crying/having a meltdown. They can sense something not right.
I doubt your child was in danger but we have gut instincts for a reason.

[Ckzoaa]

My dog will bark at any human that's sat or laid on the floor I think it's because he can't understand why we are doing it as we're usually stood up or sat down, he gets quite upset like he thinks there's something wrong with you and that's why you're down there.

[Daphnise]

If you learn to control your child in public, dogs would probably not bark at it when it screams!

[Saoirse82]

@picklemewalnuts

My dog is fascinated by anything 'different'. Also by toddlers, who he has learned may well have jam all over their face. I put him on his lead when we see toddlers, because he may well want to wash them, or persuade them that dogs are more fun to feed than ducks.

He's fascinated/scared by carrier bags blowing across a field, snowmen...

Most memorably a woman taking a very weird square dog for a walk- also known as 'pulling a suitcase'.

Dogs stare because they are nosy, and their mother never told them it's rude.

[Angie1403]

So theirs some psychology at play here: dogs are pack animals & it may be that the dog has kids in its family. Dogs see their family as their pack & will assume a high position in the pack if not directed otherwise by the owner/someone in the household. Many dogs often place themselves above children in a family pack because they understand that the kids are smaller/weaker/need protected. Some breeds more than others are considered good family dogs because they are protective or good with kids (not always the same thing!)

As your child was having a wee moment, the dog was probably telling DC to shut up! I doubt very much that your DC was in any danger but you were right to be prudent since you don't know the dog. The presumption is that female dogs, especially those that have had a litter are more prone to this parenting moderating style behaviour but I think that is a myth. With all of our dogs over the years, we had our DC feed our dogs (safely demonstrated & monitored in the early years) on a regular basis to establish & maintain a the preferred pecking order in our family pack. We also made an effort to have it appear to the dog that DC were holding the lead on walks as well as trained the DC in dog recall, sit, stay etc. to promote a safe & happy environment for both our DC & the dog. Well raised dogs & kids brought up to respect/understand animals are a joy IMHO

[Angie1403]

@Ckzoaa

My dog will bark at any human that's sat or laid on the floor I think it's because he can't understand why we are doing it as we're usually stood up or sat down, he gets quite upset like he thinks there's something wrong with you and that's why you're down there.

He may think you are hurt; it makes them anxious given their pack mentality

[Angie1403]

@Ckzoaa. he may think you are hurt, it makes dogs quite anxious to think their 'pack member' is not ok

[Ckzoaa]

[quote Angie1403]@Ckzoaa. he may think you are hurt, it makes dogs quite anxious to think their 'pack member' is not ok[/quote]
Yes I thought that he may be worried we're hurt too! He is very loving towards us so it seemed to make sense that he is afraid there is something wrong. At least someone loves me

[Angie1403]

@ERFFER

Oh dear OP
You would’ve probably felt better about it all if the dog owners had come and retrieved their dog with an “oops!sorry! C’’Mom doggy!”
Dog should respond when called. There is no argument here.
I work with dogs and I dislike dogs off the lead because nowadays, about 10 % are actually trained eyeroll I also dislike dogs barking at me /DC too.
We should have “dog parks” like in USA. There’s one huge one in my local one , where the dogs are free to run about …
But the other side of the park is a shit show. Im always seeing near -miss’s between dogs

We’re trying to overturn a breed specific ban in the U.K. right now - are we going to then ban the morons that OWN the breeds instead? From what I’ve seen - NO ! Keep it. There’ll always be idiots owners of large and small dogs - but you probably won’t be savaged to death by little bugger Jack Russell …

@erffer as an ex postie, I can vouch for the fact that its the little ones you have to watch out for! Jack Russells & spaniels of all things were the absolute bane of my life. Folks forget that no matter the breed, its still over 90% wolf genes so stop seeing Chihuahua & start seeing chupacabra! In my defence, I love dogs, always had them & for me, a house without one isn't a home. Its the parents I blame...

[nannykatherine]

You felt uncomfortable so protected your child
Normal behaviour

[TiredAlreadyOhDear]

Sounds like a dog just barked in a park - not sure why this is even a thread if I’m honest!

[Regularsizedrudy]

How the hell have we got 14 pages from dog barks in park?!

[Doginthepark2021]

Woof

[ChardonnaysPetDragon]

Bad dog!

[CandidaAlbicans2]

@TiredAlreadyOhDear

Sounds like a dog just barked in a park - not sure why this is even a thread if I’m honest!

OP said the "dog came over and barked at him", so it wasn't just a dog barking at nothing/at another dog/at its owner, it was directed at her child. I don't know about you but I don't like dogs I don't know coming up to me and barking (unless it's very obviously a play bark, and even then I don't appreciate out of control dogs). And I say that as a huge dog lover who's had large guarding breeds.

[DebHagland]

Dogs bark for a whole range of reasons. It is a means of communication, (the equivalent of you talking). A bark can be a friendly hello, a do you want to play, it can mean they are unsure and want their owners reassurance, it can be a warning to stay away. It is about the pitch of the bark and the dogs body language as well. A high pitched bark, tail wagging, bouncing up and down or crouching with forearms on the ground but with backside in the air are all invitations to play. Barking while cowering or restless, tail between legs, looking away, are signs of a nervous dog, the bark is a warning to stay away. A very deep low bark with a growl is a very definite warning to stay away.

[EmbarrassingMama]

Can you report it and get him put down?

[TiredAlreadyOhDear]

From reading the thread the dog was meters from her so I wouldn’t say out of control…in fact the point that it didn’t go further upto her or her child shows it was probs very under control 😂

I would say usually responsible dog owners wouldn’t have a dog off the lead if they didn’t have control over their dog…..it just reads a bit like a mountain out of a mole hill - a dog barked - I’m not really sure of the issue. Like other people have said maybe explaining how it was barking might help - if it was growling showing teeth being aggressive yeah I get it - but could have been a pup play barking.

[Jayne35]

How the hell have we got 14 pages from dog barks in park?!

So this. Dogs bark - doesn’t always mean aggression. I wouldn’t worry about it OP. Our spaniel barks all the time, for attention.

[Ibelieveinghosts]

Wow-dogs bark to communicate. To get the meaning you would need to look at the body language of the dog. If you educAted yourself you would know the difference between I’m worried,oh that’s different wanna play? I’m going to attack ( much more likely to be a growl in any case).

[sashh]

@Regularsizedrudy

How the hell have we got 14 pages from dog barks in park?!

Because there are some hilarious answers and comment.

MN HQ please can this go in classics?

[WTF475878237NC]

My previous dog would have potentially bitten the child. He used to get close to toddlers basically anyone smaller than him and bark a warning for them to stop whatever they were doing. He hated it when children sat down and made any noise at all. Like it threatened him somehow. People used to tell me not to worry because it was a little dog cute etc. I always kept him on a lead because I felt that if his "stop that" warning went unheeded he'd bite eventually out of fear. But others might have ignored this feeling.