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?

[BeagleBeagled]

Nothing happened.

[FanFckingTastic]

I don't understand why this is an issue? Dog in park looks at people and barks at them, but nothing actually happens. I've not yet had my quota of caffeine so it maybe that I need some more coffee to wake up my brain, but I can't see why this would be a particular concern.

Some dog breeds are particularly bark-y. Mine is - she's a gobby wotsit and likes to tell us all about it :-)

[Holskey]

My dog doesn't bark often but does sometimes at strangers in our house. Not aggressive at all. Most dogs aren't. However, I would never let him off lead in a public place (we have a big garden for him to roam free). Dogs can be very intimidating and I don't think it's fair to frighten children. I don't think any dog should be off lead unless it has perfect recall and won't approach people (and very few dogs meet this criteria).

[ModerateOven]

Dog body language says staring is a very bad sign. It's very aggressive

Yes, I know the feeling the OP describes. I often walk the local footpaths through fields and regularly come across off lead dogs and their owners. I'm a little bit afraid of strange dogs but they usually don't bother me if they're just sniffing about and doing what dogs do.

Very occasionally I've seen a dog in the far distance which, when it clocks me, sort of freezes in position and stares And doesn't move, even after I've looked away and looked back. There it is, locked in position,, just staring. It's very unnerving. There's a tension which is almost tangible. Like a cat waiting to pounce.

I'm sure my gut feeling is correct because I meet a lot of dogs on my travels and am quite able to ignore them even if they don't always ignore me, they jump with muddy paws sometimes. But this standing stock still and staring is very weird and not normal in my experience.
Thankfully these dogs have always been with owners who have put them straight onto a lead. I would then take a detour round them, just to be sure.

[JesusInTheCabbageVan]

@Somethingsnappy that's an awfully triggering username for the OP, mind. I hope you're not, you know... 👀👀

[Geamhradh]

Was the kid in danger?

From being bored that nothing happened the day he went to the park, possibly.

[Somethingsnappy]

[quote JesusInTheCabbageVan]@Somethingsnappy that's an awfully triggering username for the OP, mind. I hope you're not, you know... 👀👀[/quote]
Stop it! Behave! I have a sleeping baby on me who does star fish impressions every time I laugh.

[ClareBlue]

200000 people get bitten by dogs a year in UK and 3 million spent by NHS on treatment and someone asking for some advice on dog interaction in public and you take the piss.
Nice

[Whywonttheyhelpme]

@ClareBlue did you read the whole of my post before jumping down my neck? I explicitly put that the dog was clearly more intelligent than its irresponsible owner. The dog should have been on a lead and the owners should have reacted to the situation.

Unfortunately as a parent (as well as a dog owner) I am fully aware that dogs can be dangerous despite what their precious owners think of them. If a dog was making me or my child uncomfortable I would remove them from the situation because, unfortunately, there is no arguing with stupid.

[Mantlemoose]

@TimeForTheChristmasTree

Always best to be cautious around dogs. I’m not familiar with loads of dogs, but have felt threatened before, and I’m always aware when around dogs.

Who knows how this dog felt - maybe happy, or maybe you were right to feel worried.

You know you will get all the owners of “friendly, lovely, excited” dogs on here, who will laugh at you. Loads of dog owners think everyone is interested in their dog, wanting to be licked by it, after it’s shoved it’s nose and mouth on another dog’s urine (on wall) or bum. And most owners take great offence when they are told you’re not interested in their dog - keep your dog away from my children. In the park here, where dogs aren’t allowed, keep your dog away.

Trust your instincts OP.

And I said loads of dogs, most owners, not all of you. But to the twatty owners - pick up your dog shit, and keep your annoying dog away from me!

And please keep your untrained out of control children away from me and my dog who has no interest in them and much as shes super cute and cuddly she doesn't want clapped or cuddled ......

[JesusInTheCabbageVan]

@Somethingsnappy ahhh, I miss the starfish phase!

[AudacityBaby]

@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.

I love this post so much - it just made me smile.

[GrandmaSteglitszch]

Dog may have wanted to play with your child but that could have been a bad idea anyway.
You did the right thing.

[Thewiseoneincognito]

I personally can’t stand dogs, you certainly can not trust them. Vile creatures. If you felt uneasy you did right to leave. Too many times owners will downplay their darling fur baby’s antics but to a stranger it can be very unnerving, often they can not fathom why you feel that way either.

[LST]

@ClareBlue

Dogs bark but owners should have them on a lead in public. A strange dog not under owner control barking at a child 2m away is not OK. Why did people actually think it is.
Whatever dog owners say, any dog has the potential to attack. I was brought up in a house that ran a dog boarding kennel so know exactly how dogs can behave. There's reasons, yes, why they might turn but those judgements are not down to children faced by a barking dog or their parents. People shouldn't have to become dog behavioral experts assessing if they are friendly bark, agressive, bored, welcoming etc. Just keep them on a lead.
They should be in a lead if there is any chance they can interact with children.
And you are absolutely correct to be concerned for you child by a dog 2m away barking at them with no owner control.

Dogs don't need to be on a lead in public. Just under control.

[eyeslikebutterflies]

OP, to reassure you (as a lot of posters have been a bit mean!), if a dog is likely to attack it generally won't bark, it'll 'stiffen' its body, perhaps raise its hackles (hairs on the spine, near the neck), stop, stare very hard without blinking, and perhaps lower its body slightly. It will give you a lot of body language signals, but generally barking isn't one of them.

It sounds like this dog was a bit freaked out by your child, and so barked to indicate this. It's a dog equivalent of saying, 'hey! I don't know what you're doing but I don't like it and pack it in!' Children, tantrums, loud noises, unexpected movements: all these can be frightening for dogs (which I know sounds daft when you don't have a dog or know dogs, but a lot of the time the human world freaks them out!).

The secondary bout of barking at you was likely a continuation of the first. A kind of 'hey! I see you and your noisy ways! Stay over there!' The fact that it held off from coming close shows that it was all noise; it had no intention of getting into a fight with you.

That said: had that been my dog, I'd have called her to me, reassured her (to stop her barking /show her there was nothing to be scared about) and understood that although she was freaked out, she was also likely to be freaking you out. Parents quite rightly worry about dogs and young kids: a good dog owner would have spotted this and intervened.

[girlmom21]

[quote ClareBlue]@girlmom21 are you are actually saying the dog was barking because of how the child was being parented. New depths of surealism on munsnet[/quote]
No. Im saying the dog could have perceived a screaming child as being vulnerable.

Im clearly not judging her parenting.

If my child cries and someone picks her up (other than me or DP) my dog will run over and jump up to make sure she's ok...

[diddl]

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

That's wonderful!

It's more noticeable in my dog now he's older.

[MintyGreenDream]

What the actual fuck.

There was a woman in the parking talking near my 2 yr old.Was she a threat?

Same thing

[ravenmum]

The question would have been better off in the pets forum OP, if you wanted accurate information about how to react to dogs and what to expect from their owners. Non pet owners won't be able to provide much help.

[Hoppinggreen]

Maybe name change to Parkdrama?
Sounds like you are afraid of dogs, try not to pass that onto your child.
Caution and respect are a good thing to teach though

[MintyGreenDream]

Park not parking obviously

[Stompythedinosaur]

Barking isn't really a precursor to a dog attacking. Stiffening and growling are the things to be more wary of.

[KillerAntAmbush]

My dog barks at butterflies. And no, she’s never attacked them.

[Annoyedanddissapointed]

[quote ClareBlue]@girlmom21 are you are actually saying the dog was barking because of how the child was being parented. New depths of surealism on munsnet[/quote]
It's not surreal. My dog reacted to kids crying and parents either hissing or shouting at kids.
The one I grew up with was the same and actually went crazy if he heard child crying or screaming