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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Dog barked at my child

375 replies

Kitchendrama1 · 16/09/2021 09:28

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?

OP posts:
PieMistee · 16/09/2021 11:33

Dogs bark at random shit
Toddlers tantrum at random shit.

Theyre pretty similar on the scale of unexplained dickhead behaviour.

londonrach · 16/09/2021 11:36

I suspect the dog barked to warn his owner that your child was having a tember ... Dogs do that. Yabu and abit ott

Branleuse · 16/09/2021 11:36

@DarlingFell

Oh jeez, in the nicest possible way you really need to get grip. My dog is the sweetest gentlest boy but he sometimes barks when he’s startled. A child having a tantrum is the kind of thing that might startle him.

You are clearly scared of normal dog behaviour and this will rub off on your child if you don’t resolve it.

How is a parent supposed to tell the difference when a dog 2m away is staring and barking at your toddler?? I love dogs, but if either of my dogs acted like this, id keep them on the lead as its antisocial and intimidating
Mummasdiary2021 · 16/09/2021 11:36

@LateDecemberBackInLowB12

I still remember the time a cat meowed at my dc.

YANBU at all.

🤣🤣🤣
londonrach · 16/09/2021 11:37

Tantrum not tember....

Mummasdiary2021 · 16/09/2021 11:37

And those vicious birds tweeting in the garden

Dontbeme · 16/09/2021 11:41

Ridiculous comment - dogs do kill people. A hedgehog is no threat to anyone

You have obviously never met a hedgehog with a mother of pearl handle flick knife, they're complete bastards.

StrangeToSee · 16/09/2021 11:45

Possibly, because dogs shouldn’t be running up to kids in parks or barking at them (dogs that aren’t trained to ignore people should be on leads). So I’d worry the owner had no control.

Staring can be aggressive, or it can be interest. What was the dog’s body language? Eg was it stiff, alert, anxious? Or did it seem relaxed and curious?

My dog stares intently at dogs he dislikes (he’s always on a lead because he’s dog-reactive and still in training). Staring can be intimidation/dominance/aggression related. Or just mild interest eg mine stares at my DC if they do strange things like sliding down sand dunes or rolling down hills, but his body language is relaxed.

I’d always put myself between DC and a strange dog and ask the owner to put it on a lead if it approaches us.

FrangipaniBlue · 16/09/2021 11:47

This thread is peak MN dog hate/dog owner denial bat shittery 🤣

FrangipaniBlue · 16/09/2021 11:48

@JesusInTheCabbageVan

What kind of dog was it?

This.

You win the thread.

👏🏼

FrangipaniBlue · 16/09/2021 11:51

Why was it still following us after I lifted the child? It was playing with other dogs in the large field. We were walking at snails pace on the other side of the field and we caught it’s attention.

You've literally answered your own question in the very last sentence.

Somethingsnappy · 16/09/2021 11:54

@Dontbeme

Ridiculous comment - dogs do kill people. A hedgehog is no threat to anyone

You have obviously never met a hedgehog with a mother of pearl handle flick knife, they're complete bastards.

Or one that is dressed in spikes from head to foot.... Oh, wait...
ilovesooty · 16/09/2021 11:55

I think you should identify the owner and suggest s/he has a word with the dog with regard to staring at members of the public and respecting personal boundaries. After all, this dog probably thinks it's OK to chat with the next door neighbours as well and doesn't respect introverts.

Fido2 · 16/09/2021 12:04

Am really upset. My human took me to the park earlier, it was a lovely walk to start with but then I let out a couple of barks and then this woman with her child started giving me filthy looks and ran off. It felt like she thought I was going to eat her child or something.

I know that there are some naughty dogs who bite people but I am not one of them. There are people out there who think it is ok to let their children touch me without checking first and I don't give them dirty looks. Could do with a nice bone to cheer me up.

OneTC · 16/09/2021 12:06

@Fido2

Have a word with your owner about working on recall and understanding that not every person is a dog person and may not interpret your intentions correctly, there's a good boy Smile

TeloMere · 16/09/2021 12:08

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

My dog catches and eats wasps, but he never barks at them.
There's a lesson there.

LaetitiaASD · 16/09/2021 12:08

@CatTerrier

If you are concerned look into dog body language, it will tell you far more than a bark will.
I'd recommend "if you are concerned then get your young child safe and out of there ASAP because you never know if the dog in question can be a little dodgy or outright dangerous as a result of a poor training by a poor owner". Obviously it's not all dogs (indeed is it any dogs, really it's always 100% the owner), but no-one with a brain ignores the man following them and staring at them because it's "not all men".
Againstmachine · 16/09/2021 12:09

@Fido2

Who's a good boy, you are.

LaetitiaASD · 16/09/2021 12:10

@Fido2

Am really upset. My human took me to the park earlier, it was a lovely walk to start with but then I let out a couple of barks and then this woman with her child started giving me filthy looks and ran off. It felt like she thought I was going to eat her child or something.

I know that there are some naughty dogs who bite people but I am not one of them. There are people out there who think it is ok to let their children touch me without checking first and I don't give them dirty looks. Could do with a nice bone to cheer me up.

I'm really sorry, but if a dog has a problem with the way humans look at it then it needs to be on a lead.
ChardonnaysPetDragon · 16/09/2021 12:10

Seriously, some of the replies are delusional.
Dog owners, it is your responsibility to control your domesticated wolf and you can not expect other people to know the intracity of their behaviour or evolution of their natural instinct to hunt in a pack, so keep them on a lead when there is a chance that they might actually make an informed judgement that somebody's parenting skills might not be up to Jungle Book standards.

I would agree there are some delusional posts here.
I would disagree with you which ones.

MelonSurprise · 16/09/2021 12:11

7 pages of replies to "I saw a dog at the park and it barked" 🤣🤣🤣 I think this is a clear sign that it is time for me to return to work after mat leave. Thanks.

Original poster
Kitchendrama1 · 16/09/2021 12:11

@StrangeToSee

Possibly, because dogs shouldn’t be running up to kids in parks or barking at them (dogs that aren’t trained to ignore people should be on leads). So I’d worry the owner had no control.

Staring can be aggressive, or it can be interest. What was the dog’s body language? Eg was it stiff, alert, anxious? Or did it seem relaxed and curious?

My dog stares intently at dogs he dislikes (he’s always on a lead because he’s dog-reactive and still in training). Staring can be intimidation/dominance/aggression related. Or just mild interest eg mine stares at my DC if they do strange things like sliding down sand dunes or rolling down hills, but his body language is relaxed.

I’d always put myself between DC and a strange dog and ask the owner to put it on a lead if it approaches us.

Child was sitting on the path. I was watching him. No crying or tears. No really noise and I was just looking at child.

Dog comes over and barks. I’m thinking it most be ok but I was on alert to pick up the kid.

We play in the children’s area of the park which is cornered of. This is also a big park with a big green area.

We walk around the outside and the child is pushing the pushchair. The dog is far away and playing with another dog. Dog Barks at us. And I look. This happens a few more times but the dog keeps on getting closer. The tail is us.

Gets to the point whereby the dog is staring at us and quite close, I lift up child and walk away. Not fast, but walk.

Dog is still behind us, stopping and starting. Owner is behind the dog and calling it (I’m a bit shady on this aspect) but dog is still staring at us, tail high and barks a few times.

Dog owner eventually gets dog on the lead.

I continued to walk around the park and meet other dogs who weren’t interested in us one bit.

Im in no part an anxious parents but I really felt uncomfortable at this moment.

OP posts:
vodkaredbullgirl · 16/09/2021 12:11

Oh dear dog barked, didn't know dogs barked.

Sweetpeasaremadeforbees · 16/09/2021 12:15

This thread is peak MN dog hate/dog owner denial bat shittery 🤣

This. Although it's more weighted towards the dog owner denial side I think.

I actually think a lot of these comments are pretty mean. I love dogs but we all know that dogs and toddlers aren't a great mix.

ChardonnaysPetDragon · 16/09/2021 12:16

I actually am worried about OPs child if their mother gets worked up about such nonsense.