AIBU to think the UK is more tolerant of dogs than children

[playgroundwarrior]

This morning an entitled dog owner shouted at me for pointing out that she wasn't allowed her (offlead) dog in our local playground. The dog was nosing around in our pushchair and hurtling around. The owner said she had seen the notices to say 'no dogs allowed except assistance dogs' but that hers was a puppy and that I needed to get a life! She genuinely thought her dog was as important as our children (she didn't have her own child and was with a friend)

This made me think about all the threads I've seen here about noisy toddlers in cafes and small children blocking the stairs. Last night I read someone moaning about the sounds of Peppa Pig on the bus.

I appreciate that the above examples of toddler behaviour are objectively annoying (mine frequently annoys me) but I'm beginning to think there's greater tolerance of dogs in this country than toddlers.

I've seen so many toddlers knocked over by offlead dogs and our 3 year old neighbour was pinned down by one last year, which was sort of just accepted as something that happens.

Since the pandemic, everyone seems to have a dog and the culture feels much more dog orientated than child oriented. I'd love a nice cafe or pub with a sign welcoming kids and a nice play area for them but have never seen one in my area, yet there are many signs welcoming dogs with treats and bowls.

Fully appreciate there are inconsiderate parents of toddlers and great dog owners who have perfect recall etc! I quite like most dogs but am
starting to feel the UK has its priorities very muddled.

AIBU?

Children need to learn how to behave around dogs.

Well they don't, because dogs have to be under their owner's control around people. There is no obligation on anybody to know how to do anything around dogs other than not to hurt them. Humans should be free to live their lives without giving dogs a moment's consideration if they don't want to.

The thread with a number of posts saying boys shouldnt leave the house without parental supervision today is quite special.

YANBU

So it would be OK if a child came up to my on lead dog and poked him with a stick?

Sorry i just reread and saw that you did actually say not hurt them.
Would it be OK if they came up and screamed in his face? Climbed on his back? Where do you draw the line? Is it never the fault of the child? Sorry that should say the fault of the parents?

In law it’s always the dog owner’s fault but you’d have to be a pretty sociopathic parent to teach your kids that they don’t have to learn to behave around dogs because they should be able to do whatever they want and not be afraid of repercussions.

I'm intolerant of entitled parents and entitled dog owners. The rest who have manners, are fine.

This is a really valid post 🙏🏻🙏🏻

@Jericha 👏

I can’t believe so many people think yanbu- it’s not one or the other- there are just people in this world that believe the rules don’t apply and people who see themselves in the same category so they defend them (from a mother of 4 and a dog owner)

I have young children.
I would be annoyed about young children blocking stairs and frequently annoyed by parents playing videos out loud.
However, yes a lot of dog owners are unreasonable. They look amused at what a funny character their dog is whilst it is terrorising and scaring young children. Quite often shouting from afar 'don't worry, he's friendly'....
Frequently see them ignoring no dogs allowed signs.
Some dog owners are decent, they'll put them on a leash or pull it closer, apologise and wouldn't dream of taking it where there's no dogs allowed signs. Majority, in my experience, are assholes who think their dog is more important than anything else and anyone who thinks they should follow rules like no dog signs are uptight and deranged.

YANBU.

The intolerance for children in public is worrying.

I also think those who declare they prefer dogs to humans do so because dogs are obedient to whoever is feeding them, they do as they’re told and don’t answer back. They just want an obedient being who doesn’t disagree with them.

Also embarrassed for those who say ‘dogs are nicer than humans’ - no dipshit they just can’t speak. If they could how do you know they wouldn’t call you a stupid prick?

Kids are often unpleasant whether they can speak or not.

Random dogs don't come and bounce balls against my house and destroy my plants.

Yep, far more tolerant of dogs.

I dealt with a family with children and animals today. The animals were very well behaved.

I just find the willingness to equate children to dogs totally bizarre. Even on this thread I've seen someone refer to "dog owners" and "human child owners" in the same post - I am sure it was tongue in cheek, but that's genuinely the sentiment some people seem to have.

We SHOULD accept more nuisance from children than we do from dogs. Children are human beings in a human society, and they deserve the respect and tolerance we give to all people.

I'm sure many would (rightfully) be up in arms if people started speaking about old people in the same way some people on this thread have spoken about children.

The equation is done because of the emotional state of the owner.

We had this debate last week. It was quite illuminating. People place a lot of their emotional regulation via their pets. They do not much think about the nature of their animals. They are identifying with their animals, so you get the fur baby, and with it, the emotional engagement.

Children learn by making mistakes. They are not little adults. The intolerance is revealing because it means that children, who need protection, are seen as a source of risk or threat to an animal which can bite hard and do damage. A rational person realised that a dog presents a risk and avoids the conflict.

The emotional dog owner does not do that. Instead, they put their emotions first and how they feel. The dog owns the person.

I was in a beach in kent once. A group of primary age boys were kicking a football around...they weren't bothering anyone. A group of elderly people sat there tutting and shaking their heads at them. It was horrible to watch. Probably the same type of people who say kids nowadays play too many computer games.

Nothing irritates me more than a dog owner saying "oh they're harmless" after their dog has just charged at you full speed barking.

Eh??

I hold my cats in a higher regard in terms of love and respect than most people I know. My cats have never emotionally or physically or mentally harmed me, humans have.

I'm not a psychopath but I'm a vet nurse.

I agree that this isn't a child friendly country, it's really sad. I think in many other countries, children are so much more loved and welcome than they are in the UK.

The dog obsession is odd. I do wonder if it is because some people prefer something that cannot talk back to them.

Also humans are the only true psychopaths. Even kids. Jon Venables anyone..

IMO most people are tolerant of reasonably behaved children. The trouble is, too many aren’t, because their parents think their kids must be allowed to do exactly as they like no matter where they happen to be - screaming, running around in restaurants, etc.

Someone wrote a book entitled, ‘French Children Don’t Throw Food’. I found the title stupidly annoying and didn’t read it - but presumably the conclusion was that French parents don’t allow them to - their children are expected to behave themselves.

Absolutely

To say that Jon Venables is somehow illustrative is ridiculous. The number of psychopathic child killers is so minuscule it's not worth doing. I could simply point to a number of fatal dog attacks in a year.

I disagree with people that entitled dog owners and entitled parents are just as bad as each other. Children are human beings and, in my unpopular opinion, intrinsically more valuable than animals. Society has a greater duty to protect children than it does dogs. (And I say this as a dog lover. I adore doggies, but comparing dog owners to parents is bizarre).

YANBU. The problem is dog owners seem unable to treat their dogs as animals. Well trained, happy dogs need boundaries and a firm hand (metaphorically) and most "pet parents" aren't willing to do the work required to achieve that, so you end up with uncontrollable, anxious dogs. Those dogs are then given free reign, it's a recipe for disaster. I suppose you could say the same about children, but children aren't going to leave you with life-altering wounds if it all gets a bit too much.