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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Dangerous dog near miss?

294 replies

volcan · 06/08/2023 23:59

I feel l Iike we had a near miss today and I feel awful about it. DC (5) was cycling around a housing estate where I was visiting a friend when he disappeared off round a corner with a group of kids. It was away from the main road so I wasn't overly concerned but when they didn't appear around the next corner I walked over to investigate. What I found was a massive bully type dog walking alongside my DC whilst it's owner was frantically trying to get it back into the house. The owner being a petite young girl holding a tiny baby. The dog was totally ignoring her and carried on tracking my DS. I told my DS to slow down so the dog would stop 'chasing' him and we got back to the car safely. My heart was in my mouth and still is. When I asked my DS what had happened he said the dog has escaped and he was trying to catch it to help the woman. I know this has been done a million times but my AIBU is that people should be prosecuted for allowing these animals out in public uncontrolled?

OP posts:
Helpmepleaseimbusy · 08/08/2023 18:36

Mummyof287 · 07/08/2023 23:15

This! Shocked by the nonchalant and dismissive replies on here, some actually being quite nasty!
OP I'm with you, I would be very scared by this happening too.Those sort of dogs are dangerous and should not be loose around kids.Personally I would report to the police/SS that a dangerous breed is living with that baby.It doesn't bear thinking about if something happened....there's been too many accidents like that already.
Hope you and your son aren't too upset by the event.

Would you let your 5 year old ride their bike out of your sight though? There wasn't anything to report anyway. Dog got out, owner was trying to call dog back. Nothing happened. If you reported to SS they would wonder what your 5 year old was doing riding around unsupervised I'm sure. You'd shoot yourself in the foot.

Prescottdanni123 · 08/08/2023 18:38

@Flapjacker48

Most staffies are huge softies.

Prescottdanni123 · 08/08/2023 18:44

@CBAanymoreTBH

If aggressive humans were so easy to fend off, the murder/assault statistics wouldn't be so high now would they?

All I know is I have a minute chance of being attacked by a dog when compared to being attacked by a human. You'll never find a sadistic dog but the world is full to the brim with sadistic humans.

SoThisIsSummer · 08/08/2023 18:59

That dog 😱 op how awful for you!!

Like your son being close to someone with a loaded and cocked gun.

PixieLaLa · 08/08/2023 19:40

On a lighter note, @PixieLaLa's post about the big burly bloke holding a melon made me legit spit my tea out over my phone.

Grin
CBAanymoreTBH · 09/08/2023 20:37

Prescottdanni123 · 08/08/2023 12:25

@Boomboom22

My friend almost got hit by a car (missed by centimetres, literally) rescuing a child who escaped out of their front door and wandered into the road right as a car was coming. He could have been seriously injured or killed. Small children getting out of houses and wandering off can lead to dangerous situations. The car tried to swerve as well, it could have hit other pedestrians or another car, causing injuries/death.

Accidents happen, whether it is a child or dog getting out of the house. If it's a friendly dog, it's not a heinous crime. Obviously it would different if it is a dog that goes for the jugular of anything that moves, but those kind of dogs are extremely rare, no matter what the panickers on mumsnet say.

10 people killed by dogs in a year. Would you like me to tell you how many people are killed or injured by other humans in a year?

How rare?

Current statistics

Admissions then dropped to 7,424 during Covid lockdowns in 2020/21 but they rose again to 2021/22 to 8,819 before hitting a record high of 9,366 between 2022/23.
Of those cases 3,743 victims required reconstructive surgeryy_, and the majority of those undergoing surgery were children.

CBAanymoreTBH · 09/08/2023 20:39

I put this on a reply to a post but these are the current U.K. statistics for hospital admissions due to dog attacks

Admissions then dropped to 7,424 during Covid lockdowns in 2020/21 but they rose again to 2021/22 to 8,819 before hitting a record high of 9,366 between 2022/23.
Of those cases 3,743 victims required reconstructive surgeryy_, and the majority of those undergoing surgery were children.

KimberleyClark · 09/08/2023 20:48

Holidayvibes · 07/08/2023 00:28

My chihuahua got out the house and I looked totally panicked. I was shit scared she wouldn’t come back, run on the road of get lost, not that she’d attack someone. Thankfully she came straight back but if u had seen me I was really worried and panicked.

A chihuahua! My god just think of the carnage she could have caused!

TimeToMoveIt · 09/08/2023 20:51

I dunno, my friend has 2 chihuahuas, snappy bruisy little bastards they are 🤣

ScandalousChicken · 09/08/2023 21:05

volcan · 07/08/2023 00:33

OK I get it. My 5-year old should be locked up and the bike binned whilst the dangerous dog is allowed to roam around unsupervised.

Please tell us what was dangerous about this dog? I can't imagine why you'd see a big dog going for a walk with your kid on his bike as a "near miss"

Holidayvibes · 09/08/2023 22:43

KimberleyClark · 09/08/2023 20:48

A chihuahua! My god just think of the carnage she could have caused!

Can u imagine! I think the local streets would have been on lockdown 😂

CBAanymoreTBH · 09/08/2023 23:26

So for all those posters trying to say humans are more dangerous blah blah...there were 65 murders in the U.K. over the same period during which there was 10 deaths due to a dog attack. 8 of them XL bullies...So unless every single person in the U.K. has over 6 dogs then yes dogs are way more dangerous...

Hivaluegirl · 10/08/2023 02:17

Dogs don't need to be on a lead in a public place unless it's stated and ordered to by an officer

An officer isn't you abusing a dog owner because you're not grown and have some lame fear over a dog. It's someone like a council officer or police for instant. Not a civilian.

Dangerous dog act - dangerously out of control meaning a REASONABLE person thinking the dog may attack them,
This doesn't include a dog walking up to you to say hello, a dog jumping on you, a dog being a dog

It's not reasonable for your childhood fears to be projected onto dog owners. That's YOUR problem.

It alway makes me laugh the amount of trash dog haters spread like the LAW is not in black and white for everyone to see.

My information is from:
Dog control orders via council
Dangerous dog act via cps and legislation.gov

Hivaluegirl · 10/08/2023 02:19

If you fear dogs, stay in playgrounds were they cannot go.
Work and buy a house in the middle of nowhere
Go live in a cave

It's your issue nobody else's and unfortunately the world doesn't revolve around you and your pathetic fears.

CleverLilViper · 10/08/2023 04:00

volcan · 07/08/2023 00:17

Child was nowhere near cars. And if the dog was just having a laugh why did it's owner look completely panicked? I think I'm capable of reading a situation.

Maybe because the dog escaped and she was worried about it? I’d be fairly panicked if my dogs got loose as well and they’re soft as anything.

There is nothing in your OP that suggests danger at all. Just another MN fear monger.

volcan · 10/08/2023 05:09

As luck would have it we were sat tonight in a pub garden next to what looked the first dog's brother or sister. Almost definitely an XL Bully. Huge thing. Maybe a local breeder? It was leashed to a chair and barking intermittently at people passing. Not comfortable. DS instructed to stay at the table.

Media hype yes but this breed is hugely over represented in dog attacks/deaths. So is the hype not justified?

amp.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/jun/04/american-bully-dog-breed-spotlight-uk-fatal-attacks

OP posts:
CleverLilViper · 10/08/2023 05:17

sashagabadon · 07/08/2023 11:16

Golden retrievers are bred to retrieve as gun dogs as the name suggests. Pit bulls etc are bred to be aggressive. I don’t get why people deny this difference in breeds and why they exist and the attributes they are bred for when it is obvious to everyone not to mention size differences too.

This is bullshit.

CleverLilViper · 10/08/2023 05:17

volcan · 10/08/2023 05:09

As luck would have it we were sat tonight in a pub garden next to what looked the first dog's brother or sister. Almost definitely an XL Bully. Huge thing. Maybe a local breeder? It was leashed to a chair and barking intermittently at people passing. Not comfortable. DS instructed to stay at the table.

Media hype yes but this breed is hugely over represented in dog attacks/deaths. So is the hype not justified?

amp.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/jun/04/american-bully-dog-breed-spotlight-uk-fatal-attacks

You sound ridiculous.

CleverLilViper · 10/08/2023 05:30

Guiltyfeethavegotnorhythm0 · 08/08/2023 11:30

Yes waste police or ss time by making unsubstantiated complaints made by drama queens . Do you live your life with so much drama ? It must be really tiring .

Agreed.

Also potentially getting an innocent dog put down because someone’s a crybaby is absolutely abhorrent and ridiculous.

some people on this thread need to seek therapy for their irrational fears.

WiddlinDiddlin · 10/08/2023 05:32

I'd panic if one of my three was off lead on the street, because 1 is blind and food obsessed (steroids) so has zero brains, 2 is deaf when he picks up a scent with zero clue I am not still with him and 3 can move at about 9billionty miles an hour, will chase birds and butterflies and has 0 sense whatsoever.

None are aggressive to people, but 1 might trip you up as he can't see and 2 is a hefty twat who thinks the world wants to cuddle him so he will jump up should anyone speak to him and then he lets go all his muscles fully expecting the person to catch and cuddle him resulting in almost 30kg of dead weight against his unsuspecting victim. 3 would come no where near you, you are Unclean and To Be Shunned, she is far superior to any mere human. I'd actually be most panicked if she was loose and she's least likely to approach a human or bite anyone (she might invite your child to join her on a journey then sell them to the faerie folk, she is a treacherous bitch!)

Whilst we do train in the street (if you only train in the park or field or dog club then you get a dog who only behaves in those places), we don't do it anywhere near as much as anywhere else and they'd only be there via some sort of accident which means increased stress, decreased listening/compliance in most dogs.

So yes, I would sound panicked.

In practical common sense land - avoid walking there with your child ahead of you and not under your control.
Find out where the dog lives and make a complaint that their dog was out of control in a public place to dog warden/police.
Teach your kid NEVER to touch strange dogs - not 'ask the owner' because frankly, there are a ton of owners out there who will say yes with NO idea if their dog is safe or happy about it at all. Teach kids NEVER to touch, not to even ask, touching other peoples dogs outside of family is not a thing.

S'gonna be a long old childhood if you're going to count all the things that didn't even nearly happen as 'near misses' though!

SquashPenguin · 10/08/2023 05:33

I’d panic if my pug ran out the front door because I don’t want him being stolen. He got out once before and when I went after him he was stood with his head through the fence and school kids were taking selfies with him.

Was it actually an xl or just a staffy? There’s a big difference.

M4J4 · 10/08/2023 05:39

I would have been scared too, OP. Dangerous breeds can cause horrific damage. Here a 5yo in the US after a neighbour encouraged her to pet her dog.

Prescottdanni123 · 10/08/2023 05:39

@CBAanymoreTBH

That is still less than the amount of people being attacked by other humans.

The vast majority of dog attacks are caused by dogs either being abused by humans or bred for aggression by humans so we are the real monsters in this situation really.

CleverLilViper · 10/08/2023 05:42

Why pit bulls are being mentioned on here I don’t know as they’re banned in the UK. They’re not bred for aggression, either.

They were originally known as nanny dogs. Great with kids. The trouble is, many
people who get hold of pit bulls, XL bullies, Rottweilers, etc either want a status symbol and to look hard or don’t have a fucking clue.

It’s not the breed. It’s the backyard breeders and shitty owners. There’s a lot more people now trying to raise awareness of this and attract good owners to the breeds.

You can’t blame the dog when they’ve been raised to be aggressive. Or poorly trained or under stimulated. This idea that a breed is intrinsically aggressive is ludicrous and removes all human responsibility.

For every attack by one of the feared breeds (and there seems to be a new one every month- feared breed that is) there’s one hundred dogs of the same breed that is perfectly lovely and well behaved. You don’t hear about that because it wouldn’t suit the narrative.

It’s also a little known fact that the media loves to report on dog attacks and then use images of a breed not involved in said attack. Anything to push the narrative as most people won’t read beyond the headline to find out.

i used to be terrified of staffies. A couple of them had attacked my childhood dog multiple times. Now I realise that the owner made the dogs that way. They wanted a status symbol and made them aggressive. Now I just feel sad for the dogs.

PuddlesPityParty · 10/08/2023 05:45

OP nothing happened! What is your actual point? Did this even happen, or is it just another dog bashing thread?

The woman was probably stressed and wanted to get her dog back in whilst your child was leading it away!!!! Take some responsibility for your own child.

People like you who PANIC at the first sign at a big dog and immediately jump to them being aggressive and horrible are honestly pathetic. Yes, be weary & sensible around them if you feel unsure but there’s no need to jump to making the situation seem catastrophic.

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