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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

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:
fullbloom87 · 07/08/2023 01:21

It might just have been curious rather then tracker your son to maul him to death.
Agree there needs to be tighter rules but your story doesn't prove this.

DreamTheMoors · 07/08/2023 01:34

I completely see your point, @volcan- bullies are scary dogs, because people tell scary stories about them. I’ve heard the most awful accounts about them.
I myself have a rat terrier who thinks she owns this entire neighborhood. And she barks at people walking on the other side of the road.
Her tell, though, is she barks while she’s hiding behind me. She thinks she’s big & tough when she’s just a little thing.
I’m sure this dog got out by accident and wasn’t really “tracking” your boy, but it must’ve given you a fright - it would any good & decent mother.
All’s well that ends well - and you are surely happy for that. I’m happy for you.

LemonPeonies · 07/08/2023 01:42

No you don't need to "throw your kid/ bike away" whatever, stop being silly. You need to supervise your child and teach him to be cautious of animals. If anything had happened, the prevention is on you. The dog might have been watching your son like a hawk but tbh, you definitely need to.

Whatswhatwhichiswhich · 07/08/2023 01:47

I think you got very anxious and worried and the situation feels much bigger and more threatening in real life than it does written down on an anonymous forum.

The dog was not dangerously out of control in public so the owner should not be prosecuted.

MrsDS · 07/08/2023 02:03

seriously stop labelling dogs. In this scenario my lab would have run after the child - because she loves kids. I would have been worried about the road her getting hit by a car. With the added factor she has no spacial awareness she might knock a young child off their bike.

I grower up with a cross bread that looked like a teddy but due to a bad experience (brick thrown),struggled with young girls. We also had a German Shepherd (who was a softy). The amount of parents who sent their children to stroke the teddy not the shepherd was insane!

Boomboom22 · 07/08/2023 02:07

MrsDS · 07/08/2023 02:03

seriously stop labelling dogs. In this scenario my lab would have run after the child - because she loves kids. I would have been worried about the road her getting hit by a car. With the added factor she has no spacial awareness she might knock a young child off their bike.

I grower up with a cross bread that looked like a teddy but due to a bad experience (brick thrown),struggled with young girls. We also had a German Shepherd (who was a softy). The amount of parents who sent their children to stroke the teddy not the shepherd was insane!

Wow, better keep the dog in then as if they knock a child into the road you are liable.

MrsDS · 07/08/2023 02:31

That makes no actual sense!

DandelionLeaves · 07/08/2023 02:46

I can understand your fear, OP. I recently went to a vet's office with my sister to help her collect her dog after a procedure. While we were walking through the waiting area, we passed a woman with two huge bully type dogs. One of them must have smelled my own dogs on me or just found me interesting and started pulling against its lead to follow me. Fortunately, the dog wasn't being aggressive, but if it had decided it wanted to jump on me, there is no way on earth their owner could have hoped to keep two such huge and muscular dogs under control, and sorry, but I don't trust those breeds.

Any dog can snap, but not every dog is capable of inflicting the same kind of damage as these breeds are. I've read too many stories of family pets who have suddenly turned violent with deadly or horribly disfiguring results, and their owners always swear the dogs were gentle, loving pets. I believe they probably did seem gentle until something set them off, but it only takes one incident to ruin lives. I'll never be fully comfortable around that type of dog, and even if they're on a lead, it does little to set me at my ease.

kingdom123 · 07/08/2023 08:59

People shouldn't own those dogs full stop. Bullies, Staffies etc. dangerous.

SpringleDingle · 07/08/2023 09:03

My small white fluffy bichon has escaped once or twice and I look panicked trying to persuade him back in. 95% of the time he is a dream but he can be a stubborn shit when he wants to and will ignore me. I worry he will get onto the main road and that causes me to look panicked not that I think he’ll bite anyone.

This dog escaped which causes owners to worry immediately but generally the worry is about the safety of the dog!

Hoppinggreen · 07/08/2023 09:05

I fully realise that some breeds of dog are more dangerous than others but in this case the dog didn’t do anything.
It was probably a bit scary to see a large dog near your child that didn’t seem under control but it wasn’t a “near miss”

Thesearmsofmine · 07/08/2023 09:10

I dislike the bully breeds and they make me feel uncomfortable but this does seem a bit of a non event really. So I probably would have felt uneasy but I wouldn’t say what happened was some kind of near miss.
You do need to teach your son not to chase or approach random dogs though, I’ve done this since mine were tiny, they love dogs but know to always ask the owner if it’s ok to approach/stroke and not to chase them(or any other animal).

WetBandits · 07/08/2023 09:11

So a dog was just…walking along a pavement at the same time as your child? Not behaving aggressively, but just walking along? Confused

Perhaps the dog wanted to make sure your DS was supervised in some fashion Smile

cansu · 07/08/2023 09:11

You really need to supervise your five year old. I am amazed at how many parents let their kids cross car parks and run along pavements well ahead of them. Your child is not safe. You say your child was chasing the dog. He could have cycled off the path. He could have been hit by someone reversing off a driveway. Any breed of dog can bite. You needed to be with him.

TroysMammy · 07/08/2023 09:15

XelaM · 07/08/2023 00:11

My pug escapes sometimes and doesn't listen when I frantically try to get him back in the house because he thinks it's a fun game to play with me (I've ordered a baby gate for the front door 😬). He loves people and kids and might walk next to a child because he likes kids (and kids usually fuss over him). He's the least dangerous dog ever.

I've seen something online that when you open the door there is something like an expandable baby gate that you attach to the door that stops the dog running out. I'm hopeless at attaching links sorry.

SingingFaLaLa · 07/08/2023 09:16

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

The most dangerous thing about this situation is this.

He tried to help someone with their dog. As you would at age five.

Thank your lucky stars the owner was a woman with a baby and not the local pervert in a transit who asked your unsupervised 5 year old to help with his dog because the outcome could have been so much worse.

5 year olds need supervision to keep them safe. Do better.

StillPerplexed · 07/08/2023 09:16

RubbishRobotFromTheDawnOfTime · 07/08/2023 00:43

I would have been scared by that too. Don’t know why posters are pretending the breed doesn’t matter, or that it’s a parent’s responsibility to supervise their children in order to prevent them being chased by dogs. The dog shouldn’t have been out, following a child. A petite woman with a baby is going to struggle to hold the bully, and her baby is at risk too.

Yes this! Almost all the fatal dog attacks come from Bully XLs— they're as heavy as a full grown man and are bred to kill— if someone's pet crocodile was let loose I'm sure people wouldn't be saying "what's the species of lizard got to do with it, my bearded dragon is harmless".

kitsuneghost · 07/08/2023 09:16

I would be panicked too OP. saw a girl get attacked in the pub the other day. The dog just turned and bit into her sooo quickly.
Then the day after seeing that a big dog took a bit of a jump towards me and the owner said THAT phrase like it was going to make me less petrified the day after witnessing a dog attack.

DoesNotPlayWellWithIdiots · 07/08/2023 09:24

That dog was not "dangerously out of control".

It sounds as though it was a complete accident that is was loose (maybe a delivery driver left a gate open?) and the owner was clearly panicked at the thought of something happening to her dog.

It sounds as though the dog was merely interested in your child. If the owner had a baby with her it's likely the dog is used to children and, statistically, bull breeds actually make fantastic family pets.

If you report the dog and owner there's a chance the dog will be seized and possibly destroyed when it's not actually done anything wrong apart from being a bull breed!

OP nothing actually happened other than you not supervising your child adequately.

I'd suggest learning about dog behaviour and body language (and researching the fabulous traits of bull breeds in general) and educating your child.

For the record, yes I own two American bulldogs and have worked with bull breeds for 12 years.

WetBandits · 07/08/2023 09:28

DoesNotPlayWellWithIdiots · 07/08/2023 09:24

That dog was not "dangerously out of control".

It sounds as though it was a complete accident that is was loose (maybe a delivery driver left a gate open?) and the owner was clearly panicked at the thought of something happening to her dog.

It sounds as though the dog was merely interested in your child. If the owner had a baby with her it's likely the dog is used to children and, statistically, bull breeds actually make fantastic family pets.

If you report the dog and owner there's a chance the dog will be seized and possibly destroyed when it's not actually done anything wrong apart from being a bull breed!

OP nothing actually happened other than you not supervising your child adequately.

I'd suggest learning about dog behaviour and body language (and researching the fabulous traits of bull breeds in general) and educating your child.

For the record, yes I own two American bulldogs and have worked with bull breeds for 12 years.

This, 100%, but it won’t go down well here amongst the Labrador crowd!

My dog snuck past me when I was putting the bins out the other night and went for a good old race about in the fields, I might have looked ‘frantic’ as I was calling him back in, but I was just thinking about all the mud he’d be covered in, not that he was going to feast on my neighbour’s toddler.

Icycloud · 07/08/2023 09:36

It was stalking your child, like prey, so yes, you’re not being unreasonable

QuestionableMouse · 07/08/2023 09:42

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.

I panic if my idiot Jack Russell gets out because he tends to lose his mind and runs wild. He's absolutely not dangerous, just often won't come back!

OhWhatFuckeryIsThisNow · 07/08/2023 09:50

My fox terrier would follow a child till the end of the earth and not listen to me when I called her. I’d also panic if she got out and was walking down the road.

luckylavender · 07/08/2023 09:52

XelaM · 07/08/2023 00:11

My pug escapes sometimes and doesn't listen when I frantically try to get him back in the house because he thinks it's a fun game to play with me (I've ordered a baby gate for the front door 😬). He loves people and kids and might walk next to a child because he likes kids (and kids usually fuss over him). He's the least dangerous dog ever.

Oh I hate this attitude. Don't let your dog escape. Nobody knows it's temperament. Be responsible.

luckylavender · 07/08/2023 09:53

volcan · 07/08/2023 00:28

The point was that my son started chasing it on his bike (no experience with dogs) and then the dog started tracking him. The dog was clearly one of the Bully breeds that regularly appear in the news after attacking children. And the dog was not under the control of anyone and no-one there could have done anything if it had decided to get aggressive.

I'm with you OP. The 'dogs are more important than anyone else' won't be. Ignore them.

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