Dangerous dog near miss?

[volcan]

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?

Now you're being unreasonable. Golden retrievers can be dicks too.

This is a non rational question. Bully breeds have a very different genetic disposition. Why don't jack Russell's round up sheep? Bully dogs have an extremely high prey drive as well as a tenacity referred to as "gameness"...this along with their strength means they are a threat in comparison with other breeds. But I think you know that already.

Golden retrievers can be dicks but I've never heard of one being tasered multiple times to no avail...or having it take 4 large men with scaffold poles to save someone from its attack

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.

Your post was very dramatic and your subsequent flouncing means posters are more interested in your own behaviour rather than the dog.

I agree with you completely, American Bullies are complete beasts and should be banned. And my heart would similarly drop if I saw one so close to my child. They are absolute terrors and shouldn’t be allowed out. But fortunately nothing happened and it is an overreaction to call it a near miss.

Golden retrievers are also entirely capable of being obnoxious.

Before your child can learn to play out unsupervised, they need to learn some basic safety rules and be trusted to observe them.

Things like - look before crossing the road, don't play in traffic, what to do if he grazes his knee, don't touch dogs without the owners permission, stay in a certain area, don't take sweets from strangers, never chase dogs, and don't get in anyone's car.

A very high proportion of dogs - including golden retrievers living entirely uneventfully with children - would snap if your son chased the dog, lost control of his bike, hit the dog and hurt it. At five, your son doesn't have full control over his bike - my neighbours child, who is about 8, managed to lose control and cycle into my parked car. If your son was bitten under such circumstances, it wouldn't be the dog's fault at all.

Being "bitten" really isn't the issue with these breeds...is it

What are your thoughts on the owner, op, who is a “petite young girl holding a tiny baby” but owns a “massive bully type dog” - should the “petite young girl” not own such a “massive” dog and have a “tiny baby”? Do you think she was panicked because she thought the dog would eat your son but happily let it live with her tiny baby? Or do you think she was panicked that her dog got out of her house and he was legging it off and could’ve been hurt by a car?

Sounds like the dangerous situation was you letting your five-year-old go off on his bike without proper supervision.

I would look panicked if my dog got out the front door, because he's a complete bastard and would run off. Nothing to do with him attacking anyone or being aggressive.

Also at the age of 5, a child should know to not approach or try to touch strange dog's. My dog would follow a bike because he would think it's fun. Don't get me wrong I'm not a fan of bull breeds more because the owners who have them are usually idiots.

I'd panic if my dog escaped and I was holding a baby. I can't imagine it would be easy to get back and she was probably worried if she left to put the baby down, then the dog could run out of sight.

I don't like that breed of dog but honestly the lesson you should learn is not to let a small child out of sight.

Report the dog at that address as dangerous and out of control. At the very least the mutt will be on their radar.

So the simple answer is don’t have a dangerous dog in the first place 🤦‍♀️

Oh stop with your passive aggressive emojis. The dog showed no signs of being dangerous.

So this is on you then. Your child chased it on it's bike. You need better supervision of a 5 year old.

Volcan the dog should not have been loose. You arecquitevright that he could have bitten your dc. You are however also at fault for letting him ride off down a path into the estate without you. There will be cars reversing, dogs off leads and cars 0n the road that runs past the houses. Your dc aged 5 is not able to do much more than enjoy himself on his bike. He may try to help with a dog. He might cross a road to help pick up someone's ball. He might see a cat on the other side and cross without looking. There are all kinds of things that could happen. If you want him to be able to run off in front go to a park where you can see him.

Maybe owner was scared that her dog would run into the road and get hit by a car? Or that he might accidentally hurt your child while trying to play? Or was just stressed trying to juggle a baby and a large dog?

OP I get it, these dogs are more dangerous than other dogs so there is no comparison to a chihuahua etc. It’s like comparing a lion and a mouse. Both can be aggressive but the potential for damage they could cause is miles apart.

I don’t let my kids anywhere near these dogs because the owners often, not always, think that their dog wouldn’t hurt a fly, underestimate and don’t take enough responsibility for them.

For example, the flats we used to live in - one resident used to let their cane corso roam around the front and back garden freely. I wouldn’t let my DS out for this reason. The dog was nice enough but if my son annoyed it for example, the consequences could have been awful.

Also had a (mixed) pit bull get in through patio door and start sniffing at the baby. The owners just laughed from the garden as if it was sweet. I was not impressed to say the least.

When I was a teenager I knew someone that had a pit bull who used to sleep in my coat when a puppy, we had a lovely bond and he was a really sweet dog. One day a couple of years later, I had to pull it away from another dog it was barking at, the dog turned on me and tried to get to my neck and forearm. It literally wanted to kill me. The strength of it was unreal and it was only because there were other adults to restrain it that no one was properly hurt. The owner was shook by this and decided to get rid not long after.

DP was nipped by an XL bully a few months back, totally unprovoked. Just walking past and bit the back of his thigh.

Guess how many times I’ve had these kinds of experiences with labs, spaniels, pugs etc? Zero.

I agree that your son should be able to play out safely on a quiet estate away from cars and it pisses me off that owners let these dangerous breeds wander around.

Why was your five year old son not under supervision??? I think I was still on reins at that age!

Yeah she shouldn't have a dog potentially heavier than her & absolutely not a bully with a baby

Seems a major over reaction. Presumably dog's owner was concerned her dog was loose not because it was dangerous purely because she didn't want it loose where it might get hit by a car or reported as a stray. Not sure how your child chasing dog on his bike could then be seen as dog tracking child as seemingly it was your child tracking the dog to assist the owner. You need to better supervise your child not simply because of this particular dog but because five year olds are impulsive by nature and might not think before they act as he did in the instance with the dog.

YANBU to feel a frisson of alarm at the sight of a big dog, off-lead, near your child. I think that's very natural.

YABU to mention prosecution for what was a) clearly not an intended off-lead occurrence, b) seemingly not an aggressive dog and c) a situation in which nothing whatsoever happened.

The dog got out. Would I be a little pissed off at the owner for allowing that to happen? Yes, of course, privately, I would be. But sometimes it does and there could be many scenarios in which the owner was not at fault - delivery driver leaving gate open, etc.

The dog did not attack or stalk your child. Sounds like a curious dog response to what it thought was a child playing. Hopefully following a child that has chased it is pretty standard in most dogs.

The owner needs to rethink her house exits. You need to teach your little one not to chase random dogs. Everyone learns a lesson in a, thankfully, calm situation without any consequences.

With the best will in the world accidents like that can happen. I'd be lying if I said it'd never happened to me, but I've made sure to be extra vigilant since.

Bull breeds have got a bad rep anyway, undeservedly in my opinion, so as an owner I will absolutely advocate for them when I can and try to educate the ignorant - which is easier said than done mostly!

Far more people are attacked by lap dogs (Dachshunds, Pomaranians etc...) and small hunting dogs (Jack Russell etc...) than 'bull breads'.

Bull breads are more likely to kill IF they do attack but they are not inherently more likely to attack.

Jack Russells actually pose the highest risk to young children out of all breads because the have a long history of killing children but are seriously underestimated by most people so usually trusted in more of a position to attack.