to have treated children with letting dog out

[beakerclub]

DH thinks I was OTT with this, I don't.

Basically as I was getting out of my car with my 2 year old child last night two kids, probably about 8 from their height, were stood right by silently in halloween masks whilst I was unclipping my son from his car seat.

I just rolled my eyes initially and completely ignored them but then as I walked toward my house and up my drive they followed me and at this point my little boy was starting to get upset. I told them to go but they didn't, literally followed me up my drive and to my door!!

In the end I said you have 3 seconds to get off my drive or I'll be letting my dog out to deal with you and you'll wish you had. They scarpered quick as I opened my door and shouted my dog outside.

Now my dog is pretty big and a bit barky and can be quite scary looking if he wanted to be, but he's actually soft as shit so there wasn't any real risk of him doing anything, still it did the trick and they ran off and my dog was confused as to what the commotion was ha.

DH thinks it was just kids messing about and I shouldn't have threatened to basically have my dog attack them (wouldn't have happened). I disagree, I think if you're going to be daft enough to make a toddler upset and follow strangers up their driveways then meeting a scary dog at the door is what you get and really all I did was just warn them I have a dog and was opening my door 🤷‍♀️

I have an 8 year old. She’s not allowed out on her own at all, let alone when it’s evening, potentially dark, and in a Halloween mask. And when she is allowed out on her own I’ll be very disappointed if she thinks that’s how she’s allowed to behave. Hopefully they’ll think twice about doing that to someone else OP. Yanbu.

What's that got to do with anything? Do your class of 8 year olds regularly creep up driveways and assault mothers and toddlers?

8 isn't small, they were asked to go away, they stayed to upset the toddler & try to intimidate the OP.

little shits well deserved to be advised the dog would be coming out to say hello!

There is so much dog hysteria at the minute. Why make it worse by threatening to use your dog as a weapon - even if it was just an empty threat?

How rough is the area you live in if you, a grown adult, feel so intimidated by eight year olds that you have to threaten to set a dog on them.

🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄

Whilst it’s probably not a good idea to threaten violence, especially not by the means of your dog in this climate, I cannot comprehend the horror at the idea of these kids being “terrified” by the experience. They were being feral and deserved to have some manners scared into them - and if parents don’t like that, they should teach their kids manners themselves and not let them out to roam the streets after dark.

@AutumnWellyBootsandScarf

They are 8. OP is a grown woman.

Yanbu

Has your dog been in that position before??

Which breed?

You have no way of predicting how a dog would react. None

Exactly, they are 8 not 4 so should know right from wrong.

Meh. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

Nasty post.

but I doubt it'll happen because I exoect the OP, will bring her child up not to attempt to intimidate a eomsn & her child by scaring the child and following them to their doorstep!

This

If the OP feels intimidated by two 8yos standing silently and walking on her driveway, she really shouldn't have a big dog.

I'd be embarrassed to admit I couldn't handle two 8 year olds without getting my dog involved 😳

What @WhateverMate you couldn't just say 'bit early for Halloween lads' and shut your front door?

If they followed you up your drive and didn't go when asked, then IMO they are ASBO louts in the making. They shouldn't be unsupervised on the street as they have no idea how to behave. I think they deserved to be frightened - if OP hadn't shown them the consequences of their actions, nobody ever would and they would just continue to behave like shits. There was no actual risk to them and they deserved every bit of what they got.

They were 8 years old - not 28.

The OP threatened to set a dog on them. On children. Who had done nothing to threaten the OP.

Dear God this site is insane.

It was terrifying for the 2 year old because of them. Play silly games, win silly prizes.

Well I doubt the OP will bring her kid up to be a trespasser who scares toddlers and doesn't get off someone's property when asked nicely.

They frightened the OP's child, followed her up her driveway and refused to leave. What did you want them to do, pull a knife on the OP and then that would justify her dealing with them? No, OP was justified in dealing with disobedient brats who shouldn't have been out unsupervised.

Op clearly avoiding naming dog breed.

@jlpth I'd have gone in home and shut the door......

Threatening kids is ott when you could have just shut the door on them.

However, I actually think you've done them a favour. If their parents don't care enough to keep them safe then they're going to have to learn not to approach strangers themselves. They learned a valuable lesson today without actually getting hurt or being in real danger. Hopefully they won't approach people like that again or they might not be so lucky.

Are you sure they were 8 OP? Who the hell lets their 8 year old wander around in the dark unsupervised?