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 did ask them to go. I asked them politely to stop.

And I imagine if I'd simply walked in my house they'd probably have thought nothing of just knocking on my door or window. I doubt they'd just have immediately left when I closed the door.

They were purposefully trying to scare a little kid. Boohoo that they got scared in the process.

@beakerclub - you seem to be getting a lot of aggro on this thread, and I'm really struggling to understand why. These brats were intimidating to your toddler, didn't listen when you politely asked them to move, and followed you on to your property. I'm not sure where all the posters who think you are unreasonable draw the line, but for me, once they followed you onto your driverway, having already frightened your child, all bets were off. You have an obligation to proptect your child, and yourself, and you did. Hopefully they won't come back, now they know you have a dog.

It’s no wonder youngsters grow into being thugs. Bless their hearts, they were only playing. It’s this attitude from parents that is the answer to why there is so much bad behaviour in schools

My brother taught in a secondary school in a naice area. He quit because the behaviour of the kids was so bad. What was worse was the attitude of parents if their little darling was told off.

They are also little kids though @beakerclub that's what you don't understand because you have a younger child.

Yes they are. But when do children become old enough to have consequences for shitty behaviour? They may be children but they are old enough to know you don't go round making toddlers cry and refusing to leave another person's property.

Every is talking as if I've no experience with 8 year olds and they are far too young to be accountable for any wrong behaviour. I have step children who I've lived with since they were small, they have been 8. I have parented 8 year olds before and I would be utterly disgusted if I found out one of them did this, especially upsetting a much younger child. I'd have absolutely no sympathy that they were scared off by talk of a dog (because despite what I said I didn't actually 'set a dog on them').

Nothing happened to them, they were acting like silly beggars and got scared off. Could have been worse, they could have gone onto someone's property who genuinely had an overprotective dog! Hopefully they won't do it again now.

I have parented 8 year olds before and I would be utterly disgusted if I found out one of them did this, especially upsetting a much younger child
Ditto.

If they’re such little kids, why were they out alone at night without a responsible adult? It really doesn’t work both ways.

All this “please will you leave”, “I’ve got to let my dog out and I’m worried it might jump at you” language is madness. If a kid is old enough to be out alone at night, trespassing and behaving obnoxiously, they’re old enough to be told to get off the OP’s land, in whatever language she sees fit.

And 8 is simply my best guess given it was dark and they had masks on. They could have been 10+ for all I know. I don't know that they were exactly 8 years old. They weren't tiny kids but not lanky teens either 🤷‍♀️

No, you haven't "got it" at all.

and my dog was confused as to what the commotion was ha.

What a bloody stupid thing to do. You actually thought that encouraging your dog to bark at and scare off children wearing halloween masks would be a good idea. I mean what could possibly go wrong with that tactic in the future? Utter stupidity!

She called the dog. He wouldn't have known what he was being called for 😵‍💫

Dogs are dangerously out of control if they cause someone to reasonably fear they may be hurt by the dog, regardless of whether or not they do hurt them and regardless of whether or not they would hurt them. This harm is not limited to deliberate aggression and includes harm such as jumping up and pushing them over. It's also not limited to public space but includes on private property, in your own home/garden.

Your dogs chasing after children (with or without real intent to harm) who fear deliberate or accidental harm if the dog catches them, are dangerously out of control.

As a fellow dog owner it saddens me to see this threat issued so casually when we have so many people who already believe dog ownership needs greater restrictions and controls because current dog owners cannot be trusted to behave responsibly. It's simply adding more fuel to that fire.

My dog did not chase anyone. I simply called his name when I opened my door, they'd already scarpered by the time he was at the door, he was fussed a bit and we went inside. No children were chased down the street by a vicious dog.

Yeah, little kids that were up to no good.. I’m not sure how people can justify what they were doing to be fair.

exactly WHY are they covering their faces and WHAT were they doing following women with small children? It isn’t Halloween, they weren’t asking for sweets and they didn’t leave her alone when she asked them to.. they were purposely making her feel uncomfortable and scaring her child.. I’d have done exactly the same.

Remember James Bulgers murderers were only slightly older than that when they abducted and murdered him.. now I’m not suggesting people get hysterical, but certainly don’t just ASSUME they are sweet little 8 year olds with nothing but pure intentions.. that’s not the world we live in.

No, of course not.🙄

She called him outside and two kids with Halloween masks on are scared and start running away. It teaches the dog that chasing children dressed up for Halloween is something his owner thinks he should do.

Jeez, the stupidity on this thread is astounding!

On a personal level I think they were shits and that you weren't wrong.
However......
Overall this was an extemely foolish thing to do and could have caused a lpt of trouble for you

She called the frigging dog! She didn't sic him on the kids.

How exactly will this teach him that she "wants" him to chase running children? He'll have encountered plenty of running children when he's out on walks.
The stupidity on this thread isn't necessarily where you think it is, btw.

I think you’re overestimating how much a dog will ‘learn’ from that one encounter to be fair.

if you don’t go I’m calling the dog..

they still don’t leave..

the dog gets called..

the lads run off..

the dog comes to the door.. “YAY YOU’RE HOME”

whether he even sees the kids run off is one thing, the fact that he wasn’t ‘set’ on the kids is another thing..

i really think you’re overdramatising what happened. He’s not going to start eating children at Halloween.

Exactly! I have an 8 year old and would be mortified that he’d done this but I’d be relieved it was the OP’s drive he went up who clearly wanted him to go away rather than someone who could entice him in the house and do god knows what! Parents should take it as a valuable lesson to learn about approaching strangers.

Why did you even post to ask the question when you're so obviously righteous about it.

Waste of time, this entire thread.

Waste of time, this entire thread

Not really though. I'm reassured by 72% of people agreeing with OP.

YWBU to put your dog in a position like that. Mine is petrified of masks (as many dogs are) and if he had actually ‘dealt with them’, how on earth would you feel?

I'm very much not reassured that 3 out of 4 adults thinks it's reasonable to threaten 8 year olds with a dog attack in retaliation against them doing very, very little indeed.

and herein lies the problem.

Yes, they should have to explain, its intimidating behaviour and trespass. Not to mention a blatant disrespect for authority

No, I'm really not. If you and other posters cannot see why even threatening to use a large barky dog in this way is a stupid idea, then you are part of the current problem as far as increased dog attacks are concerned. Anyone who thinks ^"he's actually soft as shit so there wasn't any real risk of him doing anything"* shouldn't be owning a dog. Almost everyone whose dog has attacked a child has thought exactly that right up until it turned out they weren't "soft as shit".

Besides which, you just don't threaten children with setting a dog on them. You just don't. It's indefensible.