To ask dog owners to keep there dogs away from my my children?

[SparklyPeachMama]

I don't dislike dogs what I dislike is dog owners who think there dogs are more important than my children. You dog might be friendly but I'm not willing to test your theory on my babies.
Your dog should never be closer to me/my family than it is you? If your dogs recall isn't good it shouldn't be off lead when other people are around!

My point being my children should be closer to me as their dog should be closer to them.

I still think this is saying that dogs have the same rights as humans and I don't think they should.

I would think a proportion of attacks could be prevented if children were better behaved around/didn’t approach strange dogs.

So people are advocating kicking dogs on here now? Is that where we are? Not only is that awful but also it's dangerous, and absolutely terrible behaviour to teach your kids. The bad dogs might well fight back and you're lucky they didn't, because in my view you've started the aggression there, not the dog.

We have a dog who is pretty good at recall but now and again has been known to lose it (he's part beagle and thinks with his nose). We walk him on the quiet beach near us and keep him on a lead if there are other people around. Mostly because so many people are terrified of dogs these days, he wouldn't jump at anyone but might be persuaded to pay attention to a screaming person.

We don't have a problem with other dogs or other people, my children know to ask before approaching but also know the difference between a dog who wants to play and a dog that doesn't. Most people ask before approaching our dog and even if they don't he's very used to children and isn't bothered by contact. To the children that approach without asking, I tell them he's fine to pet, but other dogs are not so it's best to ask first.

I agree with this too! Especially in busy parks

I completely agree this is my point if your dog is close enough to my children and not you for me to kick I should be able to. Like wise if your dog is next to you and my children are close to you/your dog you can kick them.
I would honestly be happy for this to be ok!!
Children shouldnt bother dogs and visa versa. This would be the case if dogs are on leads and or have good recall!!

THEIR dogs. Not THERE dogs.

My dog’s never off lead in public but I must admit I only encounter well behaved children, who always ask if they can stroke him. He’s absolutely huge so I’m not sure if that makes a difference.

That isn't what I am saying at all.

What I am saying is it is absolutely not my responsibility to protect children who aren't under the control of their parents.

If your child is running up to my on lead, under control dog then sinfully expect to be able to yell at you to control your child and get it away from my dog.

And the whole point of this thread is, please can dogs be kept on a lead if they have poor recall.

So we aren't discussing the scenario you posted.

We are discussing dogs re leads/poor recall.

So without yes butting anything, do you agree with the OP?

I agree with you, dogs should be under control at all times. I have a dog and if she wasn’t under my control she wouldn’t be off lead. However, many children approach my dog and try to touch her. Parents need to make sure they tell their children to stand back and ask a dog owner if they may stroke or pet a dog. My dog is 11 and has never shown aggression but if I child grabbed her tail or hurt her and she reacted I’m sure people would put the responsibility on me and my dog even though the child was in the wrong.

That would be a great idea. It would also be nice to see some enforcement in areas that are currently supposed to be dog free - I’m thinking if the beach in particular where there are areas for dogs and areas where there is supposedly a fine if you take your dog there yet it’s always got dogs on it and they’re always off lead.

My dog was always on a lead (because his recall wasn't reliable) but I have still had a little kid run up and kick him for no reason whatsoever. Fortunately the dog was not aggressive, but if he had reacted would it have been my fault? In the eyes of the parent, probably. This is what some of us are up against, particularly with bigger dogs.

That's not what the OP says though. Dogs should never be closer to her family than their owner is what OP says. That can be because the dog has approached the family or that the family have approached the dog, surely.

Equally perhaps parents should be teaching their children not to run up to random digs without asking the owner. My late dog was not brought up around little kids and whilst he never approached them kids would run up to him, he didn't bite but he would simply move away and they would continue to approach, i didn't want his patience to be tested!

Dogs should be on lead unless they have good recall. They shouldn’t ever be bouncing up to strangers. But. If my dog walks past you and ignores you completely it shouldn’t matter if they are “close” to you. (We often walk on paths.)

And just to follow up my last post, I do agree kids (even adults) shouldn't approach dogs without checking/permission.

But it isn't a reason not to keep your dog under control, the two aren't binary.
So why it keeps coming up here in the context of this discussion I have no idea.

Just feels like an excuse.

Remember an unknown dog approaching a small child at head height is like an unknown pony or maybe even small horse doing it to you. Please remember that when you laugh off the interaction as harmless. I guarantee you it has caused harm.

Poor dog owners are EVERYWHERE. It's really basic. It is your job as an owner to keep your dog to yourself. If it can be trained to reliably walk to heel or come back instantly when you call it, all well and good. If it can't then you keep it on a lead.

You should not ever let your animal run up to other people, bark at them, jump on them, get into their personal space in any way at all. Because it is your animal and they more than likely don't want it anywhere near them.

This is so basic. Keep your animals to yourselves and away from others.

I think we can take OPs comment in good faith to mean that the dog has approached them.

If just waking past and dog (and child- I do agree) are well behaved and basically pass each other without approach then all is fine.

I'd say both are well trained then and that's how it should be.

Haven't read the thread yet but have to agree with this comment. A few days ago we encounted two women both with dogs that had no recall and which were pestering us. We asked them to control their dogs. Their response was to tell us that the dogs meant no harm, one was a puppy and that we shouldn't be walking in such places if we don't like dogs. Oh and apparently we are old and miserable and should be setting a better example to younger people like themselves. They were both in their 50's.

What has this got to do with people keeping dogs on leads?
Are we putting small children and dogs in the same category when it comes to behaviour in public?
Yes, the parents of that child should not have allowed that behaviour, but what has that got to do with a dog running up to my child?
Are some dog owners thinking it's fair game for their dog to run up to children because a child ran up to their dog?

I think it's reasonable to point out the flaws with that reasoning, when dogs are often approached. Of course dogs being under control is important, I don't think many would disagree, although I do find the whole mentality that people are not to be inconvenienced by others in any way quite weird.

Kids approach dogs sometimes, show them gently how to do better if they get it wrong.

Dogs behave badly sometimes, but not listening is not the same as being a massive savage. The vast vast majority of dogs mean no harm at all. Ask the owner to call them back, nicely, while saying hi to said dog would be a much better approach for encounters between both sorts of people to be less negative and more cooperative?

Is a little bit of good faith and understanding too much for everyone?

I also loathe the "oh he's just being friendly" type of owner.

I don't want to be friends with your animal and it's pure arrogance on their part to think I might. You are besotted with your animal - fine. But why on earth would you even think everyone else might feel the same way? Most people are entirely indifferent to your animal. Many actively dislike it.

Like I said, keep it to yourself. I never taught my children to ask before approaching dogs. I taught them not to approach dogs owned by strangers, ever.

YANBU.

A Jack Russel jumped up onto my toddler in his stroller in Waitrose last week and the owner seemed annoyed when I asked them to get their dog off… this was Waitrose STORE not the cafe and it didn’t appear to be a service dog (no bib, badly behaved etc).

No I think if a dog is on a lead the parents are at fault. That is not ok at all!!

Such a weird post!