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!

Both my dc have scars from dogs. My ds has one on his lip as when he was 3 we were leaving a small shop and stopped in the doorway as my ex dh, the shop keeper and a couple walking by with their dog had a very quick chat. Their dog jumped up at my ds (completely unprovoked) as he was "just being friendly," and the dogs nose managed to cut his lip. So ds has had a scar there since.

My dd was attacked by a dog last year. She walked into a friends house that she'd been in many times before, and their dog attacked her. The dog jumped up, bit and scratched all up her arm, and then went for her leg before the dog was taken off. We ended up in a&e all night as the bite looked nasty, and she had antibiotics. My dd has a scar on her arm now from the bite as well as the psychological scar by now being uneasy around dogs.

My children are big now but I love walking and still frequently get annoyed with dogs not under control. It's definitely not because I'm running up and trying to pet them! Over the years it's situations like:
Sunbathing lying in a park dog jumping all over me- owners reaction "she's just really friendly"
Having a picnic (in the designated area) dog walking on blanket and nosing food- owners reaction "it smells so tempting"
Coming along on the beach and pissing on Sandcastle kids were building- dirty look from owner and mutters of dogs are allowed on this beach

I actually wouldn't even mind a dog jumping on me if the owner was calling them running at speed to solve the issue and hugely apologetic about it and then popped them on a lead. But that's never the reaction they are always at a distance, never really take any action and act like you are in the wrong for being annoyed.

Plenty of well trained dogs are fully under control and will respect your space. It's a shame these owners get tarred by the fools who haven't bothered to train theirs, and they are far more visible as they will upset several people on one short walk.

It is often the reaction of owners that makes it worse. A few weeks ago a man had 2 dogs on leads as I walked by one of them jumped up and put his paws on me. The man immediately called the dog's name and pulled him back and apologised to me. I don't really like dogs but I wasn't annoyed as the owner handled things perfectly.

It is very annoying when owners say 'oh he is just being friendly' or get annoyed when you ask them to recall their dogs.

As long as you train your children to not go up to random dogs and start grabbing them it’s fine with me.

Dog owners

I was at the park with my disabled child last year; feeding the ducks and a small dog came running over to him. Now the dog didn't do anything other than sniff DC, but he now won't go to the park again, something we spent years building up to. It's not up to a dog owner to decide their dog can approach my child, it's up to me. Use a lead.

And the people who won't recall their dogs are the problem.

But also, parents who literally push their children into and interaction instead f waiting to see if the owner says it's ok, are also a problem

Completely agree.

Still fuming from when a lady let her big dog jump up at me when I was carrying my newborn in her sling. I say let as it was on a bloody lead and she had no control even with a lead!

So by your logic, every dog in the world should be muzzled if there is a remote possibility of a child running over and leaping on them? How about teaching your child not to do that?
I have plenty of dogs and children & manage quite fine as they all know how to behave.

Agree. It's enough to put you off isn't it, but I'm reluctant to let it!

Yes, if you can’t guarantee your dog won’t snap in those situations.

Parents should of course be teaching their kids not to approach strange dogs. But children should not be put at risk by someone’s choice to have a pet.

I agree although now my children are older, it's because I have two small dogs and one is reactive. He isn't aggressive but he's nervous and yappy and it's difficult to know how the other dog will react. They often come running up to us and it's very stressful. Woodland is especially stressful because dogs just seem to come out of nowhere with no owner to be seen.

Dog owners should keep their dogs away from everyone. On a leash.

But nobody can guarantee a dog won’t snap. Hence teaching your children not to run and leap on random dogs…
Shall we also chop the legs off all horses in case your children decide to run up behind them? Take the wheels off all cars in case your kids decide to play on the motorway?
I’d hope for that most people can be logical enough to agree with my sentiment that children shouldn’t be running up to strange dogs.

So I’ve had dogs and I have children, one of my dogs actually was attacked by a child who’s mum though it was cute she was trying to ‘stroke’ her - no she wasn’t, she was pulling, poking my dogs eyes inwards and shoving her fingers in my dogs mouth, I tried to shoo the child away (not physically at all, just trying to get her to release my dog) and her mum thought I was RUDE. Because of that child, my dog never ever again trusted or liked very young children coming near her. I do not value dogs over children at all - but there are some idiots out there as parents who think their children are gods gift to earth and let them get away with anything. Both pets and children have a place in the world.

I think what some are saying - me included - is that it should be the law, at least within the areas of town councils.

Although as a pp has said, plenty of dog owners seem to ignore the law on leashing where it does apply. Better enforcement needed as well then.

To you. Which is irrelevant.

My child is more important to me than someone's else child. Doesn't mean she is actually more important generally, and that I can therefore let her do whatever she wants.

Please can everyone take some responsibility for their children and tell them that they should never approach a dog even those dogs on leads.

Whilst I'm here please can everyone else also stop touching my dog/talking to it.

Thanks

A lead doesn't help if the human adult on one end of it thinks it is OK to let the dog put his head in a pram to have a good sniff. My then baby's older sibling is super wary of dogs and I don't think that helped!
I don't dislike dogs per se. I used to own a lab and it was quite hard work to make sure she was well trained, got enough exercise, and didn't inconvenience anyone. Some people want to own a dog without doing the hard work or having the inconvenience to ensure the dog knows how to behave in public. The lack of brain power some people exercise with a dog on an extendable lead astounds me though

Exactly this - my pair of terriers are well trained, well socialised and actually love small children. I do however spend a lot of time looking out for out of control incoming children whilst the dogs are on leads and under control in all public places.

We went way OTT with socialising the second one after realising the first one was a child magnet due to looking like a teddy bear. He's been grabbed from behind and hugged so often that I've lost count. He just jumps but thankfully has such a placid nature that he tolerates it. I couldn't count on being so lucky with the second one, hence the massive socialisation project. She is much feistier but also OK with unexpected cuddles.

The thing is - I know that my two have been OK so far - but it's a breed known to be aggressive if not properly handled so the parents of these children don't.

Completely agree that dogs should be under control around kids, but so should kids be under control around dogs.

on Boxing Day I was walking my two dogs on leads in a local nature reserve. It has concrete roads running through, so obviously also busy with families and kids, buggies A family with a football team of kids came up behind us and one of the little kids aged around 7 rode into my dog from behind. It caused my dog to scream in pain, which scared the kid who fell off her bike. She wasn’t hurt but omg the DM went ballistic about my bloody dog and how we should have been walking through the forest as “Didn’t I realise the pathways were for bikes, families etc” Absolutely no fucking apology from her, despite my dog standing on three legs still yelping. Kid was crying saying my dog had hurt her. No!!! You rode into my fucking dog.

Camping in August, my two dogs were tethered securely to our table eating breakfast. I briefly went to put something in the bin, 20 metres away. Turned to walk back to see the four year old from next tent sitting with my dogs. He’d taken food from their bowls and was hand feeding them. One dog I’d only had for 6 weeks as a rescue. Very lucky both dogs were absolutely fine but if not it would have been my fault no doubt.

Argument works both ways.

Bikes on busy paths are another pet hate of mine! Your poor dog

I agree op! Also kids / adults should not just go up to dogs and touch without asking and the like. Your problem is real don't get me wrong op but just to highlight it goes both ways and dog owners have trouble with other people too.

I have a dog and little kids and try my best to be a good parent and good dog owner.

The basic premise is not something that anyone can disagree with. Dogs should be under control and not approach people uninvited

I have a big fluffy dog who people want to approach but in my experience they have usually asked first which I am happy to oblige under supervision

Because he is big I always put him on a short not extendable lead when people or other dogs are approaching. I do let him off lead in situations that I deem to be safe (it's never actually unsafe as he does not bite but he might scare someone and be perceived as unsafe. The main danger is him knocking someone over running around like a loon) where there is no-one for miles around because keeping him in a lead all the time ruins the joy of the walk for him and for me. I seek out places and times where we can go with no distractions.

I have always wondered how one obtains the mythical Mumsnet 100% reliable recall without practicing in all scenarios and if you have to practice then QED sometimes you might fail. I can recall my dog away nearly all the time but occasionally he disobeys me usually where there is a dog he is desperate to meet. If this happens I always go to get him back and apologise but he can run a lot faster than me. Also paradoxically if I run in the opposite direction rather than towards him this is more likely to result in his return but probably looks odd.

I know!!! I understand it was an accident but fgs take some accountability for your kid’s actions. Kid should have apologised to me and my dog, but instead was allowed to believe it was our fault. No words 😡

I think this is just a symptom of society becoming more selfish tbh