Dog ate my picnic

[givingitupok]

Had a picnic with my child today in our local park. Random dog (Shar Pei) appeared out of nowhere and ran over to us. I stood up and picked up my child and ran in a panic and stood behind a tree (probably looked like a total fool doing so but there was nowhere else to go without running towards the dog!). No idea where the owner was at this point. Watched the dog eating our food and also drooling all over our lunch box. Owner suddenly appeared from a path that lead into the park screaming at her dog to 'get here now'. Dog totally ignored her and she had to grab it and literally drag it away and put the lead on it. She apologised but when I asked her if she was going to pay for our food she actually had the gall to say 'you should have picked it up when you saw him coming' !!! I have just got home and this literally only happend 45 mins ago so am still fuming. She did not pay for our food and despite initially apologising, was incredibly arsey and walked off in the opposite direction. My child is very upset and the worst bit is, he has SEN and made everything in the lunch box himself (spread the sandwiches, cut up the apples, broke the chocolate into pieces to fit it in the container, etc). This was quite a big thing for him and he's really upset. I am also on a low income and spent a lot on the food. I took a photo of her and it clearly has her face in it. Not sure why but I just felt like I had to do something. I am not going to name and shame, but I'm just so angry.

Not sure what I want from this thread. Just rather pissed off.

Many dogs owners take the piss. UK is a dog loving country. In many ways we have value dogs more than people.

I remember once while I was heavily pregnant with my 2nd a large dog bolted towards my toddler very aggressively. As my child screamed i reflexively kicked at the dog.

The owners and onlookers acted like I was the bonkers one. Not the owner for not having dog on a lead.

I made it clear that I was very much prepared to kill their dog, which outraged them further, but also confused and scared them a little I think. No regrets

Fucking idiot owner and now the poor dog has the reprocussions.

Most dogs find it very difficult to resist food on the ground. Poor you and DS, and poor pup.

People saying "why have a panic where dogs go?" Dogs go everywhere now. Won't be long before they are the gp and dentist too.

I'm a dog owner and lover. But if I saw a German shepherd run at me I totally freeze. I was bitten by one as a teen and it's owner had to beat it to get it off of me. I have zero control of my fight or flight response. I could get therapy but instincts keep you alive.

Your only in control of what is under your your control. Like the woman posting the other day about a man following her in the woods. What's more important? The man's feelings or the woman's fear?

Anyway if this was a man with his kid the dog would probably had a boot in it's face. I saw a man kick a off lead dog this week as it's owner wouldn't recall it. Insisting it's being friendly pouncing on the man's tiny dog repeatedly.

So disinterested owners with zero recall are constantly putting their dogs in danger. I was shocked and upset seeing the dog being kicked but the owner who didn't recall it didn't even see it - they had already walked past ignoring what it was doing. It was horrible.

Root of problem is assumption is that everyone adores your dog. More than their own dog or child's safety. If a dog was mauling my own dog or child I'd kill it if I had to rather than see my dog die. It terrifying me as I see it so much owners laughing "he's harmless" while the other dog is scared shitless. My dog wouldn't bite back but my friends dog would kill another dog that persistently threatened it. That's another issue. Other owners miss reading other dogs body language. Oh they are just saying hello. Until they get bitten then it's all the person shouting to recalls problem. When you was told firmly to recall asap. For a reason.

Also worth saying even if the dog just wanted to “play” it could easily have hurt your child by accident. Especially given it was a large dog.
What an irresponsible dog owner.

My reaction is to freeze or slowly move away rather than kick and I know it’s just not something I’d do generally - but if more people did lash out maybe dog owners would get their dogs under control?

For example that fellow resident I mentioned upthread didn’t care about her dog jumping on me a second time, because her dog was unharmed the first time whereas I was the one with a scratched up thigh. If she knew a kick was coming its way perhaps it would have been a different story.

I was in a hotel lobby in the U.S. years ago and I saw a woman let her dog repeatedly jump on a man who was shouting stay away. It was on one of those retractable leashes but she didn’t try to pull her dog away at all until the man kicked her dog. Everyone was appalled and the hotel staff called the police on the man, but I did point out to the staff they should make sure their guests have their dogs under control.

Ever since then I’ve always made sure I stay at dog free hotels.

@AngelicKaty and @WD40SuccessStories
So why are you not quoting my first post on this thread where I said all my sympathies lay with the OP and that I hoped this event wouldn't affect her child? Did you miss that one?

Edited to add - top of page 9 if it's helpful.

How long was the dog there eating to eat a whole punnet of grapes??

The owner was terrible - rude, thoughtless. The kind of owner who gives all dog owners a bad name. But you also need to get a handle on your fear of dogs so you don’t pass it to your ds.

The UK is not a dog-loving country! There are a lot of dog-lovers but everyone else tolerates dogs at best. And the tide is turning as there are more and more clueless and entitled dog owners and dogs are getting more and more out of control, making people's lives a misery and in the most extreme cases, killing people.

spot on. Stupid dog owner has upset innocent OP and child and put her own dog at risk.
I do agree to please don’t run away from a dog as they may have a high prey drive and will chase.
However, dog owner 100% in the wrong.
I’m sorry your lovely picnic was spoiled for you and your ds

It's because a grape is the perfect size and shape to get lodged in the oesophagus. Cherry tomatoes and hot dog sausages when uncut can also cause issues.

Obviously the risk is small... but cutting them (lengthwise, not width wise) is worth it when you think of how awful it must be to witness your child choking.

I used to be a nanny for a child whose mum never cut grapes and ate loads of them. I'd just done a first aid course and was telling her about CPR etc... we were then interrupted by a commotion and yes, her son was flapping about as he'd swallowed a grape 😱 Thank goodness it came back up as I wasn't expecting to use my new skills quite so soon 😅

On a serious note , it would be a good idea for the OP to seek therapy for her fear of dogs otherwise she will pass it on to her DC too. Dogs are everywhere these days (Hallelujah)

I would! Feel bad for your son and the dog 😢

I really hope the tide is turning. At the moment dogs are allowed more or less everywhere except supermarkets and even then some entitled owners take them in anyway.

Maybe dog owners could have the therapy (training) instead and learn how to keep their pets under control and ensure that they do not adversely affect other people. After all, they're the ones who chose to have them.

If dog owners were responsible, people wouldn't be scared of dogs because they wouldn't bother people.

Send her pic and what happened to the local council Dog Warden. (Or I’d post on facebook group 😂).

people who don’t have control of their dogs shouldn’t have them off leads (and shouldn’t be allowed to own them tbh).

RIP uncontrolled bad dog and shitty dog owner.

Dogs are a menace in our local park. It's only a small one with a football area and a few swings etc but there are always off lead dogs in there meaning that sometimes children have to leave. The owners are usually the don't care/my dog can do what it likes types and they allow them to run up to people, chase children, poo and just leave it etc. Anyone challenging them gets threats and foul mouthed abuse. I'm not going to risk my child being bitten by some out of control dog. Dogs should be banned altogether from such a small park and on leads in the larger ones other than in areas for dogs to be off lead which should be separate and clearly identifiable so people who don't want to be around dogs don't go there. I've also had a dog eat our picnic food. It snatched DS's sandwich right out of his hand. He was only little and scared and in tears and the dog owner just shrugged it off. It was actually a beautiful dog but completely out of control.

Maybe teach children to chew? No cut grapes or cherry tomatoes where I am from.

Thank you.

it has been suggested for many years, perhaps in the last 20, that grapes should be cut up for small children

She didn't. OP wrote in her very first post that she wouldn't "name and shame" the dog- owner. She subsequently wrote she knows nothing about dogs and was clearly worried when other PPs explained to her that grapes and chocolate are toxic to them and then she did her own research which made her even more concerned for the dog. She posted the photo she'd taken on FB just long enough for a relative of the owner to recognise her and contact OP to tell her she would advise the owner to take her dog to the vet - she then deleted the photo. If you think this makes OP a "vigilante" then you don't understand the meaning of the word.

Really hate how entitled and selfish so many dog owners are.

YANBU to be upset at the loss of your picnic - anyone would be, but especially when your son has made it himself.

I think you know YABU to react that way to the dog though for the sake of your son. I understand you were so afraid that ignoring the dog or pushing it away wasn’t possible - so if similar ever happens again you need to make yourself stand tall - arms out, with your son behind you so the dog can’t get to him.

Luckily this dog wasnt aggressive, but as you hopefully know from this thread now, running away from a dog just excites its chase instincts. In future you need to be the “bigger dog” if a dog is out of control like that and that means squaring up to it and trying not to show fear unfortunately. I’m sorry that this owners poor control over their dog has made this a horrible learning experience for you.

(and on a side note, thank you for trying to find the owner as a bunch of grapes is a nasty death for a dog, poor thing).

Don’t be ridiculous

I found a mddle-aged couple blundering about in my back garden. They were looking for their dog's 'favourite ball'.

ln the end, I had to insist that they leave and told them I'd pop the ball on top of my hedge if I found it. It never did turn up. Quite bizarre.

I also had to replace my stick fence at the rear because a dog had slipped through and the owner had crashed through to chase it. (The council had massacred the hawthorn hedge on their side, hence the dog being able to get through.)

A path leading to a football pitch and some trees and shrubs beyond runs along the length of my back garden, which is why I get so many dog owners around here. For some strange reason, many of them let their dogs off the lead while they're on the path. Not a good idea, since the football pitch is actually meant for youngsters to play football and there are two primary schools very close by.