To feel if a dog bites a child they should leave the restaurant?

[Bookishworms]

*edit: sorry for typos! Dog not dig

Out for lunch yesterday with kids, a casual family restaurant where dogs are allowed in. We love dogs and were sat in the section with dogs. No dramas.

One terrier on the table behind had barked at the waiter so seemed a but highly strung but had settled down. My son got up to go to the loo and the dog was startled, (i guess by the sound of the chair scrape and movement) and jumped up and bit my son! He hadn’t trod on it or anything just startled.

Settled son, no skin broken, and the owners just seemed to want to pretend it hadn’t happened. I said ‘your dog just bit my child…?!’ They said was he bleeding and oh sorry dog must have been startled. Then went back to their lunch. I was a bit taken aback - I don’t have a dog at the moment but have in the past and if it had bit someone I would have taken the dog out of that situation right away.

Anyways we just went back to our lunch rather than make a fuss as son wasn’t badly injured but then my friend who has a smaller child was pointing out that a snap like that on say, a toddler, or exposed skin, would have been a huge problem and I should have reported it. I don’t want the dog put down or anything but surely there should be consequences for the owners? If their dog gets stressed in places like restaurants they maybe shouldn’t bring the dog?

Maybe I under-reacted.

Yes, I think you did. May be much worse next time. Snapping isn’t a one-off. Unbelievable that the owners were so blasé about it.
Hope your son’s all good now.

Ddogs in food establishments is a step too far imo.

Urm yes you under reacted.

Thankfully you DC was okay but as your friend pointed out what about the next child who might be smaller and more vulnerable.

The owners sound irresponsible and negligent. I'd have been annoyed by their lack of action.

However I cannot see what you can actually do now?

Maybe they’ll see this thread and feel shamed 😉

on a serious note - testing if something similar happened again what would i do

I love going places with my dog but they shouldn't be in establishments selling food. Can't believe the owners were so dismissive! Hope your son is okay

Tell the manager of the restaurant so there’s a record, take a photo of any damage, insist on the owner giving their name and address and report to 111. If they refuse, call 999.

As much as I love dogs, that’s massively out of order and should have been taken seriously by the owners. Some people just don’t want to see until it’s too late.

I'm not sure what more you could do.

The owner was aware and not bothered
The place was aware (the waiter had issues( and wasn't bothered.

You could ask to speak to a manager as your child was injured in their premises and they had not asked the owner to control or muzzle their dog. It might make the place think twice in future.

I hope your DC is ok.

They’re terrible owners. Their dog was clearly nervous and uncomfortable in the restaurant, but they made him stay and inevitably, he reacted to your son. They should’ve apologized properly and then got the poor dog out of there.

I can’t stand people who treat their dogs like this, it’s so selfish. I hope your son is ok and doesn’t feel nervous around dogs going forward. 💐

And yes, you can certainly contact the restaurant to report the incident.

I immediately turn on my heel if I see dogs in any place that serves food, that includes cafes and at this stage there's only one left in my area that's dog free now. So I go there.

I once asked a waiter at the door of the restaurant "are dogs allowed in here?" and when he said "yes madam you are welcome to bring your dog to sit with you under your table". I turned and walked away.

Dogs are for parks, people are for restaurants. I've no issue in pub gardens on a sunny day as long as the dogs are not running around wild like the kids ha ha. But not indoors with food. Ugh.

OP I'd have gone a bit crazy if a dog went near my child in an aggressive manner, blood or no blood. The audacity of the owners, but because many people are fearful of speaking up, they get away with it. Call the restaurant and register your dismay at dogs being allowed near food. Just so they know that not everyone is happy sharing their dinner with a pooch.

It is an understatement to say you “under-reacted”

You call the police!!!!!

Bloody hell that’s shocking! Aren’t accidents in business premises supposed to reported? I’d be putting in a complaint tbh. That’s appalling.

You under reacted I think. I have a large breed. No I don’t take it in restaurants but there is a public expectation on me to never allow my dog to put a foot out of line while all around me I see terrier types out of control aggressive and badly behaved and the owners just play it down. It really does annoy me. If it’s not ok for my dog to be aggressive and out of control then I don’t see why it’s ok for other breeds to behave that way in public. Small dog owners get away with far too much and it’s up to the rest of us not to allow it to go unchallenged. A few years ago my husband was left bleeding with puncture wounds on his calf and bruises after a small dog bit him while he was out minding his own business. As expected the owner played it down then started crying when he challenged her. Yet if our dog had done exactly the same thing they would have been calling the police on us.

What would you like them to have done? Your son wasn't hurt, you incurred no damage or expenses. They apologised for their dog and hopefully will not take the dog in a busy environment unmuzzled again.

How did the dog bite him if there was no broken skin? Maybe he just reacted and didn't actually touch him?

I think the restaurant should have asked the dog owner to leave if they weren’t leaving of their own accord.

Even if somewhere is dog friendly, it doesn’t mean it’s suitable for all dogs. If a dog is prone to biting, it shouldn’t be in a restaurant in the first place.

You can be bitten by dogs without the skin being broken. Surely you know that?

😂 For what exactly? The police don't respond to people getting mugged, 'a dog snapped at my son but didn't hurt him and I have no idea who they are or where they live' Is going to get laughed out of the station.

I don't like it either, it's fine in pubs but really gross in restaurants

Agreed - you sound like a responsible owner, it's a shame that so many dog owners are inconsiderate/can't be bothered to train their dogs

I think a lot of owners are like this and I don't know what you are supposed to do about it. Never actually been bitten but DC have been knocked over and injured several times and usually the attitude is awful and there is some terrible excuse. I would have told the restaurant and probably asked to move as I wouldn't want to carry on sitting near them

It really does seem to be a small dog issue here.

I was in a local town today and noticed a couple of people walking with two dogs. One was a greyhound / lurcher type, walking beautifully to heel and completely under control. The other was a dachshund running around at the end of a long lead, all over the place, no attempt by the person walking it to control the dog at all. I don’t know whether the people were a couple or simply friends, but it just stood out how differently the dogs behaved.

@Mandylovescandy Yes, and what baffles me about this incident is that their dog was clearly nervous in the restaurant, he didn’t want to be there and his owners were forcing him to stay. Yet they probably think that they love their dog and take good care of him?!

Dogs are for parks, people are for restaurants
Absolutely agree. Hope your DS isn't going to be afraid of dogs after this.

DH has always been wary of dogs, to the extent he will turn and take a different route if he sees an unleashed dog ahead ( we live rurally). I persuaded him that dogs don't actually bite at random and he became more confident. Then one day he came home with his hand bleeding badly. A small dog had run up to him, jumped up and bit him. Unsurprisingly he's back to dog avoidance.