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.

Don't be ridiculous! If anything, the owners need PTS for being totally irresponsible and putting the dog in a stressful situation in the first place. They clearly didn't give a shit since they carried on eating.

OP - I hope your son is alright and doesn't develop a fear of dogs. As a dog owner, I think you under reacted. I wonder if the restaurant would have asked them to leave if you'd kicked up a fuss.

It seems like a fair balance to me that dogs should be allowed in the bar bit of a pub, that often also has a couple of tables if people want to eat, but not in the restaurant bit.

@Cantthinkofanewusernameffs

nope. I think it should be put down. That eliminates the risk of it happening again - a risk which seems high especially as it has such feckless owners.

Same.

I nearly had to do that today when a little prick of a dog went batshit rabid at me for simply existing.

What more she could have done was have called the police. It is a police matter. The dog was classed as dangerously out of control. It bit a person.

You under reacted, I've been there and we always kick ourselves after. I was onna train eith my toddler, just walking down the aisle to get off and a dog on a lap lunged at his face as he was 20 months and it was level with it, and tried to bite. The owner dragged it back and said "oh sorry he doesn't like it when people are in his space"

HIS space, the dog on a packed train. There is no space! And my toddler didn't even see the dog, just walked past and out it sprang. I just sort of laughed it off and on automatic people pleasing pilot said its okay no harm done, then the further I got away the more furious I got at the near miss. I wish I'd spoken up.

I love dogs incidentally and grew up with dogs, but some people treat them more kindly than a misbehaving child these days when they act up, those people were totally in the wrong not to.reprimand the dog and leave.

Exactly the same thing happened to my son in a beer garden attached to a campsite. There were kids everywhere, mucking about, and this dog was lying there ignoring them for ages then randomly snapped at my DS ankle. No actual harm caused, the dog wasn't particularly aggressive, probably just fed up of being there in this family area while his owners got pissed and ignored him and my DS was probably a bit closer than the dog was happy with. DS was shocked and a bit shaken but after a minute carried on playing with his friends. The owners were apologetic but carried on drinking and ignoring the dog. So irresponsible.

The OP didn't say her son was a toddler.

Should have called the police and gave dog owners hell.

Dogs which bite children shouldn't be out in public, full stop. Judging by the attitude of the owners, this wasn't the first time and won't be the last.

Your poor son has learned from this that dogs are more important than him and can attack him without consequence. Well done.

or harmed

Well behaviours aside dogs smell and shouldn’t be in places where people eat

Most cafe and restaurant owners report a significant uptake in revenue after allowing dogs in, so this won't be changing any time soon. People who dislike dogs can take their pick of venues that don't allow them.

Really, a frightened animal snaps, is undoubtedly pulled back to the owners feet/under the table, generally, away from the child.

You'd get up, walk over, haul out the dog and boot it in the face?

A/ No you wouldn't and B/ if you did, you'd be causing unnecessary suffering which is illegal.

Your anger is understandable, but the fault lies with the human on the end of the lead, not with the dog.

Swap dog for toddler here - toddlers bite quite commonly. If your toddler bit someone elses would you find it appropriate for victims parent to come over and boot your toddler in the face?

No. You might think it acceptable for them to come and yell at you for allowing it to happen.

I find it fascinating that a dog is not OK to use violence to protect themselves when they're feeling threatened, worried etc..

But plenty of humans absolutely think it's acceptable, understandable, indeed will even brag about it and expect congratulations for doing (or wanting to do) the exact same thing, for the same reasons.

So really, you're expecting better behaviour better self control... from a dog.. than from a human?

Unless it's a guide dog, or other special assistance highly trained dog, I can see no good reason for anyone to take a dog into a restaurant.

The current trend for dogs to be taken everywhere is bizarre - and at times very annoying and unpleasant.

@WiddlinDiddlin

you can’t “swap dog for toddler”. Because…erm..well toddlers are people and dogs are dogs. Totally different species. Actual human children will always be infinitely more important than dogs. So your point is moot.

that dog should be put down and it’s owners banned from keeping dogs.

You should have reported it to the staff.

Im glad your son wasn't injured. The dog owners should have taken it more seriously.

I think dog owners just need to assess their own dog. I have a whippet and he just sits down, people watching. No bother. But I do see dog owners taking dogs who are too lively or they bark and think if mine was like that I wouldn't take him.

I agree with people who are saying it's a small dog issue. One of my children is terrified because when she was about eighteen months old, a French bulldog jumped up repeatedly in her face.
Some reactions from people have been " Lol, as if Frenchies are dangerous" seemingly unconcerned that dogs shouldn't be repeatedly jumping in children's faces.
( The owner was no where to be seen and when arrived snapped " She's a puppy").

Call the police that’s a s 3 dangerous dogs offence and those idiots need to be charged. You massively under reacted.

Give over. It's the dog owner you'd need to have a word with. Not the dogs fault it wasn't in its comfort zone. I think if the police were called and the child had no evidence that suggested they had been bitten, against a dog injured with broken jaw ir fractured skull, I know who would be arrested.....

We ran boarding kennels and we all called the visiting whippets 'professional dogs'. Always calm, friendly, didn't demand attention but were up for fun and interaction when appropriate and knew when to just be there with you. Short hair made them clean and easy to look after. Of all dogs, they would probably be the most suited for being in food businesses.

Comparing children to dogs again…. . How many stories of children bites/attacks have you heard of in recent years. That would be none

You should have complained to the management when it happened.

It’s irrelevant that you don’t want the dog to suffer harm. It’s for the canine experts to determine if the dog is likely to be dangerous. The sort of dog owners who take their ‘fur babies’ into restaurants aren’t known for their ability to risk assess adequately.

Dogs DO NOT belong in restaurants anyway and I think you were extremely unwise to sit in an area where dogs were visible when you have very young children.

I’d have walked straight out on the grounds of hygiene alone. 🤮

You can though. I didn't say one was more important than the other, thats utterly irrelevant. The point is, both bite and can inflict bite wounds, neither are responsible for their own actions, they have an owner or a parent who is responsible for managing them, their access to the environment, their interactions with others...

So yeah I'd say one person allowing their toddler to bite another is a very good direct comparison.

Dogs may be a totally different species, however we're all mammals, on a basic level the brain functions the same way and in the child under 3, much of the cognitive function verrrrrrry comparable (poor motor skills, poor language skills, lack of impulse control, strong emotions, low threshold for frustration/stress).

Not opinion btw. Science.