AIBU to be upset after a dog jumped at our baby?

[KellyK2026]

Okay, so myself, DH and baby were at a country park the other week. Baby was getting hungry so we sat ourselves down on a park bench and got some food out. A woman was walking with her family and dog and the dog must’ve smelt the food as it suddenly
comes bounding over and is jumping at baby (who is on DH knee) to get the food. We don’t know this dog and don’t know what it's capable of. I scream at the owner that we have a baby and to get her dog under control. At this point, she’s pretty far away and is taking her time to come over. My DH then kicks the dog to get it off them as it just will not stop. The woman wasn’t particularly apologetic and seemed shocked. Did we overreact?

Okay, so we shouted for the owner. I moved the food. We blocked the dog and told it to get down. It continued to jump up at my baby putting its paws on my DH and baby - bearing in mind it is jumping up and down pretty forcefully. It continued to do this and was getting even more hyperactive. There was a lot that happened before the kick.

well you can't really kick a random toddler, as much as you might want to.

There are bad dog owners just like there are bad and inconsiderate people generally. In all walks of life. Surprised that you might be surprised at that?

I’m not at all surprised by it. Things like this have happened numerous times - although
thankfully not to my baby.

Idiot owner should of course have had the dog on a lead. Unless your dog is 100% with recall around food, keep it on a lead. I would be MORTIFIED if mine did this and they’d never be off lead again.
That said, yes you over reacted. Unfortunately there will occasionally be an idiot around who hasn’t trained their dog. Your screaming and carrying on will just excite the dog, not to mention terrify your child and potentially lead to phobias in the future. Best to be calm, stand up and walk away. And honestly you do sound a bit dramatic. This dog was “actively and relentlessly jumping at my baby”?? And it could have knocked over a full grown man? A spaniel?
Have a read up on how safely to deal with the unwanted approach of a dog and do that in future.

Eh? Who said the dog was knocked over? It wasn’t and was completely unharmed. It did succeed in getting the dog to move away for a while. I shouted for the owner, because she was further away, to get her dog under control because we have a baby with us. If I had said this under my breath she wouldn’t have heard me, so of course I shouted. I also wanted her to realise the urgency and hurry up.

I have also repeatedly said I don’t know what breed it was. It was slightly bigger than a spaniel and had ears like one. That was a guess based on my limited knowledge about dog breeds (and I know about seven different types). It could’ve been anything. That was just to give people an idea of the size.

YANBU only a bloody idiot would try to grab an out of control dog by the collar while holding their baby.

Any out of control dog is a dangerous dog. Doesn't matter if it's trying to kill you, steal your food or play.

I grabbed a dog which was on my property going after my horses. It turned round and bit me. The teeth went very deep into my arm and the pain / burning were painful. I spent 4 hours in minor injuries as I need antibiotics promptly due to being on immunosuppressants and it's easy for me to develop sepsis.

Not all dogs like to be grabbed by total strangers and not everybody likes dogs so their owners should keep them under control if they don't want the dog to get hurt.

I've found it's impossible to train entitled dog owners to keep their dogs under control but dogs are much easier with a hard kick or a whack with a piece of wood.

Re read what I wrote. You said the dog could have easily unbalanced your DH. This is very unlikely with a spaniel sized dog and a fully grown man. And take the advice! Next time, be calm and walk away.

Even so. Just stand up and say shoo is generally enough. Screaming and kicking is an overreaction. Some people are so highly strung nowadays.

Dog owner here. You did the right thing to protect your baby the owner was entirely at fault.

If one of your horses got out would you be happy if someone whacked it with a piece of wood?

I said the dog was slightly larger than a spaniel. I also said my DH was straddling a bench seat at the time whole holding the baby. He wasn’t getting up from a normal seated position. He would’ve had to stand up and swing one leg over the seat while holding the baby. So yes, he could’ve easily become unbalanced while trying to get up while a dog is jumping up and him.

You are not being unreasonable. I love dogs but I'm sick of walking to work through a field out the back of my house, just to be accosted by loose dogs. Last week two poodle things ran towards me growling hostilely. The owner came bounding up and said (to the poodles) " ohh you're growling!! It's lucky you're soooo cute!" . Sums up how oblivious some people are.

We told the dog to get down. I moved the food. We tried to block the dog. It continued to jump up putting its paws on my DH and baby. My responsibility to someone’s dog ends there.

Why ask for peoples opinions if you only want to hear those that match your own?

Too many owners like this about. Bring back dog licenses and training from the offset. Can't go off training until you have mastered recall!

Never heard of a horse coming over and biting a baby for some food.

just train your dog properly and it won't be an issue, it's not that hard.

You can find very good dog trainers to help you out if you not confident.

Screaming and kicking is an overreaction. it's not.

I’m not. You’re just missing out the context. A dog didn’t come over and my DH just chose to kick it. A lot happened before that. I also don’t appreciate people making up things like the dog was kicked over or that it just came over to sniff our food or that the dog was a spaniel. So I’m going to correct people who write things that didn’t happen.

If it happens again, try to photograph the dog and owner if possible and report to the police (non-emergency).

People need to report much more often to get the dog issues reported and therefore treated as higher priority in general.

How bloody stupid

The dog owner should have been more responsible.
But your DH overreacted to what seems to be a spaniel.
And you kept hold of the baby bag.
The main thing is to consider what you would do differently next time.

The dog should have been on the lead, the dog was not snarling in an attack, they were stealing food, kicking the dog was unnecessary and cruel.
The owner will think twice about allowing her dog off lead.

I mean, the whole reason something like this is considered newsworthy is because it’s vanishingly unusual.