Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to be very annoyed by this incident? (prompted by Staffy bull terrier thread)

143 replies

thatsnotmymonster · 19/10/2008 22:17

Reading the other thread about Staffordshire Bull Terriers reminded me that I was going to post about this so...

My sister was visiting last week with her 2 children. We went for a walk around the woodland footpaths across the road from my house. She had a backpack with her 1yo in and I had a double buggy with my 6mo dd in it. My 3.5yo ds was on his scoot bike and my 2yo dd and dneice were walking. These 3 were about 10 metres ahead of us on a straight footpath when suddenly from behind us a dog came tearing past us, it ran straight to the children and knocked my niece to the ground and stood over her. She was screaming and the dog was nuzzling all round her head (we couldn't tell what it was doing). My sister and I screamed at it as we ran towards them. I pulled the dog off and held it (it was wearing a studded leather harness) while my sis comforted her hysterical child who was thankfully physically unharmed, however she was scared of dogs BEFORE this happened.

After a couple of minutes the owners arrived, running and breathless, saying, 'oh she would never hurt anyone'. I said, 'well she knocked a child to the ground and stood over her and you never know with a dog.'

They acted very indignant and said, 'You don't walk round here much do you? It is basically the local dog park.'

It IS NOT any kind of dog park- it is just an area of public footpaths.

The dog looked very much like a Staffordshire Bull Terrier although I am not an expert so I'm not sure.

Should we have been keeping better control of our children? We were quite shaken by this and I was really annoyed at the couple and their attitude. My ds now wants to be picked up whenever we see a dog when we're out and goodness knows what my niece will be like now!

OP posts:
WideWebWitch · 19/10/2008 22:19

You were not in the wrong, the people who think it's ok to have dogs like this and to NOT KEEP CONTROL of them aree wankers imo. They should have apologised profusely and there's no such thing as a 'dog park' afaik, they were talking rubbish. Tossers. Your poor children, I hope they're ok.

studentkatie · 19/10/2008 22:20

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

ButtonMeUp · 19/10/2008 22:21

yabu - totally out of order.

There are alot of dog thread around atm arent there

ladymariner · 19/10/2008 22:25

Why is the op being unreasonable, button?

Original poster
thatsnotmymonster · 19/10/2008 22:26

buttonmeup- do you mean me or them?

Thanks, I expected them to apologise profusely but it was more like they were saying we shouldn't have been there! They didn't even see what their dog did. It could easily have turned nasty with a 2yo little girl screaming and pinned underneath it.

OP posts:
ButtonMeUp · 19/10/2008 22:27

sorry yanbu (the n was important and i forgot it) sorry x

ilovemydog · 19/10/2008 22:29

Yes, out of order.

Next time someone says that ask, 'really, does this mean that dogs are allowed to attack small children?

Either that or ask for name/address. Or get licence plate and report to police.

Tinkywinks · 19/10/2008 22:29

YANBU. Reminds me of when I was at a festival and this bloke walked past with HUGE over excited dog, DS was only 1 at the time and toddled over to it, I pulled him away because the dog was about five times his size, only for the owner to tell me "Well I'm not exactly going to bring a dangerous dog to a festival full of children am I?" and I replied "Well how do I know that, you might be a complete nutter!"

I am an animal lover, love dogs, am normally fine about my ds now age 3 stroking dogs (I normaly ask - in other words check with them the dog is child friendly - unless I can see dog is in a family with kids) BUT I am VERY edgy around those killer type dogs (pitballs etc.) especially if they have certain types of owners.

How terrifying for your neice, the owners should imagine themselves being pinned down by something twice your size.

YANBU!

oops · 19/10/2008 22:33

Message withdrawn

Original poster
thatsnotmymonster · 19/10/2008 22:35

S'ok Button (I assumed that's what you meant)

Exactly Tinkywinks. I love dogs too and don't want my dc's to be scared. DS always wants to stroke dogs and I always remind him to go and ask the owner if the dog is friendly before he does (ob I am with him but I make him ask so that he understands it's important before going up to a strange dog.)

My next door neighbour has a German Shepherd. My dc's are now happy to be around him but incident's like this can really affect children and it could have been a lot worse.

OP posts:
wonderstuff · 19/10/2008 22:38

YANBU, dogs, part. some breeds are unpredictable, owners were being unreasonable, but people often are when cornered, hopefully they will reflect and keep better control in future.

Tinkywinks · 19/10/2008 22:46

I am so betting the owners don't have kids - otherwise they would have understood and have been more apologetic.

onager · 19/10/2008 22:48

YANBU, If people are going to let their dogs leap on kids then maybe buggies should come equppied with a big stick or a hammer to whack them over the head with. "There! it's not dangerous now" we could say.

The dogs head I meant, but doing it to the owner might be more satisfying.

Freckle · 19/10/2008 22:54

If anyone ever says that again, just suggest that the courts might take a different view when they consider a charge of failing to keep a dog under control.

Original poster
thatsnotmymonster · 19/10/2008 22:57

lol onager- that's what I wanted to do!

They actually said, 'Oh we just heard screaming and she (the dog) raced off.'

What they actually heard was our children pretending to be a train, at which point they should have grabbed their dog and put it on the lead instead of letting it race off.

OP posts:
Original poster
thatsnotmymonster · 19/10/2008 22:58

So would this be considered an offence? What are the rules for dogs like this or dogs in general?

OP posts:
herbietea · 19/10/2008 23:00

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Freckle · 19/10/2008 23:04

The Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 provides:

It is a criminal offence (for the owner and/or the person in charge of the dog) to allow a dog to be ?dangerously out of control? in a public place, a place where it is not permitted to be, and some other areas. A ?dangerously out of control? dog can be defined as a dog that has injured someone or a dog that a person has grounds for reasonable apprehension that it may do so.

Something as simple as your dog chasing, barking at or jumping up at a person or child could lead to a complaint, so ensure that your dog is under control at all times.

If your dog injures a person, it may be seized by the police and your penalty may include a prison sentence and/or a ban on keeping dogs. There is also an automatic presumption that your dog will be destroyed (unless you can persuade the court that it is not a danger to the public, in which case it may be subject to a control order). You may also have to pay a fine, compensation and costs.

All dogs in public places must wear a tag with the owner's name and address on it, so, supposing you can get close enough (and are brave enough to do so), you can identify the owners.

Original poster
thatsnotmymonster · 19/10/2008 23:09

Does that apply to all dogs or just ones classified as dangerous dogs?

OP posts:
Freckle · 19/10/2008 23:11

All dogs. Additional rules apply to dangerous breeds.

mel1981 · 19/10/2008 23:14

YANBU- I love dogs and would love to have one of a suitalbe size but bigger dogs I dont trust. They should of def been keeping a better eye on their dog.

My aunt has a rottie. She has always had them. she looks after them really well training them, etc. But her latest one I can see she has trouble controlling. Hes never bitten my Ds1 whos 4. but the dogs been very energetic and excitable and has jumped on him sending DS1 head 1st into the TV.
We once went for a walk with her and the dog and DS1 stood inbetween me and the pushchar the whole time cause her dog kept playfully jumping all over my son and nipping him. Im sure the dog has no intentions to hurt but he is very strong and powerful especially against a small 4yr old.
I aslo have a friend with a staffie whos not trained and barely gets walks. and I dont go to her house any more cause he nips my DS's too. even she admits she cant trust him and she has 2 kids too!
I know some wouldnt hurt a fly but to me its not worth the risk.

Original poster
thatsnotmymonster · 19/10/2008 23:38

mel1981- I agree that some wouldn't hurt a fly but obviously if it's a strange dog you just don't know. Also ANY dog can turn aggressive, if they are provoked or are triggered in some way.

My aunt has recently bought an italian spinosi (or something like that!) she is going to be a VERY large dog and although she is lovely, she is very, playful, boisterous and constantly jumps and nips (she is spoilt and not well trained). As a result she has to be restrained around the children.

OP posts:
kiddiz · 19/10/2008 23:53

"I was walking across a local park to work one morning last week. Almost exactly what Dittany described happened to me. A Staffie came tearing across the park from a long way off towards me. It then started to circle me and bark at me. It's owner was calling it over and over again but it took absolutely no notice of her at all and continued to circle and bark. To be honest I'm reasonably ok that it wasn't intending to bite me but it was absolutely filthy with mud (it was raining and the grass was muddy) and I was on my way to work and didn't want to arrive covered in great muddy paw prints and dog saliva! Also it was wearing one of those leather studded harness things intended to make it look more aggressive imo. (Why else would you need studded harness on a dog...what practical purpose do the brass pointed studs serve?)
I think I have as much right to walk across a public park with out being jumped all over by a dirty dog let alone bitten by one as that owner has to walk her dog there. If she couldn't control it she should have kept it on a lead."

This is a bit of my post from other thread... and I'm not 2.....YANBU at all.

salsmum · 20/10/2008 01:19

Tinkywinks,
I have 2 staffies and I do hope you are not reffering to the breed as a whole when you say KILLER-TYPE-DOGS EVERY dog has teeth and so has the potential to bite...indeed my son was bitten by a dalmation and I myself was bitten by a poodle when I was young My 2 staffies are always on lead in public places and I normally find its the lil precious lap dogs who run up to them off lead to want to fight them BUT if my so called dangerous dogs retaliate they would get the bad name .
Staffies are very much 'people friendly dogs' BUT around young children in a park they could easily get knocked over in the dogs excitment.
So TNMM YANBU the owners should have had the dog under control.
kiddiz, The idea behind the harness is to stop Dog chocking when it's walking. my dogs both have harnesses because it stops them pulling . personally looks a lot more suitable than those 'doggie boutique' outfits for Paris Hilton type fashion accessory dogs

cory · 20/10/2008 08:47

Ds was bitten by a terrier the other week in the park- the elderly couple who owned the dog didn't even bother to check he was ok.

Yet teenagers get ASBOs for just hanging around the supermarket entrances and looking intimidating. I have never been bitten by one of the local teenagers in all the years I've been trotting down to the late-night Alldays.

But some of these respectable elderly people think rules just don't apply to them.