to think that if you go up to a strange dog tied up outside a shop and touch it and it bites you, you only have yourself to blame!

[fanjoforthemammaries7850]

Was just shopping and witnessed a massive argument between two woman and one dog owner.

It was a collie, tied up outside the supermarket minding it's own business and a child had obviously gone up to it and patted it and then a woman had and it had bitten them.

The mother and the other woman were really laying into the dog owner. I really felt for her, if you don't know a dog you should stay away from it and I feel if it bites you its your own fault..it's not like the poor old beast broke free from its chain and chased them to savage them is it?

AIBU?

two womEN i meant

and "its own business"

please forgive me, pedants!

Well i have taught my dc's never to approach any dog. Not that they would as they are terrified anyway.

But i also don't think dogs should be tied up outside shops either.

Depends. Adog which bites viciously should be muzzled IMO. Was it just a snap or chew, or a real bite and hold?

six of one etc - as if you have a dog who is so liable to bite, should you be leaving him unattended in a public place?

It was tied up well out of the way though, so they would have had to walk a fair bit over to it to touch it...but this is not AIBU by stealth ..all opinions welcomed!

I didn't see the actual biting,fortunately!

Agree with aGal.

Bit of both really, people shouldn't approach it if it bites but if the dog is known to bite the owner shouldn't leave it where people can approach it.

Of course you should leave the bloody dog alone. You should never touch a dog without asking the owner if that's ok, and kids should be taught so too.

Dogs are not toys.

Yes and no.

Yes you are quite right that you shouldn't approach a strange dog and pet it not knowing anything about it, especially if the owner isn't around.

However, if the owner is aware that the dog may bite then it shouldn't be left unsupervised in a public place like that where there is always a risk that something like this will happen. Also, imo, a dog that has a tendency to bite should be muzzled when out in public.

from what I could see it looked like a tiny nip though, no hands were hanging off, shall we say!!

Sorry, I meant: Bit of both really, people shouldn't approach it but if the dog is known to bite the owner shouldn't leave it where people can approach it.

It would be unreasonable to leave the dog if it had just lunged at them unprovoked, but if they touched it, then I think it's their fault not the owner's fault.

I was trying to say what Dangfando said far more eloquently than me

It does surprise me the number of people who let their kids come running up to my dog and trying to stroke her. She is soppy looking and looks really gentle, and she is really gentle. But they should still ask first.

I would imagine that not all people let their dc go running up screaming to a strange dog tho do they?

What if your child makes a run for it and gets bitten??

The childs own fault because some dog bit them eh?

Don't agree sorry.

I'm pretty sure it did not lunge, it was tightly tied up and we walked right past it earlier and it didn't react at all...

What's with all the dog threads atm? There seems to have been a few in the last couple of days?

I think the onus is always on the dog owner here. A dog should not be left unsupervised.

Children may be told how to behave around animals, but they can easily forget if excited.

oh..haven't seen any dog threads...

I saw a small child the other day running screaming into a flock of pigeons on the ground. He was well satisfied when they all took off, but ran back shrieking when they turned round and flew at him (as pigeons tend to do). The mum presumably had no-one to have a go at.

YANBU. People should know better than to touch an unknown dog.

FanjoForTheMammaries on Sat 24-Jan-09 18:39:53
"I'm pretty sure it did not lunge, it was tightly tied up and we walked right past it earlier and it didn't react at all... "

That is no guarantee. I believe the dog that jumped up and bit ds unprovoked in the park last year had never done anything like it before, at least the owners did not seem to be expecting it at all.

hmmm, well, maybe. It bit their hands though which led me to believe they touched it...

Dogs are unpredictable. Children need to learn not to pet a dog that they don't know. This dog may never had bitten anyone before. I'm with the owner on this. If my ds had been bittem in the circumstances explained by the op then I wouldn't blame the owner.