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?

YANBU - you shouldn't pat an unknown dog no matter how friendly they look.

Two wrongs don't make a right and all that in this case I think

Dog who bites shouldn't be tied up outside anywhere unsupervised; kids trip and brush past, ropes come undone, whatever- bad move imo

And no of course you shouldn't let your kids touch a dog you don't know. However ds2 has on rare occasion completely ignored me telling this and had dog bitten i'd still ahve been mightiy annoyed, just at both aprties iyswim.

They shouldn't have gone over to it. That was their error and not one they'll repeat, I bet. But a dog that bites or nips shouldn't be left unaccompanied without a muzzle because you CAN'T assume that people will stay away and you also have to be responsible. So if your dog reacts badly, or ever has reacted badly, to an approach by strangers, you cannot leave it in public without a muzzle.

so 50/50 I think.

I'm always amazed by how many parents let their kids pet my dog without asking too. As it happens he's the most gentle dog in the world and adores all the attention, but they're not to know that are they?

Yeah 50/50, I'd say.

I am always impressed by kids who ask if it's ok to touch my dogs - they have been well-taught. I have one dog who is fine to pet and one who isn't.

There seem to be a lot of dog threads at the moment.

People are allowed to tie dogs up outside shops as long as the dog is not dangerous.

You should not approach someone else's dog because it might upset the dog who will already feel vulnerable as they are tied up. A dog that bites and causes an injury should be muzzled (unless it bites because someone attempts to hurt it by poking it in the eye etc). A dog that nips and does not break the skin has not really caused an injury and is not really dangerous.

The dog owner is not at fault; the approachers are.

True...tbh I had not actually considered that the owner might have known it was prone to biting...in which case she should have muzzled it..

She seemed pretty surprised though, although maybe she was a convincing actress!!

duh - may never have bitten anyone before
(review before posting, review before posting...)

I think its cruel to tie a dog up outside a shop

If you need to go the shops, go on your own time, not in the dogs time

Sorry fanjo i just seem to remember a couple more

Yes i agree children should be taught not to touch strange animals but children are...well children no?

They forget and are as unpredictable as dogs really. I have however seen a dog tied up outside our local shop (stupid place to leave a dog imo) and teenage twats tormenting said dog,dog snapped at one but missed. Can't say i'd have been bothered on that occasion. Would have served the numpty right!!

What if a child had SN? That child may not be able to understand that dogs are not approachable? Is it still that childs fault?

Oops, poor DD just fell over and bit her tongue, thats my bad karma for being upset to the bitten child I think!!!

No, it's the parent's fault for not keeping the child away, not accuratly risk-assessing the area around them.

You can risk assess and accidents/incidents can still occur tho. Dogs shouldn't be chained up outside shops imo.

If they went up to the dog and patted it, then the parents should have looked out. But what if they accidentally brushed up against the dog without seeing it? Outside our local shops, dogs are often tied on the pavement- and the pavement is not enormous, you could easily get closer to a dog than intended.

The dog didn't savage the child from the info given by the op. My ds has been bitten in similar circumstances. I told him to leave dogs alone unless he knew they wanted to play. My other ds has been attacked by a dog he was nowhere near. I wasn't so happy about that one.

no, then it wouldn't be the child's fault, aGal, but it wouldn't be the owner's fault either and I don't think she would deserve being almost punched like this woman was...

Children with SN have to be kept safe, just like any other child. If they ran into the road and were injured, it would not be the driver's fault (unless they were not pay due care and attention). If any child goes up and touches an animal inappropriately then it is the parents' fault.

Certainly you can, like falling over, for example. But you can't accuratly risk assess a strange dog and still have it bite your child! It's a no-brainer!

(sorry for americanism )

Why should a dog not be tied up outside a shop? Dogs don't just want to go out on 1 walk a day; they want to be out as much as possible. That means they will often be taken on extra walks where the sole purpose is not to exercise the dog.

But they should be tied up sensibly so that people do not trip over them, or have to brush past them. They should not be a danger or an obstruction.

Tied up outside my local co-op means you are tripping over the bloody things though. Not nice for the poor dog or my poor terrified dd's.

Sorry Hecate i have had 3 large gins so am rather too pissed to argue coherently. Ignore me x

A dog that is tied up could well feel vunerable and if someone is daft enough to go up and stroke it then it could bite in defence even if it as never bitten before. As the OP says the dog was tied up out the way, not next to the path then I reckon its the fault of the mother who let the kid go up and stroke it.

I have a big dog which luckily is soft as butter. I stand well off the path at the school gates away from other people with my dog and I am amazed by the amount of kids who come up without asking and try to stroke my dog. These are toddlers who are coming to pick their older siblings up and their mothers are standing by the gate watching.

Sometimes I've been chatting to a friend and not seen the kid coming up either. What if my dog did bite one of these kids one time? I don't think it would be my fault. I politely ask the kids to not stroke my dog as my dog is scared of strangers and stands there shaking.

It was a pretty big shopping centre, you'd have had to try hard to accidentally brush against the dog, I think!

I'm not picking a fight AGirl, honest I'm just giving my pov and listening to others!

(psst, can I have a drink? )