To expect someone not to let their three dogs jump all over me

[8oreighty]

and "playbite" my arms?!!! I was on a rural path...fair enough, but I think people should control their dogs...I got muddy footprints all over me. It is also kind of scary if you don't know the dogs. There were two women with 3 dogs, not even an apology. Even when I said angrily, "please can you get your dogs off me". That's just not on - is it?

My sympathies Weegiemum. In my defence, my remark about puppies mouthing was just that, about PUPS, (in response to Sunshine) not adult dogs who are badly trained and whose owners are shameful. So, with regard to your comment, yes I COULD explain what I meant to your DS. I respect the fact that your DS has been brought up by a caring and responsible Mum and that you must feel desperately angry and have huge reservations about dogs and am heartbroken and furious that the owner could have risked even more harm to your child and caused her dog to be PTS because of his/her stupidity. I can only say that not all dogs are like this, nor are all owners.

My DP is dog-phobic, having been bitten in his youth (he is now 53). I am happy to say that his fear of that particular breed, GSDs, has been greatly reduced thanks in part to him getting to know my current and late GSDs who are/were huge but soft as butter and in part to his trust in me as a responsiible owner. I hope that your DS has an similar chance of learning that not all dogs are the same, just as not all people are of one nature.

No don't think you are being unreasonable.
I have a labrador puppy who loves being let off his lead BUT only when there are no other people around,if there are only other dogs of leads then open season for me and he is too
I agree that there are far to many irresponsible dog owners and we have it all the time, my six year old is terrified of one dog who jumps up at her, but we walk away.
Some of you on here are bang out of order though and I would personally kick the living shit out of you if you hit my dog.

PS Weegiemum I beg to disagree re dogs around children. My own DC have been brought up with dogs from day one, and, as I said, I have a previously abused dog who had issues. Nonetheless he adores us all and we him and I have total faith in him around my DC although I am responsible enough not to let him near other children unsupervised. I can only say that from this and my experience as a rescuer, dogs and children can live in harmony and have seen many such happy endings although of course not to have a dog in your house is your right.

Personally I won't have anyone in my house who dislikes dogs - those with allergies or who fear them are welcome but if they purely dislike dogs they are not my type of person and so not the kind I would wish to be hospiitable to. Each to their own - all I can say is that my DC and I have much comfort and happiness living with our dogs and that I hope that others who have had sadder experiences won't be put off and miss out on the fantastic experience of loving and being loved by a canine friend.

My ds (7) was also bitten by a dog who ran up to him in a public park- ds was quietly minding his own business and not approaching the dog in any way.

Owners were watching. When the dog ran up they said to ds "oh, he won't jump up on you", when the dog then bit his leg the owners did not ask ds if he was all right at all- but the lady said to the man "Oh, it's all right, it was only his trousers" and walked off.

can any of those who say it's the children who have to be trained tell me how I should have trained ds to avoid this situation?

I would feel terribly bad about hitting a dog, I like dogs a lot. But if it was a matter of needing to get a dog off a child then I would- just as I would hit a human that attached the child.

btw it wasn't just ds's trousers; the dog did bite his leg

I truly hate dog owners who are irresponsible,in our local park in the mornings it like the feckin rspca rehoming centre there must be about 30 dogs all running loose whilst the owners just chat amongst themselves.

I wont go through there now till they have all gone cos i am sick & tired of them jumping all over me & ds.

Last week at a car boot sale ds was walking a little ahead of dh & i & i noticed a couple walking towards us with an alsation & a large mongrel,so i shouted to ds to wait for us as there was some dogs coming towards us.

Dog owner shouts 'oh dont worry they wont hurt you'

Me 'well we dont know that really do we?'

Him 'yes you do trust me'

Me ' umm no i am not going to trust my son with your dogs on your say so'

Him 'suit yourself but i know my dogs & they wouldnt bite they just like kids & he likes to sniff them (pointing to the alsation)

Dh 'just get lost will you'

Then about 5 mins later we overheard him telling someone else 'oh yes the alsation is mine but i am sitting this other dog for my sisters friend'

So he didnt know them really then did he? At the end of the day all dogs no matter how lovely have very sharp teeth that can do a lot of damage.

I have taught my ds not to stroke dogs,just carry on walking past them,& we have a dog ourselves,a very old westie who just likes to sleep all day.Ds will only stroke him if me or dh are there.

Personally I won't have anyone in my house who dislikes dogs - those with allergies or who fear them are welcome but if they purely dislike dogs they are not my type of person and so not the kind I would wish to be hospiitable to

I can just guess you are the type of person who seem to come across on a daily basis (you are not safe from dogs anywhere) who is clearly dog deluded.

What's wrong with disliking dogs?

I never minded them (until my son was bitten) but I can't say I ever liked them much. I don't want to own one for many reasons - I'm just not a "doggy" person, some people aren't. I'm not a big cat fan either, and I don't like pet birds. I like little pets, so we have guinea pigs!!

I'm not a horrible person just cos I don't like dogs - thats just such a weird attitude to have.

Valhala, you are coming across as someone who is a bit blinkered and can see no wrong in any dog. And I know it is often the owners fault. But I still won't have dogs around my children - its not a risk I am willing to take, when I can control it.

...so it was ok for me to yell at those women?

I wouldn't actually hurt the dogs...of course...
you can't buy tasers in this country anyway as far as I can make out.

This happened to my dd1 when she was three years old - she was nipped in the face -it was very scary I thought her face was being ripped off. Again, no apology - the owner said 'he just wants to play'.

It left me shaken and dd1 was very nervous around dogs for a long time afterwards, as was I.

god. would have gone to the police about that. how terrifying.

Fimbofortuna - it's not the dogs that I dislike, it's many of the dog owners.

True Belgo, true. But some of the posts on here from some dog owners are borderline ridiculous. If anyone thinks that a dog is more important than a child or mimic children in their behaviour then I despair.

It would be an easy solution if those who disliked dogs could solve their problems by simply not visiting the homes of dog owners. But dogs off leads and out of control seem to be everywhere. I have a couple of large dogs who regularly enter my garden on their daily walk and have to be chased out/shouted for by the owner: you'd have thought after the first time, he would be embarrassed and keep them on the lead on his way to the park. The lawn around children's play area is full of them: given that it is a very big park, you would have thought the owners could choose some other part of it to let them off the lead.

To be honest, I do not think other people have a duty to put up with dogs jumping up on them because this is something that dogs naturally do: any more than we'd need to put up with other people's children climbing onto our lap and slobbing all over us, say in a restaurant. I have spent a lot of effort over the years making sure my children don't inconvenience other people- even if it does mean restraining my dc's liberty, I don't see why dog owners can't do the same.

I have just been out and someone has let their dog crap all over my neighbours shrubs in front of her house. Gah

I never let my 2yo pull a dog's tail just because this is natural behaviour for 2yos. So I don't see why dog owners should let their dogs jump on my children just because it is natural behaviour for dogs.

Behaviour that is likely to hurt or frighten another sentient being needs to be checked. Simple as.

This is the first time I have used this website,so not sure if I am doing it properly!I wanted some advice about changing primary school?Basically,my son was accused of lying and,was punished.He is certain(and I believe him 100%),that he was telling the truth.Anyway,to cut a long story short:I approached the head and we were all shouted at and,he was accused of "lying to his mother".Anyway,I felt it was all handled appallingly and,we now have no respect for the Head or his staff.Do we leave or just keep our heads down?I just want my child to know it is always best to tell the truth.

A69 - you would be better to start a new post. If you look under topics, there is a heading for education, repost it in there. HTH

Jesus, some of the people on here who are comparing dogs behaviour with children need their heads reading.

"To take it out on the dogs is like me kicking seven bails out of a 5 year old who has thrown a rock at my car while his mother looked on" - no it wouldn't, dogs are not kids.

I don't think it is unreasonable to kick a dog up the arse if it comes running and jumping up. Especially if it is anywhere near kids.

When my dd was about 18months, a dog jumped up at her in the buggy - she couldn't move, I panicked. The owner laughed.
My dd is 8 now, and is still very wary around dogs.

My uncle had a rottweiler that was very soppy (before dc were born, but uncle had children) but one day, completely out of the blue, he snarled and bit my uncle.
He went the next day.

I can understand the parents here who are saying they will do whatever is necessary to defend their children from a dog. I can also see the point that Valhala is making - a badly-behaved dog is badly behaved because the owner hasn't trained it to behave properly. I also agree that children need to behave sensibly around dogs.

I've just got a puppy - she's a 16 week old lab, and she's full of bounce and energy. I wouldn't dream of letting her off the lead anywhere where there were children playing, and I only let her off the lead either in some local fields that lots of dog walkers use or on secluded paths - and then I will put her back on the lead if I see other people.

If my puppy jumps up at someone, I stop her and tell her it's wrong, and we've just started puppy classes so that I can learn to control her.

Getormoiland - i dont think it is unreasonable to kick a dog?? wtf if you kicked my dog up the arse you can expect it back.
it is the owners fault not the dogs!

so sunshines???

What do you do to a dog who is ripping the clothes off your 4yo child and sinking its teeth into his shoulder (he has a mahooooosive scar there, where several teeth went in, had to have GA to be stitched as it was so deep and dirty).

I kicked the dog. To get him off my screaming son who was being mauled by a collie!!!

Then the owner denied his dog had done it!!!

I reported to police, so that the next time this "friendly" dog attacked an even younger child, it was put down.

Good riddance!

Sorry Sunny, not sure that should have been directed at you