Was our dog unreasonable?

[upsideup]

After school today I took the kids and our dog to the park across the road, I left DS(9) with our dog (on a lead) sat on a bench while I took younger DC to the toilet.

Dog is really friendly, well behaved and good with children. DS was sat one side of the bench holding the lead and dog had walked round and was lying down on the other side

One of DS's friends (who is 10) came running over and jumped to sit on the dogs back. DS shouted get off, dog stood up and twisted which meant the girl tripped over him and fell face first into the side of the bench. Her legs were still under the dog and in the lead so she started kicking him, her mum came running over and starting screaming which I heard and rushed out. Dog barked and apparently 'went to bite' but ds pulled him out of the way, DS said he wasn't going to bite and was just giving a warning but I wasn't there and although he has never gone to bite anybody before he has never been sat on, repeatedly kicked and screamed at.

Lots of other parents heard dog barking and the other child/mum screaming so everyone panicked and assumed the dog must be attacking her so there was a bit of a scene. I checked she was okay but didn't apologise and went home, her mum went straight back over to the school to complain.

Do you think that I, our dog or DS was unreasonable in any way?

The problem here is that you were not there. The other child's mother may not have seen the initial event but did see more than you.
So now you have 2 stories- that of your 9 year old and their story, adult and 10 year old. On your side a barking dog, on theirs a snapping dog.
Unfortunately I'd say in this instance you may find it difficult for others to believe your side.
I think you probably need to be the one to build bridges rather than focus whether YWBU or not.

It doesn’t sound unreasonable to me, if anyone was about to jump on my back I would twist and turn to get them off.

You know your dog, and I’m a firm believer that if you know in your heart your dog is not aggressive the. Believe it.

Mothers should teacher their children not to ‘lung’ at an animal that is not their own, and at 10 years old they certainly should be aware of the dangers. They should have been apologising not you.

I am a dog owner of 3 dogs, all different breeds and I know each and every one of their temperaments.

It’s not a nice situation to be in as you will now have the hassle of explaining your self and defending your beloved animal.

I have had similar with my dog. I was standing outside the school gates, a little kid charged up and dived on him I tried to gently get the kid off, she was kicking and grabbing on tight to his ears and face and he yelped/barked.. the mum came over and the kid was crying. I didnt apologise either as my dog is not aggressive and put up with a lot! The mum went to the school though and now I can't walk the dog to school anymore. Annoying.

Do people leave 9 yr olds in sole charge of dogs? Not a dog owner, so really don't know if this is usual, but I am genuinely surprised.

It goes without saying that children shouldn't try to sit on dogs, but as PP said, you weren't supervising so didn't see what happened. Is the girl who fell face first into the bench injured?

Why did she go to the school to complain when it was nothing at all to do with them, surely?!

Even if your dog had bitten, it wouldn't have been unreasonable under those circumstances. The dog had been jumped on and kicked, and it sounds like it barely even defended itself. The dog is almost a Saint after all that.

It does, however, illustrate why kids should be supervised when they're around dogs.

The dog was being attacked by the child. Parents need to take responsibility too and educate their children on how to behave. But I guess the only possible issue is should you have left your dog in the charge of a child. I guess some would say no.
The dogs trust used to do classes on how o behave around animals I wish more would, when I walked my dog (very calm with 3 children at the same time) parents would get loud and wave their arms about so the kids would copy which to the dog would be come play.

It doesn't seem like the dog did anything wrong BUT you should never have left the dog unsupervised - and leaving a dog with a 9 yo in a playground is leaving the dog unsupervised.

In my city dogs aren't even allowed in playparks so I'm struggling to see why you would have thought this was a good idea. But the damage is done now. I'd wait and see if school says anything. Do you know the other parent, can you build bridges?

It's also important to remember that a dog 'scene' can look anmd sound really frightening to non-dog people so I suspect the overall view of the playground will be against you...

Poor doggy the friend was obviously unreasonable but a 9 year old shouldn't really be left in charge of a dog in public (although it sounds like he's sensible).

Are you a childminder?

I hope they’re not.

Well it’s just they’ve posted in the childminders section, which is odd and now people will read this and think it’s a childminder.

I think MinnieMagoo is bang on the money here.

I used to walk my dog alone at age 9. No one ever came and jumped on her. I'm not sure how she would have reacted to being hurt!

Keep your dog with you now, so she can't be hurt by rough children.

could you please ask for this to be moved if you are not a childminder. People are going to read this as you are.