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Original poster

What do non dog owners teach their kids about dogs?!!

51 replies

ShaysMummy · 11/03/2006 11:48

This morning, DS and I have been for a delightful walk through our local woods up into the 'Old Town' and we all had a look through the shop windows etc etc.
My dogs are Labs, small, as they are ladies, with stupid looks on their faces, tongues hanging out. I'm not a hard looking woman I don't think and they are VERY well behaved dogs. They don't even sniff people as we pass, they keep on walking.
So my question is this:
Why did every parent with a child under 12 give me a disgusting look then put themself between the chld and the dogs? Or even worse pick up every child they could get their hands on in a 5m radius?
I'm quite surprised at this reaction.
Anyone shed any light?
[confused emoticon]

OP posts:
emkana · 11/03/2006 11:52

Maybe because some dog owners don't have dogs as well behaved as yours and let their dogs jump up a small child until he/she will fall over, cover them in mud and terrify the life out of them. Angry

juliab · 11/03/2006 11:55

Always puzzled me too, ShaysMummy. But then one dog-owner did yell at me in the park the other day for letting ds3 get close to her dog. She said, 'My dog's friendly but you didn't know that. Keep your child away!'

eve2005 · 11/03/2006 11:55

wouldn't worry, people can be incredibly ignorant and superficial. my dp's quite scruffy looking and anytime he goes out with my dd he gets looked at as if he's kidnapping her or worse. people stare at him and old ladies talk not very quitely about him. yet he's a better dad than most of the neat well dressed dads around!

in these people's ignorant minds, big dogs = dangerous dogs

NatalieJane · 11/03/2006 11:56

Hello :)

I know what you mean, it seems such a shame that parents do react in this way, but then to be fair with all of the the local 'chavvy' people walking around with dog's I don't blame people who are being protective.

Maybe next time take some treats out with you and ask if the child would like to feed your dog's some treats? (I am sure your Labs would it!!!)

:)

WigWamBam · 11/03/2006 11:57

Because many of us have had bad experiences with less well-behaved dogs and less careful owners. We can't tell from looking whether a dog is well-behaved, well-trained or good with kids, and it's easier to put yourself between the child and the dog than to have to deal with a child who has been knocked down (or worse) by a dog.

Sorry if it offends the owners of well-behaved dogs, but strange dogs are unknown quantities, and as such I will continue to err on the side of caution. The dog owner that juliab mentioned should be congratulated - her advice was actually very sensible.

poppiesinaline · 11/03/2006 12:00

My SIL grabs her children close and goes into a panic at the mere sniff of a dog Angry and hence her kids have a complete phobia about dogs :(

I teach mine to always check with the owner first before touching dogs. I say it is polite and you need to check first that the dog likes to be touched. Mine are fine around dogs and love giving the odd one a pat (after checking of course! :) )

zippitippitoes · 11/03/2006 12:00

I think it makes perfect sense to teach children to be wary of dogs they don't know..not all dogs are predictable in their behaviour or well trained, so better to put a bit of space between you..

what I do dislike is dog owners who let their dogs rush up to you without attempting to control them usually saying she won't hurt..much better to call the dog back and if it is well trained it will return and no harm done on either side.

salsa · 11/03/2006 12:01

My ds and dd are petrified of dogs. We had a lady with a huge black dog living in the same apartment block as us.
1.We got out of the car one day and she was just coming out with the dog. It charged across the road knocked ds over, knocked my phone out my hand then pick it up and ran away with it.

2.Waiting for the lift and the doors open and out comes the black dog (not on a lead) and jumps at us.

3.All electricity in the area cuts out. We have to walk up the stairs at night in the pitch black and the black dog comes charging down the stairs. If the kids hadn't been screaming so loud then you would have been able to hear me.

I know this is one dog but at the end of the day the dog should have been on a lead. Any dog can attack at any time.

misdee · 11/03/2006 12:01

i have a 3yr old with an obeseesion with dogs. i have to grab her to keep her away as we dont know if the dogs are friendly. its not as case of i dont trust the dogs but i dont trust dd2 who can be very over excited by the sight of a dpg and wil try to cuddle it. its even worse if she spots a dalmation (her favourite kind of dog)

Original poster
ShaysMummy · 11/03/2006 12:04

when my son is old enough, i shall teach him that he is not to touch anyone else's dog without asking and to never touch a dog that is tied up.
I think it is down to ignorance is some cases. agree there.
a relative has a leonberger, the easiest way to describe its size is to tell u it weighs 11stone and its head is the same size as a humans.
they have terrible trouble. he runs up to people at full pelt then drops to the floor to have his tummy rubbed!
when im in the park some children even squeal when they see us coming :(

OP posts:
zippitippitoes · 11/03/2006 12:07

I think it probably demonstrates that a lot of people have had a bad experience with dogs

and one bad experience is quite enough for lots of people

also I find that the appearance of a dog owner is no measure of how well behaved their dogs might be, plenty of well dressed ladies and gentlemen with appallingly aggressive and badly trained dogs

Original poster
ShaysMummy · 11/03/2006 12:09

poppiesinaline- thats what im talking about.
kids, anyone, can get a lot from animals and its a shame when their parents make them so afraid.

OP posts:
WigWamBam · 11/03/2006 12:17

I think it's wrong to do or say anything that makes a child afraid of dogs in general - I think we need to teach our children to have a healthy respect for animals, and that includes teaching them that not all dogs are safe. My dd knows not to approach any animal unless its owner is with it, and not to touch a dog she doesn't know, unless the owner says it's safe and I say she can. She's not frightened of dogs and neither am I, but not all dogs are the same.

It's also far more respectful to the dog and the owner not to let an ebulient child loose near a dog - not all dogs like children, and again we can't tell from looking which do and which don't.

Original poster
ShaysMummy · 11/03/2006 12:22

thanks wig, wish all were like you. :)

OP posts:
WideAwake · 11/03/2006 12:23

I hop I've managed to teach DS that if he bites them they will bite back (so don't do it) but I'm not confident he won't.

Twiglett · 11/03/2006 12:28

I have taught my children to always ask the owner before they touch a dog

I love dogs

BUT

my DD is and always has been terrified of animals .. through no fault of mine .. she's 22 months now and still shakes a little when something furry moves near her so I would automatically put myself between a dog and her and try to talk about how lovely they are

but the amount of flamin' dog owners who give me a look .. or act like their dog is more important than my child .. including a mad woman with an alsation who objected to me stopping a distance away when DD was under a year old and turning her buggy the other way so she didn't have to be scared

Twiglett · 11/03/2006 12:29

AND one mad dog owner who thinks their animal is more important than my baby colours all pet owners for a long while

Original poster
ShaysMummy · 11/03/2006 12:34

i agree that no one should act like their dog is more important.
if a child is scared thats fine, do what you have to.

OP posts:
Original poster
ShaysMummy · 11/03/2006 12:36

i have a baby and one on the way and they are more important.
my poor poopsies have taken a right back seat, miles back, but are coming round a bit now!
2 dogs in amood- not good, puppydog eyes all over the shop!!!

OP posts:
coppertop · 11/03/2006 12:59

Ds1 was completely oblivious to dogs until one lunged at him in his pushchair when he was about 2yrs old. Luckily it only licked his face but it gave him an absolute phobia of dogs for the next 2 years. If he was walking and saw a dog he would scream until he was picked up. He's always been tall for his age so it wasn't easy. It took 2 long years of me having to make comments like "That's a ^nice dog, ." and "Look at that nice dog's tail wagging" etc before he began to feel even remotely comfortable near dogs. He's now almost 6 and will move away from dogs but no longer screams around them. All that because the stupid dog-owner was too busy with her mobile phone to keep an eye on what her dog was doing.

Ds2 (3yrs) loves animals but has never once tried to approach one. He hasn't yet had any bad experiences but tbh this is probably down to luck more than anything else. I live in an area where everyone seems to want a Staffie but few seem to know how to look after them properly. The Head of ds1's school has even had to send home letters asking parents not to bring their dogs inside the school building. Shock

nellie245 · 11/03/2006 13:38

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Angeliz · 11/03/2006 13:47

Well my dd1 actually is very wary of strange dogs and i don't avtually encourage her otherwise. I do tell her it's o.k if they're on a lead but she always comes very close to me when we see one.

We have a huge boxer dog and i get lots of funny looks too and people avoiding us but it doesn't bother me, i totally understand their point of view.

There was a dog loose on the beach oneday who jumped and scared the life out of my Nephew (he has always been funny about dogs). He was with my Mam at the time and she told the woman to get the dog and hre reply was "Oh F**k off he's only a puppy!" My nephew was 2 at the timeAngry

Not all dog owners are responsible i'm afraid!

charliegirl25 · 11/03/2006 13:57

My mum has always owned a dog. So my ds and dd are used to them and will automaticaly try and stroke every dog they see. I have explained to ds that some dogs dont like to be stroked and could be aggressive. My mum's last dog (golden retriever) was beautiful and everybody always wanted to stroke her but she hated strangers especially children and when walking with her you could see her lip curling up and a rumbly growl when a child came near.
I used to worry myself sick as my mum used to take her to the paper shop and leave her tied up outside where anybody could stroke her and they wouldnt know. My mum should have got her a muzzle.
Also my Mum will never ever let me leave the kids in her lounge with the dog on their own, even though her new goldie is as soft as s...! As you just never know what the dog (or the child) might do.

Screwballmuppet · 11/03/2006 14:03

To always ask before stroking a dog
To not stroke it on the head if you don't know it
and if you know it have lots of fun playing temperment permitting.

tallulah · 11/03/2006 14:18

shaysmummy, we always get the opposite reaction and I wish we didn't. We have a rhodesian ridgeback who is really really nervous. She hates it when people get too close, or look her in the eye. We always keep her on a lead, and try to distract her when people walk past and quite often people can see we are trying to keep her away and still come over to us. Then they get stroppy when she barks/ growls. (we also have a problem with owners who let their dogs run loose)

Before we had dogs I always taught my children never to approach an unattended dog and to always check with the owner first whether it was OK for them to touch the dog. I just wish other people would do the same.

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