Roared at a child today...

[fackingsnowballz]

Questioning now whether I may have overreacted or not...

I’ve namechanged as I don’t want it linked to previous posts.

Interested to get opinions and a bit too scared to try AIBU..

So, I have a dog approaching old age, she is partially sighted but no one would know that to look at her.

I took her out for a walk today, she was on lead and a child, I’d estimate maybe 7, ran towards her and the parents called the child back.
I carried on walking and the child ran at my dog again, this time with a handful of snow and tried to get at her mouth.

I assumed the child was maybe trying to feed her snow and carried on walking away only to have said child follow us again and then quite violently hit her with the snow.
It got her shoulder but I think the child was aiming for her face.

Well, I screamed at the child not to dare do that to her and the mum came running over and grabbed her child.
I was absolutely frothing but she didn’t say anything and neither did I, just walked off absolutely raging.

But a small part of me is wondering if I did overreact a bit?
As in throwing snowballs, I suppose, is quite a normal thing for a child to do.
The child isn’t to know she is partially sighted.
Not the child’s fault if parents can’t control/haven’t taught polite behaviour etc

But then I think the child was more than old enough to know better!
Of course you don’t go throwing snow at random dogs.
And you certainly don’t smash it into them at close range..
She is getting on and doesn’t have full vision.
What if she had panicked?
Snapped even then I’d be blamed for having an out of control dog despite her being on lead and walking away.

What would you have done?

I don't think you did anything wrong, I hope I'd be bold enough to do the same in that situation.

No, I don't think you overreacted, and I'm someone who regularly gets flamed for being too precious about children and the way adults treat them.

That was an act of animal cruelty that warranted a forceful response. If it had been my child, you wouldn't have had to lose your shit because I would have got there first.

Yanbu. Child is old enough to know this in not acceptable.

Probably the same as you. She should definitely know Better at 7!

I was expecting to say you were out of order but having read your post in full I think I'd have roared too. I have a 7 year old and no way would he be so disrespectul to an animal.

I would have done exactly the same as you.
The parent obviously knew they were in the wrong as they didn’t even try to argue.

Hopefully it will stop her doing it again. A small moment of being yelled at is much much better than the alternative which could have ended up with the child injured and the dog in big trouble.

I don't think you did anything wrong either. A child of 7 should know not to Chuck snowballs at dogs, and if for some reason she couldn't understand that then the parents should have been paying closer attention.

No.

The mother was to blame. Poor doggie

Oh I would have done the same! Why oh why don’t some parents teach their kids to respect animals??

I don’t think you did wrong. Hopefully the child will think twice about doing something similar again. No wonder dogs snap

I think it’s fine. I suppose it’s possible there are SN but really the parents need to do a better job if they don’t want their child shouted at for running up and smashing strange dogs with snow. It could have ended really badly for the child.

Your poor dog!
You definitely didn't do anything wrong

I am gobsmacked that the parent didn't apologise whilst grabbing the child away. Hope your dog is ok.

No not at all, I have the opposite regularly with my little one who is terrified of dogs. Last week at the beach a dog bounded over to him knocked him over and he cried, the owner said don't worry he's friendly.. I said i do worry because my child was already scared without being knocked over.. she didn't call the dog back or attempt to get it off so I shouted.

Yours is the reverse of this and I think both ways it is not unreasonable to expect peoples children or pets not to scare or approach random people or animals who, for whatever reason, don't want them there.

I have a 3yo I would expect to behave better around animals. No one should engage anyone in a snowball fight unless it's mutual. Especially not an old dog minding her own business. You did the right thing. I hope you're both alright.

It doesn't matter if the dog is old or young or partially sighted or not that child was cruel and behaved badly. You were right to shout at her and her parent should have told her off too

I think you were the model of restraint. Dogs need to be trained and kept under control (not necessarily on a lead). Children need to be taught that they do not run up to or engage with a dog without the owners permission.

On one occasion I had a small child running up to my dog trying to hit it with a stick - and no, it wasn't trying to throw the stick (which I wouldn't allow anyway), the child was attempting to beat my dog with a stick. I told the child off. I told the owner of the child off. Twice. I explained what happens when a dog is hit and what it does with its teeth. All to no avail. So I showed considerably less restraint than you did. I'm sure someone will flame me if I say more. But said child lost interest in beating dogs with sticks, and owner of child was given firm impression that I'd be willing to show the same lack of restraint towards them.

Children don't know what they are doing in the same way adults do. That is why they have parents to teach them how to behave.

I would have reacted a lot more than you did. Ddog is nearly blind, if anyone child or adult comes at him he can snap. A 7 year old should know better and at a minimum the parent should.

Sometimes kids need a proper telling off. If their parents arent there to do it, or just arent bothering to do it, then they havent left you much choice. Kids need to learn. An adult they arent related to sometimes has a bigger impact than their useless mum or dad.

Good. I actually hope you shook the child up enough so they’ll remember your reaction and think twice about ever doing anything like that again.

The mum should have made the child apologise, seven is far old enough. I’m a nanny and oh the bollocking I’d give my charges if they dared do such a thing.

It sounds like the child was way out of order and the parents should have intervened sooner. I would have roared too and if your dog had snapped at the child attacking it, we all know who would be in trouble.

I've got an almost four year old who would get an additional bollocking/punishment from me, and you'd get an apology. YANBU, possibly a brat, possibly a moment of madness but either way the child needs massively pulling up on it.

You did the right thing. My 3-year old used to run towards small dogs to try and hug them, I would of course run to grab her telling her to stop but would often be undermined by the owner saying "oh no it's fine my dog won't hurt her" when my concern was more my chunky toddler hurting their little dog! (Plus I want my kids to know to never run at/touch a dog they don't know) I would be horrified if my child threw a snowball at a dog, even much younger than 7 and I'd tell them off immediately and hope the owner would too. Not necessarily shouting but sometimes a loud emotional response is what is needed to get the seriousness across I think.

Relieved to see such unanimous responses.
I’m quite an anxious person generally and not confrontational and have been thinking about it and mulling it over since I got home.
Dog is fine, she is a very sweet, gentle little soul.
I’m still feeling a bit agitated about it truthfully.

You did the right thing. I’ve told more than one child off from running up to my on lead dog and trying to clap him. He’s super nervous (I have a yellow nervous lead) and whilst he’d probably be fine he’d tall (greyhound) and so his mouth is roughly child face height. I don’t want to take the chance of a child being hurt.