Scared parents - scared kids

[Doggiedilemma2021]

When walking our dog on the school run there are a large number of parents who seem very afraid of our dog who is on a lead and well behaved and go out of their way to avoid him going near them or their kids which at times includes walking in the road ! I reassure them as much as I am able but it is clear that these parents are teaching their kids to be scared too. I was shouted at this morning for walking my dog on the same pavement as one of these people. Any advice ?

I take my 3 on the school run. I always go into the road so parents and children can have the pavement and always walk between the dogs and other people.
Some people are wary of dogs, some don’t like them, some don’t have time to stop. I dont think it’s a big deal.

@OldTinHat

I had a soppy, gentle, scared of everything staffie. People often crossed the road from us and I had abuse shouted at me on several occasions.

My friend's brother had his ear bitten off by a gentle staffie.

@ElvisPresleyHadABaby
That’s awful, my dogs are gentle but I know any dog has the potential to snap.

Dogs shouldn't be on the school run.

Other people don’t know your dog is friendly. Why should parents take the risk to protect your feelings?

I’m glad your dog was on a lead and will sit if told to - many other dog owners don’t bother controlling their dogs properly and then are indignant if people don’t want to be around them.

Nothing to add really except to say that I was one of those kids. My parents were both extremely scared of dogs, so my brothers and I grew up scared of them too.

It was actually a lovely and very well-trained Rottweiler (owned by a teenage friend’s mum) that got me over my fear, which I’m sure isn’t the usual route out of dog aversion but certainly did the trick for me!

Family friends had the soppiest, softest, most docile dog I've ever met. He was just so lovely.

I stepped on his tail as I tripped on something when I was 9 and it took 3 men to prise him off of my arm. I still have the scars.

I don't pull my kids away from dogs, but I certainly don't encourage them to go up to dogs they don't know incredibly well!!

By the same token many people don’t control their kids around dogs . I moved onto the road the other day to allow a mother and a boy of around 7/8 the pavement. A normal walk and a non-school run. Our dog is non-reactive but doesn’t spend a lot of time around children. The child made a beeline line for the dog, walked onto the road and started waving his hand in the face of the dog. As he walked towards us I said loudly, ‘no don’t pet the dog’ and to my shock the mother said ‘aww he’s just trying to pet the dog’. I was bloody gobsmacked!

@Spanielsarepainless

Parents have a duty to socialise their children with dogs. In their lives they will meet police dogs, guide dogs, assistance dogs and sniffer dogs in various places (clubs, airports, stations). They won't be able to scream and run away in those circumstances.

Agree with this - my mother was scared of dogs and wouldn't touch one - but she really made sure she never transmitted that fear to Dsis and I. We grew up playing with the neighbour's dogs and both of us got dogs once we had our own homes. It was only as an adult that I realised how hard that must have been for her. My dad was the one who taught us how to behave around dogs, what not to do etc and gave us confidence.

I did grow up in the 60's though, in the WC North, so the streets were full of dogs - it was normal to let them out in the morning, they wandered the streets and came home at food time - so we would encounter them all the time around the streets and sitting on their own steps.