Just letting off some steam...so angry

[cottonwoolbrain]

I took dog to usual park earlier for a run. It's a local private park which I pay to use and is frequented by dog walkers wit most dogs off lead. However, it is open to the public on Wednesdays - fair enough that's fine... it's part of fufilling it's charitable purpose.

Today there was a BIG school group down there maybe 90 children perhaps year 4 - all playing with balls, running about, screaming and teachers blowing whistles. I immediately called dog back and put her on extending lead and moved away from them only to be approached by a teacher who said "please keep your dog on a lead lots of the children don't like them".. I pointed out dog WAS on a lead and I was taking her down to the other end of the park so she could keep away from their games etc.

So off we trotted me and my beautiful harmless cocker spaniel only for the kids to be led off round park by teachers following us... I shorted the lead and took a different path down the other side of the stream ... the group split in half and one lot followed.. I went up a very narrow side path assuming they'd continue to take main path.. so narrow and overgrown you'd barely know it was there if you didn't know park well. I head a teacher saying to some children "that looks fun" and they followed.. all the time there were kids screaming about how they don't like dogs, how dogs are frightening... THEN 1 of the kids run up along narrow path so I had no way of getting out the way and KICKED her yelling at me to keep the dog away from them.. .. even then my gorgeous pup didn't snap but she did sure as hell cried and jerked away Luckily I think she's just shocked rather than hurt.

I was desperately trying to keep away.. the teachers to be fair intervened and were apologetic but I've emailed a formal written complaint with the headteacher.. I'm furious and dog hasn't left my side for the rest of the day and she's normally quite an independent soul wandering about snuffling in the garden destroying everything she can get her naughty little paws on

The school has an awful reputation locally and after this experience I'm not surprised...

Rant over....congratulations if you read this far.. Sorry I'm so upset

That would annoy me too, the first teacher could have told the colleagues that they spoke to you and the dog is on a lead.

Little shit. I’d complain directly to whoever owns the park, detailing the behaviour of the children (naming the school) in general and that child in particular.

Ah so sorry to read this!!

Sounds like you did everything you could and your poor dog was booted as a result. Make sure they have plenty of treats and cuddles.

Will it make them wary around children now? My old dog was kicked by a man and was nervous around them from them onwards.

Sorry, I missed that a child kicked your dog. I would be furious and ask the teacher/HT how they will deal a child kicking a dog?

So there were 90 8 year olds in a park screaming that they didn't like dogs? Really?

That's an exclusion for most schools. I sat on a disciplinary panel where a child was excluded for purposely kicking off on a school trip

Get onto chair of governors too and make a formal complaint, you'll find their email on the school website.

Not what OP said...

OP, I agree with a PP to contact the owners of the park as well as the school.

I'm not even a dog person and this has boiled my blood

I would complain loudly to the school. if it's a well-known dog walking park I would have thought it best for the school to go elsewhere especially in case dogs were there and in case naughty owners had left a mess. I hope your dog is ok may be good to let a gentle kind child make a fuss of your dog

If you have a local town council perhaps contact them and ask if the school had permission for so many children to be there. Yes, the park is there for all to use, but with so many children there, they did rather take it over for anyone else to also us it at that time. Sorry your dog was hurt..

I’m glad you’ve complained to the head. Sounds like the supervising teachers were just plain stupid.

I would have let rip big time at the little brat!

@CurlewKate No not all 90 of them ... that would have been quite a cacophony!! There were probably 5 or 6 of them - I got the impression they were vying with each other to see who could be loudest / most annoying.

I was quite upset and over wrought when I wrote first post so sorry if it wasn't clear. I should add for balance that most of the children seemed to be really well behaved and walking along quite nicely and chatting. I don't think staff were stupid - but I do think they had their hands very full and wondered if there were enough of them.

I don't mind kids being scared of my dog and I understand that it happens even if to me she is a harmless but rather bonkers spaniel but I DO MIND them kicking her.

Feeling calmer as just received a reply from the head (feel bad she's emailed me in the evening could have waited until tomorrow). Apparently staff came to see her after return from the trip, their account correlates with mine and the parents and child will be spoken to but for confidentiality reasons she won't be allowed to let me know all details of the outcome but will update as far as she's able.

Meantime the dog has just stolen half my cheese sandwich and run off to the bottom of the garden with it so I reckon she's feeling a bit better

Poor doggie. You probably aren't feeling inclined towards sympathy, but that strikes me as a very strange thing for a child to do, and i would worry about what behaviour they've been exposed to :(

Glad your dog has brightened up

You were perfectly clear.

Agree with this. Complain to the council, and headteacher too. They should be fuming

Glad your dog is feeling better. It sounds like the school is dealing with it.

It sounds like too many DC to manage in a shared space.

I'd be absolutely fuming too.

This is the sort of incident which leads, quite easily, down a chain reaction where the child kicks the dog, the dog becomes scared of children, dog is so terrified of children it will bark ferociously and potentially bite if a child gets too near, you have to change your routine with Ddog for the rest of its life to avoid children, and quite easily a child could be injured and you end up with a criminal conviction.

Many years ago a family dog was kicked by a child. She had been fine with children before then and developed a rather understandable hatred of them after that (nowadays we'd say she was reactive).

I'd ask if the school is willing to pay for the cost of a behaviourist to deal with the fallout, should it become necessary. As ever, people frequently don't care unless it hits THEIR pocket.

Bovrilla That would be nowhere near an exclusion in most schools. Children screaming obscenities and hitting their peers and teachers find it hard to be excluded.