Having a toddler who has now on three occasions been knocked over and brought to tears by overexcited dogs is sort of polarizing me against dogs and dog owners
Comments
Log in with your Bluesky account to leave a comment
It’s not the dogs’ fault, but they are the ones who get blamed and punished. It’s the human who need training! It is disheartening when people ignore leash laws. It causes disruption on many levels and makes it hard for the kind souls who adopt traumatized dogs and are more reactive.
Dogs off leash is always a bad move unless you're way off trail in a forest. But I guess my question is why didn't you get between the dog and your toddler?
i wasn't trying to. asking someone whose child was in danger "well why didn't you put yourself at risk, sounds like it's your fault" is epically messed up
If you are not strong enough to control your dog, you shouldn't have that dog. If you're not willing to put in the time to train your dog, you probably shouldn't have the dog either.
He's honestly great around kids and pretty chill, but I'll usually proactively keep him away, unless the kids/parents come over, then I'll make my dog sit and ensure he's calm before letting the kid say hi.
As a big dog owner with tiny family members, 100% agree. The first time my puppy met my baby cousin, it was sniffing from afar. But my baby cousin has cried from older dogs who lack boundaries and proper training. Training is something so easy if you want a good family dog
Then maybe that's a good reason to get over your fear.
Just like it is with ANY animal, wild or not, there's nothing to fear. Just some things to respect. It's easy. And something worth trying to get over.
Or...how about people put down fear? A self-imposed emotion. And all it takes is some respect and education. And it's not just dogs. It's across the board. I think pacifying and supporting fear only hurts the fearful. I'd rather people not be afraid. It's limiting.
I’ve had similar experiences that fortunately didn’t get to the point of my kid actually being knocked down, but seeing dog owners watch as their unleashed dogs engage in frightening and dangerous jumping right in my kid’s face *and failing to recognize what is even happening* is genuinely enraging.
I am consistently flabbergasted at the lack of leash control I see from fellow dog owners. I'll hike off leash with my dog, but as soon as we see other people, the leash goes on.
Yeah my basic take is that responsible dog owners who know their pets well should also practice leash control and keep their dogs on-leash at all times where it’s required, specifically to model behavior to people who only *think* they’re responsible and that they know their pets well.
Agreed. We have many designated off leash areas with rules stipulating dogs needing to be leashed within X feet of the parking lot, for example, and even those are ignored!
Regarding off leash, there are far too many people with dogs who have zero recall. I see it so often biking.
My dog was 1.5 before I let him go regularly off-leash and even now there are some places he'll never go off leash, even when it's allowed, because there are just too many people around.
Yep, letting your dog off leash in an environment where they can't or won't return to you on the first command should be some sort of criminal violation (not really). There is a dog park exception for this so long as your dog is not actually aggressive.
If you're hiking on Forest Service land and your dog is off leash a ranger may require you to prove you still maintain control and WILL write you a ticket if you can't.
I hate dog parks because it's basically a free for all where owners don't give a shit (and these are the same people not giving a shit in situations like JBSA talked about)
I had to train my husband about this. Dog owners must be responsible for their dogs! Period. The end.
I will say that I hope you can/will expose your kids to good well trained dogs… fair or not- kids/ people who aren’t afraid of dogs are less likely to get bit for lots of reasons.
I have 4 kids and 2 dogs. This issue goes both directions. Dogs often don't understand toddlers and toddlers don't understand dogs. Both parties have to handle the introduction properly. You can't train a dog on how to handle toddlers if you don't have a toddler and vice versa.
I was just walking down the street with my toddler holding one hand and my baby in my arm when a lady's large, muzzled pitbull (she was talking to a friend on the grass) came charging after my son and knocked him over.
Exposure can help, we've actually had a handful of kids who were afraid of dogs spend a bunch of time at our house playing and decide they like dogs now (sometimes to the parents dismay). But the trick is that *this* kind of accidental surprise exposure can do the opposite.
I would argue mine are not properly trained because my kids detrain them as fast as I can train them. Dog won't lick my face (or other adults) bc I don't let them, dog will lick my kid's because they do let them. But my dogs are very well socialized and very affectionate, which helps balance.
Yeah that's super bad. That's a control issue. The muzzle is also a warning sign of control problems. I'm pretty anti-pitt at all levels anyways. Even the good, sweet affectionate ones are too strong to be safe.
Understandable, but we parents also have to teach our kids the appropriate ways to interact with animals. I have small children, so I get it, but I also had an excitable dog who looked adorable and parents would just let their children lose on my leashed dog.
But holy shit do I get mad when I see people have their dogs unleashed. Even when I didn’t have kids, people would let their unleashed dogs barrel up to my guy with “he’s friendly!” Great, mine isn’t friendly with other dogs and that’s why he’s on a leash and I’m keeping him and everyone else safe.
I think we were saying the same thing? My dog (he’s not alive anymore) was not good with other dogs. I kept him on his leash and safe but he got out and had fun. The problem was other unleashed dogs coming up to him. They were “friendly” so their owners felt it was okay
Which put both their pet, and mine, in danger. If you dog is generally friendly, keep it safe on a leash. If you dog struggles, keep him safe on a leash.
If you care about your pet, put it on a leash. If you care about other humans, put your pet on a leash. It’s not that hard but people make it that way.
I don't actually know what you were trying to say with this mangled sentence, but I was just walking down the sidewalk with my toddler holding one hand and my baby in the other arm
This was this weeknd. My border collie had never seen a baby. She was great. She is completely trained. Probably the first and last time a baby will be in this house thiugh. Not a kid fan.
Correct take. I think norms around dog manners have lagged really far behind in terms of post-pandemic recovery and continue to do so; lots of poorly trained dogs adopted during the pandemic and entitled owners who refuse to leash, among other issues.
My little girl was scared to go to the playground for awhile b/c of all the unleashed dogs and yeah I got pretty mad about that. "He's friendly, it's ok!" is meaningless when you're a tiny child and an animal bigger than you is coming at you full speed
Comments
(And that’s what they said to all the others.
Training & leashing are musts. So is knowing what situations your dog can't handle well & keeping them out of those situations.
He's honestly great around kids and pretty chill, but I'll usually proactively keep him away, unless the kids/parents come over, then I'll make my dog sit and ensure he's calm before letting the kid say hi.
Just like it is with ANY animal, wild or not, there's nothing to fear. Just some things to respect. It's easy. And something worth trying to get over.
i used to work for a guy who encouraged kids to walk behind horses to get over their fear
the problem being that, you know. horses kick behind them.
being fearless won't prevent broken bones.
they got sued a lot.
My dog was 1.5 before I let him go regularly off-leash and even now there are some places he'll never go off leash, even when it's allowed, because there are just too many people around.
I will say that I hope you can/will expose your kids to good well trained dogs… fair or not- kids/ people who aren’t afraid of dogs are less likely to get bit for lots of reasons.
I think the dog was trying to play.
They might learn the difference.
Just bc another dog is friendly is irrelevant. Your dog deserves to have their personal space respected.
Parent problem... imagine- open upstairs window...