Rugrats and dogs

[Stewart]

Hi folks! I have to tell this while my heart is still in my mouth.This morning while in my local bank with my GSD(unusual i know but dogs on a leash allowed)which is a thing I have done for a few years now she is well behaved and sits by my side as we queue to get to a teller, I dont deal with auto tellers.As we queued there was a guy 2 in front of me who was calling this 3yr old approx (bluebell he was calling come here)this rugrat was hurtleing around the open planed area where personal bankers have desks and deal with with people with other bussiness than cash transactions.He a Cat Stevens lookalike and I hold no dissrespect to these types.Eventually the said rugrat spies me and the doggie,over it trotts to us he was watching and I also,the kid starts to pet her to which she my dog licks the childs face.Now I have two sons grown now but at that age I would have not let them loose like that,Anyway I also used to make a point of telling them to ask permission before going up to unknown dogs also.Having said that the queue moves along rugrat hurtles off into the rest of the bank and the father gets to cashier no1 so next person gets called to no3 and then our turn no5. Here I am right at the other end of the cashiers desks conducting my bussiness with gypsey lied at my feet as usual head on her paws minding her own bussiness.Then as I am talking to the cashier .... A muted bark of the type a mother dog tells the pups off with ..... said rugrat is as I look round stumbleing backwards from Gyp's who by now is getting to her four feet.I am stood on her leash so she cant move away.Mr Cat Stevens lookalike is comming from his direction looking startled and says sorry . Well I am looking and everyone is stareing at me and Gyp's so I say to him you want to keep your rugrat under under proper control mate as its the dog who gets a bad name !My dog comes most places with me and only the evening before this while at our local rugby club watching my youngest son play she was being petted by another tott who she just doggie kissed as she would usually do, No problems, The parents then said to the little one say bye bye the doggies had enough.Thats the sort of way it should be ! I suppose I've learnt a very valuable lesson here because thankfully no harm was done but what if it had ?I couldnt have lived with myself.I do think though I cant prove it and dont need to thankfully that the rugrat in question had pulled her tail hence the telling off posture she adopted.Sorry to bore you folks with this story but I just had to get it out in the open

[Lucky Rescue]

This child was very lucky your dog is tolerant. He may not be so lucky next time. What are parents thinking of?

Similiar thing happened to me. I had just gotten my dog and was driving her to my home. I stopped at a rest station and took her on leash to pee. A man was walking nearby with his small son (maybe 3) The child drops dad's hand, RUNS over to us and throws himself across my dog's back. It happened so fast I just stood there in shock. I wasn't sure what this new dog would do.

Luckily, she just turned and licked the boy's face, while his dummy father says, "Oh, he likes dogs" I told the child (loudly so Dad would hear) that he must never touch strange dogs without asking first.

Had this been my previous dog, that child would have gotten the scare of his life!!! And yet another dog may have reacted with a bite to the kid's face. Of course the dog would be blamed.

[debanneball]

Sorry to sound mean...but there are leashes out there for children too....

[heeler's rock!]

That's not right. My oldest dog Red has absolutely NO respect for kids. She'll tolerate them petting her, but my friends son would lie down next to her and she'd do a warning yip and sit up, just watching him to make sure he didn't try it again. He'd move and the parents would tell him off. I took Red to the Pet Expo here when I was part of a booth, and it was amazing hom many kids just ran up and petted her, without even asking me! I would always tell them to put their hand out first for the dog to sniff, then pet gently. Parents need to be more aware of what their kids are doing!

[badger]

Now, Stewart, would that be the early Cat Stevens or the later version, who incidentally was deported from the US yesterday for 'terrorist affiliations'. Hey, there's a terrorist living in the White House and his name is...what was that again?

[jackieb]

I have 3 young children who i try to control!!! Being brought up with dogs and having owned as mastiff myself i know the implications of children going to strange dogs i have taught my children ( well the eldest two ) that we must always ask if we can stroke a strange dog!!!

[mastifflover]

I see it all the time parent with no idea about pet safety and then you r dog on a leash minding its own business is blamed. I will not tolerate these parents and always make sure they know that if there child gets bit it is there own damn fault. Buddy is a rescue and is scared of young children and weighs at least 155, when believe it or not parents let their kids run over to this big dog without stopping and try to pat him he runs behind me to get away. It always scares me that he might bite out of fear he has never been the least bit aggressive but more dogs bite out of fear. I am all for leash laws for children. But isn't a nice surprise when a kid walks up and asks if he can pat your dog? Mind you they usually have a dog at home.

[shihtzulover]

I have a small dog (3lbs right now) and people always run up and try to pat her and pick her up. It makes me sooooo mad
She is still a baby and likes to nip when she gets excited. As soon as I see anyone coming towards her I pick her up.
I try to be friendly to these people but its really hard sometimes.

[Writing4Fun]

Funny you should mention Cat Stevens, Stewart, as he was on the news today!

Unfortunately, Mastifflover, you are right. It is usually only the dog-owning children who know how to behave around dogs. That's because adults who don't own dogs and were not brought up with dogs don't know how to educate their children in that regard. You can't teach what you don't know, right? I mean, I don't know anything about snakes, so how can I be expected to teach my children how to identify the poisonous ones and avoid them? Just an example, folks, albeit not a very good one.

I think the schools should do a little more to educate the children, and then maybe they'll in turn educate the parents! Don't the local shelters/humane societies and police forces usually have a once-a-year blitz on dog bite prevention? If not, maybe they should!

[glasslass]

Same thing happens when I take Den-Den out. Kids think he's a living stuffed toy and just go for him. I've learned to be on the alert when kids approach and intercept them with instructions how to approach him. Most parents seem to appreciate it, but some act annoyed that I'm instructing their child how to behave. Tough, MY child comes first and I safeguard HIM. I don't want their child bitten, and I don't want my child blamed.

[Donna Marie]

Yes...there are leashes for children, but if you raise them right from the start you won't ever need them!

Irresposible parents....oh how I despise them. Other treats I have witnessed:

*leaving kids alone in the car
*having kids in the car without seatbelts on
*letting kids wander around while parents do their shopping
*parents who leave their kids alone in a shopping cart/on a bench/in the washroom

Just like some pet owners need training before bringing home a pet, some parents should take training courses before they can reproduce.

[glasslass]

Agree. Raising children is probably the most important job in the world to do right and no training required?

[Stewart]

Originally Posted by badger

Now, Stewart, would that be the early Cat Stevens or the later version, who incidentally was deported from the US yesterday for 'terrorist affiliations'. Hey, there's a terrorist living in the White House and his name is...what was that again?

I was refering to the early Cat Stevens there badger and yes saw him on our news afterwards purely coincedence but I still think he was off with the fairies when he named his kid bluebell lol !

[iRONKNiGHT]

Hey Stu just Brush it off your shoulders bud.. i'm sorry for what happend but happy with the outcome.. true it's the ones that cant speak that will always take the blame...anyways Stewart.. when are you going to post Beemer and pal? so everyone else can see your beautiful cat's ..LOL..

[Jackie467]

I hate it too when children just run up to candi to pet her and thier parents just stand there and think it's soo cute. MY candi is very afraid of small children, but because she is a small dog everyone thinks that she wouldn't bite. now she has never bitten anyone, not even growled, but i'm afraid she will bite out of fear one day. she just doesn't like small children. the other day i was walking her and this lady and her son were walking he was about 2 maybe, he came running toward candi full speed and scared the poor dog to peices, she ran and hid behind my legs, the child just tryed to follow her, and when i picked her up the boy started crying and the lady got mad at me and said and i quote "i can't belive you won't let him pet her." she then turned grabbed her kid started walking away and said to him so i could hear "it's ok, it was an ugly rat anyway" I could have hit that woman.

[chico2]

My CATS are afraid of small children,if any are visiting they go into invisible mode Kids will ask:Where's the cats??? I'll say: Cat's?What cats?I don't have any! The sandboxes are for visitors,the dry food on the floor is treats for kids (just kidding!!)

[badger]

Sorry to mess up this thread with Cat Stevens. I was living in England in the late sixties, early seventies, and he was HOT. His music still resonates with me, I think he has a good heart, whatever his so-called 'affiliations'. Bluebell? I bet not anymore. Off with the fairies..like Findhorn?

[melanie]

wouldnt that be so cool to take charlie to do my banking and what not, i do but she has to stay outside. i would feel so comfortable if she could come in with me. we used to be able to go into the pub together when she was a pup but now we have to sit in the beer garden or out the front. i took her shopping in my backpack when she was little, but cant do that anymore, would need a really big backpack .


if kids come near us i always tell them loudly that 'they should not pat my dog or any strange dog because it might bite them', that usually stops them in their tracks and off they go. i dont care what parents have to say to me, as far as im concerned i am watching out for the welfare of my dog, simple. but she is big so not many kids walk up to her anyway, no body bothers her most of the time anyway.

[Donna Marie]

Originally Posted by Jackie467

I hate it too when children just run up to candi to pet her and thier parents just stand there and think it's soo cute. MY candi is very afraid of small children, but because she is a small dog everyone thinks that she wouldn't bite. now she has never bitten anyone, not even growled, but i'm afraid she will bite out of fear one day. she just doesn't like small children. the other day i was walking her and this lady and her son were walking he was about 2 maybe, he came running toward candi full speed and scared the poor dog to peices, she ran and hid behind my legs, the child just tryed to follow her, and when i picked her up the boy started crying and the lady got mad at me and said and i quote "i can't belive you won't let him pet her." she then turned grabbed her kid started walking away and said to him so i could hear "it's ok, it was an ugly rat anyway" I could have hit that woman.

OMG...how rude! I would have asked "Are you talking about my dog or your kid?"

[moontamara]

I have the opposite problem here in Korea!!! Most people are afraid of my toy poodle, and just LOVES people! I have to keep him leashed even just in front of our house because he'll rush up and greet anyone who comes near, and a large portion of those people (yes, even grown men) are frightened. What annoys me is when he's on his leash and someone calls him. So now I'm the bad guy because I'm keeping the dog away from someone who wants to pet him. I usually go towards the person calling, but more often than not, once we're a metre away, the calling person starts to look frightened and back away. So WHY DID YOU CALL HIM THEN?????? Poor disappointed Casey!

But actually, I feel that as pet owners we should be extremely responsible for what our dogs do in public. Of course parents should be educating their kids about asking to approach a dog, and the proper way to approach if permission is given. A parent who just lets his/her kids go up to a strange dog of any size is crazy, in my mind. But no matter what the kid does, if the kid gets hurt, it will be the dog's fault (our fault) so we've got to do whatever it takes to prevent that from happening. This isn't really any different from what anyone else was saying here, I guess... just wanted to put in my own words!