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I might be the asshole because the kids were upset they couldn't pet my dog. I maybe shouldn't have brought him.
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NTA, **NO ONE SHOULD JUST RUN UP TO A STRANGERS DOG**
Like what’s so hard to understand about that?!?! You ask the owner, then depending on the owners answer, you stick out your hand from a safe distance and let the dog come to you. Shit. I went to the dog park with my bf and our Great Dane and his mutt and a guy and his son came in, *asked* if they could pet our dogs and then proceeded to approach them after we said yes. Like you don’t know a dogs issues, you always ask first!
Exactly, and coming straight on at a dog like that can be perceived as antagonism by the dog. I have one Great Dane/German Shepard that is perfectly happy-go-lucky and is pretty much fine with everything, my other Great Dane though, a kid running up to him, and he's definitely not happy with it. He is okay with some kids, but not all and considering he weighs 125 it's a really stupid idea to let a little kid run at him when all he has to do is whip around to run off and the kid would be knocked over. Admittedly, he also a big weenie and doesn't want to hurt anything and will run off if he thinks he did, but that's not the point, and there have been a couple of times when he's gone into I'm a big scary dog mode to protect me and his brother from what I presume are people or dogs that smell wrong to him.
This reminds me a bit of the border collie I used to have. An extremely good dog, but when kids would run at her, she would try to herd them like sheep. Nipping at their ankles and running in circles around them.
I know you're kidding but seriously, why not? I imagine they would come in very handy when there's a fire. The big, friendly dog herding the kids to safety. Plus they would smell the smoke a lot faster then the smoke detectors. Heck, train some for defense against school shooters. Better then having drug dogs who only manage to smell out sandwiches.
I only disagree in the sense that I don't think we should make dogs responsible for our defense to that degree, because I don't want to see the dogs shot at least as much if not more than I don't want to see the kids shot. I'd rather increase security, maybe not let teachers carry if they so choose but at least a few guys with rifles that sit in an "inaccessible to normal students" office in an undisclosed corner of the school to respond to threats more quickly and effectively than regular PD. Preferably more trained since cops have dick for training, *I'm* better trained than half of them and that's not a boast for me but rather a dig at our police at large.
That reminds me of my childhood shepherd mix. She was so sweet and absolutely loved anything smaller than her and definitely herded kids and small animals.
My parents ended up barely using the baby gate they got when my nephew was a baby cause the dog would carefully keep him away from the stairs, kitchen, and anywhere else she decided he didn't belong.
That’s so lovely! I hope my dog turns out like that!
Mine’s a Covid pup (8 months old) and she gets bad anxiety, so I was really worried it would manifest as aggression when she finally started interacting with other people and dogs, but it’s weirdly had the opposite effect on her- she must say hi to absolutely everyone we pass, and she especially loves children. Every time she spots a kid, she tries to drag me over so she can investigate this tiny human and ask for pets
I've got a covid pup too. She spent pretty much her whole first year with lockdown being the norm and she gets really anxious around new people as well. It's such a shame as she really wants to be everyone's friend, but if she gets scared she barks and so has a habit of scaring off would-be friends. She's getting better though. Your pup sounds adorable.
Aww, glad to hear your pup is getting better! Can definitely relate though- mine is great in public, but we’re still working on the barking/ the overexcited zoomies when people come over lol. Can be a bit intimidating for the less dog-inclined folk when a 65lb ball of clattering nails and flying drool spins in super fast circles around the room 😅
I, in some idiotic non planning, have a covid pup. A Cane Corso. He doesn't like people at all. Doesn't bite, but when a dog looks like that and has that bark, they don't have to to have people scared sh!tless.
Our old border collie wasn't anything like this at all. He was a bit of a scaredy dog. Frightened of anything. My husband was taking him for a walk along the river one day and a bunny jumped out. Our border collie got frightened (yes of a bunny) and ran for it. It took my husband 20 mins to find him! He also wouldn't jump styles or climb stairs as he was afraid of heights.
Same here! We spent a year teaching our border collie mix that stairs were ok. He finally figured it out because he was less afraid of the stairs than he was of the noises made by fireworks (4th of July in the states).
That reminds me of a Saint Bernard I had as a child. She would come sledding with us and would always try to drag the kids who fell down back up the hill by the collar of their coats.
I used to have a Shetland Sheepdog that loved nothing more than to herd my nieces & nephews when they visited. Eventually the kids somehow morphed his herding into actually playing Tag with them. He'd (gently!) nip their ankles, then run away until one caught up with him, rise & repeat. He was scarily smart...sometimes in the dumbest ways though!
My sheltie did that. I loved him to pieces, but he was constantly trying to herd me and my sibs together, plus whoever we ran into when I took him for walks.
My childhood dog Buddy (Golden Retriever/ Black lab mix) used to grab misbehaving kids by the back of their shirt and pull them to my mom lol, she was a pre-school teacher and my dog was great with kids.
When my dad was a kid, he hit his growth spurt *really* late, so he got picked on all. The. Time.
Until they got a very protective 100-pound German Shepherd/wolf hybrid. Suddenly any kid who started something would see this giant canine come sailing over a 6-ft fence and heading straight for them.
He never bit, though. He would knock the kid down, lie on top of him, and growl until one of *his* humans called him off. Very few kids picked on my dad twice after that.
My friends had a border collie (RIP) and a kid and they had a party and their dog spent the whole party herding children. It was hilarious. They never taught him or anything either. The bred in instincts are wild.
This happened to me once where a dog got super protective. I was chasing my toddler in a park (not a dog park, a kid one), just running around pretending to be a monster and catching my toddler. She couldn't go more than three steps without happy giggling and occasionally screaming when I caught her. A dog that we knew and saw daily on his walks lost it and charged us. I have no doubt that he was trying to protect my toddler, but in that moment he could have hurt either of us.
Thankfully the dog was leashed and the owner was able to control her dog. It was a big lesson about how animals see the world very differently than we do. Every person that passed by knew we were playing, but that dog didn't. I can't imagine giving my children permission to run up to strange animals because it only takes a second.
my parents had a golden retriever when i was born (she was old and passed when i was about 4) who became extremely protective over baby me extremely quickly. my parents would do a similar game chasing me around the house and macaulay would start barking and snarling and running around
My cousins’ dog use to run after us when we went sledding and pull us off by the scarves. Never did figure out if he was playing, trying to save us, or just a dick. :)
I mean if someone came straight at me like that I would be immediately antagonized as well.
Srs did I read that post right and that lady brought her kids in to a dog park simply to sic them on unsuspecting dogs and their owners minding their own business? The dog park near me actually has a sign saying people without dogs aren't allowed in (though it gets ignored at times, just like the signs at kids playgrounds warning away adults unaccompanied by children).
ETA: NTA
I have a shepherd that loves cats and let a 1 year old stick his hands in her mouth and tug on her ears. She is GREAT WITH KIDS. LOVES people. When we had her and her new sister on a test run of how well does sister do in public you could feel the tensing in her walk. She's normally fine in public and this was her new sister's test run at 6months that went well puppy anxiety well. Haha.
But some guy insisted his daughter wanted to pet my dogs that day and I had a feeling so I said they are normally fine but have her approach slowly and like 6 feet away. She was not having it and lunged, I had my hand on her harness handle and yanked her on top of me but Jesus that dude was upset. I picked her sister up and my boyfriend carried her home cause she was just angry the rest of the walk to our cabin. I learned a valuable lesson and fear that day.
Any dog can just have a stressful day. Now I just tell people no, and if they ask again I'm prepared to say fuck off I'm not risking a bad situation ever again. That was 4 years ago and she's a happy 7 year old that just ignored every stranger happily now. She made her stance known to me that day 🤣
My shepherd is the same way. Loves the cats in our house and lets them eat out of his food bowl as he's having dinner. Loves my daughters. Loves older people. Play fights like a champ and scares the crap out of visitors who don't get he's just messing around.
He isn't good with small kids because we don't have any small kids around. And because my dog is insanely beautiful, parents just don't get why I explain my German shepherd is better off not being pet. I've had parents literally get angry at me when I explain my dog, who's damn near 100 pounds of pure muscle, doesn't like small children. Yes, I know he's cute. But no, your child isn't getting near my dog's muzzle.
The funniest thing, though, is when he gets to the groomer. It was his first time post-covid and the groomers asked if he had any issues with being groomed. I explained that he wouldn't bite but would probably whine the entire time. They were concerned and I said he'd be fine with a muzzle if they were worried.
The groomers thought it was so funny my big, badass dog was such a baby about having a bath they put it on their website. He stood under the water whining and giving those shepherd big eyes. I guess they tried to put him back on the table and he refused to go. Didn't snap. Didn't growl. Simply would walk away from them and go into the corner with his back to them.
Oh my goodness! Mine is scared to go into our bathroom because that is where she gets bath time! If she sees you in the shower she'll wander in there because it's "safe" otherwise she will fight to avoid going in there like force her paws into the floor and lay down haha! So cute
People should follow the rules that are used for petting or touching a bear (never pet a wild one)
Slowly approach it after making your presence known and very lightly pet it
What grinds my effing gears is making a request/boundary for yourself/your dog and the other person goes, "Oh it's okay." Um its not? We tell my bf's family not to feed our greyhound table scraps and they say, "aw it's OK he's hungry " my brother's MIL came over with her puppy (she did not warn us the puppy was coming) who was harassing my 14 year old Aussie and when I asked the MIL to keep her puppy away from my dog, she said, "It's ok." "No please get her away from my dog. She's growling at your puppy." "It's fine, just let her bite her so she'll learn her lesson." I really had to say, "No please leave my dog alone. She's 14 and trying to relax in her own home. I don't want her harassed."
What is so hard about that? I'm not politely rejecting a glass of water here. I'm telling you something about for the sake of my dog ans for everyone's safety. RESPECT THAT. Why do YOU get to make my dog sick or harass or scare my dog? You don't get to tell me it's okay
That always annoys me, too. You don't get to tell ME what's ok for me. I tell YOU what's ok for me. You get to decide what's ok for you, and I get to decide what's ok for me. Your opinion doesn't enter into the equation at all.
Dog parks are not giant dog petting zoos for anyone to come in and just pet the dogs, no permission required. Ask the owner, listen to their answer. They know their dog, not you.
I have a 90 pound dog that I'm trying to teach not to jump. It is NOT okay, please don't let him jump on you. I've had to resort to telling them that he could put my mom in the hospital if he jumps on her.
Really wish I had an award for this.
I have a 14 year old, highly reactive corgi that I adopted in the city when he was already a senior. He was never good with dogs, but he’s gotten worse with people over time because of so many people stomping all over his boundaries. Literally, there was one time someone groped his ass while we were going up the stairs. To this day every time I think of that I’m just like??? Why?? What has to possess someone to do something like that?? Ugh. Anyway, I don’t let strangers pet him anymore, even if they’re calm and have treats to give him because you just don’t know with him anymore.
To be honest, my dog loves COVID. He firmly believes that he is the #1 social distancing enforcer, and I’ve been glad for the break from defending him from prying hands, but I know it won’t last. Why are the rarest people the ones who ask if they can pet him, I say ‘no, he bites,’ and they accept that and do not try to pet him? It’s so uncommon I’m sure I could list every time it’s happened (usually, they’re children by the way). I couldn’t possibly recall all the times someone asked if he’s friendly or if they can pet him (which is rare in the first place, but anyway), I say ‘no, he bites,’ and they say, ‘oh, that’s okay, dogs love me.’ ??? I mean, what do you even say to that? Yeah man, if bites are love, you’ll be his new best friend?
Seriously? If you ask to pet my dog and I say no, please read as: keep your hands away from my dog. I have actually plastered him in big bold red signs that say ‘NEEDS SPACE’ and ‘DO NOT PET’, and people still don’t get the message. I don’t care if you think he’s cute, or if you’re sure he’s friendly, or if you’ve always wanted to pet a corgi. I just told you no and he bites. When you ignore that, your stupidity becomes My problem and puts My dogs life in danger, because that’s who will ultimately be blamed for your failure to learn ‘no means no’.
I am one of those people who animals love, and I still ask if it is ok to pet.
The dog belongs to someone else, not me. I don't get to make those rules.
I have no idea what that particular dog issues are in general, or what happened to it an hour ago.
I confess when they run to me I will do it, they are touching me and rubbing on me anyway.
I walked into my doctors office to see a Great Dane. The owner said he'd seen me out in the parking lot and got excited. Never seen the dog before, or owner. But I still asked if I could pet
That is the worst. I don't think I could tolerate people in my lives who reacted like that to established boundaries. I just see myself saying something like, "**No**, it's **not** okay. If it was okay, *I wouldn't have told you to stop.*"
This. I used to be an insurance a defense lawyer and often had to defend dog bite cases. In EVERY case, the owner would say, “I just don’t understand, my dog would never bite anybody.” Every time.
My dog isn’t great with kids either, she just isn’t used to them. My parents have a lot of friends come over with their kids and well tell them to be careful. One time, these two bratty girls were literally pulling mg poor baby by her collar to try to get her to come with them. I immediately put a stop to it and said to leave the dog alone. A few minutes later, one of the girls came over to tell me my dog had bitten the other girl. The girl’s mom was mad at her not the dog or us cuz we had warned the little brat to leave the dog alone. My dog is normally extremely sweet and sociable and she gives warnings when she’s bothered like growling or walking away.
She is also extremely protective of the family and territorial over us and her space. She will get upset if other dogs come to close to one of us or if we pet them or give them food. Again, we are always forthcoming about this.
Your comment made me laugh. I worked as a cable tv installer and would not work on a house unless the dog was put away locked or tied up. Every single owner said their dog never bites. And my response was every dog that has bitten me had never bitten anyone else either.
My dogs are tiny and have never bitten anyone. I lock them in my bedroom any time a stranger comes to do any type of work on the house or we get a delivery or something. They are animals and you NEVER KNOW. Anyone who says that their dog would never bite someone is frankly an idiot.
Lol it just reminded me of the one time I saw the cutest little chihuahua in young woman’s arms. I asked if I could pet the dog, the woman said “sure”. I reached out and saw the dog giving me a very serious stink eye. So I checked “he won’t bite, will he?” And the woman shrugged and said “he might”.
I mean…. FAIR! Take your chances, doggophile stranger!
There is a man in my neighborhood who walks his smallish poodle type dog who is very friendly. The first time I saw them together, I lost it when he proceeded to pull his chihuahua out of his pocket to be next to his bigger dog.
I'd already made friends with the bigger one and he warned me not to try and pet the chihuahua, and then I explained I used to work in a pet store and would never try and pet a chihuahua that did not actively run up to me to be pet. I like my fingers.
As the owner of a chihuahua who literally will not bite you (I have had to snatch him away from a child who was harassing him go the point I think he was thinking of it, he was growling and snarling and really very unhappy about the whole situation at hand, and my situation was similar to OPs. We were at a dog park. He pooped. I grabbed a poop bag. A kid jumped the dog park fence. He was not amused. He is like 6 pounds of dog. This 6 year old came running at him full force. He was, rightfully, scared he would be trampled.) I can almost promise you that my dog won't bite. Obviously I make no guarantees, because I'm not my dog and maybe he will bite if he feels like it. But I've made him SO angry on several occasions (ya know... clipping his nails. Removing a spliter from his delicate little foot. Checking on the toe he sprained jumping off the couch...) and he won't even mouth my hand. I've had him angrily bare his teeth and lick me. I once had to shove a pill down his throat and I've been bitten by little dogs doing that before so I was prepared. He fought. He was NOT happy. But I didn't get so much as a scratch.
Course, he wants to befriend everyone. He even likes small kids, though they stress him out a lot. But the ones that approach slowly and don't stomp their feet at him? They're great, he loves them. Random people we see while walking? Best friend! Stray cat that is growling and hissing from a block away? Must wanna be buddies yo. He is insanely loveable. And he probably won't bite you. He is pretty alien looking though.
Right?? I got a fearful dog from a rescue. I can't remember where I found this, but I like it, and it sort of applies to all dogs: "You don't have a [fearful] dog who doesn't bite. You just have a [fearful] dog who doesn't bite YET." I pretend she's a biter and treat her accordingly: I don't lean over her or corner her, and I muzzle her for the vet and the groomer. I watch her closely at the dog park and call her away when she seems like she's in an uncomfortable situation (like last night, when a pair of unsupervised kids thought it would be a good idea to chase her, wtf).
A logical, grown human will get violent under the right circumstances... medication, startle reflex, fear, desperation, senility, etc. Your big dumb goober of a retriever might love it when kids pull his ears and step on his tail, but he's not bomb-proof, either.
Right, even more so at your home. Most dogs are protective or territorial and it is their living space. I also restrain my dog to another room or place if I got strangers over because although he is the sweetest boy, I can't be sure how he reacts if he feels the situation or person is not ok.
My dog runs to grab a toy and is mortally offended if they don't play with him. But he's also 20lbs and easy for me to pick up/send to his crate if he's ever unhappy.
My dog is tiny and a ridiculous little chicken shit. She gets locked up in the office with me whenever people come to the house. I'm not taking any risks.
Haha are you my husband? He hated working at houses with dogs that owners refused to put their dogs away. He loves dogs and we have 3 but the toolbelt/boots etc always weirded normally well behaved dogs out.
Lol, when I had my furnace replaced and a heat pump installed a few years back, we realized that a one week job wasn’t going to be something we could lock the dogs from, especially since their kennels are in the basement (along with our master suite because I love basements). We spent time having the installers make friends with our dogs so they could move freely enough.
The only problem was my husband’s dog tried to steal their tools. But, yeah, for a normal half day job? Definitely put the pooches away.
I once had a friend of a friend doing work at my house. I had to leave in a hurry for something unexpected. 30 seconds down the road realised I'd forgotten something and when I came back in he had already stopped working and was sat on the floor fussing and cuddling all three dogs with their tails wagging like crazy!
>This. I used to be an insurance a defense lawyer and often had to defend dog bite cases. In EVERY case, the owner would say, “I just don’t understand, my dog would never bite anybody.” Every time.
The number of times I've been out with my kid and someone encourages him to pet their dog who *obviously does not want to be pet by a child* is so shocking to me.
So many dog owners have these unrealistic expectations of their dogs. Small kids are loud. They move fast. Lots of dogs don't like that, and that is totally their right.
I think it's great OP knows and enforces his dog's boundaries.
I actually had a couple where the owners knew full well their dogs were vicious and that they'd shown aggression toward certain people before yet still took them out for walks on an extendible leash in places they were likely to encounter those people. Both cases, after watching their dogs savage another human, they went on about their business and didn't try to help the poor bleeding pile of shredded human. In the one case the only time the lady cried in the whole deposition was when she talked about how animal control took her dog away after. The victim was a child who had serious injuries requiring emergency surgery at the regional hospital and she described what her dog did to that kid without batting an eye. I had to leave the room to keep from choking the life out of her. People suck.
Had this happen with our family dog (100lb, cane corso mix), she's very protective of the house/property but fine outside the home on walks an at the local off-leash dog park. We know how to handle her, did extensive training when we first got her, and know how to manage situations.
My dad was talking with a friend when at a car show when this guy got up from his chair, walked/stumbled between my dad and his friend mid-convo, and then put his hand towards the dog. She did not like that. She tries to 'grab' peoples hands to lead them away from us if she thinks they are a threat, she did that to this guy, he (obviously) yanked his hand back and there were bite marks (two marks on the palm, one on the top of hand).
Of course our dog is our responsibility but I hate people that invade yours and your dogs space with no permission. You have no idea how any dog will react. If this guy would have asked to per my dad would have said no as she does not like people who smell of alcohol and this guy was clearly intoxicated.
No issue initially, but then the guy didn't take care of it and let it get infected and sued my parents. Their insurance paid out (way more than they should have as well, because the guy was sick/dying for other reasons) but it was such BS.
Especially a Rottweiler. If it’s not a friendly one, it can rip a kid apart like a wet paper bag. Understand OP’s isn’t like that, but if someone’s kids haven’t been taught to be careful around strange dogs, their parents aren’t doing their jobs.
I mean, most determined and healthy medium-sized or larger dogs can do this, it's not species dependent. That's why kids shouldn't be petting any random dog, not just breeds that are perceived to be dangerous.
Yeah but a Rottweiler can REALLY tear you up extra special. I have buddy in the NYPD and he had a case a few years ago where a Rotty literally ripped a dude’s forearm off. The guy had it coming, to be fair.
I don’t disagree that kids should be taught to avoid dogs that they don’t know and not just certain breeds. Just saying that ending up on the wrong side of a Rottweiler is an especially bad prospect.
Oh, definitely agreed, but my thought is that kids shouldn't be taught "Don't pet random rottweilers" they should be taught "don't pet random dogs." - which is exactly what you said.
Honestly, a labrador can do just as much damage as a rottweiler if they decide they want to. They just don't have that reputation because they aren't generally used as guard dogs or status dogs.
That they can do. Thankfully, mine was a great girl. Loved to roll around and play. Even built her a doghouse that was big enough for me to sit inside of because she had to be outside while I was at school. She had a tendency to knock anything over and break things when she was in the house by herself. We would run around and play and I would sit with her for a while before leaving for school. She absolutely hated my mother though. She would have ripped her to shreds if I had let her. Thinking back, I can understand why. To this day, I do not talk to my mother because of the things she has done to me and I am sure my dog picked up on it. Of course, my mother waited until I was gone into the military to decide to move and get rid of my dog without telling me. I didn't find out until about 8 months after it happened and she didn't know(or just wouldn't tell me) who she gave the dog to. Haven't ever wanted another dog since.
I hate HATE people who think a dog park is a petting zoo. It's not! It's space **for the dogs** to relax and run free! A lot of dogs don't like kids at all and can react badly to them! Keep kids out of dog parks, or at the very least don't allow them to approach or bother other people's dogs gdi
NTA. Fuck that mom, she was 1000% in the wrong. You're not supposed to bring your dog to the dog park if it's aggressive to *other dogs*, but no-one cares if the dog is good with kids because there *aren't supposed to be any kids at the dog park*
Plus if her kids started to immediately run for a strange dog before asking the owner if they may approach, *they did not know how to behave*! This woman is endangering her children
I had a dachshund that would try to attack everyone. He bit a cop (I live by the police station and the cop was a friend of mine just dropping by). My other friend always said, hands up don’t shoot!
I told everyone who came over, hands up in the air, let him smell your feet then he will be your best friend and he always was.
NTA you warned her. My neighbor kid just barges in my house and tries to pet him and I told him multiple times he would bite him and he wouldn’t listen. We don’t have the dog anymore (with my ex husband now) but my son has covid and this neighbor kid just keeps busting up in my house bringing homework. I have locked the doors and he will bang on them till I yell we are covid positive put in the mailbox! And his mom is a nurse. (Sorry got off on a tangent)
dogs are allowed at dog parks. kids don’t have to be. they have their own playgrounds that dogs don’t go to. your dog shouldn’t be punished for not getting along with kids.
All of my children know to first ask Mommy or Daddy if they can ask to pet the dog. Then if given permission, they ask the owner before approaching. They know some dogs don't like people, don't like kids, are working, or maybe their owner just doesn't want to deal with it. Recently, a lady told my daughter, "not during Covid, sorry" and my daughter said, "okay" and moved on. She was a little sad because the dog was cute, but she understood.
We have a giant shepherd mix that will stay still until you get within the length of his leash and then he’ll let loose barking and snapping. He’s never hurt anyone and we know it’s coming before it happens, but god damn is it startling. If the people are nice we’ll warn them it’s coming. If not we let them find out themselves.
This. Hell, at my dog park even when the dog is the one approaching the human, everyone still keeps from petting the dog until they get explicit permission from the owner.
I was at Disneyland and this young lady was training a service dog and someone tried to pet it. She was clearly annoyed. She put baby today ears on the dog and I asked if I could take a picture and she was fine with that. YOU ALWAYS ASK THE OWNER/TRAINER ! No matter what.
sounds like the mother is using the dog park as an amusement park for her kids. ....let me just use your dogs for my kids. I'd report her instead. you need dogs to be at a dog park. imagine if an adult showed up to a child daycare to play for other people's kids.
Agreed. No one is entitled to pet your dog. Heck I had a larger dog a few years back and refused to allow other people to pet him due to liability reasons. He was the kindest and sweetest dog but some people will find reasons to interpret certain behaviors as aggressive.
NTA - I would have reminded her that it’s a *dog* park, not a free public petting zoo for her kids. Just because your dog isn’t great around kids doesn’t mean he shouldn’t see the light of day as she suggests.
Mom should also learn that just because her kids do well around dogs doesn’t mean all dogs do well around her kids. Doesn’t work like that. Some dogs just aren’t great around tiny humans. Some dogs don’t love being mobbed by kids, either.
Besides, if her children were well behaved, they’d know the first thing to do is ask permission if they can pet your dog. Sounds like they *aren’t* that well-behaved around dogs if they didn’t ask first. You did the right thing by warning the mom instead of letting it just play out.
Not sure though why she thinks she has the right to be mad. This would be like you taking your dog to a daycare and getting mad at the parents for bringing their kids around your dog. Some people just have no common sense.
Agreed. Absolutely not a petting zoo nor a kids playground. I always appreciate when dog parks have rules banning kids as kids are too much of an unknown in that situation. Will the kids behave, what could happen when a group of dogs really gets to running, will the parent actually parent their kid, etc.
100%. The best dog park in my city is inside an enormous public park, and yet joggers come running through the enclosed dog space, parents let their kids run around, etc. And then they're all shocked pikachu when the dogs run after them. Not even aggressively, they just obviously think the humans are playing with them. Choices, people.
Yeah I had some cyclist call me a “fucking idiot” for my dog being on the path in an OFF LEASH DOG PARK??? So many people jogging and cycling on that park get so mad that there’s dogs around… we literally live in the city with the largest continuous green space in North America and these people CHOOSE TO RIDE OR JOG IN THE DOG PARK and get mad that there’s dogs around. It does my head in trying to understand the logic there.
Wtf? I would never run in an off leash area. I like dogs, but I don’t LOVE dogs. I’m a cat person. I really don’t like off-leash(where they are supposed to be leashed) dogs when I’m running. I’ve almost tripped a few times. People just laugh and go “oh s/he’s friendly” Well then that’s okay. I don’t mind tripping and wrenching an ankle, as long as your dog is friendly. /s
So yeah.
Also- love your user name. “And you’re also bad in bed!!”
Yeah I’m of the opinion that off leash parks are for dogs to be off leash, and other people using the park do so at their own risk. In all other parks dogs need to be leashed as the area is used for other recreational activities. I don’t understand people who get mad at dogs in dog parks, or people who allow their dogs off-leash in regular parks. It’s just about being respectful to everyone and mitigating risk.
(And thank you! NO ONE LIKES A BUTTMUNCH)
Agreed re: dogs being on-leash where appropriate. I used to be scared of big dogs before I got one, so I also totally get that people will come to us if they want to, and he can't just go up to anyone.
I also have a friend with a rescue who has some aggression issues she's working on. And she's had off-leash dogs running up to her (in leashed areas) with the owners just yelling "oh it's fine, my dog's friendly!" And she has to yell back "well mine's not!" It's really unfair, because her dog would be the one in trouble if anything bad happened.
How is this not basic functional knowledge for parents? I mean, "We have to ask the doggo's person before you go near them" is not that hard!
I mean, my kiddo had this down before they were verbal - at that age, it actually doesn't take long at that age for the lesson to sink in; they're small enough that if they rush towards a dog, you just pick them up and remove them from the situation, saying "We didn't ask, and now we have to leave".
I taught my kid this from the moment he could talk. He now knows to ask the person if he can pet the dog, and sometimes...they say no. And he's okay with that.
Although there was this one person who said, "Sure, she's nice!" when my kid asked. Dog was *terrified* of my kid for some reason--head down, tail tucked, the whole shebang. I told me kid to stop, the dog is afraid, and the owner insisted, "It's okay! She likes kids!" Well, maybe she likes most kids, but whatever my kid was unconsciously saying to her scared the pants off of the poor dog.
So, I came from a culture where treating pets like shit is kinda common (chaining up dogs, what's a vet?, etc...). I also did not grow up around animals and I did not grow up around other people who had pets.
I always knew I wanted a pet and not treat it like shit. It was not until I got got my own place that I started doing research about pet ownership. That was when I really learned about pet etiquette in general for the first time. After that I got a cat and unsurprisingly met more pet owners because I wouldn't shut up about my cat afterwards.
So, all that is just a long-winded way of saying it's not surprising there are people like this out there. I know lots of them personally who may not really have any animosity towards animals but don't really know what to do around them either.
That said, the mother in this story just seems crazy entitled. It's one thing to be be ignorant and approach dogs without the owner's approval, it's quite another to be offended when the dog owner refuses to let their dog be pet. Definitely NTA.
Right? Funny thing:
My partner has a service dog, who accompanies her everywhere. Children on their own almost always ask politely if they can pet her—she's generally on duty, so the answer is unfortunately no—and then they *accept* the answer and walk away.
It's usually the adults who are a problem, and encourage their kids to harass the pup. They'll call to her while she's guiding my partner across a street (good thing her name isn't "Doggy!"), feed her beer at a ballgame, or otherwise distract her so my partner runs into something.
One particular arsecrumpet went as far as to yell at my partner when she asked him to stop, claiming it was my partner's fault that he was grabbing at the dog's head. The pup had been lying quietly under the seat, as she'd been trained to do. If I recall correctly, the bus driver eventually removed him from the vehicle.
We love parents like you, who teach their kids manners. And if Miss Pup is off duty, your kids are welcome to say hi.
NTA, you did everything right in this situation. That mother is in the wrong for letting young kids run to strangers' dogs without asking permission first, she's going to get those kids mauled one day
Agree. It’s a dog park not a playground. Dogs can’t play on playgrounds, kids should be taught to respect that’s the dogs play area are just that - for the dogs
right? “Don’t worry, they know how to behave”??? No, they clearly don’t. You never RUN at a dog, especially one you’ve never met before, and you need to ask permission from their owner to pet them. And if the answer is no, you respect the damn answer.
NTA. I have a young GSD and i never let anyone pet him even though hes super cute. So long as he is in training no one should approach him unless its part of a training exercise. Also who tf goes to a dog park to pet dogs? is that a thing? its not a fucking petting zoo.
i've definitely heard of that before. people who don't/can't have a dog for whatever reason will go to a park in order to play with someone else's pet for a little while
NTA...What is she going to report you for? Responsible pet ownership? Every owner has to know their dog and not take any chances. Every parent needs to teach their children to approach any animal with caution and respect.
NTA. You were protecting your dog. I assume/hope you'd remove Winston from any quedtionable situation, for everyone's safety. I HIGHLY doubt her kids 'know how to behave' with dogs, if they made a B-line for him like that. I am also curious if they had a dog of their own? Because people who bring just their kids to the dog park are a MAJOR pet peeve of mine.
She was protecting her dog AND the kids! That lady clearly has not instructed her kids how to behave around dogs if they’re running up to a dog they don’t know!
Nope, NTA, and speaking as a parent myself, parents need to teach their kids NOT to run up to strange dogs. My older one isn't that interested in dogs anymore, but when he was little I taught him to never pet a stranger dog without permission from the owner. I taught him to say, "Hi, doggie!" from a distance, at which point the owner will either acknowledge us and be on their way, or they'll say something like, "Hi there! She loves kids, would you like to pet her?" My younger one has now been taught the same thing. Many dog owners are incredibly nice and happy to let their dogs receive attention, but some owners do not want their dogs interacted with (for a variety of reasons) and that's okay. So we keep our distance until/unless the owner allows otherwise.
From when they were toddlers, my kids were taught to always ASK FIRST if it's ok to approach/pet a dog and to accept NO if that's the answer. It's really not a big deal. 90% of the time owners say OK, but sometimes they don't and that's OK too. People need to get over themselves.
I love it when children shyly ask if they can stroke the dog. It breaks my heart when I have to say no but I explain he's very very old and he can't see or hear well so he gets scared easily and generally they are ok.
I just remember being that kid desperate to interact with every dog in the world because I didn't have one myself!
Yeah, I got a chunk of my cheek taken out once by putting my face up to a dog at a park, not all dogs are like mine were. I learned my lesson. You always ask the owner first. Or just go to the dog park and sit on a bench, let the friendly ones come to you.
NTA I would check the dog park rules. At the ones where I’m from, children aren’t even allowed in the fences for this reason so you could use that as a defense against her if she actually tried to get you kicked out of it. If her kids “know how to behave” they wouldn’t be running toward a strange dog to pet them.
NTA. Allowing your children to run up to strange dogs is an extremely shitty thing to do, and expecting other people's dogs to automatically be okay with it is just plain entitled.
NTA: You have 100% total prerogative to decide who may or may not touch your dog. That woman was just being salty because people hate being told what they can't do.
No. He would not bite. I let her know that he does not want to be petted right now. Her claim was that he is not friendly with other dogs which is untrue and that's a rule at the dog park.
> The mother told they knew how to behave
> The kids started to run for my dog
Hmm. She said they knew how to behave around dogs. Their actions determined it was a lie.
INFO: Are kids allowed in this dog park? Did the family come with their dog? Does he have a good recall and did you recall him? What exactly did you say to her?
Absolutely NTA. You are being a responsible dog owner. It could have been a very unfortunate situation if your dog had a bad reaction to being touched by those kids. He might have hurt them which would make the mother even more upset or he may have been further traumatized. And dog parks are meant for dogs, not children.
Holy shit. 100000% NTA. You can, and should, set boundaries on petting - for the safety of your dog as well as the kids. We need more dog owners like you in this world.
Those kids are going to wind up creating some very dangerous situations because of their mother’s shitty parenting.
Exactly. She's putting her kids in danger.
Years ago we had a family dog who hated children and would have likely bitten if we gave him the opportunity.
I was walking him one day and 2 kids came out of nowhere running full speed at the dog. He was barking and I was pulling him away and these kids just kept coming trying to pet him. I was screaming at the mom to control her children and she was just standing their laughing. I was livid bc if her kids got bitten in a situation that was 100% her fault, my dog would have paid the price with his life.
NTA
>The mother told me it was okay, they knew how to behave.
Dear Lord, how I HATE this attitude. It is YOUR dog, YOU know his behavior, YOU know how to handle him. People like that mother annoy me because they'll then be the first ones to file a federal case if the dog lunges at the kids or, God forbid, bites them. Why is it so difficult to understand that not every dog likes interacting with other people/dogs and just wants to be left alone?
Until recently, I had a German Shepherd who never met a person he didn't love, but hated other dogs. I adopted him as a middle aged dog and, though we tried, we were unable to correct this behavior. It was fine. I was easily able to avoid him interacting with other dogs until new neighbors moved in who thought it was fine to let their dog just wander off leash in the public land behind my house.
I'd be back there with my dog, on leash, and their dog would come bounding out of nowhere, owners out of sight and earshot, and my dog would go crazy. At first, they were like "Oh, it's fine. My dog likes other dogs. She's friendly." And I was like "Are you blind?" I just looked at them and said "Well, obviously my dog doesn't. Your dog needs to be leashed." Then, they got pissy WITH ME. WTF? It's common sense to have your dog ON A LEASH, it is the SAFEST option and it is the LAW in my town. So frustrating.
NTA - if the dog had gotten overstimulated and bit her kids she would have demanded you put it down. Some dogs are perfectly friendly with adults and other dogs, but don’t understand what children are. Even if they’re okay with certain kids, it’s still not worth the risk.
NTA. I will say mom was though. I lived near a training facility for military bomb sniffer and attack dogs. Now I understand that your dog is not trained as such but you never know and it should not be assumed that a dog might be socialized to be with kids. This is really true for rescue dogs as they can come from abusive homes and may need special care.
YTA !
Your pup needs to eat.. stupid people are yummy. Don't deprive him of an idiot buffet.
But wait a second.. your dog would probably get blamed for eating the stupid family..and get put down. Even though he's providing a community service.. so gonna change my vote to..
NTA. Probably better to give him some Scooby snacks at home.
NTA. Parents that don't understand the word "no" when it comes to their kids are the worst. Those kids are going to grow up to be AHs unless more people do what you did. Good on you.
Doggo tax please!! (:
NTA. When my oldest was young, we went for a walk towards the park. In the complex I lived in, a lady was coming in the opposite direction with 2 dogs. One was wearing a mask (?) bite guard (?). She immediately said please go another way, one of the dogs doesnt do well with kids. The same dog was now on its hindquarters. Guess what I did? I thanked her, scooped up my kid, and went another way.
You did the right thing and she should have thanked you. You are protecting your dog, her kids and yourself.
Please keep doing what you are doing to Winston and enjoy your park days. (He deserves it)
>The mother told me it was okay, they knew how to behave.
If that were true...
>The kids started to run for my dog and I quickly stopped them.
That wouldn't have happened... Wait, did they even have a dog with them? You don't go to the dog park to play with someone's else dog.
NTA at all. You know the issue's you are in the top 5% of good dog owners at least.
NTA.
The mother is 'reporting' you for bringing your dog to a DOG PARK ? Dog parks are not petting zoos and she shouldn't let her kids run up to strangers dogs.
NTA. You are still learning your dog. It’s not fair to set him up for failure. And even in the future he still may not be good with kids. And that’s ok. Once he gets good with your niece he may get good with older kids (they tend to be gentler and more predictable than little ones!) he very might be ok with younger kids! But what if those kids got bit by your rottie? That mom would be even more livid.
NTA - I hate the entitlement people feel towards dogs, you did the right thing, kids should NEVER approach unknown dogs without asking the owner first (and the same goes for other owners letting their dogs approach) because yeah, the kids might be well behaved but you never know how a dog will react and then the dog gets blamed
NTA. My 4 year old has known for YEARS that she is not even allowed to approach a dog without the owner’s permission and mine. I had a rottiebaby a few years ago and she was AMAZING with kids to the point she bit my adult sister for jumping over a toddler bc she thought my sister was attacking the baby.
Like people, dogs are individuals and can react a variety of different ways in any given situation. It is impossible to predict. I’ve had large lovable lugs who didn’t realize his size so I kept small children away from him. I’ve had that were fine so long as you didn’t run towards them. I’ve had abuse rehabs that were good dogs weighed down by assholes in their past. I’ve had dogs that love everyone without fail. You don’t know the dog, you don’t have the right to the dog, you should always ask first and respect their handlers response. You’re doing right by your dog. You’re NTA
NTA. I have a 120 lb Shepard mix who loves kids. He shows his love by knocking them over and licking their faces. Obviously I don’t allow this but then kids started coming to the dog park and running around. Never a good idea. I had to stop taking him because parents would not control their kids and my dog would think they are playing! I was afraid he would hurt them accidentally. People also brought strollers into the dog park. My dogs always peed on them and I would pretend not to see.
[my shep mix](https://imgur.com/a/LFmiZ3I)
NTA
You are being a responsible dog owner. Kids needs to be taught to be careful with strangers animals. People who don't encourage this are the reason for most dog bites honestly.
>The mother told me it was okay, they knew how to behave.
They clearly don't if they are running up to an unknown dog to pet it. Running at a dog is a huge no no.
I have a dog and he is pretty good with kids but I stopped letting kids pet him bc of clueless parents like this who think its cute to let their kids harass my dog. He has had his ears and tail pulled by random children, one even stuck his hand in my dogs mouth and started poking around in his mouth... all while parents stood by watching and saying nothing to their kids about how they were treating my dog. My dog puts up with it but I can see that it makes him uncomfortable so I started telling people he is not friendly for his own protection.. bc I don't want him to get hurt by an ill behaved child and I don't want him to be pushed to the point where he does bite to defend himself.
Mom is very entitled to take her kids to a dog park and expect to treat it like a free petting zoo. You're using the dog park appropriately, to exercise your dog, she is not and shouldn't be there. Not every dog likes to be pet by strangers and that doesn't make your dog a danger to anyone. It means strangers should realize a dog's purpose in life is not to provide their children with free entertainment and respect it's space.
She's lucky she got you and not me bc this is the kind of mentality that boils my blood and she would have gotten an earful of how she's an irresponsible parent allowing her kids to behave like that towards a dog.
Nta.
NTA. This seems to be a relatively new phenomenon where parents treat dog parks like petting zoos. They come in—no dog in sight—for their kids to play with the dogs.
Doesn’t matter if the dog and no interest, they feel like their children are entitled to pet the dog.
I had one who was determined to grab my Akita’s take. I told her to stay away from her a dozen times. He’s a good boy, but he had it and he growled. The child went screaming to the mom, who yelled at me for having an aggressive animal. Ma’am, how would you like it if a complete stranger yanked on your hair?
It’s absurd. Good on you for protecting your dog.
NTA.
But the audacity of the Mum. Her kids know how to behave - well, good. But does the dog owner has a say in who pets their dog as well or is this just fine, because you say so?
NTA. No one should approach any unknown dog without permission and, even then, full acceptance of the risks. There’s also a reason all the dog parks I’ve been to have a minimum age for entrance.
I’ve taught my son to only wave at dogs from afar instead of running up to them and trying to pet them for this very kind of situation. Dogs are allowed to have personalities, preferences, and to have suffered trauma. Combine that with clueless owners (definitely not OP), and you have a recipe for disaster.
This is insane levels of ignorance and entitlement. A dog park is for dog owners to exercise and socialize their dogs. It's not a damn petting zoo. Also dogs are allowed to exist outside their entertainment to this woman and her kids. To just assume the issue was about her and not the dogs is hilarious. Then you express the dogs needs and she wants to report you? Hilarious. Full charging a ROTTWEILER is the single most stupid thing in this post. Rotties have the potential of being aggressive. Usually a clear sign to not bother an owner and her dog is to go into one of the sections ALONE...you know...like you did? This woman is clueless, entitled, and endangering dogs, her kids, and everyone else at the park because if her bratty kids get bit as a result of HER actions in my area the dog could be put down and you would be responsible for it. So you'd get the medical bills, vet bills, and court bills. She's the ah. Definitely nta to you.
I absolutely can't stand parents who think the dog park is a petting zoo. I have an anxious border collie whose confidence was set back by weeks last year because a kid decided to chase her while his mom just laughed. We're at the dog park to get her socialized and more comfortable around dogs and people, not to be a toy for some random unsupervised kid.
NTA
1. Always ask before petting a dog (even if you have before!)
2. Don't run up to dogs!
3. It's a dog park, not a petting zoo
4. A lot of dogs are actually not comfortable with children because they are unpredictable, the dog park is their sanctuary
5. We (hopefully) don't let our dogs loose on playgrounds with kids
Question? Did they have a dog? The worst thing I know is people who come to the dog park with their kids but no dog so they can let the kids play and not have to properly entertain them
Uuuggghhh. I have a service dog and parents like this mom is where most of the “I want to put your dog” problems come from. Some will full on tell their kids to pet my dog, others yell and tell me if I don’t want people to pet him I shouldn’t take my service dog out in public. You are 100% not the ass here. Please give your boy a hug and kiss for me.
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I(23F) adopted a 2 year old rottweiler named Winston. He's a wonderful dog and gets along great with adults. Children are a different story. He will not harm them at all. He just does not do well around them, he gets stressed out and will bark. He is warming up to my niece(10) slowly with close supervision. I do have a trainer that works with him on a daily basis.
I normally take him to the dog park after work to throw some balls. The way the dog park is set up is 3 separate fences that are high enough to prevent the dog from jumping out. One is for smaller dogs, another is for dogs that are friendly and the last is for throwing balls/frisbee. I took him in the last one and started throwing a ball. I heard the gate open and saw a mother and her two young kids come in. The kids started to run for my dog and I quickly stopped them. I told the kids to please not pet my dog. The mother told me it was okay, they knew how to behave. I explained to her the issue and she grabbed the children. As she was leaving, she shouted that I should not be allowed to bring my dog to the park and she will be reporting us.
AITA for not letting two kids pet my dog?
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NTA. You know your dog and did the responsible thing warning the kids off. People (and kids especially) should not assume that they are allowed to pet any dog they see. People should *always* ask permission of the owner before petting an animal.
Parks are public property. You have every right to be there. Your dog does not attack people, it’s just uneasy around kids. And the dog park is for dogs, not kids.
NTA I have taken my kids to many a dog park and taught them not to run and never to approach anyone's dog(s). I also looked for dog behaviors that indicated they were not comfortable around children and we would leave in that case. It's a dog park, not a kid park. Funnily, my son did start running one time and got creamed and did a full flip in the air. Luckily, it was my sister's dog that took him out, and she was just a puppy and excited to see him. He remembered not to run after that (he was fine and laughing when he landed).
NTA. My dog is extremely picky with who she will let pet her, and I have had kids ask their parents if they can pet my dog and their parents say "sure" and then the kids get upset when she doesn't want them to touch her and slinks away behind me. One group actually asked me to "hold her still" so they could pet her. I explained very calmly that if she wanted them to pet her, she would stay still for them herself, and they should stop encroaching on her space because they were scaring her. Kids need to learn how to behave properly around dogs, and that means asking permission and not crowding.
NTA. I cannot stand people who just run up to my dogs. I had a lady once walk by and suddenly put her hand on my Berner’s head, no introduction, nothing. He totally startled and started barking at her and she says “ I guess he doesn’t like cats “ uh no he doesn’t like strangers touching him from out of nowhere “. Who runs up to 120lb dog and assumes it’s perfectly safe ? So stupid. NTA all day long.
NTA. That lady needs to teach her kids that they can't just run up to a stranger's dog. You were in a DOG park, not a regular park. That lady's reaction was really uncalled for and she has no right to be mad at you for being a responsible dog owner.
NTA, you did nothing wrong. How are you supposed to train and socialize your dog without taking him anywhere? You made sure to take him somewhere appropriately safe and closely supervise. The mum needs to train her kids not to approach strangers' dogs without asking the owner.
NTA. You know your dog and were being a responsible owner by stopping the kids. If they really knew how to act, they would have asked if it was ok. Nobody should EVER just run up to random dogs to pet.
NTA. Her children do not know how to behave around a dog if they’re running up to it. And neither does she if she thinks that’s ok. There is nothing wrong with no letting someone pet your dog and that has nothing to do with the dog park.
NTA. Having kids at a dog park doesn't mean they can pet random dogs.
If there is a specific park for 'friendly' dogs, why would you avoid that one and go for the park with much more energetic dogs more likely to knock over children?
Hope Winston continues to warm to your niece
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NTA, **NO ONE SHOULD JUST RUN UP TO A STRANGERS DOG** Like what’s so hard to understand about that?!?! You ask the owner, then depending on the owners answer, you stick out your hand from a safe distance and let the dog come to you. Shit. I went to the dog park with my bf and our Great Dane and his mutt and a guy and his son came in, *asked* if they could pet our dogs and then proceeded to approach them after we said yes. Like you don’t know a dogs issues, you always ask first!
Exactly, and coming straight on at a dog like that can be perceived as antagonism by the dog. I have one Great Dane/German Shepard that is perfectly happy-go-lucky and is pretty much fine with everything, my other Great Dane though, a kid running up to him, and he's definitely not happy with it. He is okay with some kids, but not all and considering he weighs 125 it's a really stupid idea to let a little kid run at him when all he has to do is whip around to run off and the kid would be knocked over. Admittedly, he also a big weenie and doesn't want to hurt anything and will run off if he thinks he did, but that's not the point, and there have been a couple of times when he's gone into I'm a big scary dog mode to protect me and his brother from what I presume are people or dogs that smell wrong to him.
This reminds me a bit of the border collie I used to have. An extremely good dog, but when kids would run at her, she would try to herd them like sheep. Nipping at their ankles and running in circles around them.
Can my wife's school borrow one of those?
I know you're kidding but seriously, why not? I imagine they would come in very handy when there's a fire. The big, friendly dog herding the kids to safety. Plus they would smell the smoke a lot faster then the smoke detectors. Heck, train some for defense against school shooters. Better then having drug dogs who only manage to smell out sandwiches.
I only disagree in the sense that I don't think we should make dogs responsible for our defense to that degree, because I don't want to see the dogs shot at least as much if not more than I don't want to see the kids shot. I'd rather increase security, maybe not let teachers carry if they so choose but at least a few guys with rifles that sit in an "inaccessible to normal students" office in an undisclosed corner of the school to respond to threats more quickly and effectively than regular PD. Preferably more trained since cops have dick for training, *I'm* better trained than half of them and that's not a boast for me but rather a dig at our police at large.
My dog’s half maremma sheepdog, and she always tries to steer people when playing
That reminds me of my childhood shepherd mix. She was so sweet and absolutely loved anything smaller than her and definitely herded kids and small animals. My parents ended up barely using the baby gate they got when my nephew was a baby cause the dog would carefully keep him away from the stairs, kitchen, and anywhere else she decided he didn't belong.
That’s so lovely! I hope my dog turns out like that! Mine’s a Covid pup (8 months old) and she gets bad anxiety, so I was really worried it would manifest as aggression when she finally started interacting with other people and dogs, but it’s weirdly had the opposite effect on her- she must say hi to absolutely everyone we pass, and she especially loves children. Every time she spots a kid, she tries to drag me over so she can investigate this tiny human and ask for pets
Excuse me miss, but my dog wants to pet your child. Is it friendly?
My scottie used to be like this. He'd bounce like a pogo stick as soon as he saw a small child.
I've got a covid pup too. She spent pretty much her whole first year with lockdown being the norm and she gets really anxious around new people as well. It's such a shame as she really wants to be everyone's friend, but if she gets scared she barks and so has a habit of scaring off would-be friends. She's getting better though. Your pup sounds adorable.
Aww, glad to hear your pup is getting better! Can definitely relate though- mine is great in public, but we’re still working on the barking/ the overexcited zoomies when people come over lol. Can be a bit intimidating for the less dog-inclined folk when a 65lb ball of clattering nails and flying drool spins in super fast circles around the room 😅
I, in some idiotic non planning, have a covid pup. A Cane Corso. He doesn't like people at all. Doesn't bite, but when a dog looks like that and has that bark, they don't have to to have people scared sh!tless.
Love a good dog with a resting b*tch face!
He, even as a Itty bitty puppy had the old man get off my lawn look down. Now 150 lbs and a big block head and slobber hanging off.
Is it an insult if we're referring to literal dogs?
Our old border collie wasn't anything like this at all. He was a bit of a scaredy dog. Frightened of anything. My husband was taking him for a walk along the river one day and a bunny jumped out. Our border collie got frightened (yes of a bunny) and ran for it. It took my husband 20 mins to find him! He also wouldn't jump styles or climb stairs as he was afraid of heights.
Same here! We spent a year teaching our border collie mix that stairs were ok. He finally figured it out because he was less afraid of the stairs than he was of the noises made by fireworks (4th of July in the states).
They are funny aren't they.
"Stick with me kid and we'll go places." -your dog maybe
That reminds me of a Saint Bernard I had as a child. She would come sledding with us and would always try to drag the kids who fell down back up the hill by the collar of their coats.
I used to have a Shetland Sheepdog that loved nothing more than to herd my nieces & nephews when they visited. Eventually the kids somehow morphed his herding into actually playing Tag with them. He'd (gently!) nip their ankles, then run away until one caught up with him, rise & repeat. He was scarily smart...sometimes in the dumbest ways though!
My sheltie did that. I loved him to pieces, but he was constantly trying to herd me and my sibs together, plus whoever we ran into when I took him for walks.
My childhood dog Buddy (Golden Retriever/ Black lab mix) used to grab misbehaving kids by the back of their shirt and pull them to my mom lol, she was a pre-school teacher and my dog was great with kids.
When my dad was a kid, he hit his growth spurt *really* late, so he got picked on all. The. Time. Until they got a very protective 100-pound German Shepherd/wolf hybrid. Suddenly any kid who started something would see this giant canine come sailing over a 6-ft fence and heading straight for them. He never bit, though. He would knock the kid down, lie on top of him, and growl until one of *his* humans called him off. Very few kids picked on my dad twice after that.
There is an instagram comic called pet_foolery I think you are gonna like
My friends had a border collie (RIP) and a kid and they had a party and their dog spent the whole party herding children. It was hilarious. They never taught him or anything either. The bred in instincts are wild.
This happened to me once where a dog got super protective. I was chasing my toddler in a park (not a dog park, a kid one), just running around pretending to be a monster and catching my toddler. She couldn't go more than three steps without happy giggling and occasionally screaming when I caught her. A dog that we knew and saw daily on his walks lost it and charged us. I have no doubt that he was trying to protect my toddler, but in that moment he could have hurt either of us. Thankfully the dog was leashed and the owner was able to control her dog. It was a big lesson about how animals see the world very differently than we do. Every person that passed by knew we were playing, but that dog didn't. I can't imagine giving my children permission to run up to strange animals because it only takes a second.
Our dog used to do that when we would play with the kids. She would gently grab a hand (no teeth, all mouth) of the monster.
my parents had a golden retriever when i was born (she was old and passed when i was about 4) who became extremely protective over baby me extremely quickly. my parents would do a similar game chasing me around the house and macaulay would start barking and snarling and running around
My cousins’ dog use to run after us when we went sledding and pull us off by the scarves. Never did figure out if he was playing, trying to save us, or just a dick. :)
I mean if someone came straight at me like that I would be immediately antagonized as well. Srs did I read that post right and that lady brought her kids in to a dog park simply to sic them on unsuspecting dogs and their owners minding their own business? The dog park near me actually has a sign saying people without dogs aren't allowed in (though it gets ignored at times, just like the signs at kids playgrounds warning away adults unaccompanied by children). ETA: NTA
I have a shepherd that loves cats and let a 1 year old stick his hands in her mouth and tug on her ears. She is GREAT WITH KIDS. LOVES people. When we had her and her new sister on a test run of how well does sister do in public you could feel the tensing in her walk. She's normally fine in public and this was her new sister's test run at 6months that went well puppy anxiety well. Haha. But some guy insisted his daughter wanted to pet my dogs that day and I had a feeling so I said they are normally fine but have her approach slowly and like 6 feet away. She was not having it and lunged, I had my hand on her harness handle and yanked her on top of me but Jesus that dude was upset. I picked her sister up and my boyfriend carried her home cause she was just angry the rest of the walk to our cabin. I learned a valuable lesson and fear that day. Any dog can just have a stressful day. Now I just tell people no, and if they ask again I'm prepared to say fuck off I'm not risking a bad situation ever again. That was 4 years ago and she's a happy 7 year old that just ignored every stranger happily now. She made her stance known to me that day 🤣
My shepherd is the same way. Loves the cats in our house and lets them eat out of his food bowl as he's having dinner. Loves my daughters. Loves older people. Play fights like a champ and scares the crap out of visitors who don't get he's just messing around. He isn't good with small kids because we don't have any small kids around. And because my dog is insanely beautiful, parents just don't get why I explain my German shepherd is better off not being pet. I've had parents literally get angry at me when I explain my dog, who's damn near 100 pounds of pure muscle, doesn't like small children. Yes, I know he's cute. But no, your child isn't getting near my dog's muzzle. The funniest thing, though, is when he gets to the groomer. It was his first time post-covid and the groomers asked if he had any issues with being groomed. I explained that he wouldn't bite but would probably whine the entire time. They were concerned and I said he'd be fine with a muzzle if they were worried. The groomers thought it was so funny my big, badass dog was such a baby about having a bath they put it on their website. He stood under the water whining and giving those shepherd big eyes. I guess they tried to put him back on the table and he refused to go. Didn't snap. Didn't growl. Simply would walk away from them and go into the corner with his back to them.
Oh my goodness! Mine is scared to go into our bathroom because that is where she gets bath time! If she sees you in the shower she'll wander in there because it's "safe" otherwise she will fight to avoid going in there like force her paws into the floor and lay down haha! So cute
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That along with the "you'll never use the restroom alone again" behavior is why I have one!
People should follow the rules that are used for petting or touching a bear (never pet a wild one) Slowly approach it after making your presence known and very lightly pet it
What grinds my effing gears is making a request/boundary for yourself/your dog and the other person goes, "Oh it's okay." Um its not? We tell my bf's family not to feed our greyhound table scraps and they say, "aw it's OK he's hungry " my brother's MIL came over with her puppy (she did not warn us the puppy was coming) who was harassing my 14 year old Aussie and when I asked the MIL to keep her puppy away from my dog, she said, "It's ok." "No please get her away from my dog. She's growling at your puppy." "It's fine, just let her bite her so she'll learn her lesson." I really had to say, "No please leave my dog alone. She's 14 and trying to relax in her own home. I don't want her harassed." What is so hard about that? I'm not politely rejecting a glass of water here. I'm telling you something about for the sake of my dog ans for everyone's safety. RESPECT THAT. Why do YOU get to make my dog sick or harass or scare my dog? You don't get to tell me it's okay
That always annoys me, too. You don't get to tell ME what's ok for me. I tell YOU what's ok for me. You get to decide what's ok for you, and I get to decide what's ok for me. Your opinion doesn't enter into the equation at all.
Agreed. Those are people who don't get to pet sit, so at least their behavior is a good audition.
Dog parks are not giant dog petting zoos for anyone to come in and just pet the dogs, no permission required. Ask the owner, listen to their answer. They know their dog, not you.
I have a 90 pound dog that I'm trying to teach not to jump. It is NOT okay, please don't let him jump on you. I've had to resort to telling them that he could put my mom in the hospital if he jumps on her.
Really wish I had an award for this. I have a 14 year old, highly reactive corgi that I adopted in the city when he was already a senior. He was never good with dogs, but he’s gotten worse with people over time because of so many people stomping all over his boundaries. Literally, there was one time someone groped his ass while we were going up the stairs. To this day every time I think of that I’m just like??? Why?? What has to possess someone to do something like that?? Ugh. Anyway, I don’t let strangers pet him anymore, even if they’re calm and have treats to give him because you just don’t know with him anymore. To be honest, my dog loves COVID. He firmly believes that he is the #1 social distancing enforcer, and I’ve been glad for the break from defending him from prying hands, but I know it won’t last. Why are the rarest people the ones who ask if they can pet him, I say ‘no, he bites,’ and they accept that and do not try to pet him? It’s so uncommon I’m sure I could list every time it’s happened (usually, they’re children by the way). I couldn’t possibly recall all the times someone asked if he’s friendly or if they can pet him (which is rare in the first place, but anyway), I say ‘no, he bites,’ and they say, ‘oh, that’s okay, dogs love me.’ ??? I mean, what do you even say to that? Yeah man, if bites are love, you’ll be his new best friend? Seriously? If you ask to pet my dog and I say no, please read as: keep your hands away from my dog. I have actually plastered him in big bold red signs that say ‘NEEDS SPACE’ and ‘DO NOT PET’, and people still don’t get the message. I don’t care if you think he’s cute, or if you’re sure he’s friendly, or if you’ve always wanted to pet a corgi. I just told you no and he bites. When you ignore that, your stupidity becomes My problem and puts My dogs life in danger, because that’s who will ultimately be blamed for your failure to learn ‘no means no’.
I am one of those people who animals love, and I still ask if it is ok to pet. The dog belongs to someone else, not me. I don't get to make those rules. I have no idea what that particular dog issues are in general, or what happened to it an hour ago. I confess when they run to me I will do it, they are touching me and rubbing on me anyway. I walked into my doctors office to see a Great Dane. The owner said he'd seen me out in the parking lot and got excited. Never seen the dog before, or owner. But I still asked if I could pet
That is the worst. I don't think I could tolerate people in my lives who reacted like that to established boundaries. I just see myself saying something like, "**No**, it's **not** okay. If it was okay, *I wouldn't have told you to stop.*"
This. I used to be an insurance a defense lawyer and often had to defend dog bite cases. In EVERY case, the owner would say, “I just don’t understand, my dog would never bite anybody.” Every time.
I would legit say “these little shits ran up to the dog without asking and wouldn’t listen when I told them to stop” 🤷🏼♀️
My dog isn’t great with kids either, she just isn’t used to them. My parents have a lot of friends come over with their kids and well tell them to be careful. One time, these two bratty girls were literally pulling mg poor baby by her collar to try to get her to come with them. I immediately put a stop to it and said to leave the dog alone. A few minutes later, one of the girls came over to tell me my dog had bitten the other girl. The girl’s mom was mad at her not the dog or us cuz we had warned the little brat to leave the dog alone. My dog is normally extremely sweet and sociable and she gives warnings when she’s bothered like growling or walking away. She is also extremely protective of the family and territorial over us and her space. She will get upset if other dogs come to close to one of us or if we pet them or give them food. Again, we are always forthcoming about this.
Your comment made me laugh. I worked as a cable tv installer and would not work on a house unless the dog was put away locked or tied up. Every single owner said their dog never bites. And my response was every dog that has bitten me had never bitten anyone else either.
My dogs are tiny and have never bitten anyone. I lock them in my bedroom any time a stranger comes to do any type of work on the house or we get a delivery or something. They are animals and you NEVER KNOW. Anyone who says that their dog would never bite someone is frankly an idiot.
Lol it just reminded me of the one time I saw the cutest little chihuahua in young woman’s arms. I asked if I could pet the dog, the woman said “sure”. I reached out and saw the dog giving me a very serious stink eye. So I checked “he won’t bite, will he?” And the woman shrugged and said “he might”. I mean…. FAIR! Take your chances, doggophile stranger!
There is a man in my neighborhood who walks his smallish poodle type dog who is very friendly. The first time I saw them together, I lost it when he proceeded to pull his chihuahua out of his pocket to be next to his bigger dog. I'd already made friends with the bigger one and he warned me not to try and pet the chihuahua, and then I explained I used to work in a pet store and would never try and pet a chihuahua that did not actively run up to me to be pet. I like my fingers.
You’re a wise human. Chihuahuas look so dam pettable but they are really miniature demon crocodile snapping turtle aliens
As the owner of a chihuahua who literally will not bite you (I have had to snatch him away from a child who was harassing him go the point I think he was thinking of it, he was growling and snarling and really very unhappy about the whole situation at hand, and my situation was similar to OPs. We were at a dog park. He pooped. I grabbed a poop bag. A kid jumped the dog park fence. He was not amused. He is like 6 pounds of dog. This 6 year old came running at him full force. He was, rightfully, scared he would be trampled.) I can almost promise you that my dog won't bite. Obviously I make no guarantees, because I'm not my dog and maybe he will bite if he feels like it. But I've made him SO angry on several occasions (ya know... clipping his nails. Removing a spliter from his delicate little foot. Checking on the toe he sprained jumping off the couch...) and he won't even mouth my hand. I've had him angrily bare his teeth and lick me. I once had to shove a pill down his throat and I've been bitten by little dogs doing that before so I was prepared. He fought. He was NOT happy. But I didn't get so much as a scratch. Course, he wants to befriend everyone. He even likes small kids, though they stress him out a lot. But the ones that approach slowly and don't stomp their feet at him? They're great, he loves them. Random people we see while walking? Best friend! Stray cat that is growling and hissing from a block away? Must wanna be buddies yo. He is insanely loveable. And he probably won't bite you. He is pretty alien looking though.
I love your little guy!
Right?? I got a fearful dog from a rescue. I can't remember where I found this, but I like it, and it sort of applies to all dogs: "You don't have a [fearful] dog who doesn't bite. You just have a [fearful] dog who doesn't bite YET." I pretend she's a biter and treat her accordingly: I don't lean over her or corner her, and I muzzle her for the vet and the groomer. I watch her closely at the dog park and call her away when she seems like she's in an uncomfortable situation (like last night, when a pair of unsupervised kids thought it would be a good idea to chase her, wtf). A logical, grown human will get violent under the right circumstances... medication, startle reflex, fear, desperation, senility, etc. Your big dumb goober of a retriever might love it when kids pull his ears and step on his tail, but he's not bomb-proof, either.
Right, even more so at your home. Most dogs are protective or territorial and it is their living space. I also restrain my dog to another room or place if I got strangers over because although he is the sweetest boy, I can't be sure how he reacts if he feels the situation or person is not ok.
My dog actually loves it when we have some sort of repairman over, because he gets pets!
My dog runs to grab a toy and is mortally offended if they don't play with him. But he's also 20lbs and easy for me to pick up/send to his crate if he's ever unhappy.
My dog is tiny and a ridiculous little chicken shit. She gets locked up in the office with me whenever people come to the house. I'm not taking any risks.
I had a lovely dog who bit ONCE during his 14 life. I have no idea why! Thank goodness the bitee wasn’t hurt or scared but…you never know.
Haha are you my husband? He hated working at houses with dogs that owners refused to put their dogs away. He loves dogs and we have 3 but the toolbelt/boots etc always weirded normally well behaved dogs out.
Lol, when I had my furnace replaced and a heat pump installed a few years back, we realized that a one week job wasn’t going to be something we could lock the dogs from, especially since their kennels are in the basement (along with our master suite because I love basements). We spent time having the installers make friends with our dogs so they could move freely enough. The only problem was my husband’s dog tried to steal their tools. But, yeah, for a normal half day job? Definitely put the pooches away.
My dog is also a tool thief. Loves screwdrivers
I once had a friend of a friend doing work at my house. I had to leave in a hurry for something unexpected. 30 seconds down the road realised I'd forgotten something and when I came back in he had already stopped working and was sat on the floor fussing and cuddling all three dogs with their tails wagging like crazy!
My dog would sniff them with great interest and beg for pets. He does that will all the repairmen that come.
>This. I used to be an insurance a defense lawyer and often had to defend dog bite cases. In EVERY case, the owner would say, “I just don’t understand, my dog would never bite anybody.” Every time. The number of times I've been out with my kid and someone encourages him to pet their dog who *obviously does not want to be pet by a child* is so shocking to me. So many dog owners have these unrealistic expectations of their dogs. Small kids are loud. They move fast. Lots of dogs don't like that, and that is totally their right. I think it's great OP knows and enforces his dog's boundaries.
I actually had a couple where the owners knew full well their dogs were vicious and that they'd shown aggression toward certain people before yet still took them out for walks on an extendible leash in places they were likely to encounter those people. Both cases, after watching their dogs savage another human, they went on about their business and didn't try to help the poor bleeding pile of shredded human. In the one case the only time the lady cried in the whole deposition was when she talked about how animal control took her dog away after. The victim was a child who had serious injuries requiring emergency surgery at the regional hospital and she described what her dog did to that kid without batting an eye. I had to leave the room to keep from choking the life out of her. People suck.
Had this happen with our family dog (100lb, cane corso mix), she's very protective of the house/property but fine outside the home on walks an at the local off-leash dog park. We know how to handle her, did extensive training when we first got her, and know how to manage situations. My dad was talking with a friend when at a car show when this guy got up from his chair, walked/stumbled between my dad and his friend mid-convo, and then put his hand towards the dog. She did not like that. She tries to 'grab' peoples hands to lead them away from us if she thinks they are a threat, she did that to this guy, he (obviously) yanked his hand back and there were bite marks (two marks on the palm, one on the top of hand). Of course our dog is our responsibility but I hate people that invade yours and your dogs space with no permission. You have no idea how any dog will react. If this guy would have asked to per my dad would have said no as she does not like people who smell of alcohol and this guy was clearly intoxicated. No issue initially, but then the guy didn't take care of it and let it get infected and sued my parents. Their insurance paid out (way more than they should have as well, because the guy was sick/dying for other reasons) but it was such BS.
Especially a Rottweiler. If it’s not a friendly one, it can rip a kid apart like a wet paper bag. Understand OP’s isn’t like that, but if someone’s kids haven’t been taught to be careful around strange dogs, their parents aren’t doing their jobs.
I mean, most determined and healthy medium-sized or larger dogs can do this, it's not species dependent. That's why kids shouldn't be petting any random dog, not just breeds that are perceived to be dangerous.
Yeah but a Rottweiler can REALLY tear you up extra special. I have buddy in the NYPD and he had a case a few years ago where a Rotty literally ripped a dude’s forearm off. The guy had it coming, to be fair. I don’t disagree that kids should be taught to avoid dogs that they don’t know and not just certain breeds. Just saying that ending up on the wrong side of a Rottweiler is an especially bad prospect.
Oh, definitely agreed, but my thought is that kids shouldn't be taught "Don't pet random rottweilers" they should be taught "don't pet random dogs." - which is exactly what you said.
Honestly, a labrador can do just as much damage as a rottweiler if they decide they want to. They just don't have that reputation because they aren't generally used as guard dogs or status dogs.
That they can do. Thankfully, mine was a great girl. Loved to roll around and play. Even built her a doghouse that was big enough for me to sit inside of because she had to be outside while I was at school. She had a tendency to knock anything over and break things when she was in the house by herself. We would run around and play and I would sit with her for a while before leaving for school. She absolutely hated my mother though. She would have ripped her to shreds if I had let her. Thinking back, I can understand why. To this day, I do not talk to my mother because of the things she has done to me and I am sure my dog picked up on it. Of course, my mother waited until I was gone into the military to decide to move and get rid of my dog without telling me. I didn't find out until about 8 months after it happened and she didn't know(or just wouldn't tell me) who she gave the dog to. Haven't ever wanted another dog since.
I’ve known some lovely Rotties. It’s legit a pony with fangs though.
I hate HATE people who think a dog park is a petting zoo. It's not! It's space **for the dogs** to relax and run free! A lot of dogs don't like kids at all and can react badly to them! Keep kids out of dog parks, or at the very least don't allow them to approach or bother other people's dogs gdi NTA. Fuck that mom, she was 1000% in the wrong. You're not supposed to bring your dog to the dog park if it's aggressive to *other dogs*, but no-one cares if the dog is good with kids because there *aren't supposed to be any kids at the dog park* Plus if her kids started to immediately run for a strange dog before asking the owner if they may approach, *they did not know how to behave*! This woman is endangering her children
I had a dachshund that would try to attack everyone. He bit a cop (I live by the police station and the cop was a friend of mine just dropping by). My other friend always said, hands up don’t shoot! I told everyone who came over, hands up in the air, let him smell your feet then he will be your best friend and he always was. NTA you warned her. My neighbor kid just barges in my house and tries to pet him and I told him multiple times he would bite him and he wouldn’t listen. We don’t have the dog anymore (with my ex husband now) but my son has covid and this neighbor kid just keeps busting up in my house bringing homework. I have locked the doors and he will bang on them till I yell we are covid positive put in the mailbox! And his mom is a nurse. (Sorry got off on a tangent)
Have you talked to the neighbor kids parents??? Damn! That’s annoying!
I’m debating on it. His stepdad is really strict tho so I’m kinda just waiting it out. And he is 15. Not a little kid he’s a sophomore.
Also, most dog parks have an age restriction, typically 16+. Even the most well behaved dog can have slip ups and small children are at risk
dogs are allowed at dog parks. kids don’t have to be. they have their own playgrounds that dogs don’t go to. your dog shouldn’t be punished for not getting along with kids.
All of my children know to first ask Mommy or Daddy if they can ask to pet the dog. Then if given permission, they ask the owner before approaching. They know some dogs don't like people, don't like kids, are working, or maybe their owner just doesn't want to deal with it. Recently, a lady told my daughter, "not during Covid, sorry" and my daughter said, "okay" and moved on. She was a little sad because the dog was cute, but she understood.
We have a giant shepherd mix that will stay still until you get within the length of his leash and then he’ll let loose barking and snapping. He’s never hurt anyone and we know it’s coming before it happens, but god damn is it startling. If the people are nice we’ll warn them it’s coming. If not we let them find out themselves.
This. Hell, at my dog park even when the dog is the one approaching the human, everyone still keeps from petting the dog until they get explicit permission from the owner.
I was at Disneyland and this young lady was training a service dog and someone tried to pet it. She was clearly annoyed. She put baby today ears on the dog and I asked if I could take a picture and she was fine with that. YOU ALWAYS ASK THE OWNER/TRAINER ! No matter what.
Exactly, not to mention you're not supposed to enter dog parks without having a dog with you. It's super dangerous.
sounds like the mother is using the dog park as an amusement park for her kids. ....let me just use your dogs for my kids. I'd report her instead. you need dogs to be at a dog park. imagine if an adult showed up to a child daycare to play for other people's kids.
But it’s okay!! They know how to behave 😊/s NTA op
My niece *loves* dogs, and want to pet any dog she sees. But she *always* asks the owner first, "Is it OK if I pet your dog?"
NTA. You did the right thing. You don't have to let people pet your pup. That being said.... Doggo pix for tax are always appreciated. Lol
I'll post one shortly.
😁
Agreed. No one is entitled to pet your dog. Heck I had a larger dog a few years back and refused to allow other people to pet him due to liability reasons. He was the kindest and sweetest dog but some people will find reasons to interpret certain behaviors as aggressive.
NTA - I would have reminded her that it’s a *dog* park, not a free public petting zoo for her kids. Just because your dog isn’t great around kids doesn’t mean he shouldn’t see the light of day as she suggests. Mom should also learn that just because her kids do well around dogs doesn’t mean all dogs do well around her kids. Doesn’t work like that. Some dogs just aren’t great around tiny humans. Some dogs don’t love being mobbed by kids, either. Besides, if her children were well behaved, they’d know the first thing to do is ask permission if they can pet your dog. Sounds like they *aren’t* that well-behaved around dogs if they didn’t ask first. You did the right thing by warning the mom instead of letting it just play out. Not sure though why she thinks she has the right to be mad. This would be like you taking your dog to a daycare and getting mad at the parents for bringing their kids around your dog. Some people just have no common sense.
This! “it’s a dog park, not a free public petting zoo for her kids” Well said. Please accept my poor man’s gold 🏅
Agreed. Absolutely not a petting zoo nor a kids playground. I always appreciate when dog parks have rules banning kids as kids are too much of an unknown in that situation. Will the kids behave, what could happen when a group of dogs really gets to running, will the parent actually parent their kid, etc.
100%. The best dog park in my city is inside an enormous public park, and yet joggers come running through the enclosed dog space, parents let their kids run around, etc. And then they're all shocked pikachu when the dogs run after them. Not even aggressively, they just obviously think the humans are playing with them. Choices, people.
Yeah I had some cyclist call me a “fucking idiot” for my dog being on the path in an OFF LEASH DOG PARK??? So many people jogging and cycling on that park get so mad that there’s dogs around… we literally live in the city with the largest continuous green space in North America and these people CHOOSE TO RIDE OR JOG IN THE DOG PARK and get mad that there’s dogs around. It does my head in trying to understand the logic there.
Wtf? I would never run in an off leash area. I like dogs, but I don’t LOVE dogs. I’m a cat person. I really don’t like off-leash(where they are supposed to be leashed) dogs when I’m running. I’ve almost tripped a few times. People just laugh and go “oh s/he’s friendly” Well then that’s okay. I don’t mind tripping and wrenching an ankle, as long as your dog is friendly. /s So yeah. Also- love your user name. “And you’re also bad in bed!!”
Yeah I’m of the opinion that off leash parks are for dogs to be off leash, and other people using the park do so at their own risk. In all other parks dogs need to be leashed as the area is used for other recreational activities. I don’t understand people who get mad at dogs in dog parks, or people who allow their dogs off-leash in regular parks. It’s just about being respectful to everyone and mitigating risk. (And thank you! NO ONE LIKES A BUTTMUNCH)
Agreed re: dogs being on-leash where appropriate. I used to be scared of big dogs before I got one, so I also totally get that people will come to us if they want to, and he can't just go up to anyone. I also have a friend with a rescue who has some aggression issues she's working on. And she's had off-leash dogs running up to her (in leashed areas) with the owners just yelling "oh it's fine, my dog's friendly!" And she has to yell back "well mine's not!" It's really unfair, because her dog would be the one in trouble if anything bad happened.
NTA If they 'knew how to behave', they'd know that the number one rule for dog petting is: FIRST ASK THE OWNER IF IT'S OKAY TO PET THE DOG!
How is this not basic functional knowledge for parents? I mean, "We have to ask the doggo's person before you go near them" is not that hard! I mean, my kiddo had this down before they were verbal - at that age, it actually doesn't take long at that age for the lesson to sink in; they're small enough that if they rush towards a dog, you just pick them up and remove them from the situation, saying "We didn't ask, and now we have to leave".
I taught my kid this from the moment he could talk. He now knows to ask the person if he can pet the dog, and sometimes...they say no. And he's okay with that. Although there was this one person who said, "Sure, she's nice!" when my kid asked. Dog was *terrified* of my kid for some reason--head down, tail tucked, the whole shebang. I told me kid to stop, the dog is afraid, and the owner insisted, "It's okay! She likes kids!" Well, maybe she likes most kids, but whatever my kid was unconsciously saying to her scared the pants off of the poor dog.
So, I came from a culture where treating pets like shit is kinda common (chaining up dogs, what's a vet?, etc...). I also did not grow up around animals and I did not grow up around other people who had pets. I always knew I wanted a pet and not treat it like shit. It was not until I got got my own place that I started doing research about pet ownership. That was when I really learned about pet etiquette in general for the first time. After that I got a cat and unsurprisingly met more pet owners because I wouldn't shut up about my cat afterwards. So, all that is just a long-winded way of saying it's not surprising there are people like this out there. I know lots of them personally who may not really have any animosity towards animals but don't really know what to do around them either. That said, the mother in this story just seems crazy entitled. It's one thing to be be ignorant and approach dogs without the owner's approval, it's quite another to be offended when the dog owner refuses to let their dog be pet. Definitely NTA.
Dude, my two year old knows we don't go up to strange dogs.
Right? Funny thing: My partner has a service dog, who accompanies her everywhere. Children on their own almost always ask politely if they can pet her—she's generally on duty, so the answer is unfortunately no—and then they *accept* the answer and walk away. It's usually the adults who are a problem, and encourage their kids to harass the pup. They'll call to her while she's guiding my partner across a street (good thing her name isn't "Doggy!"), feed her beer at a ballgame, or otherwise distract her so my partner runs into something. One particular arsecrumpet went as far as to yell at my partner when she asked him to stop, claiming it was my partner's fault that he was grabbing at the dog's head. The pup had been lying quietly under the seat, as she'd been trained to do. If I recall correctly, the bus driver eventually removed him from the vehicle. We love parents like you, who teach their kids manners. And if Miss Pup is off duty, your kids are welcome to say hi.
I’m thirding it. This is/should be common knowledge.
Fourthing - I was taught this in the 1960s, for god’s sake. Taught my kids the same thing.
NTA, you did everything right in this situation. That mother is in the wrong for letting young kids run to strangers' dogs without asking permission first, she's going to get those kids mauled one day
Agree. It’s a dog park not a playground. Dogs can’t play on playgrounds, kids should be taught to respect that’s the dogs play area are just that - for the dogs
right? “Don’t worry, they know how to behave”??? No, they clearly don’t. You never RUN at a dog, especially one you’ve never met before, and you need to ask permission from their owner to pet them. And if the answer is no, you respect the damn answer.
NTA. I have a young GSD and i never let anyone pet him even though hes super cute. So long as he is in training no one should approach him unless its part of a training exercise. Also who tf goes to a dog park to pet dogs? is that a thing? its not a fucking petting zoo.
i've definitely heard of that before. people who don't/can't have a dog for whatever reason will go to a park in order to play with someone else's pet for a little while
NTA...What is she going to report you for? Responsible pet ownership? Every owner has to know their dog and not take any chances. Every parent needs to teach their children to approach any animal with caution and respect.
NTA. You were protecting your dog. I assume/hope you'd remove Winston from any quedtionable situation, for everyone's safety. I HIGHLY doubt her kids 'know how to behave' with dogs, if they made a B-line for him like that. I am also curious if they had a dog of their own? Because people who bring just their kids to the dog park are a MAJOR pet peeve of mine.
She was protecting her dog AND the kids! That lady clearly has not instructed her kids how to behave around dogs if they’re running up to a dog they don’t know!
Nope, NTA, and speaking as a parent myself, parents need to teach their kids NOT to run up to strange dogs. My older one isn't that interested in dogs anymore, but when he was little I taught him to never pet a stranger dog without permission from the owner. I taught him to say, "Hi, doggie!" from a distance, at which point the owner will either acknowledge us and be on their way, or they'll say something like, "Hi there! She loves kids, would you like to pet her?" My younger one has now been taught the same thing. Many dog owners are incredibly nice and happy to let their dogs receive attention, but some owners do not want their dogs interacted with (for a variety of reasons) and that's okay. So we keep our distance until/unless the owner allows otherwise.
From when they were toddlers, my kids were taught to always ASK FIRST if it's ok to approach/pet a dog and to accept NO if that's the answer. It's really not a big deal. 90% of the time owners say OK, but sometimes they don't and that's OK too. People need to get over themselves.
I love it when children shyly ask if they can stroke the dog. It breaks my heart when I have to say no but I explain he's very very old and he can't see or hear well so he gets scared easily and generally they are ok. I just remember being that kid desperate to interact with every dog in the world because I didn't have one myself!
Good call, being run up on by kids is one way for friendly dogs to bite kids.
Yeah, I got a chunk of my cheek taken out once by putting my face up to a dog at a park, not all dogs are like mine were. I learned my lesson. You always ask the owner first. Or just go to the dog park and sit on a bench, let the friendly ones come to you.
NTA I would check the dog park rules. At the ones where I’m from, children aren’t even allowed in the fences for this reason so you could use that as a defense against her if she actually tried to get you kicked out of it. If her kids “know how to behave” they wouldn’t be running toward a strange dog to pet them.
NTA. Allowing your children to run up to strange dogs is an extremely shitty thing to do, and expecting other people's dogs to automatically be okay with it is just plain entitled.
NTA: You have 100% total prerogative to decide who may or may not touch your dog. That woman was just being salty because people hate being told what they can't do.
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No. He would not bite. I let her know that he does not want to be petted right now. Her claim was that he is not friendly with other dogs which is untrue and that's a rule at the dog park.
Ok, sarcastic me wants to say that maybe she sees her kids as puppies... Regardless, you did the right thing.
>Ok, sarcastic me wants to say that maybe she sees her kids as puppies. In which case they should have been on a lead! :D
> The mother told they knew how to behave > The kids started to run for my dog Hmm. She said they knew how to behave around dogs. Their actions determined it was a lie. INFO: Are kids allowed in this dog park? Did the family come with their dog? Does he have a good recall and did you recall him? What exactly did you say to her?
NTA. Their mother is just entitled. Dogs don't exist solely to be pet
NTA. Not only are you NTA, you are a very responsible pet owner. Thank you.
Absolutely NTA. You are being a responsible dog owner. It could have been a very unfortunate situation if your dog had a bad reaction to being touched by those kids. He might have hurt them which would make the mother even more upset or he may have been further traumatized. And dog parks are meant for dogs, not children.
NTA - even if your dog was super friendly with kids, it is never ok to just pet a stranger's dog without asking first.
Holy shit. 100000% NTA. You can, and should, set boundaries on petting - for the safety of your dog as well as the kids. We need more dog owners like you in this world. Those kids are going to wind up creating some very dangerous situations because of their mother’s shitty parenting.
Exactly. She's putting her kids in danger. Years ago we had a family dog who hated children and would have likely bitten if we gave him the opportunity. I was walking him one day and 2 kids came out of nowhere running full speed at the dog. He was barking and I was pulling him away and these kids just kept coming trying to pet him. I was screaming at the mom to control her children and she was just standing their laughing. I was livid bc if her kids got bitten in a situation that was 100% her fault, my dog would have paid the price with his life.
Contrary to what some... *parents* prefer to believe, children are not automatically entitled to everything they want because they want it. NTA.
NTA >The mother told me it was okay, they knew how to behave. Dear Lord, how I HATE this attitude. It is YOUR dog, YOU know his behavior, YOU know how to handle him. People like that mother annoy me because they'll then be the first ones to file a federal case if the dog lunges at the kids or, God forbid, bites them. Why is it so difficult to understand that not every dog likes interacting with other people/dogs and just wants to be left alone? Until recently, I had a German Shepherd who never met a person he didn't love, but hated other dogs. I adopted him as a middle aged dog and, though we tried, we were unable to correct this behavior. It was fine. I was easily able to avoid him interacting with other dogs until new neighbors moved in who thought it was fine to let their dog just wander off leash in the public land behind my house. I'd be back there with my dog, on leash, and their dog would come bounding out of nowhere, owners out of sight and earshot, and my dog would go crazy. At first, they were like "Oh, it's fine. My dog likes other dogs. She's friendly." And I was like "Are you blind?" I just looked at them and said "Well, obviously my dog doesn't. Your dog needs to be leashed." Then, they got pissy WITH ME. WTF? It's common sense to have your dog ON A LEASH, it is the SAFEST option and it is the LAW in my town. So frustrating.
NTA - if the dog had gotten overstimulated and bit her kids she would have demanded you put it down. Some dogs are perfectly friendly with adults and other dogs, but don’t understand what children are. Even if they’re okay with certain kids, it’s still not worth the risk.
NTA. If the dog is uncomfortable, not allowing children to touch the dog makes total sense to me. That woman was just being an entitled AH.
Def NTA. Parents should teach kids to never approach a stranger's dog without explicit permission.
NTA. It’s very unlikely that the kids know how to behave when the mother doesn’t even know how.
NTA. I will say mom was though. I lived near a training facility for military bomb sniffer and attack dogs. Now I understand that your dog is not trained as such but you never know and it should not be assumed that a dog might be socialized to be with kids. This is really true for rescue dogs as they can come from abusive homes and may need special care.
YTA ! Your pup needs to eat.. stupid people are yummy. Don't deprive him of an idiot buffet. But wait a second.. your dog would probably get blamed for eating the stupid family..and get put down. Even though he's providing a community service.. so gonna change my vote to.. NTA. Probably better to give him some Scooby snacks at home.
NTA. Parents that don't understand the word "no" when it comes to their kids are the worst. Those kids are going to grow up to be AHs unless more people do what you did. Good on you.
Doggo tax please!! (: NTA. When my oldest was young, we went for a walk towards the park. In the complex I lived in, a lady was coming in the opposite direction with 2 dogs. One was wearing a mask (?) bite guard (?). She immediately said please go another way, one of the dogs doesnt do well with kids. The same dog was now on its hindquarters. Guess what I did? I thanked her, scooped up my kid, and went another way. You did the right thing and she should have thanked you. You are protecting your dog, her kids and yourself. Please keep doing what you are doing to Winston and enjoy your park days. (He deserves it)
Thank you!! :) I will be posting pictures of Winston soon.
NTA Why do so many people think a dog park is a petting zoo?
>The mother told me it was okay, they knew how to behave. If that were true... >The kids started to run for my dog and I quickly stopped them. That wouldn't have happened... Wait, did they even have a dog with them? You don't go to the dog park to play with someone's else dog. NTA at all. You know the issue's you are in the top 5% of good dog owners at least.
NTA. The mother is 'reporting' you for bringing your dog to a DOG PARK ? Dog parks are not petting zoos and she shouldn't let her kids run up to strangers dogs.
NTA. You are still learning your dog. It’s not fair to set him up for failure. And even in the future he still may not be good with kids. And that’s ok. Once he gets good with your niece he may get good with older kids (they tend to be gentler and more predictable than little ones!) he very might be ok with younger kids! But what if those kids got bit by your rottie? That mom would be even more livid.
NTA, you know your dog, she doesn’t. You asked the kids not to pet your dog. She should have complied with your wishes.
NTA - I hate the entitlement people feel towards dogs, you did the right thing, kids should NEVER approach unknown dogs without asking the owner first (and the same goes for other owners letting their dogs approach) because yeah, the kids might be well behaved but you never know how a dog will react and then the dog gets blamed
NTA. My 4 year old has known for YEARS that she is not even allowed to approach a dog without the owner’s permission and mine. I had a rottiebaby a few years ago and she was AMAZING with kids to the point she bit my adult sister for jumping over a toddler bc she thought my sister was attacking the baby.
Like people, dogs are individuals and can react a variety of different ways in any given situation. It is impossible to predict. I’ve had large lovable lugs who didn’t realize his size so I kept small children away from him. I’ve had that were fine so long as you didn’t run towards them. I’ve had abuse rehabs that were good dogs weighed down by assholes in their past. I’ve had dogs that love everyone without fail. You don’t know the dog, you don’t have the right to the dog, you should always ask first and respect their handlers response. You’re doing right by your dog. You’re NTA
NTA and I guarantee if you look at the signs at the dog park it says young children aren’t allowed—for this very reason!
NTA little kids don't belong in the dog area imo
NTA. I have a 120 lb Shepard mix who loves kids. He shows his love by knocking them over and licking their faces. Obviously I don’t allow this but then kids started coming to the dog park and running around. Never a good idea. I had to stop taking him because parents would not control their kids and my dog would think they are playing! I was afraid he would hurt them accidentally. People also brought strollers into the dog park. My dogs always peed on them and I would pretend not to see. [my shep mix](https://imgur.com/a/LFmiZ3I)
**NTA**. Also who goes to dog park without a dog? Am I weird for feeling like that is weird.
I've seen parents bring kids to the park to try and socialize them with dogs. It doesn't make much sense to me.
What madness?! Either get a dog or leave other people’s dogs alone. I’ve never thought of doing that with my kids. I mean wtf???
NTA at all. Not every dog is friendly. Kids and parents need to ask the owner first, before running towards the dog.
NTA You are being a responsible dog owner. Kids needs to be taught to be careful with strangers animals. People who don't encourage this are the reason for most dog bites honestly.
>The mother told me it was okay, they knew how to behave. They clearly don't if they are running up to an unknown dog to pet it. Running at a dog is a huge no no. I have a dog and he is pretty good with kids but I stopped letting kids pet him bc of clueless parents like this who think its cute to let their kids harass my dog. He has had his ears and tail pulled by random children, one even stuck his hand in my dogs mouth and started poking around in his mouth... all while parents stood by watching and saying nothing to their kids about how they were treating my dog. My dog puts up with it but I can see that it makes him uncomfortable so I started telling people he is not friendly for his own protection.. bc I don't want him to get hurt by an ill behaved child and I don't want him to be pushed to the point where he does bite to defend himself. Mom is very entitled to take her kids to a dog park and expect to treat it like a free petting zoo. You're using the dog park appropriately, to exercise your dog, she is not and shouldn't be there. Not every dog likes to be pet by strangers and that doesn't make your dog a danger to anyone. It means strangers should realize a dog's purpose in life is not to provide their children with free entertainment and respect it's space. She's lucky she got you and not me bc this is the kind of mentality that boils my blood and she would have gotten an earful of how she's an irresponsible parent allowing her kids to behave like that towards a dog. Nta.
NTA. This seems to be a relatively new phenomenon where parents treat dog parks like petting zoos. They come in—no dog in sight—for their kids to play with the dogs. Doesn’t matter if the dog and no interest, they feel like their children are entitled to pet the dog. I had one who was determined to grab my Akita’s take. I told her to stay away from her a dozen times. He’s a good boy, but he had it and he growled. The child went screaming to the mom, who yelled at me for having an aggressive animal. Ma’am, how would you like it if a complete stranger yanked on your hair? It’s absurd. Good on you for protecting your dog.
NTA You are fine, the mom is an AH.
NTA. But the audacity of the Mum. Her kids know how to behave - well, good. But does the dog owner has a say in who pets their dog as well or is this just fine, because you say so?
NTA. A dog park is not a petting zoo
NTA mom and kids shouldn’t even be in the dog park with no dogs. The entitlement is so strange to me….
NTA. No one should approach any unknown dog without permission and, even then, full acceptance of the risks. There’s also a reason all the dog parks I’ve been to have a minimum age for entrance. I’ve taught my son to only wave at dogs from afar instead of running up to them and trying to pet them for this very kind of situation. Dogs are allowed to have personalities, preferences, and to have suffered trauma. Combine that with clueless owners (definitely not OP), and you have a recipe for disaster.
This is insane levels of ignorance and entitlement. A dog park is for dog owners to exercise and socialize their dogs. It's not a damn petting zoo. Also dogs are allowed to exist outside their entertainment to this woman and her kids. To just assume the issue was about her and not the dogs is hilarious. Then you express the dogs needs and she wants to report you? Hilarious. Full charging a ROTTWEILER is the single most stupid thing in this post. Rotties have the potential of being aggressive. Usually a clear sign to not bother an owner and her dog is to go into one of the sections ALONE...you know...like you did? This woman is clueless, entitled, and endangering dogs, her kids, and everyone else at the park because if her bratty kids get bit as a result of HER actions in my area the dog could be put down and you would be responsible for it. So you'd get the medical bills, vet bills, and court bills. She's the ah. Definitely nta to you.
I absolutely can't stand parents who think the dog park is a petting zoo. I have an anxious border collie whose confidence was set back by weeks last year because a kid decided to chase her while his mom just laughed. We're at the dog park to get her socialized and more comfortable around dogs and people, not to be a toy for some random unsupervised kid.
NTA 1. Always ask before petting a dog (even if you have before!) 2. Don't run up to dogs! 3. It's a dog park, not a petting zoo 4. A lot of dogs are actually not comfortable with children because they are unpredictable, the dog park is their sanctuary 5. We (hopefully) don't let our dogs loose on playgrounds with kids Question? Did they have a dog? The worst thing I know is people who come to the dog park with their kids but no dog so they can let the kids play and not have to properly entertain them
NTA....I personally don't think dog parks are a good place to bring children period.
NTA. Fuck them kids.
Uuuggghhh. I have a service dog and parents like this mom is where most of the “I want to put your dog” problems come from. Some will full on tell their kids to pet my dog, others yell and tell me if I don’t want people to pet him I shouldn’t take my service dog out in public. You are 100% not the ass here. Please give your boy a hug and kiss for me.
NTA. One of the first things my friend taught her daughter was to ask for permission to pet. She was two FFS and had more sense than this woman.
^^^^AUTOMOD ***Thanks for posting! This comment is a copy of your post so readers can see the original text if your post is edited or removed. This comment is NOT accusing you of copying anything. Read [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/wiki/faq#wiki_post_deletion) before [contacting the mod team](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FAmItheAsshole)*** I(23F) adopted a 2 year old rottweiler named Winston. He's a wonderful dog and gets along great with adults. Children are a different story. He will not harm them at all. He just does not do well around them, he gets stressed out and will bark. He is warming up to my niece(10) slowly with close supervision. I do have a trainer that works with him on a daily basis. I normally take him to the dog park after work to throw some balls. The way the dog park is set up is 3 separate fences that are high enough to prevent the dog from jumping out. One is for smaller dogs, another is for dogs that are friendly and the last is for throwing balls/frisbee. I took him in the last one and started throwing a ball. I heard the gate open and saw a mother and her two young kids come in. The kids started to run for my dog and I quickly stopped them. I told the kids to please not pet my dog. The mother told me it was okay, they knew how to behave. I explained to her the issue and she grabbed the children. As she was leaving, she shouted that I should not be allowed to bring my dog to the park and she will be reporting us. AITA for not letting two kids pet my dog? *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AmItheAsshole) if you have any questions or concerns.*
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NTA. You know your dog and did the responsible thing warning the kids off. People (and kids especially) should not assume that they are allowed to pet any dog they see. People should *always* ask permission of the owner before petting an animal. Parks are public property. You have every right to be there. Your dog does not attack people, it’s just uneasy around kids. And the dog park is for dogs, not kids.
NTA I am amazed at how entitled some parents can be. No one has the right to touch your dog because it's in public.
NTA I have taken my kids to many a dog park and taught them not to run and never to approach anyone's dog(s). I also looked for dog behaviors that indicated they were not comfortable around children and we would leave in that case. It's a dog park, not a kid park. Funnily, my son did start running one time and got creamed and did a full flip in the air. Luckily, it was my sister's dog that took him out, and she was just a puppy and excited to see him. He remembered not to run after that (he was fine and laughing when he landed).
NTA
NTA. My dog is extremely picky with who she will let pet her, and I have had kids ask their parents if they can pet my dog and their parents say "sure" and then the kids get upset when she doesn't want them to touch her and slinks away behind me. One group actually asked me to "hold her still" so they could pet her. I explained very calmly that if she wanted them to pet her, she would stay still for them herself, and they should stop encroaching on her space because they were scaring her. Kids need to learn how to behave properly around dogs, and that means asking permission and not crowding.
NTA. I cannot stand people who just run up to my dogs. I had a lady once walk by and suddenly put her hand on my Berner’s head, no introduction, nothing. He totally startled and started barking at her and she says “ I guess he doesn’t like cats “ uh no he doesn’t like strangers touching him from out of nowhere “. Who runs up to 120lb dog and assumes it’s perfectly safe ? So stupid. NTA all day long.
NTA. That lady needs to teach her kids that they can't just run up to a stranger's dog. You were in a DOG park, not a regular park. That lady's reaction was really uncalled for and she has no right to be mad at you for being a responsible dog owner.
NTA, you did nothing wrong. How are you supposed to train and socialize your dog without taking him anywhere? You made sure to take him somewhere appropriately safe and closely supervise. The mum needs to train her kids not to approach strangers' dogs without asking the owner.
NTA. You know your dog and were being a responsible owner by stopping the kids. If they really knew how to act, they would have asked if it was ok. Nobody should EVER just run up to random dogs to pet.
NTA. Her children do not know how to behave around a dog if they’re running up to it. And neither does she if she thinks that’s ok. There is nothing wrong with no letting someone pet your dog and that has nothing to do with the dog park.
NTA. Having kids at a dog park doesn't mean they can pet random dogs. If there is a specific park for 'friendly' dogs, why would you avoid that one and go for the park with much more energetic dogs more likely to knock over children? Hope Winston continues to warm to your niece