sumayyah Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 Woah there fella,unbunch the pants a little,I couldn't agree with you more.Dog owners need to be more responsible in public areas.It's less of a psychology thing and more common sense,if you lift the child,the dog is likely to jump and hang on and you are then in no position to defend. so you should just leave the child on the floor next to an agressive dog insted of trying to get them out of harms way? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helibish Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 You don't say that the dog was being aggressive though - just wanting to play? Seems that the kid is nervy, perhaps cos the father is uncomfortable and the kid is picking up on this? The dogs owner had his dog off leash as he was walking it in a park, and knowing his dog to be fine with kids and other dogs could relax and send a text? After all, sending a text takes seconds, so what is the problem with that? The owner must have been looking at what was going on, or else he wouldn't know that the other guy was a violent git, and needed a short sharp slap himself! As the dogs owner in the situation I describe above, I would def call the police, and if the aggressive parent tried to leave, I would follow them and tell the police I was following... Just because the father is scared of dogs, shouldn't mean he kicks one hard in the face... Then I would let the police deal with him, and make sure my dog didn't approach strangers (if he ever tried again - it might have altered how the dog saw strangers again) in the future... Any vets fees would have to come from the violent father's pocket - that'd teach him a valuable lesson too... The OP doesn't say that the dog was volatile at all - it's not even suggested that the dog was doing anything but play... But the father clearly is, and his temper needs to be kept in check... Totally agree, but i would have put my dog on the lead tied him up somewhere, waited for the man to put the child down then kicked him in the face. The dog did not show any signs of agression, well thats not stated in the op. Kicking the dog may well have made the situation worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harleyman Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 The other day we were in the park, when a man was playing a throw and catch game with his toddler daughter. A dog then came charging up to the toddler and father, the toddler was then frightened and ran to its father. The dog then began circling the pair and the little girl became increasingly frightened (the dogs owner was not too bothered about this - as he was texting away). The father of the toddler then kicked the dog pretty hard in the dogs face, to which the dog startled, ran back to its owner, to which the dog's owner then began ranting about "calling the police". I kind of understand why the father kicked the dog, but then surely the dog should have been controlled by its owner. It seems to me the dog took the punishment due to its owners negligence. What would you have done in this situation Before kicking the dog I would have yelled out to the owner to call the dog off. I would only use lethal force against any dog if it went as far as to actually attempt to bite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ECCOnoob Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 I believe your entitled to personal space and anyone or thing invading that space should be perceived as a possible threat and act accordingly. If some person was to come right up to you in your face would you not consider it as being an act of aggression, even if no verbal threat was made ? Sometimes you cannot take the risk. If your not sure then you should take affirmative action to remove the possible threat before the situation gets out of hand, a dog making one snap at a child can make a right mess and can be fractions of seconds, you just can't afford to be wrong in a situation like that and safety of people should be paramount over an animal. Acting accordingly is not to boot he/she/it in the face. A dog is not a human. A dog does not give a sign of agression just by running up to you. The action to remove the possible threat is to move/pick up or stand in front of the child if you are so concerned. I appreciate what "right mess" a dog bite can make but they also generally tend to show some signs of warning and agression before they make such a move - just like humans do. Nowhere in the original post does it say anything about either of those things so why should a kick in the head be an appropraite action. If a human came running towards you, even shouting and screaming, would your instant reaction be to punch them in the face before any other action?? I doubt it somehow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimba Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 Acting accordingly is not to boot he/she/it in the face. A dog is not a human. A dog does not give a sign of agression just by running up to you. The action to remove the possible threat is to move/pick up or stand in front of the child if you are so concerned. I appreciate what "right mess" a dog bite can make but they also generally tend to show some signs of warning and agression before they make such a move - just like humans do. Nowhere in the original post does it say anything about either of those things so why should a kick in the head be an appropraite action. If a human came running towards you, even shouting and screaming, would your instant reaction be to punch them in the face before any other action?? I doubt it somehow. I do say in my post to be fair that sometimes you can't take the risk. Every situation is different but if you are unsure then you have to rely on you instinct and protect yourself and anyone in your care. As for your assumption that I would not punch someone in the face you are very much mistaken, I have on more than one occasion had to slip to one side and belt someone in the mouth who has been aggressive towards me. Its not big and its not clever but what can you do ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gularscute Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 Who said anything about threatening a child??? Did the mutt go up to it with a knife? god sake. All it did was run up and circle around. Thousands of dogs do that when they are excited or playful. Talk about overdramatic. Have dogs started using knives? No wonder the dad was cautious. It's unusual for friendly dogs to circle around, they usually bound straight in and start licking. It could have indicated a build up to an attack, it could have not. The issue here is one of doubt so why be overdramatic about a parent taking action to dispel a potential attacker? Even if it was being friendly, even if he was overcautious, I won't condemn him for booting it in the face. He probably acted on instinct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dozy Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 I've been in Longley Park this morning and had a dog related incident. My little Lakeland Terrier, 5 month old, was trying to play with a Bull Mastiff. The Bull Mastiff was on the lead and my do was not. The Bull Mastiff owner had a bit of a rant about me not being able to control my dog and it should be on the lead. Fair point and I put him on a lead when I see other dogs, but the liitle sod bolted off. He only plays and torments other dogs, he dunt fight. Anyway then followed a scene from Benny Hill with me trying to catch the little sod. I'm embarrassed to say I dived twice and missed. Two nearby girls thought it was highly amusing. The mardy bloke was getting more and more annoyed. Jack, my dog, thought it was very funny. He even gave me a Muttley laugh. I left for a third time and landed on the poor little mite, he didn't half yelp. This made me a little annoyed, if the bloke had been a little more humorous it wouldn't have got to this situation. We had words, he threatened to let the monster off the lead. I said, go on then. There was a slight stand off and a steely glare from us both. Then we both went our way. I have a playful dog, he has a beast that has to be tied to him, I'm the one with the problem, apparently.... End of rant. Does anyone want to buy a dog My bold Erm, yes, you are, actually, Frank!! You're the one with the dog that you haven't got under control yet. If you know he doesn't come back when you call, you need to keep him on the lead until he's properly trained. Your dog might want to play - but the other dog might not want to. If your pup had been attacked and mangled by the bull mastiff, who's fault do you think it would be? And what about dogs that are scared of your dog if it comes bouncing up to them, wanting to play? Is it fair that a nervous or timid dog should be frightened out of its wits because your dog isn't properly trained? I've got a rescue Staffy, always on a lead, who doesn't seem to get on too well with other dogs, though he's usually OK with bitches. I always shorten his lead and pull him in the other direction if there's an off-lead dog that seems to be getting too close. And I expect the owner to be able to call their dog back - if they can't, their dog should be on a lead, too. As far as the OP goes, I don't think kicking the dog was a good idea - if it was vicious and ready to attack, the bloke could have got a nasty bite. And if the dog was only being friendly, but was just badly trained, it was the owner who deserved the kick, not the dog. What he should have done was call over to the owner and told him to get his dog on a lead. I imagine that he kicked out in panic though, because he had his child to protect, so I don't really blame him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeadingNorth Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 Who said anything about threatening a child??? Did the mutt go up to it with a knife? god sake. All it did was run up and circle around. Thousands of dogs do that when they are excited or playful. The entire argument boils down to this. Many people don't recognise canine body language - frankly, why would they if they don't own a dog? - and behaviour which is not actually threatening, might appear to be so. A dog which intended to attack wouldn't be running round in circles, it would go straight in and attack. But the father can't necessarily be blamed for not knowing that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve70 Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 He did the right thing kicking the animal away, I would have done the same and if the owner was that bothered he should have kept an eye on his dog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megalithic Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 If the queens corgi's came within 5ft of any of my kids, off the lead, they'd feel my toe end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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