Is it wrong to for an adult to kick a dog thats threatening the children?

[Conrod]

you can bet that if the dog was acting aggresively the op would have said so, it sounds like the dog wanted to play and the op has a fear of dogs.

 

No it was not acceptable to kick it you viscous aggresive human!

That's what it sounds like to me.

 

When people go into a park or other public green area, they do so knowing that they will meet dogs, joggers, kids playing with balls and other various people and animals. We all know that a walk in the park involves meeting people with dogs - and that many, because they are friendly, are off the lead. If this bloke or his child had a problem with fear of dogs, it's a problem they need to deal with without kicking a defenceless animal just for coming too near them.

 

I have two large but very friendly dogs, which often go to people to say hello, expecting an ear tickle or maybe a treat. Most people love them and often approach us asking if they can pet them, though on occasion I see people looking nervous because of their size - when that happens I call the dogs to heel until we have passed them.

 

In this case it sounds like the owner was distracted (his bad), so has to take some responsibility for not having noticed that the father and child were distressed, but to kick a dog in the head for being close rather than being aggressive is deplorable.

 

If he had done that to one of my dogs, I would have had great difficulty restraining myself from giving him a knee-buckling punch to the head in front of his child. At least I wouldnt' kick him in the head, but he'd have learned a little about how some people react to cruelty to dogs.

[Greavsy]

you can bet that if the dog was acting aggresively the op would have said so, it sounds like the dog wanted to play and the op has a fear of dogs.

 

No it was not acceptable to kick it you viscous aggresive human!

 

I think the problem is that people don't actually know what dog aggression is. And if people class circling as dog aggression then there is no hope for millions of dogs.

 

There will be people who are scared of dogs but that doesn't mean you can just kick them in the head! What if he seriously hurt the dog? Brain damage? Would he be paying the vet bills? Ummm I don't think so.

[kimba]

When people go into a park or other public green area, they do so knowing that they will meet dogs, joggers, kids playing with balls and other various people and animals. We all know that a walk in the park involves meeting people with dogs - and that many, because they are friendly, are off the lead. If this bloke or his child had a problem with fear of dogs, it's a problem they need to deal with without kicking a defenceless animal just for coming too near them.

Turning this on its head, people with dogs know that they are going to be meeting people out with their kids and should responsibly have the dog leashed so as not to cause fear or panic to a child.

 

Open spaces are primarily for people to enjoy, and if people to choose to use those spaces to enjoy them with their pets, then they should be in control of those pets.

My kids like BB guns but if they were out with those guns and someone felt in anyway threatened because they were too stupid to realize they were toys, then they would be breaking the law for having them. Its the same with dogs, the responsibility is on the dog owner to have control and not let a situation like this arise where anyone could take friendliness the wrong way and feel they have to hit an innocent animal.

 

Im not saying its right to harm an animal, but we were not there and its open to interpretation, its all relative to circumstance as they say. I don't fear dogs so I would not be kicking the one for it just approaching me, but my little girl however is scared (or should I say wary of them) and if she was in a flap about it I would not think twice about lashing out if an owner was ignorant of her fear and did nothing, if nothing more than to show her that she had nothing to fear as she was with her dad that I was there to protect her.

 

I had a pitbul mastif and it was soft as a brush and all the kids loved it, but it knew how to act around children and was not running and jumping around them and being unpredictable, which is the real problem in situations like this.

get the dog on the lead and their behavior is predictable, if you must let them off then do so where they won't spook anybody and get them back on the lead where they could.

 

We don't know exactly what the dogs behavior was, but its fare to assume it was enough to get a kick because it got one, Id say the owner was lucky.

[Conrod]

Turning this on its head, people with dogs know that they are going to be meeting people out with their kids and should responsibly have the dog leashed so as not to cause fear or panic to a child..

I agree with that, and it should be overly-exuberant dogs as well as snappy ones that should be kept leashed, but if somebody does come into contact with an energetic dog he can easily pick up his child and berate the dog's owner - there was no need, from what we have read of the incident's description, for the dog to be kicked. The man reacted in a gratuitously cruel and excessive way which might quite rightly have earned him some broken face bones in the view of many dog owners, me included.

[kimba]

I think the problem is that people don't actually know what dog aggression is.

Yes, lots of people have made that mistake, only to have them tare off parts of their child's face off. Many who have had kids bitten say things like 'they never did anything like it before', well maybe the signs were there and they chose to be ignorant of them, who knows. One thing for sure is once its happened it cannot be undone and the mental scar to a child can be as bad as any physical one.

 

Kids that have had a bad experience with dogs are likely to grow up and not take chances with them when they are adults and big enough to kick one.

[Conrod]

Kids that have had a bad experience with dogs are likely to grow up and not take chances with them when they are adults and big enough to kick one.

More likely they will grow up to have an irrational fear of dogs and react in a mindless way as in this case.

[kimba]

I agree with that, and it should be overly-exuberant dogs as well as snappy ones that should be kept leashed, but if somebody does come into contact with an energetic dog he can easily pick up his child and berate the dog's owner - there was no need, from what we have read of the incident's description, for the dog to be kicked. The man reacted in a gratuitously cruel and excessive way which might quite rightly have earned him some broken face bones in the view of many dog owners, me included.

I don't doubt that you would love your dog enough to belt someone if they lashed out at your over friendly dog, but most parents would kill for their kids. Its not about the dog here being at fault or the bloke out in the park, its about people out with the dog needing to be responsible and read the signs better and take control of the situation. The dog owner holds all the cards in these instances, they know the dog, they can rationalize human behavior, and they should have the skills and means to grasp control and make sure it does not escalate into anyone needing an injury.

 

Its a pity OP does not comeback and offer more info on what actually happened.

[kimba]

More likely they will grow up to have an irrational fear of dogs and react in a mindless way as in this case.

Exactly the point, let a dog worry a kid with its unpredictability or aggressive behavior and you get an adult that is quick to take the initiative when confronted.

[Greavsy]

Exactly the point, let a dog worry a kid with its unpredictability or aggressive behavior and you get an adult that is quick to take the initiative when confronted.

 

So basically if a child gets attacked by a dog when they are young then they have the right as an adult to abuse any dog that comes up to them?

 

Hmm so if a girl got raped at 17 years old she has the right to attack any man that comes near her without permission as an adult?

 

Two wrong's don't make a right.

[kimba]

So basically if a child gets attacked by a dog when they are young then they have the right as an adult to abuse any dog that comes up to them?

 

Hmm so if a girl got raped at 17 years old she has the right to attack any man that comes near her without permission as an adult?

 

Two wrong's don't make a right.

That's the nature of irrational behavior Im afraid. Many a spider could vouch for that.

 

Look at people that have a bad experience with water and then won't even go in it up to their knees. Im not trying to excuse the situation, who knows there may indead been no need to clip the dog, but I am trying topoint out that just ignoring your dog once its off the lead can and will have conciquences, and part of that is putting an irrational fear in a childs mind then it can expand into more problems later on in life, as could be the case here (we will never know without more info).

 

We had 911 and look at how people now perceive Muslims. two wrongs don't make a right, but that's how things go. I remember anyone with an Irish accent being looked over twice when the IRA were in full flow.