Halibut Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 It seems as if some people put the importance of their pets above that of other humans, I cannot comprehend this mode of thinking. Me neither AJ, utterly bizarre. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael_W Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 At nowhere in the OP does it say that the dog was snarling, growling, barking or was being agressive. The fact that a dog comes bounding up and starts walking round child and father in a circle is hardly a reason to kick it in its face. Complete overreaction by the father. The dog most likely wanted to say hello especially if it saw they had a ball or toy of somekind. If the child was frightened then fine you remove it from the situation but booting the dog for doing nothing more than what it would do natrually is pathetic. Whose to say the dog would not come bounding up and possibly even jump up at child and father if it was on a lead - its hardly unheard of! I totally agree that the owner should have stopped texting like a moron and come and got the dog but that is still no excuse to kick an animal in the face. I wonder if that father is an overprotector. The poor child is one of those that gets a bit too much wrapped in cotton wool and never has to see the "nasties" of the real world. He/She/It will no doubt be a wonderful little spoilt darling when they hit teenage. There are quite a lot of dog owners who seem to be a little 'overprotective', of their little pooches, and it is quite reasonable for a parent to be protective of their child when a dog comes bounding towards them....dog v child....not even an argument ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matsalleh Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 I may be wrong cressida but I think there aren't any parks in Sheffield where dogs can be walked off their lead. When I was a lad parks had a sign saying dogs must be on a lead and no cycling. I suppose the " I pay my council tax brigade" can't be bothered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mummytwo 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 To be fair I would have done the same and probably kicked the owner too. Edit: that would be only if the dog seemed aggressive or tried to actually bite my child. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medusa Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 From the information given it really isn't clear whether the dog was doing anything actually aggressive (circling could have been play from a herding breed, for instance) but no matter what the dog was doing, if that was scaring the child then it is the responsibility of the dog owner to prevent (or remove) their dog from the situation, so I'd have been having a rant at the owner instead of kicking the dog. That said, I've been out with my friend's shihtzus and had children getting all worked up and distressed at a passing shihtzu that's on a lead- that's really not an appropriate response from a child to a dog that's on a lead, no threat at all to them and which is not even approaching them. Sometimes children's responses are the issue, not the animal, and in that case kicking the dog just makes the child more anxious next time they see a dog, even if that dog's just minding his/her own business. My dog Molly would, by choice, run up to children that she may meet for a fuss and to give them her ball to throw (put down politely in front of them and then sitting down to wait for them to throw it for her). I recognise that it's not appropriate to go running up to children that you don't know are going to welcome her approach (however well intentioned she may be whilst doing it) and so we don't allow her to do it. It's perfectly possible to train a dog not to approach anyone or anything (adult, child, cat, horse, other dog) without first looking at you for your approval, so if this owner allows his dog to do this then it should be him getting the earbashing, not the dog, who may have been perfectly innocent and wanting to play. I used to walk some dogs for a friend, one of which was really not child friendly. The dog owner was completely aware that if I felt it was necessary to harm the dog to spare a child that she was aiming at, then I would do it without the slightest hesitation. If I was walking that dog then it would be my responsibility if that dog got a child- and on one occasion stopping her involved grabbing her by the fur on the back of her shoulders and lifting her off the ground to stop a lunge. I'm completely unrepentant for that, and if it had involved sitting on her (which really would have injured her) then that would also have been fine, if that meant that she didn't hit her target. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CXC3000 Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 Nothing wrong in defending children when it comes to aggressive animals. The child always comes first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeadingNorth Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 Nothing wrong in defending children when it comes to aggressive animals. The child always comes first. But there's no evidence that the dog in the OP was an aggressive animal. Nobody bothered to find that out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stvoider Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 If the dog was close enough to be kicked then I would perceive that as an invasion of my space by a potentially dangerous animal. A preemptive strike in this case seems perfectly apt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CXC3000 Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 But there's no evidence that the dog in the OP was an aggressive animal. Nobody bothered to find that out. This is what the OP said : 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. Seems the dog was possibly about to turn aggressive. Best to be safe than sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeadingNorth Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 Seems the dog was possibly about to turn aggressive. Best to be safe than sorry. By that logic, you should kick dogs that are sitting harmlessly 300 yards away, because they too might possibly turn aggressive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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