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I thought that the person suggesting this meant that the child would watch the dogs at the dog park from safely beyond the fence, exactly like a zoo, not inside where the dogs are off leash.
I HOPE that's what the suggestion was, but at the dog park I frequent, every few weeks a mom/dad and a kid will come thru the park gates without a dog, and we all sigh . . . "oh, god, it's zoo time." The kids cling to the parents and start sniffling in fear, and the parents are saying, "Oh, look, this one is friendly! They LIKE you!" as the terrified kid is trying to climb their parent's leg like a tree to get away from the curious dogs.
My dog (40 lb. golden retriever/border collie mix) adores kids -- whenever we walk past a yard with children playing in the front yard, he always pauses, ears up, tail wagging in hopes that one of them will pay attention to him. :-) Most of the neighborhood knows him (he gets long walks twice a day), and I've taught most of the kids over the years to ask first before petting him. He gets a scratch behind the ears, a gentle stroke on the side, will "shake hands", and he's a happy camper. (He is ALWAYS on leash) So, if he sees a kid at the dog park, he quite naturally assumes that they are "friendly" and may come up to them hoping for an ear scratch or pet. Usually I'm close enough by to distract him away from a crying kid -- but it's a dog park, I'm not always 3 feet away from my dog. To one family, who yelled at me when my dog approached their child, I wasn't exactly sympathetic. "Look, there's the human playground - no dogs there. Why don't you take your child over there, and my dog will stay here at the DOG playground, and everyone will be happier?" They were insulted and tried to explain that they were trying to "sensitize their fearful child", and I bluntly told them that the dog park was NOT the place for that -- they needed one-on-one with a known, gentle dog, and not all of the dogs at the dog park are on their best behavior - they were excited and even well-behaved dogs could sometimes be unpredictable.
Did I mention the family that ignored the sign about bringing food into the dog park? Screaming kid was holding a cookie. Really, folks? *sigh*
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Originally Posted by germaine2626
Heck, after going to a local dog park a few times my husband decided not to take our 14 pound dog again because of the aggressiveness of some of the dogs to both other dogs and to adult dog owners.
Did your park have a small dog area separate from the large dogs? Ours does, and I have to admit, it exasperates me when owners of small dogs (especially little Pekes, chihuahuas or Yorkshire terriers) bring their dogs into the large dog enclosure, and then proceed to complain to everyone about the "vicious" big dogs frightening their dog. Well, yeah -- an 85 lb. dog IS scary to a 6 lb. small-breed dog. I'd be scared out of my mind if a 20 ft., 800 lb. human came poking around ME. No matter how often we helpfully point out that there's a separate area set aside for the small dogs, they turn their noses up at it (because, really, most of the action is in the large dog enclosure.) You can't go on the interstate with a bicycle -- you'll get mowed down by big cars going faster than you. Same with small dogs in the large dog area. :-)
OK, dogs in stores apparently is becoming the norm.
Problem is my daughter is deathly afraid of dogs. It's annoying to us as parents as we have to pick her up if there is a dog within 100', but now that she is getting bigger and soon will enter public school, it will become a problem if she doesn't outgrow this issue.
I've had two social issues that have been a little hard to handle "correctly".
Instance #1: On hiking trail, stopped at a hiker's break area with picnic tables. Daughter is sitting on top of picnic tables. Another hiker with dogs off leash approaches, and dogs get excited to see daughter and scamper up on top of picnic table. Daughter freaks out as she doesn't want dogs running toward her.
Instance #2: In store today. Dog enters store. Daughter gets nervous. Dog starts to bark at daughter.
How would you handle either of those two situations? Especially the dogs in stores situation.
My dog is deathly afraid of your kid. How about we both leave them at home or commit to keeping them both on leashes?
As a dog owner (well, not currently, mine both passed away last year), nothing infuriates me more than people who let their dogs run off-leash. I always want to tell them, "Good way to set your dog up for getting killed." (Whether by car because the dog runs off, or the dog just running off and getting lost, or another off-leash dog attacking, or somebody panicking and doing something to the dog--whatever.) Plus, it's annoying as hell to those of us following the leash laws to see somebody deciding their dog is 'speshul'. I even leashed a dog that was so arthritic that he literally could not have run off and done anything if his very life had depended on it--because it was the law.
As for taking dogs to stores--unless it's a pet store, that just strikes me as more trouble than it's worth. I know Home Depot allows it, but usually if I'm in a place like that, I need both hands free, not one managing my dog's leash.
However, on the flip side--it's not always going to be possible to avoid dogs, and it would be best to teach a child how to cope with it rather than carrying on about people needing to keep their dogs away. Unfortunately, dogs do sometimes slip their leashes, or get out of the house--even the best owners have had that happen. Or it could be you and your child are walking on a sidewalk on a busy street, and a dog and its owner are also on that sidewalk, and crossing the street isn't an option. Anything.
I do think dog owners need to be mindful of their dogs, however. One of my recently departed dogs *was* very friendly, and wanted to meet every living soul she came across--and was about as subtle as an F5 tornado about it. She'd dance around, spin in circles, and attempt to run up to her 'new best friend' (this dog had it in mind that if you shared the planet with her, then you MUST be her Best. Friend. EVER) to shower them with love and affection, and while she was only 53 pounds (on the small side for a greyhound), that can be scary to a small kid. I'd frequently have to kneel and bodily hold her still, but I'd invite the child to pet her somewhere 'non-scary' (like at her hindquarters, away from her teeth, which could be frightening.) This was usually best, because the kids, of their own accord, would gradually 'move up' her body til they were skritching her ears. (And which point she usually went for the 'lick their face within an inch of their lives' move.)
I'd suggest taking the kid to some adoption events or rescue events--not necessarily to *get* a dog, but to help her learn slowly how to deal with dogs (at the events, the dogs are going to be more controlled.) Because it's not going to be possible to avoid dogs all her life.
As a dog owner (well, not currently, mine both passed away last year), nothing infuriates me more than people who let their dogs run off-leash. I always want to tell them, "Good way to set your dog up for getting killed." (Whether by car because the dog runs off, or the dog just running off and getting lost, or another off-leash dog attacking, or somebody panicking and doing something to the dog--whatever.) Plus, it's annoying as hell to those of us following the leash laws to see somebody deciding their dog is 'speshul'. I even leashed a dog that was so arthritic that he literally could not have run off and done anything if his very life had depended on it--because it was the law.
We were driving down the street one time and we saw a couple of dogs running free and one of them ran out into the street and got hit by a car. The driver didn't really have any time to do anything. This was right in front of us. We pulled over and the dog was laying on the sidewalk. People in the neighborhood and other passersby were there and this beautiful dog died right there, we watched her take her last breathe and she was dead. Makes my blood boil thinking about it. The dogs owner apparently showed up and one of the neighbors started to ***** her out telling her that she knew this was gonna happen and how they shouldn't be running free. The dumbass lady just looked all ineffectual and sort of whatever about it. I wanted to throttle that stupid broad, but whatever. Every time we drive down that section of road I think about that day and that dog and how that stupid stupid ineffectual woman let that dog down and let her get killed.
I've love for my daughter to get over her fear of dogs, but I'm afraid it's not going to happen. I hope she'll outgrow it. It'll be up to her, not up to me, if she decides to let go of her fear.
I was never afraid of dogs until I was 17 and got bit by a dog while I was walking along on public property. That dog came charging over to me, and circled me. My parents had always said never to run from a dog, so I kept walking, trying to remain calm. The jerk dog bit me anyway on the back of my leg. Finally his owner called him over...thanks, where the hell were you 1 minute ago?
I had that fear for about 5 years until a neighbor of mine that I befriended had a big German Shepard dog. Her dog was ridiculously mellow, and I started asking to walk the dog. Then the neighbor invited me to go to the dog park with her and her dog. I knew I had to get over my fear, but I was petrified when we walked in to the park. ALL of the dogs came running up to us, circling us...I'm talking about 15 dogs. I was so sure one of them was going to bite me. I was shaking really hard, had a hard time breathing, was frozen in fear...couldn't even move if I wanted to. But, none of them bit me, and it was that outing that did it for me. Literally, when we left that dog park, I was no longer afraid of dogs.
BUT, having said all of that, it ticks me off to no end when people do not leash their dogs out in public (that's not a dog park), because there are people who are scared of dogs, and I don't care how "friendly" your dog is, it is up to the person who is afraid of dogs when they will decide to work on their fear, NOT some random dog owner.
In addition to that, I have a dog who is fearful of other dogs. I used to live in a neighborhood where NO ONE leashed their damn dogs, and I have been chased out in to the middle of the street by a "friendly" Golden Retriever. My choices were: Stay here and let him attack us, (I had my boy who is fearful of other dogs with me), or take my chances in the street and hope a big truck can stop in time. I actually decided in a split second that getting hit by a semi was better than being attacked by a dog.
I could not walk my own fearful dog in the neighborhood because dogs came running up to us all of the time. Even if they were "friendly" MY BOY was afraid of them. He was on leash, he was not running around like a moron, we were just trying to take walks to exercise him, but we could not do that because dang near every house on the block had a dog that was not tied up, not behind a fence, and often times in the yard by itself.
One day, I was walking to the store with my girl, who thinks the world is her friend. Thankfully I had brought her that day, because as we walked by a house, a lady was out gardening in her yard with her dog out there. Unleashed. Unrestrained. NOT under her control, because the dog came flying up to us. Yes, her dog was friendly, but 1) that is NOT how you introduce dogs to each other b) what if my dog isn't friendly towards other dogs and c) even though I'm walking a dog, that does not mean that I want strange dogs, DOGS I DO NOT KNOW, to come racing up to me.
I tried to inform her that it was NOT okay what just happened. She couldn't understand. What was the big deal? Her dog is friendly. I literally had to yell it to her that not all other dogs are, and that all of us are lucky that I hadn't decided to try to bring my boy for a walk that day. I would have been hurt, her dog would have been hurt, my dog would have been hurt, and it would have been HER fault because her dog was unleashed and running wild on the public sidewalk. Only when money was thrown in to the explanation did she slightly flinch, but I get the idea that she still didn't see what the big deal was.
Leash your dogs. Many dog owners in this country need to stop being idiots. Leash. Your. Dogs!
As a dog owner, I would never take my dog to a store where he's not allowed nor would I ever have him off leash in an area where leash laws are in effect. It's just common courtesy and following the rules. I also do not let him approach people or dogs without discussing if it's OK. That protects my dog who has no sense that not all people like dogs and not all dogs are dog friendly. It's my responsibility to keep him safe from both.
On the flip side, I will bring my dog to stores in my area that welcome dogs. There are quite a few and even some restaurants with patios where well mannered dogs are allowed. My dog loves to walk with me to the Starbucks patio. People to greet, dogs to meet and sometimes, if he's lucky, someone who dropped a piece of a scone or other tasty treat. I'm not going to end these outings for us both because a child may be scared or allergic since I don't let my dog approach people with out their permission. As far as I'm concerned, that's what's required of me as a dog owner, following the rules of the establishment and following the rules of common courtesy. If that's not enough for some because of dog phobias or allergy, oh well.
My son used to be afraid of just about everything; dogs, spiders, swimming, even houseflies, freaking HOUSEFLIES. He has since gotten over most of it. Loves to swim now, is okay with dogs, laughs about the fly thing. Still doesn't like spiders.
In any case, the fact that he did overcome all these fears doesn't lessen the terror he felt when a "friendly" dog ran up to him back when he was afraid of them.
Yes, help your kids overcome their fears. I think we can all agree about that. But please try to be more sensitive while they are still going through the fear phase.
Yes I can relate to that. My dog is very small and very very cute so small children want to pet her. She is shy and gets scared because they run up and scare her, but, I try to be nice and try to teach them to move slow around her or I turn her around and tell them to pet her tail, but, I never once have demanded that children not be allowed in pet stores
A child is not going to injure you like a dog can, stop being ridiculous about this. You make yourself look foolish.
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