Are kids not taught how to behave around dogs anymore?

Mines a dobie x that looks pure to non dog people. The amount of witless parents is unreal. He never goes near anyone unless given permission, but that doesn't stop idiot parents from shouting the length of a field that I have to put it on a lead, & that 'those' types wear a muzzle. Especially stupid as my little girl is always with him. I've also experienced the opposite, with kids wanting to maul him, & no concept that animals have feelings too. Wouldn't say its the majority though. Just like crap dog owners, its a minority ime.
 
My OH is 55 and still doesn't know how to approach dogs. He had dogs as a child, has had dogs for the whole 10 years we have been together, and still goes staright up to strange dogs and strokes them without asking. He has even been known to go up to a strange dog, drop to his knees and put his face right up to theirs. I do wonder how he hasn't been bitten yet, I really do.

My sons were always taught that they had to ask the owner if they wanted to stroke a strange dog, never to run about screaming around strange dogs, and never to stick their faces in a dogs face.

Shame my OH doesn't listen to me like my boys did!
 
Mrs Elle. he will eventually get bitten and it will be his own fault! This happened to a friend of ours...his face too...... despite constant warnings about his foolish way with dogs.

Children should be discouraged (even if the dog owner has to do the discouraging) from approaching any dog and dogs should not run up to anyone they do not know.
 
CaveCanem said:
Yep it seems to be either running away and screaming (acting like prey - more likely to get you bitten) or lunging in for a pat unbidden (acting like a threat - more likely to get you bitten)

Have also caught visiting children throwing stones at my dogs. Nice, clean, well reared, middle class children.
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i have had all the above, people tend to assume because i walk him out with the wee one in the buggy he is safe to just pounce on, one child tried to sit on his back which really irked me as parents were laughing and joking about him being the size of a horse, they were very quickly told where to go in less than polite terms and told to train their child better
have had parents tell their children not to touch the dog as it will bite them, and one parent telling the child to kick the dog if it came near him - the mind really does boggle about the reasoning behind these comments
older people are just as bad for lunging in for a stroke or trying to touch the baby which is a big no no if the dog doesnt know you as he doesnt like strangers mithering his little person
 
Yep my mother in law aged 92 was bitten by a dog..... the owner said "Don't go to the dog it will bite you" (it was fastened behind a half door) She replied that she had never been bitten by a dog!! which was a lie, her own dog was forever snapping at her, she did and it did, her own fault I thought when she made a fuss about it.
 
It's not just that kids aren't taught how to behave around dogs, they aren't taught how to respect other people (shouldn't matter if it is a dog, cat, or a fancy bike or something, it is polite to ask the owner first, and for animals should be common sense to learn of the temperament first.
 
There are children on my street who play football next to my garden fence, they kick the ball past my 6 month old puppy and squeel when she runs towards it. They also kick it over the fence and expect me to fetch it for them because they're 'scared'. shes 6 months old, part collie and part terrier, if you shout and squeel at her because she's run at your ball (in her garden with her toys) she is just going to get excited and jump at you when you come in the garden. It really annoys me :rolleyes: their mum wasn't impressed when i refused to get their ball for them (for the 20th time on my day off ... not like i have better things to do) and made them come in and get it themselves. They kids shout and run away whenever she goes out into MY garden.... not like there's a fence in the way and she loves kids or anything:confused::rolleyes:.
i make sure that any dogs i have know about children and just try ignore them to be honest. Penny has been walked (supervised) by a 3 year old and an 8 year old. :D
 
Was reminded of this thread the other night - I was at a quiet wee corner of a grassed area near the beach, under a streetlight, doing heelwork/focus work/squares with the young dog when all I heard was this blood curdling scream - dog didn't bat an eyelid but in scared the crap out of me, there was this eight or nine year old girl decked out in pink with her mother crying and screaming hysterically - I genuinely have never heard a noise like it - and rooted to the spot and pointing - we were about 50m away.

Like I say, dog was doing focus heelwork so his shoulder to my knee, looking up at me and I had my hand on a tab line attached to his chain so he was not even looking at her and would have had no chance to get at her and we were nowhere near the footpath they were on either.

So I collected myself and gave him a pat and looked up to reassure them but they had already marched back off in the direction that they came - God help her if she is ever actually approached by a dog, especially one that would see a small, screaming thing as 'prey' - that kid is going to have a tonne of issues :(
 
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