Big Paws Only Dog Forums
BPO Growl & Howl Forum => Groans, Gripes, Brags & Boasts => : DenverFurKiddos December 12, 2007, 12:43:10 AM
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Ok, so (if you couldn't tell) I'm beyond irritated right now. I just came back from the park with Winston and Champ. While there, this family was walking with their (I'm guessing) four-year old son. As soon as he saw my boys, he started running towards them. Luckily, Winston isn't really afraid of anything and loves people, so he let this kid lunge at him and basically put him in a headlock!!!! Meanwhile, the parents are just watching....ne ver did they ask if it was ok!
Then, he started coming after Champ. I stepped in between Champ and the boy and told him to stop because, I don't know, Champ doesn't seem to like random people steamrolling toward him. Weird, who doesn't enjoy that?? Anyway, the kid didn't listen to me and lunged at Champ. Champ growled at him, and stepped back. Just then, the other kid (from the same family) started calling to Winston. I was so taken off guard and wasn't paying attention to Champ because I literally had to put my hand on this kid's shoulder to guide him away from Champ! So, while I'm doing this Winston takes off toward the family, and his leash goes flying out of my hand. Champ tries to take off after Winston, and Champ's leash gets caught under the psycho kid's arm, spins him around, and the kid ends up face planting on the floor.
I'm glad that the kid's ok. But, what I kept thinking about was that if Champ would have protected himself, CHAMP would have ended up being the monster. I was just so upset, I couldn't even say anything- I just hightailed it out of there because I thought I was going to explode!!!
Seriously.... I hate idiotic parents and who can't control their kids and won't (at the very least) teach their kids how approach dogs. This is how so many dog bites happen, and it's only the dog that gets the blame.
Ok. Ah. Now I feel better. :)
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omg, i know how that is. Im so sorry you had to go through that... with my bullies, kids try to approach all the time, Jigsaw is fine, but Zero, he is VERY shy of small children, and they usually come at him in groups of 3 or more... and he gets so scared. and i can tell them EVERY 10 minutes "Not this one, he doesnt like kids" they still come up to him. im ready to just say "if he bites you, its YOUR fault, not his", not like the kids would understand... LOL
sorry again, hope your babies are ok after that crazy walk... *hugs*
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It drives me crazy when people don't control their kids too. It's one of my biggest pet peeves. I'm sure we all have an out-of-control-and-oblivious-parent story. Here's mine:
I worked in a restaurant and one of my tables had two kids that were running around like maniacs and the adults at the table were just ignoring them. I was walking by with a tray full of wine glasses and, yup, you guessed it - They ran into me and the glasses broke all over me. A few drops fell on the kids and the parents started screaming for the manager saying how I stained their kids clothing, and how could I be so careless, I could have killed their kids with the broken glass and blah, blah, blah. And here I am in a white shirt, drenched in red wine, with an entire Saturday night shift to finish. I really wanted to just say to the person, "Are you for real?"
Kids can be a real problem with dogs. I'm glad your boys are fine and you should be proud of them for behaving politely. I'd hate to see them blamed for reacting to some maniac kid who was never taught manners.
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You would think that most parents would understand how dangerous it is to let their children run up to strange dogs and risk getting biten. I teach my kids, ages 11, 10, 7, and 2 to ALWAYS ask permission before approaching another persons dog. And we practice this at the park or Petsmart or anywhere else we run into people with their dogs. I also go a step further and teach my kids how to respect a dog's mood. It's never acceptable to wake a sleeping dog or touch them while they're eating. My little dogs give a warning growl to my kids if they don't want to be touched and my kids must respect that. My dogs will never get in trouble for reacting when someone is bothering them. My KIDS get sent to their room if they get bit because it's always their own fault. Thankfully this doesn't happen often since my kids are fast learners! :D
I had to laugh about Tobey though! Zeus and Apollo get so excited when they see kids out on our walks! They, too, will try to drag me across the street to visit them! They're so goofy!
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I had to laugh at the comment "You knew better." When we are in public, my grown children have made that comment many times. They also look at me and say "You would have killed us, if we had done that." My response is always, "You're absolutely right." My dogs love children as well, but they don't all like little yippy dogs. I would not let my dogs bark or growl at another dog, without correcting them firmly. Why don't some small dog owners think they need to control their dogs? Why is okay for them to growl and snap? I would pick them up if I couldn't stop it any other way. I keep my dogs away from other dogs, until I ask if they are okay. I don't understand why other dog owners don't do the same thing. I have more problems with them, than I do children. Although, a herd of kids running at them, tends to put them on edge. I must say that I am very pleased with the number of people who do ask, before touching any of my dogs, adults as well as children. There are also a lot of parents who will stop their children and remind them to ask, before approaching or touching them. I think some of it is the parent's fear of Max's size, that causes them to ask, since the question is usually "Is he friendly? or Does he bite?" not "Is it okay to pet him?" When I am in a bad mood, I am very tempted to answer "Yes, he bites and is very vicious. That's why I brought him to Petsmart, the park, the craft fair" or wherever we happen to be.
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LMAO oh Stella you rock!
Nina
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Oh, Maxsmom, I couldn't agree more about small dogs!
I took Merlin to the vet the other day (you know, his second home, the holder of the second mortgage on my house)and as I walked into the waiting room, this little King Charles Spaniel launched an attack with no warning. I stepped between them and blocked the little sh*& with my leg, earning myself a tear in my jeans from the nasty beast. The dog kinda bounced off my leg and the lady said "hey you kicked my dog!"
I told her "No, dear, your dog ran into my leg, and ate my pants. But you see my dog doesn't feel well, and although he is usually pretty good with other dogs I would hate to see your dog dead because it is not socialized and poorly trained. I really don't think that it is the DOG"S fault, do you?"
I don't think I have ever been taken into a treatment room so fast in my life, LOL
Stella
This is by far, the best response I have ever heard!! Amen!!
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Stella, you're awesome!! I always want to say stuff like that but I was always taught it's wrong to be confrontationa l. I was taught to bite my tongue til it bleeds if need be and walk away rather than make a scene. Maybe I should give my tongue a break and let it say what it wants. Most rude people don't expect a response and back down when they do get one.
Stella, you're my muse ;D
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OMG Stella! That's hilarious! I might need to write that down on a flashcard, so that I can pull that line when I need it! Obviously, words like that escape me when I'm in the moment!!!!!! ;D
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Awww Stella see that's why your so freaking awesome and we love you! :-* You rock!! ;D
One time when I was taking Hans, a 12 year old foster doberman, to the vet. He was quite upset and just kind of paced around me. When this chick walked in with her youngish lab, her dog was barking and growling at Hans when all Hans was doing was shoving his head into my lap and trying to ignore the world. I heard her say to her dog, no no sweetie that dog will eat you! I seriously would have said something if my mom wasn't there. Something along the lines of "Yep your right my 12 year old doberman with obvious cancer and a limp is most definitely going to attack and eat your bigger than my dobie Lab" Then the woman was trying to entice children to pet the dog but they wouldn't go near her because the dog was scary. :D So it made me feel a bit better.
Some people are so ignorant about breeds, size, and dogs in general. So annoying!
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OMG I just read the response from Stella. You definitely are my hero! I try sooo hard to be good and "Not say anything, if I can't say something nice". Needless to say I am a very quiet person. I need you here! How would you like to visit Orlando? You can stay with me and I will feed you and all you have to do, is teach me really smart comebacks for all the really dumb things people say. I can only think of one person that I have ever really told off in relation to my dogs and that was the lady that Max stepped on her chihuahua. Please, I really need you. That would be great!
Kathy
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BWAHAHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHAHAHA @ Stella. that has to be the best comeback ever! You sure do think quickly on your feet. I'm one of those people who has a comeback 5 minutes too late. :P
And I so agree about children approaching dogs. Gunther and Posey are scared of strange children, but they seem to be the two that attract the most attention (biggest and smallest). Especially at the dog park, kids will try to go up to Gunther and he's walking away from them, they follow him so he hides behind me. They continue to come at him so he's going around in circles around me with them running behind him. They think it's a game (I can kind of see that from a kid's point of view......whee ee, it's tag!) but I always have to tell them to stop. For the most part they listen and after awhile he usually lets them pet him.
Little girls are always attracted to Posey b/c she resembles a chihuahua..... ...although in reality she's at least twice the size of one. She will always run away from them (unless someone has food :D ) and then stand and bark at them if they continue to try and come up to her. And what is it with people wanting to pick up strange dogs? Not that anyone with big paws would have this problem....... ....lol, but kids and adults alike like to pick Posey up. I rarely pick her up at home, if I do it's for a quick hello and cuddle then back on the floor. She's not a purse. I don't carry her around. She has 4 legs and they work just fine.
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Stella, you rock!!!
Little dogs and untrained kids drive me nuts too. I once had 4 little pomeranians attacking Thorn. I was in the street, he was on a leash they were chasing us. Luckily for them he just stood there looking down at them. I was ready to let him eat them!! If he had snatched one up and broke it in half I would not have felt a bit bad...
My kids aren't scared of any dog, I have tried to burn it in their head that they ALWAYS ask before petting a strange dog, and they always let the dog sniff them first etc. They do a pretty good job.
I don't take Thorn out much because he hates kids, he was teased through the fence at our old house by neighbor kids. Gracie and Morgayne are great with kids though, usually theri size stops kids from running up, although i encourage them to pet them when I see them staring.
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See I love the kids like that who ask politely and are gentle and sweet, and all that good stuff. I CANNOT stand the kids who just run over tho. ANd good for you for leaving the pile on the ground like that, I hope one of those little monsters steps right in it barefooted of course!
I've not really experienced too much of the monster kids, Naja is a country dog, and as such doesn't really go into town much unless it's to my dads or Petsmart. She's usually really good, but if you get too many kids around her blocking her way and groping her she'll get growly. She usually tries to hind behind my legs when people start coming up to her. I always tell them one at a time, and let her come to you.
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Now at the vets, the folks who were doing the pictures had twin boys, TINY little things. Probably 5? One boy said May I pet your dogs? I said sure! He said do they like hugs? I said they LOVE hugs. He wrapped his arms around Bava's neck, put his face alongside Bava's and hugged him for all he was worth. He said May I give them a cookie? It's a dog cookie! I said sure. He grabbed some cookies, shoves his whole hand in their mouths and said wow! They're drooly! I was like uh...kid, you just put your hand up to the wrist in their mouth. He kept giving them cookies though. They had found a new friend :)
Ahh, two little rays of sunshine amidst the little monsters throwing snowballs at poor Bava. Where were these kids' parents while they were tormenting your poor dog? They're the ones that should be yelled at. Their kids' behavior is THEIR fault.
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Stella, I love your response! But then again, I don't have a filter and anything in my head usually comes out of my mouth. I probably would have been tempted to punt her dog.
I had the neighbor kid come racing up to my Boston Terrier wanting to pet her. She hadn't been around kids and didn't like them. So I made him stop and explained that you don't run up to a dog and his older sister told me it's okay he likes dogs. To that I explained that my dog doesn't like kids and I didn't care if he liked dogs or not. Their dad stood there and watched the whole thing and didn't say a word to any of us.
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omg, stella...that was a perfect and real response. I'm like you, don't hold my tongue for the sake of peace because my manta is one person's rights should never infringe upon anothers and this was soooo an obvious case of that! I feel so blessed that odin is so tolerant of those little yappy critters, otherwise his jaw power might overcome their little 'tudes'.....public animals should not be allowed to be aggressive due to lack of socialization or proper parenting. in general, my furries are much better behaved than my children-and I beat neither group! lol! well trained animals are such a blessed addition to our world. I loved europe where well behaved large breeds were welcome everywhere! ahhhh....somed ay here! ;)
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I have the same problem as Stella. I have no filter or friends lol. "My mom told me to always tell the truth but I think it backfired on her." I'll tell you what I think whether you like it or not especially when it comes to my "baby." The first words that come to my mind come out of my mouth. My dad used to say I engaged my mouth before my brain.
The people at work are finally realizing not to ask my opinion or put me in confrontationa l situations. ;D
The kids on my street taunt Jager ALL the time. They will play on our side of the street or on the little gym across the street and yell loud enough to get Jagers attention then run around. Ugh. Monsters! Then the kids down the street walk their little sh!t machine on my lawn and let it just YAP at Jager whose barking like crazy cause the little puntable fur ball dropped a load in our lawn! I wanna let Jager out just to slobber all over that thing and the kid! Jager won't leave mine or my neighbors yard but it would still be great!
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I am proud to say that my kids are very well trained regarding dog manners. Even my 4 year old knows that he must always ask before he approaches a dog. Many times, we've been politely told that the pup doesn't do well with kids or whatever... Kids that don't understand this basic SAFETY issue are not only at risk, but so are the poor dogs that end up carted away after someone's kid provokes a bite. So, rest assured, for every untrained kid out there, there's at least one trained one, too! It's not the kid's fault, not the dog's fault, not the dog owner's fault either. Hmmmm, who is left? Oh Yeah, the PARENTS!
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This may be the longest post in history...we all have a similar story!
Here's mine. While attempting to encourage socialization in the community, I took Kana to our little quaint downtown area. It was a day for my school (can't remember why) but apparently the Catholic school 6th grade all girls class on the block was in session but taking advantage of the nice weather. They all were filing out of the ice cream parlor (about 15 of them with 2 parent chapperrones) and spotted him. It was all over...before I could respond or prepare Kana, they SURROUNDED him. Pulling, prodding, poking, screaming, SQUEALING, PUTTING THEIR FACE IN HIS FACE!!!!!!!!!!! OMG, I wanted to die. All I could see is him biting in defense (Akitas as you know are VERY WARY of strangers by nature) and the phonecalls from attorneys making their way to my home. After it happened I spoke quite CURTLY to the parent about teaching kids NEVER to approach a dog w/o permission.
Thankfully, Kana was SO stunned that he did not react, WHAT A GOOD BOY!
Phew...he has a distinct aversion to plaid skirts to this day!
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Well it's not a dog but... About 4 yrs ago when one of my current resident Greenwing Macaws hadn't yet come here to live he lived in a local pet store.My husband(at the time) was standing and talking to Ha while I was picking out what I needed.This little boy about 6-7 yrs old comes running up and trying to grab Ha's tail feathers,John told him not to grab the birds tail feathers(his parents were going to).Well the little boy didn't listen and Ha shot a VERY wet poop out the side of his cage and it went right on the little boys face.We died laughing,as did Ha.The mother told us we were rude for laughing,I told her that Ha thought it was rude her kid pulled his tail.I bet it was a while at least before he grabbed another birds tail.Ha still crys like a little boy on occasion and calls for his Mommy because of that little boy and maybe a few others that found out sh*t does happen ;D
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Ugh! Bubbalove (haha..that's a funny name!) That would have totally sucked! I felt like I was in the SAME position, where it would have been MY dogs who would have been blamed instead of the STUPID parents who won't take responsibility for their kids!!! God! This still burns me!
I will have to say that over Christmas, Champ let out a low growl when my little niece kept cornering him or trying to pet him (which, at her age, is as gentle as a sledge hammer!). But, it was good to see that my brother and his wife totally respected Champ for the warning, and would always be with her (to read Champ's signs) if she wanted to pet him. I totally believe that learning how to pet and approach dogs is sooo important!
Ok...I'll step off of my soapbox now!!!
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I love the bird story!! I'm sorry, but as a mom, I would have laughed right with you. I'm a firm believer innreasonable and natural consequences when it comes to children-and a poo is reasonable for sure. when my 14 yo was just about 3, we lived in north dakota and our neighbors had 2 rotties - zeus n sassy, who were very socialized and very well cared for. zeus was a BIG ONE! anyway, Zeus was about 6 or 7 n sassy, 2-3. my neighbor had invited me over so my son n I had gone next door.
while we were in the basement oooooing and awwwwing over their new pet, an iguana, my son was messing with zeus. the owner told me he was ok that zeus was very used to children and my son wasn't hurting zeus. zeus, in a very controlled "hit", turned and smacked my son on the cheek with a snappish growel. It drew blood and a nice bruise and cut. My response-served my son right because I had told him to stop, that doggy may not like finger in the ear or his nice touches. despite the owners reassurance that zeus was cool w kids as long as they didn't jump on him or poke at him, I used my own instincts. Zeus could have bit my sons head off! but he gave a warning and I wasn't angry. he's a primal creature and we can NEVER predict their exact responses.
a few months lster, zeus n sassy saved my sons life when he escaped (took down the TWO child gates, climbed upon a tall stool and un-chained the door, inlocke
the deadbolt and the door lock as well) our home after we had gone to bed. our son went next door and let the dogs out of the house (the neighbors never locked their door cuz of their furry alarm system)... those 2 rotties prevented anyone from approaching my son during his 3 hour adventure through the neighborhood! ;) primal but coexist for reasons beyond our knowledge!
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some little dogs are horrilbe! this was months ago (about 4) so peyton was about 6 months old and already weighed 50 lbs or so. give or take a few. we went on a walk around the block (not too uncommon) and we got to almost the end of the block (one more corner to go and we would be home). this little dog (looked like a long haired jack russel) comes tearring out his garage and yipping at peyton (who is across the street!!!) and peyton is terriably affraid of it cuz she's never met anyone or anydog who wasn't nice before. she wouldn't move forward. i had to PICK HER UP!!! yeah, all 50 lbs of her! so the mom and dad of this little dog comes outside and tells him that he did a good job at scaring the big mean dog! you could tell that peyton was still a puppy! and then they had the bal!$ to tell the dog to "go get 'em". so he comes tearring after me, who is minding my own business CARRYING MY BIG 50 # PUPPY...and running between my legs. i yelled out, get your dog the Fu@* away from me or I WILL kick him out of my way". the people just laughed at me. I saw a person running that I knew and that could handle peyton and called to him, he took peyton and made sure she would be okay...and i walked back to the house and told them that "i didn't appreciate the way they handled the situation and that if it happened again that i would be calling the humane society on them because when i almost kicked the living $hit out of their pesky yippy dog, i noticed that they didn't have any type of tag."
I normally am not confrontationa l at all, but they messed with my baby, and MY SAFETY! what if i had fallen because of the dog? i could have hurt me and my dog. she would have fallen hard...
anyway, the next time i went for a walk the same way, a few houses down from that house, peyton started crying and doing circles around me wanting me to turn around. i let her walk between my legs one step at a time until we made it past. i had to keep telling her that it was okay and there was nothing to be affraid of while she was still crying. she to this day is still affraid of that da^^n house.
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oh and also, i am 25 and to this day...i still ask if i can pet a dog! ;D
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oh and also, i am 25 and to this day...i still ask if i can pet a dog! ;D
LOL! I am over 40, and I still ask "Is it ok to say hello?"
Ranger always has little kids running right up to him with no fear whatsoever, and the parents just watching and smiling. I mean, it's great that your kid isn't scared, but maybe my dog IS! I have worked pretty hard on getting him to be more comfortable around kids (and people in general), but I am still always tempted to say "So, Billy... Do you like having all ten of those fingers?" ;D
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Well as long as we are talking about rotten children...... .......I was visiting friends in Sioux Falls this weekend and had Keiko and Nigel with me. I stopped at the local PetsMart there as I wanted to pick up some magazines to read at the hotel.
I was looking at the birds just to see what they had. Keiko was on my right and Nigel was on my left. I had noticed 2 kids come over to say hello to Nigel, around 8-10 yrs old. I thought that was fine he's very friendly. I soon heard his growly/excited noise (very hard to explain unless you know rat terriers). I turned my head and the one boy had leaned down to Nigels level and was about 2 inches from his face staring him down. I was like WTF?! Then I saw the other boy do it. I looked up and their parents were standing right there watching them. >:(
Nigel did his growly noise again (which really isn't growling but to the normal person it sounds like it). I finally said, "you know, you shouldn't put your face so close to another dog, it's a good way to get yourself bit". And then they nonchalantly went around the corner and left. What the heck? Who lets their children stare down dogs, especially ones they don't know?! Sheesh, I bet they wouldn't let their kids do that to Gunther, or a dobie or rot. What makes them think they can do it to a smaller dog? Rat terriers as a whole aren't the friendliest as a whole (or so I've been told). Mine are great and well socialized but if Nigel had bit those kids' faces I'm sure it would have been my fault for having a vicious dog in the store. >:(
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Exactly.....or your face! I mean, its not like we want anyone or thing to get bit (i SURELY didnt want my toddler bit) but the balance and mutual respect has got to be there. Whether undisciplined kids who are entitled (in their own mind) to poke, prod, stare down, pull on, squeeze etc a strange animal or a family pet OR an irresponsible pet owner who allows their animal to bully others and are allowed to roam freely and verbally assault passers by.....both fur parent and skin parent should be responsible for their childrens aggressive actions-not the response like a little yipper being punted or a bite resulting from being taunted. I never thought twice about NOT holding the owner accountable because my son was messing with the dog and we had been given the OK. I love seeing my son today-he is very respectful of animals, dogs in particular!
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When I was a kid, I learned this lesson the hard way, but the difference is I LEARNED the lesson immediately.
My friend's mom had brought their German Shepherd to school for show & tell. I had met this dog several times and she was always very playful and sweet. I had been running late for school - this was about 5th grade - so Christy's mom and the dog were outside waiting for the teacher to say it was OK to go in. I recognized them and ran up to the dog to give her a hug and a pet and I guess I spooked her 'cause she reared up and bit my face. She didn't break the skin, but her teeth scraped my face and left welts.
I felt horrible. I knew right away it was my fault. My parents knew it was my fault, and I remember them apologizing to Christy's mom, who was mortified that her dog bit someone and explaining to her that they understand why the dog bit me and they harbored no ill feelings towards her or her dog. I was terrified they were going to have to give their dog up or have it put to sleep for my stupidity 'cause it happened on school property and it had to be reported.
All ended well, though and to this day I will never approach a dog without asking, and I have a really good story for kids who don't understand why it's so important.
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Stella, Don't you wonder what her life and her son's will be like when he is 15? If he doesn't respect and listen to her at 5, she doesn't have a snowballs chance of having his respect as a teenager. I have tried to explain that to my daughter in law. My grandsons are 3 and 8. When my daughter in law complains that they just don't listen to her at all, I remind her of this. She has been told more than once, when they are 15 and punch you, take your car keys and walk out, don't call me crying. You are their mother. Act like it, while you still can. If you give up on them, the rest of society is going to pay the price when they grow up. They listen to me and to their father. Makes you wonder what kind of childhood these people had, for them not to know how to raise their own children doesn't it.
Kathy
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Stella, Dennis didn't want to leave because you made him feel safe. Children are just like dogs, or vice versa. They need boundaries and rules in order to be happy and healthy. Dogs and children that are not taught how to behave and given guidelines and discipline are like a boat adrift in the ocean, being buffeted whichever way the wind blows. At least with dogs, they can be kept at home so no one but the owners have to deal with them. Unfortunately, the children are going to have to be dealt with eventually, by society as a whole, if they aren't dealt with at home. I spanked my kids too, more than once, but they all grew up to be happy, healthy, productive members of society in spite of it.
Kathy
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ok, i'm feelin a little less than adequate as a parent now....:-( As a mom of a 5 yo, i can understand the boundary testing those little tykes exhibit. REPETETION and consistency, just like with dogs, works every time. I wouldnt beat my odin for drooling or leaving kibble on the floor or for jumping on the furniture nor would i chain him to a pole for 15 minutes either. I cant say i've never lost it (supposedly grounded them for life) w/ my own children but an occasional spanking isn't against the law and obviously, this child's mom (A SINGLE MOM) was flying solo on a job that requires 2. Substitute teach a kinder and a first grade class for 2 weeks-if u werent a drinker u will b after that because the corner, touching-much less grabbing, yelling etc IS againt the law and when you have > than 1/2 children of single parents and many have 3 or more brothers n sisters, you have to be very compassionate and creative.
Some kiddos just dont understand animals for many reasons. I came from a family where dogs and cats were DISGUSTING and kids should be seen and not heard (beaten, straight A's, perfectly clean homes) and had i fallen true to the self-fulfilling prophecy of failure, i wouldnt be happy today and i surely wouldnt love a BIGPAW....much less own one and other furries.
Compassion is a tough thing to have but if we can see that 5yo child as a product of more than bad parenting (like a rescue) then we can still have high attainable expectations but just use more animal oriented means to reach them. An overwhelmed dog owner produces a nervous pooch-calm, patient, firm and rewarding boundaries while training helps create a similar confident pooch....kids are no different. I still feel bad my 13 yo isnt a straight A student in all advanced classes (of course, my mom beat me and grounded me and yelled at me for anything less and the quicker i could move away, the better). The kid probably hates his homelife and when u provided him with that tiny hope for structure, he didnt want to go back to he@#.......he just needed someone to SHOW him. I still believe in subbing kinder and 1st gr for 2 weeks....it totally humbles one! ;)
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I hate to say it, but this is why I have chosen dogs over children. I have 10 times more patience with a dog then I do with a child. Dogs are easy to train, they want to please you, children, well, the children that I've known are far too independant and rebellious then I would be able to handle without flying off the handle. Well behaved kids in small doses for me. ;)
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Stella, you are certainly right about the parents creating problems that others have to deal with. Your description of the mom not intervening disturbs me but YOU stepped up and took care of it and thats cool. ;) I was a single mom of 2 young boys for a while (working ft and going to college ft) and i got a lot of unsolicited advice about what i was doing wrong.....and depending on the advice giver, it was conflicting with each others advice. It was survival in many ways-i HATED grocery shopping because of it and to this day, i let my hubby of 8 yrs do all the shopping..LOL.
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My ABSOLUTE favorite are the parents who bring their toddlers to the BIG dog park and let them run around.
Let me explain - The town where I live had the intelligence to put in 2 adjacent dog parks: one for younger puppies and little dogs and one larger park for Big puppies and Big Dogs. Both parks have the normal legal dsiclaimers and rabies vaccination requirments (and animal control frequently stops by to do a check), but on the BIG dog park, there is a very large sign that says - ENTRY OF CHILDREN UNDER 6 IS NOT RECOMMENDED, ADULT SUPERVISION IS REQUIRED -ENTER AT OWN RISK. The town I live in is one of the top 5 dog friendly towns in the nation.
Even with that HUGE sign, it never fails. I go to the dog park with my two Saints and someone inevitably brings in a a 4 year old and lets them run around all wild. Now, my dogs know that the park is the ONE place where they get to be all stupid and rambunctious, so they run around and act like fools. Just imagine 2 dogs of at least 150 pounds each running at full speed, cavorting and having a good time with the 15 other dogs in the park. Enter the 4 year old who runs strait into the middle of the dogs who are running around. now my dogs are GREAT with kids...but kids aren't always great with my dogs. inevitably, the kid's gonna get knocked down and most likely terrified by the large number of large dogs who come over to sniff it and make sure its okay.
Now, I'm pretty vigilant when it comes to my boys, so I'll call them to me before the screaming mother starts, well, screaming. But I always get yelled at for some kid getting knocked over or crying because my big dog(s) scared the little snot. I always wanna say, DID YOU SEE THE BIG FLIPPING SIGN???????????? This is the DOG PARK, not the KID PARK. Take your kid to the little dog park if you want him to paly with dogs!!!!!!!!!!! It isn't my fault that you're an idiot and an irresponsible parent!!!!
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We were in Big Bear a few weekends ago, and I brought Monty along. We were walking down the street one morning, people were very nice, beautiful day, strolling along, sun was shining, birds were singing...you know that kind of perfect morning...too perfect...Ente r Mother with that 2 year old "Dennis the Mennis"...
Lil Baby Junior waddles up to Monty...Monty rolls over to get petted, all is fine and dandy until the kid...KICKED MONTY IN HIS Private Doggy Parts!! (Monty is neutered..but still) of Course Monters yelped, and jumped right up...Knocking the little brat to the ground... The Mom starts Screaming hysterically, her husband is Laughing his tush off...and the kid is on the ground bawling...
That woman decided to call the COPS right then and there, saying I have a vicious pitbull loose and he tried to attack her child...
LONG story short, thank GOOODNESS there were MANY pro-pitbull witnesses that backed me up... But it was definately an ordeal I'll never forget, nor will I EVER forgive...How can you let your kid get away with KICKING a DOG?
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Stupid....I hate that. I hope the hubby was one of the people pro monty. I guess she figured it was ok to kick the dog but not ok for the dog to jump up and try and get away from the bratty kid. Idiots! >:(
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That's f'ing discusting and makes me really mad. >:( Some people should not have kids, especially people who think it's okay for a kid to kick an animal, and then gets angry when the poor animal jumps up in pain and knocks the little brat down. She's lucky he's a good dog, 'cause I know of MANY dogs that wouldn't think twice to turn around and bite the kids freaking FOOT off! Heck, I would've torn a strip off the mother, probably the father, AND the kid! OOHHHHHH!! It makes me SOOOOO MAD!! sorry, I got off on a tangent there. :-[ :)
I was at the dog park yesterday, and Naja started playing with this GSD/Border Collie mix. Everything was going really well and then the other dog got nasty. She was all barks and growling, not in an overly aggresive way but very dominant, she kept trying to grab Naja by the coller and drag her around, when Naja tried to get away, she would chase her down and grab her by the coller again. The owner of the other dog just watched and didn't say anything. We tried speeding up to get away from him and his nasty dog, but he would speed up right along with us. I finally had enough and just left. I don't know why some people think it's okay for their dog to behave badly like that. If Naja is getting aggro with another dog, I will seperate from that dog and walk away; and or correct her. This man did NOTHING. The darn dog chased my poor girl straight into a tree where she whacked her right leg which just happens to be the leg that she injured as a young puppy. Now I know i'm being a little over protective but I would hate it if she reinjured that leg and reversed all that I've done to get it back to normal! And I also know that dogs have their own way to tell each other to F off, but Naja is too polite. I almost feel like I failed her. She kept coming to me to protect her, and all I could do was take her out of the park. Hmph! >:(
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aaaarrrrggghhh h. The frustration at stupidity!!! Heres two. As i have posted b4, Brooklily and I are working on her leash aggression. Soooooooo we have lots of incidents.
About one week ago we are walking in the morning and I see down the street a mother and her daughter walking to the bus stop with thier two yorkies. Im thinking , fine , everybodys leashed up , and Brooklily doesnt usually get upset at little dogs. We will keep going , i will stay relaxed, (thanks to the help here, saying my heart rate effects brooklily's reaction) No problem right? Well the little girl, maybe 6 or so, sees Brooklily , her mother HANDS THE GIRL the leashes ( g.d. retractable ones at that) and she runs at us full speed with her dogs.They are barking like crazy, and about 12 feet in front of the girl. I am like CRAP!!!! Cant control my heart rate now lol. i have my hand up and I am yelling NO at the little girl. She keeps coming, no control of her babies, I start yelling STOP, in my mean voice. So She stops about two feet from Brooklily. The mother comes running behind yelling at me "Whats the problem?" I start... Please dont let your child walk the dogs if she doesnt know how!.... please dont run at dogs you dont know!.....Please put them on a leash that works for the city !(very busy street).All the while Brooklily is in full snarling mode , My adrenaline is way up , my BPO lesson of being calm is shot to h*ll. The mother looks at me and in the most sarcastic tone says" we thought we would like to meet you , we have seen you walking your dog'" Her daughter is close to tears and I want to tell them i am only concerned for thier dogs and the little girl, but forget it. If she is so stupid that she thinks I was concerned about Brooklily and my saftey, she is not worth it. She makes a smarmy face at me and walks away.
Well Big loss for me huh?Ohhhhh we could have been friends. ( that is my sarcastic voice. ;D )
I guess im still mad .Because you know it would have been Brooklily that got in trouble :(. I am ranting. I wont go into the other one cause i will be typing forever. Ahhhhh venting is good. :)