How would you handle it?

[Nicole]

I think that one's opinion on this debate/conversation/whatever is certainly biased based on whether or not you have kids. Its easy to say that kids shouldn't be in dog parks when you don't have any. Its kind of sucky to imagine taking the dog (member of the family) to the park to play, but excluding your child (also a member of the family). So, I can see Ang's point, but of course it totally makes sense to me why you'd WANT to bring your kid to the dog park. And I see no problems with the desire to bring your child. You are assuming the risk for your kid, and you should expect a very high level of responsibility and decorum from your dog and your child.

The way I see it, if your kid hasn't been raised well enough to be able to responsibly handle a dog park (at any age) then your dog is probably too naughty to be there, too. I've really never met anyone that has a dog with exemplory manners and a rude child, or vice versa.

The woman in question here had a rude dog and probably a rude kid. Neither should have been there. Kelly has (presumably) a well behaved child AND dog. She deserves to be there. I totally get ya, Ang. Some dogs are awesome with the exception of children. Ok, so if you're going to have your kid at the dog park, the kid needs to know the ground rules. You don't run, you never approach a strange dog, etc. That's just common sense and courtesy. So, I guess what I'm saying is that the debate shouldn't be over whether kids should be there or not, but if you F it up, stay home. Cuz ultimately, its not the kids' fault, or the dog's, its the stupid idiot that has them and doesn't properly raise and train them.

I think that Stella has the right approach. Just keep it all in a controllable situation, and ther are no problems. We don't have a formal dog park. I take Cabeza to the beach. Its like an informal dog park, lots of people go there with their dogs. I always let Cabeza off leash because he stays right with me and is completely oblivious to other dogs. However, I always had Bo on a leash unless nobody was there. Molly (my child) is always with us and I don't know many other kids that can handle dogs like her.

Anyway...just my OH SO HUMBLE opinion...

[Moni]

I don't think the other woman handled the situation correctly with her dane.  I'm guessing it was a puppy?  It should've been under supervision and cut off before it even got that far.  Its an owners' responsibility to be aware of what our dogs are doing in these situations and to "interupt & redirect" them if they even look like they're going to something 'wrong'.

However, that said, I also don't think that inside dog parks are places for children.  Almost every dog park that I've ever been to has had rules not allowing children under a certain age at all, and over that age not without being accompanied by an adult.

I'm a mom of two(6 & 8yrs) and a dog owner, so I can see it from both points of view.  Yes it would be nice to have the kids running around and playing with a multitude of dogs and not worry about anything.  Sadly that is just too disneyesque for me.  Children squeal and run and all too often think that they are immortal.  Even the most "well trained" child doesn't listen to his/her parents 100% of the time.  Dogs like to chase and pounce running squealing things.  I mean, all it takes is the first time with the wrong dog. 

Having lived on a unfenced farm with a "pack" of dogs for almost a decade, I learned things about dog behavior that I don't think I would have if I hadn't lived there.  All it takes is for one of the dogs' prey drive to kick in and normally all the other dogs follow the first one's que before they even know who, what or why they are chasing something.  Yes, I consider my dogs well trained, but they would still take off running a soon as one of them did.  Luckily they all have a good recall and could be called off the chase of the cat, rabbit, deer, coyote.. etc.  Though I wouldn't bet money on any dog having a 100% instant recall 100% of the time.   

Then there's the fact that we have no idea how well trained others' dogs are that are in the dog park.  I've heard of some dog parks being for member's only and those members having to pay a fee and pass something like a CGC to be able to join.  I personally think that might be a great idea, but it would also leave a lot of dogs out.  As of now, 2 of my 5 would probably be included in those left out. 

Then on the dog owners side, I agree with Stella.  You have no idea how other's children are going to act.  Some think its perfectly fine to run screaming either towards your dog or away from it.  Others were never taught how to properly behave around a dog and think its fine to pull their ears/tail/fur and sit on them or grab its paws to teach it to "give paw".

My kids are disappointed that I don't bring them to dog parks, but for me its my one on one time with whomever I'm bringing.  If its an onleash thing, then sure I bring my kids, no problem.    But lots of strange dogs running around offleash, no thanks.  I understand a lot of people don't agree and have never had any problems, but I just wanted to tell the reasoning behind my decision.  Best of luck to you.

~moni

[Moni]

Cole, you must've been writing at the same time..

you summed up perfectly what i was attempting to say, thnx...

[smsmith]

I looked up the RULES for the dog parks in my area.  One of the rules is that DOGS MUST BE IN VIEW OF AND WITHIN VOICE CONTROL OF THEIR OWNER/HANDLER AT ALL TIMES and DOGS SHOWING ANY SIGNS OF AGGRESSION MUST BE LEASHED AND IMMEDIATELY REMOVED FROM THE PARK. 

See if you can find the rules for your dog park -- maybe that will give you confidence to confront her next time.  I would be terrified to point out to someone that their dog is too aggressive, but I would be more terrified if any dog left marks and scratches on my child.  Be a mama bear!  And I certainly wouldn't hesitate to assert myself to the dog first!  Maybe you could show her by example. 

p.s.  Our park rules also state no one under the age of 12 is allowed.  Even though Einstein is a sweetheart and loves kids, I'm conscious of his size -- he looks real cute from a distance and when kids get near him, they're a little intimidated.  They WANT to play with him, but when they start backing up, Einstein thinks it's a game.  So I never let him off-leash around kids (or anywhere really).

And -- a couple of times while we're playing he's put his teeth around my arm -- not hard and not aggressively -- but the minute that happens, I stand over him and say in my deepest, scariest voice -- NO!  and then I ignore him for a little while.  Come to think of it, he hasn't tried that in a while.

[megsat]

I totally agree with what the last few people have said. I have dogs that are great with my kids because I've taught my kids how to behave around dogs and I've taught my dogs how to behave in general.

However, the Great Dane owner probably doesn't have kids and therefore, the dog won't ever know how to react around kids. I, personally, don't take my kids to the dog park unless both my husband and I are there and we are always watching for dogs that don't understand and watching to make sure our kids aren't running, skipping, or yelling. It does suck, but because both kids and dogs can be unpredictable, I prefer to let my kids be kids on the playground and let my dogs be dogs in the dog park.

If my dog did act inappropriatel y toward a kid in a dog park, I'm not sure how I would react. But, I did have a dad once tell me my dog bit his kid (not in a dog park), when I asked to see the "bite", he showed me a mosquito bite. I knew there was no way my dog bit his kid unless his kid broke into my house when I wasn't there (the dogs stay inside when I'm gone and are on leashes at all other times). In that case, I came down hard on him because there's no way I'm going to let some lying dad with financial troubles blame my dogs for something they didn't do. This is a different case because in your case, you and the owner both saw the dog approach your child.

My question is, from a mother's perspective, how do you deal with the fact that your child might now be scared of dogs? No dog-loving parent wants a kid to grow up scared of dogs!

[Kelly89084]

"However, the Great Dane owner probably doesn't have kids and therefore, the dog won't ever know how to react around kids."

Actually she does.  Her excuse for not getting after her dog when she started charging at the kids was that she thought it was going to bite her own (much younger) son.  The dog lives with kids, she brought her kids to the dog park along with many other parents.  I think her attitude towards her own kid and that she KNEW her the dog's issues with chasing and biting from personal experience and yet hadn't taught it to behave irritate me as much if not more than the fact that it grabbed my son.  I would also have prefered that SHE not grab my sons arm right after either even if she was trying to make sure he was ok.  If a dog bites hard enough that it almost broke skin through his clothes, the dog needs training!  If the parent can't see what a risk this dog's behavior is to her own kids SHE needs training.