I am afraid kids will be kids, and act accordingly.

Not sure I beleive ALL parents should teach ALL kids not to touch ANY dog they come across.

1) it may not be a priority on the parents mind, they may not like dog shave no contact with them , have no understanding of them, so better not to assume that (parents) they think as you do.

2) kids dont always do as they are told, so again, dont assume said kids even if dog savvy, will do as they should.


Always best to assume, you have to take averse action around kids , not expect the kids to be the ones with any common sense.

Hi SLB

this is where we differ.
as i dont think we can assume these kids werent 'parented'.
in this case, how do we know these kids werent told not to approach strange dogs?

would it truly be logic that every kid that does something 'wrong' (by wrong, we mean, behave as nature would dictate kids would behave), that they werent told not to do such and such a thing by their parents?

that logic would presuppose that all kids do everything their parents tells them at all times, including when their parents arent around???

ummmmm....tough one that

seneca was a philosopher. he said we should look at all the factors or variables of a given situation and work out in advance that if so and so are combined together, the likelihood of such and such a thing occuring is high, so if we plan for that eventuality occuring, then we wont have a problem.

for example, public park = kids
public park = dogs

dogs nervous of kids = have a go at kids?

kids in park = kids charging round acting unpredicatably

right, now i have made a decision to go to the park?
what shall i plan for and how should i plan it?

we do such things everyday, when we drive cars, for example.

the modern philosopher De Botton came up with a classic Senecan example of the night shifter worker complaining about the workmen making a noise.
his complaint could be they are making a noise just to keep to try and keep him awake?

or are they?

is it more the case they are making a noise and he is awoken?

as 2 reality streams will always inevitably coincide in an incompatible way in the same space and time.

I didn't disagree with you...just said you were using big words and I've just woken up and made a joke about leashing kids

it does annoy me when kids assume every dog is ok. my dogs are good around children so i don t have to worry but it does annoy me.

i was always taught to ask before you stroke a dog, and its a habit i still do today.. even though i know most dogs wouldnt bite (mainly because i ask different breeds at shows and you know they are used to being handled, because they have to be gone over by the judge) but i still ask. i think its the polite thing to do.

i dont think kids are taught as much nowadays on respecting animals. i just dont think people think its as important to know these days.

I sympathise on this on as we have some right little oikes around here too that think its ok to jusy grab a dog. They have there own dog so seem to think its ok despite me telling them a number of times.

They only live a couple of doors down and in the summer run riot round the street (to get to there garden they have the right of way to go through nextdoors garden). Raina and Cassie are fine and are heppy to play with them but as a result of the screaming grabbing Ela is terrified of children now. We didnt know any kids when Ela was a puppy so the only contact she had was when the local ones saw her, now we know a couple of well behaved kids and she likes them so we are getting some where. Our new neighbours have a little boy as well who is a bit shy and much calmer but loves dogs so a few fusses over the fence is helping. The oikes are also moving soon which will be good!

In certain areas it seems kids can do what the hell they like because the parents really dont seem to care. Just the other day it was dark and must have been about 8pm yet there was a group of girls running round aged between about 6 and 10 with no adults anywhere to be seen. None of them where any i recognised so there where not from the houses in view. My mum would have never have let me do that!

A couple of children, a boy no older than 11 and a girl no older than 7 came to my door singing carols the other day, they only sang "we wish you a merry Christmas" - no other verses just that and expected money - I said to them - firstly if you sing me the whole song - I would appreciate it and secondly you ain't getting any money because your Mum isn't with you it's half 8 and I've got pots to do - sorry and shut the door. It's like Guy Fawkes and penny for the guy. - Sorry to go O/T

Pfft, most kids I know use far worse language than I hear from my husband who's a soldier!

Bring it on pet!

I wonder what your reaction would've been should your child have been bitten by my dog after creeping up behind us both and tapping it on it's rump? Hardly a nice friendly "pet" is it?

Leading him would make him reactive so instantly a no no.

Do I think I could've avoided the situation? No, because if I could've I would've. Hindsight is a wonderful thing - you know what happened to me so it's very easy for you to show me how to avoid it! If I assumed every single child was going to slap my dog then we'd never get further than the next street.


That had something to do with it! She's lucky I only used the word bloody, the shock I got made me shout "woah" very loudly first so I got most of it out of my system.

Thanks luv, I was quite proud of how he reacted tbh. No noise or fuss, once he leapt into the air he settled back down quickly.

Do you live on my street but haven't told me?!

I think a LOT of children nowadays aren't taught to ask first and aren't taught how to behave around dogs. We would get in trouble if our dog bit a child, but there seems to be no come-back for kids who scare/hurt dogs.

Indeed. I did everything right, called my dog back and restrained him to prevent him frightening a child, yet somehow I'm in the wrong? I should've seen it coming apparently.

If only we could all predict the future, eh?!