I agree it was poor parenting, they saw that we had just arrived at the park, and I had let my dogs off their leads, I really don't know if my message got through, I was careful not to sound aggressive, because I was aware that I didn't want the child or his parents to think dogs in general are bad and to be avoided, but I was taught by my parents that you should not just approach a strange dog without first checking with the owner if it is ok to pet it , and I think that is sensible advice.I agree it is my responsibilty to make sure my dogs don't get into situations that put them at risk, but I don't think playing ball with them off lead in my local park falls into that category !

im with you ,you are right ,i would have been very angry .i DONT like kids or strangers ,touching my dogs . i feel really
,angry if they dont ask first .if for instance a kid come running up ,i would shout ,dont touch the dogs please (i couldnt care less what they think . im not keen on grown ups doing it either ,as willow is better now though ,but she was very upset by men . so the message i give out if i get the chance is .... DO NOT TOUCH i allways ask do they like strangers (unless i have dizzy day lol ) befor i touch ,unless they are friends dogs

I wouldn't have been very happy if had been my dogs they'd come to. I let kids stroke my collie and my lab collie because I know them really well but not my lurchers as I'm still getting to know them.
It was irresponsible of the parents.

I had this problem in the Park a couple of days ago. A very small child started chasing them and the carer ignored me when I said they weren`t used to children. So I chucked a ball in the lake and they both shot towards the water. Man, you should`ve seen that guy move!
In the past I`ve actually run away from determined toddlers! There seems to be no happy medium - the parents either instill the Fear of Dog into them or bring them up to assume they`re toys.

Good on you for saying something! I always praise children (and parents!) who ask before touching Tonks and will stop children who reach out to touch her telling them that they must always ask first.

You didn't over react - my first dog was badly abused by children and she would have bitten.
I used to find most parents didn't think - or else they thought she was little, white and cute and what harm?
I never let any child get near enough to my dog, because I didn't want anything to happen to her. The ones who would listen I explained why, the ones who wouldn't - pfft - I didn't care. I'm smiling at the memory, because all the ones who did listen were horrified at how nasty some children can be.

My current girl loves kiddies to pieces - she'll take a right royal fuss from any child. I always explain to each child though, why they should always ask the owner first. Then it is "let the fussing commence"

I am in total agreement but last time I said that I got the response 'well it should be f***ing muzzled then shouldn't it?'

You can't get through to these people...

Had the same thing with our old Collie+labx cross a toddler came out of nowhere and just threw their arms round my dogs neck, not sure who was most shocked me or the dog, when i had a word with the mother all i got was " oh she's fine with dogs we have one of our own"

Glad you spoke up Angie.
Mo is a rescue and as such we don't know all her history. I can't be certain how she will react to children. She so far has been ok but that has been with quiet kids in controlled situations.
After so much adverse publicity you would think that people would be more aware of how to approach dogs.

TBH, I move my dogs away from kids if they try and stroke them or simply ask them not to touch. Jed has gotten better with strangers as he becomes more mature but he's got an unpredictable side so I never allow kids to touch him, I wouldnt like to risk it. With my own little nephews and niece he's fine, hasnt showed any signs of malice but because of his nature, even they get watched closely with him. When 2 older children visit my neighbour, he acts quite savagely at the gate towards them, he hates the boy in particular yet he used to be fine with them. Whether they did something to him through the gate I will never know.

Flynn is very sensitive to movement, it excites him and he sees fleeing objects as something to chase. He has chased a child which suddenly decided to run ahead of him. When we took my 2 oldest nephews to the woods with the dogs it was a disaster as Flynn chased them each time they ran, even nipping their arms and hands. He didnt do it out of malice, he did it out of excitability (this is the reason I had to stop agility with him) but it's still unacceptable. I do allow kids to stroke Flynn if they ask because as long as they arent running, he's fine.

Jessie I think is used to kids and although she is a rescue, she's a naturally gentle, submissive dog and she'd be the one i'd trust most with kids.

As a rule though, I prefer kids not to touch my 3 as they havent been raised with children so havent learnt their gung ho ways and dont know where their boundaries with children lie. Certainly if they dont ask permission then they wont get a favourable response from me, neither will their parents.