LITTLE girl walking her dog...

I couldn't believe it

I was taking my two out the other day and there was a little girl, she must have been 8 or 9 walking her westie in the park.
I looked over to see who she was with but she was completely on her own I don't know if her parents were with her siblings in the playground or something but otherwise she's managed to get to the park via the main road...

She was trying to catch up with us, presumably to let her westie play with the dalmatians, but Eddy doesn't like little dogs so I was just trying to keep out of the way but she kept following...

What concerns me is, we've come across two stray dogs on that park, one which was a little aggressive towards my dogs but I was able to cope with the situation - that little girl wouldn't be, she was so small!
I know my mum is always saying that when she was a young girl, children always walked dogs by themselves (don't know if this was just in the country) but I just don't think it's safe for a little girl of 8 or 9 to be walking there on her own... yes, her dog may be fine, but what about other dogs?

Am I being unreasonable?

I don't know what kind of area you live in Lottie, but I used to walk lots of dogs inthe village where I grew up from around the age of 9-10 years old and never had a problem. I suppose times have probably changed quite a bit since then (25 years ago) and I doubt I would have been allowed to do so much wandering around on my own if I had lived in a city.

Hmmn I've always walked our dogs from an early age, I was allowed unsupervised at about 10. Bearing in mind we walk fields only a few feet from our house, and the dog was a JRT.

Any daughter of mine would not be out walking a dog or alone in general at 8 years old (and older). Completely irresponsible of the parents (presuming they aren't around). Dog issues aside she could be snatched/attacked anything.

I have met children with dogs unaccompanied by adults as well and they are just not able to cope if anything unpleasant happens. Possibly the parents think because their dog is ok everything will be fine but that's not always the case.

No I don't think you are being unreasonable. Apart from the dangers of other dogs there are a load of other safety issues.

I used to walk a friend's GSD but I was in my teens by then. I used let my friends' 3 sons take one of my Boxers with them when they went to play football and when I look back I go cold at the thought.

In general I see people letting their kids do things that IMO are at best risky and at worst down right dangerous.

Anne

Again this wouldn't make a difference to me - kids are so vulnerable even if they are close by to their parents - that boy who was abducted in a shopping centre some years ago had only left his mothers sight for a second.

I don't think it matters what breed of dog you have either - anyone who is dog minded could very easily distract or befriend a dog before taking the child.

Just my two-penneth-worth

i don't think you're being unreasonable.

As some other have said - parents may think their dog is ok but what about the other dogs? What would a youngster do if her dog was set upon by another angry, unsupervised dog? Could all get very nasty and both the child and dog could end up seriously hurt.

It's just not worth the risk to both dog and child IMHO

I do tend to think children are wrapped in cotton wool a bit too much these days, but I suppose it is a sad symptom of today's society.

I wouldnt let my neices or nephews walk mine not that I dont trust them but its other people who I dont, the types with nasty dogs off lead, people who let kids and dogs run up pestering and so on. I also think the dogs are to strong.

I have let my eldest neice walk Storm and Star in the park while I have walked about 10 feet back.