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Morron with kids at dog park (vent)


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So we had an unbelievable weather today, 53 F and sunshine. For the first time in a month and a half we took Ouzo to a small dog park. Note: this park is exclusivly for dogs, it's not a promenade place, no trails, nothing, just some dry land for the dogs to run on.

 

Fun, fun, fun, running like crazy, tumbling on the snow, a blast.

 

Until I noticed a kid, about 6-7 years old, who was stealing Ouzo's tennis balls :rolleyes: I thought he just wanted to throw it for him. That's what Ouzo thought as well, following the kid and ready to run for the ball. He threw it to some random dogs, but Ouzo retrieved it. No big deal.

 

Then the kid comes again and takes the ball from in front of my dog, then heads to his dad. It was a family of 3, dad +2 childern, without any dogs, I guess they were just watching the dogs, maybe deciding on the type of dog to get for the kids.

 

I went towards the kid and asked him politely if he would mind giving my dog his ball back. To which he replies: "WHY?!". I almost said "Because I said so!!!" :mad: but no, I kept my calm and said "Because it is HIS ball". He ignored me and threw the ball to his dad, who was totaly oblivious to the entire scene.

Meanwhile, Ouzo was desperatly eyeing the ball, hoping that at one point he will be given the ball back.

 

I enticed him away from these people, finding another ball to play with. No big deal.

 

I then see the moron kid run and try to catch the ball before Ouzo gets it, almost pushing him away and getting in the middle of a few more dogs who were chasing the same ball.

 

That's when I approached the father and said "'Scuse me, but I think it would be a good idea for you to teach your son not to steal any toys or balls from strange dogs. My dog is friendly, but some of the other dogs might not be so friendly, and your son might get hurt". To my surprise, the father actualy listen and it seemed it never occured to him that a dog might bite his son over a toy.

 

I was thinking after this. This is the type of kid that WILL eventualy get bitten, then the family will put the dog to sleep because IT BIT A CHILD. A child who gets into dog's personal space and grabs anything he can get his hands on, without thinking first.

 

At another dog park I saw in fall some kids carrying big sticks and waving them at dogs, under the non-reacting eyes of their parents. Talk about provoking the dogs....

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It is frustrating. I had some kid throw his arms around Keegan's neck and start aggressively hugging him. Luckily Keegan doesn't mind this but I told the mother exactly what I thought about that kind of behavior and that someone's dog would end up being put down because her kid doesn't know proper ettique in approaching a dog. She look astounded that I would say such a thing. We were on our way to take the dogs swimming.

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People are no longer teaching their kids that dogs are ANIMALS with TEETH. We are so far removed from everyday interactions with animals (farms) that most of society has no idea how dangerous they can be. They think of them as furry robots, toys to keep their kids entertained. I try to explain that to parents but they look at me as if I have lost my mind then get angry and say that if a dog isn't safe around kids (they mean annoying kids) it should not ever be in public!

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Kids these days...! :D

 

Seriously... I was at home yesterday when I heard what I thought was a small, yappy dog barking furiously at one of the side gates. I looked out the window --- and there at the fence was a little girl, maybe five or six at most, yapping like mad(!) and throwing twigs, tiny pebbles and what-not (any little thing she could pick up) at one of my dogs. My dog was inside the fence, in my yard, wagging her tail and staring quizzically at the kid. I called the dogs inside and gave the kid a hard stare Yeahright2.gif

 

I really, really should have marched straight next door to talk to her parents. (They were visiting my neighbor, and drove away right after I brought the dogs in.) "Could you please keep an eye on your kid?" Of course the dog was Bounce (in my avatar). Visions of front-page hysteria ("Pit bull... innocent kindergartener!"), etc., etc. No matter that Bounce is the best, happiest, friendliest dog on earth --- if that kid had scratched her hand on the fence... [shudder]

 

Stupid parents :mad: Ill-mannered brat :mad: Yeah, I'm old and cranky. My parents, God bless 'em, would have hit me over the head with a board and/or sold me to the circus if I'd pulled a stunt like that.

 

And yes, I do have padlocks on all the gates, thank heaven :rolleyes:

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People are no longer teaching their kids that dogs are ANIMALS with TEETH.
So true. They are animals with prey drive and a desire to protect themselves.

 

The other week at the dog park, an unattended child was running around, squealing and wielding a toy sword. If she saw dogs clumping up she ran TOWARDS them, sometimes holding the sword over her head as she charged them.

 

Normally, if something is ?off? at the park, I just grab my dog and go, but this time I really felt like I needed to say something. The kid?s mom, when I found her, immediately saw my point and got her daughter to chill out. I just couldn?t believe that I needed to say anything!

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I would have been skinned alive if I had pulled a stunt like that when I was a kid! Parents are so hands off these days. They are too scared of being perceived as harsh or something. Kids and dogs need disciplin and to be taught respect.

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With some of the things kids do to Dazzle (who luckily doesn't react) I am surprised there are any living kids left in this world. :rolleyes:

 

They say dog bites are on the rise. Wrong. It is just that no one has a clue how dogs think anymore. And people DID used to know!

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I think the bigger problem is that the parents themselves don't realize this is a problem. If kids are not taught how to approach a dog, they will treat the dogs like toys or other kids.

 

I remember one time when I was maybe 8 years old, I saw a younger boy (around 4) with his father, who were approaching a stray pup with whom I was playing. When they came close to us, the father encouraged the young boy to kick the dog, because "it's a dog, and that's how you treat them, otherwise he'll bite you".

 

I was just 8, and my own father was behind me. Before he had any time to react, I got into this guy's face and lectured him that what he's teaching his child is simply wrong, and he will grow up hating dogs. My dad saved the situation somehow and the guys left without any further incidents :rolleyes:

 

I had just witnessed how hate is taught to younger generations.

 

Same way, love for animals comes also needs to come with knowledge on how to approach and treat them.

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My parents, God bless 'em, would have hit me over the head with a board and/or sold me to the circus if I'd pulled a stunt like that.
Mine would have tanned my hide and "sold me back to the Indians".

 

But, of course, they would never have had reason to do so. We would never have even thought of behaving like that.

 

As a young kid, I went down the neighbors' driveway to try to pat the dog they had chained there. The 5 kids in the family thought it was fun to tease the poor dog by taking treats just beyond the chain and pretending to offer them. Then they'd kick at the dog when it went for the treats. I felt sorry for it and wanted to give it attention.

 

Getting barely nipped, I just went home. Soon, the mother came running to our house - all worried about their dog's "biting" me. I had Bactine and a Bandaid by then.

 

My mother had me apologize for bothering the dog.

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The one and only time I was bitten by a dog, it was my fault. I should have known better. I was maybe 10?

 

I approached a dog while he was sleeping, without any warnings, after the poor guy had been tormented by other kids who tied him to a sled. I had named this guy "Gentleman" :rolleyes: A stray boxer/GSD mix with one eye, who I was often feeding. I scared him by touching him on his back (!) while he was sound asleep, so of course, his first reaction was to turn around and bite. My knee. To the point it was bleeding through my ski pants. As soon as he realized who I was, he started whining and appologizing and licking my wound and everything.

 

Everyone said he needs to be tested for rabbies, meaning he needs to be destroyed.

Luckily my dad worked as a biochemist in the same institute where the national rabbies lab resided, and his colegues told him that there hadn't been a documented rabbies case in Bucharest in the last 15 years, and to simply observe the dog for the next few days and see if it develops any wierd habbits or aquaphobia.

 

Nothing happened, the dog survived (until eventualy the dog catcher caught him) and I did not get rabbies (or shots ). I told everyone it was my fault. And I learned my lesson.

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That makes me mad :mad: parents don't teach they're kids how to treat animals, or what animals can do if you don't know what your doing. I blame the parents for all of this since little kids don't know the difference is.

 

I have seen this happen too. Not to my dog but to a lot of others. People should really think what can happen. I'm glad everything went ok for you. I hope you have more fun next time :rolleyes:

 

I'm going to get to take Black Jack to town and walk him on a walk way by the river Tuesday. I hope the nice weather stays for a few days.

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Originally posted by IronHorse:

Afraid I would of told the dad, "hey dude ,what brand of kibble is your dogboy on?"

 

Its not just dogs being bred in the back yard these days.

Love it! Lol...so true.
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Now that we are talking about dang kids these days, LOL since I am only 19 so I guess I can't really talk but... When I was about 8 we lived in a nice neighborhood with a fenced yard so my Mom's Lab and our first Border Collie Jester were always loose in the yard. Anyway, the girl behind our house was sticking her bare feet through the fence, telling Jester(BC) to get her, then pulling her feet back just as he would run up to the fence to see what was going on. She just kept at it until Jester was so frustrated he jumped up on the fence in an attempt to get to her(not get to her in an aggressive way just to finally play without that darn fence in his way). Anyways, he pushed the top strand of the fence which was barbed wire right into her face. The parents claimed that Jester was rabid, viscously attacked their daughter, demanded he be put down, etc, etc. Luckily a neighbor had see the girl teasing the dog through the fence and reported that she had been teasing him and no he didn't attack her, he was just was trying to play, and it obviously wasn't a dog bite on her face. Poor Dog ended up having to be quarantined for 10 days to make sure he didn't have rabies, but thank god the neighbor saw the incident or a good dog would have been needlessly lost all because parents don't teach their kids how to respect animals. And yes, the girl was fine, she had a minor cut on the bridge of her nose that didn't leave a scar.

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Yet one more reason I do not take a chance taking any of mine to a dog park...rude people and rude dogs!I just won't take that risk ,'specially since mine don't like kids to start with (many dogs don't).

 

People don't think there is a danged thing wrong with walking up to my work(drug dog) and trying to pet her without even a by-your-leave...so my job is to protect my dog!

 

Since one of my personal BCs is shy even with friendly strangers, I will not take a chance.All of mine do have extremely good dog manners though...

 

Dog save us from ignorant,ill mannered people. :rolleyes:

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We had a GSDxChow named Butch. This dog was so great with kids! My mom could leave the twins on the carport when they were two and he would not let them leave! In fact, when she needed to tan someones hide, she had to put him outside! Well, we moved to a new neighborhood and it had a family of some of the rudest, most obnoxious kids! We didn't have a fence up yet, so Butch was sometimes tied to the front porch, or put in the garage. When he would be tied out front, if no one was around, the monsters would go by and tease him terribly. One day, when we left, we put him in the garage. Another kid let him out and he was sitting on the porch. One of the monsters came by, and thinking he was tied, began teasing him, and Butch nipped him in the ankle. Now, this was a good size, stocky dog. If it had meant harm, he would have bit that kid's head off and ate its leg for desert! Well, next thing we know, Butch is at the pound. I went a few days later to see him and the pound master said he was adopted by a great family with lots of kids out in the country. I was happy. But after growing up, I know what Butch's true fate was. He was a great dog.

 

BTW, we beat those kids up every chance we got till they finally moved! Mama never said a word.

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See now, we're in the country here, and being a family with small children 5 and 7, I think most people are pretty good at teaching kids how to behave around dogs. They let them wander at a far too frequent rate, (the dogs not the kids) but that's another story. I do have one friend that differs, Lilly frequently comes to Kindergarden drop off with us, as she loves car rides. The way she kept her year old daughter from running off was pointing at Lilly saying "kara, that big black doggie's going to get you if run over there" and frankly I was taken aback and nicely suggested that she's imposing a lifetime fear of dogs on her daughter, which I don't think she really cared about. Now I as a parent have taken advantage of a few of my children's fears... i.e. hiding christmas presents under the halloween skeletons in the dark scary closet - but that one threw me.

 

--Denise

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Originally posted by Dixie_Girl:

BTW, we beat those kids up every chance we got till they finally moved! Mama never said a word.

LOL, good for you :rolleyes:

 

Originally posted by bc4pack:

Yet one more reason I do not take a chance taking any of mine to a dog park...rude people and rude dogs!

bc4pack, since I live in an apartment, which, luckily has a decent sized dog run for daily fetching adventures, but that is not enough, I have to go to dog parks about once a week (weather permitting), to let him run his heart out. I don't have a yard or land where only my dog can play.

 

And in the most parts, dog parks are pleasent experiences, both for my dog and I. Moron kids can happen even in your own yard (see Luisa's recent story). I'm mad at recless kids, not at dog parks.

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I know where you're coming from, but for my particular dogs well...I'm fortunate to have other avenues open to me.

I just can't abide owners that are so clueless ...they let kids run amok,dogs run amok..."Oh, he just wants to say 'Hi'"; "Oh, dogs like me"..."Ah.No he doesn't!"

If you have access to an area that you feel comfortable with, good,but not all dogs have to get out there and make k9 friends en masse,one on one playpals are fine too.

I guess I've run across too many well meaning but ignorant dog owners that seem to think that dogs can't survive without being turned loose at a park and the poor thing is terrified and others think it's ok for their big goofy dog to harass the heck out of a dog that shouldn't be there to start with....Sorry! I'm venting now! :rolleyes:

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So, growing up, how were y'all taught to perceive animals? I'm curious. LizP makes a good point that nowadays they're perceived as kidtoys, always subordinate to the child.

 

We weren't taught that animals were dangerous. In fact, we were taught that no dog would ever bite us unless we gave him a mighty good reason to do so.

 

But we were taught that animals had the right to expect good treatment from us and failing that, the right to defend themselves.

 

For that reason, no one would run to their parents screaming about a dog bite, because the first question would be "And what did you do to the dog?" Then one generally had even worse problems than a dog bite to deal with.

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I don't really remember my parents teaching me how to behave around dogs. We always had a dog. We learned which dogs in the neighborhood would bite and left them alone. There were a few streets in my neighborhood where bike riding was a real adventure because of the dogs that would give chase when we rode by. This was back in the stone age when most people in my neighborhood did not fence in or tie their dog.

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I think what really bothers me is how we have to be so careful with our dogs, and how people are so lawsuit crazy--when often it is children who are bitten because they have been taught the wrong behavior around dogs. The ads on tv that advertise lawyers trolling for dog-bite clients disturb me. :rolleyes: Some dogs are VERY dangerous--MOST are not.

 

I had an "eeek!" moment when my 8-year-old niece crawled into Polly's crate when Polly was lying way in the back of it trying to rest. My dog behaved, but I pulled my niece out and sternly reminded her never to bother a dog while it is in its crate. I had to chastise my niece again when she put her hand in Polly's dish while Polly was eating. My niece has great parents, but sometimes we have to be VERY detailed in explaining to the children what might be dangerous. I should have discussed this with my niece in a proactive way--geez louise I almost had a heart attack! BTW, the dog I had previous to Polly would have been very nasty with the crate/food dish incidents.

 

I live in a neighborhood where you have to worry about every other person being a lawyer. And I do sweat when I have my dog out and we visit with neighborhood children. Most know and love Polly, and are very well behaved, but I worry that an incident could happen. So many of you are right, even when you tell parents and children not to bother your dogs, they still do. *sigh*

 

Charlene

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I can understand adults and kids that aren't dog savvy to a certain extent. But I can't understand the lack of basic manners and respect!! Do these parents allow their kids to go take toys away from other kids, too? Sheesh.

 

Originally posted by painted ponies -

So, growing up, how were y'all taught to perceive animals?

Pretty much the same as you. My parents and grandparents would not have kept an animal that was truly dangerous. But they also taught us that animals had teeth, claws, beaks, etc, and they might use them if provoked. If we didn't know the animal, stay away and don't bother it, or suffer the consequences.

 

My aunt had a dog who just didn't care for kids. The dog left us alone, and expected us to do the same. My siblings and I knew this from a young age. If one of us got growled at or nipped, we were scolded, told that we deserved it and to quit bothering the dog.

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