Would you let your toddler wander around a vet's office?

[Sillystunt]

Blame the parents, they are idiots! Not all dogs are nice. Some are old and tend to snap easily or just don't like kids.

I have 2 toddlers and had to take them with me to the vet with a puppy. I wouldn't let them pet anyones dogs unless the dog came up to them and the owner said, 'wanna pet?"

there was one dog there that needed a chill pill and i gave the lady a look. you know that look........get control of your dog! It snipped at my kid who was in a seat. She let it wonder over and it was a spaz. I mubbled under my breath to the dog...be a good doggie or you will be hear for more than shots! I had to tell her to get her dog cause my american bulldog did not like that dog snipping at Brody! Went into a full growl and stood infront of my son. And my dog was huge as a puppy! Would have eaten that dog.......LOL

 

[Godsgrl]

I totally understand where you are coming from. My dog is grouchy, and does not like small children. Older ones are fine, but like pre-school, kinder he doesn't like. He hasn't bitten, but he does growl.

We go to Petsmart quite a bit, and I've taught my children to always ask before you pet a dog. Cause you just never know. And all the dogs they've asked to pet have been more than happy to get some sugars. But you just never know, you might get one like my Reno who would rather be left alone.

 

[jaimslee4u]

I have three children and have often had to bring them to the vets office when the dogs need an unscheduled visit for an unschedule problem. It can be chaotic! My son has Aspergers so he is not always on his best behavior. However, I try to make an effort to contain them. Well, I also have greyhounds so they aren't really too much of a handful. It sounds like the dog needs a bit of training and possibly the parents too!

 

[Camelot Farms]

I looked out my kitchen window one morning to see a 10yr old little girl standing IN my horse paddock with my horses.

I went out and asked her who she was and where she came from. She said 'My mom works at the nursing home and she said I could come up and see your horses.'

The nursing home is 3/10 of a mile away and she let this child wander up a country lane to a total strangers house to 'pet the pretty ponies'.

Thank god she didnt spook them and get them running. Our holding paddock is only about 1/4 of an acre, so she could have easily gotten trampled.

I told her that I was glad that she liked the horses but she needed to go back down and tell her mom that she isnt allowed to trespass on private property.

GAH!!!

 

[twentynine]

Most of the time dogs are much easier to restrain than the humans.

Large dogs as you describe, both yours and others should be mussled when in public situations.

 

[horsejody]

Quote:
A muzzle only stops biting. It doesn't stop a rambunctious dog from knocking a kid down because their parent is too lazy to actually parent.

 

[Wildsky]

Quote:
Unfortunately, the incident at Tractor Supply has taught my dog that not all kids are nice.

I completley agree with that too.

Thankfully my kids are nice. We went to visit someone a few weeks ago and their tiny little fluffy dog had had puppies, my kids sat nice and quiet and each held a puppy.
Daddy dog was also there, and the owner said it was really weird, cause the daddy dog hated kids but was bouncing around all happy to see my two.. dogs are pretty smart. The owner said the daddy dog normally hides away when there are little kids in the house.

He was seriously so dang cute, and literally bouncing around, cracking me up.
my son went out the house a couple of times and every time he came back in the dog bounced over to the door to greet him all over again!

 

[mom'sfolly]

People should control their kids and pets. My kids are pretty good about asking, and know that some animals are unpredictable, but in general I have more issues with pet owners than children.

I've been at parks too many time with people who have dogs off leash; dogs that belong leashed and away from the public. Once at a large park, on a public fishing dock, my children asked if they could pet someone's off leash dog. The owner said "no, he's a guard dog and might bite". I would have liked to bite her. She brought her dog to a park, where there are lots of children, let her dog off leash on a dock where children fish, and then said the dog was mean....ARGH!!!!

But, parents and pet owners from the shallow end of the gene pool can make us all crazy.

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

I used to take my dog to the dog park in town. There was a nice playground next to the dog park, a huge fence around the dog park and big signs on the gates that read "no children allowed inside the fence". It was a great dog park, because it was huge with nice trees and a great mix of dogs. There were a lot of big dogs too, because this was the only place they could get off leash and just run. We LOVED the dog park.

I cannot tell you how many times though some idiot parent would bring their children inside the fenced dog area. One couple had a toddler out toddling around. One family brought three school age kids who were running around squealing. One couple had an infant with them! There were dozens of HUGE dogs running around playing and these idiots had these kids in there. Any one of the dogs could have unintentionally hurt any one of these kids. On top of which, there was always a pack mentality going inside the park. That many dogs in one place and it is inevitable. One time some fool brought an un-fixed male rottweiler in and it decided to bully some of the smaller dogs (not picking on rottweilers- love them and they are great dogs. They do need training and don't need to be in a crowd of dogs if they have aggression issues, which this one had). Anyway, this big male dog took off after an old cocker spaniel. Instantly there were 25 dogs chasing this one poor old dog. Happened in a heartbeat. Thankfully there were instantly 25 owners wading into the fray and stopping the chase. One guy caught the spaniel as he flew by and managed to get him up and away from the pack. The male rottweiler was sent home and things calmed right down. This cocker spaniel had been a regular in the park for months and had had no problems. One split second and it all changed. I was always terrified that one random dog would decide to chase the squealing children or would bowl over the toddler or would down down the lady holding the infant and trample on the baby. There would have been nothing we could have done and some poor kid would have been seriously injured or dead. All because their parents were too irresponsible to read the signs and protect their kids.

 

[mom'sfolly]

CityGirl, its incidents like that, that make me think that social Darwinism isn't such a bad thing. If you are dumb enough to let your children do that, maybe you shouldn't have reproduced......some people just don't get that even "good" dogs can hurt people under the right circimstances.