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

[lengel]

Quote:
The waiting area is actually completely out of sight of the counter where people pay. The child was completely alone. I was disturbed in part because from what I was hearing from the waiting area, both adults were trying to control their own dog. The office is really pretty big because they offer physical therapy, etc as well. It was my own awareness of the situation that prevented that toddler from getting knocked down. I should also say that my dog was backing up while barking.

I understand what you're saying about choosing between the child and the dog. I'm pretty sure that, in their ignorance, these people will wind up putting down their own dog if and when it gets excited and ignores the child in its path. Having volunteered for a rescue, I am furious that a shelter or rescue allowed this situation when the parents obviously have no experience with dogs.

I completely agree with your comment about dogs not being human children. They are most absolutely not. These people did not seem to realize this at all though.

In fact, no animal is a human child. I remember when I was a kid, our neighbor had a bull that was soooo friendly. The neighbor would help us get on him and lead him around. My dad actually took care of it at one point - in our front yard. The bull would wander around and we would be playing out there and no one took notice. Then one day, this bull was in his own field and his owner went over to pet him. The bull decided that that was the day to assert control over his own territory, charged his owner and he barely made it over the fence.

 

[lengel]

I want to thank everyone who has responded to this thread. It is very important to me that I do everything in my power to ensure that no animal in my care harms anyone in any way. I talked to our trainer/behaviorist today and that, combined with the experience of many here leads me to believe that if I see that kind of behavior at the vet, I need to remove our animals as quickly as possible. There is an alternative exit and I will use it next time.

Thanks again. I am always amazed by the wealth of information on this site.

 

[Tala]

Quote:
Exactly. You don't sit there and expect your dog to "man up and take it" - the dog EXPECTS you to protect him from situations that stress him. Whether that be you stepping between him and the child, or simply leaving, whatever works.

Your dog is counting on you, and if you drop the ball the only thing the dog has left is his canine ways of communication that do involve teeth.

 

[Terri]

If you are leading your pack, there really shoudn't be a problem. Kids, firecrakers, balloons, Chickens. Thankfully my pack has ajusted great, I just have to teach a hen to use the doggy door. It just never ends.

 

[Terri]

see this is the part that confuses me, take kids out of the pic, do you dogs not listen to you? Who is in control when you go outside of you normal enviroment?
If you as the handler are nervous, where do you think the vibe are going too?

 

[lengel]

Quote:
Handlers should not be nervous as these people were when their dog slipped out of its collar. In fact, the father was so freaked out that he needed a vet tech to come out and get his dog under control. At one point, he almost tackled the dog which would have been funny if his toddler had not been walking around behind him.

I should be clear here that I was the one who kept my dogs out of the way. The "grievous" offense that one dog committed was that she barked at a toddler who was out of sight of her parents.

The concern that I had was whether or not it was appropriate to allow small children to wander around in an environment meant for animals. I can't imagine taking any dog other than a trained and certified therapy dog to a pediatrician's office so why are toddlers wandering around a vet's office? Clearly there are people who believe that this is OK which means that I need to address the situation appropriately. Dogs will bark, much like a child will cry. As well, dogs will have nervous reactions after coming out of a stressful vet visit - in spite of any obedience certificates. These things need to be addressed if I am to deal with a sort of expected "family living room" environment during a vet visit, which is why I so greatly appreciate the people on this site and the variety of opinions and experiences that come with them.

 

[Blue Skys]

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That's why it is so important for the parent to be responsible, their childs safety should not be the concern of others.

It is not the animal owners resposablility to make sure the child stays safe. It is, however, the animal owners responsablility to ensure their animal is not a nuissance animal, or aggressive, which does not seem to be the case in this situation, she was in control of her dog.

And no it's not ok to let a small child wander around a vets office, or a grocery store or any other public place. Children nowadays have no dicipline and don't understand what no is. I used to work at a vet clinic and you should see what some folks will let their small children do, and with out shoes.

 

[cmjust0]

Our vet's office has a pretty small waiting room.. If you're standing at the counter with your dog on a 6' leash, it will be able to reach several of the seats around the perimeter if you aren't paying attention.

If you move to the other seats that are out of range of those morons, you're by the door, and it's AMAZING to me how many people's dogs are the first one through an opened door.. Humans should be the first through a door; having the dog shoot through first is an indicator that the dog doesn't have much respect for you.. So, no matter what, you're either sitting in range of the counter stragglers or the door shooter-inners.

There's nothing that bugs me any worse than to be sitting there with one of my dogs between my knees, and someone else's dog straining at the very end of its leash about 6" away, all bug eyed and wheezing, trying to get a sniff or nip or bite of you or your animal..

"Oh, he just wants to play."

Yeah? Well I don't.

 

[horsejody]

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LOL My dog hates going to the vet so much that he would definitely never go through the door first. Heck, he would rather not go in that door at all! I agree about the idiots that always say, "Oh, he just wants to play." Why on earth do they assume that every other dog want to play?

 

[cmjust0]

I should just bring my LGD up there at about 11am on a Saturday and hang out in the lobby.. If I did that each Saturday for a month or two, I could probably clear out a bunch of those "just wants to play" dogs and door shooter-inners...

Maybe even an owner or two, if we're lucky.