Am I going to far/worrying too much?
Discussion
I've said a few times where we live if semi rural on a country lane with little clusters of old houses on one side and fields and woodland on the other. Very nice etc and very. very popular with the dog walking fraternity. No problem at all.
Two of our children are quite young (6 and 2) and one day this huge, overweight dog came bounding along the lane with the owner (petite female (not fit) in pursuit) My immediate reaction was to grab the children and turn away from the dog.
The owner was shouting the dogs name and as she neared us said 'it's OK he won't bite' and as it happens the dog was quite friendly, that said still jumping up. I was full of adrenaline at the time and admittedly went a little too far giving the owner a berating. ( I later went over to her house down the lane and apologised for my shouting at her) I explained that at the time I feared this huge dog was a potential risk and could harm one of the boys. No harm done etc all friends now.
Right, getting to my point in question; since that occasion it has played on my mind a fair bit, to the point that I ofter wonder what I could do if the worse should happen - big dog and for some reason attacking one/both of the children. Ive looked into ways on the net of how to fend off an attacking dog and its not easy; more difficult if said dog is locked on to one of the children. Honestly speaking, just typing this makes my heart race at the thought of it.
I'm fairly big at 6'2" and 15st but from what I've read I'd stand no chance against an attacking dog.
It may be hard to imagine for those without children or those who seldom see dog walkers but for us here its a very frequent occurance as we like to be out and about making the most of the surroundings.
I've gone as far as thinking of carrying a knife or a sharpened wooden baton/stake - something I could stop an attack.
Now, I'm sure there will be the usual 'move house' 'stop being silly' 'wrap them up in a cotton blanket' type responses but I'm hoping someone can perhaps empathise. Our 6 year old can't walk as he has cerebral palsy so we take him out for walks in one of those 3 wheel action terrain type buggies whilst the youngest at 2 toddles alongside. Therefore both a vulnerable and unable to defend themselves.
It's become something of an obsession with me; I feel as a Father one of my duties is to protect my family from harm.
Would carrying a hidden knife be going too far? Would some sort of weapon be an option? What would you do? How would you react and defend?
I am not a huge dog lover, but I do like them and accept not every one is a foaming machine waiting to attack. Having owned a dog in the past before the children, I am also aware that they can snap out unpredictably no matter how much you know them.
I would appreciate some input here
Two of our children are quite young (6 and 2) and one day this huge, overweight dog came bounding along the lane with the owner (petite female (not fit) in pursuit) My immediate reaction was to grab the children and turn away from the dog.
The owner was shouting the dogs name and as she neared us said 'it's OK he won't bite' and as it happens the dog was quite friendly, that said still jumping up. I was full of adrenaline at the time and admittedly went a little too far giving the owner a berating. ( I later went over to her house down the lane and apologised for my shouting at her) I explained that at the time I feared this huge dog was a potential risk and could harm one of the boys. No harm done etc all friends now.
Right, getting to my point in question; since that occasion it has played on my mind a fair bit, to the point that I ofter wonder what I could do if the worse should happen - big dog and for some reason attacking one/both of the children. Ive looked into ways on the net of how to fend off an attacking dog and its not easy; more difficult if said dog is locked on to one of the children. Honestly speaking, just typing this makes my heart race at the thought of it.
I'm fairly big at 6'2" and 15st but from what I've read I'd stand no chance against an attacking dog.
It may be hard to imagine for those without children or those who seldom see dog walkers but for us here its a very frequent occurance as we like to be out and about making the most of the surroundings.
I've gone as far as thinking of carrying a knife or a sharpened wooden baton/stake - something I could stop an attack.
Now, I'm sure there will be the usual 'move house' 'stop being silly' 'wrap them up in a cotton blanket' type responses but I'm hoping someone can perhaps empathise. Our 6 year old can't walk as he has cerebral palsy so we take him out for walks in one of those 3 wheel action terrain type buggies whilst the youngest at 2 toddles alongside. Therefore both a vulnerable and unable to defend themselves.
It's become something of an obsession with me; I feel as a Father one of my duties is to protect my family from harm.
Would carrying a hidden knife be going too far? Would some sort of weapon be an option? What would you do? How would you react and defend?
I am not a huge dog lover, but I do like them and accept not every one is a foaming machine waiting to attack. Having owned a dog in the past before the children, I am also aware that they can snap out unpredictably no matter how much you know them.
I would appreciate some input here
Carrying an offensive weapon is a reasonably good sign you have wayyyyy overthunk this 
That's a great way to get yourself taken away by the nice chaps in blue.
You're a big bloke, so jumping on the slavering hellhound might work, but the owners of the simply bouncy dogs might object to them being squished by you just in case. The problem is that you are planning on a scenario where a dog runs up and goes straight to attack - not likely. Possible, yes, but not likely.
Keeping your eyes open, and trying to intercept the animal seems best. Probably by clapping your hands, and saying "here, boy" as that gets it away from your children, and to you, and you can cope with a bite better. If you really don't like dogs, you are probably passing that on to your children, and your choices are a)learn to, or b) stop going to dog places. I'd suggest a) as it's much cheaper
That's a great way to get yourself taken away by the nice chaps in blue.
You're a big bloke, so jumping on the slavering hellhound might work, but the owners of the simply bouncy dogs might object to them being squished by you just in case. The problem is that you are planning on a scenario where a dog runs up and goes straight to attack - not likely. Possible, yes, but not likely.
Keeping your eyes open, and trying to intercept the animal seems best. Probably by clapping your hands, and saying "here, boy" as that gets it away from your children, and to you, and you can cope with a bite better. If you really don't like dogs, you are probably passing that on to your children, and your choices are a)learn to, or b) stop going to dog places. I'd suggest a) as it's much cheaper
I also worry. I can't stand the "he won't bite" brigade. Dogs bite for all types of reasons, and I want to see that the owner could control their dogs. So when I see a big american bulldog type dog with no collar it does infuriate me.
I think you would find if a dog went for your child you could fight it off no problem. It would take a very very large dog to overpower a 15st man. Not a nice situation though. And why should you have to be concerned. At least in your semi rural area your average dog owner is probably better than the inner city bulldog/tracksuit brigade that seem to choose dogs purely on there physical presence.
I think you would find if a dog went for your child you could fight it off no problem. It would take a very very large dog to overpower a 15st man. Not a nice situation though. And why should you have to be concerned. At least in your semi rural area your average dog owner is probably better than the inner city bulldog/tracksuit brigade that seem to choose dogs purely on there physical presence.
Good advice so far. I think Hora's point about most attacks being in the home is well made, most owners of slightly dubious dogs do not allow them off the lead when out.
Just take a breath and remember that you are biologically pre-programmed to worry about your offspring, if there's no sabre toothed tigers around and you let yourself get a dose of the mental you'll stress about dogs licking them to death instead.
Just take a breath and remember that you are biologically pre-programmed to worry about your offspring, if there's no sabre toothed tigers around and you let yourself get a dose of the mental you'll stress about dogs licking them to death instead.
To be honest injury/upset is far more likely from a boisterous dog bowling them over in excitement rather than meaning to do damage.
The boy likes dogs. We've tried to teach him to always ask the owner first and always approach from the front rather than pet the dog from behind.
I worry more about the small yapper type ones than the big ones.
The boy likes dogs. We've tried to teach him to always ask the owner first and always approach from the front rather than pet the dog from behind.
I worry more about the small yapper type ones than the big ones.
Just to reassure you, you are not worrying too much however carrying a bladed weapon or even a sharp stick is going too far.
I can empathise with you as we have a similar issue except possibly worst as we get dog owners from miles around coming to walk their dogs near us so it isn't just immediate neighbours.
Most dogs appear to pose little danger however you have no way of knowing which dogs are lovely lolloping hounds or child savaging beasts.
Most dogs have the potential to be the latter but rarely are.
The day may come when you need to defend yourself and children but rather than taking an offensive weapon, why not get in the habit of carrying a walking or hiking stick together with some doggy treats. Even friendly dogs can be a pain when they jump up but it's not fair to beat them with a stick however a doggy treats gets them to run away and also makes you master in the eyes of many of them.
If you do encounter the odd killer, you could do us all a favour and beat the b
d to a pulp with your walking stick.
The farmers around us are not as reasonable, especially during lambing season when any dog off a lead in their fields gets shot dead. I've seen some distraught owners but the fact is, they should have kept their dogs under control.
I can empathise with you as we have a similar issue except possibly worst as we get dog owners from miles around coming to walk their dogs near us so it isn't just immediate neighbours.
Most dogs appear to pose little danger however you have no way of knowing which dogs are lovely lolloping hounds or child savaging beasts.
Most dogs have the potential to be the latter but rarely are.
The day may come when you need to defend yourself and children but rather than taking an offensive weapon, why not get in the habit of carrying a walking or hiking stick together with some doggy treats. Even friendly dogs can be a pain when they jump up but it's not fair to beat them with a stick however a doggy treats gets them to run away and also makes you master in the eyes of many of them.
If you do encounter the odd killer, you could do us all a favour and beat the b
d to a pulp with your walking stick. The farmers around us are not as reasonable, especially during lambing season when any dog off a lead in their fields gets shot dead. I've seen some distraught owners but the fact is, they should have kept their dogs under control.
You are over thinking. Yes the dog was off lead and therefore in the eyes of the law was out of control. But also this inept owner was doing her best to sort things out.
Regardless of this. What you are doing is raising your kids to be fearful of dogs. Not an ideal learning curve. Dogs are man's best friend. Yes you might read in the media about killer breeds and all that tripe that gets the daily mail, hard of thinking, all frothing at the mouth. But, dogs are far less likely to attack than the media would have you think.
If the worst were to happen. You seem forthright enough to step in. But the fact the owner was letting you know the pooch was not harmful was an attempt to diffuse the situation which you seemed hard wired (as a over protective parent ) to escilate.
Why not teach your children how to behave around dogs. You will encounter them where you live so it seems reasonable to expect a responsible parent to prepare them for what they might meet.
Kids that are scared of dogs, who flap, run away and generally act as their parents have subconsciously taught them, are like a red rag to a bull. Dogs see this behaviour as a game and will interact. This can escilate depending on how the kids and parents react.
I'm not excusing the dog or the owner that no longer has control of their dog. I'm trying to explain that your current hought pattern will be harmful to many things. You, whichever dog you encounter, your relationship with your neighbours and the local fuzz. But most importantly it will influence how your kids grow up seeing dogs as a threat.
This in my opinion is far more likely to create the issue you are worried about with your current( knife, kill, dogs are evil) approach. What about getting between kids and dog and put yourself as the barrier? Or how about be the bigger more responsive adult and speak to the dog owner calmly if you are worried.
In the mean time. Please don't turn into a parent that teaches their kids that dogs are bad. Yes you've probably guessed I am a dog owener (so biased and my hound can do no wrong). Well that may be so but the number of kids I see on my daily walks that are fearful of dogs and are mirroring their parents reactions is a sad state of affairs to me. The kids that get down to a dogs level and ask if they can say hi, stroke ect are the ones that are less likely to encourage difficulties.
In short what i am trying to say is. Pull yourself together man. Knife to a dog walk. ? Wtf?
Regardless of this. What you are doing is raising your kids to be fearful of dogs. Not an ideal learning curve. Dogs are man's best friend. Yes you might read in the media about killer breeds and all that tripe that gets the daily mail, hard of thinking, all frothing at the mouth. But, dogs are far less likely to attack than the media would have you think.
If the worst were to happen. You seem forthright enough to step in. But the fact the owner was letting you know the pooch was not harmful was an attempt to diffuse the situation which you seemed hard wired (as a over protective parent ) to escilate.
Why not teach your children how to behave around dogs. You will encounter them where you live so it seems reasonable to expect a responsible parent to prepare them for what they might meet.
Kids that are scared of dogs, who flap, run away and generally act as their parents have subconsciously taught them, are like a red rag to a bull. Dogs see this behaviour as a game and will interact. This can escilate depending on how the kids and parents react.
I'm not excusing the dog or the owner that no longer has control of their dog. I'm trying to explain that your current hought pattern will be harmful to many things. You, whichever dog you encounter, your relationship with your neighbours and the local fuzz. But most importantly it will influence how your kids grow up seeing dogs as a threat.
This in my opinion is far more likely to create the issue you are worried about with your current( knife, kill, dogs are evil) approach. What about getting between kids and dog and put yourself as the barrier? Or how about be the bigger more responsive adult and speak to the dog owner calmly if you are worried.
In the mean time. Please don't turn into a parent that teaches their kids that dogs are bad. Yes you've probably guessed I am a dog owener (so biased and my hound can do no wrong). Well that may be so but the number of kids I see on my daily walks that are fearful of dogs and are mirroring their parents reactions is a sad state of affairs to me. The kids that get down to a dogs level and ask if they can say hi, stroke ect are the ones that are less likely to encourage difficulties.
In short what i am trying to say is. Pull yourself together man. Knife to a dog walk. ? Wtf?
Edited by Flat6er on Friday 28th August 08:06
You dont need a knife, you just need some rubber gloves #superstarfinger
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2764971/Wo...
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2764971/Wo...
Blimey a knife!!!! What happens if you take a swing, miss and catch your child's face, when a dog charges at you out the blue , how are you going to get the knife out and try and stab it. Your living in cloud cuckoo land
What about the owner with a friendly dog that makes a mistake, the dog runs ahead, you get scared and then stab the poor bugger to death!! Blimey nut job
This is my primitive understanding :
99% of dogs don't attack people, the ones that do often to attack kids (that aren't known to them) as their body language is completely different to adults, particularly if they go to poke the dog or run away. Watch a kid walk down the street, watch how they move, they are completely different to an adult
Best thing to do if you are worried is get your kids to stand still, stand in front of them, stand up to the dog, put your hand out and crab its collar . Be firm but not aggressive .
I have small kids and small dogs, I've had dogs charge at us when out with my dogs, the above works best I find
If you ever get behind a dog that is attacking, or looks like it might grab its hind legs and throw it upside down, it lets go of what it is holding in its mouth and is disabled for a few seconds. I'm slim build and short and managed to do this to a Mastif that was as big as me with no issue, before anyone moans that this isn't possible.
What about the owner with a friendly dog that makes a mistake, the dog runs ahead, you get scared and then stab the poor bugger to death!! Blimey nut job
This is my primitive understanding :
99% of dogs don't attack people, the ones that do often to attack kids (that aren't known to them) as their body language is completely different to adults, particularly if they go to poke the dog or run away. Watch a kid walk down the street, watch how they move, they are completely different to an adult
Best thing to do if you are worried is get your kids to stand still, stand in front of them, stand up to the dog, put your hand out and crab its collar . Be firm but not aggressive .
I have small kids and small dogs, I've had dogs charge at us when out with my dogs, the above works best I find
If you ever get behind a dog that is attacking, or looks like it might grab its hind legs and throw it upside down, it lets go of what it is holding in its mouth and is disabled for a few seconds. I'm slim build and short and managed to do this to a Mastif that was as big as me with no issue, before anyone moans that this isn't possible.
daddy cool said:
You dont need a knife, you just need some rubber gloves #superstarfinger
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2764971/Wo...
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2764971/Wo...
I have kids, and I have a dog. From a young age I always taught my kids to turn their backs on dogs jumping up and to keep their hands by their sides.
However I will always remember we were out on a dog walk, my daughter was about five at the time and a male and female Rottweiler came bounding through the long grass, massive dogs, easily the size and height of my daughter and they were running straight at her.
I started running too, when the owner appears (on horse back) and whistles... both dogs stop running, and sit down about five feet from my daughter, who then calmly walks over to them both and starts stroking them and then rubbing their tummies as they roll over.
I think I went through the full range of emotions ! Anyway, lovely owner - animal trainer for films as it turned out.
If your out for a walk you could just get in the habit of taking a wooden walking stick/staff/stave/crook with you, would give you something to get some distance between you and the dog.
You are being a little over cautious but I can understand why, with the number of dogs off the lead I encounter when out running that jump up etc.
ETA - http://www.saddler.co.uk/shop.html?cr=278&pr=3...
You are being a little over cautious but I can understand why, with the number of dogs off the lead I encounter when out running that jump up etc.
ETA - http://www.saddler.co.uk/shop.html?cr=278&pr=3...
Edited by Foliage on Friday 28th August 11:05
Thanks for the replies. I can see the knife is not the right way; I arrived at that thought after trying to split up two dogs once. We had a Jack Russell before the children. We were walking along with him on the lead and this chap comes the other way with a dog off lead. It was a staffordshire bull terrier.
The owner called it back to leash it but the dog just ran towards our dog and attached him. Our dog gave a good fight but the upshot was they were locked onto eachother - staffordshire had ours on his neck and ours had the staff by the face and eye. They were thrashing round but neither would let go.
We tried everything to separate them, even kicking had no effect (drastic measures but there was blood streaming from both dogs) We managed to separate them and both were a mess. Surprisingly the Staff worse off.
Anyway, combine that occurrence with the other where there was that dog running at my children that time; I can't help but think of the worst case of one being locked onto my child. So obviously wanting to stop any attack asap then I came up with all sorts of options and thought of the knife or stick.
I wouldn't hurt any animal if I could avoid it; even when washing my car, if a spider crawls out of the wing mirror I'll go out of my way to get it and move it. That said like any parent I would do whatever it takes to protect my children. I'm no psycho - just probably going too far with my thinking. I like the spray idea as that would work I reckon.
Thanks again
The owner called it back to leash it but the dog just ran towards our dog and attached him. Our dog gave a good fight but the upshot was they were locked onto eachother - staffordshire had ours on his neck and ours had the staff by the face and eye. They were thrashing round but neither would let go.
We tried everything to separate them, even kicking had no effect (drastic measures but there was blood streaming from both dogs) We managed to separate them and both were a mess. Surprisingly the Staff worse off.
Anyway, combine that occurrence with the other where there was that dog running at my children that time; I can't help but think of the worst case of one being locked onto my child. So obviously wanting to stop any attack asap then I came up with all sorts of options and thought of the knife or stick.
I wouldn't hurt any animal if I could avoid it; even when washing my car, if a spider crawls out of the wing mirror I'll go out of my way to get it and move it. That said like any parent I would do whatever it takes to protect my children. I'm no psycho - just probably going too far with my thinking. I like the spray idea as that would work I reckon.
Thanks again
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