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
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
There are loads of owners of 'socty softy wouldn't hurt a fly' dogs.
Here's the thing, a dogs mind and thoughts are primitive. They learn through praising and also through scalding. They think about food, they think about their owner, their territory etc.
Obviously they cant speak. They can become anxious. They can become irritable. They can become unwell or get aches and pains. They can become frightened or spooked by things that they have not seen or experienced before or things that remind them of a traumatic experience.
My point is this: No matter how you think you know your dog and how it reacts or behaves, no matter how well under control or trained you think it is; it can always, always surprise you and can attack for no reason. In the dogs eyes the reason may be valid but it could be a simple misreading of another human.
For example: one of my children has cerebral palsy and can't walk so he uses a wheelchair. Kids like him with similar conditions or worse can move suddenly or move erratically or shout out for some reason. This could be misinterpreted by a dog.
Kids playing in a park maybe throwing a ball about could inadvertently in invite a off lead dog to play fetch and make a mistake when trying to retrieve the ball and spook the dog.
Nobody can predict a dogs behaviour accurately all the time. There is always fhe cbance of something going wrong...i dont care what anyone says.
So instead of blaming non dog lovers and telling them to get to understand dogs etc tbe dog owners as responsible owners should take the view tbat they are in charge of an animal that injure people and try and forsee potential situations. They should be keot on a lead in public places and if going through a park where children are it should be muzzled.
All dog owners think their dog is soft and harmless. Well go and talk to bereived parants whose family dog has been destroyed because it attacked or killed their child.
Here's the thing, a dogs mind and thoughts are primitive. They learn through praising and also through scalding. They think about food, they think about their owner, their territory etc.
Obviously they cant speak. They can become anxious. They can become irritable. They can become unwell or get aches and pains. They can become frightened or spooked by things that they have not seen or experienced before or things that remind them of a traumatic experience.
My point is this: No matter how you think you know your dog and how it reacts or behaves, no matter how well under control or trained you think it is; it can always, always surprise you and can attack for no reason. In the dogs eyes the reason may be valid but it could be a simple misreading of another human.
For example: one of my children has cerebral palsy and can't walk so he uses a wheelchair. Kids like him with similar conditions or worse can move suddenly or move erratically or shout out for some reason. This could be misinterpreted by a dog.
Kids playing in a park maybe throwing a ball about could inadvertently in invite a off lead dog to play fetch and make a mistake when trying to retrieve the ball and spook the dog.
Nobody can predict a dogs behaviour accurately all the time. There is always fhe cbance of something going wrong...i dont care what anyone says.
So instead of blaming non dog lovers and telling them to get to understand dogs etc tbe dog owners as responsible owners should take the view tbat they are in charge of an animal that injure people and try and forsee potential situations. They should be keot on a lead in public places and if going through a park where children are it should be muzzled.
All dog owners think their dog is soft and harmless. Well go and talk to bereived parants whose family dog has been destroyed because it attacked or killed their child.
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