Toddler Attacked By Dog In Hair Salon

[Souff]

That doesn't mean that it was ok that the parent let their child approach a strange dog when it was eating.

Since when is a hairdressing salon an appropriate place for a dog to eat?

It's not. But at the end of the day, the dog was in the salon, it was eating, and the parent still allowed his child to wander around and approach the dog.

Does the dog being in the salon mean the parent doesn't have to remain responsible for his child, because the dog shouldn't have been there in the first place?

Thank you.

The dog should not have been eating in a hairdressing salon.

The dog should not have been in the hairdressing salon.

If you have ever seen how fast dogs can attack, and if the parent also had this knowledge (which I doubt) then you would both KNOW that this toddler was in some danger.

The danger was not recognised.

And is not recognised by too many dog owners, and parents, and their naivity is a horrible mistake.

Souff

[Ashanali]

But also, since when is a hairdressing salon an appropirate place for a child to wander around?

I can walk past a salon in the suburbs any day of the week and see small children in their with parents, and they are not all in the barbers chairs.

It may not be appropriate in your view, but in some places it is the norm.

Souff

Okay, you walk past the salon. How do you know that they person sitting in the chair didn't take another adult with them who is watching the child? How do you know the age of the child and what they are capable of? At nearly 20 months I have one who can barely talk and one who is only just starting to use two words together, some people have 20 month olds who are worse communicators and some have 20 month olds who can hold conversations. From walking past you have NO idea what the situation is. You don't know if there is actually someone there other than the parent who has volunteered to watch the child, you have no idea if the child understands direction and is happy to sit down and not be an annoyance.

There are alot of assumptions in this post just from walking past a salon. Maybe you should try working in one when parents repeatedly come in, sit in a chair and ignore their kids. It's happens regularly. Not all parents are on the ball, just as much as not all dog owners are on the ball.

[Ashanali]

Thank you.

The dog should not have been eating in a hairdressing salon.

The dog should not have been in the hairdressing salon.

Nobody has disagreed with these points.

[Souff]

The baby could have pulled stuff down in the shop ontop of herself, scissors, displays, ect, slipped on cut hair and cracked her skull, run out of the store onto the road, you name it. Or does he expect the hair dressers to keep one eye on the client and the other on the kid running loose. All while the doofus sits there and gets his hair cut, the baby does whatever it wants. And in this case ofcourse there was the added danger of a loose dog.

Then why have the OH & S people not put signs in hairdressing salons demanding that all loose children must be kept harnessed and under effective parental control at all times ?

Most toddlers cannot reach the height of the benches where the scissors are.

When a toddler slips on hair on the floor they land on a bottom that is well padded by nappies.

Some toddlers have been known to rearrange the plastic bottles of shampoo near the cash register but I understand that to date this has not resulted in harm to the toddler - though the staff have wished the little sod further.

Much nicer for all concerned if the little darlin is somewhere else, but I havent seen toddler injuries in hairdressing salons featuring in the news much.

The toddler is not the primary cause of the problem here.

Souff

[Souff]

Okay, you walk past the salon. How do you know that they person sitting in the chair didn't take another adult with them who is watching the child?

When you see one adult and one toddler in a salon, with the hairdresser, you can safely assume that there are no minders around.

Or did the last client forget to take their child home. Now, there is a novel idea!

I dont like to ask small children their ages, because they tell me all about their NEXT birthday and when it is going to happen - little hopefuls that they are!

Souff

[Ashanali]

The baby could have pulled stuff down in the shop ontop of herself, scissors, displays, ect, slipped on cut hair and cracked her skull, run out of the store onto the road, you name it. Or does he expect the hair dressers to keep one eye on the client and the other on the kid running loose. All while the doofus sits there and gets his hair cut, the baby does whatever it wants. And in this case ofcourse there was the added danger of a loose dog.

Then why have the OH & S people not put signs in hairdressing salons demanding that all loose children must be kept harnessed and under effective parental control at all times ?

Most toddlers cannot reach the height of the benches where the scissors are.

When a toddler slips on hair on the floor they land on a bottom that is well padded by nappies.

Some toddlers have been known to rearrange the plastic bottles of shampoo near the cash register but I understand that to date this has not resulted in harm to the toddler - though the staff have wished the little sod further.

Much nicer for all concerned if the little darlin is somewhere else, but I havent seen toddler injuries in hairdressing salons featuring in the news much.

The toddler is not the primary cause of the problem here.

Souff

There are many injuries in salons with toddlers. They just aren't sensationalised the way that dog bites are. I've personally seen split lips, burns (and I have a burn on my own leg from doing stupid stuff around hairdressing equipment as a child), cuts, scrapes and on the funny side - not an injury but I've seen a little one absolutely drenched when they climbed the chairs to the basins and turned the tap on themselves and the hose when flying all over the place. (Salon got a bit wet).

I have a friend who has permanent oesophageal damage from drinking disinfectant when he was a toddler (he was at his mother's work, not a salon though.) You don't see stuff like that plastered all over the news. Children obviously haven't been banned from going out in public since then either.

And I know my children are monsters in the 99th %ile for height, but they can easily reach the top of benches. (yes, I have freakishly tall children).

I am guessint the OH&S people expect parents to actually parent their children. I know that hairdressers already do all they can in regards to the tools of their trade but seriously, it's a workplace not a creche!

[Ashanali]

I dont like to ask small children their ages, because they tell me all about their NEXT birthday and when it is going to happen - little hopefuls that they are!

Souff

If they can talk.

[snake catcher]

I was reading the thread thinking why try to lay

blame on the dogs owner, the parent, the dog or the toddler.

Newspapers love a dog attack and always try to make as much of an eyegrabbing article as possible.

Its the ramifications of the article that can have the negative effects that can damage the reputation of a breed.

Sorry if i sound naive but its my first day here and you guys have probably covered this subject till the cows come home anyway.

Cheers

[Souff]

There are many injuries in salons with toddlers. They just aren't sensationalised the way that dog bites are. I've personally seen split lips, burns (and I have a burn on my own leg from doing stupid stuff around hairdressing equipment as a child), cuts, scrapes and on the funny side - not an injury but I've seen a little one absolutely drenched when they climbed the chairs to the basins and turned the tap on themselves and the hose when flying all over the place. (Salon got a bit wet).

I have a friend who has permanent oesophageal damage from drinking disinfectant when he was a toddler (he was at his mother's work, not a salon though.) You don't see stuff like that plastered all over the news. Children obviously haven't been banned from going out in public since then either.

And I know my children are monsters in the 99th %ile for height, but they can easily reach the top of benches. (yes, I have freakishly tall children).

I am guessint the OH&S people expect parents to actually parent their children. I know that hairdressers already do all they can in regards to the tools of their trade but seriously, it's a workplace not a creche!

All of those things can happen in salons, in restaurants, and in other places that the public frequent, and at home - and all children need to be kept safe from their own spirit of adventure.

But none of those things leapt at the toddler with the speed that an animal can move.

That is the difference.

A laid back approach by the owner of the dog, and possibly a laid back approach by the parent of the child. We dont know what the parents attitude was.

And the child got bitten by the dog.

Souff

[Souff]

I was reading the thread thinking why try to lay

blame on the dogs owner, the parent, the dog or the toddler.

Newspapers love a dog attack and always try to make as much of an eyegrabbing article as possible.

Its the ramifications of the article that can have the negative effects that can damage the reputation of a breed.

Sorry if i sound naive but its my first day here and you guys have probably covered this subject till the cows come home anyway.

Cheers

Very true about the blaming. Blame does not achieve much at all. Perhaps other dog owners and parents might learn something from it all - one can only hope.

The reputation of the breed? No, these attacks damage the reputation of DOGS as a species. The entire dog world suffers from these attacks ultimately.

Souff

[anniek]

My local salon used to have a loose dog there. Then one day it wasn't there - apparently not allowed due to OH&S - so this is all very interesting.

[Tiara]

I know the dog. My house is about 5 minute walk from that very salon. I see the husky there all the time. never on a lead, always lying around in the salon.

Poor kid, poor dog

I agree, the salon owner and the parents are at fault. The child shouldn't haven't been walking around without being supervised. Not fair for the child or the dog. Poor husky is probably going to get pts

[Kirty]

How do you know the child wasn't being supervised? Perhaps the parent was watching it the entire time? Perhaps he was not a dog savvy person and thought nothing of the child approaching the dog. Perhaps he assumed that since the dog was at the salon, it was a friendly dog? I have watched parents watch their kids come racing up to my dogs and get in their faces. My dogs LOVE kids - but how do their parents know this?

[Jaxx'sBuddy]

my hairdresser has a little toy poodle in the salon all the time. she is a bit of a feature and i love going in there. i can take my dog there for a visit if i want as well. all the customers know the dog is there and i assume people "self select" if they don't like dogs they go else where.

however, i have never seen this dog getting fed in the shop, she gets fed in another room. i think the issue is that dogs, food and kids don't mix.

we have so few places we are allowed to take our dogs and i would like to take them more places, a more european experience. having dogs in non-food shops should be ok. we should be supporting businesses that allow this.

[Clyde]

But, my point is, the bloody dog should not have been there in the first place.

It was not a dog grooming salon.

There is a place for dogs and a hairdressing salon is not an appropriate place.

If there was not a dog there, this incident wouldn't have happened.

No way would I have taken my kids to a salon where there was a dog because I know the risks when kids meet dogs.

Souff

Completely agree Souff. Not the place for a dog especially a Sibe.

I've always taken my daughter with me everywhere and find it bloody annoying when people have dogs in inappropriate places.

[Danois]

My opinion is that there is fault on the part of the salon and the parent.

In saying that I would rather get my hair done at a salon where there is a dog than where children are allowed to seemingly roam around unsupervised and unchecked. Gone through that experience once and even my hairdresser was getting pissed off but could not say anything as it was not her client.

There are 3 hairdressers in my suburb that have dogs in them - a poodle, a SWF and a standard schnauzer. Not only that, the party supply place had 2 beagle x, newsagent has a rescue dog, the recycled clothing store has a border collie with 3 legs, clothing store has a toy poodle, magazine office has a couple of dallies and a lawyer's office had a DD.

[huski]

How do you know the child wasn't being supervised? Perhaps the parent was watching it the entire time? Perhaps he was not a dog savvy person and thought nothing of the child approaching the dog. Perhaps he assumed that since the dog was at the salon, it was a friendly dog? I have watched parents watch their kids come racing up to my dogs and get in their faces. My dogs LOVE kids - but how do their parents know this?

Ignorance does not remove the responsibility the parents have to supervise their kids especially around dogs. Just because they are ignorant, does that mean it's ok for them to let their kids race up to strange dogs and get in their faces?

Not unlike the example I posted about earlier where parents bought their kids over to my house and let their son unlock my back door to go out to pat Micha when he was eating - he has never been a resource guarder but it really is common sense not to allow your child around dogs when they are eating.

[voyagersaus]

That father is going to beat himself up for what happened for the rest of his life and if she is worth her salt, so will his partner.

Both my children are runners. My youngest, almost four, is not quite out of that habit yet. They are skinny gazelles who can nick off down the aisle of Blockbuster and be out the door before you know it.

That child should not have been left unattended. Watching from the corner of your eye in the mirror as your hair is being cut is not adequate supervision in a work place possessing such dangerous things as stated in previous posts. I have witnessed a toddler pick up a tray of bleach and sink her FACE in it while the mother was having her head shampooed. Off to emergency with wet hair went that mother!

I feel for the little girl, I feel for the father and also the dog, who should have been left alone to eat in peace and not be put in such a situation.

[Zhou Xuanyao]

How do you know the child wasn't being supervised?

Because the child got bitten while the parent was having a haircut.

Perhaps he assumed that since the dog was at the salon, it was a friendly dog?

It probably is a friendly dog, but its a dog.

You dont leave babies to do what they like. Under the right circumstances (ie messing with the dog while its eating) the risk of a bite is 100 fold.

Perhaps he was not a dog savvy person and thought nothing of the child approaching the dog.

Well now he knows better (I hope).

[huski]

I should add that plenty of otherwise friendly dogs can be resource guarders. Many kids have been bitten by the family dog because they hassled it when it was eating - it's important to remember that even if a dog is great around kids at other times that resource guarding is a natural instinct which is why we should never let kids approach a dog who is eating - even if the dog is known to that child and is otherwise friendly.