Idiots - Opinions On Comments?

[quoll]

I answered "depends on circumstances".

If the dog is in the street, it should be able to accept people touching/patting/bumping into it without biting as a response.

If the owner is worried that their dog will bite they have an obligation to muzzle it. The dog is very dangerous and the public shouldn't have to tolerate that sort of danger in the streets.

If the dog is on private property and a person enters the dog's yard without permission, they should fear being bitten. That's fair enough I guess.

I second that and voted same.

[Kajtek]

Sorry nek, why should we expect our dogs not to react and be perfect, when we can't expect the same from people? There are plenty of dogs who are happy to accept pats from stranger, but can still jump and react (even if it is an air snap that accidentally get the idiot) if someone runs up and jumps the dog before they realised they have been approached.

Dogs should be allowed to be dogs, not unreactive robots.

Agree 100%

[mita]

I voted 'No'. It should be a given that strangers do not pat a dog, out on the street, without asking the owner if it's OK.

Otherwise, it's risk-taking.

It's also intrusive. So it's a case of good manners to ask, as well.

Edited February 3, 2012 by mita

[Dame Aussie]

I voted no. I wouldn't expect people to touch an unknown child in the street, they shouldn't touch other people dogs either.

I'm sick of having to make allowances for other peoples stupidity.

[capanash]

As an Educator with the Responsible Pet Ownership program, we teach all children and parents some basic rules about approaching dogs.

No owner

No lead

No touch!

The children are taught the safe way to approach a dog& owner if they wish to pat the dog.

Walk up slowly and stop 3 big steps away.

Ask permission.

Let the dog smell the back of your hand.

Pat the dog gently on the back, don't touch the head and don't lean over the top of the dog.

A 4yr old pre-school child can understand all of this, pity about some adults.

Any dog with teeth is capable of biting under some circumstances, no matter how well trained you may think they are.

[Shaar]

One of my dogs has a problem with small children, for some reasons he will go ga-ga for adults but shys away from kids.

Well last weekend at a show there was a little girl who raced up and started getting in my dogs face. Naturally he backed away but the little girl kept pushing. I don't normally like picking him up but I had no choice (no parents to be seen anywhere either).

Now he has never bitten in his life, but in those circumstances I couldn't really blame him if he did (obviously I would never want him to, but you get my point). The girl WAS old enough to have been taught how to behave around dogs.

There is another little girl who goes to shows who even if she patted your dog half an hour ago still asks to pat them again, every single time. And when she is told no you don't need to explain why, she has been taught that already and she was younger than the kid in the first example.

[raz]

Awesome. That's great, Capanash.

[Atanquin]

I think everyone should always ask!! Zorro is totally fine and will never bite if some came up and patted him he is even fine if someone stands on him he won't bite or lash out he is such a sweet soul.

But I had a GSD and I trusted him out in public but he is a guard dog and some people he didn't like so I was always careful and I would always stop people from just patting him because I would like to watch him and have him sitting rigt next to me.

I was always taught by my mum to never pat a strange dog with out permission because you don't know what the dog is like.

Edited February 3, 2012 by Atanquin

[Odin-Genie]

I answered "depends on circumstances".

If the dog is in the street, it should be able to accept people touching/patting/bumping into it without biting as a response.

If the owner is worried that their dog will bite they have an obligation to muzzle it. The dog is very dangerous and the public shouldn't have to tolerate that sort of danger in the streets.

If the dog is on private property and a person enters the dog's yard without permission, they should fear being bitten. That's fair enough I guess.

+1 Totally agree.

[megan_]

Personally I'd like to see us return to a world where if you did something stupid then you accepted the consequences. Can't ever see it happening of course. All we have now is "it wasn't my fault" society and there is always someone or something to blame.

Yes. By all means, we should muzzle aggressive dogs, but these days your dog could be declared dangerous becuase it jumped up and hit someone on the lip etc. With the liability that comes with having a dog, soon they will only be owned by the rich or stupid.

It is actually one of the reasons I went with PetPlan insurance - they have public liability insurance included in the plan. Won't save the dog from being declared dangerous though...

[german_shep_fan]

I don't usually have the problem of ppl or kids rushing up to pat when i walk past schools ect as obv GSDs are scary and mothers with their darlings usually give me a wide berth and the obligational how dare you walk that breed of dog in public glare :laugh:

There are some ppl who like them though and they usually ask first which is fine and then they are able to pat. Also many neighbourhood kids love them and like to walk them down the street with me ect

I voted no, i think it is rude to just rush up and expect to pat a dog you don't know. Its fine if ppl ask first, but esp with kids if they pull hard on the dogs ear, slap the head or eyeball the dog ect you just don't know how any dog is going to react. I personally think owners should be asked so they can ensure the child won't be too roudy ect. Just my two cents.

[emgem]

I think there is a problem with people having expectations that a dog won't bite. It is far better for the general public (read anyone without a lot of experience with dogs even the average dog owner) to expect that they need to be cautious of approaching a strange dog. Which doesn't mean that reactive dogs should not be muzzled when in public. However, illness or injury can make a dog act out of character and this maybe the first signal to an owner of a problem. For example, there is a lovely old GR bitch at the off leash park I frequent who recently became a little snappy with the younger dogs. Turns out that she had a touch of arthritis and now that her pain is under control she is back to her old self.

[spyda62]

I voted no.

While I like to "think" my dogs are bomb proof, they are still dogs and I cannot 100% predict how they will react in every situation. Especially my poor old Shar-Pei x . She often has ear problems and her ears are sore. If someone inadvertently rubbed or patted them, I don't know how she would react.

[Marion 01]

I think all Children and Adults should always ask before approaching or patting a Strange dog.

My Parents must have been very tuned in as I remember being told "That Dog doesn't know you and you don't know the dog so ask" I am 61yo and my children and now my Grandchildren have and are being raised the same way.

Kadbury, we always had dogs and were not afraid of any dog.... and that is almost word for word what our parents said to us as kids, and I'm nearly 65.

[Bear&Duke]

Personally I'd like to see us return to a world where if you did something stupid then you accepted the consequences. Can't ever see it happening of course. All we have now is "it wasn't my fault" society and there is always someone or something to blame.

I completely agree. We should all move to France where they don't have stupid signs such as 'don't jump off a cliff' as if you do, then only you are to blame.

[LizT]

Okay here's my slant on it.

I think everyone should ask permission of the owner before patting any dog.

Yesterday I took 9 week old Emmalee to the first day of school and all the littler kids asked me "May I pat your dog" it was awesome. But when my daughters classmates in Grade 6 came up and reached out an arm I immediately block with my arm and asked "What do you say?" They grinned, and then asked "May I please pat the dog"?

I told them, c'mon you were taught this in kinder and you have to set a good example for the younger kids.

It's like the sun smart policy, they are made to wear sunhats in term one and four as school policy. But when they go to Secondary School where there is no policy, there's no hats either!!!

However I do ernestly believe that every child should be able to go up to any dog in the street and expect not to be bitten were it a case of a loose dog or such. Many a local pooch has found his way out of his yard and into the schoolyard (those lunches smell good) and I would expect that every child there should be safe from a dog bite. If you have a dog that is even 'likely' to bite anyone, I hope your fence and gate maintence is diligent.

Edited February 3, 2012 by LizT

[dotdashdot]

My thinking runs more along the lines of adults not "behaving" more than kids. My thinking is, you don't know the dog, you're taking a risk and that's no ones fault but your own if you get bitten!

It's like swimming at an unknown beach, mostly foreigners get into trouble in my local area, they don't know the beach or the conditions, they are taking a risk and they do get into trouble and sadly for some this is fatal. The signs are there, if its unpatrolled (sometimes in many languages!) but they still do it!

I guess then you have to decide whether patting an unknown dog is a risk or not, I see it as one, because who knows what that dog is like? I treat every dog I meet on the beach as a risk, until I know the dog, works for me!

I don't mind people patting my dog, love it when I'm asked, coz that's socialisation for her. I would hate to be rushed by a kid though, it's not fair to the dog! I know I freak out when I'm suddenly confronted with someone out of the blue.

[Blonde_Phoenix]

I have a sneaking suspicion this question is a little leading, but heck I’m happy to risk unpopularity/being dubbed an idiot ;) .

Personally I don’t interact with strangers’ dogs, but I do think in general most people would feel that a dog out in public should not react to a pat with a bite (and I think whether you agree or not the law will be on their side).

Of course in a perfect world it would be wonderful if people were dog savvy, polite and non litigious but we all know that is not the world we live in. As such when we as owners take our dogs out in public we are responsible for their safety and the safety of those who may come in contact with them.

[sandgrubber]

Sorry nek, why should we expect our dogs not to react and be perfect, when we can't expect the same from people? There are plenty of dogs who are happy to accept pats from stranger, but can still jump and react (even if it is an air snap that accidentally get the idiot) if someone runs up and jumps the dog before they realised they have been approached.

Dogs should be allowed to be dogs, not unreactive robots.

Agree 100%

There are some places where a mean (reactive) dog should not be allowed to react. Like a public park, a crowded street, or tied up outside a supermarket. In such circumstances a 'reactive' dog of the biting variety is ticking bomb. If you take a reactive dog into situations where he is likely to draw blood, you are responsible. We also expect people to be able to tolerate surprising approaches without turning around and slugging the person who approaches . . . especially if the person who approaches is under a meter tall.

No question, people should teach their children to ask before patting a dog. But welcome to the real world. Lots of people don't do what they should do and kids don't always do what they are taught to do.

[Tempus Fugit]

It should be a summary offence punishable by a fine for any person, without reasonable excuse, to interfere with an animal, or anything attached to or fitted to an animal, or to permit a child under their supervision or guardianship to do so.

So one could get fined for trying to pet a dog, or allowing their children to pet a strange dog.

I recall a situation about a year ago when I was going into a roadhouse cafe, a guy already in the cafe had left his german shepherd by the door. As I went through the door, I held my hand near the dog's nose as a greeting and he snapped at it - he was simply telling me in dog language that his attention was totally focused on his owner on the other side of the glass door inside the cafe and for me to mind my own business, which I did. He didn't lunge at me or try to kill me, he was merely communicating dog style. Would he have bitten me if I had actually tried to pat him on the head? - maybe. Would he have bitten a child that tried to pat him? maybe.

I recall readind a blog entry once from a zoophile - never force yourself on an animal - if the animal wants to interact with you let it come to you, otherwise leave it alone.