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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I don't get either side of this.

I'm a dog owner and our dog is just never unleashed - he'd chase a squirrel right into the middle of the street, so it's not a personal issue to me. I used to live a block from lincoln park, which is a bit of a de facto dog park, and I cannot even imagine the moms running around telling all the dog owners to leash the dogs. Especially if their dogs were showing no interest to the children at all. On the other hand, the person who is allowing his dog to sniff at other kids, etc? Out of line.

at the same time, there are always long cry fests on MOTH listserv about how these big scary dogs are just running around unleashed and in most of the cases, the mom is freaking out, scaring the kids, and creating hysteria for no reason. I mean, these are moms who will shout across the park to a dog owner to leash their dog even if they aren't going anywhere near the dog, if the dog is paying them no mind. They pick up their kids, and scream "leash your dog! I don't want your dog biting my child! He barked at us! He could bite us!" etc.

I realize the law is the law, and people SHOULD leash their dogs, but I just want to tell these moms that they are creating a terror of dogs in their children. 
[/quote]

I see where you are coming from, but I still think absolutely no responsibility falls on the parents here, it's all on the dog owners. It's not for them or you to judge whether a mother's fear of dogs is excessive or not, and whether she is overreacting and getting the children (as you think, unnecessarily) scared of dogs. If a dog is off leash, there is always a risk that it bites a child, even if it is currently showing no interest. No parent is required to accept that risk, no matter how small. They don't share the love for your dog, which will make you live with that risk for your own children, and you need to accept that fact.

FWIW, my father's dog is perfectly nice and still ended up snapping at a toddler in the family. He subsequently wore a muzzle around the kids. When I was young, we had a very sweet young dog that also ended up almost biting my baby brother. My parents gave the dog away to another home, and as much as I hated it back then, I totally understand now.[/quote]

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