pitiful parents
Before there were dog parks, I had just acquired a new shelter dog and wanted to work with training so I went to a park that had only one entrance and exit on an early morning. It was a park in an abandoned quarry, so it was below most of the land in the area with high rock walls and few trees so I could see no one was there. took her off leash and began to train the dog. A woman saw me there and sent her 3 year old into the park to pet the dog - not calling out, just sent he kid down about 30 feet of uneven steep rock stairs at my back/ I was caught by surprise when the dog ran toward the child since she was behind me. I did get it to stop before the child was reached, but who sends a small child to pet a strange dog in a park like that? Oh there was also an unfenced stream through the quarry park that had an 8 foot drop the child could have fallen in. when I brought the child back to the mother I asked her what was she thinking, she was way to far away to stop anything from happening to her child, and so many ways that kid could have been hurt - the mother said she was teaching the child to be independent and the little girl wanted to pet my dog. Now this was a very child friendly dog or would not have been out there, but she was a big dog and knocked over my 5 year old niece by wagging her tail too vigorously once. This was not the only dangers to this child, there were geese nesting and they can be vicious. I talked to the mother but I think what I said went in one year and out the other, so in this case I think the mother should have been leashed. No common sense there at all.
I am not for helicopter parenting, but no small child gets to walk near traffic without having a hand to hold. Or should approach a strange dog without asking permission first - I knew my dog would not harm the child, (I know you can never tell, but this dog melted around kids and they would climb all over her even though I never left her alone with a small child and managed 15 years without nipping at anyone at all, including my ex husband - screaming, throwing things) kids can be independent without you putting them in danger and this was not a child friendly park. I loved it and it was slightly inaccessible, would hate to see all parks have to be made childproof.
Don't even start of the parents that yell at me for intercepting children running to pet the geese during nesting season, I feel like I need to be a park guard sometimes when I should be just watching my dog. "don't touch my child" - Geese are nasty flea ridden creatures. They are not ducks.
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