Dogs

I am not a dog person. I love my parents' Yorkie, Paris. 

(Paris, riding in Lucas's stroller)

But in general, I could take or leave most dogs. Especially big dogs. I just don't like the slobber, the hair, the jumping on me. Not my favorite thing. That's why I don't have a dog. And that's not to say there aren't dogs I like. Just in general, I'm not a dog person. Lucas seems to be of the same school of thought. He doesn't like dogs. He immediately comes to me or Ben when he sees one loose outside. He startles when a dog barks. He doesn't want to be around big dogs, which I totally understand. A lot of them outweigh him, several times over. And even gentle dogs get excited and jump and play. He's just not used to that and doesn't like it. He has been knocked down a few times by big dogs, so I understand his reservations. 

It's always a tough subject, to me, dealing with other people's dogs. I don't want to offend people, and make them think their dog is bad or that I don't like their dog. It's a part of their family, and it works for them. But does what does that mean for how my kids have to interact with them? If we are at the base park, and a family comes with a dog on its leash, I have no problem with that. Of course the dog wants to be outside with the family. But more and more often, people let their dogs off the leash. It's a rule, on base, that dogs have to be on a leash, unless they're in a fenced in yard. But we were at the park yesterday and there were SIX big dogs running around, off leashes. I'm talking about dogs over 60 pounds. My kid is 30 pounds. A group of six dogs, twice his size, running free in the area that is designated for him to play in just doesn't seem fair. He kept going to areas in the park that were away from the dogs, then when the dogs got close he would go somewhere else. Finally, he just asked if we could leave. Now, the dogs really weren't bad. They were just running around, playing with each other, and their kids. I didn't know any of the owners, but when Lucas immediately yelled "Mommy!" And looked stricken when the dogs started playing with each other near him, I told the owners that he is scared of dogs. I guess I could've asked them to put the dogs back on their leashes but I didn't feel comfortable doing that. My biggest fear is that my kid is going to get hurt. I know that the dogs at the park are family pets, that have children in their homes. But what if one of the dogs decided to protect his family and snapped at Lucas? Or just randomly went for one of my kids? It's happened before, that a kid gets bit by a dog at a park. There are an estimated 4.5 million dog bites in the US every year. I don't want my child to be one of them. 

I don't want Lucas to grow up being terrified of every dog he meets. He is going to see dogs, and as long as they are leashed and controlled, I don't want him to be scared. But honestly, I think it's healthy to have a little fear. Dogs are animals, and can act out of pure animal instincts no matter how well trained they are. I would much rather he walk in the opposite direction of an unknown dog than go up and try to pet it. He's not going to get hurt by keeping his distance. I've seen other kids trying to give unknown dogs kisses. That freaks me out. I never want my kid to do that. Who knows how a dog will react? I just googled dog bites and found that "the second highest amount of fatalities due to dog attack are 2 year old children." "Children often engage in behavior that will trigger a dog attack. For example...trying to hug or kiss an unfamiliar dog." Www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/dog_attack So I'm not crazy. That is so scary!! Ugh. 

I guess the best thing I can do is just keep my eyes on my kids. If I'm not comfortable with a situation, we won't stay in it. What do you do about other people's dogs? I can't be the only person that thinks about that! :)