What would you have done?

The other day, I was at a friend's house and they had his boxer inside the house and his four year old nephew was jumping on the dog's back and playing a too rough with it. I know some dogs don't mind it and enjoy the physical challenges but this dog was seriously getting annoyed. He was litteraly running away from the boy,a nd the the boy would chse him! I tried to tell him that he could bite if driven to the defensive but they all just laughed said he was a good dog and the boy was just playing around but I couldn't help feeling sorry for the dog and angry at them for letting the boy play like that with the dog. I feel like even if the dog is too kind to react, he shouldn't be tested like that.

Am I overreacting? Any thoughts?

No, your not. Some dogs would let kids do whatever, some won't. It's just an accident waiting to happen. I feel bad for the dog, too. The dog is going to blame at the end.

You're not overreacting at all. The parents don't respect their dog, the child isn't being taught to respect the dog, and when the dog bites, guess who's going to pay for it. Maybe you should try to talk to them again? It's a delicate situation; you can't push--but I'm worried about that child. And the dog too, of course. And the parents, because if anything happens, they will feel so guilty. Perhaps you could suggest a "time out spot," possibly in another room, where the dog could go and the child would not be allowed? Surely the parents of a little kid would understand the need to get away from it all now and then!

Thats the thing! They think its okay for their kid to do that. I love kids. I understand sometimes they're a little too rough sometimes. I don't blame the kid. I blame the adults because think its okay to accept that treatment towards the dog instead of teaching the kid how to act. I feel like the adults were treating the animal like an expensive toy. I told them that when the dog bits him, to not be surprised and start talking about how aggressive dogs can be. This the type of treatment that goes on with dogs who later attack their owners. They were being irresponsible towards the child (who could later be bitten especially if he thinks that treatment towards dogs who aren't as sweet is okay) and towards the dog (who was being harassed.)

Even though they trust the dog , it's not fair to him !

No, you're not over-reacting at all. It just astounds me what I see parents letting their little kids do to dogs and to cats. And when I look concerned or something, the invariable answer is, "Oh, he wouldn't bite. He's a good dog." The stupidity out there is just phenomenal. It is a delicate situation. Maybe you could tell a "story" about a kid and a dog you once knew. The dog was super duper tolerant, but harrassed by your "friends' dog" and one time, the dog happened to have a bad day all day...(another dog snarled and snapped at him, he got in trouble for getting in the garbage, he was hot and tired) That evening, the dog just couldn't take what he could before. His tolerance level had been reached and he ripped the kid's face off. Dogs will be dogs.

But yeah...it's hard to watch, not only for the kid's sake, but the poor dog that's beeing harrassed. I know your frustration.

I probably would have gotten myself uninvited because I most likely would have called the dog to me, chastised the kid and kept him away from the dog.

I guess family is a bit different... my nephew (3-1/2) wanted to pet Riley. I said okay, and he proceeded to whack Riley on top of the head. I know my nephew didn't realize what he was doing, so I tapped him on the head and asked him if he liked it. He thought about it for a second and said, no. I told him the dog didn't like it either. He hasn't whacked Riley since...

My parents had these neighbors who just had to have a toy poodle because my parents did... they also had a young daughter... this girl would throw the dog on the floor (HARD!), swing it around using the leash, kick it, etc... the parents always refused to do anything, saying they wouldnt yell at their daughter because of a dog... REALLY?!?!?!?! You either teach your children to respect animals or you dont have animals in the house. That dog was the saddest thing I have ever seen... cowered like you were going to beat it anytime you went anywhere near it. It really makes me mad what people let their children do to animals.

I agree with you and how you felt. You are totally right to feel that way....it's just, what do you say to people that think nothing of it..until it's too late or something bad happens... hmmm... :\

poor dog...

That's horrible. I don't understand how they could be okay with that. Why wouldn't they want to have a loving, loyal dog for their daughter? They're letting her abuse the one thing that could really show her unconditional love.

I'd feel the same way. My cousin's kids had a teacup Yorkie and they would pick it up and drop it, kick it and just generally abuse it. That poor dog shook constantly. When those kids came to my house and tried to do the same with my dogs I put them in time out....and they didn't do it anymore. Their parents just don't care. It makes me furious, especially with little dogs that are so easily hurt. It is kind of a hard topic to raise though. I consider it under the parenting umbrella and most people get super defensive if they think their parenting is being criticized. And since I don't have kids I don't really feel qualified to comment on how other people are raising theirs....even if they're clearly doing it wrong. Lol.

I don't think you're overreacting at all, and no offense to your friend, but they are being ignorant.
I trust Lacey with my kids, she will get up and move away from them if they start to pester her too much, but ALL dogs have a breaking point, and they'd be best to remove the dog/child from the situation before the dog is pushed to the point of feeling the need to defend itself.

They should remove the child from the situation and explain why. That's the best thing to do, the dog doesn't understand but a child can, even a young one. My youngest is 18 months old and if I say "No it's time to leave the doggy alone" and redirect her to something else to play with, she will. It's a better alternative to a small child being bitten in the face for being a PITA to the dog.

I would have said something but if it's their child and their dog, sadly it's their choice on how they let them interact.

I've had children over here that try and do that to my dog. People get the boot. Bandit will play tea party and dress up and can handle kids accidently falling on him or stepping on him every now and again. It makes him very uncomfortable if they keep harassing him though. I've kicked people out for their rude behavior towards my dog and would do it again.

ugh I HATE when parents allow children to behave like that towards their pets. My step sister is the same way. they have a Dogue de Bordeaux and she is still quite young (might be just over a year if that) and they have two boys that they allow to do WHATEVER they want to this poor dog and I mean WHATEVER they want. My mom is always telling me how badly she feels for that poor dog but they don't care. the kids jump on her, pull her skin and tail and ears, hit her with sticks and are just BRATS.

The oldest boy... when he was younger. started messing with my moms dog and my mom would repeatedly tell him NO and seperate them but he just wouldn't listen and then shelby bit him because he just would not leave her alone... and the parents didn't care about that either. "well he deserved it" well yeah he probably did but you think that's OK? to allow your child to behave that way and push an animal to that point and then say "oh well his fault". they are very lucky shelby is a small dog.

They basically made her HATE children and be totally fearful and defensive around them. it took almost a week for her to come around when we were there with hannah and realize that hannah wasn't going to do any of that stuff to her. Once she realized that we woudln't allow hannah to basically torment her shelby would actually get up on the couch and lay with hannah and go in and sleep in front of her pack and play when hannah was sleeping. but she STILL will not go near those boys.

We taught our son from the start to respect all dogs. If he dosn't want to be messed with or play, we have tthe dog stop and vice versa. Kirby is nine years old and does well with it but we still tell him when enough is enough. He likes to lean over on top of them and hug them and will do it even when they are trying to eat. None of our dogs are botherd by being fooled with even when eating, but the point is respect.