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| Teddy and Bruschi at dog park |
This week, my facebook friends have been talkative on various rules and regulations for children and dogs sharing the same space-- including my non-dog enthusiast friends (who I love all the same). There was conversation of where household dogs should be during kids parties, a super cute video of a dog and child sharing a water fountain, and, the hottest topic...a potential ban on children under 8 being in a neighborhood dog park. Yowza on that last one, right??
A dog park in our area is considering prohibiting young children from one specific park as a proactive measure, based upon observations of some tense moments, that could have ended badly. For an area as dog and baby friendly as Arlington, VA-- you have to imagine just what a tough decision this is from all angles.
After I got over my selfish first reaction "well THATS going to change our Sunday morning dog park outings" (some go to church, we go to the dog park), I started to think just how complicated, and sad this is-- when it shouldn't have to be.
The fact is, that someone does need to be the the dogs' lawyer. Children can stress a dog out- easy- and children in motion-- like at a park... all the more so. And dogs deserve a place to run free of tiny fingers trying to poke their eyes or pull their tails. Worse, though-- is that all too often children and their parents do not respect the needs and sensitivities of a dog. Look- we would all fear a child running up to us head on at full speed wielding a stick in his or her hand trying to pet us. So why can't a dog fear the same thing?
What makes me really sad- is that no ban on children in a dog park is going to help the larger problem of promoting proper interaction with dogs in public places. I'm glad that dogs will have less sources of stress in a park... and that no dog will take the fall for a menacing child, but what I really want to see is the County's Department of Common Sense and Community Responsibility* adopt the following three simple rules for parks... or, life... whichever you choose:
1. All children will first obtain permission before petting a stranger's dog. Simple. If child can ask to go to park, they can ask permission to pet my pup.
2. All dog owners reserve the right to ask a child to step away from their dog, at any time, for any reason, or for no reason at all. Its that person's dog, that person's responsibility. We know when they are about to get stressed.
3. No object, other than a hand (and that hand only with permission, see rule 1) shall ever touch a dog. That means we do not whack a dog with a toy shovel, or hit a dog with a ball. Seriously, latter happened earlier this evening to Kodi.
*Currently, there is no actual Department of Common Sense and Community Responsibility, but as i understand, Leslie Knope is rumored to be on the exploratory committee for its creation.
** In the interest of full disclosure, my child stresses out one of my dogs periodically- kid's not perfect. We're workin' on it.
