[Sundae]

I just get a bit queasy when people blame children - or their parents - for dog awareness.
You can teach children about traffic. You can even blame a child - or their parents - when they get tossed over the bonnet of a car and end up in hospital. But surely it is at least partially the driver's responsibility not to speed, not to jump the lights, to take care in low visibilty?

And can you blame a child standing at a bus-stop, or on a pedestrian crossing?

Many children fatally injured by dogs are - for obvious reasons - too young to understand dog-signals. If you are a dog owner, OR A PARENT, do not assume your child is able to respond appropriately to something you can easily see as a threat.

I have no children, and won't.
But when Tennant and Tiger (and Tiger's younger sister) stopped off at my house I showed them Diz in my arms and let them stroke him. Then I shut him away. Tiger has two cats, but neither of them are Diz. Dani can affirm that he can be a bugger with twitchy fingers and tapping feet. He's a cat and I would never leave him alone with a five year old.

Baffled by people who leave dogs that have a potentially lethal bite (okay not all breeds) with children even younger.

The bottom line is I think responsibilty is shared.
I can't countenance peple who allow their dogs off a lead in a public place and then criticise walkers for not responding "correctly". I do not have to learn "dog" in order not to be attacked. We had a dog and I believe I know the signs, but if people do not respond appropriately, you need to be able to call your dog off. And that means being able to see them for a start.