Dog Owner Says Four-Year-Old Hit and Stepped on Dog's Tail During Kindergarten Visit

Karīna Zaņģe, who takes part in the "Ar suni Tukumā" initiative together with her dog Tobias, has shared on social media her experience of visiting a kindergarten. She says a four-year-old boy hit the dog during the educational session and later did it again. The post has prompted a debate on how adults should respond to such behaviour by a child.

What happened at the kindergarten

Karīna and Tobias visit kindergartens, nursing homes and care centres. At these meetings she talks about responsible dog ownership: how to feed, train and groom a dog, and how to behave when meeting an unfamiliar one.

According to the owner, the boy hit the dog, and a teacher led him aside by the hand. He then came back and kicked harder, and after being reprimanded he jumped on Tobias's tail out of anger. Karīna says the teachers did not discuss the incident with the child, at least at that moment. She stresses that Tobias has never shown aggression towards children and did not react aggressively this time either.

What worries Karīna is how the child behaves day to day and what happens in his family. She does not think the four-year-old should simply be condemned, but says such behaviour cannot be ignored. In her observation, institutions' attitudes have recently been changing: children used to be prepared before such visits, whereas now it sometimes seems they have not been told anything.

Opinions in the comments

Many commenters believe staff should have responded immediately and more firmly. A representative of a private kindergarten urged that all adults, including parents, be held accountable in such cases.

Others argue that the safety of the dog is primarily the owner's responsibility, that possible situations must be anticipated and that the animal must be protected. Some ask why a dog should be brought to a kindergarten at all, since not every child likes dogs and some feel fear around them.

A woman who spent ten years running responsibility lessons in schools and kindergartens with her dogs also joined the discussion. She says she reacted immediately in two cases: once with a stern reprimand, and once by removing the child from the event.