Quite the scary beast, yeah?
So, we met at the park a few days ago so I could get an idea of how he was acting and get them on the path to recovery. Probably more than 12 steps involved.
We were sitting on a bench just outside the dog park. I see a woman coming with a great dane puppy. Probably 500 lbs already. I get Koda eating. Hard to try to remove puppy face when you are stuffing your own with pastrami.
The woman walks right up to us, proud isn't-my-new-pup-great smile plastered across her face, stops her dog about 8 inches behind Koda's head and just stands there. I don't recall getting the RSVP.
I say, "Could you back your dog up, please? We're training."
Not even mean like.
She gets the most offended look on her face, rolls her eyes a bit and walks away muttering, "I didn't know."
So, I'm rubber, you're glue thing? Now I'm the jerk for saying something? She couldn't bother to ask first? "Hi, I have this brandy new pup I'm socializing, can he say Hi?" Would that have been too hard? I would have gladly said he can greet the brown one, but leave the other 2 alone unless you want his lip pierced.
WTF, people?
Serious post, serious agility dog
Seriously doesn't like collecting
More running, less turning
Don't worry. You're right. She's wrong. And it's very awkward to....if you're walking up to someone, you shouldn't just stand there staring at them in silence until THEY acknowledge you. Odd.
ReplyDeleteIt's not until you have a reactive dog that it's really drilled home how ignorant? uneducated? Joe Q Public dog owner really is. I'm with you on that one.
ReplyDeleteThat woman was probably just waiting for you to gush over her monster puppy, because that's what everyone else has been doing. And you being a dog owner should be just that much more excited to see her dog, the closer the better! Yeah right:(
We just say some peoples are crazy. Mom says you are right. Whatever that means. Great pictures
ReplyDeleteBenny & Lily
We have to have patience with the newbies.
ReplyDeleteSometimes they never even think.
Don't worry about her reaction. When she gets to the point of training her own puppy she will understand why you react this way.Training your dog needs some privacy.
ReplyDeleteWe always tell the people in our class not to be afraid to be "the asshole" if they feel that their dog - or the other dog - is not appropriate for socialization.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it wild how the general public is convinced that they all own perfect dogs and that every dog will LOOOOOVE every other dog... because dogs are dogs, after all? They come equipped with an english dictionary, are operated by remotes, and love their owners "just because." Duh. Oh, and all dogs like each other?
Of course they do...
Though, I admit...it does suck when you have to get real with someone, or say something that offends him/her (even if you didn't mean to.) But isn't part of the aggrivation the fact that you shouldn't *have* to explain to people that it's not appropriate to approach every dog they see?
I'd love to hear about your approach with your friend's dog in another post! You know - the 12+ steps. I deal with a similar issue with my dog. I've got it under control, but as a training-minded dog owner, I'm never quite satisfied and think we can do better. I'm always interested to hear about varied approaches.
ReplyDeleteYou aren't the asshole, but I don't think she was either. She was just the clueless and self-absorbed. I had an outstandingly beautiful mostly white border collie mix, very fear aggressive. Cannot tell you how many people would see me out with her and immediately make a beeline towards us. Raised hand, "no, no...do not approach" just to get the "He (or she) is OK." Really not one of them ever had an inkling that it was MY dog that was not OK until I told them (and by then with my tone two octaves higher) to back off. You see my dog didn't lunge, snarl, bark, growl, or squeak until a dog was within biting range. She just stood there being the best behaved dog you could ever imagine until a dog came too close and ignored the very low, very quiet "get away from me" growl. I concluded it would ever be so with the general public.
ReplyDeleteFanny,
ReplyDeleteIt's a generic thing: You don't suffer fools gladly.
You probably will never get over it :)
I feel your frustration. Better to wake her up to the reality that not every dog is going to like her pup now than after Koda threw down, I suppose. Her bruised ego will heal.
ReplyDeleteOur Shih Tzu lost an eye to a larger dog when he was a stray before we rescued him, so I'm willing to give him a lot of slack on his anxiety and we've worked with him since adopting him in Dec. We routinely deal with clueless owners letting their dogs run to the end of their retractable leashes invading everyone's space or even running off leash all together (which is against the law here in Baltimore City).
Hey! We think your blog is cool! Stop by our blog today for an award!
ReplyDeletehttp://blog.nicoandthebandit.com/
I am amazed at the number of people who will being a small dog up to my big dog after I say he isn't always good with small dogs. Ignorance is bliss until my dog reacts...then I'm the bad guy.
ReplyDeleteSome people are just slow learners and need to learn the hard way!
ReplyDeleteI love these photographs! You really see and feel all the enthusiasm that is behind that. Gosh, sometimes I wish I wasn't so wrapped up in my breed (Eng. Bulldogs). They are fun for lots of things and very easy to life with, but "drive"? Not so much.
Elizabeth
www.dogbreedstore.com
I agree... I can say that pets do come with additional work and responsibility, which can bring its own stress. However, for most people, the benefits of having a pet outweigh the drawbacks.
ReplyDeleteGood read!
ReplyDeleteWe're interested in finding out what people think is the best dog breed for a family with children.
http://www.silverliningherbs.com/blog/
Please follow the link above and take our quick poll. Every vote helps.
Wow.. This is great! I can say that Pets don't ever judge, they make us laugh with their funny antics, always trust and love us unconditionally, make us feel needed and are always willing to just sit and listen. With all these qualities, I think you can see why they have such a powerful and positive impact on our lives.
ReplyDelete