Argh... People!

[Pawbla]

Does it ever happen to you that you go on walks and people interact with your dog, and you're like "Thank God they're doing this with my dog... many dogs wouldn't tolerate this."
Today not only one, but two people, shoved their hands right on my dog's path seconds before he was there. They only wanted to pet him, but shoving your hand on my dog's face is not a very polite thing to do. Some dogs would be scared by that!
And just a few days ago, a kid jumped from somewhere also right on my dog's face. Luckily Winston was just like "whut?", but it was still a dangerous thing to do. And her parents didn't mind at all.
Some people have no manners!

 

[kassidybc]

I know what you mean, people do things like that to Chloe all the time, and it frustrates me. Chloe is a bit reactive, and when people do things like that she freaks out. And even when she lunges and barks at them, they often just laugh, not having learned anything at all.

 

[Pawbla]

Worst thing is that if they got bitten, the blame would be on you. It's horrible. I don't mind them petting my dog if they call him and he goes to them, but forcing themselves on the dog... it's asking for trouble.

 

[Evie]

Worst thing is that if they got bitten, the blame would be on you. It's horrible. I don't mind them petting my dog if they call him and he goes to them, but forcing themselves on the dog... it's asking for trouble.

I have one of those dogs which doesnt cope with strangers in her face or touching her at all. People do NOT get this. They get really shitty when I tell them their can't can't touch my dog..... I've learnt to be one step ahead of strange people and kids and position myself between Evie and strangers. Luckily for me, Evie's reaction when someone does decide to touch her without permission is to run away, but she still turns her head and snap at them.

Funnily enough, I actually find it safer for Evie NOT to be on lead as she never allows herself to get with in touching distance of a stranger, however when she's on lead sometimes it's unavoidable..

People are slow learners, and most people just find it funny that she's warning them with a snap. Wonder how funny it'll be when she's gives up on warnings and goes for a bite.

 

[srdogtrainer]

River used to be terrified of people. He wanted to bolt and I had to keep him on a martingale type collar to prevent him from getting away and taking off. I was afraid I would lose him. He has come a long way though and is a lot more friendly with people.

I discovered that he would do best when people ignored him and eventually he would work up the courage to go up and say hi and be okay. The problem occurred when people only thought of themselves. "I want to pet your dog, and I want to do it right now." Then River was not okay...and of course after they did the damage of freaking him out they didn't want to stay around for the 20 + minutes it would take for him to recover and be okay.

I have had kids running up to him and we just turned around and ran off the path away, before River noticed they were coming, until they got the message. I have taken him into areas surrounded by foliage where people wouldn't generally come up to him, physically blocked him from people and only allowed calm, patient people to pet him at first. I have told so many people they can't pet him. It can be really hard to explain that there are specific ways that they have to interact with him to make it a positive experience. A lot of people had trouble with it because they were thinking about themselves and the fact that they see a dog now that they want to pet and they have limited time and they aren't going to see the dog again. Therefore they have to pet the dog now and they don't care if they scar the dog for life because they will never see that dog again. Uggghhhh!

 

[brody_smom]

I have one of those dogs which doesnt cope with strangers in her face or touching her at all. People do NOT get this. They get really shitty when I tell them their can't can't touch my dog..... I've learnt to be one step ahead of strange people and kids and position myself between Evie and strangers. Luckily for me, Evie's reaction when someone does decide to touch her without permission is to run away, but she still turns her head and snap at them.

Funnily enough, I actually find it safer for Evie NOT to be on lead as she never allows herself to get with in touching distance of a stranger, however when she's on lead sometimes it's unavoidable..

People are slow learners, and most people just find it funny that she's warning them with a snap. Wonder how funny it'll be when she's gives up on warnings and goes for a bite.

Evie sounds a lot like Brody, except he wouldn't run away. I actually avoid walking him in areas where people usually walk their dogs, and times of day when there is a lot of foot traffic. One dark, wet evening, we were walking along a fairly busy street, next to a building with grass and trees in front. I could see someone walking toward us in the distance, and he had an odd gait. I could see Brody had already noticed him, so I pulled off onto the grassy area, quite a ways from the sidewalk. Brody was facing the sidewalk, but I had my back to it and was talking to him and feeding him treats, waiting for the man to pass. Brody started looking around behind me, so I turned and there was the man walking up with his hand out. I was a little startled, so he said, "I just wanted to pat your dog." I told him Brody is scared of strangers. "Oh really?" he said, continuing to walk toward us. "Yes, that's why I pulled off the sidewalk. If you try to pet him, he will bite you." He kind of laughed, like he didn't believe any dog could be afraid of people and not want to be petted by a stranger. He took another step, hand reaching out. I had to tell him again. "HE WILL BITE YOU." I think he got the message.

 

[Pawbla]

My dog does better off-lead too. He's not too keen on dogs (though he's mostly okay with people). I think the street situation makes him a bit anxious, with the leash and all the smells and the people and the noises. Because he's much more friendly in, let's say, a big social gathering in some home. He isn't the type of dog to approach a non-inviting person, and he doesn't like dogs closing in on him. Bah, he doesn't like dogs in general, he just tolerates them. When he's off-leash, he never gets too close to them, and he approaches people ok when called.

"I want to pet your dog, and I want to do it right now."

Is River a Golden Retriever? (beautiful name by the way). He must attract LOADS of kids. And surely parents must think "it's okay, it's a golden retriever, he must LOVE being attacked by a horde of kids".

 

[srdogtrainer]

Is River a Golden Retriever? (beautiful name by the way). He must attract LOADS of kids. And surely parents must think "it's okay, it's a golden retriever, he must LOVE being attacked by a horde of kids".

Yes he is a golden retriever and yes golden=Kid Friendly...too bad River never got the memo.

I am proud of how far her has come though.

 

[648117]

This is always one of my greatest fears with Lewis.

He is not friendly. He does not like people trying to pat him although he is alright standing next to people or even sniffing them on his own terms. But he does not like people (or dogs). I always worry that a child could run up to him and pat or hug him and get snapped at. Especially since Lewis is so fluffy and small, looks a bit like a fox. I just have to hope he maintains his excellent control and does not make contact (he tends to only snap, very rarely makes contact even when pushed really far).

Holly is so good to have when people/dogs want to interact with us. I send her forward and she will "intercept" the other dog/person and I can explain that Lewis is not friendly or she distracts the other dog so I can keep walking with Lewis or pick him up (I try to avoid doing that though).

Holly has saved us a few times.

 

[brody_smom]

This is always one of my greatest fears with Lewis.

He is not friendly. He does not like people trying to pat him although he is alright standing next to people or even sniffing them on his own terms. But he does not like people (or dogs). I always worry that a child could run up to him and pat or hug him and get snapped at. Especially since Lewis is so fluffy and small, looks a bit like a fox. I just have to hope he maintains his excellent control and does not make contact (he tends to only snap, very rarely makes contact even when pushed really far).

Holly is so good to have when people/dogs want to interact with us. I send her forward and she will "intercept" the other dog/person and I can explain that Lewis is not friendly or she distracts the other dog so I can keep walking with Lewis or pick him up (I try to avoid doing that though).

Holly has saved us a few times.

Does Lewis ever approach people or dogs on his own? This is where I get scared with Brody, as he is much like Lewis with people, but he will pull toward a stranger just as they have passed. I have muzzled him on a couple of occasions when walking him, when I was just getting him used to his muzzle and wanted him to accept wearing it in different situations. I must admit I felt much more relaxed walking him, and it sends a pretty clear message to people who might think of approaching. Have you thought of muzzling him on walks?

 

[running_dog]

There are also those people who dole out dog treats and think you are really horrible when you intercept them and say your dog can't have those treats.

For some reason people don't seem to understand that our dogs are not public property!

 

[srdogtrainer]

There are also those people who dole out dog treats and think you are really horrible when you intercept them and say your dog can't have those treats.

For some reason people don't seem to understand that our dogs are not public property!

I find it is easiest just to say my dog has allergies and leave it at that. River comes to PetSmart with me and ofcourse he is very well behaved and all my coworkers wanted to give him one or two or three of those milk bones. He started getting really itchy eating several of them a day so I just started telling everyone he can't have treats becuase he has allergies.

 

[648117]

Does Lewis ever approach people or dogs on his own? This is where I get scared with Brody, as he is much like Lewis with people, but he will pull toward a stranger just as they have passed. I have muzzled him on a couple of occasions when walking him, when I was just getting him used to his muzzle and wanted him to accept wearing it in different situations. I must admit I felt much more relaxed walking him, and it sends a pretty clear message to people who might think of approaching. Have you thought of muzzling him on walks?

He will ignore people when given the choice. He sometimes will sniff their leg a little then back away and he will accept treats from people if they hold one out for him, but once the treats run out he backs off.
If I have the dogs with me and I stand next to someone then Lewis is fine standing there too.

It is only if they approach him that he gets upset.
I have considered getting him a muzzle and probably will eventually. But at the moment it isn't too important because he generally only snaps (no contact), he is fine walking past people/other dogs, I'm very aware of his limits and we have had very few incidents so far (if he's off lead he moves away and on lead I move him away).The times when people have asked to meet my dogs I just tell them to only go near Holly, she distracts them enough that they leave Lewis alone (might be more difficult if I only had one dog).
I will get him a muzzle for emergencies though, but they are surprisingly expensive here and just arn't a priority at the moment.