# Strange/Rude Things You Hear While Walking the Dogs?



## Cheetah (May 25, 2006)

While out walking the dogs with my boyfriend's sister, the guy on the corner was out on his front lawn, and was clearly drunk. "Out walkin' the puppies, huh?" He slurred at us. We smiled and replied, "Yup." He was like "That sucks." 

...:suspicious:

Wasn't expecting that response at all LOL. I just replied with "That's alright, we like to go walking." and walked on as briskly as possible. It may have taken me a few extra seconds to respond, because I was so shocked someone would say that to some people who are clearly out enjoying their walk. Sigh... oh, those drunks... >u.u;<

Anyone else heard any offensive, crazy, or unexpected things while out walking with your dog(s)?


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## LittleFr0g (Jun 11, 2007)

"You should walk your dog more often". Because you know, the fact that I vary my walking routes, drive to other neighborhoods, and spend time at two different local dog parks in order to give my dog mental stimulation instead of walking the exact. same. route. 3 times a day like this individual does, means I never walk my dog. Right. Gotcha. Now, I'll give the guy credit for giving his dogs lots of exercise, but they look bored out of their minds every time I see them. My dad refers to them as "the robots", which is funny but sad at the same time.


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## Crantastic (Feb 3, 2010)

Once a kid on a bike rode by and yelled at Crystal (who wasn't even paying attention to him), "If you bite me, I'll kick you." 

I had one guy make a snide remark to his friend (intentionally loudly enough for me to hear) about how people shouldn't waste money on snooty purebred dogs when there are dogs in the shelter.

Crystal barked at a standard poodle who was walking by when we were sitting at an outdoor cafe in Toronto, and his owner glanced down his nose at Crystal and then remarked, "Don't pay attention to that. It's just a _rat_." (I actually laughed at that one.)

I've had one kid tell me he wanted Casper (and not in a joking tone; he sounded almost angry), and two different people tell me that I didn't need two dogs and that I should give them one.

And of course there are always people who are offended that my dogs are reactive and I won't let their dogs get right in my dog's faces.


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## Greater Swiss (Jun 7, 2011)

I get two things regularly (that I have mentioned before)
If she is on leash: Oh, does she run away on you?
If she is on the tether: You should let her run free. 
Basically boiling down to: you're an idiot for walking your dog, they don't need to be walked if you'd stop being uptight and letting your dog roam. 
I kind of wish I could teach Caeda to pee on people so as a response to comments like that I could let her off leash and give the pee cue, they would stop telling me to let her off pretty quick


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## LittleFr0g (Jun 11, 2007)

Another one I've gotten frequently is having a person ask to pet Kuma while I'm out walking him, and then proceeding to tell me how ugly he is, or how he's "so ugly he's cute". I mean, really? Who says that to someone about their dog??


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## Miss Bugs (Jul 4, 2011)

I dont really get a lot of rude or weird comments...all the comments are usually the same same "are those all your dogs?" "wow thats a lot of dogs" "I wish my dogs were that well behaved" "are you a dog walker?"..for the record I have 6 dogs which I walk all at once. the only differnt comment I have ever gotten was while I was walking my BCs around my work, and a guy saw Misty and asked if she was all BC or crossed with ACD(she is all BC) figered she could go either way, but was just curious because he breeds the cross for cattle on his ranch, I said she is all BC, and then he comments "you actually need them on leashes?" before I said anything though it occured to him that were were in the city where there is a leash law and he was like "oh right, city..I suppose you are required too" lol


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## hargyle (Mar 21, 2012)

While teaching Loki to greet properly on a walk " I have a dog too, so watch out" ... I'm still stumped.


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## Brieana (May 9, 2012)

Not sure why people feel the need to talk about how they don't like Pugs or find them ugly when I walk mine by. Or how many times people have called my Chihuahua a rat. I have opinions about certain breeds and assume the people who keep them are boring and unimaginative, but I would NEVER say that out loud. 

Plus, I cant tell you how many times people have said, "He looks like the dog from... uh..." and I have to remind them it's Men in Black.


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## LittleFr0g (Jun 11, 2007)

> Plus, I cant tell you how many times people have said, "He looks like the dog from... uh..." and I have to remind them it's Men in Black.


Oh, yes. Kuma gets called Frank ALL the TIME. They all think they're being so clever too, like I haven't heard that one a million times, lol.


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## Brieana (May 9, 2012)

Kuma'sMom said:


> Oh, yes. Kuma gets called Frank ALL the TIME. They all think they're being so clever too, like I haven't heard that one a million times, lol.


At least they know it's Frank. I get "the Men in Black dog!" all the time. I'm really glad I didn't go with naming him Franklin. It was one of the three names I was going between when I first got him.


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## Avie (Jul 10, 2011)

Once, when Charlie was still alive, we had spent the afternoon on the beach. Afterwards, we walked back to the car but stopped on the boulevard to get something to eat. Dogs are allowed everywhere, so there were a lot more people with dogs. When we halted for a moment, trying to decide where we were going to sit down, a lady that was sitting nearby with her little pooch spoke to her friend but intentionally loud enough for us to hear: 

"They better leave with that filthy monster." 

NEVER have I heard anyone be so rude! Charlie wasn't even doing anything, not even looking their way. The hell was wrong with them? My father heard her words and immediately went up to them to ask whether she and her little rat had a problem with us. (no, not very nice either, I know. But Charlie was the apple of his eye) 

There was one other time when someone was being rude. I was walking our neighbors' dog Odin, a big dark colored shepherd, and a man told me while passing me by that I better hold him tight because he could see that he was a real mean dog. He sounded really serious about it. :/ And poor Odin loves everyone


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## dutchgal (Jan 26, 2012)

Some days ago, I was walking Oscar when some random man apparantly thought he was really funny. He called to me: "Hey lady, is your dog for sale?" I completely ignored him, but then he turned to his young son (about 5 years old) and said, loud enough for me to hear: "I'm going to buy this dog, so we can eat it tonight!" I was horrified. It wasn't funny at all obviously and also not a very good remark to make to a child, if you ask me. Some people...


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## saharazin (Jun 15, 2011)

I was walking my dog early one morning at the park, and a guy came over to me and said, "I hope you don't mind me saying this, but you are sexy." The guy was probably 20 years younger than me. It was scary.


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## JulieK1967 (May 29, 2011)

Someone once called my old Shih Tzu, Oreo, a "rat" and I found it surprisingly hurtful. No one's ever said anything rude about Molly but people do constantly ask me what breed she is and they usually seem a little disappointed to learn that she's a mix of mainly unknown origin. LOL.


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## Kayota (Aug 14, 2009)

It's hard to see in the pics I've posted, but Roxie seems to be growing an impressive mustache from the corners of her mouth. Well the thing is, it's one of my favorite things about her... But I have heard from multiple people, "she's a girl? You should shave it off! Girls don't have mustaches!" no one ever says that to
The owner of the female schnauzer with way more beard than Roxie has... People also always act like I'm starving her because she is skinny... But if anything she's a bit on the chubby side...


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## lil_fuzzy (Aug 16, 2010)

We like to walk at quiet times of the day, due to Obi being a bit reactive, but someone did diagnose him with small dog syndrome one time. He wasn't running rampant at the time, I saw the woman coming and pulled Obi aside and sat down next to him and held him and fed him some treats, but the woman got too close and he had a little snark. 

Other than that, most comments we get are positive, like how beautiful and well trained they are.

And I don't think walking the same route every day matters. Dogs are territorial, so it's natural to patrol the same area every day, and other dogs will have walked through the same area, so they're always stopping to sniff and mark poles etc. They do get out to training clubs and occasional trips to the beach and friends' places, but mostly we walk the same regular route every day.


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## Brieana (May 9, 2012)

JulieK1967 said:


> Someone once called my old Shih Tzu, Oreo, a "rat" and I found it surprisingly hurtful. No one's ever said anything rude about Molly but people do constantly ask me what breed she is and they usually seem a little disappointed to learn that she's a mix of mainly unknown origin. LOL.


My boyfriend's mom was a big dog person and when I got my 15lb Pug, she called him a little rat. Um, he's a guinea pig of he's anything! They recently adopted a Pomeranian and she says Lily is ok for a "wimpy dog". But truthfully, she's crazy about her new dog, so I don't know why she keeps bringing it up. Nobody else seems to mind. 
Some people are dead set on hating small dogs. Even if it's just the idea of it. I have a friend who says she hates small dogs and cats. But when we lived together, she doted on my cats and my grandma's chihuahua.


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## dagwall (Mar 17, 2011)

lil_fuzzy said:


> And I don't think walking the same route every day matters. Dogs are territorial, so it's natural to patrol the same area every day, and other dogs will have walked through the same area, so they're always stopping to sniff and mark poles etc. They do get out to training clubs and occasional trips to the beach and friends' places, but mostly we walk the same regular route every day.


I agree. Close to 90% of the time I walk Jubel in the same park near our house and he isn't bored with it at all. I do change up the sequence of paths we take in the woods but we cover mostly the same ground everyday. Tons of people and dogs walk through this park everyday, lots of squirrels, chipmunks, deer, fox, etc live there so there are always new smells to check out and places to mark. I guess just walking around the block of a residential neighborhood every single day might get a bit boring though.


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## momof3 (Nov 24, 2007)

My son with his hairless crested gets asked a lot if the dog has mange,or what the heck is wrong with it. And he even had someone once while he was in his Air Force ABUs make a comment that they knew the government did cruel things to animals but did he really have to have it out in public.


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## Fuzzy Pants (Jul 31, 2010)

Brieana said:


> Even if it's just the idea of it. I have a friend who says she hates small dogs and cats. But when we lived together, she doted on my cats and my grandma's chihuahua.


I think it's a macho thing. There are people that just prefer big dogs but people that lack confidence seem to think they HAVE to have a big, intimidating dog to boost their ego. That's fine, but there's no need to constantly knock small dogs.


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

I honestly don't think I've ever had any really RUDE comments directed at my with the dog(s). But plenty of offbeat or strange or just plain amusing comments sure...

Young teenager asked me if Chester was a Rottweiler...

One guy asked me if Chester was female because he squatted to pee ("racehorse" stance in a field). Chester's short haired, it shouldn't be that complicated to figure out he's male

When I had Luna, a good half-dozen men asked me if she was fixed. All were quite disappointed to find out she wasn't available for breeding.

I was highly amused by the instant attention, thumbs up, and various compliments that I got for the neighborhood tough guys when I got Luna. The 80 lbs Chester who can take down a grown man with one good leap didn't make me tough but the 40 lbs of wiggly face licking Luna did. Should be interesting to see what they think of the next pit bull.

I'm more surprised by the number of parents who let their small children wander right up to Chester and stick their hands (or faces) in his face! I was sitting with Chester and a friend's dog at a street fair last week and this little girl maybe 18 months old comes wandering over and starts petting his nose. I'm looking around for a parent, expecting one to run over any second, and nope, kid wanders back off to about 25 feet away to a woman facing the other direction who never seemed to notice the kid had been gone. Yikes! Chester loves it fortunately. So less a "comment" than an "action"


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## MusherChic (Nov 6, 2010)

One time while I was bikejoring, two older guys in a truck passed us and the driver leaned out the window and said something along the lines of "You can't peddle the bike yourself?". 

I sometimes have people who stop to pet my dogs say "Oh you poor baby, you don't get fed enough!". 
??? Ok, so I'll let my dogs get obese so they'll have heart problems and what not when they're older. Yeah, that sounds better. **facepalm**


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## MusherChic (Nov 6, 2010)

> When I had Luna, a good half-dozen men asked me if she was fixed. All were quite disappointed to find out she wasn't available for breeding.


Ugh, people ask me that about my GSD all the time. She only got spayed last spring but before I still told people she was so they wouldn't get the idea of stealing her.


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## amosmoses89 (Jun 19, 2011)

I have a guy in my neighborhood that asks me what kind of dogs mine are every single time I'm walking them and he is outside. Its at least once a week. You'd think he would realize...


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## LittleFr0g (Jun 11, 2007)

> At least they know it's Frank. I get "the Men in Black dog!" all the time.


Oh, I get 50/50 on whether they actually remember the name or just call him the MIB dog, lol.


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## mitzi (Aug 3, 2010)

Where we used to live last year in a suburban area we had a route we sometimes took. Along the way Bosley and I would pass this one house where a crazy old woman would say nasty things like "Your dog better not sh*t in front of my house", "get away from here with that filthy animal" etc. Then one day Bosley one did decide to poop by a tree on the other side of the sidewalk (Not on her property) and she went postal even as she saw me picking it up! 

Then there were the jerky teenagers who would yell out their car windows at me "Watch out for the coyotes! They'll eat your little dog". There were rumors of coyote sightings there in that suburban area but I never met anyone who actually saw one.

Lots of times people say they want to take Bosley home because he appears to be so well behaved (ha!) but several times men have asked me if I would mate him with their female. I am happy to tell them Boz is neutered


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## hargyle (Mar 21, 2012)

Shell said:


> When I had Luna, a good half-dozen men asked me if she was fixed. All were quite disappointed to find out she wasn't available for breeding.


Just at the park this afternoon a guy asked me if Loki was still intact, when I said hes not pure, no papers etc and we have no clue on his health yet as hes only 5 months - that we will NOT be breeding him - the guy kind of puffed up and said "well if I had a sexy dog like that I'd breed him no matter what!" ... I feel bad for his little girl if thats his mentality towards breeding.


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## LuvMyAngels (May 24, 2009)

Anything horse related got old a long time ago and its always someone who thinks they're being witty & that Ive never heard that one. No your kid absolutely can not ride him (neither can mine) because he's a dog not a horse so it doesnt matter if he has a saddle (he doesnt). Just because he's spotty doesnt make him a cow...or a Dalmatian.

When the conversation starts with "Is he neutered?", its usually downhill from there. 

One couple appeared to be cruising around looking for a male to breed with their 5-6 month old female Saint...on her first heat, of course. They saw Buster and had to stop. First thing they said was "Is he neutered yet?". Nope. "Oh well we just got a female....". I interrupted and told her that I absolutely was not interested in breeding him...they sped off before learning that the only reason Bus is still intact is due to medical issues (my regular vet wont even do the surgery at this point, hes higher risk for complications).

Far too many seem to think "Beethoven" when they see Buster. Lucky for them Bus is friendly, most dont bother asking before they're in his face. 

People honk. Some bark at him. 

The most amusing was one night someone stuck their head out the passenger side of a passing car and yelled "Is that a bear?".


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## odiesmom (May 31, 2007)

When walking my yorkiepoo Guapo, who is one of those dogs that is soooo ugly he is adorable, I get alot of people asking me "what is THAT " I usually reply , with a straight face ," he is a cross between an Ewok and a Gremlin" . We love our Guapo to death, I found him in the animal control in Homer Alaska and knew immediatly he was MY dog !! I had just lost my Terrier mix Odie and little Guapo certainly helped to fill the hole losing Odie left in my heart !


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## Sighthounds4me (Nov 7, 2010)

LuvMyAngels said:


> Anything horse related got old a long time ago and its always someone who thinks they're being witty & that Ive never heard that one. No your kid absolutely can not ride him (neither can mine) because he's a dog not a horse so it doesnt matter if he has a saddle (he doesnt).


SO not kidding! I know that one well!


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## pi1otguy (Jan 1, 2011)

While visiting family I gave Spirit some basic command (sit, come, etc)
"oh, your she really listens do you. Do you beat her?"

I was somewhat offended to say the least, but really surprised because it was a serious question out of curiosity.


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## HollowHeaven (Feb 5, 2012)

Eh. Every time.
Cannot count how many "THAT'S A SNOW DOG"s I've gotten. YES I KNOW THANK YOU. little kids, I totally get. I'm willing to talk about the breed to them until they get bored, but when an adult repeatedly runs up to me and says "Is that a snow dog? That's one of them, uh, A-lask-in hooskies, ain't it?" kdunhgu2oi7jh9ny. 
Aleu is often called a wolf, and Diesel has been called a bear. Yep, thats me, the magical owner of a domestic wolf and bear. How spiritual!

Just about daily I get "Those are some big dogs!" When, actually they're quite short, and just fluffy. Or a child will say "Big doggy!" and their parent will say "You could ride those doggies!" Um, naw, please don't attempt to put your child on my dog. Thank you.

Yesterday I had someone reach out to pet them (without my permission of course) and say "Those are some big dogs... Good thing I didn't bring my big dog or it would be a war." Bring your dog where? 

Some years ago, I had a pitty puppy (found, returned home soon after) and while walking her, some neighbors came outside and asked to pet her. They were playing with her like they'd known her her entire life. Then came the question. "What kind is she? She's so sweet!" 'She's a pit bull.' "OH MY GOD GET AWAY FROM IT NOW, COME ON KIDS IT'LL BITE YOU, OH DEAR JESUS." Are you joking right now? I just... didn't even know what to say. Immediately after here came her kid with one of their little dogs and said "lets fight 'em!" I just walked away. my lord people.

a few years ago, we were at a rabies clinic (just went to one last thursday and have another tomorrow, fun!) and we got the typical questions about Aleu. Out of nowhere comes this teenage boy, no shirt on, his little dog that was really no bigger corgi tugging on this huge chain. He goes "GO ON BOY, GIT THAT WULF. GO ON, GIT IT! WHOOP IT'S AZZ" Caught me giving him an ear full. People are half baked, honestly.

But I believe the rudest thing that has ever been said to me, something that really sticks out in my mind was said a couple months ago. We got new neighbors, adults mind you. I was out walking my two when she crossed the road and just out of nowhere reached out for my dogs. My dogs jump on people they don't know. Not aggressively, just they want to say hello. Their feet get dirty and their nails scratch and it's extremely difficult to keep them from jumping when the other person is just leaning into them saying 'it's fine it's fine'. She pet them, talked to them before backing up and I said "Sorry about that. They get really excited when they meet new people." 
this woman looks me dead in the eye and says "Well honey it's because they're just so trapped, they don't have anything to do down here."
o-o' wat.
That's one of my biggest peeves, for someone to tell me I don't take care of my pets. She soon came to learn that I am the only person for miles who actually walks, grooms, trains, vets, etc. her dogs. The only one. 
But, because my dogs are outside, and I don't allow them to just roam the neighborhood, I'm apparently a cruel individual. 

Ohhh and then there are those times I'm told I should feed Aleu more, because she doesn't have globs of flab dripping from her.


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## Roloni (Aug 5, 2011)

I havent heard any negative comments from people , but I am concerned with the way some people "React" when they see my dog.
She is a very well trained , and well behaved Rottweiler. (Shes not a giant, growling ,teeth showing , spiked collar wearing ,
junk yard dog). Her personality is more like a Labrador for the most part. I keep her on leash when walking I give the right of way to everyone we meet when walking. I will get off the sidewalk or path when walking towards people and stop and let them pass. Roxxie sits next to me like a statue ,and as they pass by we smile and say Hi....

A lot of people seem to be frightened by the looks ,and all the bad press Rottweilers get.
People dont say anything rude , but actions speak louder than words.


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## Moxie (Sep 9, 2010)

Earlier this year, as we were walking up our steps to go back into the house after a walk, a lady shouted from about a block away "Them dogs better not attack me!" - I just went inside. I have been warned several times to watch my back because my dogs might turn on me and try to kill me. Um, okay. I'll take my chances. I guess the good news is that if they do try to kill me I'm pretty sure they think the vacuum is the most lethal weapon at hand. So if I die in a freak Hoover accident you all know what really happened.


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## RMR25 (Jan 15, 2012)

My poodle's best friend is a Pomeranian at the corner of the block, and every time he sees us, he'll bark and his owners will let him out so that he can say hi to us. He waits for us either on his porch or his lawn and doesn't wander off, so they don't leash him. 

The two of them are playing on the porch the other day when a guy walking his three huskies on the opposite side of the street starts screaming profanities at us and says the "rat needs to be put on a leash." NYC does have a law that your dog has to be leashed in public, but he was on the porch and never left their property while this guy was going crazy. The Pom's owners told him to f*ck off and then ignored him. I guess this pissed him off even more because he starts to let go of the huskies leashes for a second and says "well I guess I'll let my dogs have their dinner now." O_O
He then proceeds to tell them that they need to learn how to control their dog, meanwhile his three are lunging and pulling this guy down the street. I was completely shocked.

I truly feel sorry for those dogs. This guy doesn't really seem like he has much control over them, and I fear that something is going to happen someday because of his sheer stupidity.


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## DeLaGym (May 15, 2012)

RMR25 said:


> My poodle's best friend is a Pomeranian at the corner of the block, and every time he sees us, he'll bark and his owners will let him out so that he can say hi to us. He waits for us either on his porch or his lawn and doesn't wander off, so they don't leash him.
> 
> The two of them are playing on the porch the other day when a guy walking his three huskies on the opposite side of the street starts screaming profanities at us and says the "rat needs to be put on a leash." NYC does have a law that your dog has to be leashed in public, but he was on the porch and never left their property while this guy was going crazy. The Pom's owners told him to f*ck off and then ignored him. I guess this pissed him off even more because he starts to let go of the huskies leashes for a second and says "well I guess I'll let my dogs have their dinner now." O_O
> He then proceeds to tell them that they need to learn how to control their dog, meanwhile his three are lunging and pulling this guy down the street. I was completely shocked.
> ...


NYC has its characters. I live in a predominantly Russian/Jewish neighborhood in Brooklyn. When i walk my dog, the lady on my floor snarls at her and holds her nose. The other day, she left garbage out in the hallway, i know it was her. I pleasantly knocked on her door with a smirk on my face to tell her she cant leave her trash like that in the hallway. When she opened the door i held my nose and said "OOOMY GAWD, SMELLY". Quite immature, but my dog thought it was pretty funny.

Just a few hours ago im going to walk my dog and as soon as i open the door my dog lunges forward and i hear a scream. This lady is leaning on MY door, texting, and has the nerve to tell me to control my dog.


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## Miss Bugs (Jul 4, 2011)

oh I totally forgot one! I was walking all 6 and a guy passing by said "that must be a dog walking buisses" and I said, no, and he goes "everyone in the neighborhood must love you" I was like he said it in such an unreadable way that I still have no idea what he meant by that, because I didnt say they were all mine, I just said it wasnt a buisness..I cant quite figer out if he meant that he thought they were just naigborhoods dogs that I was walking for free and therefore everyone in the neighborhood must "love me" or if he was being sarcastic about how many dogs I have..I suspect the latter, but he didnt say it in a sarcastic tone lol


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## Brydean (Apr 3, 2008)

Not a walking the dog incident, just strange neighbor. At the time we had a black lab mix, lovable goof of a dog. 
I had seen a black and white cat dead on the road. Since I knew the neighbors had a black and white cat that was an outdoor cat I wanted to make sure it wasn't theirs. Well she said no it wasn't her cat, he was actually in the house at the time, so fine. But then she said she thought I was coming to tell her that my dog ate her cat! :doh:
If she was that concerned about my dog eating her cat, then she should have kept the cat inside!
I just laughed and told her no, my dog was scared of cats! LOL My cat would sit in the doorway and there was nothing that could convince that dog to walk past that cat!


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## kafkabeetle (Dec 4, 2009)

A dude ran up behind us once at a crosswalk and tried to "scare" Sydney by going "boo!" (This was a grown man.) He started talking about how cute she was or whatever and she jumped up on him. Of course she clawed him or something and he cried out "she bit me!!!" then quickly walked across the other crosswalk before I could say anything. No way did she bite him. 

Someone yelled, "I like your dog!" out of a speeding car once as well, which was kind of strange. We don't usually have that much interaction with people now, though, since I started walking her primarily at night. I almost always walk the same or a similar route just because I know it will take approximately one hour and usually I don't have much more time than that to spare. She definitely doesn't seem bored by it.


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## Kayota (Aug 14, 2009)

When Rox was still living with my mom, my mom had no control over her and would not use her "wait" command so she got out often. She would run across the street to play with the kids, who would immediately start screaming, crying and running away, when she hadn't done anything... Once they started running she would chase them and they would freak out even more. The mother threatened to call animal control... I told her if her kids wouldn't freak out then my dog wouldn't chase them.


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## Greater Swiss (Jun 7, 2011)

Someone I know has a ridgeback cross, its ridge is a little messed up, instead of the hair going backwards on the ridge it stands STRAIGHT UP. She has almost had fights with people trying to convince them that NO she does not put her dog's hair in a mohawk, it does that naturally. Lots of "that must have taken a lot of hairspray" comments.


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## RCloud (Feb 25, 2011)

No one has ever really said anything rude to us while out on a walk. A friend of my husband's once said some things that kind of annoyed however. We were passing through town with the dogs and stopped by for a short visit. Upon meeting Ma'ii and seeing him be a bit riled after having been stuck in a car for 5 hours, she went on to say he was a working dog and working dogs needed a job to do or else they would go insane and he could never behave in a environment outside of a working ranch, blahblahblah, and just essentially insinuating that we had adopted an uncontrollable mess. At that point I turned to Ma'ii and said "Sit, down, rollover" to which he immediately stopped what he was doing and did ALL of them without hesitation. Her response was "Oh wow, he actually knows tricks" -_- He's high energy, but he knows what's expected of him. He's not stupid.

Another comment that really struck a nerve was made by the same person regarding Charlotte's diaper. She has to wear a doggy diaper when she's home alone or when visiting people because she has a bladder incontinence issue. She basically said "people who make their dogs wear diapers are just lazy and just need to housebreak their dogs". I got seriously mad over that one, because back before the vet diagnosed her, everyone but me thought it was a housebreaking issue, and would get angry at her for doing it and then get angry at me for supposedly "allowing" it to happen. I KNEW it wasn't a housebreaking issue, because she didn't act like a dog who didn't know any better. She acted like a dog that knew damn well what was expected of her but simply couldn't control herself. I was glad to cram the vet's diagnoses into the faces of everyone that ever treated her like she was a bad dog because of that.


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## Miss Bugs (Jul 4, 2011)

ok, want a rude one? this morning at the dog park and lady threatend to mace my dogs! what did they do? nothing at all, they were playing fetch minding their own buinesses when on of her dogs kept running up to mine(in a friendly manner) mine are obessed with Fetch, they didnt care or even notice her dog, and this lady calls her dog back while threatening to mace my dogs! this was after she warned me that if my dogs hurt hers we were going to have "problems"..the warning given while neither of our dogs were even looking at one another! I didnt know what to make of crazy lady and just flipped directions with my dogs lol


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## xxxxdogdragoness (Jul 22, 2010)

Crantastic said:


> Once a kid on a bike rode by and yelled at Crystal (who wasn't even paying attention to him), "If you bite me, I'll kick you."


i had to re train my dog, Josefina because of ass hat cyclists at the other place we were at which iss next to a busy road, when we were outside playing ball nexxt to our mobile home there were a lot of loose dogs around & i guess they get chased a lot but it still excuse their yelling at her, it startled her & she became increcingly reactive to them when she wasnt before, so i had to do some OC.



Greater Swiss said:


> I get two things regularly (that I have mentioned before)
> If she is on leash: Oh, does she run away on you?
> If she is on the tether: You should let her run free.
> Basically boiling down to: you're an idiot for walking your dog, they don't need to be walked if you'd stop being uptight and letting your dog roam.
> I kind of wish I could teach Caeda to pee on people so as a response to comments like that I could let her off leash and give the pee cue, they would stop telling me to let her off pretty quick


damned of you do, damned if you dont :/



Kuma'sMom said:


> Another one I've gotten frequently is having a person ask to pet Kuma while I'm out walking him, and then proceeding to tell me how ugly he is, or how he's "so ugly he's cute". I mean, really? Who says that to someone about their dog??


those people dont know what they are talking about Kuma is ADORABLE  i guess that some people in this world that dont undersstand that some people's dogs are like..... their kids, in that situation (& i have said this before lol) i would say "how would you like it if i said that about yous kid" lol



Fuzzy Pants said:


> I think it's a macho thing. There are people that just prefer big dogs but people that lack confidence seem to think they HAVE to have a big, intimidating dog to boost their ego. That's fine, but there's no need to constantly knock small dogs.


i like all dogs


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## jenz (Aug 20, 2010)

I started to read this thread expecting something else... to be honest, I'm stunned!. It sounds like most of you have had bad encounters with "adults"-??

My rude comments have all come from children. ALL of them. It's constant. I hate kids anyway, but their comments make me hate them even more, lol. They have NO filters at all. Our most constant comments are about Jack's pinhead. "Why is his head so small?" "Wow, look at that dog's SMALL HEAD." "What's wrong with his head????" I used to explain that Greyhounds have smaller heads because they are aerodynamic, built like a rocket ship, etc. but that didn't placate them. They'd still stare at his face and be like, "Huh. Well it's ugly."

More rude kid comments: "He's so skinny, EWWWW!" "Why's his tail so long? (wrinkling nose)He needs a new tail." "He's ugly." "He smells." "That dog is gross." Last night we walked by two little girls and one of them said, "Those dogs are ugly. That lady needs to get better ones."

I wish I could live in a city where no one under the age of 15 was allowed. That would make dog walking so much easier, lol.

Jen


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## Leirion (Mar 1, 2012)

When I take Tori to the park I get a lot of people who ask if she's a terrier, it's not rude but it does get a bit annoying. We took her to a local pet shop which allows dogs in, we got what we needed and waiting at the check out when a guy behind us loudly stated that she must be a terrier. His daughter (early teens I think) ran up and asked if she could pet Tori, we allowed it but then she picked Tori up and let our pup lick her face which we do not allow. Pretty annoying to be honest as we had just made progress on the no licking our faces and that set us back.

I took Tori out 2 weeks ago this was before we got her a harness and she loved to pull me along. I had been stopping whenever she pulled and got a lot of mutterings about holding people up. We were halfway through our walk when a woman approached us with her dog (offlead) and started saying that Tori shouldn't be on a lead because I wasn't 'doing it right' therefore I should train her offlead which would solve all our problems. The woman then went on to say that I was clearly inexperienced with dogs and obviously everything I was doing was completely wrong and I should do as she does with her dog. I politely listened to her but was very glad when she finally went away, I finished our walk getting increasingly annoyed and upset. I got home and was practically in tears, my partner didn't know what had happened so was quite alarmed. I have lived with 3 dogs in total, 1 from my childhood who sadly passed away last year, the dog my partner owned when I got with her and then moved in who had to be sadly rehomed and now Tori who has come on in leaps and bounds. The reason Tori will never be trained offlead is because she is part greyhound and has a highish prey drive also she absolutely loves humans I mean she will run up to any human for a pet, she also loves to be around children but jumps up at them to lick their faces which would not be a good thing because she could inadvertently knock a child over.


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## Kayota (Aug 14, 2009)

This is true... Last summer I was on the bike with Roxie and some kids tried to follow us and pet her... She was very distracted by this and I was really annoyed!


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## Avie (Jul 10, 2011)

jenz said:


> I started to read this thread expecting something else... to be honest, I'm stunned!. It sounds like most of you have had bad encounters with "adults"-??
> 
> My rude comments have all come from children. ALL of them. It's constant. I hate kids anyway, but their comments make me hate them even more, lol. They have NO filters at all. Our most constant comments are about Jack's pinhead. "Why is his head so small?" "Wow, look at that dog's SMALL HEAD." "What's wrong with his head????" I used to explain that Greyhounds have smaller heads because they are aerodynamic, built like a rocket ship, etc. but that didn't placate them. They'd still stare at his face and be like, "Huh. Well it's ugly."
> 
> ...


I understand why it might be upsetting, but really though... they're just kids  As long as you're happy with your dogs and love them, children's comments really shouldn't be getting at you. Some kids think my dog is stupid or ugly and they say it out loud, to classmates or in my face (I live nearby a school) but whatever. I just laugh it off


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## HollowHeaven (Feb 5, 2012)

Avie said:


> I understand why it might be upsetting, but really though... they're just kids  As long as you're happy with your dogs and love them, children's comments really shouldn't be getting at you. Some kids think my dog is stupid or ugly and they say it out loud, to classmates or in my face (I live nearby a school) but whatever. I just laugh it off


Doesn't mean it's not infuriating. 

Where I live, there are two types of children: Those who get disciplined and those who don't, and you can definitely tell the difference the two instantly. 
I was a child who knew what a belt and a switch and the back of someone's hand felt like, and I definitely knew better than to open my mouth and say something rude like that, and if it did happen, I was quick to apologize. 
Even now when I look at kids who obviously know discipline, they're polite, and usually just have a general curiosity and a case of kids say the darnedest things. Then there are those children who have been allowed to just let it rip and don't care what comes out of their mouths. And, personally, it is bothersome to be around children like that. I can't stand kids in general but to be around ones who are just blatantly rude -.-


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## RCloud (Feb 25, 2011)

The comments I get from adults infuriate me more then the ones I get from children. Kids are kids. They are immature and simply don't know any better, where as adults DO know better and have a full understanding of the concept of respect. In addition to dogs, we also own rats. Years and years back an old boyfriend of mine and myself was walking around a Petco with a pet rat I had on my shoulder. The rat had previously had babies, so her nipples were huge at that point in time. As we were walking around, this lady who was probably in her 40's or 50's was coming towards us, saw my rat, and let out the most disgusted horrified gasp and just stared at us with extreme repulse. At that point my old boyfriend grabbed my rat off my shoulder, held her up under her arms so her belly was exposed and began LICKING HER NIPPLES in the most obnoxious, sickening way possible!! The lady immediately turned and ran off down an aisle, gagging.

One of the funniest memories I have as a pet owner.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

HollowHeaven said:


> Doesn't mean it's not infuriating.
> 
> Where I live, there are two types of children: Those who get disciplined and those who don't, and you can definitely tell the difference the two instantly.
> I was a child who knew what a belt and a switch and the back of someone's hand felt like, and I definitely knew better than to open my mouth and say something rude like that, and if it did happen, I was quick to apologize.
> Even now when I look at kids who obviously know discipline, they're polite, and usually just have a general curiosity and a case of kids say the darnedest things. Then there are those children who have been allowed to just let it rip and don't care what comes out of their mouths. And, personally, it is bothersome to be around children like that. I can't stand kids in general but to be around ones who are just blatantly rude -.-


 Oddly (according to some people; I think it's only logical), I find children who are hit to be extremely obnoxious. No consciences at all, only fear of being caught. If they don't think they'll be caught, they'll do/say anything, no matter how horrible. I prefer children whose parents model kind, respectful behavior, and actually teach them how to be good people instead of taking the lazy way out and just smacking them.

I don't mind what small kids say too much, but teenagers can really get on my nerves. But adults are the worst. Always.


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## kafkabeetle (Dec 4, 2009)

Willowy said:


> Oddly (according to some people; I think it's only logical), I find children who are hit to be extremely obnoxious. No consciences at all, only fear of being caught. If they don't think they'll be caught, they'll do/say anything, no matter how horrible. I prefer children whose parents model kind, respectful behavior, and actually teach them how to be good people instead of taking the lazy way out and just smacking them.


Oh my gosh, I agree with this 100%.



HollowHeaven said:


> Where I live, there are two types of children: Those who get disciplined and those who don't, and you can definitely tell the difference the two instantly.
> I was a child who knew what a belt and a switch and the back of someone's hand felt like, and I definitely knew better than to open my mouth and say something rude like that, and if it did happen, I was quick to apologize.
> Even now when I look at kids who obviously know discipline, they're polite, and usually just have a general curiosity and a case of kids say the darnedest things. Then there are those children who have been allowed to just let it rip and don't care what comes out of their mouths. And, personally, it is bothersome to be around children like that. I can't stand kids in general but to be around ones who are just blatantly rude -.-


My brothers and I were always polite, well-behaved kids not because we feared the threat of violence from our parents, but because they made a point of teaching us compassion from a very young age.


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## LittleFr0g (Jun 11, 2007)

> those people dont know what they are talking about Kuma is ADORABLE i guess that some people in this world that dont undersstand that some people's dogs are like..... their kids, in that situation (& i have said this before lol) i would say "how would you like it if i said that about yous kid" lol


Thank you! Thankfully, people like you are in the majority!  And it's funny you should mention that, because it's so similar to a fabulous come back mentioned to me a while back which I fully intend to use next time it happens is "Aww, your parents must have heard the same thing about you!"


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## ki9090 (Jan 21, 2012)

Im not sure if its "rude" but its annoying, i get a lot of people asking what breed Sadie is, which is fine, but when i reply presa canario the amount of people that ask me if im sure, or laugh and say ya right never heard of that amazes me, not only that, they then try and educate me on what breed i own based on the fact that so and so has a dog with the same color (brindle).... Also lots of whispers about how she is one of those "vicious pitbull things"...


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## KodiBarracuda (Jul 4, 2011)

Willowy said:


> Oddly (according to some people; I think it's only logical), I find children who are hit to be extremely obnoxious. No consciences at all, only fear of being caught. If they don't think they'll be caught, they'll do/say anything, no matter how horrible. I prefer children whose parents model kind, respectful behavior, and actually teach them how to be good people instead of taking the lazy way out and just smacking them.
> 
> I don't mind what small kids say too much, but teenagers can really get on my nerves. But adults are the worst. Always.


I agree.
I wasn't physically punished as a child, the fear of disappointing my parents was enough to keep me on the right track and keep my mouth shut if I thought something mean.


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## Sighthounds4me (Nov 7, 2010)

ki9090 said:


> Im not sure if its "rude" but its annoying, i get a lot of people asking what breed Sadie is, which is fine, but when i reply presa canario the amount of people that ask me if im sure, or laugh and say ya right never heard of that amazes me....


I get that sort of thing all the time too:

"What breed is that?"
"They are Borzoi"
"I've never heard of that!" as if they think I am lying, and I will say, "Oh, I'm just messing with ya! They are really Giant Norwegian Chihuahuas!"


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

Sighthounds4me said:


> I get that sort of thing all the time too:
> 
> "What breed is that?"
> "They are Borzoi"
> "I've never heard of that!" as if they think I am lying, and I will say, "Oh, I'm just messing with ya! They are really Giant Norwegian Chihuahuas!"


Haha, I love it!


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## marsha=whitie (Dec 29, 2008)

In my not-so-great neighborhood, thugs always comment on my "mean-ass Pit Bull." I always say thanks, but you're wrong. She's a boxer mix. 

People always ask what breed she is, and ask me if she's vicious. Yes, my bandanna wearing mutt is clearly vicious.


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## Finkie_Mom (Mar 2, 2010)

I get the, "Who's walking who?" comment a lot.

And crazy looks when I'm walking all three.

I get asked if they're from the same litter.

Then the "THEY LOOK LIKE LITTLE FOXES!" YES. I'm aware of that. THANK YOU.

When people ask what breed they are, I, too, get looked at like I'm making it up when I tell people.

I think I'm going to start telling people that they are fox/wolf hybrids - that might just be more believable LOL.

This wasn't while I was walking anyone, per say, but while I was doing some training at a local park. I had Kimma on a long lead (because I'm paranoid) and we were working on long sits/downs. So she was in a down and the lead was just laying on the ground while I was a good 50 feet or so away (I don't have to hold on to it anymore with her = progress!). Some idiots were passing by in a car (Kimma was about 100 feet from a road) and they slow down and yell, "HERE DOGGY! COME DOGGY!" LIKE REALLY?!!?!?? Who does that? Luckily Kimma didn't flinch (good girl!), but seriously??? Ugh.


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## Crantastic (Feb 3, 2010)

I hate it when idiots call my dog to them... usually from across a street. Luckily, my dogs have no desire to go with some stranger (and are always leashed unless in a fence, anyway).

When Casper was a puppy, I had him on a 30-foot line at the beach and we were going for a walk down the shore. We passed a big group of twentysomethings having a beach party, and one drunk guy called Casper. When Cas ignored him, the guy ran over, grabbed the line, and dragged Cas to him. Cas was afraid, but let the guy pat him. I think now that he's older he might snap at someone who did that, and it would be deserved.


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## HollowHeaven (Feb 5, 2012)

To all those who've replied to my explanation of what type of children I don't like: 
That's why I said where I am. And I used the word 'discipline' which doesn't necessarily mean violence. Physical punishment was used on me, and is used on other kids, but there are other children who get punished for the wrong things they do in other ways. You can tell those raised with a sense of right and wrong from those are just let to do as they will. 




ki9090 said:


> Im not sure if its "rude" but its annoying, i get a lot of people asking what breed Sadie is, which is fine, but when i reply presa canario the amount of people that ask me if im sure, or laugh and say ya right never heard of that amazes me, not only that, they then try and educate me on what breed i own based on the fact that so and so has a dog with the same color (brindle).... Also lots of whispers about how she is one of those "vicious pitbull things"...


Oh this is my favorite, when someone tries to tell you what breed of dog you have.

~~~

Wait, thought of a better way to word my overly detailed fail:
I feel there's a difference between honest curiosity and unbridled rudeness and being a child shouldn't dictate which is acceptable and which isn't
I think that's better


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## Nev Allen (Feb 17, 2010)

Walking down at the beach recently when a great looking women and a lovely BC walked past. I overheard a young guy say, "great bitch - dogs nice too".


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## cuddlbug00 (Mar 8, 2012)

I have a doberman and I have heard a bunch of idiotic things such as:

"Cool greyhound!"
"Those dogs will turn on you, you know."
Also this one guy walks up to me and said:
idiot: Beautiful doberman, is she spayed, cuz I'd love to breed her with my pitt
me: that would be the world's ugliest dog
idiot: yeah but think of how great a guard dog it would be!
me: get away from me.


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## cjw (Jan 7, 2008)

For the last three years of my dog's life she has had both her eyes removed - I could write pages and pages of the dumb comments people make.. SO many people insist on telling me "she has no eyes".. really?? So many people, after commenting that she has no eyes will ask me if she is blind!! I had one person ask if that is the breed standard to be bred without eyes?? If I had a $ for the comments I have had over the years I would be able to retire.


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## xxxxdogdragoness (Jul 22, 2010)

RCloud said:


> No one has ever really said anything rude to us while out on a walk. A friend of my husband's once said some things that kind of annoyed however. We were passing through town with the dogs and stopped by for a short visit. Upon meeting Ma'ii and seeing him be a bit riled after having been stuck in a car for 5 hours, she went on to say he was a working dog and working dogs needed a job to do or else they would go insane and he could never behave in a environment outside of a working ranch, blahblahblah, and just essentially insinuating that we had adopted an uncontrollable mess. At that point I turned to Ma'ii and said "Sit, down, rollover" to which he immediately stopped what he was doing and did ALL of them without hesitation. Her response was "Oh wow, he actually knows tricks" -_- He's high energy, but he knows what's expected of him. He's not stupid.
> 
> Another comment that really struck a nerve was made by the same person regarding Charlotte's diaper. She has to wear a doggy diaper when she's home alone or when visiting people because she has a bladder incontinence issue. She basically said "people who make their dogs wear diapers are just lazy and just need to housebreak their dogs". I got seriously mad over that one, because back before the vet diagnosed her, everyone but me thought it was a housebreaking issue, and would get angry at her for doing it and then get angry at me for supposedly "allowing" it to happen. I KNEW it wasn't a housebreaking issue, because she didn't act like a dog who didn't know any better. She acted like a dog that knew damn well what was expected of her but simply couldn't control herself. I was glad to cram the vet's diagnoses into the faces of everyone that ever treated her like she was a bad dog because of that.


That comment about Ma'ii is rich :/ as someone who has been into ACDs for a long time I imagine that was highly offensive. The first thing my ex boss (she is my "ex" now because of the way she & her bratty kids treated my dogs.... But that's a whole nuther thread) the dirt thig she said when she saw Izze was "don't let her chase the horses) as if she has no self control or discrimination when it came to animals .


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## xxxxdogdragoness (Jul 22, 2010)

HollowHeaven said:


> Doesn't mean it's not infuriating.
> 
> Where I live, there are two types of children: Those who get disciplined and those who don't, and you can definitely tell the difference the two instantly.
> I was a child who knew what a belt and a switch and the back of someone's hand felt like, and I definitely knew better than to open my mouth and say something rude like that, and if it did happen, I was quick to apologize.
> Even now when I look at kids who obviously know discipline, they're polite, and usually just have a general curiosity and a case of kids say the darnedest things. Then there are those children who have been allowed to just let it rip and don't care what comes out of their mouths. And, personally, it is bothersome to be around children like that. I can't stand kids in general but to be around ones who are just blatantly rude -.-


This^^^^^^ like + 100%. 

I also forgot to mention that I have recently found that Buddy will er..... Pee on the cars or er.... Possessions of those he doesn't like. We have this horse shoes that comes out here, he is very Loud & obnoxious. She. He set his carrier equipment down, buddy took one sniff & precedddd to hike his leg & perd on it, I know I shouldn't H's r but everyone had a good laugh over it. He peed on his truck tired too :/


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## Rid#### (Jul 22, 2011)

This is a forum that only wants to hear then thing's they agree with.
If you have other idea's then don't say them or they will ban you.
This is the truth.


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## HollowHeaven (Feb 5, 2012)

cjw said:


> "she has no eyes"














> will ask me if she is blind!! I had one person ask if that is the breed standard to be bred without eyes??


It might just be because I'm tired but I can't stop laughing. 
people. y.


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## cjw (Jan 7, 2008)

HollowHeaven said:


> It might just be because I'm tired but I can't stop laughing.
> people. y.


I know.. I will never understand. I could go on and on with stupid comments that have been passed, but I'm sure you get the picture!!


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## Tahlz (Jan 28, 2012)

Kayota said:


> When Rox was still living with my mom, my mom had no control over her and would not use her "wait" command so she got out often. She would run across the street to play with the kids, who would immediately start screaming, crying and running away, when she hadn't done anything... Once they started running she would chase them and they would freak out even more. The mother threatened to call animal control... I told her if her kids wouldn't freak out then my dog wouldn't chase them.


Alright, I am sorry but this one comment annoyed me. I understand you know your dog isn't doing anything and she is being friendly but the fact is, some people are afraid of dogs, some people don't want dogs near them and that is fair. As a dog owner, it's your responsibility to make sure a dog is properly contained. It's your mothers fault Roxie kept getting out and the mother had every right to call animal control if this continued. I am sorry but my sister has a huge fear of dogs and I know this would be a big deal for her. These kids/parent weren't in the wrong. I'd call animal control if some one couldn't control their dog if it was a continues problem.

In saying that.. I own a fearful Kelpie x who will try and go after people, depending on the situation.

About a month ago, I was walking on the footpath, a guy was leaving his house to get to his car and he had to pass us. He suddenly stopped and swung his arms towards Serenity. She had a muzzle on and thankfully, she actually just stood there and behaved. I think he did it because he saw she had a muzzle on. He was a good few feet away so thats why she didn't react but I was so pissed. As he got in to the car, he had the nerve to smile at me.

I've had people yell/bark at my dogs from their cars but I just ignore them.

Once I was walking Serenity and a group of 5 kids started barking/kind of lunging forwards but stepping back, aimed at Serenity though. They started to come closer so of course I snapped at them and said 'She doesn't like people and she bites' That made them back up real quick.

Years back these people from school were mocking my dogs for being black and went on how disgusting they were. Anyway, they decided to do that when I walked past them on the streets. I decided to go over to them with the dogs, let the dogs get real close to them and they ran. Funniest thing ever. I did it again but to people I didn't know that were dissing my dogs. This was years ago, I'm talking 5 years ago. I wouldn't do that now but I still find it funny.


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## lil_fuzzy (Aug 16, 2010)

Rid#### said:


> This is what I have done to another dog owner. And I think it was offensive and it was meant to be this way.
> It all started when I was waiting for the wife at the dental clinic in our town.
> This couple pulled up and the lady went inside. He then got out and bought his dog out with him on the lead.
> All okay so far.
> ...


I think that was quite rude of you. I have a dog that would carry on the same way. He's fear aggressive, and we've been working on it for over a year. He's much better, but he still occasionally lunges at people or dogs. When I first started working on it we couldn't go out the front door without him carrying on like lunatic dog. 

So you think I deserve nasty looks from strangers because my dog has a reactivity issue?

It's one thing to have a reactive dog and try to train it and doing the best you can (like me), and a completely different matter if you have a reactive dog and you think it's funny and laugh about it. Keep in mind also that some people laugh out of embarrassment and simply don't know how to deal with the issue.

You haven't said anything about the owner's reaction, but simply owning a reactive dog, even if it's small, doesn't warrant nasty looks from others.


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## Tahlz (Jan 28, 2012)

I'd like to know what the guy was doing when he walked past. Can you tell us Rid?

If he kept his dog close to him and tried to keep a good distance from you Rid, I don't see why the guy deserves a dirty look.

If the guy had the leash long and didn't care the dog got close to you, I'd be pissed and I'd give him a dirty look or I'd say something and I own a dog that is fearful and will try this at times.

Even if some one doesn't know how to handle a fearful dog, it isn't that hard to keep the dog by your side when you are walking close to some one. When I walk my girl, I always move her to the side and walking past some one or I will get her to focus on me and she'll follow by my side without a issue.

I once had a lady with a small dog on a lead. Now, I was walking down a small alley way and this dog was on a longer lead, full length. The dog could nearly reach me. It was barking/trying to get at me. She did nothing to control or at least pull the dog close to her. Thats just plain rude and she deserved more then a good death stare.


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## Rid#### (Jul 22, 2011)

This is a forum that only wants to hear then thing's they agree with.
If you have other idea's then don't say them or they will ban you.
This is the truth.


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## Tofu_pup (Dec 8, 2008)

Rid#### said:


> lil_fuzzy and Tahlz, the owner just stood there and let his dog lunge out while barking and snapping at the bypasser.
> Not one effort was made to stop the dog from the crazy attack mode the dog had at this time.
> So I am sorry about not putting this down with the original post.
> So I hope this makes this a little clearer.


That still doesn't call for a nasty look.


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## kafkabeetle (Dec 4, 2009)

Rid#### said:


> This is what I have done to another dog owner. And I think it was offensive and it was meant to be this way.
> It all started when I was waiting for the wife at the dental clinic in our town.
> This couple pulled up and the lady went inside. He then got out and bought his dog out with him on the lead.
> All okay so far.
> ...


I probably would have given you a nasty look right back. Just because big dogs are wrongly discriminated against doesn't mean it's ok to discriminate against small dogs. You have absolutely no idea whether the owner was in the process of training the dog. Unless he said something dismissive or rude to you, you were out of line. The situation you've described could very well be one I could find myself in with my dog that is sometimes reactive. She behaves that way because she is *afraid*. I also hope you realize that people like you who clearly and openly judge badly behaved dogs in public are a main reason why many never train their dogs to behave well in public. They don't like to be shamed by strangers like you have done while they are in the process of training. They will try a few times and then give up because the embarrassement is too hard to bear. And then what happens is the dog never gets walked or brought in public again. It's easy to say the dog should be trained better from the outside looking in. Maybe you should try to remember the fact that a dog just become trained overnight.


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## Tahlz (Jan 28, 2012)

Your dirty look was called for then.

I own a fearful dog so I'm not discriminating. I'm sorry but its rude to have a dog barking/lunging at some one. It's not that hard to hold the dog close. Clearly the owner didn't give a crap about what his dog was doing. The owner deserved more then a dirty look. I would have said something.


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## lil_fuzzy (Aug 16, 2010)

Rid#### said:


> lil_fuzzy and Tahlz, the owner just stood there and let his dog lunge out while barking and snapping at the bypasser.
> Not one effort was made to stop the dog from the crazy attack mode the dog had at this time.
> So I am sorry about not putting this down with the original post.
> So I hope this makes this a little clearer.


Sometimes people freeze in situations where they don't know what to do. Things happen too quickly and they don't have enough time to process and actually figure out what to do. It happens. So unless the guy specifically said he thought it was cute and was laughing and smiling about it, I wouldn't assume he deserves a nasty look just for having a small dog that happens to be reactive

Maybe he did deserve the nasty look, I don't really know, but you can't assume that he is a bad owner based on the situation that you described, so giving strangers nasty looks when you know nothing about them is quite rude.

I'm sometimes unable to pull Obi in when he decides to be reactive. It doesn't happen a lot anymore, but just the other day we were surprised by a guy on a bike and a dog running next to him. They came around the corner suddenly and Obi went crazy. I couldn't do anything except stand there and hang on to the leash for dear life and wait for them to pass, because trying to change my grip on the leash would compromise my hold on it, and he might have gotten away. And that would be worse than standing there and just wait for them to pass, when the other dog wasn't within reach.


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## Rid#### (Jul 22, 2011)

This is a forum that only wants to hear then thing's they agree with.
If you have other idea's then don't say them or they will ban you.
This is the truth.


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## kafkabeetle (Dec 4, 2009)

Rid#### said:


> Well to you all who think what I done was wrong, I happen to think the other way.
> I will not go alone with the claims that he might have a dog that is reactive or something like that.
> To me if you have a dog that is going to lunge at someone minding their own buisness.
> Then they should keep their eyes on their dog plan and simple. No 2 ways about it.


Uh, they clearly were paying attention to their dog, otherwise it wouldn't just lunged at someone. It would have actually approached them and if you were correct, would have bitten someone. None of that happened so sorry, I think you're being dramatic.



Rid#### said:


> So if I can do it so can they, just because it is nervous it is allowed to react like this, no way.
> If your dog is like this then take it out early or late and build it up to the point where it can be social.
> This is for little or big dog.


This isn't about whether or not a dog is "allowed" to react that way. A reactive dog can only be trained when it is under threshold. Once they react you can physically contain them, but for most that's about it. It's all well and good to say you should only take the dog out early or late until they learn better, but people have lives. For all you know that's what they've been doing, but for some reason they HAD to bring the dog somewhere with them for a minute and the situation stressed them and put them over threshold. Sh*t happens. You don't know them or their dog.



Rid#### said:


> If I was walking by and it attacked my dog and my dog happened to bite it, I know who would be in trouble.
> And no it wouldn't be the little dog it would be my dog and me getting in trouble.


Oh, but here's the thing: That didn't happen, because the owner contained their dog. And yet you still gave them a dirty look, so now YOU get to be in the wrong.



Rid#### said:


> Some dogs just need more training and if they decline from doing this because they are too lazy, as this owner was.
> Then he deserved every little bit of what he got.
> Just because it is small and a so called cute dog is no excuse to have a barking madly dog that lashes out at everything that moves past it.


From what happened you have no way of knowing whether they were training the dog or not or whether they are lazy. And you don't know whether they think it's ok because their dog is small and cute. Maybe the dog was rescued from a puppy mill and it was their first day out in public. Maybe the dog was "in training" and had a setback. Maybe the owners did think it was cute and encouraged it. But again YOU DON'T KNOW. Your post so far have been about 90% assumption. I don't care if you like hearing it either, but this is the truth.



Rid#### said:


> lil_fuzzy and Tahlz, the owner just stood there and let his dog lunge out while barking and snapping at the bypasser.
> Not one effort was made to stop the dog from the crazy attack mode the dog had at this time.


Please explain to me how YOU would go about stopping the behavior IN THAT MOMENT if this was your dog. Wave a magic wand? Hang the dog by their leash? In my book if they kept the dog from coming into contact with the person they were reacting to, they did what they were obligated to do.


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## lil_fuzzy (Aug 16, 2010)

Rid#### said:


> Well to you all who think what I done was wrong, I happen to think the other way.
> I will not go alone with the claims that he might have a dog that is reactive or something like that.
> To me if you have a dog that is going to lunge at someone minding their own buisness.
> Then they should keep their eyes on their dog plan and simple. No 2 ways about it.
> ...


My reactive dog IS highly trained, we have done advanced obedience, loads of work at home on impulse control, he has awesome recall etc. And we have worked a LOT on his reactivity issue, but it takes TIME. You can't fix it in one session. I don't excuse him by saying that he is cute, we work on it every single time we leave the house, but he's still a reactive dog, and sometimes he lunges. It's not a lack of obedience skills and it's not a lack of effort on my part.

You're just lucky enough that you got a dog that isn't reactive. Maybe try to be a little more understanding for other people who weren't so lucky?


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## kafkabeetle (Dec 4, 2009)

lil_fuzzy said:


> You're just lucky enough that you got a dog that isn't reactive. Maybe try to be a little more understanding for other people who weren't so lucky?


Yeah, really.


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## Miss Bugs (Jul 4, 2011)

^^ Agree'd, Gypsy reacts to bikers and runners, she WILL bite them. I am damned if I do and damned if I dont..If I just hold her back I get nasty looks, if dont hold her back I get nasty looks, if I string her up(as I had had to do sometimes due to groups of bikers in a tight space) I get REALLY nasty looks. luckiy I really dont give a **** what people think, but lots of people DO care about the nasty looks and comments and react accordingly...which is rarely good for the dog.

Gypsy BTW is a RESCUE, I didnt not raise her this way, I am not "lazy", she spent one of her most important mental periods(4-6 months) locked in a tiny concrete cage with no walks and limited interaction, and this is the result I get to deal with.


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## kafkabeetle (Dec 4, 2009)

Miss Bugs said:


> Gypsy BTW is a RESCUE, I didnt not raise her this way, I am not "lazy", she spent one of her most important mental periods(4-6 months) locked in a tiny concrete cage with no walks and limited interaction, and this is the result I get to deal with.


Same for Sydney but it was the first 2 years of her life.


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## Kayota (Aug 14, 2009)

I suppose I want to point out that the running and screaming happened while I was crossing the street to collect her. It couldn't have been more than a minute or so. And she is certainly better trained now... Better recall. But at the time I was visiting her only on weekends, so I couldn't consistently train her as well as I would like, since my mom lets the dogs do whatever. Of course it's not okay to let her run around like that; I do know better.


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## Trzcina (Aug 9, 2010)

Tofu_pup said:


> That still doesn't call for a nasty look.


It's a dirty look... that's all. I give them accidentally to people all the time. Not the end of the world, or even particularly offensive (in my opinion).

I certainly would give someone a look if their dog was lunging and barking at me. It's well and fine that the dog may have a reactivity issue, that they may be working on it--but what looks like an aggressive display (even if it's fear-based) isn't something that you should be allowing outside a dentist's office. From what we know of the story, I would say that the owner of the small dog should have made an effort to remove the dog from that situation. Common courtesy to the other people in the vicinity. I love dogs, but I would be nervous if I were standing somewhere and a dog was barking and lunging at me and the owner didn't seem to care. Now if the owner said that they were working on it, or apologized--that would be a different matter. It's inappropriate behavior even if understandable, and it's stuff like that (along with cleaning up issues) that get dogs banned from public places they shouldn't be banned from. Most people aren't going to understand that a dog freaking out isn't dangerous or some kind of menace. Although not ideal behavior in any situation, at least to me it would make a world of difference if the owner simple went, "Sorry about that, we're still working on socializing him" or "Sorry about her barking, she's afraid of people." Though with the latter, I would wonder why the person took their dog into a situation that was obviously causing it distress.

Anyway.

I've been asked many, many times if my Finnish Lapphund is a Siberian Husky, a Chow, etc. Once I was asked if she's an Aussie (we were at an AKC obedience trial relatively shortly after the breed was able to be shown in companion events--around 2005 or 2006, I think). In the Aussie case it was an adult who asked. Most other cases have been kids. Once I was asked by a man in South Carolina what kind of dog she is, I answered, and he repeated it back as "A Spanish poodle?" No, sir. A Finnish Lapphund. They herd reindeer in northern Finland. Otherwise, mostly kids just want to pet her. It doesn't bother me. She likes them. I'm lucky she's so cool with everything, really (she very briefly went through a phase at around one year of age where she -hated- people touching her rear, but even then she'd just leap straight up in the air if they did).


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## RCloud (Feb 25, 2011)

Trzcina said:


> "Sorry about her barking, she's afraid of people." Though with the latter, I would wonder why the person took their dog into a situation that was obviously causing it distress.


Because locking them away from the world isn't going to fix the problem, it's just going to make things worse.


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## Trzcina (Aug 9, 2010)

RCloud said:


> Because locking them away from the world isn't going to fix the problem, it's just going to make things worse.


I understand that--but typically overloading -anything- with something that distresses it doesn't help a great deal. Little steps, rewards for ignoring the stressor... that's what my understanding was on how to deal with those kinds of things. Of course, the only dog I've worked with that was particularly afraid of people (didn't belong to me, was fostered by a relative for a while) would simply shut down and sit in a corner and pretend the world didn't exist. Poor boy.

I guess I also don't completely trust the average pet owner (at least from the ones I've met around here) to not cause more harm than good by traumatizing the dog further and putting people at risk, too, by not being able to read their pet. The other half is that if it were my dog doing that, I'd be afraid if I told people the dog was afraid of them, I'd get a person going "But all dogs LOVE me!!!" and trying to love on the dog, causing it to react with perfectly understandable fear.


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## Rid#### (Jul 22, 2011)

This is a forum that only wants to hear then thing's they agree with.
If you have other idea's then don't say them or they will ban you.
This is the truth.


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## Daenerys (Jul 30, 2011)

Nothing particularly rude has been said to me and my dogs, but we've gotten a few comments.

Legend hasn't gotten any comments, really, but a lot of people seem to assume he's a people or dog loving dog and allow their kids or dogs to approach him. He's reactive to dogs, he will lunge at them barking and growling, and I reel him in whenever I see another dog approaching, step off the path or sidewalk, and keep him right next to my leg, but just recently we were walking in the park and I remove Legend from the path as just described, but the person with his dog walks right up to us and asks "Can they say hi?" as Legend is barking and growling and lunging to get at his dog! WTF, no, go away! Just because he is small doesn't mean he can't bite. With kids, he's usually ok, although the more rowdy ones scare him and he can't be picked up, he'd bite. I usually don't let kids touch him unless I know them and how they behave around dogs. 

As for Faolan, he mostly gets comments. People have said "Oh, I can see the wolf in him!" and I always have to explain that he is a purebred husky (albeit not the best example of one), no wolf in him at all. I remember one lady who asked if he was a German shepherd and when I said no, he's a husky, she asked me if I had given him a haircut. A lot of people also assume he is a she, which I don't quite get. Maybe because he is all white? He's not fluffy so his manly bits are clearly visible...


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

Rid#### said:


> I am yet to see where I have said what I am talking about is anyone dog on here. So please let me know just who's dog I was talking about.
> But if this is hitting you because of this is what your dog is doing then this is not my problem. As I was not pointing at you in any way at all.
> I was talking about a person in my town with his dog.
> *The point is that unless you actually know the person in your town and know that they are "letting" their dog act like that and are not making any effort to deal with then you don't know crap about their situation and those of us who have had to deal with reactive or traumatized dogs are tired of dealing with people like you who assume we are somehow bad dog owners*
> ...


I worked for 5 months with an out of control, dog reactive, and "nutty" little pit bull who came to me after being a stray and then being crated nearly all the time (yes, maybe 22 hours a day) with no socializing, no training and no manners. We went out in public because the only things that were going to make her better were exercise, training and attention. So little by little we made progress but as we made that progress, sometimes she overloaded mentally or sometimes we had set backs and she would be lunging, howling and barking at someone's dog. I could do nothing at that point other than hold her tight (sometimes literally lifting her off the ground to prevent her from getting traction and/or strangling herself) and wait for the other person to pass. I got a ton of dirty looks from ignorant people like you.

But you know what? We did make progress, not 100% but significant, and she found a wonderful adoptive family who is willing to continue to put the effort into her and deal with the nasty looks and comments from people like you because she is a loving and delightful little dog who is worth it.

The same type of situation is dealt with over and over by my fellow foster homes and rescuers as we take out in public dogs that have been subjected to dog fighting, abuse, starvation, being caged for a year, being abandoned etc. WE DID NOT CREATE THEIR ISSUES!! The months or years of rehab that follow often come with problems and patience from others and an understanding that we are doing everything we can is all we ask for.



> A good dog is a reflection of it's owner.


Maybe, maybe not; sometimes a dog is good in spite of it's owner. But along those same lines, a "bad" dog is not necessarily a reflection of it's owner. It can be a reflection of a previous owner or simply a dog's personality or mental state.


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## dagwall (Mar 17, 2011)

I got some strange looks from people when I had the fearful chi/terrier puppy for 10 days of foster sitting. She was very reactive to new people and dogs and absolutely overwhelmed if there were multiple people/dogs. I only walked her in my neighborhood and the nearby park so I didn't run into too many people who hadn't frequently seen me out and about with my own dog who isn't reactive. People where shocked by her behavior but most being familiar with seeing me with my dog weren't really judging me. With 10 days there wasn't much I could do to help her other than my dog being a good example for her, didn't help much but I did notice a small improvement by the end of the 10 days.

The people we passed who didn't recognize me and my dog did raise some questioning eyebrows when they noticed me pulling the 9 pound puppy in close as they approached and left the 50 pound "scary looking" dog loose with his 6' of leash. Then she'd reach her threshold and start barking and lunging and a look of understanding would come over their faces as we passed each other. 

Honestly I wouldn't care in the least if ignorant people gave me dirty looks about a reactive dog as long as I was doing my best to control the dog and work towards fixing the reactivity. But I know a lot of people DO care about that sort of thing and it's rude for others to judge them without knowing the whole story.


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## Vicky88 (Jan 29, 2012)

I have a reactive dog, only towards other dogs, my dog has been attacked in the past, so barks/growls to warn the other dog off, i have gotten looks, and it is annoying, and yes it makes me think i should not take Holly out, because i don't like people who judge, i move Holly to the other side, so she would have to go across me to get to the other dog, if i see a dog coming i cross to the other side of pavement, if we are on a hike and i can i try to give Holly the space she wants and needs, i was once walking Holly on lead, when a black lab and owner comes along, this lady see's us stops, then comes towards us, i moved off the path, but she still let her dog come over to mine, my dog was good she can snap when dogs get in her face but not this time, when the lady walks away she said i should of picked my dog up because her dog hates dogs on leads, like flipping heck, why didn't she put the dog on a lead when she saw us, or go back the way she came, my dog was on a lead because she can run and bark in dogs faces, the last thing i needed was for her dog to attack mine, i was also at the park, it is not a dog park, i live in the UK and it is a big piece of open grass, i walked past a group of boys, one said's get you f***ing dog away otherwise i will kick it's head in, people have had problems with this group, i actually saw them a few days later telling another dog owner to do the same!, oh and by the way some might think my dog is nasty and out to attack every dog, but actually Holly does not fight, while being attacked she gives in, and screams her head off, she has actually wet herself once aswell, if one goes go for her she runs around screaming, so please don't just think my dog wants to kill every dog she see's, and i am working on it, Holly has been to training classes, where it took at least 2 visits before she would even go in the hall with the other dogs, she finished the class but has not been back, she was just too freaked, maybe when she is better and abit more relaxed i might try again, she has also had one 2 one lessons.


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## JonTempleton (Apr 26, 2012)

I was out riding my bike one night... I have a nice Specialized Road/Trail hybrid. It's fast. So I am going like full speed and passing this guy on my right. He had a dog in the bushes on the left with one of those leashes that coils up. The leash wrapped around my neck, came out of his hand, and pulled itself right into my head. I freaked out and asked if the dog was okay. The guy said without looking at the dog "he is worried about you." I was fine. LOL!


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## osdbmom (Feb 15, 2011)

hargyle said:


> Just at the park this afternoon a guy asked me if Loki was still intact, when I said hes not pure, no papers etc and we have no clue on his health yet as hes only 5 months - that we will NOT be breeding him - the guy kind of puffed up and said "well if I had a sexy dog like that I'd breed him no matter what!" ... I feel bad for his little girl if thats his mentality towards breeding.


 A sexy dog???? That kinds creeps me out.


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## RCloud (Feb 25, 2011)

Trzcina said:


> I understand that--but typically overloading -anything- with something that distresses it doesn't help a great deal. Little steps, rewards for ignoring the stressor... that's what my understanding was on how to deal with those kinds of things. Of course, the only dog I've worked with that was particularly afraid of people (didn't belong to me, was fostered by a relative for a while) would simply shut down and sit in a corner and pretend the world didn't exist. Poor boy.
> 
> I guess I also don't completely trust the average pet owner (at least from the ones I've met around here) to not cause more harm than good by traumatizing the dog further and putting people at risk, too, by not being able to read their pet. The other half is that if it were my dog doing that, I'd be afraid if I told people the dog was afraid of them, I'd get a person going "But all dogs LOVE me!!!" and trying to love on the dog, causing it to react with perfectly understandable fear.


In this case, they weren't overloading their dog. Overloading their dog would be if they took this dog to a county fair or someplace where there were people every step it took. This just sounds like the dog was hanging outside of a dentist office for a few minutes while the owner was waiting for someone. One of my dogs has dog aggression. She was attacked at a dog park last year and that triggered some sort of aggression in her towards strange dogs. Use to be a time where she'd lunge at the end of the leash, snapping and snarling wildly, spit flying from her mouth, trying to rip into any new dog that walked by. These days she walks beautifully past other dogs without ever batting an eye. The ONLY way we were ever able to get to this point was by taking her out into public where we knew we'd pass by others walking their dogs. If we had chose to just keep her at home every time we went out, rather then taking her with us and dealing with the situation, she'd be in a much, MUCH worse state.


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## RCloud (Feb 25, 2011)

Rid#### said:


> I am yet to see where I have said what I am talking about is anyone dog on here. So please let me know just who's dog I was talking about.
> But if this is hitting you because of this is what your dog is doing then this is not my problem. As I was not pointing at you in any way at all.
> I was talking about a person in my town with his dog.
> 
> ...


I get your annoyance over the attitude some small dog owners have and how they allow their dogs to get away with things that would be considered unacceptable to medium and large dogs owners, but the fact is you don't know anything about the person or the dog, and automatically assuming the person is an irresponsible owner just because his dog was barking at a passerby is childish. Maybe he just adopted the dog and was unaware the dog was so reactive. Maybe he was watching it for a friend. It's extremely common for small dogs to be leash reactive, and hard to train out of them. Maybe his dog is being worked with by a professional trainer. His dog was on a leash, and he was holding onto the leash, which tells me some effort was being made to keep his dog from potentially causing problems. You know what's irresponsible? People who DON'T leash their dogs in public. 

At the end of the day, it's a dog. None are perfect, just like no human is perfect, and if you think otherwise, then seriously, grow up.


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## Trzcina (Aug 9, 2010)

RCloud said:


> In this case, they weren't overloading their dog. Overloading their dog would be if they took this dog to a county fair or someplace where there were people every step it took. This just sounds like the dog was hanging outside of a dentist office for a few minutes while the owner was waiting for someone. One of my dogs has dog aggression. She was attacked at a dog park last year and that triggered some sort of aggression in her towards strange dogs. Use to be a time where she'd lunge at the end of the leash, snapping and snarling wildly, spit flying from her mouth, trying to rip into any new dog that walked by. These days she walks beautifully past other dogs without ever batting an eye. The ONLY way we were ever able to get to this point was by taking her out into public where we knew we'd pass by others walking their dogs. If we had chose to just keep her at home every time we went out, rather then taking her with us and dealing with the situation, she'd be in a much, MUCH worse state.


Good point--I was picturing a city street with lots of people that happened to have a dentist office on it. Not sure why, given my dentist office would be a quiet place to take a dog, but... that wasn't what I was imagining for one reason or another. So what I was picturing was overloading, what you were wasn't. All a matter of interpretation of what was written.


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## osdbmom (Feb 15, 2011)

Is that a yorkie?
Yes
Is it a real one?
No its stuffed that's why shes moving and barking.

That poodle mix is disgusting. What a disgusting dog!(after the woman had invited me into her yard to get a closer look at them)

You're going to kill your dogs, walking them so much. Don't you know small dogs aren't supposed to walk like this? They'll break their legs if they don't stay in the house allthe time!


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## marsha=whitie (Dec 29, 2008)

Bryna and I went to Petsmart yesterday to look at treats and dog food. At the end of an aisle there was a man and woman with a cart, watching us and conversing over something. Instead of waiting for us to round the corner, they proceded down the aisle when we were not even 2 feet from them, causing me to run into a shelf and I had to pull Bryna out of the way of their cart. The look that I gave that woman should have melted her skin, but she had the NERVE to make kissy noises at Bryna with a stupid, sly grin on her face. People... grr. Its not really the comments that I deal with, its the ACTIONS. Teasing, provoking, BARKING at my dog. Its frusterating.


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## HollowHeaven (Feb 5, 2012)

marsha=whitie said:


> its the ACTIONS. Teasing, provoking, BARKING at my dog. Its frusterating.


Like how someone in a fancy car revs their engine and swerves toward you and your dogs honking then speeds off laughing while your dogs hit the deck and you nearly go splat? 


I've had a few people slow down and ask me if I'm selling my dogs and that's why I'm 'out parading them around'. Can't tell if rude or stupid.


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## RCloud (Feb 25, 2011)

HollowHeaven said:


> Like how someone in a fancy car revs their engine and swerves toward you and your dogs honking then speeds off laughing while your dogs hit the deck and you nearly go splat?


This happened just recently to us. Some jackass in a jeep came speeding around a corner abruptly and super close to the curve and literally came inches from hitting Charlotte.


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## Crantastic (Feb 3, 2010)

That happened to me last fall, but it was awesome -- I was crossing the street at a corner and this truck whipped around the corner and missed me and my dogs by a couple feet. Then a police car came out of nowhere (from a totally different direction than the truck), turned on its siren and chased the truck down.


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## Sloth (Jul 29, 2008)

While Walking my parent's pug someone commented me on his facial wrinkles. Must be a pug thing...


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## Cheetah (May 25, 2006)

HollowHeaven said:


> I've had a few people slow down and ask me if I'm selling my dogs and that's why I'm 'out parading them around'. Can't tell if rude or stupid.


How DARE you take your dogs for a leisurely walk, you showoff! =P

People are so dumb... lol



Crantastic said:


> That happened to me last fall, but it was awesome -- I was crossing the street at a corner and this truck whipped around the corner and missed me and my dogs by a couple feet. Then a police car came out of nowhere (from a totally different direction than the truck), turned on its siren and chased the truck down.


Poetic Justice in action! LOL


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## marsha=whitie (Dec 29, 2008)

HollowHeaven said:


> Like how someone in a fancy car revs their engine and swerves toward you and your dogs honking then speeds off laughing while your dogs hit the deck and you nearly go splat?


EXACTLY. My neighborhood is full of trouble-causing thugs who do that stuff all the time. They find it incredibly funny apparently. Or at least they will til I bust out their windows at 4am.....


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## Tofu_pup (Dec 8, 2008)

marsha=whitie said:


> EXACTLY. My neighborhood is full of trouble-causing thugs who do that stuff all the time. They find it incredibly funny apparently. Or at least they will til I bust out their windows at 4am.....


This reminds me of the time I was on a run with Kaki and my foster dog, Mia. Mia pooped so I stopped to pick it up and a car full of frat boys at the red light yelled at me,"Show me some titties!!!". Without knotting th poo bag I tossed it at their windshield and continued on my run. I really wish I could've seen their reactions but I wasn't going to sit there and wait for their light to turn green. And yes, years later I still think my actions were totally justified.


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## stacey101 (Sep 20, 2010)

Kodas fur grows suppppppppppppppppppppppppppppper fast. Even the groomer is amazed at its rate of growth.
So sometimes he looks like a big fluffy bear walking..

" your dog is by far to fluffy its really ugly "
" what the &^$^ is that?"
" He makes the ugliest nosies " referring to the snorting he makes when he is excited.

people are so mean.


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## Nuggets (Feb 23, 2012)

When I meet people on a trail or road when we're walking, they tell me how cute Nugget is, and then ask her breed. I say Pit mix (even though she looks mostly full Pit as she gets older), and they just tiddle on about how cute she is. But today, at the park, a woman called Nugget a monster and told her kids to get behind her. A few yards down, a man called out, "cute Pittie!" loud enough for the woman and her kids to hear.

a 30 lb, 5 month old floppy-eared puppy is hardly a monster...

now I'm nervous that we'll get turned away from campgrounds because Nugget is obviously a APBT, and many places have breed restrictions.


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## RCloud (Feb 25, 2011)

Nuggets said:


> When I meet people on a trail or road when we're walking, they tell me how cute Nugget is, and then ask her breed. I say Pit mix (even though she looks mostly full Pit as she gets older), and they just tiddle on about how cute she is. But today, at the park, a woman called Nugget a monster and told her kids to get behind her. A few yards down, a man called out, "cute Pittie!" loud enough for the woman and her kids to hear.
> 
> a 30 lb, 5 month old floppy-eared puppy is hardly a monster...
> 
> now I'm nervous that we'll get turned away from campgrounds because Nugget is obviously a APBT, and many places have breed restrictions.


We live in an RV and frequent campgrounds with our two dogs, one being a Pit Bull. A lot do have breed restrictions, but most have no clue what a Pit Bull looks like, and we often get away with saying our dog is a boxer mix.


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## osdbmom (Feb 15, 2011)

RCloud said:


> We live in an RV and frequent campgrounds with our two dogs, one being a Pit Bull. A lot do have breed restrictions, but most have no clue what a Pit Bull looks like, and we often get away with saying our dog is a boxer mix.


Aw, man. You are living my dream The longest stretch we've gotten is 2 weeks in the travel trailer. But we've got RV plans for after retirement lol


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## xxxxdogdragoness (Jul 22, 2010)

We live in an RV too lol but it's a rented one parked at our work.... Still it's ok tho, it's an old airstream.


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## turtlesocks (May 18, 2012)

Today I was walking one of my dogs (a very mellow, well-behaved pitbull who is nice on the leash) with my four year old son, and he asked a group of people sitting on their porch if they would like to pet his dog. Now, I don't think it's weird they did not want to pet him and I understand that people are afraid of pitbulls and that those fears are not totally unfounded. But they acted like my son had said the most ridiculous thing they'd ever heard. One of the men said, "NO I do NOT," in a sneer and then they all laughed at my kid. It just seemed unnecessarily rude to me. A simple, "No thanks!" would have been totally normal, but to be mean to a kid? Sigh. 

Literally one house down, more people were outside (it was a nice day today), and they were letting their min pin run around off leash all over the sidewalk and in the road. She ran up on us growling and barking aggressively. My pit, as is typical for him, couldn't have cared less, but it just rubbed me the wrong way. The people on the porch just kind of laughed at me, trying to deal with the min pin and my kid and my own dog. The owner of the min pin didn't seem like a bad person, and ran out to get her, but it's not like we live on a dead end street. I don't get why people think a small dog is okay off leash. She came after us AGAIN on our way home.

On the subject of unleashed small dogs, just yesterday at my parents' house I carried someone's dachshund to their house after I found him wandering around in the road by our car. I stood there for about five minutes like a fool making small talk with the owner waiting for her to take him, but she wouldn't. Finally, I said, "Um, so, you just want him running around like this?" She said, "Oh yeah, he's just fine!" So I put him in her yard, and he followed me back to the house. :doh:


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## sscott87 (Feb 19, 2012)

I hate that. Sure, he's fine. Until a car hits him.

And all the stories of cars speeding up and swerving while walking, I'm always fearful of that. I try to keep Jax to my left, as we run against traffic when not on a road with a sidewalk especially. Always aware of the possibility of people having very twisted humor.

I've been fortunate so far. In 5 months I've not come across any real negative comments. Most people compliment me on Jax and his unique appearance, questioning what he is, but the thing that I get often that does bother me are all the people that jump to ask if he's a pitt mix. Not that I personally have an issue with pitts or believe them all to be evil demons, but I know the stereotypes and the ridiculous fear some people have just on sight, so I cringe at the number of people that jump to question if he's pitt. And one other incident that bothered me, but it was very well founded on their part, we were in Petsmart walking around during one of the exercises of the training class, and Jax had this new-found hate for another dog in the class. He saw her down an aisle in the store and went crazy just as a mother and her child were walking by us. The mother quickly ushered her son on and told him he couldn't pet Jax because of how he was acting. Obviously not, but it broke my heart a little as it was the first time anyone has been turned away because of aggression on his part.


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## turtlesocks (May 18, 2012)

I have been fairly lucky. Most people are taken with Toby (our pitbull) because he is very people-loving, non-reactive to other animals (I've had him inside a chicken coop with me--leashed--and he could not have cared less) and very mellow. Those folks on the porch are the first experience I've had with people being outright a bit rude about my dog, and I try to take him everywhere I can. I've had people cross the street to stay clear of us, but I don't find that particularly rude. We adopted Toby as an adult, so I really can't take any credit for how nice of a guy he is, but I do try to take him out and about a lot because I figure pits could use the good press!


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## Fuzzy Pants (Jul 31, 2010)

For some reason scrawny, middle-aged white women with dogs too large for them to control seem to think they have to let their dogs that are lunging on leash meet every person with a small dog that passes them by. And then they have the stupidity to ask at the last minute if she's not friendly. Yes, she's super friendly in fact to all people and dogs her own size or smaller. But because of dolt large dog owners that brought their large dogs into the small dog section of the dog park she had some negative experiences as a puppy and is now scared of large dogs. It's like they don't have their mental processes in order to understand that a 9lb pooch (walking properly on leash, mind you) might be afraid of a 100lb lunging monster coming at them. And don't get me started on the again, scrawny white women jogging through state parks with their large dogs running around off leash completely out of site of any owner while I'm left wondering if I should try to catch the dog to keep it from getting to the road or call AC. I'm sure there are men/minorities that do this with their large dogs too but for some reason it's always the crazy, middle aged white ladies with large dogs too big for them to restrain that are out when I'm walking my little dog. I haven't had any problems with small dog owners here, just women with attitudes and their under-exercised, aggressive or high-prey drive large dogs. The only time I've ever been chased while jogging or riding a bike has been large dogs while the owners stood by doing nothing. It is the same up here as it was where I lived down south. The only difference is that down south I knew to expect untrained dogs running around off leash but up here people make like they put so much effort into training their dogs and then you have to quit going to the dog park and still have to be alert while walking through city or state parks because people over-estimate how well trained/behaved their dog is.


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## Active Dog (Jan 18, 2010)

I think one of the rudest things anyone has every said was while me and my friend were on a hike. Miko and Ava were leashed together and walking ahead of us on a really wide path. The hiking trail is not heavily traveled so we hardly ever see anyone.They were not far away from us but from a ways away we saw a biker coming, so we called them back and moved off to the side of the road (the path at this point is as wide as a road) and had them sit down polity while we waited for the biker to pass. As she passed she barked at us "Are those dogs on a leash?!" never mind the fact we took the time to move off the path and sit our dogs so they didn't bother you as you passed us.

whenever I walk with another husky I always get the "Wheres your sled!?" comment as if I haven't heard it a million times....


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## Haruka (May 2, 2012)

It frustrates me to read these posts and see how grossly misinformed and rude people all over the world can be when it comes to dogs and their owners. Having adopted my puppy 3 months ago, I only encountered one of these people recently. I was walking by a park with my 5 month old puppy, walking perfectly by my side and minding his own business might I add, when a lady that had come with children from a local daycare under her care pointed at us and yelled bitterly "OH my GOD, look at that DOG! It looks like a wolf! Those dogs are absolutely dangerous, they shouldn't be allowed on the street!"

Now, two things baffle me from what that woman had said about my puppy, apart from the blatant rudeness. The first would be how she came to the conclusion that my pit bull mix had the appearance of a wolf. The only aspects of his appearance that would even moderately justify her assumption would be his gait and overall longer, leaner body than that of a pit bull. Either that or she could have gotten wildly confused by the tiger stripes from his brindle coat and made an unexplainable link with wolves and/or wild dogs (?!?!)

The second thing that baffles me is her immediate assumption that wild-looking dogs (even when they are not wild-looking!) are dangerous. Had she seen how docile, even-tempered and well-trained he is, I believe she still would have latched on to her theory because he has those _evil_ pit bull genes, and because you never know with those dogs, they just might bite your head/hand/random body part off with no warning whatsoever, or they might eat your kids while you leave them unattended, and that adorable little white fluffball across the street that's snarling, chest out and pulling on the leash only wants to play... I digress (and I mean no offense to responsible adorable little white fluffball owners). 

I take comfort in the fact that such stupid (I would have used an euphemism but none seemed to fit the bill) people usually steer away from us during walks and so encounters like this one are kept to a minimum!


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## Rid#### (Jul 22, 2011)

This is a forum that only wants to hear then thing's they agree with.
If you have other idea's then don't say them or they will ban you.
This is the truth.


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## NaturalBornGuardians (Apr 16, 2012)

I get many comments on my dogs size,,,, which I expect.

But when people say "I would hate to clean up that dogs CR*P"

Just seems like the wrong thing to focus on... 


















Luckily they live in the pasture with the sheep.  Don't have to worry about it.


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## turtlesocks (May 18, 2012)

An older couple in the pet store today acted like our pit bull, who was walking down the toy isle checking out the toys and didn't even give them a second glance, was going to go nuthouse on the entire store when he passed them. They crammed themselves up against isle wall as close as they could. Meanwhile, my four year old was happily walking beside his dog. They made some comments too, and my husband was fuming, so as I walked back by them I just said, "Oh sweetie, they don't deserve his love anyway!"


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## jennytay92 (May 24, 2012)

My chiweenie has an over bite, his ears are naturally always back and hes brindle. People always say hes so ugly that its cute. 

I HATE it when I'm out in public with my dogs and people ask "your dogs don't bite do they?" I want to ask them, if my dogs were vicious would I have them out and about around strangers, children and other dogs? 

I go for runs with my chessie and theres always that one guy that wants to honk while hes passing me. She a puppy and almost 70 pounds. It spooks her and she darts infront of me tripping me. Its very rude your spooking my running partner. And shes just a puppy.


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## RCloud (Feb 25, 2011)

jennytay92 said:


> My chiweenie has an over bite, his ears are naturally always back and hes brindle. People always say hes so ugly that its cute.
> 
> I HATE it when I'm out in public with my dogs and people ask "your dogs don't bite do they?" I want to ask them, if my dogs were vicious would I have them out and about around strangers, children and other dogs?
> 
> I go for runs with my chessie and theres always that one guy that wants to honk while hes passing me. She a puppy and almost 70 pounds. It spooks her and she darts infront of me tripping me. Its very rude your spooking my running partner. And shes just a puppy.


You'd be surprised how many dogs are out in public that DO bite. I view asking more a common sense precaution then being rude.


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## xxxxdogdragoness (Jul 22, 2010)

A good amoun of ppl said or think that josefina is part coyote, even ppl we don't know, we were getting gas on the way back to my folks ranch when this lady was like (talking on the phone) "that dog looks like a coyote! Can you believe those people (us) would own something like that???" it happened so often that i decided to start a thread to see what REAL dog ppl thought. also a fair amount of ppl think Jo is ugly & have also said so, pisses OH off but I tell him not to worry about those loses


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## Haruka (May 2, 2012)

Rid#### said:


> I have seen people cross the road to get away from me just becaus eI have got the look of a bikie.
> Totally unjustified so I really can understand what you are going through.
> So about the little off track thing but it does show how us humans are really to judge before knowing the story.


Thank you for understanding, no one and no dog deserves that kind of preconceived judgment. I'm sorry you have to deal with such prejudice.


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## HollowHeaven (Feb 5, 2012)

jennytay92 said:


> I HATE it when I'm out in public with my dogs and people ask "your dogs don't bite do they?" I want to ask them, if my dogs were vicious would I have them out and about around strangers, children and other dogs?


You don't go to many doggy socials, do you? xD

This is the norm, and you should always be thankful someone is smart enough to ask you if it's alright if they can approach your dogs. 
A LOT of people will take their dogs out in public that bite and will not have the courtesy to warn anyone.


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## denise3099 (Apr 3, 2012)

Wowee, that Turkish Boz Shepherd is gorgeous. I'd never heard of them before. What a beautiful dog!


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## Cheetah (May 25, 2006)

dogdragoness said:


> We live in an RV too lol but it's a rented one parked at our work.... Still it's ok tho, it's an old airstream.





RCloud said:


> We live in an RV and frequent campgrounds with our two dogs, one being a Pit Bull. A lot do have breed restrictions, but most have no clue what a Pit Bull looks like, and we often get away with saying our dog is a boxer mix.


Hey I'm living in an RV right now too. And old Winnebago Chieftain. Didn't realize so many people were doing this.


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## Chowgal (Aug 26, 2011)

The rudest thing I ever get is "Oh he's a chow"... About Jasper. He's only half chow, thank you! The other half is lab, and if he looked more lab, you wouldn't say a thing about it!... And yet they don't say a thing about Dixie and she's part chow too.


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## xxxxdogdragoness (Jul 22, 2010)

Rcloud>> I hate that 'do they bite' question, I always answer with 'anything with teeth, CAN bite' it's almost as bad as asking if a horse kicks


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## DJEtzel (Dec 28, 2009)

I get "Oh, a different dog..." from a lot of my neighbors... I was living with 7 for a while, so I would take them on individual or paired walks and if neighbors were in their yards during these trips they would stare in awe of me bringing different dog after different dog by their house & make strange joking remarks about me hoarding dogs, or one not being enough... two not being enough.. etc.


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## Roloni (Aug 5, 2011)

I was walking my Rottweier in the park one day..When we met a woman with a Chihuahua .
She said: "Your dog could swallow mine in one bite"

I politely smiled and told her "Madam..my dog wold never do that!"

How dare she say that to us...
Chihuahuas have very small bones that could become lodged in my dogs intestines during digestion .


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## ThoseWordsAtBest (Mar 18, 2009)

I have a lot of tattoos and live in the suburbs. No one says any thing to me about any thing.


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## GreatDaneMom (Sep 21, 2007)

the horse and saddle stuff got old a LONG time ago... the first time i heard it it was old. people cross the street to walk by us sometimes, things like that. most people are really nice about my girls and kids really love them too. chloe has been called a pit and lexi a dalmatian.... for the record i dont know how you get pit from a great dane, but i guess anything brindle is a pit now... the most horrifying thing i heard was....

we were at a wedding and there happened to be a "african american pride" festival going on. a lot of the people were staying in our hotel. we were coming back from walking the girls and one really big guy goes "if your dog bites me ill kill it"... in a fit of rage and instant defense i told him "and youre validation for those who are racist!"... i felt like an ass after because im not racist at all, but geez....

there was also a group of puerto rican and african american guys standing for the bus one day. as i walked up they yelled "how much for a ride?!"... i was hoping they were talking about the dog truthfully. then as i passed them one jumped back and said "oh sh*t! that dog is gonna eat me first cuz im black!".... whaaaat? did i really just hear that?


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## Mizuno (Jun 9, 2010)

It drives me insane to no end to hear people make the "You're starving them!" joke about my sighthounds. Like the saddle stuff for large breeds, it go old fast. 

Recently, with the puppy, I keep getting, "Why a borzoi?" I don't think anyone is trying to be rude, but sometimes I don't think people realize what tone of voice they are using to ask.

Deebs never really gets comments, just stupid people making generic dog comments in our direction.


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## Rid#### (Jul 22, 2011)

This is a forum that only wants to hear then thing's they agree with.
If you have other idea's then don't say them or they will ban you.
This is the truth.


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## HollowHeaven (Feb 5, 2012)

dogdragoness said:


> Rcloud>> I hate that 'do they bite' question, I always answer with 'anything with teeth, CAN bite' it's almost as bad as asking if a horse kicks


Definitely not what it means. I'm pretty sure anyone who asks if a dog bites, or anything likewise is asking for permission to approach your dog. If the dog bites, and you warn them, it's at their own risk.
Nobody asked CAN they bite, they ask IF they bite, those dogs specifically. Some dogs do, believe it or not. It's a shame more people don't ask.

When walking into a petshop today browsing for cages, a boy and his pit were standing at the counter having a conversation with the clerk. Beautiful dog, I couldn't resist. I could tell the dog was friendly and wanted to greet me, but before I just ran up sticking my hands out I asked "Is she friendly?" And when he replied yes, and gave a gesture with a smile, I reached forward and patted the dog. I guess this makes me rude and stupid. I'll try not to ask permission before groping at someone's dog next time. If I'm lucky, I'll misread a dog's personality and get bitten  
Not everyone can read a dog, and it's just safer to ask before approaching. Asking permission isn't always outright "may I pet your dog". Sometimes it's an inquiry as to the dog's personality. 


On a side note, the poor guy ended up having to hide his dog behind the counter to continue his conversation because of all the rude people coming and going making comments. Well excuse him for bringing his extremely well behaved dog into public. Shame on him.


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## Rid#### (Jul 22, 2011)

This is a forum that only wants to hear then thing's they agree with.
If you have other idea's then don't say them or they will ban you.
This is the truth.


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## Tofu_pup (Dec 8, 2008)

I do not like,"Does she(or he) bite?" 

Why? Because if I say no, the person thinks that is consent to pet her. It's not. If I say yes, suddenly I'm the terrible lady with a vicious dog.


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## ThoseWordsAtBest (Mar 18, 2009)

Yeah, not a fan of it. It has never crossed my mind to ask someone if their dog bites.


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## dagwall (Mar 17, 2011)

Yeah I've only gotten "does he bite?" from children I don't recall hearing that from adults. What's even funnier about that to me is that most of the kids asking if he bites already stopped and ask if they could pet my dog BEFORE approaching and getting my permission. So I don't take offense to that, just kids being kids. 

It is somewhat offensive from adults who should know better about phrasing questions. "Is he friendly?" and/or "May I pet your dog?" are more appropriate questions than simply saying "Does he bite?" and I feel an adult should understand that.


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## HollowHeaven (Feb 5, 2012)

Well lordy be, little ol' me had no idea we were supposed to be totally, completely, down to the word specific about it. 

It has never crossed my mind to stop and specifically say "May I pet your dog." Never. Yes, I say it, but not because that's the phrase that crosses my mind. 
I don't know of anyone who is, in such a case, rude enough to walk by and ask if a dog bites or if they're friendly without the intention of greeting them. I know I don't. I may make a comment if I don't intend to touch a dog about the dog's looks, or something else, but I won't just randomly look at a dog and ask about the dog's personality. To me, THAT would be rude.

I guess it just doesn't offend me whether someone asks if my dogs are friendly, or if they bite, or if they can pet them. Any of those, to me, is asking for permission. I just chuckle a little bit, and say 'no, they don't' or 'yeah, they're friendly' or 'sure, go ahead'. Or, plenty of times I've been able to tell if someone really wants to pet them, and I'll tell them they can pet them without them even having to ask. 
I can't remember ever thinking "damn, what rude, stupid people." because someone asked if my dogs were friendly, but you can bet I'm thinking it for people who just run up and shove their hands at my dogs.
Some form of permission is better than none.

---
And, I don't mean this to come off half as butthurt as it sounds.


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## 123fraggle (Feb 20, 2009)

> Recently, with the puppy, I keep getting, "Why a borzoi?" I don't think anyone is trying to be rude, but sometimes I don't think people realize what tone of voice they are using to ask.


I can relate to this as all my agility peers say the same thing with that same tone of voice when I say my next dog is going to be a Tibetan Terrier. Really? Does every agility dog have to be a Border Collie? Nothing against BCs, we have one and 2 BC mixes and my TT is different but as good as they are.


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## Tofu_pup (Dec 8, 2008)

HollowHeaven said:


> Well lordy be, little ol' me had no idea we were supposed to be totally, completely, down to the word specific about it.
> 
> It has never crossed my mind to stop and specifically say "May I pet your dog." Never. Yes, I say it, but not because that's the phrase that crosses my mind.
> I don't know of anyone who is, in such a case, rude enough to walk by and ask if a dog bites or if they're friendly without the intention of greeting them. I know I don't. I may make a comment if I don't intend to touch a dog about the dog's looks, or something else, but I won't just randomly look at a dog and ask about the dog's personality. To me, THAT would be rude.
> ...


Why the sarcasm?

I explained well enough why I don't like that particular question. Ozzie doesn't bite but he sure as h*ll doesn't want any stranger touching him. Kaki does bite though not in that particular situation. And _I_ just want to get from point A to point B and be left alone. I'm too awkward to chuckle and say,"Well not recently". So I usually ignore the question entirely and say,"No you cannot pet them." That tends to illicit some kind of offended look the the inquirer. So be it.


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## HollowHeaven (Feb 5, 2012)

Tofu_pup said:


> Why the sarcasm?


I don't see any sarcasm in that post. 
I don't understand why it's considered rude if someone asks permission to pet your dog, whether they outright ask "can I pet your dog" or something else, like whether or not they bite.

Like I said, I've never come across anyone who just asks "do they bite" or "are they friendly" without the intention of petting the dog. To me, that's asking for permission, and I've never known anybody to take it the wrong way and I certainly never have.


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## Tofu_pup (Dec 8, 2008)

HollowHeaven said:


> Well lordy be, little ol' me had no idea we were supposed to be totally, completely, down to the word specific about it.


So is this how you Southern folks actually speak in Deep Dark Kentucky?


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## HollowHeaven (Feb 5, 2012)

Tofu_pup said:


> So is this how you Southern folks actually speak in Deep Dark Kentucky?


Nope, but is that what you consider sarcasm? Because I don't, just being an ass.

I understand now that it seems a lot more people than I originally thought seem to want to hear "May I pet your dog?" _specifically_ rather than anything else here.
Maybe it's just me, maybe it's just this area, but I've never gotten offended because someone asked if my dogs bite, or if they're friendly. I've never met anyone who has gotten offended over that. Here, and with me personally, "do they bite" "are they friendly" is another form of asking permission to pet a dog. I don't see how it's considered rude or strange.


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## Crantastic (Feb 3, 2010)

"Are they friendly," "do they bite," "can I pat your dog," whatever. I just like that people ask. What I _don't_ like is when someone sticks their dog in my dog's faces and then, when my dogs growl and bark at it, wrinkle their nose and go, "Oh, they're _cross_."


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## HollowHeaven (Feb 5, 2012)

Crantastic said:


> "Are they friendly," "do they bite," "can I pat your dog," whatever. I just like that people ask. What I _don't_ like is when someone sticks their dog in my dog's faces and then, when my dogs growl and bark at it, wrinkle their nose and go, "Oh, they're _cross_."


Summary of everything I've been trying to say. Lol


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## rhflan (May 20, 2012)

momof3 said:


> My son with his hairless crested gets asked a lot if the dog has mange,or what the heck is wrong with it. And he even had someone once while he was in his Air Force ABUs make a comment that they knew the government did cruel things to animals but did he really have to have it out in public.


That's hilarious and sad at the same time :/


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

Tofu_pup said:


> So is this how you Southern folks actually speak in Deep Dark Kentucky?


Sometimes, but we usually add "Bless her heart" when confronted with silly questions .... 



Crantastic said:


> "Are they friendly," "do they bite," "can I pat your dog," whatever. I just like that people ask. What I _don't_ like is when someone sticks their dog in my dog's faces and then, when my dogs growl and bark at it, wrinkle their nose and go, "Oh, they're _cross_."


Yep; I don't really care HOW they ask (if its even reasonably polite) but I really do prefer they ask. Chester loves people and can handle nearly anyone petting him or kids shoving hands (or faces!) in his face but A) I don't want to encourage or allow that sort of behavior because I don't want kids to learn dangerous dog manners and B)when I have a foster or have one of my friend's dogs who is NOT comfortable with being reached at or petted on the face, I definitely want people to be asking. I once had a kid ask if he could pet Chester, I said yes and he wrapped Chester's head/neck into a big bear hug! Chester licked his ear, the kid laughed, the mom sighed and told him that was not a good idea since most dogs wouldn't be so nice about it...

Usually kids seem to say "Does he bite?" with a kind of wide eyed look since Chester's head is about level with many of theirs and I tell them, "No, not if you are nice to him." Then when they pet him, I say "Thank you for asking before petting him, that is always a good thing to do with a dog you don't know" and if there's a parent around, I generally get a very appreciative look or smile or they agree aloud. 

Adults are much worse about not asking before petting actually- while the adults that do ask usually specify "Can I pet your dog?" I'd be plenty happy if the many that don't ask at least asked "does he bite?"

A handle of times there's been a sketchy dude ask "Does he bite?" and I say "Yes" and it sure helps move that person along more quickly and keep them from hanging too close for comfort


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## sassafras (Jun 22, 2010)

I agree that most people who actually SAY "does s/he bite?" really MEAN "can I pet him/her?" and I don't get too ruffled about it. I'm just glad they ask, honestly.

I don't get a lot of rude comments, I live in a very dog friendly area. I get some weird comments when I'm scootering, though, usually along the lines of "now THAT'S the way to do it!" or "oh, do they pull you?" (which always makes me scratch my head because... they are usually obviously actively in the process of pulling me) or kids yelling out their favorite as we go by "I like the white one! I like the black one!"


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## +two (Jul 12, 2011)

HollowHeaven said:


> Like I said, I've never come across anyone who just asks "do they bite" or "are they friendly" without the intention of petting the dog. To me, that's asking for permission, and I've never known anybody to take it the wrong way and I certainly never have.



I have, more than once. I get it with both Tyler and Ozzie. I think people ask with Tyler because he is a Pit mix. I also get "what a mean dog!" or something similar once in awhile. Another classic is "aren't you afraid he'll bite you?" 


I do think the question is strange. If someone asks me "do they bite?" I can assume that they are asking exactly that. The answer would be yes, they do. They have teeth and jaw bones. If someone asks "are they friendly?" that really isn't asking if you can touch my dog either, but its better. Asking about the personality or capabilities of a dog is much different than asking if you can interact with them.


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## +two (Jul 12, 2011)

Tofu_pup said:


> I do not like,"Does she(or he) bite?"
> 
> Why? Because if I say no, the person thinks that is consent to pet her. It's not. If I say yes, suddenly I'm the terrible lady with a vicious dog.


This. 

If someone asked me about Ozzie, "will he bite me?" and I say no, they think its okay to touch him, which it isn't. If they do touch him, and he does bite (which he never has) then I am in big trouble. If I say yes, I get a horrible look, a gruff and some snide comment, or downright rudeness (such as, "well, you should just kill him then." Yes, its been said to me before.).


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## Roloni (Aug 5, 2011)

Dont ever ask me if my dog bites...
Ive trained them to growl when they hear this...


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## Tofu_pup (Dec 8, 2008)

sassafras said:


> I agree that most people who actually SAY "does s/he bite?" really MEAN "can I pet him/her?"


I realize that this is what people almost always mean when they say,"Does s/he bite?". My qualm is that I do not know how to respond to this question without becoming the big meanie dog owner. Either I make my dog look "mean" or I make myself look like a jerk.


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## xxxxdogdragoness (Jul 22, 2010)

HollowHeaven said:


> Nope, but is that what you consider sarcasm? Because I don't, just being an ass.


I agree, being southern myself (from texas) I also found that mildly offensive & in slightly bad taste I'm sorry to say.


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## ThoseWordsAtBest (Mar 18, 2009)

I have no other defense than I find it annoying. If you ask if my dogs bite and even if I'm out with the ones who don't, I'm gonna say "Yep!" and keep walking. I also am a soul sucking demon depriving people of touching dogs every where.


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## Rid#### (Jul 22, 2011)

This is a forum that only wants to hear then thing's they agree with.
If you have other idea's then don't say them or they will ban you.
This is the truth.


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## xxxxdogdragoness (Jul 22, 2010)

ThoseWordsAtBest said:


> I have no other defense than I find it annoying. If you ask if my dogs bite and even if I'm out with the ones who don't, I'm gonna say "Yep!" and keep walking. I also am a soul sucking demon depriving people of touching dogs every where.


Me too! I just want to be with my animals weather it be in public or whatever without someone: wanting to pet them, asking to pet them, kids running up & terrifying them, or people otherwise being obnoxious teds my dogs & if I have to be rude to a few ppl then so be it.


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## ThoseWordsAtBest (Mar 18, 2009)

dogdragoness said:


> Me too! I just want to be with my animals weather it be in public or whatever without someone: wanting to pet them, asking to pet them, kids running up & terrifying them, or people otherwise being obnoxious teds my dogs & if I have to be rude to a few ppl then so be it.


All I want is for people to ask if they could pet them. It just doesn't seem so hard to me to say "May I pet your dog?" if you want to pet the dog. I ask every one under the sun if I can pet their dog. Some say no, some say yes. It makes me incredibly happy when a child says "Hi can I pet your dogs?"


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## Rid#### (Jul 22, 2011)

This is a forum that only wants to hear then thing's they agree with.
If you have other idea's then don't say them or they will ban you.
This is the truth.


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## xxxxdogdragoness (Jul 22, 2010)

Rid#### said:


> Being the owner Australian Cattle Dog we don't get these questions about petting our dogs, especially if it is grown up.
> As people know what this breed is like, though I am not say everyone does, but it is well known that Heelers can bite.
> So this is not real a problem when walking my boy.
> But if they did I would tell them that he could nip, as this is a pass time he is always doing.
> I have even held his nose down so a kid could give him a pat on the head.


Your dogs are gorgeous, rid!!! ESP the one in your sig  I also totally get what you are saying about ACDs I have two & have had/been involved with them since I was 20 (I'm 30 now). Both of our current dogs are very friendly & like petting (our male more so then our female) but the female I had, Izze (her pic is on the far right of my sig) was a true working dog, even S a pup she wanted nothing to do with anyone other then me & me only. Our rescue buddy loved me to death & 'favors' me but will be friendly to anyone who is friendly to him... ESP if they have food :/ (he's such a chow hound) but he always comes back to me.

I actually like it when ppl ask about the breed because it's an opportunity to educate them.


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## Rid#### (Jul 22, 2011)

This is a forum that only wants to hear then thing's they agree with.
If you have other idea's then don't say them or they will ban you.
This is the truth.


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## sassafras (Jun 22, 2010)

Tofu_pup said:


> I realize that this is what people almost always mean when they say,"Does s/he bite?". My qualm is that I do not know how to respond to this question without becoming the big meanie dog owner. Either I make my dog look "mean" or I make myself look like a jerk.


I suspect that our local public schools have some kind of dog bite prevention education somewhere in their curriculum, because the vast, vast majority of kids here 1. Ask before petting and 2. Ask "can I pet your dog" instead of "does your dog bite?". It's usually adults IME who ask "does he bite?" although in retrospect I think they usually ask it framed more like "is your dog friendly?" 

Usually I just say something like "are you asking if you can pet him/her?" but since I'm generally talking to adults I don't feel the need to spare anyone's feelings and feel completely free to use humor and/or sarcasm as much as I want if necessary. Sometimes I'll say "why would you ask me that?" with a real astonished, hurt look and tone and they'll scramble to restate the question. Sometimes I don't even answer them directly and say something more like "we're training, sorry!" or "he's shy, sorry!" and just keep walking. Fortunately I live in a very dog friendly area so I don't get TOO many boneheaded comments.


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## lil_fuzzy (Aug 16, 2010)

Rid#### said:


> Being the owner Australian Cattle Dog we don't get these questions about petting our dogs, especially if it is grown up.
> As people know what this breed is like, though I am not say everyone does, but it is well known that Heelers can bite.
> So this is not real a problem when walking my boy.
> But if they did I would tell them that he could nip, as this is a pass time he is always doing.
> I have even held his nose down so a kid could give him a pat on the head.


What was that you were saying about "not allowing" your dogs to be reactive? Doesn't that also apply to biting children? Why are you "allowing" them to bite children?


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## Rid#### (Jul 22, 2011)

This is a forum that only wants to hear then thing's they agree with.
If you have other idea's then don't say them or they will ban you.
This is the truth.


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## Tahlz (Jan 28, 2012)

I'm curious Rid, why would you allow a kid to pet your dog if he doesn't enjoy it?


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## Rid#### (Jul 22, 2011)

This is a forum that only wants to hear then thing's they agree with.
If you have other idea's then don't say them or they will ban you.
This is the truth.


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## Tahlz (Jan 28, 2012)

Rid#### said:


> Can you show me where I said he doesn't enjoy it.
> If anytthing he loves it but is just a little too boystours to be left with a kid on his own.
> As I think I did state that but not that he doesn't like it at all.


You didn't say it but when I read some one has to hold their dogs nose, that makes me think, they do that to prevent a bite. Sorry I didn't understand thats not what you meant. Even a high energy bouncy dog, I wouldn't imagine some one holding the dogs nose down.


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## Rid#### (Jul 22, 2011)

This is a forum that only wants to hear then thing's they agree with.
If you have other idea's then don't say them or they will ban you.
This is the truth.


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## Tahlz (Jan 28, 2012)

Thanks for explaining that! I'm glad he's getting better and improving. He'll calm down at one point, I'm sure. How many dogs do you own?


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## Rid#### (Jul 22, 2011)

This is a forum that only wants to hear then thing's they agree with.
If you have other idea's then don't say them or they will ban you.
This is the truth.


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## xxxxdogdragoness (Jul 22, 2010)

lil_fuzzy said:


> What was that you were saying about "not allowing" your dogs to be reactive? Doesn't that also apply to biting children? Why are you "allowing" them to bite children?


I think rid was getting at a heelers tendency to nip in a herding manner in reference to moving objects, ALL heelers have this tendency.


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## marsha=whitie (Dec 29, 2008)

There are quite a few kids in my complex, most of which are scared of dogs (which isn't a bad thing.) They usually avoid us, but every now and then a kid will walk up to about 10ft away and ask us "Do yo' dawg bite?" 

"No, but I do."


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## Vicky88 (Jan 29, 2012)

There's quite a few kids near me, they all ask different things, like is she friendly, can i touch her, or does she bite, i say yes to the first two and no to the last, Holly loves kids, i think it's good that they ask, Holly is often out front playing with the kids, i also have two nephews, who are not scared of dogs, which i think is a good thing, they ask first, then hopefully get to fuss or play with the dog, i love seeing a big smile on my nephews faces when they play with my dog or any other dog.


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## xxxxdogdragoness (Jul 22, 2010)

I'd just rather not be bothered at all, I mean I don't fuss over someone's kids & bother them while they are trying to mind their own business.... My dogs are basically like my kids, & it's a shame ppl don't realize that I consider them as such, but of they harass them I make sure thu do.


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## +two (Jul 12, 2011)

Rid#### said:


> No all I do is put my hand by his nose and push it to the side a little.
> This allows a kid to touch without any worries.
> We are now getting our grandkids to be close to him while he eats.
> And the youngest is only 2 and she is scared of him but this is just her.
> ...


Sorry to take this off topic, but this makes me very uneasy. Please don't let your grand children touch your dog while he is eating. Even if he is wonderful with them and is not a resource guarder, it is just not a good idea, at all, ever. Give your dog the courtesy of being able to eat in peace.


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## xxxxdogdragoness (Jul 22, 2010)

+two said:


> Sorry to take this off topic, but this makes me very uneasy. Please don't let your grand children touch your dog while he is eating. Even if he is wonderful with them and is not a resource guarder, it is just not a good idea, at all, ever. Give your dog the courtesy of being able to eat in peace.


Mmmm if he isn't a RG it could very well make him one. My dog's wouldn't do a bad thing to me if I was around them while they were eating they just wouldn't eat because it's out of routine (I usually feed them right before our bed time so they are eating while we are in bed ) this is only hypothetical as I would never do this, I respect my dogs more then that.

I don't know if this is your first ACD or not but with these guys you tend to have to give respect to get it, you know? If you don't respect them they damn sur arent going to respect you.


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## Rid#### (Jul 22, 2011)

This is a forum that only wants to hear then thing's they agree with.
If you have other idea's then don't say them or they will ban you.
This is the truth.


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## sscott87 (Feb 19, 2012)

It wasn't during a walk but yesterday in Petsmart while in line to check out, I calmed Jax down and gave him his hand signal for down so as to not have to worry about him pulling around while we stand there in line with people ahead and behind. A lady was standing there ahead of us and was very impressed by this and asked to see my hand signals for his commands, so I proceed to signal for him to get up, and sit, and back down (with a little verbalization, he's not great at hand signals alone in public but getting there). Anyway, she struck up a little conversation and proceeded to ask what he is. My answer these days has simply become "Husky Mutt" and of course she goes on to say how she sees pit in him. "Yeah, I hear that often. He's a husky mix with pure mutt" but she insists, "Oh no, he's pit. You know you see it, too." "No, he's really not. I've done a DNA test and it didn't show anything remotely pit or bulldog, and people with plenty of experience have said they don't see any pit in him." "You know he is, just admit it."

...Yeah... Ok... If it makes you sleep at night. Not that I personally have anything at all against pits, I just don't like how half the people I encounter assume he is and some, like this (though she was the worst yet) will insist that he is. But they're always the ones that don't know much in regards to dogs. This lady quickly shared in the beginning, when asking about my hand signals, that she just got her first dog. Anyone I've spoken to that's had a lot of experience with pits or just dogs in general typically shrugs off the thought of him being part pit. This lady was just annoying and bordering rude with it.


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## dagwall (Mar 17, 2011)

sscott87 said:


> It wasn't during a walk but yesterday in Petsmart while in line to check out, I calmed Jax down and gave him his hand signal for down so as to not have to worry about him pulling around while we stand there in line with people ahead and behind. A lady was standing there ahead of us and was very impressed by this and asked to see my hand signals for his commands, so I proceed to signal for him to get up, and sit, and back down (with a little verbalization, he's not great at hand signals alone in public but getting there). Anyway, she struck up a little conversation and proceeded to ask what he is. My answer these days has simply become "Husky Mutt" and of course she goes on to say how she sees pit in him. "Yeah, I hear that often. He's a husky mix with pure mutt" but she insists, "Oh no, he's pit. You know you see it, too." "No, he's really not. I've done a DNA test and it didn't show anything remotely pit or bulldog, and people with plenty of experience have said they don't see any pit in him." "You know he is, just admit it."
> 
> ...Yeah... Ok... If it makes you sleep at night. Not that I personally have anything at all against pits, I just don't like how half the people I encounter assume he is and some, like this (though she was the worst yet) will insist that he is. But they're always the ones that don't know much in regards to dogs. This lady quickly shared in the beginning, when asking about my hand signals, that she just got her first dog. Anyone I've spoken to that's had a lot of experience with pits or just dogs in general typically shrugs off the thought of him being part pit. This lady was just annoying and bordering rude with it.


Just image how much worse it is when your dog is brindle... I get this stuff all the time. I call Jubel a mutt, plott hound X Lab X something X something, anytime someone asks. Can't even count the number of times people have asked/said he's a pit mix and a large portion insisting to me that he is. But like you said most actual knowledgable pit people agree he isn't.


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## sscott87 (Feb 19, 2012)

Yeah, I feel your pain then! Lol For Jax, it's the forehead and somewhat the shape of the eyes, but many people that have even a little experience realize that a lot of mixes get such a similar-looking forward with that slope to it. If his coat were longer, I don't think people would be so surprised at the Husky X part, but the short coat doesn't help his case to the unknowing lol Oh well, had a good conversation last night at the dog park with a good pit guy and a few others, and he didn't see it either!


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## xxxxdogdragoness (Jul 22, 2010)

sscott87 said:


> It wasn't during a walk but yesterday in Petsmart while in line to check out, I calmed Jax down and gave him his hand signal for down so as to not have to worry about him pulling around while we stand there in line with people ahead and behind. A lady was standing there ahead of us and was very impressed by this and asked to see my hand signals for his commands, so I proceed to signal for him to get up, and sit, and back down (with a little verbalization, he's not great at hand signals alone in public but getting there). Anyway, she struck up a little conversation and proceeded to ask what he is. My answer these days has simply become "Husky Mutt" and of course she goes on to say how she sees pit in him. "Yeah, I hear that often. He's a husky mix with pure mutt" but she insists, "Oh no, he's pit. You know you see it, too." "No, he's really not. I've done a DNA test and it didn't show anything remotely pit or bulldog, and people with plenty of experience have said they don't see any pit in him." "You know he is, just admit it."
> 
> ...Yeah... Ok... If it makes you sleep at night. Not that I personally have anything at all against pits, I just don't like how half the people I encounter assume he is and some, like this (though she was the worst yet) will insist that he is. But they're always the ones that don't know much in regards to dogs. This lady quickly shared in the beginning, when asking about my hand signals, that she just got her first dog. Anyone I've spoken to that's had a lot of experience with pits or just dogs in general typically shrugs off the thought of him being part pit. This lady was just annoying and bordering rude with it.


I'm sorry but even a blind person could see there is no PBT in your dog 

A lady s petsmart one time thought Izze had pit in her because of her muscular cheeks (she was an avid chewer) as thr captain said in Cool hand Luke "what we have here is a failure to communicate..... Some men you just can't reach" :/


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## GreatDaneMom (Sep 21, 2007)

Rid#### said:


> This is pure and utter crap.
> My dog will not harm one of the kids at all.
> If he was that type of dog there would be no way I would put the kids in danger.
> And to assume this is just not right. The kids come first so I really think you both are way off here.
> ...


the more of this i read, the more worried i get. i can take food from my dogs any time i want, but do i? no. do i let my neices and nephews near them while they eat? no! why? because there is NO reason they need to be bothering them while they eat. what purpose does this serve? none. how would you like it if you were trying to eat and someone was hoovering around you and touching your food and touching you? just because your dog doesnt RG now, doesnt mean you have to push them to the point where the WILL.


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## Snuggles (May 1, 2008)

My Yorky, Llapsa, Pekineese dog is a original. None like her. One time we were sitting at a table outside a restaurant. One guy got out of the car and looked at our dog and said What the? Then he stopped in the middle of it. Then he acted like she was so cute and started praising her. She does get all kinds of responses.


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## xxxxdogdragoness (Jul 22, 2010)

GreatDaneMom said:


> the more of this i read, the more worried i get. i can take food from my dogs any time i want, but do i? no. do i let my neices and nephews near them while they eat? no! why? because there is NO reason they need to be bothering them while they eat. what purpose does this serve? none. how would you like it if you were trying to eat and someone was hoovering around you and touching your food and touching you? just because your dog doesnt RG now, doesnt mean you have to push them to the point where the WILL.


^^^^ this!!!! x100 :/.


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## Rid#### (Jul 22, 2011)

This is a forum that only wants to hear then thing's they agree with.
If you have other idea's then don't say them or they will ban you.
This is the truth.


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## GreatDaneMom (Sep 21, 2007)

i have heard this soooooo many times as i am a dog trainer.....* everything is fine,til its not*..... its not an opinion, its experienced people telling you the dangers of what you are doing. and in addition, no one ever said it had to stop him from eating. it doesnt mean its not irritating.


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## Rid#### (Jul 22, 2011)

This is a forum that only wants to hear then thing's they agree with.
If you have other idea's then don't say them or they will ban you.
This is the truth.


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## sscott87 (Feb 19, 2012)

Generally speaking...many, many unexpected incidents stem from a behavior (be it the dog's behavior or the behavior of a person) that had previously been shrugged off or deemed safe or not an issue. Just sayin'.

That aside, you seem like an intelligent person and so long as you are aware that SOMEDAY there COULD BE the POSSIBILITY that the dog has just been irritated enough by it and nips them, then ok. Even so, I can see your side from the stand point of building the tolerance of the dog towards the children so that there isn't a frequent issue. Even so, would you like it if I came and started patting you as you're eating? You may shrug it off and ignore it, but one day you may turn around and slap me. Or maybe you don't. Who knows? To each his own.


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## sassafras (Jun 22, 2010)

Trust can be a dangerous thing. Like GreatDaneMom said, lots of things are fine... until they're not, and it only takes once. No one is saying that you are intentionally endangering children, people are just asking you to reconsider the wisdom of allowing children to bug dogs when they are eating. Because lots of other people could have made the exact same posts you are making, right up until the point when all the stars aligned and someone got bitten. Dogs are living creatures, not automatons.


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## Rid#### (Jul 22, 2011)

This is a forum that only wants to hear then thing's they agree with.
If you have other idea's then don't say them or they will ban you.
This is the truth.


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## sscott87 (Feb 19, 2012)

Oh, I don't think anyone thinks THAT, but they're just hoping you at least realize the issue it could be on any given day.


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## GreatDaneMom (Sep 21, 2007)

you dont need to "put a dog in its place" by annoying it while it eats. just saying....


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## ManyRoses (May 28, 2012)

It drives me NUTS when people insinuate that I am not caring for my dog properly! 

Especially: "Ooh, that's going to be a big dog. You should give her away, she shouldn't be in a tiny place in the city.". Um....yup - she is going to be a big dog. But seeing as I work from home, and live near the beach, big parks, and dog parks, I will be able to take her running every morning, for walks and long park playtimes during the day, and long walks at night, too. It's a helluva lot better than being cooped up in a yard in the suburbs with people who work two jobs and would barely take her out, let alone socialize her with others, thanks. 

"You should let her off the leash to play - ooh, poor puppy". Actually, she is perfectly happy on her leash. She is also only ten weeks old, although she is already a big girl. She has no recall yet (working on it), she is not totally street-smart, and is getting her final vaccinations next week, so she CAN'T be let off the leash, it isn't safe at this point...but thanks for suggesting that she would be happier getting lost or sick. 

And finally, It drives me insane when people stop to pet or play with her without asking. Are you kidding me? Yes, she is freaking adorable - but please ask permission before cooing all over her!! She is incredibly gentle, but how would you know that before sticking your hands in her face? And how do you know that I am not doing training, or working on getting her to walk on her leash better, and being stopped and petted doesn't help. Grrrrr. The worst is when I am trying to get her to calm down - she is still a puppy, and sometimes gets over-excited, and nips a little. We are trying to train that away by making sure that if she gets there, she is sat or laid down, and kept still until she relaxes. If you come running up to her when she is like this, you are really, really not helping me teach her how to behave....


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## Rid#### (Jul 22, 2011)

This is a forum that only wants to hear then thing's they agree with.
If you have other idea's then don't say them or they will ban you.
This is the truth.


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## xxxxdogdragoness (Jul 22, 2010)

Rid#### said:


> A sensiable argument and I agree with you on a few points and see what you are talking about to.
> But the major point of what I am saying is I would never put the kids in danger.
> And just thining about this now it is sort of putting him in his place in the rungs of the ladder.
> No I am not saying this to be mean, but it is what I just thought about what I am doing here.
> ...


IMHO it shouldn't happen at all, there are other ways you can prevent a RG'er: having the kids walk by while he is eating (if you insist that they have access to him while he is eating, which yes I do think is a recipe for something unfortunate to happen) & toss yummy treats in his bowl & KEEP WALKING that way he says "wow strangers apprAching my bowl = yummy things! It would be better if you & you alone did this yourself tho & not the kids. I have always left my dogs alone when they were eating & oddly enough I have never had a RG dog ...... Hmmmm ....... *shrugs*. 

You have a cattle dog, this guy isn't going to 'stand' for being treated this way for ever, I think he's been very good so far & I actually respect she dog alot but this is how dogs become outside dog's/ exiled from the family. Jus sayin. That's all I will sy on the subject bc this is a whole nuther thread :/.


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## Rid#### (Jul 22, 2011)

This is a forum that only wants to hear then thing's they agree with.
If you have other idea's then don't say them or they will ban you.
This is the truth.


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## Tofu_pup (Dec 8, 2008)

Rid#### said:


> Not all dogs are the same.


All dogs are animals. Animals bite.


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## Rid#### (Jul 22, 2011)

This is a forum that only wants to hear then thing's they agree with.
If you have other idea's then don't say them or they will ban you.
This is the truth.


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## ThoseWordsAtBest (Mar 18, 2009)

Rid#### said:


> Clearly you have got no idea.
> It is like saying I have got a gun I will so shot someone oneday. :doh:


Well, it's kind of the same theory. You can't PROMISE you won't ever shoot someone. Maybe that very moment where it is absolutely necessary will arise for you, and maybe that same moment will arise for a dog to bite. We kind of can't say "My dog would never bite." until the dog is dead and gone and in fact lived their lives without biting, but even then maybe they were just never put into that situation where they WOULD bite. The capacity is there, it's just whether or not they will ever use it. 

So, in Tofu_pup's point, animals can and do bite. It's just whether or not they reach the threshold to where they WILL bite.


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## Rid#### (Jul 22, 2011)

This is a forum that only wants to hear then thing's they agree with.
If you have other idea's then don't say them or they will ban you.
This is the truth.


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## Kayota (Aug 14, 2009)

No one said he WILL bite... Just that he can and you should take all reasonable precaution to avoid that. Any dog can bite--I'm sure if you provoked her enough my dog COULD bite you. In fact she has bitten me! And I know she can still bite if she so desires for whatever reason. All animals are unpredictable at times.


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## Rid#### (Jul 22, 2011)

This is a forum that only wants to hear then thing's they agree with.
If you have other idea's then don't say them or they will ban you.
This is the truth.


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## sscott87 (Feb 19, 2012)

Rude things people say lol


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## GreatDaneMom (Sep 21, 2007)

well, cesar would be proud of you....


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## xxxxdogdragoness (Jul 22, 2010)

Anyway lol I was at a small town rodeo & there was a family with a cute little puppy (APBT) that couldn't have been more then 10 wks, their older son's GF was holding her & her (the girls) mom was like "don't let her go up to anyone, you know she bites!" all panicked like & such like she was a vicious monster or something  I turned to OH & said "she's a PUPPY ALL puppies bite."loud enough for her to hear. Then later this bratty (she wouldn't even stand for the national anthem on MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND >:/ I wanted to kicked thr crap out of the back of her chair. Being that my father fought for this country in. Vietnam I took it very personal) kept messing with the puppy, barking at it with her toy & trying to feed it, the owners didn't say ANYTHING ???????? :/.


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## Rid#### (Jul 22, 2011)

This is a forum that only wants to hear then thing's they agree with.
If you have other idea's then don't say them or they will ban you.
This is the truth.


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## Kayota (Aug 14, 2009)

Today my stepbrother told me he didn't understand the point of having a small dog... I have a small dog for the same reason he has a big one, so I have no idea what he was trying to say.


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## amosmoses89 (Jun 19, 2011)

It wasn't really rude but it made me shake my head:

The other day my SO and I were cleaning out the cars and working in the yard with the dogs just kind of milling about not doing much. A couple walked by the road so I called the pups over and had them sit while they walked by. The girl stops and asks how we get our dogs so well behaved and how her's is so crazy and she doesn't understand why. She lives up the street and has a lab mix of some sort that is always pulling at the leash snapping and barking at everything. They also keep him tied up in the back of their yard most of the time. I told her we exercise the crap out of them and train them to listen. I told her Sydney would be crazy if she just got a walk around the neighborhood every other day. 

She just mumbled something about that being crazy to her partner and kept walking. It blows my mind how you can get a big, hyper dog and expect it to be well behaved with no exercise!!


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## momtolabs (May 27, 2012)

I was walking my uncles rottweiler, Ginger, once and this lady with a Pomeranian lets her dog run loose. I walked past her house and the dog came after us!! Ginger was hiding behind my legs and the dog kept charging us. the owner is screaming "dont let that dog hurt mine I will call the cops". I looked at her and screamed "it aint the dog you got to worry about!!". I put ginger in a down and stay and chased the dog until it got back to its yard. I told the owner to put the dog on a leash and next time I will call the pound. I also told her next time the dog comes after me I will kick it(No I am not mean to little dogs if any dog comes after me or my dog I will defend myself and my dog). that dog has been on a leash since. 

She is just SO mean looking aint she!!


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## melaka (Mar 31, 2010)

sscott87 said:


> It wasn't during a walk but yesterday in Petsmart while in line to check out, I calmed Jax down and gave him his hand signal for down so as to not have to worry about him pulling around while we stand there in line with people ahead and behind. A lady was standing there ahead of us and was very impressed by this and asked to see my hand signals for his commands, so I proceed to signal for him to get up, and sit, and back down (with a little verbalization, he's not great at hand signals alone in public but getting there). Anyway, she struck up a little conversation and proceeded to ask what he is. My answer these days has simply become "Husky Mutt" and of course she goes on to say how she sees pit in him. "Yeah, I hear that often. He's a husky mix with pure mutt" but she insists, "Oh no, he's pit. You know you see it, too." "No, he's really not. I've done a DNA test and it didn't show anything remotely pit or bulldog, and people with plenty of experience have said they don't see any pit in him." "You know he is, just admit it."
> 
> ...Yeah... Ok... If it makes you sleep at night. Not that I personally have anything at all against pits, I just don't like how half the people I encounter assume he is and some, like this (though she was the worst yet) will insist that he is. But they're always the ones that don't know much in regards to dogs. This lady quickly shared in the beginning, when asking about my hand signals, that she just got her first dog. Anyone I've spoken to that's had a lot of experience with pits or just dogs in general typically shrugs off the thought of him being part pit. This lady was just annoying and bordering rude with it.





dagwall said:


> Just image how much worse it is when your dog is brindle... I get this stuff all the time. I call Jubel a mutt, plott hound X Lab X something X something, anytime someone asks. Can't even count the number of times people have asked/said he's a pit mix and a large portion insisting to me that he is. But like you said most actual knowledgable pit people agree he isn't.


Buffy gets this all the time too. No idea if she's part Pit or not, but I don't think she is. I've also had some Pit-experienced people agree that she probably doesn't have Pit in her. But for the general public, brindle = Pit.


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## HollowHeaven (Feb 5, 2012)

momtolabs said:


> She is just SO mean looking aint she!!


Of course. Clearly vicious. You can just see the hate in her eyes!


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## xxxxdogdragoness (Jul 22, 2010)

I have had ppl say my ACD was a PB because of her muscular cheeks (she did a lot of chewing  ) Lol proves ppl are ignorant


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## Rid#### (Jul 22, 2011)

This is a forum that only wants to hear then thing's they agree with.
If you have other idea's then don't say them or they will ban you.
This is the truth.


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## BlueChaos (Mar 29, 2010)

I'm amazed at the abundance of idiots on this planet, I've been always taught that if you've got nothing nice to say, dont say anything at all! same applies to kids, when I was young, I wouldn't have dreamt of insulting someone else's pet. Kids these days dont get smacked enough. 

Back on the topic, thankfully we don't get too many comments, just some ignorant people around, like a woman that runs daycare across the street, she lets the annoying kids stand in my yard and bark at the dog while they are outside trying to provoke them. 

I also notice that a lot of times on walks, people(especially women) with small dogs, freak out when they see us walking towards them, pick up their dogs and get off the sidewalk. The whole time Uno doesn't even bat an eye at them, he hates small yappy dogs, they scare him.


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## Crantastic (Feb 3, 2010)

BlueChaos said:


> I also notice that a lot of times on walks, people(especially women) with small dogs, freak out when they see us walking towards them, pick up their dogs and get off the sidewalk. The whole time Uno doesn't even bat an eye at them, he hates small yappy dogs, they scare him.


Try not to take that one personally.  I won't usually pick up my dog, but I will move off the sidewalk -- I'm not afraid of big dogs or worried a nice calm dog like yours will suddenly jump on mine (I love big dogs and used to be a strictly big-dog fan), but my little one is afraid and will air snap at big dogs if I let her get too close. I only move so that she will stay under threshold and won't start something.


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## xxxxdogdragoness (Jul 22, 2010)

Crantastic said:


> Try not to take that one personally.  I won't usually pick up my dog, but I will move off the sidewalk -- I'm not afraid of big dogs or worried a nice calm dog like yours will suddenly jump on mine (I love big dogs and used to be a strictly big-dog fan), but my little one is afraid and will air snap at big dogs if I let her get too close. I only move so that she will stay under threshold and won't start something.


I can usually tell when someone is moving for politeness or training reasons, I have no qualms with that.

Blue chaos>> in this 'new age' parenting world where CPS is up everyone's butt ppl are sfraid to swat their kids these days but I'm not talking about verbal/ physical abuse, just a simple swat on the bottom to remind a kiddo of their manners.


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## rhflan (May 20, 2012)

BlueChaos said:


> I'm amazed at the abundance of idiots on this planet, I've been always taught that if you've got nothing nice to say, dont say anything at all! same applies to kids, when I was young, I wouldn't have dreamt of insulting someone else's pet. *Kids these days dont get smacked enough. *


Advocating child abuse? Wow. Clearly this forum isn't for me.

Cheers,
The Kid Who Got Smacked (and more!) ALL THE TIME


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## Rid#### (Jul 22, 2011)

This is a forum that only wants to hear then thing's they agree with.
If you have other idea's then don't say them or they will ban you.
This is the truth.


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## LuvMyAngels (May 24, 2009)

When my youngest daughter was in preschool I'd take Buster with me when I'd drop her off or pick her up. On our way home one afternoon we had a lady and her little boy walking in front of us. She suddenly turns and says to the boy "Look at that big dog!". Makayla, her hand still on Busters shoulders, starts looking around so she could see the big dog too. 

It's becoming just as regular as the saddle/horse comments for someone with a small dog to say something along the lines of "I sure hope he's already has his breakfast!". Implying that just because my dog COULD swallow theirs in one gulp that he will. The whole time Bus is laying at my side wagging for all he's worth (he loves little dogs!) while theirs is going nuts barking & snapping. Bussy says in his best "Bruce" imitation "Little dogs are friends, not food"


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## HollowHeaven (Feb 5, 2012)

Lord how off topic.
As a child who grew up getting physical punishment (a lot of it wayyyy over the top) I can proudly say I support smacking a child's behind when they decide you're not their boss. 
Like I said in another thread, around here you can tell which children get discipline and which don't, and the ones who don't are usually the ones who end up being destructive, getting kicked out of school, causing trouble, etc. 

It seems like spanking a child after they've been told and told is considered outright abuse and it isn't. But it will make them mind. 
There *IS* a difference between spanking a child and abusing them, and despite popular belief they are not one in the same believe it or not. 

And there is a difference between a dog and a child as well. A child understands English (or whatever language their parents speak) and should not have to be told to do something or not to do something a million times. 

It's really a shame that when someone hears about a child being spanked over something like purposely breaking something, or being absolutely defiant or hitting, etc. they flip a shit and it's immediately "barbaric treatment".
I've yet to hear of anyone who never punished their kids for something who had a child who turned out fine. (Bear in mind that punishment is not always spanking.) Quite the opposite actually. All the children I know that are let to get away with their crap just continue to get worse and worse. 

But of course, I don't see what any of this has to do with rude comments about dogs.


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## xxxxdogdragoness (Jul 22, 2010)

Rid#### said:


> Do you have any kids at all.
> I have helped raise my own 2 and now we have got our daughter move back in with her 2 girls.
> These girls in your eye would have to get a swat on the backside just to remind them about things.
> That is so far off the planet that it isn't even funny.
> ...


I am trying to understand why you have a venomous attitude twds me? *shrug* I'm not talking about taking a belt to the kid or a switch or something I was talking about a small swat on the bum! Lol. As for my dogs no I do not 'swat' them at all, humans have the cognative reasoning skills to make the association to what they did wrong & the punishment, while dogs (not saying their stupid by comparisons, quite the contrary), their thought process is simpler then a humans... Which is why punishment doesn't work.


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## Kayota (Aug 14, 2009)

I don't agree with spanking... I guess this is why I have furkids, you can't spank them because they don't get your message, so it doesn't matter that I'm unwilling to use physical force. I read about the damage it can do in my psychology book... Any kind of spanking is strongly recommended AGAINST by child psychologists. Just saying. You can absolutely discipline a child without physical punishment of any sort... But what do I know? I'm nineteen.


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## xxxxdogdragoness (Jul 22, 2010)

Kayota said:


> I don't agree with spanking... I guess this is why I have furkids, you can't spank them because they don't get your message, so it doesn't matter that I'm unwilling to use physical force. I read about the damage it can do in my psychology book... Any kind of spanking is strongly recommended AGAINST by child psychologists. Just saying. You can absolutely discipline a child without physical punishment of any sort... But what do I know? I'm nineteen.


Hey.... I'm 30 & I feel the same way (about animals that is) I just am not too fond of kids (sorry to those with kids.... I don't mean to offend anyone but I just have been burned too many times by naughty kids).


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

HollowHeaven said:


> It's really a shame that when someone hears about a child being spanked over something like purposely breaking something, or being absolutely defiant or *hitting*, etc.


I think it's interesting that you think hitting someone for hitting someone is appropriate behavior for adults. . .



> But of course, I don't see what any of this has to do with rude comments about dogs.


 Apparently some people think that if you hit your kids enough, they won't make rude comments about dogs.


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## Cailin (May 2, 2012)

as the child of two child psychologists, I was never hit. It was worse, much worse: I was lectured. My parents would reason why what I did was wrong almost every single time. Of course there were the "just because it's rude" explanations, like, why you shouldn't disrespect or hit your parents or why you should say "thank you" and "please"... but over all, I knew why some rules were there. Now, I grew up in Venezuela, where most parents hit their children. As we grew into teenagers, I seem to remember a lot of kids who went nuts with sex, violence and drugs and who felt that hitting their parents back was their graduation from their childhood. This is my personal experience with physical punishment.

Now about rude comments... aside from the generic small dog rude comments (calling her a "rat"and a "mop"), and a friend who enjoys to put me and my dog down for whatever reason... I'd say people usually like Reina and Reina almost always likes people back. I've gotten more rude comments from people close to us, than strangers. Then again, small dogs are pretty common where I live.


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## MusherChic (Nov 6, 2010)

I was spanked as a child and I think I turned out fine. I was a wild hair of a thing when I was younger (still am in some ways...) and time outs didn't always works on me. 

Are there other ways to get the point across nowadays? Sure. I personally like Super Nannys, Joe Frost's, methods and will most likely use them for my future children. But I hardly think it's "barbaric treatment" to spank, that just seems a little harsh. To each their own, I suppose...


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## Cailin (May 2, 2012)

MusherChic said:


> I was spanked as a child and I think I turned out fine. I was a wild hair of a thing when I was younger (still am in some ways...) and time outs didn't always works on me.


I'm not saying everyone who is spanked turns out wrong and definitively not everyone who is not spanked turns out right. I also don't think it's barbaric... it's just not a good example because if you are hitting a kid for hitting someone (for example), you are teaching them that they are not allowed to hit people now, but it is acceptable to hit people in the future. Or so I heard from some Canadian video on child aggression. But that's just what I've heard. I don't have children anyway, so i wouldn't know. 

I just wanted to let you know I'm not trying to criticize you, I think that people have different ideas about how the world works and ultimately, there is not one single truth. With the way research works, there's bound to be studies that contradict everything I've said right now.


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## begemot (Feb 1, 2011)

MusherChic said:


> I was spanked as a child and I think I turned out fine. I was a wild hair of a thing when I was younger (still am in some ways...) and time outs didn't always works on me.


"Studies show that even a few instances of being hit as children are associated with more depressive symptoms as adults (Strauss, 1994, Strassberg, Dodge, Pettit & Bates, 1994). A landmark meta-analysis of 88 corporal punishment research studies of over six decades showed that corporal punishment of children was associated with negative outcomes including* increased delinquent and antisocial behavior, increased risk of child abuse and spousal abuse, increased risk of child aggression and adult aggression, decreased child mental health and decreased adult mental health* (Gershoff, 2002). While most of us who were spanked “turned out OK”, it is likely that not being spanked would have helped us turn out to be healthier." From here.


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## Fuzzy Pants (Jul 31, 2010)

HollowHeaven said:


> Lord how off topic.
> As a child who grew up getting physical punishment (a lot of it wayyyy over the top) I can proudly say I support smacking a child's behind when they decide you're not their boss.
> Like I said in another thread, around here you can tell which children get discipline and which don't, and the ones who don't are usually the ones who end up being destructive, getting kicked out of school, causing trouble, etc.


As a matter of fact I can easily tell which kids were spanked and which ones weren't. The ones that were spanked are far more aggressive, have quicker tempers and go to greater lengths to hide their bad behavior as a result of being spanked. The best behaved children I've ever met are the one's raised by parents that lectured them instead of hit them. I realize that hitting comes naturally to most primates but it's kind of ironic that conservative people that think evolution is a myth are the one's that are quickest to resort to primate behavior.
There have been studies showing that kids that are hit have heightened aggression and lower IQs than those that weren't. Not to mention parents are supposed to prepare children for adulthood. At no point as an adult can you go around hitting your employees, bosses or spouses without possibly having to face assault charges.
Not to mention there is a very noticeable difference in crime rates, literacy, technological advancement, standard of living, etc. between red state America and Scandinavia where spanking is illegal. I know where I'd rather live. It makes as little sense to hit a child as it does to hit a dog. You aren't teaching them anything other than adults hit when mad and you aren't correcting current behavior, let alone preventing future bad behavior by doing it either.
I was spanked as a kid and I'd definitely say I'm more aggressive as a result and that is one of the reasons I refuse to have kids. I don't want the responsibility and I don't want to make the same mistakes as my parents did. The only way I'd even remotely consider having kids is if I could move back to northern Europe where people/society are a little more evolved.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

I know I would have been mentally and emotionally healthier if I wasn't spanked. Very much so. Being "smacked" in public is deeply humiliating for a 3-4 year old (and older of course!), and I attribute my current social anxieties to that.


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## begemot (Feb 1, 2011)

Fuzzy Pants said:


> There have been studies showing that kids that are hit have heightened aggression and lower IQs than those that weren't.


Yes, the studies finding decreased cognitive aptitude are pretty depressing.


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## KodiBarracuda (Jul 4, 2011)

Fuzzy Pants said:


> As a matter of fact I can easily tell which kids were spanked and which ones weren't. The ones that were spanked are far more aggressive, have quicker tempers and go to greater lengths to hide their bad behavior as a result of being spanked. The best behaved children I've ever met are the one's raised by parents that lectured them instead of hit them. I realize that hitting comes naturally to most primates but it's kind of ironic that conservative people that think evolution is a myth are the one's that are quickest to resort to primate behavior.
> There have been studies showing that kids that are hit have heightened aggression and lower IQs than those that weren't. Not to mention parents are supposed to prepare children for adulthood. At no point as an adult can you go around hitting your employees, bosses or spouses without possibly having to face assault charges.
> Not to mention there is a very noticeable difference in crime rates, literacy, technological advancement, standard of living, etc. between red state America and Scandinavia where spanking is illegal. I know where I'd rather live. It makes as little sense to hit a child as it does to hit a dog. You aren't teaching them anything other than adults hit when mad and you aren't correcting current behavior, let alone preventing future bad behavior by doing it either.
> I was spanked as a kid and I'd definitely say I'm more aggressive as a result and that is one of the reasons I refuse to have kids. I don't want the responsibility and I don't want to make the same mistakes as my parents did. The only way I'd even remotely consider having kids is if I could move back to northern Europe where people/society are a little more evolved.


Very well put. What do I know? I'm 18. So not much. But... That means I have had more recent close contact with a variety of teenagers than most. And I do agree that most of the spanked teenagers are way more aggressive than the others.


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## GreatDaneMom (Sep 21, 2007)

*sigh* this is soooo off topic. i hate when it branches into this stuff because it has NOTHING to do with dogs.... and how someone raises their child (reasonably that is, not being an abuser, alcoholic, druggie, neglecting, etc.) is their own business. if anyone is going to say "i would have turned out better if i wasnt spanked a few times", or, "im aggressive because i was spanked"... you dont KNOW that for sure. youre just pointing a finger at something that makes you feel better. there are many other factors that contribute to the way someone turns out rather than being spanked. thats just rediculous to me. you cant say "this % of kids who here spanked where worse than the ones who werent" because there are so many other contributing factors. unless all these kids lived the same EXACT life, had the same EXACT genetics, you cant say "spanking made them worse".....


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## Cailin (May 2, 2012)

GreatDaneMom said:


> *sigh* this is soooo off topic.


I agree. It's also very personal. Shall we all just agree to disagree and get on with the main topic?


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## Roloni (Aug 5, 2011)

Thats a lotta strange things to hear whilst walking my dog...
lol


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## xxxxdogdragoness (Jul 22, 2010)

I'm ADHD so I prolly would have turned out the same lol, but my folks were the 'swat on the butt & send to time out' types  not extreme in thr least so most of my behavorial quirks stem from ADHD


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## Daenerys (Jul 30, 2011)

GreatDaneMom said:


> if anyone is going to say "i would have turned out better if i wasnt spanked a few times", or, "im aggressive because i was spanked"... you dont KNOis their own business. W that for sure. youre just pointing a finger at something that makes you feel better. there are many other factors that contribute to the way someone turns out rather than being spanked. thats just rediculous to me. you cant say "this % of kids who here spanked where worse than the ones who werent" because there are so many other contributing factors. unless all these kids lived the same EXACT life, had the same EXACT genetics, you cant say "spanking made them worse".....


Exactly! Sorry, I just had to step in to back this up because reading those posts had me scratching my head...


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## Kayota (Aug 14, 2009)

I was spanked for _calling the vet for my sick rat_ as a child. Do any of you who are for spanking really think that taught me anything except that if I care about my ill pets it's a bad thing? Luckily I was old enough by that time to know I was in the right and my dad's anger was unfounded, but if I had been younger what effect would that have had on my pet care now?

Also that's totally related, it has to do with pets lol!

But seriously, today at the dog park a guy walks in. I had been alone with my dog until then.

He says...

"I don't know how my dogs will be with your dog, they don't like other dogs."

After watching the dogs' body language and deciding the most they would likely do is terrify mine (nothing abnormal really) for a few seconds and then leave her alone, I decided I could stay.

He proceeds to _play softball_ with his daughter. In the dog park. The softball was larger than my dog's head. I was very concerned. Luckily when someone else came he agreed to go to the small dog side with me and that was the end of that.


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## amosmoses89 (Jun 19, 2011)

I find it strange how the more time I spend on this site the more judgmental I become about the people on here. I have no real knowledge of any of you but I find myself thinking "of course he/she would say that, how like them." This being thought both in a positive and a negative way. 


My mother tends to say things that are rude and hurtful about my girls, but I know they really aren't meant that way. She always tells me how stupid Sydney is compared to Chloe and that it took Sydney a long time to grow into her looks. Chloe is her favorite she never says anything bad about her lol.


Edit: Ok no one take that personally it wasn't directed at anyone in particular!!!


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## xxxxdogdragoness (Jul 22, 2010)

I have a similar story, after Izze died & I adopted Buddy (who is an absolute love/charmer to everyone he meets) I visited my folks & of course the dogs went, so needless to say Bud charmed the pants off my parents & mom was like "He's a lot better then Izze." as she was loving on him, Izze was an "I love my mom & every one else can kiss my furry butt" dog, she was always super rude to my folks & didn't listen to a thing they said when she stayed with them for a bit a while back. 

I didn't say anything, my parents are loving ppl are nice to everyone, I just don't think she knew how much a comment like that would sting, but I played it cool by saying "yeah he's a really good boy, we don't know why someone wouldn't want him." or something like that.


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## JessCowgirl88 (Mar 15, 2011)

I was outside in our front yard today with my girls and the neighbor next to us has this little dog. Not sure if its a puppy or not really but they always let it run around wherever. When i noticed the dog was out i ut my girls on leashes cause i know they will go after it cause they hate anything that comes on our yard. Then the oldest of the 2 boys playing that bring it out when they come out thinking maybe 12 asks why i put my dogs on a leash, only mean owners do that... i was just like ??? and these neighbors are bad for letting their puppy/dog just run where ever. we have called ac cause its almost gotten hit by cars but every time the ac gets here they take the dog in and do nothing


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## houndies (Feb 2, 2012)

Unfortunately having Bassets everyone thinks they are soft ( they are really but do not like anything out of their family but are so tolerant) - especially with kids, dogs, anyone - they are very polite and take so much in their stride. So everyone with toddlers, kids, even people that have dogs that tend to be aggressive come up to us and asks if we can walk together. This is good but sometimes I just want to walk my girls with just us.... I think it is rude to have assumptions...


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## Fuzzy Pants (Jul 31, 2010)

Houndies, I think a lot of people are taking socialization too far and think they have to point their dog like a missile in the general direction of others trying to walk their dogs in peace. At this point I'm not sure if I'm more annoyed with people that don't socialize their dogs or the one's that think they have to socialize their dogs by sticking it in everyone else's dog's face.


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## houndies (Feb 2, 2012)

Sorry Fp i don't know what you are asking. Personally I walk my girls and don't ask for anything but sometimes I find parents with kids, dogs with muzzles - because the owners want their dogs walking with good natured ones - even if they attack one of mine - walking with me. I find it amazing what we dog owners - just walking our dogs - endure...


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## +two (Jul 12, 2011)

houndies said:


> Sorry Fp i don't know what you are asking. Personally I walk my girls and don't ask for anything but sometimes I find parents with kids, dogs with muzzles - because the owners want their dogs walking with good natured ones - even if they attack one of mine - walking with me. I find it amazing what we dog owners - just walking our dogs - endure...


... muzzled dogs deserve to be walked too . . .


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## houndies (Feb 2, 2012)

Never said they don't - don't pick...


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## HollowHeaven (Feb 5, 2012)

My grandmother passed away Sunday, so I have been spending a large amount of time at my father's home.
I'm not a huge fan of it.

He has a dog named Sui (after Steve Irwin's dog) that we have had since he was 4 weeks old. He's now about 13 and quite possibly some sort of Mountain Cur X ACD X Bully mix. He's just so sweet, despite his appearance and I loved being able to see him again. 
Well, Sui is an outdoor dog and always has been. He has NEVER had a bath, walked in water or even stood out in rain. He's also very old. So yeah, he's got a smell to him and it's not pleasant at all.
Well, my father's girlfriend kept onnandonnnandonnn about his smell. After a few times, it really started to piss me off. All she has to do is pour food in his bowl and pat him on the head. It isn't like she has to share a bed with him. :| I finally got angry enough to say something to her about it and finally she shut up. Saying my dog "smells like a damn dead rat" is not only a lie, but it's rude and infuriating, so shut up. >|


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## UF Girl (May 31, 2012)

Wow, it took me forever to get through all the posts. 

No one has ever made rude comments about my dogs on walks. I guess I have been lucky. Years ago when they were younger and still working on leash training, I was on a walk and some kids commented how mean my dog was. I just had to laugh because he is the biggest lover and sweetheart, but he pulled so bad he would froth at the mouth and snort. He was only about 40lbs then so not huge but I could see why they said it. I chalked it up to their loss because he would have sat and let them pet and play with him for days.

I have a hound mix whose ears never dropped so they stick straight out the side of his head. My friends make fun of him all the time. But that is just how we are, it is not done in a hurtful way. I have a friend with a Pomeranian that runs in circles and I call her a swiffer. We all love our dogs and each others so no one ever gets upset of offended. 

I do get very annoyed when people don't control their dogs, on or off leash. I have had issues with one of my dogs being people shy and dog aggressive. I take every precaution I can to ensure the well being of my dog and anyone else around. I do believe uncontrollable situation happen, but I also feel when they do the owner should at least recognize it and take responsibility for it. Not to laugh it off, or ignore that it happened.

I have a cattle dog mix and she is very pretty, other than her crystal blue eyes that make her look possessed, everyone wants to pet her which creates chaos for me because if she is unsure of you she will bite. Always with warning but it never fails little kids just adore her and reach before asking. We don't do the pet store things because of this, she is happier not being poked and grabbed at by strangers and I am much less stressed.

As for the whole spanking issue, I don't want to be told how to raise my children (if I had any) so I won't tell anyone how to raise theirs. Personally, I don't hit anyone, anything or any animal period. I believe hitting(ie, spanking, smacking, slapping etc) teaches that it is okay to solve a problems with physical force and I don't agree with it. I was not hit as a child, but i was punished. If I did something wrong I lost tv, phone video game, etc, privileges, I learned my actions have consequences that did not include physical pain or harm.


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## Wicket (Aug 21, 2011)

Gosh, one time, at our local park, I was conversing with this really nice couple and we were letting our small dogs get to know each other. Their dog was off-leash (well, his leash was still on, but it was one of those really short ones so he just dragged it with him) and wandering off all over the place, against the rules, but I try not to give unsolicited advice so whatever. Then out of nowhere, this pack of horrid, prepubescent, loud, obnoxious boys just stampede towards us hooting and shout things like "CAN WE WALK YOUR DOG?! CAN WE WALK YOUR DOG?!" over and over again. These brats literally surrounded us and our dogs, yelling and chanting this over and over again, and swung at our dogs and tried to chase the loose dog. I sternly told them to back off because my dog was very reactive and they were scaring her, and then I guess absolute defiance and stupidity overtook them because they started screaming at poor Wicket. They just kept screaming and screaming her, and I had to walk away from the nice couple to get away from those monsters. They didn't follow me very far, but they turned their attention to the couple's dog and one of them grabbed the poor pup's leash and dragged him in some random direction. The dog was able to get away briefly, but then the same brat was able to grab the leash again and dragged the little guy back to the owners. I was able to return to the couple, and continued our conversation. Both dogs were fine, but I was surprised Wicket wasn't traumatized. I just couldn't believe what had taken place. It was like we were flash mobbed by the spawn of the rude and stupid. Being an adult, I tried to be respectful (despite their insanity) and non-reactive and so did the couple, but come on!! If it weren't illegal, I would of pummeled those mini-jackasses in oblivion!!! Who the hell does that? And secondly, who the hell raises kids that do that? ARRRRRGGGGUUUHHH :rant:   ::insert more angry emoticons::


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## Keyray (Jun 30, 2011)

I've never had any rude/strange comments, but plenty of rude/impolite actions.

It's usually always a nice comment followed by a physical movement that is not appreciated.

With adults, it's usually a comment like "What beautiful eyes" or "Such an interesting mix" followed by an immediate reach down to pet her or get her attention. Vada treats all adults with caution and hides until shes ignored. Then she will come forth to investigate. Otherwise she gets scared by the sudden reach down.

With children (who are the bane of her very existence and mine), yell/scream "PUPPY!" or "DOGGY!" and some other gibberish before bum rushing us to pet her. Some kids even come flying across streets at her while their parents are either chasing/ignoring/ yelling at the situation. Vada is terrified of children and the only thing she hates more is children running at her. Each time this happens she ends up as a quivering pile of fur huddled in puddle of her own urine.

I've gotten to a point where I wish people would just only make comments of any kind as long as they just stay away.


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## Wicket (Aug 21, 2011)

Me and Wicket had our first drive-by today... I swear, it should be illegal to be a teenage boy sometimes. A shoddy car full of them felt compelled to stop in front of me and my pup just to shout, "Nice dog... takin' a nice $H1T!! AHAHAHAHAHH" then drive off. Where's a flamethrower when you need one.


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## houndies (Feb 2, 2012)

Fuzzy Pants said:


> Houndies, I think a lot of people are taking socialization too far and think they have to point their dog like a missile in the general direction of others trying to walk their dogs in peace. At this point I'm not sure if I'm more annoyed with people that don't socialize their dogs or the one's that think they have to socialize their dogs by sticking it in everyone else's dog's face.


Yes Fp this is a problem especially in a city. We live in between two huge parks and jeez any city parks... drunks, lots of kids, and sometimes very odd dog owners. Mothers are my biggest problem, nothing against children, but there is a very nice cafe at one of my parks and I like to sit with the girls and have a coffee. I am attacked with Mums and kids wanting to pet, walk, do tricks with the girls. Somehow these mothers think it is their right when they find friendly dogs the owners and the dogs should oblige. And of course we do - we aren't monsters. But I think if I came up to these Moms wanting to pet their children... It is ultimately good I suppose you can teach these kids how to behave around dogs but I it's not really my responsibility....


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## Crantastic (Feb 3, 2010)

Wicket said:


> Me and Wicket had our first drive-by today... I swear, it should be illegal to be a teenage boy sometimes. A shoddy car full of them felt compelled to stop in front of me and my pup just to shout, "Nice dog... takin' a nice $H1T!! AHAHAHAHAHH" then drive off. Where's a flamethrower when you need one.


Who needs a flamethrower when you have dog poop? I'd like to hear them explaining to their parents why there's a big spot of crap on their car...


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## houndies (Feb 2, 2012)

Crantastic said:


> Who needs a flamethrower when you have dog poop? I'd like to hear them explaining to their parents why there's a big spot of crap on their car...


HA! And in the winter, keep it in your pockets to keep your hands warm and it might come in handy .... x


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## Wicket (Aug 21, 2011)

Crantastic said:


> Who needs a flamethrower when you have dog poop? I'd like to hear them explaining to their parents why there's a big spot of crap on their car...


I'll remember that next time, lol. Wicket's poop was pretty wicked. That pig ear she had wanted to make its presence known.


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## xxxxdogdragoness (Jul 22, 2010)

houndies said:


> Yes Fp this is a problem especially in a city. We live in between two huge parks and jeez any city parks... drunks, lots of kids, and sometimes very odd dog owners. Mothers are my biggest problem, nothing against children, but there is a very nice cafe at one of my parks and I like to sit with the girls and have a coffee. I am attacked with Mums and kids wanting to pet, walk, do tricks with the girls. Somehow these mothers think it is their right when they find friendly dogs the owners and the dogs should oblige. And of course we do - we aren't monsters. But I think if I came up to these Moms wanting to pet their children... It is ultimately good I suppose you can teach these kids how to behave around dogs but I it's not really my responsibility....


My sentiments exactly it never occurs to them that maybe we (the dogs & I ) want to be LEFT ALONE so I jut tell them that they aren't friendly lol.


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## houndies (Feb 2, 2012)

dogdragoness said:


> My sentiments exactly it never occurs to them that maybe we (the dogs & I ) want to be LEFT ALONE so I jut tell them that they aren't friendly lol.


Ohhhh I wish I could but I see everyones' excitement - especially that Mum has said yes and pet the dogs- the kids love it! The girls look at me saying OK - wag their tails and do their duty. I think it is very difficult to deal with Mothers (to kids) and I think if I was one perhaps i would be he same LOL but I'm not.....


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## sassafras (Jun 22, 2010)

Wicket said:


> Me and Wicket had our first drive-by today... I swear, it should be illegal to be a teenage boy sometimes. A shoddy car full of them felt compelled to stop in front of me and my pup just to shout, "Nice dog... takin' a nice $H1T!! AHAHAHAHAHH" then drive off. Where's a flamethrower when you need one.


What, they don't poop?! :/


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## Cyreen (May 23, 2012)

The only people that have ever criticized my pets are family (i.e. "Well, it's a good thing you belong to her, anyone else would have docked your tail."), but that's because I tend to own cross breeds, mutts, and rescues (small/medium dogs with a sort of Muppet quality to them), while the rest of my family owns purebreds. From complete strangers, I often get compliments and the occasional threat of dog-napping (ha, ha!). 

However, I live in an ethnically diverse neighbourhood and many of my neighbours were raised to believe dogs are dirty. I understand this and it's very common for people to walk 10' around me when I'm out walking. That's fine, they don't expect me to move and I keep my animals short leashed. I nod and smile and carry on. Very often when young kids come running up with hands outstretched, I give short tutorials on "how to greet a dog" (so you don't get bit). They need to learn and my dog appreciates the breathing space.


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## HollowHeaven (Feb 5, 2012)

And yesterday I learned that it's cute when a little dog does something, but if a larger dog does the exact same thing it's a vicious monster. :| -blink-

Took Aleu to a petshow yesterday, the entry fees go towards the humane society, so it's a cute little thing I guess. We go every year, but yesterday Aleu was more hyped up than she usually is. So she was doing her thang, her little pit bull friend was there (he used to be our neighbor, she completely obviously remembers him) and she was clinging to him, she greeted a Pyrenees puppy that matched her weird style of greeting perfectly and all was right with the world. 
Well, we walked in for one of her categories and she pulled me to go greet another dog, who clearly wanted to greet her back. I had someone tell me "control your dog or you'll have you remove her!" Um. excuse me? A little surprised I said 'she's not... attacking, she's just a little too vivacious.' "yeah, well, you'll have to remove her?" ARE YOU KIDDING ME? ohhh, that just burned me up. There were chihuahuas and "puggles" and poodles and all these other tiny dogs that were barking and snapping and jumping and were clearly either aggressive or just so stressed out about being there, but it was "aww, they're so excited" okay, sure. 
And what made me even madder was the ACD (possible a mix as it was very tall) that was just outright... after the other dogs. The very same woman who had told me to remove my dog, just stood there and chuckled at that hazard. -_- the dog was eventually removed by the owner.

At registration, the owners of the pyr and the bully were standing conversing, and their dogs were, by far, the most well behaved there. Someone looked at them and said "um, those two aren't going to be attacking or anything, are they?" FOR REAL?
I just don't even like people.


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## xxxxdogdragoness (Jul 22, 2010)

Mmmm hallowed I agree, then if something horrible happens & a small dog is attacked then if the attacker is larger it is blamed & often quarantined or PTS where if the roles are reversed & it's the little dog is the attacker, then their actions are 'cute' or 'he's just excited' or ' he wants to play'


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## Wicket (Aug 21, 2011)

Oh I hate it when little dogs get away with things that big dogs just cannot do, or look like vicious monsters if they do. It isn't cute, it isn't funny, your dog is unstable and vicious despite the size. I find it so rude when a little dog is bouncing around, jumping and pawing at me knee. A dog is a dog, regardless of size, and thus should be treated equally. It would like a midget getting away with groping you and chewing on your hand just because he's short. (Big apologies to the little people out there, I don't hate you, just putting together an example >.<)


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## hamandeggs (Aug 11, 2011)

Ugh, I finally have a contribution for this thread.

We live in a very urban area, and the closest spot for pee breaks is the block behind our building, where there is a grassy median on one side but not the other (i.e. there are good pee spots for a female dog only on the grassy median side). There are a lot of dogs on that block, and some of their owners drive me nuts (don't leash their rude dogs stuff like that). There's a couple who have 2 male pugs, one is a tiny puppy and the other is an older pug that doesn't like Biscuit very much. He sort of froths and growls whenever he sees other dogs, but the owners seem responsible and it's never really been an issue.

Yesterday, though, I was walking with Biscuit. We came across and passed the grumpy pug, who was marking everything in sight. He grumbled a bit when we passed, but no big deal. But right after we passed them, the owner said loudly to me, "Well I guess WE'LL cross the street then." I was confused, thinking that the moment of potential issues was over, and anyway his dog is the one who is reactive, not mine, so I asked WTH, and the guy said "It's common courtesy. My dog won't go to the bathroom when there are other dogs around." 

WTF? How is this my problem? A) His dog was pissing everywhere and B) I was unaware that this guy and his angry pug owned the entire city block. And furthermore, the other side of the street has no peeing spots for my dog unless I want her to go in someone's carefully gardened tree box, which, because I am considerate, I do not. If my dog has an issue, I will be the one to cross the street, but I try not to make it the other person's problem. I have never heard of such a "common courtesy" rule in my life! Ugh. City living.

Edit. ALSO! Yesterday we were walking on the same block later in the day and came upon a couple of guys sitting on a couch in the middle of the sidewalk. Not normal! Biscuit is cautious of such abnormalities by nature, but she went up and sniffed one of the guy's hands and wagged her tail. The guy was like, "Oh, she's so shy, most normal dogs just jump right up on the couch with me." Um, sorry my dog is trained and not obnoxious? Right.


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## sassafras (Jun 22, 2010)

Not rude, but today I realized I'm growing weary of WHAT KIND OF DOG IS THAT WHITE DOG? Not that I blame people, but... I think I'm going to type up a little handout or something.


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## HollowHeaven (Feb 5, 2012)

Dogdragoness and Wicket: It really does make me so angry smaller dogs seem to get away with so much. It makes those of us with small dogs who actually give a derp look awful because people are just expecting them to misbehave. With Troubles I always find people want to cross the street when they see him, because they've met so many irritating, snappy little chihuahuas they automatically assume mine is the same way, when he's the opposite. He loves people, especially kids.


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## Sloth (Jul 29, 2008)

I was walking my nephew in the park when these two huge labs come sprinting up. I grabbed the stick I keep on the stroller for just such an occasion - big, out-of-control, off-leash dogs. Their owner appeared, and gave the usual "They're friendly, they just want to play!" One was trying to get at little Belle, the other was trying to grab my nephew's sippy cup. I told the owner if she doesn't call them off right now, I'm cracking their heads open. Maybe it was mean, I don't care. I don't have any patience for that whatsoever anymore.

Edit: I'd love to live in an area where the off-leash problem dogs are the tiny ones. Rude or not, I'd much rather have a 5-pound chihuahua barreling at me than a 50-pound lab.


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## Crantastic (Feb 3, 2010)

Not so much rude, but a teenager yelled to me today, "That is an awesome dog! ...They're both awesome, sorry. But that one is a little MORE awesome."

(Poor Crystal usually gets completely ignored in favor of the little husky, or is treated as an afterthought!)

Half a block later, a kid on a bike yelled, "Look at that mini dog!" I can now look forward to an entire summer of this.


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## Wicket (Aug 21, 2011)

HollowHeaven said:


> Dogdragoness and Wicket: It really does make me so angry smaller dogs seem to get away with so much. It makes those of us with small dogs who actually give a derp look awful because people are just expecting them to misbehave. With Troubles I always find people want to cross the street when they see him, because they've met so many irritating, snappy little chihuahuas they automatically assume mine is the same way, when he's the opposite. He loves people, especially kids.


I hate that chihuahuas get such a bad reputation. It's not their faults! If their owners actually treated them like dogs instead of dolls, and big scary people and kids didn't run up to them and spook them, they wouldn't be snappy and yappy. I think chihuahuas are great dogs, so much wasted potential out there.


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## Kayota (Aug 14, 2009)

People seem to think my dog is a boy even though she is clearly free of penises? Just because she has a mustache and wears blue a lot? Whatever... LOL


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## Sarayu14 (Apr 26, 2010)

Shay, my lab mix, and I were just walking down the street during a local street performers festival last year; she went to greet a lady, now Shay always sits down for a greeting and the lady looked at her and said "bad dog" for no reason at all.


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## ThoseWordsAtBest (Mar 18, 2009)

Now that it's warm out I've taken to yelling "Get off my lawn" at every passing kid who yells something about the dogs (we live down the road from a high school). Even if we're not physically any where near our lawn. I don't know why my boyfriend never walks the dogs with me anymore.


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## Gina_1978 (Jun 3, 2012)

Many many times,I´ve heard people say "she´s walking a rat!" (and laugh) or "if you want something that small,why not buy a guinea pig" etc etc.I live on a touristic island,so some people asume that I dont understand English and they say these things out loud as I pass *eye roll*
My husband is usually carrying one of our two,and many fellow men laugh and say things like "what kind of man gets a dog like that!?".

It dosnt bother me any more,but it seems that those who dont like small breed dogs really get their pants in a bunch when they see one lol


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## ThoseWordsAtBest (Mar 18, 2009)

We walk the same routes with all of our dogs (in different groups, usually in twos) and even though we've lived here for years the same people will ask how many dogs we have. So I do a:


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## begemot (Feb 1, 2011)

ThoseWordsAtBest said:


> Now that it's warm out I've taken to yelling "Get off my lawn" at every passing kid who yells something about the dogs (we live down the road from a high school). Even if we're not physically any where near our lawn. I don't know why my boyfriend never walks the dogs with me anymore.


LOL, do you have like a fan club that I could join?


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## Cyreen (May 23, 2012)

Sarayu14 said:


> Shay, my lab mix, and I were just walking down the street during a local street performers festival last year; she went to greet a lady, now Shay always sits down for a greeting and the lady looked at her and said "bad dog" for no reason at all.


Right. I know that festival and considering the mixed crowd it draws, why are you surprised? While I train my animals and trust them, I quite honestly don't trust people with my dog in those sorts of close quarters. The last thing I need is some ******* taking a kick at my dog.


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## Fuzzy Pants (Jul 31, 2010)

Sloth said:


> I was walking my nephew in the park when these two huge labs come sprinting up. I grabbed the stick I keep on the stroller for just such an occasion - big, out-of-control, off-leash dogs. Their owner appeared, and gave the usual *"They're friendly, they just want to play!"*


That is what every large dog owner says every time their dogs come barreling at us like heat seeking missiles! First off, some people are afraid of large dogs even if they happen to have small dogs while others are afraid of all dogs so it is simply common courtesy not to point your dog in someone's general direction and let it lunge at them. (I'm not afraid of large dogs so much as the stupidity and obnoxious behavior of a lot of their owners.) Secondly, it isn't necessary for your dog to meet everyone as some people actually have other things to do besides help strangers socialize their dog. Not to mention I don't understand why they can't comprehend that a well trained, sweet natured little dog might be petrified of a 100lb dog lunging at them. Thirdly, it really pisses me off that their is such disdain for small dog owners and derogatory names for small dogs when there are as many or more asinine large dog owners and poorly trained/behaved large dogs. If I had a dollar for every time I had a problem with a small dog/owner I could order a value meal or 2 from McDummies. If I had a dollar for every problem large dog/owner I had to deal with I'd be driving around in a new Mercedes instead of a 12 yr. old Ford POS.


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## +two (Jul 12, 2011)

PLEASE for the love of doG let's not turn this into another large dog / small dog debate. Not again!


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## ThoseWordsAtBest (Mar 18, 2009)

begemot said:


> LOL, do you have like a fan club that I could join?


I sure do. The members are me and my dad and you're more than welcome to join.


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## Kayota (Aug 14, 2009)

ThoseWordsAtBest said:


> Now that it's warm out I've taken to yelling "Get off my lawn" at every passing kid who yells something about the dogs (we live down the road from a high school). Even if we're not physically any where near our lawn. I don't know why my boyfriend never walks the dogs with me anymore.


You are hilarious. I'll join the fanclub too LOL. Love your posts.


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## Sarayu14 (Apr 26, 2010)

Cyreen said:


> Right. I know that festival and considering the mixed crowd it draws, why are you surprised? While I train my animals and trust them, I quite honestly don't trust people with my dog in those sorts of close quarters. The last thing I need is some ******* taking a kick at my dog.


I do admit that we had made the mistake by going into an area that was selling food (health inspector no no) but all Shay did was sit down and look at the lady (and we are talking a lady in her 70's). And the crowd was pretty thin at the time that we went so there were not too many people.


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## ThoseWordsAtBest (Mar 18, 2009)

Kayota said:


> You are hilarious. I'll join the fanclub too LOL. Love your posts.


Four members in 26 years! I'll be on America's Got Talent before you know it.


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## Jare (Aug 12, 2009)

begemot said:


> LOL, do you have like a fan club that I could join?





ThoseWordsAtBest said:


> I sure do. The members are me and my dad and you're more than welcome to join.


I am her dad, just so you're aware.


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## ThoseWordsAtBest (Mar 18, 2009)

Yeah guys, this is my dad Jare.


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## PatchworkRobot (Aug 24, 2010)

*"Is that a German Shepherd?!"*


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## momtolabs (May 27, 2012)

patchworkrobot I got one of those two days ago. but just not for a Doberman. Is that a pit bull? 










yup,sure is,lol. 


I also get asked if Bentley(yellow lab) is a golden retreiver- sure I just you know shaved off all his fur.


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## PatchworkRobot (Aug 24, 2010)

Bwahahahahahaha

Labs? No, they're Afghan Hounds!


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## momtolabs (May 27, 2012)

PatchworkRobot said:


> Bwahahahahahaha
> 
> Labs? No, they're Afghan Hounds!


lol. Some people. have you ever had someone argue with you that they are right and you are wrong?


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## ThoseWordsAtBest (Mar 18, 2009)

Been there. Your dog is beautiful! German Shepherd?

...no.










SOMETIMES a Husky, but at least that is closer.


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## Kayota (Aug 14, 2009)

One time a guy told me that my dog was exactly like his old dog (she isn't, I saw that dog, it was shorthaired and white with black spots?!?!?!) and that if I bred her to let him know, because he would buy a puppy from me and those puppies could go for a great price. What the heck.


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## PatchworkRobot (Aug 24, 2010)

momtolabs said:


> lol. Some people. have you ever had someone argue with you that they are right and you are wrong?


With my doberman, no. Luckily.
I'm not sure how I'd respond to that with him. I mean, it's such a distinct looking breed, especially the black/rusts.

With my Icelandic Sheepdog people try to fight me ALL THE TIME. 
Person: I really like your corgi/sheltie. She's super pretty.
Me: Thank you! But actually, she's an Icelandic Sheepdog.
Person: What? No. My uncle breeds shelties/corgies (really, it's happened for both breeds), or I've had shelties/corgies for years, or My friend has a sheltie/corgi... so I know what they look like and that's what your dog is.

This has even happened at the vet.
One person got so combativeness about it that I pulled out her papers (I had just got her so they happened to be on me still) and they STILL tried to fight me. Apparently her breeder lied to me, lol!

At least I can kind of understand it with her... nobody's heard of Icelandic Sheepdogs, lol


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## HollowHeaven (Feb 5, 2012)

ThoseWordsAtBest said:


> (we live down the road from a high school)


*Ehhhhhhhhhhhhh.*
Why yes, I do admire your strength. I couldn't do it :\ I'm near a notsonice high school, but not near enough to be bothered by the students. 
I'm someone who can't handle children and most people my own age, especially boys. I'd stay a ball of nerves.




PatchworkRobot said:


> One person got so combativeness about it that I pulled out her papers (I had just got her so they happened to be on me still) and they STILL tried to fight me. Apparently her breeder lied to me, lol!


This happened the day I brought Aleu home. I had a neighbor fight me about her breed. She asked the breed, I told her Siberian Husky, she went inside and googled 'white dog long hair' and came back out with 'SHE'S A SPITZ' as in Japanese Spitz. This went on forever, even after being shown her papers. Whatever I guess.
Still happens and I've come to a point where I just have to roll my eyes and go on.


We had a neighbor ask us if Troubles was pregnant. Sure, he's not the fittest chiwa in the taco store, but I mean come on, can you not see that happy little lady pleaser? -.-


on a side note, these very same people were "walking" their dogs the other night, unleashed may I add. Troubles was out in OUR yard trying to potty when out of nowhere we hear him yelp and find both their dogs on him. We managed to get him away without blood, but you can bet the fight is on now. I'm totally over being patient with people.


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## ThoseWordsAtBest (Mar 18, 2009)

HollowHeaven said:


> *Ehhhhhhhhhhhhh.*
> Why yes, I do admire your strength. I couldn't do it :\ I'm near a notsonice high school, but not near enough to be bothered by the students.
> I'm someone who can't handle children and most people my own age, especially boys. I'd stay a ball of nerves.


The trick is, I'm really creepy and I creep people out. They ain't gonna front on me.


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## xxxxdogdragoness (Jul 22, 2010)

Sarayu14 said:


> I do admit that we had made the mistake by going into an area that was selling food (health inspector no no) but all Shay did was sit down and look at the lady (and we are talking a lady in her 70's). And the crowd was pretty thin at the time that we went so there were not too many people.


Yeah why is that? I went to an outdoor flea market one time with the girls at the time (when Izze was alive) & we went to the open-air food court thingy, our dogs were laying under our table not bothering anyone when I heard some lady who had quite an obnoxious 'herd ' of little brats (yes as you can tell I hold a large amount of disdain towards kids esp the ill behaved ones 
At the next table make a comment about how she couldn't believe that someone brought a 'filthy animal' there, (ok its an outdoor flea market how clean could it be lol) so I runes around & replied "I was thinking the same thing" as I looked right at her kids... She shut up.


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## HollowHeaven (Feb 5, 2012)

PatchworkRobot said:


> *"Is that a German Shepherd?!"*


iSwoon.


I have to tell you, I'm in love with the name Dreizehn. I can't stop looking at your signature because I can't stop saying it Dx xD


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## Daenerys (Jul 30, 2011)

HollowHeaven said:


> I have to tell you, I'm in love with the name Dreizehn. I can't stop looking at your signature because I can't stop saying it Dx xD


It's the number 13 in German, right?


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## dagwall (Mar 17, 2011)

Daenerys said:


> It's the number 13 in German, right?


yes it's 13.


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## NozOnyCalAur (Jun 6, 2012)

The day I brought my puppy home, the first time I was in the yard with her working on potty training, a woman from across the street walks over and asks, "What mix is it?"
"She's a Pekingese." I reply.
"What is she she mixed with?"
"Uh, Pekingese?"


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## Wicket (Aug 21, 2011)

This isn't necessarily rude, but I thought it was weird. We went to a small dog park yesterday with a friend, it's not a really busy dog park, but it always has a few canine visitors. There was this small family that arrived (mom, dad, and baby... no dog) and set a picnic with a baby playpen and all. Being curious, the other dogs in the park when to check out the strange contraption and noisy baby. The family got pissed and kept yelling at the dogs to "Get! Get out of here! Go away!" Well... if you don't want to be approached by dogs and bugged why are you setting up a picnic in a dog park? Like really, don't set up a picnic in a dog park, common sense, there are plenty of other parks with picnic benches and a river side view. There are signs all over the place stating that this area is a "Dog Park" not a "People Set Up a Picnic and Yell at Dogs....Park." Though, another thing that bugged me was this big fluffly black dog that kept going back to the family, he kept getting closer and closer to the family. Granted yes, it is a dog park, but the owner of the dog was completely ignoring him. It was like all responsibility went out the window the moment the dog was unleashed, he was all over the place bugging everyone in the park and particularly the picnicking family. The other owners were keeping an eye on their dogs, making sure they didn't roam too far because the park wasn't fenced in. However this lady was just playing with her iphone, oblivious to where her dog wandered off to... let alone that it was bothering other people. But above all else, the family bothered me the most... so weird... why have a picnic in a dog park? Were the other parks in the whole darn city reserved off for the Queen's Celebration or something? I have no clue... strange people I tell you.


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## NozOnyCalAur (Jun 6, 2012)

That is strange. The only reason I can think that a family went to picnic at a dog park was to see the dogs as if it were a free petting zoo. Silly people.


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## LittleFr0g (Jun 11, 2007)

> "Is that a German Shepherd?!"


Have you met my Pit Bull pup?


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## swellmomma (Apr 21, 2012)

Usually the comments are good, though I get lots of comments of "look at those paws! You better get a new job to pay for all the food"

There was 1 comment that left me shaking my head. We just got Onyx on Saturday, so lots of neighbors stopping by to see him while we are outside. 1 of which said "oh when are you going to breed them?" Yes Delilah and Onyx are the same mix, and opposite genders but I am not breeding them. Even if I was a breeder I certainly wouldn't be doing with 2 little puppies. Now the person that said it currently has 4 adults cats and 4 babies (2 of the young adults just had litters, well 1 had a singleton, 1 had 3). Town bylaw says 3 cats and 3 dogs per person or you get licensed as a breeder. None of her cats are fixed, no registration on any of them, gloats about the money she makes off the kittens from breeding them. So I should not be surprised by her comment.

I countered with " I am not breeding them, I am a responsible pet owner and they both will be getting fixed". Her response. "Why would you spend money on that when you can make a ton by selling off the babies?" Umm because I am not a crazy BYB thank you

(FTR in the past I reported her to town office about the cats, she got a warning in the mail but nothing else. The town just hired it's first bylaw officer so I am going to recomplain because now they have someone to send out to issue a citation and check on the animals welfare)

1 comment I have heard a few times makes me laugh out loud at the person saying it. It is hilarious to me because of the logic the person seems to lack. I homeschool my 4 kids. The assumption by many non-homeschoolers is that homeschooled children are not socialized. Anyway I have heard a few times now how lucky the puppies are to have us home all day to take them around everywhere to get them so well socialized. Said while we are out in public with kids. The people who have said this in the past voiced concern that my kids out at these same places 2 months ago before the pups came into our lives were not going to be socialized. SO apparently going out into the world and meeting various people and places and learning how to interact with the world around them, is only good for the puppies not the children. That one I find very funny.


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## +two (Jul 12, 2011)

I tend to get a lot of strange comments when walking my crew. One comment that I have gotten several times that always makes me wonder about the state of education in America is when I am out with Tyler and Buster. Just the other week we were at the park and a lady walks by us and says, "aw! Look! It's a mama and her baby!" Really!? Haha. Pretty sure both dogs are 4 and neutered males. One is a Boston Terrier mix and the other is a large APBT mix. There's at least 40 pounds between them and the only thing they have in common is their brindling. I've gotten this comment so often I really start to wonder . . . 










Buster








Tyler


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## dagwall (Mar 17, 2011)

+two said:


> I tend to get a lot of strange comments when walking my crew. One comment that I have gotten several times that always makes me wonder about the state of education in America is when I am out with Tyler and Buster. Just the other week we were at the park and a lady walks by us and says, "aw! Look! It's a mama and her baby!" Really!? Haha. Pretty sure both dogs are 4 and neutered males. One is a Boston Terrier mix and the other is a large APBT mix. There's at least 40 pounds between them and the only thing they have in common is their brindling. I've gotten this comment so often I really start to wonder . . .


Haha reminds me of what the neighbor kids asked me when I had one of the foster puppies, 9 lbs chi/terrier mix black and tan coloring. They asked me if he [Jubel] had that puppy. They know he's a boy and I really got the impression from how they asked if they thought he physically HAD the puppy.


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## Kayota (Aug 14, 2009)

Quite honestly I can tell right off if a dog is adult or not even if it's 2 lbs... There is such a difference in their faces and such. Why doesn't the average pet owner see that??


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## Crantastic (Feb 3, 2010)

Kayota said:


> Quite honestly I can tell right off if a dog is adult or not even if it's 2 lbs... There is such a difference in their faces and such. Why doesn't the average pet owner see that??


I find about half of the people who comment on Casper realize he's a full-grown dog and not a puppy. The other half either assume he's a puppy, or ask if he is. He is two now and has filled out; even though he's only 18lbs, he looks like an adult dog.


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## Kayota (Aug 14, 2009)

He is beautiful and decidedly an adult


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## LuvMyAngels (May 24, 2009)

Tuesday I took Buster and all 4 of my girls out to burn off some steam before bed. We pass by a group of employees at the fire hydrant manufacturer and one starts talking about the giant Saint he had as a kid that he and his brothers used to ride and his Coy-dog. As we leave that group another guy asked "Is that a dog or a horse?" and then said something along the lines of he had to ask because he wasnt sure if it was a dog or a miniature Shetland. A few minutes later 2 guys ride by on bicycles, one barks at Buster.


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## Kayota (Aug 14, 2009)

Had my first drive-by honking today while I was biking with Roxie... No idea what the heck people's issues are. Also had a good friend of mine ask me why I bike with her instead of walk her... I was like /shrug???


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## Roloni (Aug 5, 2011)

I was walking my elderly dog past some children who were playing Soccer today.
One child said "Whats that hanging off your dog?"EEEEwwwww Yuck."
I replied :"Its Cancer..and there is no cure for it."


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## Losech (Apr 5, 2011)

With Conker: 
"You should feed her more. She's too skinny." First off, Conker is a BOY dog, not a girl dog, and no, I don't "need" to feed him more. He gets almost a pound of food a day and is in amazing shape (quite healthy too, and no parasites) and gets plenty of exercise. That is why he has a noticeable tuck and doesn't look like a tub of lard.
"Can I pet your dog?" No, he's shy. "You shouldn't have that thing out in public. It's a hazard to the health of others." You are SCARING my dog, that's why you can't pet him. Not because he's mean and gonna bite, you dumb person.

With Juneau: 
"She looks skinny." Ugh, not this again...

I almost never get rude/negative comments with Sasha. I don't remember what any of them may be, but for the most part, they pertain to the other two being "malnourished" or Conker being "mean" since he doesn't like strangers in his space.


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## hamandeggs (Aug 11, 2011)

The other night I took Biscuit out to pee, and she was peeing on the curb of the sidewalk (very urban neighborhood), I mean actually squatting and in midstream, when some kid came up, patted her on the head, and said "nice doggy!". What the what? MY DOG IS PEEING. Sometimes I wonder about people...


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## Wicket (Aug 21, 2011)

hamandeggs said:


> The other night I took Biscuit out to pee, and she was peeing on the curb of the sidewalk (very urban neighborhood), I mean actually squatting and in midstream, when some kid came up, patted her on the head, and said "nice doggy!". What the what? MY DOG IS PEEING. Sometimes I wonder about people...


Oh wow, that is so strange, what happen to a little discretion, lol. Was Biscuit able to finish? I would stop if I was interrupted like that >.<


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## ManyRoses (May 28, 2012)

The other day, we were walking, and she was being a little bit of a mule. It happens from time to time - recently, she is only muley if she wants to poop, and is trying to look for a spot, so when she was pulling toward some grass and hadn't gone yet, I let her go, and was watching her sniff around a little looking for a place. Then some guy walks past, laughs, and says "looks like that dog is walking you...better learn to do better!". 

EXCUSE ME? Would you walk up to a parent on the street and tell them how to behave around their kid? More to the point, after he had walked on, she pooped! Clearly, she needed to go, so she stopped. What an asshole!


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## NozOnyCalAur (Jun 6, 2012)

I took Auriel to the park today, not a dog park, but a people park. She and I were gonna sit in the shade and read while my kids played in the sprinkler they have there. Getting her from the Blazer to the bench was like running a gauntlet from all the children who saw her and immediately wanted to pet her. I want her socialized sure, but this overwhelmed _me_. The worst was an 8 or 9 year old girl dragging her 2 year old brother by the wrist shouting, "Get the doggie! Get the doggie!" I immediately scooped up Auriel and said firmly, "No you're not getting the doggie. You run up to a strange dog shouting you're gonna get bit." Then an older child told me if my dog bites I shouldn't bring her to the park. *facepalm* All I wanted to do was sit in the shade and read a book with my puppy.


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## Haruka (May 2, 2012)

Kuma'sMom said:


> Have you met my Pit Bull pup?


Aww! I think your Pit Bull pup would really get along with my Coyote pup! 









(Hahah, on a sidenote, the staggering difference between my cellphone quality picture and your picture made me giggle!)


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## hamandeggs (Aug 11, 2011)

Wicket said:


> Oh wow, that is so strange, what happen to a little discretion, lol. Was Biscuit able to finish? I would stop if I was interrupted like that >.<


Amazingly, she did finish. She just kind of looked at the kid as if to say "I am a dog and even I think you're an idiot." Considering that when we first brought her home last July she was "reverse housebroken" and refused to pee on leash or near people for almost a week, I was kind of shocked she didn't freak out or try to run away. I guess we really have made progress.


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