Need To Explode To People Who Understand

[KathyM]

I've rather embarrassingly just come back from crying my eyes out in the park. This is ridiculous because Seth and Dharma now don't "need" to be in the "in crowd" but it still really bloomin' bothers me, because we're all proud of our dogs and noone likes them being judged wrongly.

 

I only took Seth out tonight, because Dharma needs 1-2-1 walks while I sort her harness thingy out and she'll go later, but anyway. We've had a horrible walk - a run-in with an irresponsibly owned dog and it's chavvy owners, witnessed another chav owner with a huuuge dog laughing as it fought with a terrier (terrier started it, but big dog was going to finish it), then the snobs from hell who let their collies/crosses wander up to any dog onlead then when you ask them "Do you mind calling your dogs?" they say "Oh our dogs are trained, don't worry" (very nicely, with no malice, but my God!) and continue to let their dogs (2 at a time) mob Seth, who by this point is feeling a bit hemmed in.

 

On the 2nd run around they did the same again (didn't see them coming), but this time I tried to work proactively and not let meself get wound up (I'd done well the first time round), and when they started clucking at Seth, said "Your dogs are lovely, it's just Seth's old and stiff and like many dogs doesn't really want to be mobbed when he's on the lead". Their answer "Why, is he a rescue? Oh that makes sense then doesn't it? I just said he must be, didn't I? Poor thing, I suppose it's just the way some dogs are isn't it? He can't help not being friendly...aww..." At this point I *should* have had a very clever answer, but I just mumbled that he *is* very good with dogs that have manners (at this point he was stood with their two all over him!), and walked off. Then rather pathetically got very quietly heated when I was at a safe distance and started seething under my breath at Baz about how unfair some people are *lmao*.

 

You know, now that I've read this back I'm actually laughing, it's that nuts! I know it seems like every time I post about a walk, it's to moan, but it really isn't that often that things like this happen (as you'll see, it's been eons since I last whinged about it), it's just that in between you still feel like an outsider because you know these people won't let you in their little clique (although I've got past wanting to be!), and you know that the chavs you run into with similar dogs to you are one reason why. I remember one woman coming up to me after I'd been recall training Dharma way way back, and saying (obviously not realising what Dharma was, which was gobsmacking) "I thought I'd best warn you, some of the other walkers have noticed a pitbull mastiff off the lead in the football pitch - be careful, won't you?"

 

BUT I really am amazed at how many people think it's perfectly okay to let their dogs mob an onlead dog! Don't get me wrong, Seth's very good with other dogs, but they didn't know that, and it shouldn't matter. It's just bloody rude, innit? And considering these people are the ones that judge dogs on their looks, you'd think they would be petrified of letting their precious pooches run up to a lethal killing machine!

 

Yes, back to sticking to the fields.

 

Sorry - rant over - it's just I know some of you get this and worse far more often than me and I know you'll bring me back down. At the park I was (this is so sad) saying "That's it, after these two I'm never having a dog again!"

[KathyM]

Beginning to think I've made a horrendous faux pas admitting my weakness!

[marygiles]

Oh I do feel for you! Some years ago I had a tiny Pomeranian She was 9 when we got her from a rescue center.. I do not think she had been socialized in any way at all and hated people and other dogs with a vengence. However this did not stop me taking her out and about. She was small enough to control and always kept on her lead.

One of my pets hates was huge dogs bearing down on us with the owner calling out "its all right they will not hurt your little dog". NO! but mine would very much liked to have hurt them!! It just seemed such an unnecessary disturbance on our walk .It happened so often. Mary

[KathyM]

Completely agree with you Mary! Seth's not ever been aggressive with other dogs (other than resource guarding with Dharma, which is just bickering), but it still really bothers me that people assume if their dog's okay that it's not a problem to let them mob other people's dogs - as if it'd be the other dog's fault if a fight occurred. That's what bothers me. These dogs were all over him - at the time I should've probably dropped the lead. But if Seth had decided to have a grumble or worse, it'd be him and me badmouthed all over the park. That's what happened with the owners of the dog that went for Dharma.

[Mrs Mop]

I am having this argument on another board Kathy, someone seems to think that she didn't deserve the mouthful of abuse she got from an owner of an aggressive dog when her dog ran across to it.

 

This is so dangerous, if the dog had attacked her's, it could have made her dog fear aggressive and also she could have had a large vet bill to pay.

[KathyM]

I am having this argument on another board Kathy,

 

*In best Scrappy-Doo voice* Let me at 'em, lettt meee at 'em!!

 

And yes, you're spot on. It really gets on my nerves to be honest.

[safneo]

Its riles everyone at some point hun. Some more than others. Depends more on the dogs you have I suppose. Whether old and infirm or not really sociable or just a breed that people have preconcieved ideas about. We had similar in the park today, luckily I was out with Saffy not Neo. Saffy was off lead and is ok with other dogs, not an aggressive bone in her body but she does get frightened. A bloke let his JRT come running over, well it ran at us not to us, growling and snarling! I called to the bloke to call his dog back and he just muttered something and carried on. So I pulled Saffy back to me and screamed at the dog to 'p*ss off'! Dog b*ggered off to hassle another dog. Just then a bloke I know came over the hill with his dog and a lady who had a guide dog puppy. He could see I was furiuos. I turned and said something to them about people letting their small dogs attack other dogs just because they are small. Had it been Neo with me the situation would have been different. The lady with the guide dog pup said she had the same yesterday with her pup. A GSD had attacked it and it was very frightened out on its walk today. I do usually walk where its quieter as I cant be bothered with dealing with idiots, but they still end up finding me!

I think you just have to have your own clique with you, Baz and the dogs. Sod everyone else! And walk in places where you aren't going to meet these type of people or times when you aren't. Like when its pizzing down or early morning.

 

Hope you have a better walk next time

[sanrossscot]

Been there, done that.

 

Tia is fear aggressive, she is also very fluffy and cute looking (BC) what I don't need is her practising behaviour I don't want let alone stressing her so much she lets her anal glands go

 

But I have had it so often it's depressing, I don't let my dogs go up to onlead dogs and put back on hers as soon as we see another dog, yet I'm the one that gets dirty looks if she barks & growls at their dog with no manners

[KathyM]

Thanks you lot. Knew I could count on you to put things back into perspective! I felt like I'd slipped into the Twilight Zone for a while LOL.

 

I feel like putting a poster up in the park:

 

WARNING

 

Over recent years there have been regular sightings of well trained and sociable bull breed dogs in this park. Pleas remember to always be on your guard and make them and their obviously lower class owners feel as unwelcome as possible. Don't forget to let your poorly socialised dogs show these dogs exactly how little we want them around - we can always blame it on the bull breeds after. Always remember to warn others away from them also - we wouldn't want these people thinking they were allowed well trained and friendly dogs in a children's park after all!

[Wendbert]

I was fuming on Boxing Day after some stupid woman let her offlead dogs come running at Bumpy, who was on lead. Even though he was going ballistic, she wouldnt call her dogs back, despite me asking. Her reason - they were just puppies.

 

[Alison]

Sol went through a "phase" for a couple of months during the summer, being aggressive towards other dogs when he was on his lead. We worked together and have, thankfully, resolved things but blimey, some of the rank stupidity we encountered from other dog owners en route ......

 

I think the worst was at an agility fun day of all things, somewhere I thought I could take him to socialise in safety. Sol was on his lead lying by my deckchair when a Newfoundland came bounding over to him - owner of the "he only wants to be friends" persuasion (and a really pleasant person as it happened but talk about dim ).

 

I couldn't have explained Sol's issue more clearly but time and again he not only allowed it to happen but kept coming up to chat to me with his off-lead Newfie in tow who then proceeded to bounce all over Sol! I was too stressed to take any photos but how I wish I'd captured the comedy moment of (ginger) Sol sporting a big fluffy black beard, aka a chunk of Newfoundland in his teeth - and no, the bloke still didn't get the message even then!

 

Just today we've been out walking and encountered a family with a young Weimaraner bitch, she and Sol both off-lead. The Weimie came running up, wanting to play. Family in the distance were waving their arms and yelling - the bitch was in season and it seemed that they felt the onus was on every other dog owner to ensure that their precious baby didn't get pregnant.

 

We walked together for a while whilst the dogs played and I pointed out to them that were Sol not neutered it could already have been too late - boy doggies don't woo their girlfriends with champagne, chocolates, romantic text messages and dinner dates, they get straight down to business! Although my choice of analogy was jokey, I think the message got through. It did make me cross though, the whole failure to take responsibility thing. I'm going to think kind thoughts and hope that it was simply a lack of forethought and education. They'll see a far less pleasant side of me if it ever happens again though.

 

Just by the by it was clicker training and advice from folks here on how to go about it that succeeded in resolving Sol's thuggery.

[celeste]

This has recently started happening to me too, I used to be quite polite about it but it's happened so often in the past few months I've taken to swearing (oh how unlike me )

 

If I see other dogs coming I call mine back and put them on lead, now the other owner must see me do this but they never seem to think to get their own dog under control, it's fine if the other dog walks past but invariably they start arsing about which will start my two growling, I'm walking backwards as fast as I can and the other owner saunters along not arsed , they usually say a feeble "sorry" to which I reply " you really would have been sorry if a fight had started you stupid git, next time try using a lead"

[cycas]

I'm sorry to sound a dissenting voice, but I strongly feel that abusing people in this situation is counterproductive. They will assume that your dog is 'nasty' because you are 'nasty', and it won't do anything to stop them doing it to anyone but you (if they recognise you next time, which they might not).

 

For that matter, we all know that dogs sometimes do unpredictable things: maybe they genuinely weren't expecting their dog to behave in that way, it had never done it before and they don't know how to stop it. Maybe they don't understand why they should stop it. Advice is useful (though it may not always be well received) but I think abuse is counterproductive: it makes people start coming up with justifications, rather than trying to understand the problem.

 

You'll be kicking yourself if you break an ankle 10 minutes later and have to ask the owner of the badly behaved dogs for help. Dog walkers should try to support one another.

 

I know it's annoying (and potentially dangerous) when people's dogs do stuff you'd rather they didn't, but let's face it, we've all been there, yes? Nobody comes to dog ownership knowing it all.

 

 

(do completely understand KathyM's need to have a bit of a rant afterwards to a sympathetic audience, by the way...)

[celeste]

Well yes I can see your point and untill recently what you have posted was exactly how I felt, but tbh I found that being polite got me nowhere, I would come across the same owners behaving in the same way, I'm afraid my patience has worn a bit thin.

[merledogs]

BUT I really am amazed at how many people think it's perfectly okay to let their dogs mob an onlead dog! Don't get me wrong, Seth's very good with other dogs, but they didn't know that, and it shouldn't matter. It's just bloody rude, innit? And considering these people are the ones that judge dogs on their looks, you'd think they would be petrified of letting their precious pooches run up to a lethal killing machine!

This is something which really riles me as well. I got out of my car with all five of my dogs on lead last weekend, when a gorgeous Airedale came running up and bouncing around. Now Taffy will bark and growl at other dogs when he's on lead and of course when he's with the pack they all start grumbling, so I'm standing there holding all five back and this stupid bloke shouts over "It's okay, he's fine". Feckin duh! I could tell by his body language that he just wanted to play, I don't need his dopey owner to tell me, but that wasn't really the point was it?