Dumb Things Strangers Do to Dogs

punkchica321

Idiot: "look the dog's tail is wagging.  That means it's happy.  All dogs are happy when they wag their tails."

Maybe the dog is just happy to have a good snap at an idiot.

DougB

punkchica321

Idiot: "look the dog's tail is wagging.  That means it's happy.  All dogs are happy when they wag their tails."

 

Maybe the dog is just happy to have a good snap at an idiot.

 HAHA! Probably. :P 

 I don't have any really good ones, but I was talking to someone that lived down the road, they seemed interested in the whole clicker training thing that I was doing with Zoey. Then the guy shared that he had a rottie when he was younger and that he basically had to choke it to death or smack it to get it to 'understand'..............uh, WOW. I suggested a more positive way to communicate with his dog and his response was that 'its the breed, you have to do that'

the worst one *so far* is people making stupid noises and talking dumb to Zoey, but walking within inches of her ( of course by this time she's at the end of the leash cuz she loves people). So they're basically teasing her.

akyramoto82

 I don't have any really good ones, but I was talking to someone that lived down the road, they seemed interested in the whole clicker training thing that I was doing with Zoey. Then the guy shared that he had a rottie when he was younger and that he basically had to choke it to death or smack it to get it to 'understand'..............uh, WOW. I suggested a more positive way to communicate with his dog and his response was that 'its the breed, you have to do that'

the worst one *so far* is people making stupid noises and talking dumb to Zoey, but walking within inches of her ( of course by this time she's at the end of the leash cuz she loves people). So they're basically teasing her.

Didn't you know that?! You choke rotties because that's the only way they're understand obviously.  Poor pup must've been terrified. :-/

 Oh god I hate when this one girl makes this really high pitched voice when I'm out there with Simba. I'm trying to do some training and she's all "SIMBA!" And what do you think he's going to do? *Sighs* 

This isn't so much a dumb thing as it is a rude thing. I was walking Simba yesterday and he was getting a bit foamy at the mouth from drooling and we walk past the basketball court and I hear some guy go "Do you see that viscous dog over there?" Not sure if he meant for me to hear it or not, but I was so tempted to turn around and give him a nasty look. 

A lot of these have happened to us.  I guess they happen to most people with dogs!  Here are a couple of my "favourite" incidents though:

While calmly walking Dahlia by this one guy he suddenly takes a step toward her and leans over in a very welcoming way.  I slowed down briefly and was about to ask him if he wanted to meet her.  Dahlia of course saw him leaning toward her, which she interprets as "oh he wants to PET ME OMG YAY!" and took a step toward him and looked up at him.  Suddenly he raises his hand up and quickly brings it down.  Right at her head.  Luckily for me, I saw what was going to happen and jerked Dahlia back.  He got a few choice words from me on that one.  You do NOT act like you want to pet someone's dog and then try to strike the dog!

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I was at the park one day walking Dahlia.  There was a mother, her young child in a stroller, and a girl about 4 years old at the duck pond.  They mother was throwing bread crumbs for the ducks and not paying that much attention to her daughter.  The daughter approached me and Dahlia and SO NICELY said "Your dog is pretty, can I pet her?"  Of course I said yes!  And just as she was approaching Dahlia, the mother SCREAMS and runs over to drag her away, shouting, "GET AWAY FROM THAT THING!!!"  The child gets dragged of crying and Dahlia's ears flatten out of nervousness.

Yeah thanks lady, way to teach your really awesome daughter that she should actually fear dogs.

He tried to hit your dog?! o.o Oh my god I would've... I don't what I would do if some stranger or anyone tried to do that to Simba

 What is that girl's problem Dahlia is adorable! Poor baby. :( She sort of reminds me of a kid my sister babysits, her mother threatens her with their cat who is rather mean, saying she'll have Spot get her if she doesn't behave. Now the poor girl is scared of basically every animal and she's only 5. :| 

punkchica321

He tried to hit your dog?! o.o Oh my god I would've... I don't what I would do if some stranger or anyone tried to do that to Simba

 What is that girl's problem Dahlia is adorable! Poor baby. :( She sort of reminds me of a kid my sister babysits, her mother threatens her with their cat who is rather mean, saying she'll have Spot get her if she doesn't behave. Now the poor girl is scared of basically every animal and she's only 5. :| 

Yep...he's lucky he didn't make contact or it would have gone REALLY BADLY.  I was pretty shocked and rushed off quickly, shouting a few choice words at him (that probably started with F...lol).  He lives just a couple doors down so now we give him a wide berth.

 I wish I understood that mother or anyone else who purposely seems to foster fear in their children.  How many dogs are people going to see?  How many cats?  It seems ridiculous to instill that fear in your child, especially when that girl was SO GOOD already.  I have to wonder where she learned to ask from.  She was so young and I can't imagine her learning it on her own, but either she's a child with some really good manners or someone else (father, grandparent?) taught her to ask before petting.  I love having Dahlia meet kids because she just adores them.  I wanted to shout at the woman and say "Yeah well, Dahlia doesn't want to meet YOUR thing" but I couldn't because the kid was just too sweet.

crysania

Yep...he's lucky he didn't make contact or it would have gone REALLY BADLY.  I was pretty shocked and rushed off quickly, shouting a few choice words at him (that probably started with F...lol).  He lives just a couple doors down so now we give him a wide berth.

 I wish I understood that mother or anyone else who purposely seems to foster fear in their children.  How many dogs are people going to see?  How many cats?  It seems ridiculous to instill that fear in your child, especially when that girl was SO GOOD already.  I have to wonder where she learned to ask from.  She was so young and I can't imagine her learning it on her own, but either she's a child with some really good manners or someone else (father, grandparent?) taught her to ask before petting.  I love having Dahlia meet kids because she just adores them.  I wanted to shout at the woman and say "Yeah well, Dahlia doesn't want to meet YOUR thing" but I couldn't because the kid was just too sweet.

I can't say I blame you and ugh that stinks you gotta live close to him now.

I know! It's ridiculous, even guinea pigs scare her. :| Luckily my sister had her over here one time and Simba was here, she did calm down a little bit and helped walk him around the house on the leash. It was pretty cute. Hopefully she'll come over again and Simba can help her overcome an unnecessary fear of animals. I really don't like her mother to begin with. <_<  Haha! I wish you would've said that. :P I seriously don't get the fear over your pup especially, then again I've heard people tend to be more frightened by black dogs. :-/

Oh, I got another one....

DH's father (my FIL) is so *NOT* a dog person... Wanna know what he does that he thinks is funny that I can't stand? If everyone is watching TV or doing something quiet, he'll knock on a wall- to make it sound like someone knocking on the door- and get Pat & Mo (who always bark when someone knocks/rings the doorbell) barking and encourage it by saying "Who's that?! Who's there?! You gonna get 'em!!" .....urgh. He only does this when they're quiet and sleeping or chewing a toy.

My Dad was telling a story about when he had 1 of his spinger's...my Dad's friend wasn't a dog person either. Everytime he saw my Dad's springer, Andy, he's tease the dog (pull his ears, pull his fur, act like he was giving Andy a treat the rip it away). Well, one day my Dad's friend yanked on Andy's ear pretty hard and Andy had a TERRIBLE ear infection. Well, Andy- in pain- turned and yelped, then bit my Dad's friend in the hand, drawing blood. That was the last time he touched my Dads dog, guess he learned the hard way! (And, no, nothing happend to the dog, he wasn't PTS after that, Andy lived a long happy life with my Dad!)

All of these are hilarious!  I think Amanda's delivery girl and "Dogleadme's" (I'm so sorry, I don't know your name) wife's retort are the ones that made me laugh so hard, my tummy hurt.

Probably the dumbest thing someone has said to me was asking me if they could breed their male mix (couldn't even tell you what the dog was) to my 7 month old GSD.  I politely said that I didn't have any plans to breed her and even if I did, she was way too young at 7 months old.  He said..."Oh no, the younger, the better.  And, we could make a lot of money, she is beautiful." 

Hello?  People. 

punkchica321

Ugh I hate when people assume every time a dog wags its tail, it's happy. *Facepalm*  Oh it's teeth are bared and its staring me down, but oh its wagging its tail it LOVES me.

Sparta, and probably a LOT of bull breeds, wag  their tails when they are spoiling for a confrontation... he's not dog aggressive. strange people/small furry fast thing aggressive? yes. he's a hunting dog down to his bone.

But Sparta also "smiles" (snarls) when he's playing. freaks DH out with this big goofy bulldog baring his teeth as he's play bowing and cavorting around with our kids. 

Dogleadme

Concerning my wife's Guide. 

Mother to her child:

" It's OK to go pet that dog because that woman is blind and can't see you." Umm...yeah....her ears dont work, either. Right.

To those who always do the "Oh, but I just looooove doggies, so you wont mind if I pet your guide, do you?", my wife responds (with my permission, of course) "Well, my husband just loves breasts, so you wont mind if he fondles yours (or your wifes, depending on who is talking), do you?" Works most of the time.

 WHAT!!!

and LMAO at her reply - i'll have to remember that one lol even my husband got a good laugh out of that response 

crysania

Suddenly he raises his hand up and quickly brings it down.  Right at her head.  Luckily for me, I saw what was going to happen and jerked Dahlia back.  He got a few choice words from me on that one.  You do NOT act like you want to pet someone's dog and then try to strike the dog!

someone asked me "So she doesnt bite huh?" when i was walking Kaydee,she was pretty as you please polite until he drew back his arm as if to strike - and Kaydee went into full blown protection dog mode. i was ready for her reaction but he wasnt. he couldnt move backwards fast enough.

crysania

The daughter approached me and Dahlia and SO NICELY said "Your dog is pretty, can I pet her?"  Of course I said yes!  And just as she was approaching Dahlia, the mother SCREAMS and runs over to drag her away, shouting, "GET AWAY FROM THAT THING!!!"  The child gets dragged of crying and Dahlia's ears flatten out of nervousness.

Yeah thanks lady, way to teach your really awesome daughter that she should actually fear dogs.

i lived nextdoor to a woman like this. her brother was attacked by a dog when they were kids and SHE adopted his fear. we had a springer spaniel at the time, friendly old boy, loved kids. one day she called my mom at work to tell her that our dog was under her porch growling at her and wouldnt let her out of the house. my mom called my brother to go get his dog... he said "but... Fred is sitting right here in front of me!" 

These neighbours had two young daughters and a little black terrier mutt. and this woman was even afraid of it. he was a timid little guy too.... i dont think i ever got to see him up close except once. and that was when he had died. he was outside only and who knows what happened to him, but she absolutely refused to get near him.

as for dumb things.. my father in law had a german shepherd mix back in the 70's... back when people let their dogs run loose to follow the kids around. one girl in the neighbourhood didnt like the dog so she would kick at him, ride her bike at him, or circle around him and kick at him. well one day he had enough and bit her on the butt. he used to be a good dog, friendly to everyone until that moment.

years later they were having guests over for dinner.  one guy was marveling at how friendly the dog was because he was licking his hand. DH's dad said "yeah he always cleans his food before he eats it" - scared the poor guy badly..

One of the stupidest comments about Shadow. "He's nice looking Chocolate Lab." (Really? Breed standard for a Chocolate is monochromatic chocolate brown with long rounded ears that reach the mouth, single coat with an otter tail. Which line of Chocolate has Shadow's features which are four colors, black, brown, red, and a white undercoat? Which line has iridesent amber eyes, short, pointed ears that can stand up, and bushy tail carried in a curl over the back or in a hook? Which Chocolate line has a deep runner's chest?)

Others ask "does he bite" even as they extend their hand over his head. Shadow is shy (Siberian trait) but is friendly when he gets to know you. Some people he just won't like, such as one of the clerks at Petco. Shadow tries to put as much distance between himself and the guy, even if he accepts a treat from him, which is not always. The guy is also the type that thinks any tail wag always means happy. Shadow does not automatically go for a bite and would rather maintain his space. He will air snap if he thinks its warranted, which is actually from a desire to avoid confrontation and a bite.

And why is that the ones who think they "have a way with dogs" usually don't? They think all dogs have some sort of union card or secret handshake and will always get along. Surprises abound. One lady, who said that her dog was always reactive other dogs took an immediate liking to Shadow and he liked her, as well. We're always learning something.

ron2

And why is that the ones who think they "have a way with dogs" usually don't?

spiritdogs

ron2

And why is that the ones who think they "have a way with dogs" usually don't?

I've wondered that myself.  There's always one in every class who has owned dogs for the last forty years, blah, blah, blah...  They are usually the ones who pay no attention to anything, and by week 6, they are still saying "Sit, sit, sit, sit..." as their dog gives them the blank stare.

Isn't that funny? They don't realize that, for the dog. Sit is one command. Sit-sit would mean something else. Sit-sit-sit would mean something else than the first two. But they assume that dogs speak english and the human idea of reiteration of an initial command. They don't. But, I can see them going on and on about how they have a nearly magical ability with dogs. A non-magical misunderstanding would be more accurate.