Dog Community

People Who Don't Train Their Little Dogs

Posted : 1/10/2007 2:06:58 PM

Today I was walking out to my car, and a neighbor 2 houses down was taking out their trash. They left their front door open, and just let their little dogs run wild all over the front yard, on the sidewalk, and in the STREET. When the dogs saw me, they ran over and attacked me (barking, jumping all over me and BITING my pant legs)! The owner just STOOD there and WATCHED! Didn't even ATTEMPT to call her dogs back. I glared at them and kept walking, and they lost interest in me briefly, so I could get in my car. I looked all around before backing out, to make sure I didn't hit one of them (since they were running wild all over the place), and they were next door, getting into somebody else's trash they had out, so not in the street.

I backed out, turned around, and started driving down the street, when I glanced over and saw that the dogs were RUNNING next to my freaking car, CHASING it!!! Are these people nuts, letting their dogs CHASE CARS?! They didn't even do anything, just continued to stand there. If they had ended up running in front of my car, I wouldn't have been able to stop because I was driving on a sheet of ICE. Fortunately, before I had a chance to blow my horn at them, they finally lost interest and trotted back up the street out of sight.

So, I have this to say: There is NOTHING more ANNOYING than an untrained, under-socialized, VICIOUS little dog!! Especially if the owner does not intervene! PLEASE train and socialize your small dogs! Although they are small, they are still DOGS and should be trained like any other dog, or they will grow up to be AGGRESSIVE and possibly put themselves in situations that could injure/kill them and/or hurt others!

As for me, I'm finally convinced to buy some DirectStop, if only for this reason. >O\/o<

Eric Mies

Posted : 1/10/2007 2:26:44 PM

I guess I have to ask why your anger is with SMALL untrained dog's instead of just UNTRAINED dogs. The problem has nothing to do with there size...

I fully agree about training dogs but just wanted to point out that it seem's as though you are kind fo bashing "small" dogs. I would have gone postal on the neighbor (knowing you can't because, well, it's your neighbor and you must keep good relations and all that) - he/she needs to know that it's not acceptable to have dogs jumping on people, biting and running in the streets, no matter the size of the dog...

Margaret Tyler

Posted : 1/10/2007 2:29:00 PM

Some people...

A couple days ago, my husband and I saw a car at an intersection with a golden retriever puppy hanging more than half way out of the car window. I live in Indiana. It's January people! This is a busy intersection. Not only could the dog have jumped out, but another car could have easily smashed into this poor dog. [:@]

diane303

Posted : 1/10/2007 2:31:32 PM

Boy do I understand this post. I have a friend who has two maltese mix dogs. The male is extremely bad-mannered and jumps and snaps at her face if she doesn't pay attention to him. He barks frantically and runs aggressively to anyone who comes to the house. She has expressed concern about his lack of social skills. I've purchased a nice, easy to use clicker and a small simple book on how to start clicker training. She said that she tried but the clicker agitated him. I suggested using a target word like "good" or "super!" instead of the clicker but she really doesn't want to take the time, I think.

She thinks that he is a "hoot" and her "bad little boy" and likes to dress him upcarry him around. I think that he is a niusance.

Her female is quiet and shy and hides under her recliner (probably afraid of the "holy teror!"). Neither dogs know any commands or tricks. I just bite my tongue because training is just part of everyday life with my setter and pointer. I think that she thinks that I'm sort of a dog gestapo lol!

Her

Angelique

Posted : 1/10/2007 2:40:46 PM

Small dogs are no more "born" with behavioral and anti-social "issues" than big dogs. It is almost always an owner created problem. Small dogs are however, far more easily spoiled and babied by their owners.

Picture this behavior in those same little dogs as if they were a couple of 110 lb rotties, and the "cuteness" of it disappears pretty quickly.

If you do get the Direct Stop spray, be sure you aim at the owner carefully, to avoid hitting the dogs! [

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Posted : 1/10/2007 3:13:23 PM

ORIGINAL: Angelique

Small dogs are no more "born" with behavioral and anti-social behaviors than big dogs. It is almost always an owner created problem. Small dogs are however, far more easily spoiled and babied by their owners.

I'm sure this is what the OP meant. Too many people with small dogs dont take the time to train htem because they are so little. Also small dogfs are the number one biters but you dont hear about it as much because they hardly call for a ER visit

Scout in Canada

Posted : 1/10/2007 3:22:28 PM

Yeah I hear ya. I don't think the OP is 'bashing' small dogs, the point of the post is that some people with small dogs think "they're so little, they won't do any harm" and don't feel the need to put their dog through the same socialization and training program that they would if they had, say, a german shepherd.

I mean if my 60 lb dog ran up to the neighbour, jumped all over her, bit her shins, etc, I'd be getting a complaint or two! But some owners just go "oh my silly little chihuahua".... giggle giggle.

Eric Mies

Posted : 1/10/2007 3:26:47 PM

Too true Scout - you would think the owners would want to do anything they could to seperate them from the typical "ankle biter" image that allot of people have of small dogs.

jennie_c_d

Posted : 1/10/2007 3:37:59 PM

It drives me INSANE to see little dogs being horrible, because it's accepted. It's ridiculous.

the_gopher

Posted : 1/10/2007 4:17:49 PM

ORIGINAL: Presley

I guess I have to ask why your anger is with SMALL untrained dog's instead of just UNTRAINED dogs. The problem has nothing to do with there size...

I fully agree about training dogs but just wanted to point out that it seem's as though you are kind fo bashing "small" dogs. I would have gone postal on the neighbor (knowing you can't because, well, it's your neighbor and you must keep good relations and all that) - he/she needs to know that it's not acceptable to have dogs jumping on people, biting and running in the streets, no matter the size of the dog...

The problem I have with small dogs (and don't get me wrong I lived with a shih tzu for 10 years!) is that many owners over coddle them and baby them. It's "cute" when they jump all over you (yet it's not so cute when they jump on a small child for instance)...and I've found a lack of caring on many small dog owner's parts for obedience training. I don't mean to over generalize, many people who have small dogs do train (and I love them for it), but I've had far more issues with little dogs than I have with larger ones. In grooming, every dog bite I had (which was only like a couple and thankfully nothing too serious) all came from small dogs. I also have issues around my neighboorhood with people letting their little dogs run around in parking lots, and they are hard to see when your trying to backup (and I have gotten into a tiff when I asked them to restrain their dog, so I WOULDN'T run over them when I wanted to get in my car and leave).

houndlove

Posted : 1/10/2007 4:34:32 PM

We had two almost exact same incidents with unleahsed dogs in one week a couple weeks ago that totally illustrate this attitude.

The first was a tiny little yorkie (either a puppy or a "teacup") who raced on to the path where I was walking with my dogs and proceeded to herd me and my dogs into a circle and then jump and nip at my dogs faces, repeatedly. I couldn't even walk away because the dog was zigzagging through my and my dogs' legs and I was terrified of stepping on it. I just had to stand there trying to figure out how to get out of it, and Conrad and Marlowe kept looking at me like, "I don't know what is going on here, but make it stop!" Meanwhile the owner is callling and calling and calling and meandering slowly over. She finally comes over and scoops her dog up with the usual "oooh you little monster, oh my bad bad widdle poochie" nonsense and walks away. No apology.

Then a few days later, same park, we get accosted by a way over-friendly adolescent weimeraner who definately got hit by the hyper stick repeatedly. Again the dog is jumping around like a complete fool and my dogs are looking at me like "YIKES!" The dog's humans come by and at least apologized and acted like this was a bad thing. Don't get me wrong, these people are idiots too for letting a spazzoid young dog with no recall whatsoever off leash in a city park where there are leash laws. But at least they seemed to understand that this is a problem that needs to be worked on and that my dogs don't enjoy being gushed all over by their gangly teenaged beastie.

sallya

Posted : 1/10/2007 4:35:58 PM

Big and little, they need to be trained. No difference except the damage they inflict. Small dogs are wonderfully sweet, just have to be trained like a big dogs, children and everyone else.

Sherrie Porter

Posted : 1/10/2007 4:39:12 PM

What really pushes my buttons is when people have small dogs that get carried everywhere they go. They have legs for a reason!! I have a papillon and he walks wonderful on his leash. They should all be taught the same manners, big or small.

sallya

Posted : 1/10/2007 4:52:25 PM

After being attacked by a big dog or two sometimes you like to hold the little ones. I hold Trudy at petstores also, to keep her clean. She walks most of the time and I take her for a walk every day. You can do both.

Sherrie Porter

Posted : 1/10/2007 5:00:49 PM

Oh yes, absolutely. I hold Corbin alot, too. I just can't stand the people that do it from puppyhood on, all the time, so that the dog doesn't even know how to walk. They don't even know what to do if they get put down and their legs are permanently bent from tucking all the time when being held.