Doggone it! Readers share their pet peeves

Ignorance won't be bliss when her twins approach the wrong dog and get bitten. 

I agree, baby/kid puke, poop... is much more gross than dog.  My DH cleans up the kid puke and I do the dog.  I think I got the best deal! 

jennyx0023

Exactly! I hate when parents let their kids do that. I'm not a huge kid person, and would prefer left alone when out with my dogs, but I don't mind the kids who come up and ask "can I pet your dog". I like that, the parents taught them manners and to ask and not just run up and pet a dog. (Not to mention its for the kids safety as well). The kids that do it without asking really bug me!

I defiantly prefer to be left alone when I'm out with Apollo. When we're out on a walk, usually it's for exercise, training, or to potty...not to entertain someone's kids. If the kid asks "Can I pet your dog?", how can I say "no"? So, thats fine. But I HATE when kids run up to Apollo and just pet him, or grab him.

Here's a personal kid/dog story...

A couple years ago I used to own a Cocker Spaniel (he still lives with my parents). He wears a harness on walks. I was walking him with my i-pod on, a little girl and her older brother ran up behind me and grabbed Barney (Cocker) by the harness like he was a purse! Thank doG Barns has a good personality, and is kid friendly...but still! I told the kids off a little, I just said "Hey! Put my dog down. You don't ever do that to a strange dog. Some dogs aren't so nice and could bite you!" Both kids had that glazed over "huh?" look, and ran back to their yard....how rude! 

Because of Maze's size and looks, kids feel it is their right to run up and hug her. She doesn't like kids who don't follow her rules..

True story: I was sitting out in front of the mall with Maze in a down under the table when some kid runs up screaming and waving his arms straight at her HEAD! Maze reacted exactly the way I assumed she would.. Maze snarled and backed up so she didn't bite him. The father comes up behind the kid, PRAISES the kid and tells me I have to keep better control of my animal!  I nearly spit out my coffee and explained to the guy that my animal was under better control then his kid and suggested he teach the boy how to act around dogs if he doesn't want the kid to be bitten..I said this nicely thou..

My pet peeve is parents who let their kids run wild then act surprised/angered when a dog owner tells them off.
 

I'm the same way if the kids ask to pet Harry.  Just last week some very nice kids in my neighborhood asked politely if they could pet my dog while I was out walking him.  Harry gets very excited every time he meets a new person, so it took a little while for me to get him in a sit-stay before I'd let them pet him, and they waited patiently for him to settle down.  Good kids and good parents for teaching them the proper way to greet strange dogs.

I don't mind polite kids coming up now that Maze has mastered "sitting before pets" and if I see a shy kid out on our walks that I know wants to pet her. I'll ask the kid if they want to give Maze a cookie and if it's alright with their parents. Usually the parents THANK me for allowing the kids to have a lesson in approaching a strange dog and Maze gets a free cookie. Lol. 

I don't know why the mother would expect a dog owner NOT to say something about how they are approaching dogs. If she doesn't want her kids to get bitten she'll allow the kids to get a lesson in how to act around dogs, it benefits everyone, even if it's said in a harsh way (perhaps the kids will remember it better).

I can see both sides of some of the stories.  I will say, my kids are homeschooled and come EVERYWHERE with me.  There are times when they are hyper, annoying, tantruming, and they don't "get their way", at times shopping simply has to be done. I don't have someone who can watch them they have their moments, the amount of dirty looks I get can be upsetting.  I never thought I'd be a mom to one of "those" types of kids, but sometimes there is more than just a lazy mom going on when you see a kid who is ill behaved.  I think people just need to relax. While taking a dog to someone's house who is allergic is obviously WAY over the line (why didn't the host ask them to take the dog out and instead opt for a $3500 cleaning bill in that one story?) at other times I think people need to just deal with the fact that dogs are a big part of Americans' lives and probably always will be. I love taking my dogs with me where I can, they are a part of our family!  Honestly sometimes people need to just get over themselves! 

I can't stand the people who insist their children "go pat the nice doggy" when I am exiting stage left to avoid them, and telling them that my dog doesn't love everyone. How the hell do they know if my dog will love their little brats? It's an animal, for God's sake, and there's no way to predict what it will or will not do. I'm a dog person and really don't like the fact that all of our neighbors on the cul-de-sac have acquired cats. Two houses away from us is an enormous Persian and the owners scold my dogs for chasing it (what's it doing burying its turds in my yard anyway?). I started picking my dogs up at day care so we wouldn't have to deal with all the kids the parents brought to the doggy bus stop. Why are parents so sure that everyone loves their kids? I also wonder how much pleasure these people really get from their cats which they have to constantly groom and dutifully pick through those smelly kitty litter boxes. Yuck. I'll take dog slobber over cat breath or spit up milk any day.

Tongue-in-cheek, but I don't like people like that either.   

Hahahaha .....love it.

spiritdogs

I can't stand the people who insist their children "go pat the nice doggy" when I am exiting stage left to avoid them, and telling them that my dog doesn't love everyone. How the hell do they know if my dog will love their little brats? It's an animal, for God's sake, and there's no way to predict what it will or will not do. I'm a dog person and really don't like the fact that all of our neighbors on the cul-de-sac have acquired cats. Two houses away from us is an enormous Persian and the owners scold my dogs for chasing it (what's it doing burying its turds in my yard anyway?). I started picking my dogs up at day care so we wouldn't have to deal with all the kids the parents brought to the doggy bus stop. Why are parents so sure that everyone loves their kids? I also wonder how much pleasure these people really get from their cats which they have to constantly groom and dutifully pick through those smelly kitty litter boxes. Yuck. I'll take dog slobber over cat breath or spit up milk any day.

Oh, that is hilarious!!  On a serious note, I would much rather pick up my dog's poo than have to clean out a litter box!  That was my most hated chore as a kid.  I loved my kitties, but hated the litter box.  Yick.