Hurtful Comments....

I had a Petco employee tell me with the utmost confidence that Aesop would grow up to bite people's faces and be temperamental.  When I mentioned that I have a 12 year old of the same breed who has yet to even contemplate biting a person, she ignored me and went into a story about a neighbor's Chow who tried to bite her.  Mention of socialization and good breeding was also ignored  ran into her again today when looking at collars. When Aesop approached an employee sitting on the floor (who happily greeted him with lovins, btw) she said 'bite her, bite her' This is a puppy who greets everyone with confidence and tail wagging/butt wiggles. I can't take anything she said too seriously though, as the first time she met him she asked if he was a Miniature Chow who would get no bigger

I've had comments made about my dogs ... and about me, personally ... but you know what?  Some people are just mullets .. you know .. the fish with an almost non-existant brain? 

When someone says something like that to me I say something like "Oh my ... tell me please ... is it really as hard as I'd imagine to walk around with that stick up your b*tt???  Sitting must be unbelievably painful!"

I just recently had a pretty bad experience that made me want to kick this guy's head in...but that happens pretty frequently... 

 He was my ex-roommate's (we still hang out quite a bit) new boyfriend and I had only met him once before.  They met over the internet and he lives two hours away...ugh...  I still don't understand her obsession with meeting people over the internet, especially after the bad things that have happened (but that's another story).  Anyway, she was texting him and mentioned that she was on a walk with Rafe and I.  He asked what kind of dog Rafe was and she replied that he was a mix, probably boxer, shepherd, pit, etc.  He then said that mutts didn't deserve to live and didn't have the brain capacity to be trained to do anything.  [now right here was the point I wanted to slap him in an attempt to knock some kind of intelligence into his brain]  She then texted him that Rafe was very well trained and was even protection training.  He simply replied that his dogs spoke German, which somehow made them more intelligent.  Of course, I laughed because, um, yeah, so does Rafe...and, um, how does that make them any more intelligent anyway?  [I was laughing, but still shocked that someone could be this stupid].  After being told that Rafe was also trained in German, he replied that his dogs were all imported from Germany.  I laughed some more.  I mean, seriously, just because you're dogs are imported from Germany does NOT make them any better.  I'll admit that for working purposes, I would look into importing, but unless you're smart about it (and I can tell you he wasn't), you're going to get the dogs that the Germans know aren't suitable for working and want out of their breeding program.  So then Jessica (the ex roommate) asks him when she gets to see the dogs (that, hey, probably don't even exist!).  He then tells her that his dogs bite anything and anyone that isn't him.  [THIS is the point that I wanted to kick his head in, because obviously there is no way any sense will be slapped into him]  So I'm snorting and chuckling about how trained his dogs are, but really I'm SO PO'd because THIS is why schutzhund and other protection training type sports get bad raps.  People like this retarded a-hole think its cool to have walking time-bombs running around.  Personally I hope one of his own dogs bites him.  Maybe he'll get the message.  If, of course, the dogs even really exist.  He claimed to have (all imported from Germany) Rottweilers, Dobermans, and Pointers.  Which is kind of interesting because earlier in the day Jessica was telling me that he had rottweilers, but wanted a Doberman...so...hmmm....

 Just shows how stupid people can be. 

In terms of Sassy, I've heard comments about black labs being aggressive. Well, she can be, but I'm 100% sure that it's not because she's a black lab. It might be a result of whoever had her for 2 yrs and then let her go in the middle of the city. The misguided beliefs are really all tied to ignorance in terms of how uneducated some people are about dogs and breeds. The hurtful and hateful comments though run much deeper and people who say some of the things mentioned make me sad and in some cases, afraid.

I think most people who say anything negative about a dog due to their breed are not dog lovers really.  They like some dogs and their own dogs but they are not dog advocates.

It really isn't the people faults it is the press that some breeds get.  I remember when I was a kid my grandmother thinking GSD were so dangerous and Dobies were viscous.  Well, back then those two breeds in particular had some bad raps going on with dumb ass people.  This generation its pit bulls and next couple of years it will be others.  People who don't really know dogs and breeds are going to be slanted due to the negative press you never here the good press; http://www.pitbullsontheweb.com/petbull/pospress.html

Hey I even heard the other day someone say thdy wouldn't vote Obama because his middle name was Hussein?  I guess that must make him middle eastern in their eyes?  I started to tell them that he is muslim and his origin was African and there eyes glazed over...    My point is, hurtful comments are given by people who have no tack or knowledge and you have to let those things roll off your backs.

People use to refer to my Mutt as a "stupid mutt" but truthfully he was the smartest dog I ever owned.

There were a few comments that hurt me made about Kirby when I was working on his leash reactivity to other dogs.  I was trying so hard to train him and fix the problem and then there would be that time he would backslide, or I would push the envelope too far and get some random remark from a fellow dog owner about him being an ankle bitter, carpet shark, Cujo, or similar remark.  Often it was clear from the tone of voice, the person didn't mean it nastily, but considering how hard I was working on the problem it stung.  Normally comments don't bother me in the least, but because I was so involved with fixing the problem it just added insult to injury. 

As far as general nasty comments about a certain animal or overall breed, I've gotten so many misdirected ones about multiple animals I've owned that they just slide of my back at this point.  If anything I usually feel pity in that the person will never get to experience what that animal can offer.

Still, to this day there is one comment that I have never been able to forget.  It wasn't about a dog, but my pet hamster, Peanut.  I was in 1st grade, and Peanut was my first pet (as in the first one directly under my care and all mine since I had other family animals).  I loved him so much, and he was far from your average hamster.  I used to take him all over the place with me and we were together constantly.  Well one day there was a lady and her husband over at our house since my parents were considering selling.  The lady was walking around looking at the outside while her husband was asking my parents some questions.  All of a sudden she came up to where I was sitting under a fruit tree enjoying some sun with Peanut.  She looked down at me and said, "Eww, how can you have a hamster as a pet?  They make awful pets, and it's just going to die in a year or two anyways." 

I spent the next two hours or so crying in my room while shelling sunflower seeds and feeding them to Peanut.  I already knew hamsters had a short lifespan, but someone coming up to me like that and saying it so callously really hurt.  Guess I never learned my lesson in avoiding animals with short lifespans though, considering I choose to share my home with praying mantises that are often lucky to live 10 months before dieing of old age.
 

We get tons of rude comments.  For the most part, I just ignore them & dismiss the person who made the comment as an idiot.

I've had so many people tell me how Bevo will eventually turn on me.  I've heard how Dobies should all be killed due to their unstable temperaments.

My dachshunds, no matter how happy & waggy they are, are labeled "yappy little ankle biters."  While they are yappy at home, when we are out in public, they are very quiet dogs.  Neither Shooter nor Schatzi have ever even threatened to bite.  They are both outgoing, social dogs who love to meet anyone who might be willing to pet them, but since many doxie owners find bad behavior cute, my guys get a bad name as well.

 It is frustrating, but that's life, I guess...

Mutts also get talked down about, it seems. I was telling this lady how I trained and do agility with my mixedbreed, Charlie. And she started laughing at me and saying 'Oh its a mutt, how funny!' Like training mutts is a joke or that they can only be trained to do circus tricks.

calliecritturs

I've had comments made about my dogs ... and about me, personally ... but you know what?  Some people are just mullets .. you know .. the fish with an almost non-existant brain? 

...mullets, I like that one!

I just have to take a deep breathe, and you know what I think to myself? Those people aren't worth one hair on my babies (Apollo's) head.

Oh, God yeah, I've heard all kinds of things from she's going to turn on me when she's 7 to she looks like she wants to bite my face off, etc.  What's funny is I'm not in denial about Willow's personality.  But, nine times out of ten she's not doing anything aggressive when these comments are made. 

The stuff that bites a little more are comments from people about the lengths and expense we go to for her health issues.  She's at the vet a ton just for her IBS alone.  I get lots of I would of put that dog down long ago or other just as nasty comments.  That stuff bothers me, that people would even consider that gets to me. 

Some people don't know what they are missing.  I've had her five years today and it feels like much less despite all we've been through.

I had a vet tell me once that Cherokee should be PTS for her behavior. That was nice...especially since Cherokee wasn't even being that aggressive towards him. She was muzzled and growling. That means she should be killed??

Most of the hurtful things though have come from family members or close friends. I can ignore and forget what strangers say, but when someone I love says something.. it stays with me a while.

willowchow

I've had her five years today and it feels like much less despite all we've been through.

Aww, happy "gotcha" day pretty Willow!

sillysally

Other threads got me thinking---have you ever had something said about your dog personally, or your dog's breed or type that have really gotten to you? (either in RL or the internet)

Yes, a few people have said things about my dog (not the breed) on the Internet that were totally baseless and laughable b/c I the only people on the boards I frequent that have actually met my dog, her breeder, or know her full history will say completely opposite things.  The comments themselves I can take with a grain of salt but I guess it's somewhat hurtful that people will make judgments only based on bits and pieces of info and then feel the need to make off-base comments.

In real life, yes, I've gotten many comments about my dog but they are usually directed at the breed in general and these tend to just bounce off me. The people making the comments generally have no real experience with the breed.  Even people who have had GSDs can make some really ridiculous comments about the breed, but then I come to find out they have never really trained and competed with the breed, don't belong to any breed clubs, etc.  I'm not one to give unsolicited advice.  If someone says something in the form of a question I will set them straight but if they are just making stupid comments I'll just snort and not really respond.  Like the other day someone told me I need to "send my dog to so-and-so for training b/c she's a GSD and they are supposed to be trained to BITE."  Now I've watched this same person try to train her dog....heh...whatever.

 I think we are hurt by others comments about our dogs (not breed) because we feel it is a reflection of our shortcomings as their owner. I have had people comment on my dogs behaviour and appearance at times. If they say he's rude, aggressive, dumb, overweight etc. I'm pretty sure that comment is more about me than the dog.  On the flipside, most owners also put the blame on the dog instead of themselves. They say, "Oh, he doesn't like meet dogs on leash" when they should be saying, "Oh, I haven't trained him how to react better to dogs on leash, sorry."

So when someone negatively comments on my dog, I am not upset with them, I am upset with myself for not doing a better job in controlling the behaviour/situation. But it still hurts! 

 Wow! I just can't comprehend people making such comments.  NEVER has anyone made such comments to me and I, my residence dogs, and my foster dogs are out quite often mingling with the public.  Well maybe with 300lbs of dog in tow I don't think people would have the guts to approach me with such comments.