I was a little bit miffed yesterday...

ORIGINAL: stardog85

Well for some reason I've been asked 2 or 3 times in the last week whether Maggie is "mean" or "bites" [8|] Each time when she's in perfect heel and once the woman wouldn't walk by us until I confirmed that Maggie doesn't bite! [:@]

A couple of weeks ago a teen aged boy was about to walk past and he asked "Does your dog bark" so I said yup, most dogs bark.  So he covered his ears as he walked by.  *Things that make you go "Hmmmm?"*  Oh and Xerk didn't bark at him, in fact I think he was looking at the kid like I was...weird.

I had both Rex and Baby at the feed store in the back seat of our truck.  One guy says to his kids, don't worry about the shepherd, it is the little ones that will take your fingers off.  Now, both of my dogs would not bite anyone, but I said, its best not to put any body part in our private vehicle, you don't want to feed them at this time of day!

I had both Rex and Baby at the feed store in the back seat of our truck. One guy says to his kids, don't worry about the shepherd, it is the little ones that will take your fingers off.

That's freakin' hilarious.  The question is, did he take the cigarette out of the corner of his mouth to say it?

[sm=rotfl.gif]

Welcome to my world.

Forget Sally, the biggest freakout reaction I've ever had to one of my dogs was to Jack the lab---when he was 11 weeks old.

I had him in Petsmart and put him down to socialize with this family's little terrier mix and one of the kids--about 9 or 10, completely FLIPPED out screaming "Get it away!  Get it away!  I hate strange dogs!"  The mother was completely mortified and kept apologizing.  The funny thing was that Jack was to busy hanging with the other dog to pay any attention to the freaking out kid.....

Yeah, you know the other day we were in the elevator ( we live in the building ), and the lady came in the elevator with us, like 200 lb. or more lady, so me and my husband, just tryed to squish so that she can make her way in, and so our 2 tiny Pomeranians hid behind our legs. So she goes all the way in and says - "do you mind holding your dogs more tight?" My two Pommies were scared of her, and tryed to blend in with the elevator walls as is. Talking about weird people.

I think you all may need to cut these folks some slack.  I have seen often on this forum all the posters lament the ignorant, irresponsible dog owner...and rightfully so.  But with so many of them out there, can you blame non-dog-owners for being wary of the dogs they run into randomly.  How are they to know that you're not an irresponsible ignorant dog owner just by looking at you?  Parents with little dog knowledge are likely trying to protect their kids from the off chance that something bad may happen, and they would rather instill in their children a fear of dogs than risk a bad incident.  It may be silly 99% of the time, but I for one can't fault a reaction like that.  We choose to live our lives with dogs and take the responsibility, and yes, the risk that comes with that.  They do not.

ORIGINAL: Xerxes

I had both Rex and Baby at the feed store in the back seat of our truck. One guy says to his kids, don't worry about the shepherd, it is the little ones that will take your fingers off.

That's freakin' hilarious.  The question is, did he take the cigarette out of the corner of his mouth to say it?

Perhaps that was inappropriate? It sounded to me that you were suggesting the feed store clerk was some generic back country guy that smokes?   O.o
[sm=no%20no%20smiley.gif]

ORIGINAL: Whippetdude

ORIGINAL: Xerxes

I had both Rex and Baby at the feed store in the back seat of our truck. One guy says to his kids, don't worry about the shepherd, it is the little ones that will take your fingers off.

That's freakin' hilarious.  The question is, did he take the cigarette out of the corner of his mouth to say it?

Perhaps that was inappropriate? It sounded to me that you were suggesting the feed store clerk was some generic back country guy that smokes?   O.o
[sm=no%20no%20smiley.gif]

Perhaps, but when I pictured the event I used my own experiences in recreating the guy in question.  The statement, and maybe I'm generalizing here, seems like it would come from a guy in jeans and a white t-shirt, sunglasses and having a ciggarette surgically attached to his bottom lip as he's talking out of the opposite corner of his mouth.  And they do exist, I grew up around those kind of guys and have alot of respect for them.

ORIGINAL: Xerxes

ORIGINAL: Whippetdude

ORIGINAL: Xerxes

I had both Rex and Baby at the feed store in the back seat of our truck. One guy says to his kids, don't worry about the shepherd, it is the little ones that will take your fingers off.

That's freakin' hilarious.  The question is, did he take the cigarette out of the corner of his mouth to say it?

Perhaps that was inappropriate? It sounded to me that you were suggesting the feed store clerk was some generic back country guy that smokes?   O.o
[sm=no%20no%20smiley.gif]

Perhaps, but when I pictured the event I used my own experiences in recreating the guy in question.  The statement, and maybe I'm generalizing here, seems like it would come from a guy in jeans and a white t-shirt, sunglasses and having a ciggarette surgically attached to his bottom lip as he's talking out of the opposite corner of his mouth.  And they do exist, I grew up around those kind of guys and have alot of respect for them.

I understand. I was just saying thats what it sounded like to me and didn't want anyone to take it the wrong way. =]

Wow, have you ever had an adverse sitch where you just needed a little laugh.  Cmon folks, lighten up.  There are truly generalities in life that need to be laughed about.
 
If you had a personal experience where you were the one on the recieving end of the treatment by odd people with odd reactions to dogs that had done absolutely nothing but your dog walked on a leash with You, the owner...  And you get flack about having a dangerous dog, or slanted language that is critical about your dog...What is wrong with bringing that up and making a joke. It is not saying something back at the public nasty like the things that they said about your dog..."its a killer" 
 
Further more, teaching your children paranoia of dogs to me is a very ignorant thing to do. If you want the children in your household to learn, start with education of yourself, and then teach them correctly..what to avoid and how to deal with and handle dogs.  Without fear.
 
The points people are making here all wind down to the one thing.  General public needs education, and of course some dog owners are guilty of having bad dogs....once again due to ignorance.

ORIGINAL: pbarbato

I think you all may need to cut these folks some slack.  I have seen often on this forum all the posters lament the ignorant, irresponsible dog owner...and rightfully so.  But with so many of them out there, can you blame non-dog-owners for being wary of the dogs they run into randomly.  How are they to know that you're not an irresponsible ignorant dog owner just by looking at you?  Parents with little dog knowledge are likely trying to protect their kids from the off chance that something bad may happen, and they would rather instill in their children a fear of dogs than risk a bad incident.  It may be silly 99% of the time, but I for one can't fault a reaction like that.  We choose to live our lives with dogs and take the responsibility, and yes, the risk that comes with that.  They do not.

We're ranting here so we can give them a break in public.  I've met several people on my walks that have asked me all kinds of questions about the breed, as well as asking if they can say hello.  I had one couple with a Shih Tzu puppy freak out when they saw us coming and then when I stopped and said hello they were surprised by the fact that Xerxes went into a down and let the puppy climb all over him and "beat him up." 

So we get our fair shake at educating, but we also need a place to rant. []

ORIGINAL: rwbeagles

Count your blessings! At least you can GET more than 10 feet at a time without being ganged up on by the public wanting to pet your dog! I miss having an Akita...they keep the weirdos, that think it's okay to just run up and grab your dog...at bay!

 
Oh, I feel this.  I have a 20 pound ball of fluffy, white fear aggression.  I can't count the number of times people let their children as yound as 2 come over to my dog without asking and try to pet him. 
 
It's too bad Xerxes didn't give the father one of his pretty smiles.  I happen to love it.

ORIGINAL: Xerxes

We're ranting here so we can give them a break in public.
So we get our fair shake at educating, but we also need a place to rant. []

Can't even have a good rant these days! []
 
Mostly, the Goldens get molested by the public which is just as irritating to me...but your story soooo reminded me of the beach incident that I just had to share in your rant!  Thanks for letting me rant-share!

Parents shouldn't teach their children a fear of dogs! They should teach their children to respect dogs! I have taught mine...it's not hard to do..You say to your child...Don't ever approach someone elses dog....It's rude...They are taught to ask first from a distance....simple as that