I was a little bit miffed yesterday...

ORIGINAL: Boo1129

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

Thats what I was taught. But even "mean" Dogs don't scare me. Once this lady had a big I mean BIG german shepherd dog, who was barking and lunging on his leash. I asked the owner if I could pet him. She said yes and assured me he was just barking at a squirrle. So I went over and rubbed his chest and he calmed down. O.o Other kids would have been at the other end of the coutny... =P

hey if show ppl like Kirsty Alley & Alec Baldwin can ask to pet & treat dogs with respect - then anyone can learn (yes I know this 1st hand)

ORIGINAL: Amitiel

hey if show ppl like Kirsty Alley & Alec Baldwin can ask to pet & treat dogs with respect - then anyone can learn (yes I know this 1st hand)

 
tee heee, umm, are they dating now??
 
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not that I know of - he is married & not to her & I think they are planning for another child - Kirsty is having a hard time staying out of rehab
 
they both own dogs (Alec has show goldens) - we met them out walking Max 1 morning, they were in town for a fund raiser (yes, the photo-hogs were everywhere) they asked to meet Max and while they joined us on the walk the photo ppl would not get near - they took us for coffee - said it was the nicest morning walk they had while there - Alec said he was going to start traveling with a least 1 of his dogs (haven't heard that he has would be great if he did)

Gina,
Your complaint is that too many kids and people in general want to come up and pet your dogs.

I know that us pit bull people have the exact opposite complaint. NO ONE wants to pet our dogs. Most of us would LOVE to have people and children come up and pet our dogs, but they won't. Most of the time, anyway.

Ella has admirers from afar when we're on walks, but rarely do people come up and pet her, UNLESS she's in a backpack.
People think she must be important then.

ORIGINAL: chewbecca

Gina,
Your complaint is that too many kids and people in general want to come up and pet your dogs.

I know that us pit bull people have the exact opposite complaint. NO ONE wants to pet our dogs. Most of us would LOVE to have people and children come up and pet our dogs, but they won't. Most of the time, anyway.

Ella has admirers from afar when we're on walks, but rarely do people come up and pet her, UNLESS she's in a backpack.
People think she must be important then.

I would love to come pet Ella, the only problem is that Xerk is surgically attached to my hip when I'm out.

ORIGINAL: chewbecca

Gina,
Your complaint is that too many kids and people in general want to come up and pet your dogs.

I know that us pit bull people have the exact opposite complaint. NO ONE wants to pet our dogs. Most of us would LOVE to have people and children come up and pet our dogs, but they won't. Most of the time, anyway.

Ella has admirers from afar when we're on walks, but rarely do people come up and pet her, UNLESS she's in a backpack.
People think she must be important then

 
Dobe people are in the same situation.  Nobody, except another Dobe person, wants to come anywhere close to Bevo, even though he is sitting pleading for someone to pet him. 
 
Ed, I didn't realize that you had a "mean" red dobe.  I like you even more now![]

Ed, I didn't realize that you had a "mean" red dobe. I like you even more now!

Not only a mean red dobe with naturally erect ears and a tail, but a miniature one at that.  []

And Ella loves when humans pet her!

I would ask if I could pet Bevo! But I always ask first. It only makes sense.

ORIGINAL: BEVOLASVEGAS

Dobe people are in the same situation.  Nobody, except another Dobe person, wants to come anywhere close to Bevo, even though he is sitting pleading for someone to pet him. 

 
You got that right. About a month ago I went on a hike with some friends and both brats with their packs. There was a guy and his son and their doodle dog of some kind that came up behind us stopped, frozen solid. They passed us and we came up on them again further up the trail. They litterly RAN FULL SPRINT to get away from us!!!

I used to have the best and worst of both worlds.

I had Stevie, a rottie/red dobie mix, and Sofia, who was a puppy much of the time I'd walk them in public. Everyone wanted to pet Sofia, but they were afraid of Stevie (who was a huge lover, not a biter!). It was funny to see the conflict cross peoples' faces--"ooooh a PUPPY! No, wait, there's a "MEAN" dog too! Oh Nooooo!" []

Not only a mean red dobe with naturally erect ears and a tail, but a miniature one at that.  []

 
Not much shocks me.  I have had someone ask me if Bevo was Schatzi's mother.  I nicely pointed out that Bevo was a male, & Schatzi was a dachshund.  (because Schatzi's short stubby legs weren't a dead giveaway)
 

  I would ask if I could pet Bevo!

 
My asnwer would be a resounding YES!!!  He sits there staring at people longingly just hoping for a little attention.
 

You got that right. About a month ago I went on a hike with some friends and both brats with their packs. There was a guy and his son and their doodle dog of some kind that came up behind us stopped, frozen solid. They passed us and we came up on them again further up the trail. They litterly RAN FULL SPRINT to get away from us!!!  

 
I always find that reactions to a Dobe are both good & bad. 
 
I feel sorry for Bev because he would love for everyone to come up & love him.  Buuuuttttt, I do love being able to clear an entire aisle for myself when we're in Petsmart.

I wish there wasn't such a stigma against certain kinds of dogs.  When I have kids I want them to know that all pets can be wonderful but to always take care around an animal you don't know.  The most beautiful, gentle looking dogs can be unfriendly and visa versa.  But if you get tense around a dog they will notice and are more likely to react in a way that can be bad.

I thought it was kind of funny when my friend and I were walking our dogs in the regional park near our house, and we passed by a father and his two children.  The little girl looked at our dogs and said, "I don't like big dogs.  Big dogs are mean!  I like the small one.  They're nice."

I was walking the "big dog", Jack, who is 66 lbs. and awesome with kids... patient, incredibly tolerant, and friendly.  My friend was walking her 10 lbs. Bichon Frise who hates children and cannot be around them, because she will snap and snarl at them if they get near her, even if they don't attempt to interact with her in any way.  I don't blame a small child for being nervous around large dogs, but it struck me funny.  If only she knew!

Jack seems to intimidate people on a regular basis.  I've been told that he looks imposing, and I've seen people make a wide berth around us on walks.  This weekend my partner had to keep him at her side on a very short leash so an obviously fearful woman would walk past him (he may have sniffed her if given the chance, but he never jumps up or aggressively pursues attention from strangers).  I get that some people are just afraid of dogs, and I don't fault them for it, really.  I think it's too bad, but I get it.  I was pretty nervous around dogs when I was a kid (it didn't help that my father doesn't like dogs at all).  I have a 2-year-old son and we've been working hard to instill respect for dogs in him since he was pretty tiny.  I don't want him to be afraid of dogs, but I do want him to understand that not all dogs want to interact with him, and that he needs to respect their space.

I do think it's sad when parents pass on misinformation or paranoia to their children.  Dogs are a part of our society, there's really no avoiding ever seeing or being near a dog, and it's not fun to feel nervous about being around them.  I would never do that to my son. 

How about "Wow! That looks like a wolf. (sticks hand out) Does he bite?"
 
Would these people go to a habitat and stick their hand out to a real wolf?
 
If someone asks if he bites, then they know that some dogs bite. So why impose themselves right off of the bat? The answer is no, he doesn't bite but he is shy so approach easily and calmly. And if I thought he would bite, I would muzzle him. But I don't put up with mouthing at home so, we're in the habit of not biting.
 
I've seen some people clench up tight when they see Shadow and just assume he's going to have their Jack Russel for a snack. Little do they know that his best friend when he was little was a Jack Russel Terrier named Duke and a tomcat named Dax. He gets along with small animals. But I understand the timberwolf appearance can be intimidating.