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The teenager thing doesn't sound like a big deal. I went to the stampede last week and there was a couple of girls who seemed to be "following" us around, they were taking pictures too. Does it mean it's intentional? No, They were just going the same way as us. Unless they were directly taking photos of you, (as in, only of us and not just having you in the background) I do not see how it is seen as harassment.

Not all teenagers are always looking out for ways to irritate or be rude. And getting rude glares from adults for simply taking pictures of each other and for being the age you are does seem pretty unfair.

Several things come to mind.
 
You are beatiful woman walking her dogs when some teenagers larger than you are taking pics and you are inadvertantly in the background, or so it seems at first. You then move so as to be out of frame. And no matter what you do, they keep taking pics of you, against your wishes. While taking pics in public is not a crime, following a woman who wishes to be left alone is stalking. Yes, I dare say that. After the third time, you were feeling as if you were being stalk, which is a crime, folks.
 
And the guy who seemed to lunge at your dog doesn't have all wheels in the sand. Maybe I grew up in a different universe but one does not just approach or lunge at dogs that do not know you. That's common sense and you are not responsible for someone else's inability to keep themselves from getting hurt. Then, again, maybe all the dogs he's known put up with that. Eventually, he will find the wrong dog to jack with.
 
Also, you simply wanted to vent. Sometimes, we need to blow off steam, even if, in retrospect, we could have handled things differently or view them differently over the passage of time.
 
There are plenty of threads that either I don't respond in, or don't read at all. Sure, I could respond wherever I want to but, believe it or not, I try to help.
 
In our little town, women and children can walk down the street without being harrassed. And we like it that way. And we have police that will take care of the problem (97 % capture and arrest record.) And when I was raised, you respected a lady or you got your hide tanned until you do respect a lady. I'm not supporting corporal punishment, per se, but that situation needs to be addressed. It's never "harmless" to scare a lady.
 

ORIGINAL: k.m.a

The teenager thing doesn't sound like a big deal. I went to the stampede last week and there was a couple of girls who seemed to be "following" us around, they were taking pictures too. Does it mean it's intentional? No, They were just going the same way as us. Unless they were directly taking photos of you, (as in, only of us and not just having you in the background) I do not see how it is seen as harassment.

Oh boy, I just have to ask- did you read through my post? In the first pic I was accidentally in the background, the other times they followed me and in the last pic it was JUST me.

ORIGINAL: ron2

Several things come to mind.

...some teenagers larger than you are taking pics and you are inadvertantly in the background, or so it seems at first. You then move so as to be out of frame. And no matter what you do, they keep taking pics of you, against your wishes. While taking pics in public is not a crime, following a woman who wishes to be left alone is stalking. Yes, I dare say that. After the third time, you were feeling as if you were being stalk, which is a crime, folks.

And the guy who seemed to lunge at your dog doesn't have all wheels in the sand. Maybe I grew up in a different universe but one does not just approach or lunge at dogs that do not know you. That's common sense and you are not responsible for someone else's inability to keep themselves from getting hurt. Then, again, maybe all the dogs he's known put up with that. Eventually, he will find the wrong dog to jack with.

Also, you simply wanted to vent. Sometimes, we need to blow off steam, even if, in retrospect, we could have handled things differently or view them differently over the passage of time.

There are plenty of threads that either I don't respond in, or don't read at all. Sure, I could respond wherever I want to but, believe it or not, I try to help.

In our little town, women and children can walk down the street without being harrassed. And we like it that way. And we have police that will take care of the problem (97 % capture and arrest record.) And when I was raised, you respected a lady or you got your hide tanned until you do respect a lady. I'm not supporting corporal punishment, per se, but that situation needs to be addressed. It's never "harmless" to scare a lady.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU Ron for understanding and being a voice of reason. [] Click + beer (if you like beer that is, I can just as easily subsitute for lobster or or anything else) []

p.s. I want to live where you do. It sounds like a really nice place. I drove through Texas when I was moving from California back here and I wanted to stay!

Tamara - just for the record, I would have been creeped out too.  No one can tell you what should or should not creep you out.  Ron's right, following someone just to take their picture when they clearly do not want it taken is a form of stalking.  I just hate it when I few weirdos ruin it for the rest of the normal people!
 
I had a similar "Denny" experience but it was at McDonald's and the guy was inside...I thought I was going to puke!  By the time I realized what was happening he left.  [sm=vomit03.gif]

ORIGINAL: mrstjohnson
I had a similar "Denny" experience but it was at McDonald's and the guy was inside...I thought I was going to puke!  By the time I realized what was happening he left.  [sm=vomit03.gif]

Oh no!! YUCK!!! [:'(] I'm really sorry to hear that.

One thing that occured to me- to the guys on here that couldn't understand what I was making a big deal about:

What if it was your wife or your sister or your mom that was out walking by herself and had THREE teenage guys (each of them larger than her) follow her and take pictures of her? Then would it be okay?

we need more men like Ron around here.....

and right Tamara. if it was me being stalked by guys with cameras my brother, my cousin (6'+ 250lb viking looking dude), my husband, my friend's would have ALL come gunning for them.
there was a missunderstanding once.... for some reason someone misheard me talking about guys at school.. they were friends teasing and picking at me (all in good fun, i wasnt bothered) but my mom misheard it to mean i was being bullied, she told my brother who told my cousin who told my dad.... wow..... try stopping three charging bulls!!
however i would much rather have THAT kind of over reaction than a "Oh you're just over reacting" response.... THAT response gets people dead....

ORIGINAL: TylerToo

for some reason the dolt walking behind them had to stare at Molly - directly into her eyes and she was staring back. Of course she reacted - unfavorable. I wanted to slap the dolt up side his head.

I am not sure what the unfavorable reation was.  If your dog is aggressive towards people who look at her then you should avoid taking her out in public until you can correct this behavior.  We can not expect others to know about dogs.  It is the dog owners repsonsibility not to put their dog in a situation that could cause a problem.

just know that there are MANY profesionally trained personal protection dogs that WILL lunge at you if you prolong eye contact. these dogs are sold to the public. they are allowed to BE in public. they are personal protection dogs. If Tamara had a dog like that (or like Kaydee) those boys would have found someplace else to be.
I had a guy come up to me and a group of friends and say to me "She dont bite, huh?" and he PURPOSELY tried to stare her down. Kaydee launched herself at him and roared in his face... which resulted in him nearly falling over backwards shouting "She tried to bite me!!" ... which resulted in friends saying "No S**t Sherlock! wow you're stupid!"
I like that my dog did that. yes i do. she is my personal protector because i couldnt fend off three teen age boys alone.
Lets all think about how large teenagers can get.... they are children in adult packages... they do stupid things, they think its funny to torment, and they have the adult strength to do it, with child like innocence to see no harm in it.
Maybe they meant no harm, just thought it was funny to see her react, but its the SAME thing as someone throwing rocks at stray cats, or shooting dogs with BB guns just to see them jump.
Maybe some of you would pose all nice and pretty for the camera.. maybe some would say bugger off... but some folks just dont want to be bothered. they want to leave the scene and not be followed. we have that right. and YES the police are here FOR that reason. to keep butt heads like those guys at bay.

and they guy lunging for your dogs..... he was just a dope..... and yeah he'll probably grab the wrong dog some day, but honestly... i love your dogs Tamara, they're adorable, but they dont exactly have the image of "back off or i'll bite!" lol i'm not trying to be insulting or anything, but i would have a hard time resisting the urge to pet them... though i wouldnt lunge at them to do it lol

ORIGINAL: DumDog

we need more men like Ron around here.....

I agree.

and right Tamara. if it was me being stalked by guys with cameras my brother, my cousin (6'+ 250lb viking looking dude), my husband, my friend's would have ALL come gunning for them.
there was a missunderstanding once.... for some reason someone misheard me talking about guys at school.. they were friends teasing and picking at me (all in good fun, i wasnt bothered) but my mom misheard it to mean i was being bullied, she told my brother who told my cousin who told my dad.... wow..... try stopping three charging bulls!!
however i would much rather have THAT kind of over reaction than a "Oh you're just over reacting" response.... THAT response gets people dead....

Exxxxactly. [] I'm just a "random internet person" to some people on here and that's why they don't see my point or care. Luckily there ARE people here who do care and that's great. []

ORIGINAL: DumDog

i love your dogs Tamara, they're adorable, but they dont exactly have the image of "back off or i'll bite!" lol i'm not trying to be insulting or anything, but i would have a hard time resisting the urge to pet them... though i wouldnt lunge at them to do it lol

I know, darnit! lol I could REALLY use a dog like Kaydee sometimes. In fact, I'm 10 kinds of jealous right now!

it irks me to see people say things like "you might THINK your dog would defend you" because i am one of the minorities with a dog that has been bred for centuries to naturally protect people from all dangers.
besides that.... just the sight of a large dog, no matter the breed.. is enough of a deterrent.
its a bit OT.. but... i have met a couple of "experts" in the attack dog field who criticise the way a dog barks and holds, or bites a sleeve "Oh he's weak in the mouth! look he barely has the sleeve!" ... my response is .... "take off the sleeve and do that" we'll see how well he grips your ARM as most bad guys on the street arent wearing bite sleeves, but the dog is just as eager to get the guy acting crazy or threatening.

ORIGINAL: Luvntzus

ORIGINAL: mrv

Sure the kids could do with some better hobbies, however maybe they would be good at photography.  What about asking them to actually take photos of your dogs?

Because I didn't WANT them to take pictures of my dogs. I was minding my own business and wanted to be left alone! It isn't my job to work with kids and try to "train" them. [&o]

It isn't your job.  You're 100% correct.  But if kids start harrassing you, its good to have the skills to diffuse the situation.  I understand being upset - I do - but the reality is that you're a small woman with small dogs, and it would be a good idea to have a lot of tools in your safety toolbox.  mrv is offering you a very effective tool to use when needed.

Please understand, I am NOT faulting you for being upset, nor excusing the boys' behavior.  I know this was meant as a vent and not a call for tips, but if you ever find yourself in a similar situation consider mrv's advice.

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Yay, Ron! []

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