Just a rant (really long)
 

Sometimes people make me so angry. I live in an apartment building, so of course I run into alot of people while taking Dozer in and out. I'm fine with that...in fact I like that he sees so many people of different shapes, sizes and color. Anyway, what I don't like is when people let him jump all over them or even worse, let him bite their hands!!! I'm telling him "no jump, no bite" and pulling him off while they're saying "its ok he's just a puppy" and even putting their hands in his mouth for him to chew on!!! It drives me nuts! I tell them no its not ok because when he's a full grown dog and he jumps up are you going to have the same attitude??? I think not.
Also, there is a daycare in the basement of the building, which again I think is great....Dozer is awesome around small children and that is a big reason why. Anyway, my bf was taking him outside through the basement and there was a father picking up his little girl from the daycare and they were walking out of the classroom together when Dozer and my bf walked by. The man bends down, PICKS UP MY DOG AND PUTS IT IN HIS LITTLE GIRLS FACE!!! He then proceeds to ell my bf that "she has a fear of dogs that we're trying to get her over". WHAT KIND OF PERSON DOES THAT???? If Dozer would have nipped the little girl in the face, it would not have been his fault. i asked my bf what he did and he said "nothing - i didn't have a chance to - it all happened so fast". You better believe that if that would have been me, things would have went alot different. Then again, my bf isn't quite as assertive as me and isn't a big fan of conflict.
A woman picked him up once while he was with me without asking permission and I lost it. He started scratching and nipping at her face and wiggling to get down. She said, oh my dog is 6 months old and she still acts like that. I said "I wonder why" and proceeded to get into an argument with this woman. Needless to say, I don't have to worry about her bothering us anymore. I just don't understand how people can be so forward and so willing to tell ME what I should be doing with MY dog!!! (which was basically the whole point of this - wow i actually feel better now)

Dozer's mom: I'm not sure I perfectly understood your anger here: are you mad that someone's petting your dog without your permission or are you mad that someone's telling you what to do with your dog? I didn't see much details on the latter, but I would be pretty upset as well if a stranger tells me how to discipline my dog.

Oh, I sooooo know how you're feeling! We have the kids at the bus stop trained well - they'll put their hands behind their backs and wait for her to sit before they start petting her. The adults are another story altogether! "Oh, it's ok. She's just happy to see me," says one fellow while she's jumping all over him and I'm trying to correct her without looking like a complete ogre for killing my puppy's apparent joy. Yeah, well, [I]she[/I] may be happy to see you, but [I]I'm[/I] not so thrilled right now. Now excuse me while I move back a few steps in my dog's training, just because you can't follow simple instructions. :evil: It's not like I haven't been telling this guy for about 8 months now that she needs to sit before he can pet her. :rolleyes:

That man who's daugher is afraid of dogs should be taken out and locked naked in a box of angry bees. Come on! What the heck kind of Cracker Jack psychology is he using here?! :confused: I'm terrified of spiders. Stick a tarantula in my face and see how fast you hit the ground, buddy! :mad:

I can understand your frustration in people allowing your dog to do things you are teaching him not to and agree you need to be assertive there. And while I sometimes offer advice that is probably best left unsaid on some occasions, I would not necessarily welcome someone I did not know or did not know me instructing me on how to train my pet. So I guess I am saying you are right to be angry but wrong to take out your anger in that way on that woman. It solves nothing.

[QUOTE]That man who's daugher is afraid of dogs should be taken out and locked naked in a box of angry bees[/QUOTE]

Oh come on! Tell us how you REALLY feel!:p

Dozer's mom, I know just what you mean. I was driving home from picking my dog up. Of course I didn't know her all that well after only a few hours. I stopped at a rest stop on the highway and took her out to pee. In the blink of a eye, a child of about 3 or so dropped his father's hand, ran over and threw himself across my dog's back, while Dad stood there smiling and saying "Oh he loves dogs!!" :eek:

I nearly died. Many dogs - especially newly rescued dogs - would have reacted in a very negative way to that (including my own last dog)

Luckily, my Chloe merely turned and licked him, but this child could have had his face torn off. I hope it hasn't happened.

There is no accounting for the stupidity of people.

I'm not mad about people petting the dog - thats fine. What makes me mad is when they shove their hands in his mouth and then tell me, "its ok - he's just a puppy, he's not biting hard". I don't want him biting at all and i imagine its pretty confusing when we tell him 'no bite' and he gets in trouble when he nips at one of us but all these strangers are letting him do it even when im telling him no!

I haven't had much experience with other people petting my dog without my permission. Isn't petting a form of socialization?

i'm not the only one
 

It makes me feel better to know there are others out there having the same kind of experiences. Sometimes it's really hard to be patient with these people because even after I explain that we're trying to train him not too bite and not too jump, we see the same people and i have to go through the same speel all over again. And I agree that the adults are definetly worse the kids!! One of the daycare classes are all 3 and 4 year olds and Dozer and i go in at lunchtime once a week to visit the kids. They are excellent with him and I only had to explain things to them once!!! Now I guess you know where the kids get it from when parents complain that they aren't good listeners!!!

I understand what your saying!! It would be like someone coming up to my child, and my child getting excited and hitting the person, and me trying to discipline him and the person saying "it's OK he's just a little boy!" !!

Basically people should respect they way you are trying to raise your child and or pets, and have no right to undermine you !!

Exactly, happycats. That was pretty much my entire point of my ridiculously long, not very well structed story. It all could have been said woth a sentence. (see what happens when you try to type while angry....lol)

Yes, Nymph, petting is good for socialization, but not if it's going to counter all the hard work you're doing training the puppy.

LuckyRescue, I guess that was a little strong :o , but people like that are really annoying. Not every dog on this planet is Lassie, ya know!! :mad:

what I do..
 

I don't allow anyone to touch my dog Brandy when we are out. If they ask, I politely say " I would prefer not, she can be a bit excitable and is in training". If they don't ask and bend down to proceed, I put her beside me in a sit and say "Please don't touch the dog".

I was recently at a gas station filling up my van and I went in to pay. There was a fabulous blue nosed pitt. He was chained just long enough for his nose to reach me at the cash. Tail was wagging a mile a minute. I politely asked could I pat him and the guy said no. I told him what a lovely specimen of the breed he was and we chatted for a bit. It was interesting because about 5 minutes later he said, please feel free to pat him. He proceeded to explain that many people come in and grab hold of his face and fuss too much over him so he says no right off. Perhaps that should be your approach and you won't need to worry about people not doing as you wish? He was a big wiggly butt and extremely affectionate but still a pup.

I find it annoying when people pick up other peoples' dogs without asking. At the dog park here, people do that often. Even if it is only a little dog or young puppy, I still think people should ask.

...although know one has ever asked to pick up my dog...just because he's 40 lbs, doesn't mean you should leave him out...j/k. :D

Thats a good idea, thanks BMDluver.

When I first got Den-Den, my mom's neighbor came over to see him. She deliberately got him all excited with a high-pitched excited voice and rumpling his fur and then put him down and said to me, "You're going to have to get him into an obedience class right away to calm him down; he's really high-strung!" Well not until she got him all worked up! Grrrr! She's the one who says her dog is a "real" dog.

[QUOTE=glasslass]She deliberately got him all excited with a high-pitched excited voice and rumpling his fur and then put him down and said to me, "You're going to have to get him into an obedience class right away to calm him down; he's really high-strung!"[/QUOTE]
Does she have kids/grandchildren? You should go over, pump them full of chocolate, and then suggest they need to be put on Ritlin (sp?). (just kidding! ;) )

Does she have kids/grandchildren? You should go over, pump them full of chocolate, and then suggest they need to be put on Ritlin (sp?). (just kidding! )


Ha ha Writing4fun. Good one

Dozer's Mom, I know exactly what you mean!!! I have a pup and people do the same thing. Let her jump all over them and bite their hands!! :mad: :mad: They are totally screwing up her training!! :mad: People say "oh no that's okay, i don't mind." Well they sure won't like it when she's full grown and jumping all over them! :mad: My family does it too. :mad: What don't people understand about the whole concept??? AAGGHHHHH

Or how about when parents bring their 5 kids under ten into the DOG PARK to PLAY with the DOGS?!?!?!?!?

I know what you mean about the petting. Kids and adults both pet them without asking. One little girl (around 4) ran over while her mom was reading in the park and hugged my Boo around the neck. I'm glad my doggies like kids because you never know what will happen.

Or the people who FEED my dogs? THey have allergies like madness. You never feed anyone's dog. :mad:

Great idea, but no such luck - single, no kids. She offered to babysit Corky for my mom while she's gone a few days. Actually, she said she'd train him for her while she's gone! (train to do what?) I've taken the week off so that I can be with him, and Den-Den, and babysit Spunky (different neighbor's). I'm having a ball with 3 little fur-balls, giving them their haircuts.

Yes, this can be very exasperating. So many people just "assume" things, dont they? They are undermining your efforts, and should be politely told not to do this.

Many people want to pick my dog up without asking. Most parents I find are very diligent and careful, but a few just assume a toy breed is like a toy.... kid-sized. In fact, he doesnt much care for interaction with other people at all - especially kids. I have to watch very carefully -as he does NOT want to be picked up.

In the "stupid sweepstakes" the winner for me was a woman office worker in my mom's nursing home. She took the dog from my arms, fussed over him a bit... and without warning... DROPPED him into the lap of a elderly lady resident sitting in a wheelchair. He could have scratched her, bitten her - this frail little lady trying to hold onto him - while he was struggling to get away.
I immediately retrieved him.. and was livid at this idiotic and dangerous behaviour. :mad:

Prin, I know what you mean about feeding... My friend's dog had been having vomiting and projectile diarrhea for a couple of days. You know, when you get home and there's some EVERYWHERE... and the poor thing is feeling so miserable about it. Anyways, so she started feeling better and I was very careful to feed her a very small amount of Medi-cal Gastro. It was a nice day, we go for a walk with her and another dog and stop for 2 minutes inside a store. We come back out to find this guy feeding FRENCH FRIES to the dogs!!! OMG! I lost it! I won't repeat what I told him but my friend's jaw just dropped and he didn't know how to react... Don't think the guy will forget.

Lyne

[QUOTE]You should go over, pump them full of chocolate, and then suggest they need to be put on Ritlin (sp?). [/QUOTE]

Heehee!!!! You're on a roll!!:p

And BTW, I agree about the box of bees.

[COLOR=DarkGreen]:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:


Reading this thread is painful. It's comforting to know that I'm not the only one who has trouble with other people's untraining of my dog -- but my in my case, the people who will at least pet my dog are the good ones, even if they are (were, he's pretty much done with that) letting him bite them. Most of the people I meet on the street will stick their hands or feet in his face and then pull them away. :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: As if that isn't giving Casey a confusing message!!! He knows that he's not supposed to react to this now (in the beginning he'd try to bite the hand or foot as if it was a toy), but I can tell that it is hard on him.

Koreans are lovely people, but they have no dog sense whatsoever.[/COLOR]

I knew that there had to be quite a few people out there who could understand what I was talking about. I have also had a few people wanting to feed him things but usually they ask first. I also have dealt with people who wll get down in his face and use that really whiny, squealy, squeaky baby voice and of course he's jumping all over them and trying to nip at their face because I really don't think he likes it very much. Then they turn to me and say wow, you sure are going to have your hands full with him. Well yeah, because of people like you. I've been trying to get people to just ignore him when they come into the house until he settles down but NO ONE listens.....not even my family!!! Everyone says, oh he's too cute to ignore...i can't do it. We'll see whats cute when he's 65 lbs and still doing it.....stupid people not listening. :mad:

I hate to be the devil's advocate here, but I don't really think it is fair to blame the innocent bystanders who pet your dog. If you walk your dog close to other people, knowing that your dog is not trained well enough to maintain his/her composure, perhaps it is not the "other people" who are at fault for setting back your dogs training?

I agree that picking up your dog, jumping on the back of your dog and feeding your dog is completely inappropriate. However, if you take your dog onto an elevator and do not say first off that he is in training so please do not touch, it is natural for people to want to coo at your puppy. I find it hard to beleive that in each of your pre-dog training years that you never did that too!

To that end, it is highly unlikely that these people are viciously trying to set your dogs training back. They, like me in my earlier days, likely think they are being nice--and helping to socialize your puppy.

IMO I think that it is the owner's responsibility to ensure that the people around your dog do not engage in any activity you feel is going to harm your training process. I don't think it is fair to blame or be angry at people who perhaps know nothing about what it takes to train a dog....

[QUOTE=Lizzie]I hate to be the devil's advocate here, but I don't really think it is fair to blame the innocent bystanders who pet your dog.[/QUOTE]

I'm not blaming people who pet him, thats' fine - especially if they ask first.

[QUOTE=Lizzie]If you walk your dog close to other people, knowing that your dog is not trained well enough to maintain his/her composure, perhaps it is not the "other people" who are at fault for setting back your dogs training?[/QUOTE]

So in order to teach the dog to maintain composure, I should make sure I walk him in area that is deserted? :confused: He is fine and doesn't even bother with anyone until they drop down to the ground and start talking like a baby yo him and even when I ask them to stop because he's being trained and they say, Oh he's just a baby and continue on. I usually end up picking him up and walking away because if not, i have to drag him.


[QUOTE=Lizzie]To that end, it is highly unlikely that these people are viciously trying to set your dogs training back.[/QUOTE]

I don't think they are either and didn't mean to imply that if I did. I realize that he is cute and of course everyone wants to pat him. It just sucks when you explain to people that you are tryign to train the dog not to jump, nip etc. and they act like you aren't even talking. It also annoys me knowing that in another 6 months or so, not even half as many people will even bat an eye at him because he's not 'a cute little puppy' anymore.


[QUOTE=Lizzie]IMO I think that it is the owner's responsibility to ensure that the people around your dog do not engage in any activity you feel is going to harm your training process.[/QUOTE]

I agree that it is the owner's responsibility but you can't control others actions. If they don't listen, I do pick up my dog and walk away and then they think I'm being a jerk, so sometimes I do end up being a little rude with people because sometimes it seems like that's the only way I can get my point across.

Children need to be taught...
 

I thought the part about the guy trying to 'get his child over a fear of dogs' was terrible! If the child is afraid of dogs then I would think that something must've happened with a dog to make her afraid. The fear has some basis. Training issues aside, I think that people need to teach their kids not to run up and tackle, hug, squeeze, etc a dog that they don't know. We had a dog that had not been socialized as a pup and was teased relentlessly through the dog run he was housed in and as a result was not a 'nice' dog. He was very sneaky though - if he was on a chain, he would wag his tail and sit real pretty as if inviting you to come near. If you did go near, he would wait for you to get into his chain reach and then attack. I always had to warn people over and over again not to get close to him, but I was just a teenager, so I think people just ignored me. I can't imagine what he would've done to a kid that got in his chain reach! :eek: My point is that you never know what a dog is going to do and just because they look sweet or wag their tail doesn't mean that you should assume they are nice. I always ask someone before I pet their dog and I would never pick one up!

Just wondering if you have asked people to please tell your pup "no bite" when he is biting them? I taught my Bubba (Chow mix) "NO BITE" when he was just 8 or 10 weeks old. Everyone who would pet him would be told DO NOT LET HIM BITE YOU and if he does tell him no bite. Worked well for me. I have four kids and lots of friends in and out so he got the point pretty quick.

I do ask them to tell him 'no bite' and I know he knows what it means because we've been using it since we got him. All of our friends will do it and most of my family but I find strangers, especially younger kids (10-12) don't seem to listen that well. They think it's normal and acceptable behavior for the puppy to try and gnaw a finger off...lol.