DO you let strangers/kids pet your dogs when your out on a walk?

[maneater]

I am just curious because aparently it is wrong to say no??? If I am out walking my chi's then I don't let people adult or child pet them. I use to let people pet my girl but ever since I got my second one from a rescue, (male) from an abusive home I don't let anyone touch them. He is amazing with my family and my kids but he seems to get posessive of his sister and if kids run up on him he gets agatated very easily. I am trying to socialize him beyond my house and my familys homes and camp and such. he has never bitten anyone but once showed teeth to my oldest son who startled him when we first got him. The reason I am asking is because yesterday I was walking them and 2 kids with an adult came up to me and just dove for my dogs and I told the kids not to touch the dogs, they get sacred easily. The mother (i am assuming) asked me if the dogs aren't friendly why bring them out??? I was kind of shocked because my girl is the biggest attention hog in the world and your arm will fall off from petting her and you will not need to wash your face for a week from all the kisses. My male is the same way in his home. If we are in a place he is comfortable in he is amazing. Great temperment friendly and loves kids (providing they know not to be rough with them) I just don't want him to get to freeked out and end up bitting or nipping at some one. He is fine walkig around other dogs and such too. He dosn't bark, and majority of the time he wants to play with anyone and anything. It is just that he gets so scared when people run up on him.

[cell]

Of course there is nothing wrong with turning people away from petting your animals. They are your dogs and its not your obligation to allow other people to pet them.
From the perspective of socialization it would be good for your dogs to get to experience interacting with other people especially for your rescue to overcome is reservations with strangers but you are correct that this socialization should not be forced upon him. Many children do not understand how to approach dogs properly and if you feel uncomfortable with them around your dogs its probably best from a safety perspective to politely decline their interactions. But definitely do not reject a good opportunity with polite people who are willing to listen to your conditions for the interactions. If the people are willing to lower their level and allow your dogs to come to them that is always a step forward to increasing socialization, but being smothered by strangers is definitely a step backwards.

[Chaser]

If someone is offended that you ask them not to pet your dogs then that is their problem, not yours. I agree with cell that if people are calm and appropriate and ask, then sure it is a great opportunity for socialization. But you have to do what is best for your dogs and if you can tell that someone, especially kids, don't know how to meet a dog properly then that is dangerous for your dog and a liability to you. You are perfectly within your rights to say no, and just explain that you're working on some training with your dogs.

[maneater]

If i am just out walking my girl alone then I have no problem picking her up and letting kids or adults pet her she usually licks their hand off. Some times when I am out with both of them I will try to get them to pet her so he can see that it is ok and if he gets excited I will let him be pet. But if kids just run up on them and try to pick them up before i even get a chance to tell them no and I can see him get scared and want to run I just cringe. (He was in a home and was abused by kids) I have had my girl since she was 8 weeks old. I got my male when he was just over a year old and has only had him for 5 months. They are both really good with children providing the situation. i have a 6 year old and an 18 month old and every morning my male wakes my baby up with big kisses and some nights will even curl up in his toddler bed with him. He is great is situations he is comfortable in. I usually try to walk them later on in the evening when most kids are inside. I was just suprised by the ladys comment.

[Chaser]

Originally Posted by maneater

I was just suprised by the ladys comment.

After socializing my rescued German Shepherd who was terrified of everything and everyone and would lunge and snarl if approached by a stranger.....well, let's just say I'm not surprised by ANYTHING people say about dogs anymore!

There are many stupid people in this world that don't understand dogs in the least - be prepared to fend them off

[Mat&Murph]

Luckily with the size of the boys, people always ask me if it is ok to approach and how to approach. The joys of the giant breeds I quess. Plus most people only approach if my kids are with me. Rare if someone does when I am walking them bymyself. IMO if you want to protect your dog and anyone else from nervousness or anything else for that matter then yes, it is ok to tell someone no touching your dog. I always ask and make the kids ask.

[SnowDancer]

No I don't - I just tell them my dog is in training. The American Eskimo is a funny breed and they don't like everybody - and they have very big teeth and claws - and with their Collie shaped faces, the teeth are too apt to touch someone's hand - be it a child's or an adult's - not about to happen. Yet when we are at the vet's or the groomer's - no problem - a different environment. We live in a very litigious society and I am not about to take a chance with a kid or an adult pulling my dog's ear etc. The guy next door is 50 and puts his fingers in his ears and sings "na na nanana" - and also has jumped over the fence at midnight when we are out - so my dog is not overly fond of some of our neighbours. Yet when our Eskie is laughing and enjoying himself he would appear to be extremely sociable - and he is with certain people - us and people he trusts. And surprisingly is an absolute angel when home boarded - we just got back from vacation -and he was apparently a delight with excellent manners???!!!

[Frenchy]

Originally Posted by maneater

2 kids with an adult came up to me and just dove for my dogs

The mother (i am assuming) asked me if the dogs aren't friendly why bring them out???

You should have replied : if your kids don't know how to approach dogs , why take them out ?

It is perfectely ok to tell people to NOT pet your dogs. Those people should ask first if they can ! I'm sure the mom wouldn't have let her kids do this if you were walking a bigger breed ....

That is one problem I don't have when out with Nelly , no one wants to approach her but once at the vet with Sam (golden) while I was paying , I turned around and there was a kid hugging , hanging on from his neck .... parents just let him ! I know I should have tell them that is what wrong and lucky them , Sam just didn't mind but , I was speechless !!!

[maneater]

Originally Posted by Frenchy

I'm sure the mom wouldn't have let her kids to this if you were walking a bigger breed ....

That is very true, when i take my labs out they arent even given a second look and they are the biggest sucks in the world.

[LavenderRott]

Originally Posted by maneater

The reason I am asking is because yesterday I was walking them and 2 kids with an adult came up to me and just dove for my dogs and I told the kids not to touch the dogs....

I believe the proper response here is "Why do you take your children out if they have no manners?"

You are under no obligation to allow rude, pushy children to pet your little bitty dogs. A curt reminder to the adult "responsible" for such children that scaring the crap out of a strange dog (of any size) can result in a painful bite to a child and it is only polite to ASK before attacking!

I have always allowed people who ask first to pet my dogs. I usually get a little, shall we say, snipey with people who assume that since my dog is seeing the light of day they have the right to fawn all over it.

[muggsmom]

The mother (i am assuming) asked me if the dogs aren't friendly why bring them out???

My first thought was "Does she expect them to use the toilet?" What an idiot!

Unfortunately, I don't have this problem with Muggs, he's so leash aggressive that I really can't take him anywhere. But I would have to stop people from approaching because he doesn't like the top of his head petted and that's the first thing people reach for.

[FlamesGirl]

People can't seem to resist stopping to pet my dog when we're out on walks, whether or not I want them to. I've had people come up from behind us while Ranger is in a "sit-stay" and start petting him before I've even seen them!

My next door neighbour's have two young kids and they've taught their children how to approach a dog. It's great! They come over sometimes to help me "brush" Ranger and these kids have more dog-smarts at 2 and 4 than most adults I've run into.

The worst was my boyfriend's step-sister. I was sitting on the ground with Ranger and she came up to us in my blind spot(didn't even see her), SQUEALED, then threw both arms around his neck! I had only had him for about 15 days and had no idea how he was going to react. Luckily he was fine. In fact, I think I reacted worse than him!

[TwinTails]

I think the main issue is that people assume that any dog out on a walk is a friendly dog that loves everyone and everything. They forget that animals are individuals with personal prefferences. Most people think of animals as disposable "things", not living beings. Because of this, people assume that they enjoy petting a dog so obviously it enjoys being pet There really is no common sense left in this world

[luckypenny]

I can put a muzzle and a 'don't touch' vest on one of our dogs and people still come over to pet her. "Oh, don't worry, I just love dogs" they say as they're bending over her, reaching over her head, and staring directly into her eyes .

So no, most times, I don't allow strangers to greet my dogs when we're out and about. On the rare occasion, if someone is standing still and looking right at me while asking for permission, I explain the dogs are in training and I'd appreciate it if they could help out. I go on to explain the appropriate way to meet our dogs, hand them a couple of treats, and allow the greeting to progress. Some times we get lucky and the ppl are more than happy to participate by following the rules. Other times, if they go to make a wrong move, I walk backwards, and have our dogs follow by facing me as I'm giving them a command ("look" followed by "let's go" in a happy tone). This way, I can quickly remove them from a negative experience while they are focused only on me and not the stranger.

[kandy]

I don't automatically let just anyone pet my dogs, even if they have the courtesy to ask first. It depends on how the people are acting. My problem with Hazel is keeping her from laying down and rolling over for a belly rub. LOL She goes to work most days with DH, and she lays by the doors of the shop so that anyone who comes in has the opportunity to give her belly rubs. Because most people do, and lots of folks come in strictly to see her, I guess she assumes that no one can resist her and will pet her. Because she is big, and people think she's black (she's actually grey but you can't tell unless she is next to a black dog) some people assume that she's mean and will give her a wide berth - which breaks her heart. If she sees people ahead of us, like if they are standing on the sidewalk having a conversation or something, she'll start to pull me to get to them quicker. They see her pulling me towards them and I can tell by their body language that they think she's aggressive. I'll start calling out 'don't worry, she's friendly and just excited at the prospect of getting petted'.

People don't try to pet Malone nearly as often, and he'll shy away from anyone that approaches him too quickly. Maybe he just doesn't have the cute appeal that Hazel does. When people do ask to pet him, I always ask them to approach slowly and pet him under the chin - he really doesn't like strangers trying to pet the top of his head.

The biggest problem I have is with my son's SharPei, Lexi. When we are at our lake camp, we often have people she has never met before in our camp and people assume that because she is smaller, she doesn't present a threat to them - but she can be really iffy about strangers petting her. She especially doesn't like it if someone tries to get her to roll over for a belly rub - there's not many people she will expose her belly to, even if she likes them. She also has entropion, and has had 2 surgeries already to try to correct that. Her eyes are very small, and I think she has trouble with periphial vision so she can be easily startled. I always tell people that if she wants them to pet her, she'll approach them and otherwise to leave her alone.