I can not imagine living in a place where everyone in the world is running up to touch my dogs. Is it really like that? Half the time when I take dogs out specifically for socialization, people just smile and make eye contact after looking at the dog. I have only once had someone grab a dog without asking, and it was an adult woman. Most tiny kids I see are scared of dogs, and once they are old enough to speak, they are better than adults about asking to pet them.
Perhaps it is a regional thing, like spaying/neutering, where the education has just really infiltrated the north-east. I'm trying to think of a time where a person has ever touched either of my dogs without permission, or would have had to grab them because of a slipped collar/getting loose. Nothing. The incidence above was when a friend and I took a puppy to an outdoor marketplace for socialization, and had our backs turned for a second looking at a menu. Not something I would do with either of my dogs, for various reasons, but a nice place to socialize a puppy.
I realize it isn't the main issue for the OP, just the comments that seem baffling to me.
And I do have a dog that I might have considered a bite risk if he was grabbed by the collar or picked up without warning. Gusto growled several times over such things, and would head-whip, although he never tried to bite. I did a ton of counter-conditioning, so now I can pick him up without complaint, and he plays collar grab games regularly. I expect he would not react if someone else picked him up as well, but to be honest, I just don't put him in that position.
I think the OP is doing the right thing by taking the dog to a behaviorist; these things are far too sensitive to be decided over the internet by people who have never seen the dog. I wish you luck with your appointment and hope it helps you find answers you are comfortable with, whichever way it goes.
Perhaps it is a regional thing, like spaying/neutering, where the education has just really infiltrated the north-east. I'm trying to think of a time where a person has ever touched either of my dogs without permission, or would have had to grab them because of a slipped collar/getting loose. Nothing. The incidence above was when a friend and I took a puppy to an outdoor marketplace for socialization, and had our backs turned for a second looking at a menu. Not something I would do with either of my dogs, for various reasons, but a nice place to socialize a puppy.
I realize it isn't the main issue for the OP, just the comments that seem baffling to me.
And I do have a dog that I might have considered a bite risk if he was grabbed by the collar or picked up without warning. Gusto growled several times over such things, and would head-whip, although he never tried to bite. I did a ton of counter-conditioning, so now I can pick him up without complaint, and he plays collar grab games regularly. I expect he would not react if someone else picked him up as well, but to be honest, I just don't put him in that position.
I think the OP is doing the right thing by taking the dog to a behaviorist; these things are far too sensitive to be decided over the internet by people who have never seen the dog. I wish you luck with your appointment and hope it helps you find answers you are comfortable with, whichever way it goes.