Errrr . . . . Could You Maybe????

I was out at a store training one of my service dogs the other day. This particular dog is very friendly with every person she sees, to the point where it's not appropriate for a service dog to act that way.... so that's what we were working on. Plus she's very cute and almost irrisistable to pet. A lady who works at the store asked if she could pet my dog (despite the clear service dog vest), and I said no, and explained what I was working on. We talked for several minutes about what my dog was doing and why she shouldn't be pet by strangers right now, and then the lady said, all of a sudden, "But I'm just a dog lover...." and proceeded to pet my dog. Or try, I should say. I did a quick pivot and walked away before the lady knew what was happening, but I was just fuming mad.

I imagine when she was a kid she ran charging at stranger's dogs to give them a hug.

It drives me absolutely insane when kids run up to us when im walking Maggie. I have made it known on here that I beleive before I got her she had some horrific experience with little girls because she is terrified of them. Well actually since I started babysitting she has gotten alot better. BUT when a group of five squealing screaming girls come running up to her and I she tends to shriek and yelp and hide behind my legs. To which the little girls laugh. Im not ashamed to say I wasent very nice at all to them and ever since that day those girls don't approach us lol. Hey but I warned them that she is scared of little girls and to please not run towards my dog and they didn't listen.

Since Jesse has been gone I of course have been walking his three furballs. I think the weirdest thing that I ever experienced was with Badger. I had to make a run to Petco so I took Maggie and Badger with me. Well this woman came up just going on and on about how cute Badger was and was asking what breed he is. Next thing I know without asking me or anything she PICKS HIM UP!!!!!!! Badger starts wiggling like mad and I quickly snatched him from her arms put him back on safe ground and walked away while she was still talking like a mad woman. She is lucky Badger didn't nip her to be honest.

People are crazy!

Though I have been "mean" to kids coming at my dog. I don't think I would ever touch a kid like that.

I've bitten my tongue a time or two when parents have let their rude and rowdy kids start to run up to my dogs and smile indulgently and say "oh, it's all right; they love dogs!" I have to stop myself from saying, "oh yes, well, my dogs love kids, too; they think they taste like chicken."

You all probably all heard about my Shih Tzu throwing incident. I don't currently have a fenced in yard but when my dogs are on tie outs it's out back and they aren't a bother to anyone. I am so sick of pfeople and their ill mannered pooches.

I wonder about those people who leave their dogs out in the invisible fence, right at the sidewalk. Haven't they considered that even if it keeps their dogs IN, it doesn't keep a strange dog out? Or give their dogs any protection from people passing by?

And it really irks me when they don't have the fence markers up.

I saw an elderly couple frightened half to death the other day as they were walking by the same house where the dogs bum rush me and my dogs. Of course, the dogs rushed the line, barking and snarling, and the couple had no idea there was anything there to stop the dogs.

INvisible fence is not an excuse to let your dog out unattended. Ever. A dog if frightened enough will run through. And your right about who runs in which is why no matter what the weather and tho i know VIctor will not leave the yard, i still go out.

I would - the handler's responsibility was to keep that dog safe, and to show him to the best of her ability - showing isn't a game to them, it's a profession. She didn't have the time (or, IMO, the responsibility) to hand the little tyke gently over to momma's arms, and give a lecture about how a kid should behave around strange dogs. She didn't throw the kid, she pushed her VERY firmly away from her dog, towards the idiot parents. Dogs rule at dog shows... spectators must know how to stay out of the way.

I may be unpopular with this opinion... but kids don't belong at dog shows unless they're with a handler (i.e. handler's kids who know how to act at dog shows), literally on a short leash, or old enough to know - unequivocally - how to behave at dog shows. Dog shows aren't petting zoos. They are a place to evaluate breeding stock, as well as a "workplace" for professional handlers. I've seen soooo many bad things happen when kids are left to "run free" at dog shows. I've seen fights, bites, tails stepped on or run over with strollers, dogs let out of crates, loose kids runnign through grooming setups, coats ruined 5 seconds before entering the Group Ring... just terrible stuff.

I hear ya, Sizzle . . . and really, young kids shouldn't be ANYWHERE without responsible supervision.

I wouldn't shove a kid for any light reason but if I seriously thought they may be in real harm a shove is a lot kinder than a bite to the face.

:hail:

The most bad experiences I've had with people coming up are when the dogs are in ex-pens and people just come up, bend over, and pet them - or grab them by their head hair because they don't come near them (the ones that have the nerve to pick them up out of the pens get yelled at, I won't be responsible for chasing after a loose dog). I really don't mind people touching them when they ask after they are shown (except the specials or ones I don't know well), but otherwise no.

That's why I like keeping the WHWTs on tables ringside, besides being unable to hold 3+, it also makes it easier to see when someone is coming on and block them. I've had someone ask if they could "touch" a recently teased head to see if "it bounces back up." Uhh... can I touch yours? Didn't think so.

This whole thread makes me re-iterate my daily motto.

I hate kids.

The End.