Irresponsible Owners

[Goldenstar]

Good one Wednesday went into a pub for soup at lunchtime . Blood curdling barking and snarling from two small dogs opposite us .
One not too awful on the floor the other on banquette seat ( something that really riles me ) , the one on the seat was really going at it I was super pleased as Pearl did not react in any way as we have had to deal with some reactive behaviour .
Anyway dog on the seat is making a god awful noise it’s being held by owner who try’s to settle by slapping its face several times it promptly bit her , she then moved on to putting a muzzle on it and then taking it off every time she took it off it’s kicked off so she put the muzzle on again and off and on and so on telling it you have to learn.
The dog,who only eight months I know this because she was telling the whole room, looked terrified exhausted and stressed beyond measure .
The poor thing was overwhelmed .
It did settle in the end and did not bark when we left .
But that little dog would bite a child if the circumstances went against it .

 

[splashgirl45]

Poor little dog , only 8 months old and already very stressed. I would have taken both dogs outside rather than upsetting the whole pub(and the dogs) some people shouldn’t have dogs at all

 

[Tiddlypom]

Whether you do or don't provide a water bowl, some batshit client will write a two-page diatribe to the practice manager about it.

I know that this is an old post, but I was at the (now corporate owned) small animal vets today with the cat for her annual jabs and check up.

They've got this notice pinned up in the waiting room, which I thought was extremely sensible. Apparently clients were bringing thirsty dogs in during the heatwave and getting very shirty that there wasn't a communal water bowl out ready for them to drink from . As the vet receptionist said, they get sick dogs in and don't want all and sundry drinking from a communal water bowl.



Still blimmin' daft not to carry your own water with you when you are transporting your dog, especially if it involves going to to the vets, but at least this initiative gives dogs some protection from numptie owners.

 

[On the Hoof]

Well I need to do a shout out to a young man (maybe about 19) walking a huge young GSD, the dog had locked onto Rip and me (in a friendly way) and the man immediately worked hard to reengage his dog (who was already on a lead). The dog clearly wanted to say hi, I commented on what a lovely dog it was and the young man said that he was super friendly dog but his tendency to bowl over to other dogs and people was scary for those on the receiving end so he kept it on a lead in busy areas. A few older people could learn a lot from that young man.

 

[oldandgold]

Good one Wednesday went into a pub for soup at lunchtime . Blood curdling barking and snarling from two small dogs opposite us .
One not too awful on the floor the other on banquette seat ( something that really riles me ) , the one on the seat was really going at it I was super pleased as Pearl did not react in any way as we have had to deal with some reactive behaviour .
Anyway dog on the seat is making a god awful noise it’s being held by owner who try’s to settle by slapping its face several times it promptly bit her , she then moved on to putting a muzzle on it and then taking it off every time she took it off it’s kicked off so she put the muzzle on again and off and on and so on telling it you have to learn.
The dog,who only eight months I know this because she was telling the whole room, looked terrified exhausted and stressed beyond measure .
The poor thing was overwhelmed .
It did settle in the end and did not bark when we left .
But that little dog would bite a child if the circumstances went against it .

And that is possibly one reason why some pubs won't allow dogs in. Poor dog/s

 

[Goldenstar]

And that is possibly one reason why some pubs won't allow dogs in. Poor dog/s

Yes I agree.
The putting of dogs on the furniture is really out of order and yes you do need to take inexperienced dogs in and Yes you can have to manage things it’s not always perfect .
This lady was drinking quite heavily and I don’t think that helped I don’t think having your dog in public and drinking a fair bit is a good mix or acceptable .
This dog was scared of where she was, scared of my larger dogs and sadly scared of her owner this dog does not have a chance.
I think the owners of little dogs seem to struggle to see the world through their eyes.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Yes I agree.
The putting of dogs on the furniture is really out of order and yes you do need to take inexperienced dogs in and Yes you can have to manage things it’s not always perfect .
This lady was drinking quite heavily and I don’t think that helped I don’t think having your dog in public and drinking a fair bit is a good mix or acceptable .
This dog was scared of where she was, scared of my larger dogs and sadly scared of her owner this dog does not have a chance.
I think the owners of little dogs seem to struggle to see the world through their eyes.

I was appalled in the summer when I met a friend in a dog friendly cafe at the conjunction of several walking routes, to see a miniature poodle sitting/bouncing about on a banquette intended for customers. As it happened neither of us had a dog with us but when I do take dogs to cafes, I either sit outside with them, or make sure that they can sit on the floor out of the way of other customers and staff.

 

[Goldenstar]

I was appalled in the summer when I met a friend in a dog friendly cafe at the conjunction of several walking routes, to see a miniature poodle sitting/bouncing about on a banquette intended for customers. As it happened neither of us had a dog with us but when I do take dogs to cafes, I either sit outside with them, or make sure that they can sit on the floor out of the way of other customers and staff.

It’s a thing I see it all the time, in our local pub a customer put their dog on the bar while they paid amusingly the chef came in from the kitchen just as the dog started walking down the bar and the chef had a mini meltdown .

 

[Arzada]

It’s a thing I see it all the time, in our local pub a customer put their dog on the bar while they paid amusingly the chef came in from the kitchen just as the dog started walking down the bar and the chef had a mini meltdown .

I just can't stop myself reposting this

Have I ever mentioned (amongst my occasional posts of dog attacks on me, swan murders etc) the evening pub meal when the 2 adults at the adjoining table let their 2 adult JRTs onto the table to finish their meals and lick the plates? Preceded earlier by one of the JRTs launching off the seat to attack the dead fox head gracing the wall just above my friend's head? (bench seating against the wall) Luckily it aimed well and missed friend's head. Never ever sit near a dead fox when there's a JRT sitting on a seat nearby.

 

[Clodagh]

Second dog I've seen this week being walked in a poorly fitting stupid face harness thing so it couldn't open its mouth fully to pant in the warm weather

Don’t go there! Why, if people insist on taking their dogs to country shows in hot weather, can they at least teach thrm to heel first do they don’t need a halti/ figure of 8/ other gadget. I bet the dogs love every minute, eyes half covered OR they can open their mouth.

 

[Clodagh]

It’s a thing I see it all the time, in our local pub a customer put their dog on the bar while they paid amusingly the chef came in from the kitchen just as the dog started walking down the bar and the chef had a mini meltdown .

Our chef, who tbh is a walking meltdown, goes ballistic at dogs on seats/tables etc or anywhere in the restaurant part. ‘No dogs’ obviously doesn’t apply to fluffikins.

 

[Kunoichi73]

The number of owners walking dogs on loose leads (not even extendable ones), paying no attention to them and then are taken by surprise when the dog darts in front of them aiming itself at some poor, unsuspecting passerby, never ceases to amaze me!

 

[skinnydipper]

Vet's waiting room

If you have a dog aggressive or reactive dog, please engage your brain and keep it outside until you are called for your appointment.

 

[11bluewolf]

Not irresponsible owners but a situation walking early this morning scared me and i thought I’d ask for advice. There was a really thick fog that my head torch wouldn’t cut through this morning so I thought I would stick to the lanes which I don’t usually do. I saw to people walking towards with two very big white dogs (1 each) which I think must have been some type of livestock guardian dogs. The woman at the front went to the side quite far from the road and shouted to the man behind to wait back because a dog was coming. When I passed the guy was far away from the road waiting but the dog was going mad and he was clearly struggling to hold it back as he was letting out gasp noises. I walked past and could hear the the dog trying to get at us/ presumably my dog the whole way down the road even when we were almost out of sight. All I could think about is if his dog pulled the lead out of his hands as I’m pretty sure it was on a normal collar and definitely wasn’t muzzled. What do you do in this situation?

I guess this is also fairly relevant to discussions surrounding the xl bully ban with having such powerful dogs in pet homes.

To add, I have had a few dogs charge at mine as dogs seem to react to her and I never usually have a problem with putting myself in the way. I’ve grabbed a German shepherd whose lead had slipped its owners hand and went after my dog before. I kind of knew the dog and trusted it wasn’t human aggressive which obviously helps and at the same time I knew it was actually dog aggressive and not just all show so I didn’t really have a choice. But this situation scared me as the dog was definitely stronger than me and probably double my gsd.
What is the best thing to do here?

 

[Clodagh]

Not irresponsible owners but a situation walking early this morning scared me and i thought I’d ask for advice. There was a really thick fog that my head torch wouldn’t cut through this morning so I thought I would stick to the lanes which I don’t usually do. I saw to people walking towards with two very big white dogs (1 each) which I think must have been some type of livestock guardian dogs. The woman at the front went to the side quite far from the road and shouted to the man behind to wait back because a dog was coming. When I passed the guy was far away from the road waiting but the dog was going mad and he was clearly struggling to hold it back as he was letting out gasp noises. I walked past and could hear the the dog trying to get at us/ presumably my dog the whole way down the road even when we were almost out of sight. All I could think about is if his dog pulled the lead out of his hands as I’m pretty sure it was on a normal collar and definitely wasn’t muzzled. What do you do in this situation?

I guess this is also fairly relevant to discussions surrounding the xl bully ban with having such powerful dogs in pet homes.

To add, I have had a few dogs charge at mine as dogs seem to react to her and I never usually have a problem with putting myself in the way. I’ve grabbed a German shepherd whose lead had slipped its owners hand and went after my dog before. I kind of knew the dog and trusted it wasn’t human aggressive which obviously helps and at the same time I knew it was actually dog aggressive and not just all show so I didn’t really have a choice. But this situation scared me as the dog was definitely stronger than me and probably double my gsd.
What is the best thing to do here?

I had a LGD trying to get to mine out on a walk one day. It’s the only time I’ve been really frightened , it was being held by this tiny woman. It was a long way away but still so scary.
I’m not sure what else you could have done, but if you meet them again I’d turn round and briskly walk in the opposite direction.

 

[11bluewolf]

I had a LGD trying to get to mine out on a walk one day. It’s the only time I’ve been really frightened , it was being held by this tiny woman. It was a long way away but still so scary.
I’m not sure what else you could have done, but if you meet them again I’d turn round and briskly walk in the opposite direction.

I think that probably would have been the smartest thing to do

 

[Moobli]

Not irresponsible owners but a situation walking early this morning scared me and i thought I’d ask for advice. There was a really thick fog that my head torch wouldn’t cut through this morning so I thought I would stick to the lanes which I don’t usually do. I saw to people walking towards with two very big white dogs (1 each) which I think must have been some type of livestock guardian dogs. The woman at the front went to the side quite far from the road and shouted to the man behind to wait back because a dog was coming. When I passed the guy was far away from the road waiting but the dog was going mad and he was clearly struggling to hold it back as he was letting out gasp noises. I walked past and could hear the the dog trying to get at us/ presumably my dog the whole way down the road even when we were almost out of sight. All I could think about is if his dog pulled the lead out of his hands as I’m pretty sure it was on a normal collar and definitely wasn’t muzzled. What do you do in this situation?

I guess this is also fairly relevant to discussions surrounding the xl bully ban with having such powerful dogs in pet homes.

To add, I have had a few dogs charge at mine as dogs seem to react to her and I never usually have a problem with putting myself in the way. I’ve grabbed a German shepherd whose lead had slipped its owners hand and went after my dog before. I kind of knew the dog and trusted it wasn’t human aggressive which obviously helps and at the same time I knew it was actually dog aggressive and not just all show so I didn’t really have a choice. But this situation scared me as the dog was definitely stronger than me and probably double my gsd.
What is the best thing to do here?

I think I posted on here about a very small woman walking a very large LGD. I saw her coming in advance and got off the path and halfway down the hill to wait well out of the way. The woman allowed the LGD to pull to the side of the hill path and eyeball us all the way down to where we were waiting. When it was adjacent to us it wrenched the lead out of her hand, causing her to fall and charged down to us barking ferociously. My dogs were all on lead and all barked back which at least kept the LGD at arm’s length. It clearly wasn’t quite as brave as it had been on lead and I thanked my lucky stars it didn’t just charge in and start fighting. The lady ran down the hill and had to rugby tackle it and lay on top of it to gain some sort of control. Very frightening! If I saw her, or anyone similar again, I would about turn and walk quickly in the opposite direction.

 

[ycbm]

I just wrote this on the other thread.

I was out for a walk last yesterday and a guy with a border collie on a lead was walking towards me. I've trained myself now not to look at bigger (or any loose) dogs, but this one was a bit odd looking for a border so, stupidly, I was looking at it with curiosity and too late I realised it was probably a bull type crossbreed in border collie colours . The dog locked on me, and was still locked on me until its owner dragged it out of sight of me. I would have felt a lot more comfortable if that dog had been muzzled.

 

[SaddlePsych'D]

Going slightly off-piste here but people who don't trim their dogs nails. I'm in the Greyhounds with Corns group and my goodness some of the overgrown nails are absolutely shocking!

 

[AmyMay]

What’s an LGD @Moobli ?

 

[splashgirl45]

Thanks Amymay, I don’t know either but as no one had asked I thought I was being extra dim and didn’t like to ask

 

[skinnydipper]

What’s an LGD @Moobli ?

Livestock Guardian Dog

 

[Tiddlypom]

Livestock Guardian Dog

Aren't these bred to make their own decisions re guarding 'their' livestock? They are not used to being directed like collies, for instance?

So not suitable in more populated areas?

 

[Clodagh]

Aren't these bred to make their own decisions re guarding 'their' livestock? They are not used to being directed like collies, for instance?

So not suitable in more populated areas?

The one I saw was on Dartmoor and it wasn’t suitable to be there, either!

 

[skinnydipper]

Aren't these bred to make their own decisions re guarding 'their' livestock? They are not used to being directed like collies, for instance?

So not suitable in more populated areas?

They live with the livestock and protect them from predators.

I listened to a very interesting talk by Janet Finlay, a well respected dog trainer. She spoke about livestock guardians and also about her Maremmas who lived as pets in an urban environment, she also bred them.

She confirmed what I knew. That it is possible for an LGD to live and be happy in an urban environment. You have to adjust your expectations when you are used to having a dog bred to work with people.

I knew when I saw the big girl that she was an LGD, this was later confirmed on genetic testing.

I also knew we would do just fine.

I’m going to write one last post on the forum about vet waiting room etiquette then it’s my intention to step back.

 

[oldandgold]

skinnydipper, my like is for your information not that you are taking a step back

 

[stangs]

They live with the livestock and protect them from predators.

I listened to a very interesting talk by Janet Finlay, a well respected dog trainer. She spoke about livestock guardians and also about her Maremmas who lived as pets in an urban environment, she also bred them.

She confirmed what I knew. That it is possible for an LGD to live and be happy in an urban environment though you have to change your expectations when you are used to a dog bred to work with people.

Surely it depends on the breed as well? My understanding is that some LGDs tend to stick to the flock more (GPs, Maremmas) whereas others are much more likely to move away chasing predators (Kangals, Komondors), which makes them less suitable as a pet. Certainly, GPs seem to be far more commonly kept as pets than any other LGD breed, at least in the US.

Aren't these bred to make their own decisions re guarding 'their' livestock? They are not used to being directed like collies, for instance?

Yes, traditionally they'd spend large chunks of the year living out with the flock away from people, fending for themselves and making decisions about what was a threat or not. They would help escort the flock when the shepherd moved them, but not in the same way as a collie.

However, particularly among breeds owned by traditionally nomadic people (e.g., the Bankhar), they shouldn't be aggressive as long as no one tries to approach their flock, or as long as any strangers approaching the flock are accompanied by someone the dog trusts.

 

[Caol Ila]

Those LGDs are scary when they are at work. There are tons of signs around the French Alps warning hikers to calmly and quietly walk in the opposite direction if you see one with its flock. What good that does you, I don't know. You can do long, circular hikes in the Alps, so retreat isn't always viable.

I was on a hike with OH and a friend. We were in the descent stages of a long loop (that involved a 3000m mountain!), and we came across sheep with a few LGDs and the shepherd. Our trail was about 50m above where the dogs and sheep were. The shepherd made some hand gestures at us which were sort of indecipherable, but it looked like she was waving us on. And to be honest, it wasn't like there was anywhere else we could go. Hunkering down until everyone cleared out wasn't selling itself, because it was late in the day, and French maps truly suck (the contours mean nothing), making night nav not ideal. Needless to say, retracing our steps over the 3000m peak wasn't remotely an option. We trundled on, and these three Great Pyrenees charged up the hlll at us, barking. Friend and I kind of panicked and scrambled through bracken and brambles, straight up the hill. OH, who is a modern day Dr. Doolittle, with an amazing rapport with all animals, said, "Hi, doggy" and continued cheerfully on his way. The dogs chased the idiots flapping in the bracken, not him.

I know you should not panic, but the limbic system in your brain is gonna do it's thing when three huge dogs charge you. Put me off hiking in the Alps.

 

[Chucho]

Someone who's ranch we were working on had a working maremma - lovely dog. The job she did to keep the coyotes away from the flock night after night was phenomenal. They were a baying mob. We were asked not to approach/interact with her, but actually she wasn't really interested in people. Just focused on staying close to her flock and watching for predators. This was a huge acreage so people weren't a threat to livestock. Another hobby farm had three non-working Great Pyrenees. They were pretty creepy tbh, lurking and watching you suspiciously the whole time. I kind of think with working lines is that they do need a job to do - it doesn't have to be exactly what they're bred to do but something to fill that niche and work their body/mind in a way that suits them. So in the right home they may do fine in an urban setting. But I certainly wouldn't want to meet a Great Pyrenean on the side of a mountain without the shepherd there. Rather see a bear, lol.

 

[Titchy Pony]

There's a great pyrenean in my village. I've seen it once and I don't think it ever leaves its small garden poor thing. I'm not sure what possessed it's owner to get one, she normally goes for French bulldogs...