Rant! stupid judgemental dog owners!

[fankino04]

This morning I walked my malamute to a park that is very popular with dog walkers. He has excellent recall so spends much of his walk off lead whenever it is safe to do so. If I see a dog approaching who is on a lead he is quickly called back and put on a lead also as I assume the other dog could be on a lead due to aaggression issues.
Well this morning I was shouted at by a woman with a king charles to put my vicious wolf on a lead, her dog was not on a lead either. I corrected her that he is not a wolf and is very friendly and suggested that if her dog had issues with other dogs maybe she should keep him on a lead in areas with so many other dogs, apparently though he is good with others but I am wrong to trust mine because if he wanted he could so easily kill another dog or even a small child!
Its just ridiculous that so many dog owners are so judgemental of big dogs, Ash is very well mannered around strange dogs, he never rushes up to them, always stops a little short to allow them to come to him and stupid people who dont know him shout at me about him being dangerous and a possible child killer!

 

[Copperpot]

Welcome to the world of being a staffy owner! You get shouted at for no reason, your dog gets shouted at for no reason. People pick their dogs / kids up when they see you. I used to get upset now I just laugh at them. I also have a dobie which makes it even more terrifying for these people. My Dad has a malamute, maybe I should start waking with him and we can ramp the terror levels up by having a wolf too 😝

 

[fankino04]

Copperpot, although i must confess that staffies are not my type of dog (just not fluffy enough maybe) i have never met one who hasnt had an absolutely fab temperament.
Really stupid thing is when he is on a lead people will let their dogs run up and jump on him, but off lead he is deemed to be dangerous! My other mal was dog aggressive on a lead but fine off lead and we had the same issues with idiots then too it was just much harder when they let their yapping terriers run up to her when she was on a lead and wanted to attack.

 

[Copperpot]

Yes people let their dogs run up to him on the lead and jump all over him. He also is better off lead than on. I mostly walk in quiet areas now and I can't be bothered with the hassle. Another dog can attack mine and he defends himself, but as he's a staffy he will get the blame no matter what. Mostly he just comes up the yard and runs round all the fields whilst I poo pick. I do love my Dad's malamute but the fluffy thing. Oh my. He brushes him all the time and it's still everywhere. I always know when Dad has been round my house and the white fluff is sort of hanging in the air lol. I have 2 terriers too who my OH uses to do pest control. The funny thing is people are happy for their kids to approach these, even though they regularly kill things but the staffy who adores kids and would never hurt anyone, has to be given a very wide berth. I just put it down to ignorance and try not to take offence. But I have had an argument or 2 defending my "type" of dog as someone once put it.

 

[quirky]

I went to a dog event on the park yesterday.
All dogs were on leads, apart from a Sibe/Husky type that was doing a wall of death run around the area.

My concern wasn't that he would savage our dog but that he would run into him. A Husky vs Italian Greyhound is only going to end up badly for the IG.

You know your dog is good to recall, others don't. It can be alarming to see a great big muscly beast coming bounding over to a little dog.
I am very particular where I let my dog off and when, due to his vulnerability. It annoys me greatly that people with larger dogs see fit to let them come up and intimidate/bully my little fella.
Dog walkers should be able to rub along together no problem, I think a little understanding on both sides go a long way. Try putting yourself in the small dog owners position......mind you, no need for her to be rude to you!

Don't think I'm against big dogs, I'm not, I also have GSP's.

 

[Copperpot]

I have no problem with a big dog bounding up to my terriers. It happens all the time. The only time I do have a problem is if said dog tries to bully them. But they can take care of themselves for the most part. Although I have small dogs too, I wish people with them wouldn't think that is perfectly ok for their dogs to exhibit behaviour which if a big dog showed, would be frowned upon. I don't care about the size of the dog, they are all entitled to be off lead as long as they are friendly and can be recalled if need be. I never put my dobie on a lead. She is not interested in other dogs or people. She will not approach them. So why should I be made to feel that I have to? She's minding her own business doing nothing wrong.

 

[fankino04]

I totally get what your saying quirky and thats why my boy is trained NOT to bound up to other dogs, he kind of trots slowly and then stops a few feet away to let them come to him, but I do understand that strangers dont know this just wish they didn't need to be so obnoxious, we do meet other owners who stop and chat abiut him and even ask if their kids can stroke him which he loves.

 

[PorkChop]

I'm with you OP on this one. I assume if another dog walkers dog is on the lead then there is a reason and I call my lot to heel. One of mine is a Rottweiler and people assume she is aggressive.

In reality she actually thinks she is a spaniel and if another dog chases her she runs, bless her, and I am absolutely sick to the back teeth of not having an apology from other dog owners.

 

[fankino04]

LJR my boys not even brave enough to think he's a spaniel, he ran away from a chihuahua the other week lol

 

[PorkChop]

LJR my boys not even brave enough to think he's a spaniel, he ran away from a chihuahua the other week lol

 

[dogatemysalad]

One of the reasons I have X breeds with a mix of Labs, collies and borders is because they make dog walking stress free. Generally people don't see them as a threat and are more likely to stop and ask about them than be hostile.

I don't envy those of you with breeds perceived to be aggressive, it must limit where you go and make busy times difficult.

We're very lucky locally, we have acres of woodland and all the dog walkers are very easy going and happy to let their dogs greet and play for a few minutes.

 

[quirky]

I don't care about the size of the dog

Herein lies the problem!

Many a time I have had to whip my little dog up because people give no consideration to his size and vulnerability.....and this is when he is on the lead.

 

[Copperpot]

Herein lies the problem!

Many a time I have had to whip my little dog up because people give no consideration to his size and vulnerability.....and this is when he is on the lead.

So you have quoted one line out of a whole paragraph to make it be taken totally out of context. How odd. I have small dogs and never feel need the pick them up. Infact I think it's one of the worst things you can do. You make your dog think there is a reason to be afraid.

 

[Spring Feather]

OP I'm confused; why would the woman shout at you if your dog was nowhere near her little dog?

 

[Spring Feather]

Its just ridiculous that so many dog owners are so judgemental of big dogs

Personally I think it's sensible. I own 3 giant breed dogs, 2 large breed dogs and 1 little border collie. Of course I expect people to be concerned for their small dogs when my large dogs are around. I think it would be a rather odd and naive attitude to not be careful of their little dogs around such huge dogs who could easily snap a little dog's head in two. All of my dogs are friendly with other dogs, including tiny dogs, but the owners of little dogs would not know that so of course they should use caution, don't you think?

 

[Fides]

So you have quoted one line out of a whole paragraph to make it be taken totally out of context. How odd. I have small dogs and never feel need the pick them up. Infact I think it's one of the worst things you can do. You make your dog think there is a reason to be afraid.

I hate it when people do this - perfect way to get a dog interested who wasn't before...

 

[Copperpot]

Exactly. And perfect way to make a little dog who isn't nervous of friendly big dogs, scared of them!

 

[quirky]

Wrong, wrong and wrong again.
The IG isn't afraid of big dogs, it has 2 GSP's as companions. It will stand up to any big dogs.
If you have ever seen an IG, and I'm assuming you haven't by your comments, one misplaced big paw would do him a damage. I am not prepared for him to come to harm because people allow there dogs to bound up unannounced, whilst they saunter along oblivious behind.
His secret weapon is that he can out run most dogs and that is what he has done whilst the buffoon of an owner has attempted to regain control.
On one occasion, he caught me by surprise by jumping right up into my arms, nearly knocking me off my feet with surprise/force, as the other owner thought it was a great way to tire his dog out. My poor dog was absolutely terrified.
Muppet!

Glad to see SF can see my point.

 

[Copperpot]

My point is why should friendly, well behaved big dogs with a good recall be on the lead. But you edited that bit out when you quoted me. My dogs wouldn't be interested in your Italian greyhound in the slightest. So why would I put them on a lead? And yes I have seen one. Very skinny legs. Still have bones in them and aren't made of glass. I fail to see how your dog is any more vulnerable from a friendly sniff from a larger dog than my little terrier is. All dogs regardless of size should be on a lead if they are ill mannered and likely to hurt another dog.

 

[Copperpot]

Wrong, wrong and wrong again.
The IG isn't afraid of big dogs, it has 2 GSP's as companions. It will stand up to any big dogs.
If you have ever seen an IG, and I'm assuming you haven't by your comments, one misplaced big paw would do him a damage. I am not prepared for him to come to harm because people allow there dogs to bound up unannounced, whilst they saunter along oblivious behind.
His secret weapon is that he can out run most dogs and that is what he has done whilst the buffoon of an owner has attempted to regain control.
On one occasion, he caught me by surprise by jumping right up into my arms, nearly knocking me off my feet with surprise/force, as the other owner thought it was a great way to tire his dog out. My poor dog was absolutely terrified.
Muppet!

Glad to see SF can see my point.

So he's not scared of big dogs but was terrified enough to jump into your arms. Which is it?

 

[AmyMay]

I suspect that rather than being judgemental she was just lacking confidence in her own ability to recall her own dog should she need to.

And why the attack on Quirky? Now who's being judgemental?

 

[Copperpot]

I don't appreciate having my words edited to look different. And I'm not attacking her, merely asking her a question. She responded to my post saying how wrong I am, so I am replying. I don't feel I have attacked her in any way?

 

[Shutterbug]

I also have a malamute and am sometimes faced with people who are just nervous of scared of big dogs like him. We walk in an area which is a dedicated dog walking field which the local council have turned into a Forestry Commission area with 6' high fencing all the way around and swing gates at both entrances. Korben gets off leash so long as there are no other strange unknown dogs in the area - he has reasonable recall for a malamute however, I will not allow him to run up to another dog on or off leash as I have no idea how that dog is going to react - so if there are other dogs being walked that he does not know and has not met before, he stays on leash. We are fortunate that its the same people who walk there all the time so he now has 2 dalmation bitches, 2 lab retreivers males, and a little scotty dog who he gets to run around with almost every day. He doesnt get off leash anywhere else as I dont know the dogs in that area and I will not allow him to approach strange dogs under any circumstances. I had a woman allow her to dog run up to Korben growling and snarling. He didnt attack Korben but he was tail straight, low growls and circling him. My boy just stood at my side and slowly wagged his tail - she seemed delighted and informed me that her dog had just been neutered as he had been aggressive with other dogs in the past and this was the first time she had walked him since his op. I was furious with her - she had used my dog as a test run to see if her dog would be aggressive. She had no idea what my enormous mally was going to do when faced with her growly dog - he could have ripped his face off for all she knew.

My dog is well behaved, good with other dogs, never shows the same sex aggression that mallys are renowned for and has some pretty good recall for the breed - I still would not have him off leash anywhere near other dogs he isnt used to or areas that are not secure.

 

[Copperpot]

Also I don't think I've called anyone judgemental? I think I said it's just ignorance of certain breeds a few posts back. As in people see a big dog and think it will automatically want to hurt their smaller dog.

 

[Shutterbug]

Also I don't think I've called anyone judgemental? I think I said it's just ignorance of certain breeds a few posts back. As in people see a big dog and think it will automatically want to hurt their smaller dog.

This is true - we get that a lot with Korben. When we take him out for walks around the streets or into town people cross the road or give him a wide berth - people with little dogs pick them up. I dont mind - they dont know him so I cant expect them to assume hes perfectly friendly. No need for rudeness though

 

[Copperpot]

Korben is a nice name. I've not heard a dog called that before. My Dad's malamute unfortunately came with the name Tyson. So doesn't suit him. We call him Ty instead!

 

[Shutterbug]

Korben is a nice name. I've not heard a dog called that before. My Dad's malamute unfortunately came with the name Tyson. So doesn't suit him. We call him Ty instead!

Thanks - hes named after the Korben Dallas characted in the Fifth Element - my OH's choice

 

[Annette4]

We used to have it with Tia.

I equally get fed up of rude dogs (big or small) as Jack will tell them to b*gger off which results in him being painted the villain in most cases. Jack ignores other dogs so remains off if the other dog is off but still gets called close to me. Otherwise he's called back and put on the lead. I have to say, I'd be more inclined to ask to cuddle a Mal and avoid a terrier

 

[sarahann1]

In a way I kind of wish I'd got a staffy or such like, I have the problem of kids running up to mine because he's 'soooo cute' does my head in! But I'm a grumpy, non child friendly person....

 

[quirky]

No, he's not terrified of big dogs, as I said GSP's as housemates, that's German shorthaired pointers, in case you didn't know.
They come in at about 30kg now (aged), he is 5kg, so percentage wise, a great difference.

He was terrified because the dog was hounding him and hounding him. I defy any dog to be comfortable with the treatment he was getting. To be fair to my dog, I believe he jumped up at me because he was tiring and feared getting caught, which he did. The dog grazed his hock with his teeth as he jumped.

What did the owner do? Nothing but laugh at how my dog was running and delighted that we'd exercised her dog for him.

I don't let my dogs intimidate others ever.
I repect other dog owners and their animals, it's a crying shame that not all dog owners have the same code of ethics.