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I need to rant!!

5K views 41 replies 24 participants last post by  ksotto333 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Time for a famous Candice rant....

So Hailey (my daughter) and I decide to take Bob Barker for a swim in this spot that we have recently found on a quiet basically dead end road. We have gone several times and had no issues. It's hard to find a spot where Bob doesn't get distracted by other dogs and decide he would rather socialize.
So he his swimming away having a merry ol' time when a man comes jogging down the road. Bob being goofy Bob runs up to say "Hey" ..not barking, not charging, just jaunting up to this new friend he has found....

Well... You would think it was Cujo charging this man with foam frothing at the mouth snarling away by the man screamed bloody murder!!
"You know its a bylaw that dogs need to be on a leash!!" As he keeps running while I apologize and call Bob (who quickly comes back to my side when this man is making it very obvious that he wants Bob no where near him).
"Especially dogs like THAT" , as he points to Bob with disgust.
So... Smart ass me comes out... "Oh you mean puppies that like to say hello?".
He scoffs and continues on his jog.

I understand that people don't like dogs, I understand that people are AFRAID of dogs... But to be so dramatic about it...and just rude... Makes me cringe.

So at this point my blood is boiling, I throw the stick a couple more times, Hailey gets Bob on his lead and we make our way to the car. As I am fixing the sheet on the back seat Bob sits and waits patiently outside of the car (on leash)... The man runs by again and in a sarcastic tone yells "thank you" ... Uggghhhh
Go feed your goldfish PSEUDO SWEARING.

I wish there was a dog friendly place I got take Bob swimming or for a hike that is not overpopulated ... Or a dog park.
I wish there were no "non dog people".

Rant over ... Thank you :)
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#3 ·
No offense...but I'm a dog person, and I'd be pissed if your dog ran up to me. You probably don't realize what your dog looks like to someone that isn't used to having a GSD run at them...it's not a friendly sight.

I do what you do (off lead in on lead area)...but I make sure my dog doesn't say hello to ANYONE who isn't saying hello first. He's not allowed to come up to anyone that isn't outwardly walking towards him.
 
#4 ·
You probably don't realize what your dog looks like to someone that isn't used to having a GSD run at them...it's not a friendly sight.
I learned this a while ago.....we ( owners ) know what it looks like to us....but it looks completely different and intimidating to most everyone else. You make a very good point.


SuperG
 
#5 ·
yes, these dogs can scare the you-know-what outa people and, if they're off leash, they must be totally under voice control. bomb-proof. or they can't be off leash. imho.
 
#36 ·
It's basically simple. I understand you're point of view. But you also have to look at their point of view also. Their view is that they don't know your dog. It could also be they have had a bad experience prior to running into your dog.

I went to a house to ask permission to hunt their property awhile back. They have a detached garage converted into an office with sliding glass door. I pulled up and seen the door was slid open a little. I walked up and said hello with no response. So I went to the front door of the house. Has a raised porch. Knocked on the door and waited. Went to turn around and at the bottom of the stairs was an adult GSD staring back up at me. Not growling just staring. Came from nowhere. He was between me and my truck. I was crapping my pants. No one home, large dog with unknown intentions between me and my truck. All this and I've been around GSD's most my life. All dogs are different and unknown when first met.

Can't blame the guy really.
 
#7 ·
I mean...don't get all upset about it...but if you're going to rant about it, you should understand that you were wrong...not the jogger.

It doesn't matter how friendly YOU know your dog is...the other person doesn't. This is the same idea as a dog running towards you while you have a DA dog and the other owner yelling to you how friendly their dog is...it doesn't matter. I shouldn't have to interact with your dog if I don't want to.

This guy didn't sound like he was afraid of dogs...but that's another huge point. There are people that are CRAZY afraid of dogs. And its not up to you to judge their irrational fear...it's up to you to respect it and not put them through any extra emotional stuff because you felt like letting your dog off-leash.
 
#15 ·
I agree.

It's against the rules and a calculated risk to let your dog be off leash in an on leash area. We do it at times but it's dropped leash, not off leash, we practically hover, and we pick a time we KNOW the place we go is likely to be empty. As soon as anyone enters the area, we call her and pick up the leash. So to be clear, I'm not judging you for doing it, we all take calculated risks.

But given the decision to take a calculated risk with the rules, it's pretty entitled thinking to then get mad at someone who has a certain expectation of the rules being followed and who relies on that expectation. It's a reasonable one. I wouldn't like the guy's reaction either, but in the end, he'd be right and I'd be wrong, because it's not an off leash dog park and my dog wasn't attached to me via leash.

It's true that it isn't really my problem if someone gets upset at my dog's presence in a place where she's allowed, assuming she's on leash and reasonably well behaved (she's a puppy so I don't expect perfection, but I do remove her if she can't hold it together). HOWEVER, I don't get to make my dog someone else's problem in a place where she's not allowed, or only allowed given certain constraints that I'm not following.

You seemed to want to make Bob this guy's problem, and that's just not okay.
 
#8 ·
I love dogs but I don't want a strange dog running up to me either, You know that your dog is friendly but the people that he runs up to don't have a clue what he's going to do, so I think he had every right to be mad, I'm a runner and I can't tell you how mad I get when people let their dogs charge up to me saying he's friendly(it's a dog you can't be 100% sure what their gonna do)
 
#10 ·
I'm not getting upset about it.

Like I said I understand that people have fears, I understand that people have dislikes. I really do.
My main point in this whole rant was that I wish there were more options (in my area) that I could take my dogs that they can be off leash and not have to worry about situations like this. Other than taking them to a dog park.

I guess a lot of the time I forget that to everyone else Bob doesn't look like goofy Bob Barker he looks like the big bad wolf.

There are also ways of handling a situation rather than yelling at a person like this man did.
I suppose I'm just being over sensitive.

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#16 ·
I would be apprehensive seeing a GSD trotting towards me showing no reaction at all. Especially in an on-leash area. If I didn't see an owner coming up from the rear in short order I'd really be worried if I didn't know GSD's.
 
#17 ·
Agree that having a stranger GSD within eyesight running loose would be terrifying, but the way he confronted the situation, IMO, was rude. There are better ways that dropping snide remarks to confront situations where you are uncomfortable.

Similar rant (if I may):
A man at Home Depot three weekends ago walked passed hubs and I walking our 3.5 month cute-as-a-button GSD puppy through the store and said under his breath "(bad word that starts with a eff)-ing dog" so that only I could hear. I told hubs and he says to the man who is still within ear shot, "Do you have a problem, sir?" and the man responds (in a nasty tone of voice that gets nastier every time I think of it), "Dogs shouldn't be allowed in public places. I have allergies." Hubs says "You don't make the rules and I'd appreciate it if you didn't swear in front of my wife." Man storms off. Different situation in that Bru was on a leash and allowed to be where we were, but another example of a non-dog person being rude. It's uncalled for and frustrating when they react like immature children.

I feel you bob_barker. I wish non-dog people weren't jerks about being non-dog people, and I wish there were more places only pro-dog people and their dogs were allowed :eek:
 
#22 ·
What is rude is to allow a dog to run up to someone jogging, and even more rude to have a dog that is soaking wet and swimming run up to a stranger.

If your pup is going to run up to strangers, he needs to be on leash, and you need to prevent it.

We rant all the time about children running up to our dogs. Or people allowing their dogs to run up to our dogs. Why, because not all dogs are good with that. It is the same with people. Not all people want a dog running up to them. Not all people want a wet dog running up to them.

I know this is just a rant, but the rant is on the wrong forum, really. People who are caring, knowledgeable dog owners, and guardians of the breed, are not going to condone allowing a dog to run up to strangers. This behavior gets all of us a bad name, and contributes to restrictions placed on dogs all over.
 
#23 ·
I can sympathize to a point. Yes, it is frustrating that people aren't as dog friendly as we are. I've been there. But they aren't and they have a legit complaint when you or I are breaking rules by having our dogs off lead when the public, however scarce that public might be, expects them to be on lead.

What we need to ask ourselves is who was the bigger jerk? The public for being miffed enough to be somewhat sarcastic perhaps or us for having our dogs off lead in the first place...

So yeah, i've been there and yeah the public has an appropriate complaint -- frankly, I haven't always acknowledged it 'hough.
 
#24 ·
I understand both sides of the issue. I also understand dealing with Non-dog people who feel allowed to be irate over typical dog behavior. They may get annoyed by kids, too. Who knows.

I also wish there were more safe places I could let my dog off leash to swim. I do the long leash but sometimes it gets wrapped around his legs which I do not like at all. And if we see anyone coming along, dog or human, I take hold of the leash.

One day some folks let their dog come trotting up to ours and we fussed at them. They said that they didn't bring a leash to the beach because they couldn't find it. We got the typical "but our dog is friendly" comment. My standard answer is always, "but you don't know how my dog will react". This was my answer long before I got my GSD.
 
#28 ·
OP, I don't understand why you didn't just call Bob back to you? I have my dog off leash all the time, but he isn't allowed to randomly go up to people unless they actually want to meet him. They have to ask me first, too, so that he understands that he's being introduced on my terms. Letting him rush up to people is a bad idea, IMO. Even if he's super friendly and the people are complete dog lovers, I still wouldn't want him doing this.
 
#39 ·
OP, I don't understand why you didn't just call Bob back to you? .
Like I said in my original post, I called him and he came to my side.
The area I took him... Again was a dead end road which I have had no issue with up until that day, all the times I had gone there there was not a person to be seen, not a house on the road not a vehicle in sight.
So
1. I was not expecting the man to come jogging down this road.
2. Where the water is in comparison to the road, there are trees blocking the sight of the road on either side all you can see is directly ahead, a little pathway.
3. The man was jogging... Not walking not crawling... A slow run, so by the time I saw him he had already past this "opening" between the two patches of trees.
4. The space between Bob and this man was about 5 feet... Bob did not jump, did not make any advances other that a few jaunting steps forward.
5. I am not one to take negativity lightly so when someone reacts this way to me, whether it be about my dogs, my cats, my kids ... I will respond in defence of myself.

Again! I understand *I* was the one in the wrong and technically Bob should have been on a leash since we were not in an "assigned" off leash area.
My main issue was how this man handled it even AFTER I apologized.. and also that there are not more options for me to take my dogs places that arnt over populated.

I posted my rant in the heat of the moment. I get over sensitive I guess you could say when it comes to the dogs.

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#30 ·
Yes, that's very true Janae. The other thing is that if everyone is out there with their dogs running amok and ruining other peoples' good times, then this is when the places are currently turning a blind eye to the leash laws start taking a better look. I'd be very upset if I saw a sign posted about no off-leash dogs at our local boat launch, where my dog swims. That's another reason why I'm vigilant about not letting my dog approach strangers unless they ask first.
 
#32 ·
The other thing is that if everyone is out there with their dogs running amok and ruining other peoples' good times, then this is when the places are currently turning a blind eye to the leash laws start taking a better look. I'd be very upset if I saw a sign posted about no off-leash dogs at our local boat launch, where my dog swims. That's another reason why I'm vigilant about not letting my dog approach strangers unless they ask first.
Is there a "like" button? :)

I love that I can bring PuppyGirl so many places in my city. I try my best to be respectful of other people in those spaces and teach her to behave politely. I keep her out of spaces where she isn't welcome (public beaches, businesses that don't allow dogs). I've never had to leave anywhere because she was so amped up - she's generally calm around people - but I'd do it if the need arose. She's a puppy and learning and it's entirely realistic that I would have to do that a time or two.

I want her to be a good ambassador for dogs and for GSDs, and I want to be someone who helps support these businesses in being dog-friendly by not contributing to them having to choose between remaining dog-friendly or losing customers. I'd like the parks we frequent to continue allowing dogs in certain areas that aren't a dedicated dog park (because we do not do dog parks, period).

My philosophy is that it's kind of a meet in the middle situation. I have to expect that as a dog owner, not everyone wants to meet my dog. Not everyone likes my dog. Some people won't even want to see my dog. It's entirely reasonable for those people to expect that in a place where dogs aren't allowed, they're safe from having to be around dogs. Or that in a place where dogs must be on-lead, they will not have any dogs running up to/after them. That's completely reasonable and needs to be respected.

By the same token, they have to expect that if they're in a park or place of business that welcomes dogs, they're going to see them. If that's a huge problem due to a phobia or allergies, then I'm sympathetic but I won't stop taking my dog to those places. Pick places with rules that work for you and be respectful of those rules, and it shouldn't be difficult.
 
#31 ·
I think people who are not runners, who have never been bothered, accosted, to down right attacked by dogs while running will not understand how frustrating the situation is.
this
because running and biking and what not bring out the prey instinct in dogs and they will often chase and sometimes bite
and anyone who has ran or joggied or biked knows this and are leery of approaching dogs
count me with those amused by rants like this where the dog owner causes a problem then gets angry at the people for whom the problem was caused

ftr some home depots have stopped allowing dogs in so you might wanna read the door signs before going in
 
#33 ·
On the dogs running amuck thing.... I'm ancient so I remember when dogs were just loose. There are some communities where that's still the way it is. I don't think the world came to an end back then. I think our dogs were a bit more mellow, easier with people and other dogs because they were so used to them.
 
#34 ·
On the dogs running amuck thing.... I'm ancient so I remember when dogs were just loose. There are some communities where that's still the way it is. I don't think the world came to an end back then. I think our dogs were a bit more mellow, easier with people and other dogs because they were so used to them.
Actually no. The more likely thing was that just like today 95% of dogs are fine with people and other dogs. So if they ran around, it's all good. But then there's the other 5% that people let run just like the other dogs and didn't care much that they weren't alright with people or dogs. Those dogs got in trouble, bit someone, bit a few people, communities got sick and tired of it, and made laws against it.

Only reason you didn't hear about it was because a local dog bite from a small city in California didn't make the newspaper in Chicago. Today, it gets thrown on the internet and shows up in my Facebook feed 3 hours after happening.
 
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