What do you tell people?

[gsdraven]

What a great, well thought out post Jean! You put together all the little things that you learn to do when managing a shy, scared or reactive dog and explained it step by step!

[bellamia]

i say,'' shes still under training so no, sme other time maybe'' i dont feel the need to elaborate what kind of 'training'. the truth is that i dont want her to feel its ok to be petted by complete strangers. so when i say that some of them dont mind , go their way, and some (i can see) are wondering-what training? training to be agressive, bite work, vicious what , I dont care, since so many wrongly assume that gsd owners get gsds just to 'look' good. and that gsds are trained to be vicious, agressive, bitey etc. Wat a fallacy. where i live i have fought so hard to change their perception of this breed. When we first got Mia, she was the only gsd in the Whole neighbhorhood, 3 yrs ago. Now we have atleast 6 i personally know of and now everybody reluctantly admits that their original perception of the gsd was WRONG!
But noooo , no stranger is allowed to pet her, since she is in 'training'! training to be a clown

[sashadog]

So. I understand if you have an aggressive or fearful dog or even just a dog that doesn't appreciate being pet by strangers but why would you be against strangers petting your well socialized, friendly dog?? I see on here all the time about GSD owners wanting to form a better reputation and change the negative perception of the breed. Wouldn't that involve not telling everyone who asks to say hi to your dog that they can't? I never understood this mindset so I'm genuinely curious as to the motivation behind not wanting people to pet your friendly dogs.

(Obviously this question excludes dogs whom being pet or interacted with is a liability.)

[JeanKBBMMMAAN]

Thanks, Jamie! I went back in and added a part about what you are doing with the dog/for the dog.

[onyx'girl]

How many dogs really liked to be pet by strangers? Most want it on their terms and not be forced.
I think a GSD can represent best when it is under control, obedient and not reactive in a public situation, it shouldn't have to be petted to achieve that. And when I'm trying to "socialize" a reactive dog, the last thing I want is someone coming into her bubble. So I do what Jean posted(great post by the way!), otherwise I'm not helping my dog and possibly taking several steps back in our progress.

[RebelGSD]

One thing to say is that the dog is "not feeling well"

Also, there is nothing wrong with an iffy dog wearing a muzzle when it is impossible to avoid crowds. I had several unsafe forever fosters and I never had a bite because of proper management and introductions.

[bellamia]

sashadog, no no point is= whethr one lives in an upsacle, down scale, mountains, moon whatever, why wud one want a friendly gsd to be overtly friendly to strangers? i am blessed to live in a place where everything is gated contolled etc, but no i do not want my fool to be extra friendly to a stranger. One never knows. Having said that i know i have a friendly gsd so i know shes going to do no harm but a stranger does not need to know that! aloof is good. if she is not going to be 'aloof' on her own im going to pretend she is.

[RebelGSD]

Excellent post Jean, thank you!

[Lakl]

I see these type posts all the time, and it really surprises me that there are so many instances where people will just try to run up and pet your dog without your ok. Only when mine were small puppies would I get people trying to pet them without asking first. Since they have gotten big, I always get asked first, even though they are both very friendly. I don't understand people that think like this. I would never just walk up to a strange dog, especially a BIG dog, and try to pet it without the owner saying its ok!

[Debbieg]

Can we make Jean's post a stickie?