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Do You Correct People in Public?

8K views 99 replies 27 participants last post by  selzer 
#1 ·
I just got followed about 50ft down the sidewalk by an off leash Great Dane puppy. Cute lil' bugger, though clearly an oblivious owner. The owner called over and over for the dog to come back but it just kept padding along next to me.

I was on my phone and ignored both her and the puppy and kept walking back towards my place. The puppy just followed along like it and I were out for a walk. Realizing the puppy wasn't going to leave me I finally stopped and stood there waiting for the owner to come to us.

Attempting to be friendly I said, "Might be time to invest in a leash." The lady held up her hand and said, "I've got one right here." Meanwhile the pup began jumping up on my legs. I stepped back and said, "That's the thing with leashes though, they don't do much good unless they're attached."

Apparently I was seriously over stepping my bounds because she gave me the meanest look. She snapped the leash on the puppy and took off back down the sidewalk without another word.

All this to ask, do you correct people in public?
 
#2 ·
No. I just yell at them to call/come get their dog if it's being obnoxious at the park.

In the situation you describe, I would and have just totally ignore and keep walking. It's on the other dog's owner to come and collect it, not my responsibility what happens to it.
 
#3 ·
I treat every situation on its own merits.

Saturday I was at PetsMart. Someone had a small child holding a puppy that they couldn't decide if it was 5 or 8 weeks old. It looked 4 weeks old, and I know what four week old puppies look like. It was a lab/shepherd mix, and if it was 5 weeks, then it was small and probably better off away from the breeder, because it wasn't getting its needs met.

Of course I did not touch it. I just asked how old it was, and they told me what it was, and how old they thought it was. I then gave a bit of unsolicited advice, I said: "Don't put it down in there." There quickly said, "No, we are going to carry it." I then left.

New puppy owners are some times unaware of dangers. I wouldn't have had that puppy out. It was shaking. I certainly would not have had that puppy at a dog inhabited area. I didn't say all that. But I wanted the people to be thinking about the dangers to the puppy being there, without overwhelming them.

A lot of times it is how you say something, how you come across and not that you corrected someone or gave unsolicited advice. And, I am not saying to sugar coat or beat around the bush -- that's crap. I didn't. I said, "Don't." That is a command. But it is coming from someone with no power to enforce it. But it was not said in a way that suggested I was putting them down, or being snarky.

I think where you erred, if you erred, is that you tried to make light of a serious issue by using sarcasm, and that generally comes off nasty. Yes, you could have been irritable about their puppy jumping on you, and if you would have said, "You can't just let your dog jump on people." That would have probably been accepted with an apology. Because you were the injured party and the lady knows that.

Ah well, I know you know what I am saying so I'll shut up.
 
#5 ·
Oh, and the jumping puppy? Would have been given a knee to the chest.

Yes I'm aware that's not best practice. With my own, I used a hip turn and stern verbal correction. I'd have done the knee with a random dog, because, well - not my dog, natural consequence if you (random general owner "you") won't keep your dog's paws on the ground. I'm short and the knee works well for me in terms of not getting knocked over by a large dog or puppy. If you (again, general) don't want me kneeing your dog, keep it from jumping on me.
 
#6 ·
A Great Dane puppy? :wub: I would have stopped and given it some serious loving while ensuring its safety until its owner could retrieve it. I would have then most likely struck up a friendly conversation with the owner for two reasons, one being so I could continue to love on the Dane puppy and the second would have been to make some positive suggestions.
 
#8 ·
I used to see a lady with a female Golden Retriever puppy. Every time I saw them the dog was running away from her, going to up to every kid or dog that was at the park. She'd be standing there yelling "RED" "RED". Then one day she came up to my dog, I held her till she could come and get her. She explained to me Red was supposed to be an emergency recall. Extra urgency on it. I made a sarcastic comment about it, and she looked like I had really said something hurtful. For whatever reason I decided then to curb my inner jerk, not an easy thing to do, and just be polite or not say anything at all.
 
#9 ·
As far as dog behavior goes, sometimes. As far as human behavior goes, sometimes. On dog behavior itdepend on the situation - an adult dog running up to mine - yes. "Get your dog!" Maybe it's not correcting, maybe it is more ordering people about. Or in the case of one woman with todler and rambuctous pup in the vets office - she was scolding her pup "why can't you be like those dogs?" I joined her to tell her that at that age, my dogs acted like her pup was acting -- that things did change for the better. For someone whose dog has just dumped in public - "pick that up please". For humans misbehaving - I've called CSD many times if it involves a child.

So, yeah but very much "how" depends on "what" and "where."
 
#10 ·
As far as dog behavior goes, sometimes. As far as human behavior goes, sometimes. On dog behavior itdepend on the situation - an adult dog running up to mine - yes. "Get your dog!" Maybe it's not correcting, maybe it is more ordering people about. Or in the case of one woman with todler and rambuctous pup in the vets office - she was scolding her pup "why can't you be like those dogs?" I joined her to tell her that at that age, my dogs acted like her pup was acting -- that things did change for the better. For someone whose dog has just dumped in public - "pick that up please". For humans misbehaving - I've called CSD many times if it involves a child.

So, yeah but very much "how" depends on "what" and "where."
That seems like being reassuring to me!

I don't like to downplay what a good dog mine can be, but I've also reassured owners of younger dogs who say stuff like, "Wow, she's REALLY well behaved/nice/well trained" with wistfulness or slight despair in their voices that mine did X things too at that age, they do learn and grow out of it.
 
#11 ·
Depends on the situation. A father with young son arrived at the dog park with their 6 week old puppy and took it to the dog drinking station. I told the father it wasn't a good idea to let the pup drink, explaining the pup didn't have the immunity of an older dog and could get sick. The father listened, I didn't say the pup was too young to be at the dog park, that may have been a bridge too far. (I bring water for my dog when we go out).
 
#12 ·
Correct people in public?

Yes, but I have a service dog and have to tell them not to pet her, talk to her etc. So I correct people on their dogs too. Don't let your dog come up to mine, she is working.

But I also correct people on non-dog stuff. Told a lady that in CA you can turn right on a red light after a stop. Don't have to wait for green.

But then again I am a smart ass and run my mouth probably when I should not. I would have kept walking with the puppy all the way to my house and taken it in my house and have a new puppy. :grin2:
 
#13 ·
Yeah I do. But it depends on the situation.

Last Fall I was at the Renn fair and a woman passed us with her obvious service dog, a young child started hollering and running after said service dog. I turned toward the family and said " get your kid, that's a service dog, don't let her distract him". The family sheepishly reigned in their kid.

At the Petsmart a family was talking about getting a fish tank. One of those separated ones where you put multiple Betta fish and can watch them fight through the divider. I flat out said "don't do that, it's cruel to the fish".

If I see something dangerous in regards to dogs, I speak out. Working at a vet I see plenty of people come in with off leash dogs and let them run up to other dogs. I always step in with a firm " not everyone is healthy or friendly, do you need a leash".

If I am out and about and see someone struggling, I ask " can I give you a pointer?" If they are open, I help.

If I see kids handling a dog and not doing a good job, I step in and politely talk to them about keeping everyone safe.

But I have been on the receiving end of unsolicited advice " of you should use a harness instead of a prong, it's better for pulling." " oh he is friendly" and stupid stuff.

So if I need to intervene, for safety I will. But I am careful.
 
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#14 ·
My sister's kids had a couple of betas in that tank. They couldn't be together, because Betas will fight, but they never fought through the slotted tanks, they were quite peaceable. After Mufasa died on me, they got another, Pichu, and they get along ok in that tank.

The paraketes, not so much. Peekachu flat out died on them. Strangest thing. So they got another. I suggested two because my sister's family is on the move, etc. They got two, and they had a big cage, but they had to get a second cage and the birds like being near each other, but they can't be in the same cage.

I never knew paraketes were so much work. I told her to just bite the bullet and let her kids have a puppy, but she is adamant, 12 years old AND responsible.
 
#15 · (Edited)
In the case with the Great Dane puppy, I would have stopped and played with it as soon as it approached me, I would have either held onto it until the owner got there or I would have walked it back. If the puppy jumped on me I would have most likely told him to sit and then praised him. I would have advised the owner nicely that it's dangerous for the pup to be without a leash and gave examples(theft or getting hit by car)

I generally will only will say something if it endangers a person or animal. I have not been very nice at the vet--I have no patience for flexi leashes and the lack of control people have. I do not want any dogs at the vet near my dogs, mainly because I don't know what they have or if they are sick--I try to stay away from the vet and only go when absolutely necessary.

I have no problem telling someone off if they are hurting a dog or being careless. Most of the time it's advice if they are struggling.
 
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#17 ·
I think if perhaps I hadn't been on the phone, or was able to easily end that phone conversation I might have been a bit more receptive of the pup's attentions. However, when someone is obviously walking away from your dog and it's not responding to a recall I'd like to think as an owner I would have been chasing after my dog, not yelling it's name over and over from the starting point. Idk, maybe I'm turning in a grump. :p
 
#19 ·
You are right, they should have been collecting their dog. No doubt.

She probably should have apologized too.

But when you started making snide comments, well, I'm sorry, but she doesn't owe you anything. You seem put out that she had a mean look. Well if you would have told her, don't let your puppy jump on me, or your pretty fortunate my dog is not dog-aggressive. She probably wouldn't have looked mean.

You don't need to love on every dog because it's a puppy. But as a dog owner, for me, I always try to remember, "But for the grace of God, that could be me."
 
#26 ·
IF it affects me or my dog, I'll take someone to task. Or if I see abuse or unfair treatment. Sunday, I was at a public event to raise awareness for the worlds hungry. I brought my young dog. Others also brought dogs. I saw many times where 'correcting' handlers would have been helpful. Not my place to do so.
I went to a pet store after the cropwalk, and a Dalmatian wanted to kill all the dogs that s/he saw. The handler almost lost the leash and it was scary! But I just avoided them. Would have loved to have a chat with them on how to work their reactive dog. I have a feeling, they were there to 'train' with the pet stores guidance.
]ugh.
 
#33 ·
Honestly, I am a massive animal lover, as soon as I would have seen it following me, I would have stopped and waited for the owner to come get their dog, if it were showing me friendly behaviors then I would have held onto it's collar until it's owner came to get it. Regardless of who's dog it is and how irresponsible it's owner is, I care about the safety of the dog so I would not have ignored it and continued to walk away increasing it's chance of possibly getting hit by a car because it was not on a leash. It was a puppy for Pete's sake, puppies are innocent, it's not their fault they have an irresponsible owner.

And I definitely would have said something to the owner afterwards.
 
#36 ·
A couple of years ago I yelled very loudly at a guy whose dog came running across the street to get at my boy. "Get your dog!" The guy called a couple timesd .The dog turned around and went back to the guy.

The guy looked angry at the dog so as the dog approached him, I just about screamed "That was so great. Quick!!!Quick!!!!! Praise him.". The guy did as he was told. He was happy,his dog was happy and I was just thankful for the outcome.

It was kind of nice because while he was pating his dog, we did have a short conversation. He was having recall issues. I gave what pointers I knew and referenced to what just happened as proof for praising.
 
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#37 ·
This thread is kind of winding up my insides, as it twists back and forth.

The OP clearly irritated me, because we belong to a fraternity of dog owners. I see the irresponsible and less knowledgeable owners as kind of newbies -- people we need to win over, teach, and mold into the kind of dog owners we want out there.

Ignorant and irresponsible dog owners are the ones that do the most damage to all dog owners, on a societal level. Like the lady with the poodle in PetsMart -- old lady, but she was irritated that someone told her to go and clean up her dog's pee. These are EXACTLY the people that make taking our dogs into non-pet stores impossible, or at least, not going to happen very long. If you can't clean your dog's accident up when there are towels, waste bin, and disinfectant every 4 feet or so, what are you going to do in a store that has no reason to provide these?

Untrained, mismanaged, and aggressive dogs in the hands of irresponsible and/or ignorant people cause a lot of incidents and accidents, and cause places to disallow dogs, insurance companies to refuse to cover or charge exorbitant rates. So, we need to turn ignorant dog owners into knowledgeable dog owners. And we need to turn irresponsible owners into responsible owners.

We have to do this one dog owner at a time.

We get opportunities like the one mentioned above with a variety of frequency. We can use that opportunity to win them over, make a friend, help them out, give them someone to emulate, inspire them to learn more. Or we can use the opportunity to raise their hackles, defenses, and get them angry with us. They aren't going to stop having dogs because of this behavior, but they are unlikely to gain at all from the experience.

And then all the posts about kneeing a puppy. A great dane puppy. Great Danes are a breed I have been interested in, but chose not to ever get because they tend to be puppies for a long time, and then they die very young. I think the average is 6-10 years. They are large and have lots of structural issues including something like wobbler's syndrome and it is very sad. And, we like dogs, right?

Blocking another dog or puppy from your dog out of keeping everyone safe, I'm ok with that. I guess, I just don't like the idea of a dog jumping out of friendly exuberance getting hurt. It's hard enough with shepherds for them to go and politely sniff a stranger and stand still for a quick hello. I wouldn't want my dogs to think they are going to be kicked or kneed if they greet a stranger. If they jump on the stranger, that is my error, knee me -- oh, but you won't do that because I will call the police and they will arrest you.

I guess, no one is saying that you have to love to be jumped on by out of control puppies. But as a dog owners, and a member of the sub section of formidable dog breed owners, we should try to help people as much as possible, and if that is not possible, to at least not give dog owners a bad name.

We shouldn't be looking for and acting on opportunities to be rude or physical with people and dogs.

And many of the posts here do have people who are doing a great job of helping out people who need it.
 
#38 ·
I promise, I'm not going around kicking or kneeing dogs willy-nilly! I don't go around looking for an opportunity to hurt dogs or people. I promise.

But Dane puppies are freaking HUGE, and I'm not. A Dane puppy could easily knock me over or hurt me if it jumped. Plus, no matter what the breed or size, it's just not acceptable to allow your dog of any age to run around and jump on people. It just isn't. Mine has managed to get through puppyhood without jumping on a single stranger.

I don't like any dog enough to let it knock me over.

If my way doesn't work for you, that's okay. Don't do it! It works for me, and I'm okay with it.
 
#45 ·
I'm in agreement with WateryTart that I should be able to walk down my street without a dog (puppy or otherwise) tailing me down the road a considerable ways and then jumping on me when I do stop. I have always turned away from any dog that jumped and so never needed to use a knee to deter a jump. Interesting to hear about the bundle of nerves in the chest though. That was a new one for me too.

Personally, I felt that the owner took far too long to come get her dog and was obviously practicing unsafe and irresponsible dog ownership in allowing the puppy to run around off leash along the side of a road. I live in a gated community and we have very strict requirements about dogs, chief among them that they are on a leash at all times. There is even an off leash dog park in our community she could have taken the puppy to so that it could run around off leash safely.

Perhaps I was wrong, but my instant impression was that she was trying to skirt the rules by having the leash available to clip on real quick in case someone saw her letting the dog play off leash but otherwise had no plan to use it. With that as the explanation my mind arrived at, I felt it was appropriate to respond as I did. Everything I said was said with a smile and delivered in a tongue-in-cheek manner, but I still believe that if you see something you should say something. It's one way to help maintain order in our society, and in this instance keeping young puppies safe from their owners' choices.

Also, seems to me as a whole we are getting much worse at accepting and acknowledging when we make a mistake and many get overly defensive, rude, and sometimes outright aggressive when someone points out the error of their ways. Just my two cents. :)
 
#46 ·
The post comes across as though you made a witty comment to someone and you want people to slap you on the back for it.

Sorry, but yes we should say something when someone's dog is in our lap, and we don't want it there. But if we are going to be snarky, sarcastic, or condescending, don't expect people to be sweet and apologetic.

It's kind of like:
Person's dog invades your space -- owner should apologize.

Victim says something nasty to the owner -- you're even, no apology, because she doesn't know you, and you can be a bully, and apologizing after someone cuts you down is usually just an open invitation to have them go on.

She slighted you, you slighted her. Both of you are on social media complaining about the other. And that's the way the ball bounces.
 
#48 ·
Makes one wonder with constant earbuds in their ears and telephone in hand if many of today's people have lost the capacity to be social. Who knows? Maybe the owner of the puppy might have been a new best friend, or the person doing the hiring at the next job interview, or somebody who will be carpooling for children or a next SO's mother or sister. What ever happened to making a good first impression? Or just being a nice person? An unruly puppy is an annoyance, an abrupt reaction to a petty annoyance is a put off. People used to smile, say hello, go about their business, be courteous and friendly, not today. If you hear voices in public today, it is usually that of somebody on a cell phone.
 
#47 ·
Heck yea. This is the thing about off leash dog owners. They don't give a carp about anyone but themselves. The world is their training ground and everything in it. Bull. I would have stopped walking/faced the owner and told that puppy "No" "Go" If it jumped up on me - I would have given it's front paws a good squeeze so it would think twice about doing that to a stranger again.

Several months ago, new neighbors moved in. Just what I wanted to see - 2 PB's with 18,19 year old first time apartment/dog? owners. I could see that these owners had no control of their dogs. Both he and she were leaning back body wise and the dogs were at the full length of their leashes hauling them down the sidewalk.

I got off my bike and stepped aside putting my bike in front of me and my back to a parked car on the street. They said Hiiah! as they approached. I said Hi. Both their dogs pulled them off the sidewalk and over to where I was standing. I pulled my bike closer and made a fence of it.

They said oh, don't worry - they're friendly. I said - good - you have a leash - why don't you USE IT! They looked awe struck that I should be so un-friend-like-. Fricken Idiots!
 
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