Why do Boxers Attract Stupid Owners? (RANT)

[Konotashi]

I was at the park playing fetch with Ozzy when a woman walked by with her boxer.

Ozzy started making an advance toward him, but I immediately called him off. The moment I commanded him, he returned to me.
The boxer started going nuts and slipped out of his collar, but the woman managed to keep him in place.

Normally, I would apologize for the inconvenience, but before I had the chance, she started screaming, "WHY ISN'T YOUR expletive DOG ON A LEASH?!"
Um. Because he listens... maybe?

I don't know how many of you know, but I have bipolar depression, and I'm not currently on medication for it. (I was actually on the phone making an appointment to get back on my meds).
That's relevant, because I can't always control my anger, and this was one of those times. When she started yelling, it instantly threw me into a rage.

I told her to She said something about what I would do if another dog ripped into Ozzy, because he 'obviously doesn't listen.'
Even though MY dog was under my complete control and her dog was going nuts trying to get at Ozzy.
I told her that if her dog DID rip into Ozzy if he wasn't under my control, I fully understand it would have been 100% MY fault.

To add insult to injury, I asked her how many champion sport titles and Petsmart job offers her dog had received. I made Ozzy start weaving through my legs after she got her dog restrained.

I don't need you guys to tell me I could have handled it better. I don't need you guys to tell me that the incident was essentially my fault. I know that. But I went into a rage, which literally blinds me with anger and clouds my judgement.

I have only EVER had issues with boxers and their owners. Around here, they seem to attract the most idiotic dog owners.

[llombardo]

I know several people that own boxers and they handle them fine. Just keep your dog on a leash in areas where there are leash laws and you will be okay. The owner would have been more of an idiot if they didn't control their dog, which they did.

[elisabeth_00117]

Totally truthful.. I would of been pissed if I was the lady walking my dog and your dog came at me while my dog was leashed. If you called the dog back to you or not.

I have no problem with off leash dogs, but do not want it advancing on my dog.

If I see another dog coming, I call my dog, leash them and wait for the other dog to pass.

Not the comment you wanted to hear I am sure..

I also get "enraged" when in situations that involve my dogs (I know your situation is different) so I probably would of yelled at you, just as that lady did.

[Liesje]

She may have yelled at you first because it was probably stressful. If you've got a large, dog aggressive dog *any* dog that make *any* movement toward you or your dog can turn into a huge problem and as we know from this very forum it's rare for a dog to be instantly called off. She probably freaked out inside when she saw Ozzy coming and even after he turned back was really tense and just snapped. I personally can't stand Boxers but I know several Boxer owners who I really like (and wish they had GSDs!)

[Konotashi]

Ozzy was over 50 feet away from her dog. He looked at the other dog,, dropped his ball, and before he could take two steps toward them, I called him off.
I know that's not any sort of justification, but I could probably better understand her freaking out if he was closer, or if I hadn't called him off until he got a lot closer.

I know I'm in the wrong here - I don't need to be told that. She had her dog on a leash, I didn't.

This was at the private park/field in our neighborhood right across the street from our house.

I know several people who own, or have owned, boxers who handled them well. It just seems like I have a knack for finding the crappy ones.

[Lilie]

Good job to Ozzy (and your training skills) for his recall!

[Liesje]

Just sayin'. It came to mind because I'm in class with a GSD that will go nuts if he's within 100 feet of a dog he doesn't know (he lives with other dogs and is OK with them). I've never seen such dog aggression before (he would definitely charge and attack the other dog even from that distance). His owner is into a lot of dog sports and does the best she can with him.

She could also be worried because her dog could easily kill your dog even if her dog was on a leash. My husband was jogging Nikon one night when a tiny dog (maybe 10lbs) charged out of nowhere and jumped on Nikon's face. Nikon was on a 4' leash on the sidewalk. Obviously it was not his fault but it's still not cool to have your dog seriously injure or kill someone else's pet. Nothing happened to this dog, husband said Nikon didn't bite back but sort of tossed the dog off and head-rammed it into the ground and then jumped out of the way but my husband told the owner he might need a vet. If Nikon had dog aggression or felt like he wanted to fight back that dog would have been toast.

[Stevenzachsmom]

Honey, I didn't know you had bipolar depression. That's rough. I'm not going to say anything you already know. It sounds like you had a really bad day. I'm sorry. Get your medication. Feel better and I hope tomorrow is a really good day.

Hugs!

[Syaoransbear]

I think the lady overreacted. If I was the lady, I wouldn't have acted the way she did. If someone's dog is off leash but isn't approaching or harassing my dog, it makes no difference to me, and I bet her dog would have reacted even if Ozzy was on a leash. Her dog probably reacted, she noticed that your dog was off leash, and she found that reason enough to take out her frustration over her reactive dog on you instead of blaming herself for not working with her dog more.

How often do you come across a dog with good recall? Pretty much never, she should have used this as a training opportunity instead of an opportunity to blame everyone but herself for her reactive dog.

[Rua]

I understand your dislike of boxers. Nearly every bad encounter Juno has had with another dog has involved a Boxer. A few months back, she got attacked by a pack of 3 (Yes, THREE!!) boxer/pit bull mixes while she was muzzled and on a lead and they were roaming free. Then, when her and I were having a leisurely cycle down our lane, the neighbours aggressive boxer jumped it's fence and knocked me off my bike to get to her. We all nearly got hit by the car that was behind us that day.

I don't generally discriminate against breeds. But I have very very little patience and tolerance for Boxers since the above instances happened. Consequently, Juno tends to not like any Boxers now either and becomes quite reactive towards them if I don't call her off. I'm sure there are some nice ones there. But if there are, we haven't met many of them.

What annoys me most about them is that out here, Boxers are NOT on the restricted breeds list, and GSDs are. Which means if the Dog Warden sees me there without my dogs muzzled or on a lead, I get a €2000 fine!!!