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Do other people just see your GSD and walk the other way? MOVED

8K views 71 replies 47 participants last post by  Harry and Lola 
#1 ·
Does this happen to you frequently? Yesterday I took my boy Hunter on a walk and one this man asked me if i can walk the other way to not go near him. My dog was completely fine it wasn't like Hunter was barking at him or anything. And there was another time where a lady with her Boxer stopped until i past and asked " Is your dog friendly, I saw him starring at us from all the way over there" My pup is so friendly! I wish people weren't so scared of him :mad:
 
#2 ·
Yes. The funny thing is that when I see people coming towards us I walk Traveler off the path and when they are ~30 yards or so away, I put him in a down stay.

I had one guy cross the street when we were still a block away. When he got closer, I told him what I do so he doesn't have to worry if he sees us again. He told me I shouldn't be walking the dog at all. What???? "Don't you know they are vicious?" Yeah, Traveler, my therapy dog. Yeah, sure buddy.
 
#4 ·
Our pup is doing service dog work, so we will see people grab their children and walk away, or have the "I'm afraid of dogs" comment.. Like what am I suppose to do? Leave because your uncomfortable? Had a local restaurant say something about the dog before they were informed its against the law in my state to even ask what the dog is for. Now it's more of a habit to just ignore the rude and uneducated people. Focus on the big smiles and nice comments.


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#5 ·
The people that are truly afraid of GSDs will spot them a mile away, and do what it takes to avoid them. One of my neighbors is like this - because he was bitten a thousand years ago, so now he hates them all, lol. Whatever. The people who actually say things are just crabby idiots, and it's a waste of breath to speak to them. The one thing that's fun to do is to learn a phrase in another language, so they'll stop talking to you. :D
 
#6 ·
Some people are just genuinely afraid of GSD or large dogs.

I was entering a path at a park- dogs are welcome if leashed. There was an elderly couple coming the opposite way. The man clearly afraid. Rusty was walking beside me nicely, a lot of slack in the leash. I decided to turn around & go another way. The wife thanked my from a distance & said her husband is terrified of a GSD.

I don't know- when in public I try to be courteous of others. Not everyone enjoys the company of dogs.

I'm afraid of small children & avoid them:p
 
#7 ·
It may not always be your dog or the breed, there are dog reactive or human reactive even aggressive dogs out there whose owners have to be on guard at all times, or people are just nervous around strange dogs.

Personally I ignore when people give Delgado scared looks, most calm right down when they see how well behaved he is. If they're willing to move out of the way and give us a wide berth or move across the street it just means more sidewalk or aisle for us to walk on ;)
 
#8 ·
Yes , all the time. I also have a large Mastiff and a large Boxer mix. I'm a small woman , people may worry I can't control them if they lunge.

A lot of people have been traumatized by irresponsible owners , many as children. I do not get upset if people are afraid , I try to be courteous and give them their space. If people are mean about wat I am walking , where , when etc I just laugh to myslef and shrug . What else can you do ? My hands are usually full , usually have kids with me too , I dont have the time or the desire to engage with them.

I had a lady once , she was from Poland maybe , and she was at the park with her little girls. My dog was on a leash well behaved at my side . We were sitting at a bench watching my 2 kids play on the park gear. She actually asked me if I would please put my dog in the car because she was bitten by a GSD as a child , was terrified , and did not want to let her girls play at the park unlessthe dog was safely "away" . She added the dog that attacked her was supposedly trained and jerked the lead out of the owners hand. I just replied that I was sorry that happened to her , but no I will not be removing my dog. Leashed dogs are allowed , if she has a phobia she will need to be the one to go somewhere else. She just stood there and asked why should she be the one to leave...told her because she was the one with an issue and could she please get out of my way as I cant see my 2 kids playing. Thanks. She left in a huff with her girls .

Oh well?? Aside from being firm yet polite there is not much you can do in these situations.
 
#9 ·
I have never been asked to walk in a different direction with my GSD but I have seen people cross the street to avoid us or people create a bigger distance between us. I have heard people say "what is that" while looking at him. To those who have never heard of a black GSD or have seen one I often get the comment "is that a wolf" he is much larger and more intimidating in person.
 
#10 ·
I used to walk Pyrate to the post office every morning. One of the clerks there is totally afraid of big dogs and Pyrate was tall and when in good health around 110 pounds. One of the other clerks who knows me asked her to meet Pyrate. Pyrate laid down and rolled over for her to pet his belly on the first meeting. She petted him then and again every time she saw him, eventually getting kisses as well. The post mistress told me if I was ever in line and it was taking a long time that Pyrate was welcome to come wait in her office because she missed her dog. The original lady who was afraid eventually told me she had been bitten as a child but when she met my dog she just knew by the way he was so gentle that it was safe. Now she will pet Raina as well. She told me she knows now that my dogs are always going to be gentle with her and it makes her feel safe petting them. I'm glad to be able to provide a good GSD example for her so she could get passed her fear. She retired this year and came around and said a special good bye to Raina because she said she would miss them most of all. Pyrate's been gone now for a couple years but I still miss him too. Some people sadly never get over the fear so it is best to just give them space. I will walk off the path and put my dog in a sit when I see someone coming on a bicycle or even walking. Most appreciate it.
 
#14 ·
Yup! Frequently! I try not to let it bother me as it is "their" issue. My girl is on a leash and well under my control. If they have a fear, legitimate or not, it's not my problem.
I will admit that there are times when I'm in a mood, that it bothers me that my dog is judged for her breed or size, not for the good girl she is.
That said: I do respect the fact some people probably have a reason to fear dogs of all shapes and sizes. I personally don't trust small dogs, been bitten by a couple. I don't try to avoid them but I do watch their body language very closely.
I love dogs...but I am respectful that not all dogs will love me...or my dog. Thus, I also understand when others show hesitation or fear when it comes to my dog. It is what it is! It's not personal.
 
#15 ·
I lived there for 30 years, nothing like that sense of entitlement to tell other people what to do.

Otto does tend to draw the nervous go walk in the street reaction. He has a huge DDR head and a has a very intimidating stare. LOL I don't think anyone would dare say something like that to me when I'm holding his leash.

Venus is black so she's had a few people look at her all scared and go around but usually she gets a smile. She's a dainty female with a friendly face, wags her tail and looks kindly at people (unlike Otto!) When she was a younger pup people would get her the 'it scares me' look as they're going around her and she'd actually look a bit concerned like why doesn't that person like me?

Morgan didn't really care to meet people but nobody was really ever afraid of her. She was also a small female wtih a pretty face. She used to get a lot of people complimenting her that she looked like someone else's dog.

Luther used to get rude stares. He didn't like it so he'd give people something to be scared of if they made a rude toned remark. I took him in when he was 2, took about a year to teach him that was unacceptable.
 
#25 ·
No, but our Doberman coming down the sidewalk was like Moses parting the Red Sea. His looks were very intimidating.
I fostered a Dobie for a couple of months. I got the exact same thing. With a GSD, I may get a person or two walk another way or wait till I pass. But with the Dobie, they'd leap out of the way. Walked him along the seawall one time and people would actually jump on top of cars. He was dead quiet. Friendly as all get out. I dunno.
 
#18 ·
I've never gotten asked to walk in the opposite direction. It used to bother me tho when people would cross the street, or pull there children really close to them and tell them to stay away from THAT dog. That was even when Dixie was 4 month's old :/ But now I have just accepted the fact that alot of people think GSD's are a big, bad breed and just don't like them and that because they had a bad experience with one or two there all the same even tho your's is friendly and trained. I do have alot of people admire from a far, and haveing all the sidewalk space is nice sometimes :) lol
 
#19 ·
Not yet, he's only 12 weeks :) My parents had GSDs that were protection trained (not sure what else, it was before I was born). My father used to tell me about how he would take the one dog down to Camden (NJ-bad bad city), and everyone would walk on the other side of the street.

My neighbor on our cul-de-sac has an Afghan hound that he has no control over and it lunges at everything, including cars. I stay far away from that dog.
 
#22 ·
Ive never been asked to walk the other way. I have had people cross the street. When walking, if I see my dog is making people nervous or a small dog owner coming down the same side, I will give them plenty of room and put Dex in a sit stay. I get quite a few comments on how well behaved he is when they pass by and alot of thank yous. There is a rare few that will give dirty looks or say I shouldnt have a vicious dog out walking, but its far between.
 
#23 ·
I've never had a problem with my guys. I've always given people and dogs a wide berth. If I see someone approaching us and can't cross the street , I give a wide berth have Rock stand behind me my other dohs would sit.

Usually get a thank you and "nice dog" as they go pass. :)
 
#24 ·
This reminds me of a Mayhem story.

May is not real fond of small kids running up to her. I was out walking with my friend and her sheltie and as we came around the turn at the park a family is coming toward us. Kids immediately yell "doggies!" and run toward us. I turn around and walk May 20 feet or so off the path to avoid this and call to the parents that she is not really very kid friendly. I thought I was being polite and protective of my dog. Wrong! I was walking my vicious creature that had no business in public.

No lie- dad says if she is not good with kids she has no business being out. Kathy saw red and gave him a blast about his uncontrolled kids being allowed out in public parks.

People are afraid of many things. I try to be polite and if see someone is noticeably afraid I give them more space, just like I gave my dog more space. But for someone to suggest that I turn around or because they are afraid - not my problem, they can turn around.Or someone suggest my dog should not be in public....... WRONG ANSWER.
 
#27 ·
This reminds me of a Mayhem story.

May is not real fond of small kids running up to her. I was out walking with my friend and her sheltie and as we came around the turn at the park a family is coming toward us. Kids immediately yell "doggies!" and run toward us. I turn around and walk May 20 feet or so off the path to avoid this and call to the parents that she is not really very kid friendly. I thought I was being polite and protective of my dog. Wrong! I was walking my vicious creature that had no business in public.

No lie- dad says if she is not good with kids she has no business being out. Kathy saw red and gave him a blast about his uncontrolled kids being allowed out in public parks.
LOL Kathy you should have PETTED THE CHILDREN. I love to pet children who just run at my dogs. 9 - 11 year old boys are rated for the best reaction. Each one teach one.
 
#26 ·
Actually, they do just the opposite. People see me walking my GSDs, and they practically run to us. When they do this I am polite as possible and say that it's not safe to run up on a dog you don't know. One should ask before approaching.
 
#28 · (Edited)
I've pretty much stopped worrying about what other people think and do, so long as they are far enough away that they are unlikey to try anything with one of mine.

Today, I had Odie at the vet and they were taking blood. She couldn't get enough out of her left rear leg. So she switched to the right. And she is poking and poking. And poking the dog to get the blood. She said a few times, I am not worried about her.

So I said, well she is fully attack trained. At this point she was trying to get blood out of her neck, and poking away with her face right in Odie's teeth. She looked at me. I told her, well I didn't, actually I'm not sure how to get her to bite -- well, I think I know. She said, let's not practice now. LOL!

At one point, I told her you don't have to worry about the dog, you need to worry about the owner!

But she was just having trouble getting the blood to come out. And Odie wasn't complaining.

I guess the way I look at it, if someone wants to put some distance between themselves and my dog. All the better. They are nervous, and it is probably better for them to stay away. I've only had one person yell across a parking lot, telling me to keep the dog away. That was 7 years ago, and this site was not all that sympathetic toward my feelings of incredulity. The dog was 4 months old, a puppy, mostly black, but his ears were up. The guy was huge.

My feeling was that people need to get over their fears and not expect the world to cater to them. But the general feeling of the site was that some people have phobias, and I guess they are to be pitied and not expected to get over a possible episode that they have had in the past.

Personally, I think it takes a lot of guts to tell someone to not walk somewhere or not bring the dog in a certain direction, or that they should not have that kind of dog or the like. I think a phobic person should go ahead and cross the street or go the other way. That's fine. But when they get loud-mouthed about it, then I think it isn't such an evil thing for us to think they need to get over themselves.

Ah well, I think it is probably a good time to get my moon chart out and see if it has anything to do with how fractious I've been feeling lately.

ETA: Darn! Can't blame the moon either.
 
#29 ·
I agree with Courtney's mentality....

Plain and simple...some people are genuinely scared/intimidated by GSDs and other large dogs.....it does not matter why they are scared, simply that they are. As an owner of this breed (or similar ) which evokes this fear in some folks we have a few choices we can make.

1.) do nothing at all and simply go about your business.

2.) enjoy this fear others have and conduct yourself as such and fan the flames...and by doing this, you only make the fear more real...even though you understand your dog is perfectly gentle in this particular situation. It's almost as some folks get off on having some folks fear their dog...like it is some kind of badge you wear because you have a "scary" dog.....speaks volumes of the owner and their ego. I understand there are times when one wants certain humans to fear their dog...nothing wrong with that but that is not the theme of this thread.

3.) you can be an ambassador of the GSD and help some of these folks through their fear because many times their fear is based on misconceptions and/or a bad situation they might have experienced. Too many times the exception versus the rule is what creates the sweeping generalizations these fearful folks live by...You have an opportunity to change this attitude which exists out there with too many folks...given the chance.

So, do as you choose, obviously but your actions will either perpetuate this false reason for others fearing your dog or do your best within reason to temper their fear....remember, what you do to allay this fear others might have of your GSD will only make it easier for those to come who will own a GSD in the future. Perhaps, the insurance companies and their actuaries have good cause for their policies regarding certain dog breeds such as the GSD....perhaps you as an owner can change this.

" It is no wonder as Forbes Magazine indicates the German shepherd ranks No. 4 on a non-alphabetized list of 11 of dog breeds that most insurance companies resist insuring. What insurance companies don't resist is issuing an umbrella policy such as a canine liability policy, according to Dog Bite Law. This comes with an additional price tag."

SuperG
 
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