give me a break!!

first of all happy Easter to all!! i took Tex out today, in all honesty i expected it to be an horrendous ordeal with it being Easter, but puppy has to be walked. however the gods were good and there was rain which meant all other dog walkers were nicely tucked away in doors, so we got through the majority of our walk not having seen another dog until the very end

Tex saw a labrador, starting to snarl, growl, lunge, bark - the usual. I stood to one side and was trying to keep the behaviour under control in my usual fashion when i notice some guy is coming right over to us, arm extended to stroke Texas...Whilst she was in the middle of an aggressive display!

I stuck my hand out firmly and said "no no no! Leave her alone!" to which his reaction was to tut and sigh and walk away muttering about me under his breath like i was at fault!!

I appreciate that maybe he thought he could help, I also appreciate that maybe i sounded a little short when i told him to back off. But goodness me what kind of daft head tries to stroke a dog thats clearly displaying aggression. Shes good with people, but I really didn't need her redirecting onto a stranger

I could pull my hair out!!

no telling some people the joy of being a dog owner

I guess some good intentions can go sour but no need to be muttering under the breathe

Yerh, like I can get that his intentions were probably only to try and help. But I was only trying to protect him. I'm sure if I hadnt asked him to back off and Tex had bitten him he'd have done more than mutter about me

Did you not know, he's entitled to come over and pet your dog regardless of the circumstances? He is The Dog Master, all dogs obey him!

If he'd come over and said 'can i help?' from a distance, or come over after you'd got Texas calmed down to ask you if you were alright or something, fair dues. Walking up to a complete stranger who's dealing with their stressed dog and trying to pet them is just foolish and a bit arrogant. It seems like he was completely lacking in common sense.

I came across this the other day, Em. Great advice

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mu4FGW1bT-0

LizP wrote:I came across this the other day, Em. Great advice

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mu4FGW1bT-0

That is helpful thank you!

Could always say 'No, don't he's rolled in poo!"

Well done on being assertive enough to protect you and Tex, the guy was either an well meaning idiot or just couldn't read the situation very well.

Maybe he doesn't own a dog? I've found i've come to learn a lot of dog owner etiquette since getting Rio, although even before him I would never just go up to a dog and try to stroke them, but maybe these things just don't occur to people without dog experience

Sadly, Kerry, many of the well meaning idiots I used to meet with Bobbert were, in their words, 'really doggy people' with (according to them) lots and lots of experience. And it's ok, they reassure you, dogs are completely different with them than with anyone else in the whole world (probably including you, who clearly don't know what you are talking about). Unfortunately, there is no telling them at all that they don't have the faintest idea about your dog, which is why that video clip is great because you don't deal with them, you deal with your dog.

Yeah it's a good distraction technique, similar to what i try to use with Rio and other pooches. It's just sad because someone some day will approach a stressed dog, it end badly and blame the dog for it :/

It was a good call on your part in my opinion. I had a similar situation walking my German Shepard when i was around 16 years old.

I was walking my usual route which passed by a local pub, on my way past the boozer a drunk guy appeared being extra rowdy which instantly turned Khan my dog into guard dog mode. I told him to back off and got Khan under control. He ignored me and began swearing. Within seconds my dog began to bark loudly which soon steered the blokes attention away from us. He yelled and shouted i needed better control of my 'aggressive dog''. My pooch was ding only exactly what he was trained to do!

Some people, aye!

TexMex wrote:

LizP wrote:I came across this the other day, Em. Great advice

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mu4FGW1bT-0

That is helpful thank you!

I like this clip and would be inclined to say "In training" which should make most people respect your decision.