Dogs are not public property - article

gettingready

http://www.dogster.com/lifestyle/dogs-are-not-public-property

Person_one

Its a good basic point, but its so hysterical!

meritaten

basically true - I try to teach the grandkids not to hug strangers dogs. but the amount of times I have seen grown adults approaching strange dogs and trying to 'cuddle' them!!!!!!!!!
animals should be respected and should always be approached with caution - I am not afraid of them, but I wouldn't 'grab' a dog and force it to endure strokes or cuddles or even in one scenario I witnessed..........a stranger 'kissing' it on the face!

any_name_will_suffice

Totally agree.

I am taking mine on short walks as part of his recovery from his knee op. He's always loved people, and is very excitable, and tends to get carried away if people start petting him.

On one of the first walks, two young (7 ish) girls were walking ahead of two women. I swapped Rocky to my other side so I was between him and them, bug when they got fairly close, the girls started walking towards us holding their hands out and making kissy noises to him. I told them quite firmly not to touch him (I wanted to get them away from him quickly as he was starting to hop up and down in excitement) and then explained he was poorly. (he is shaved from the middle of his back down one leg and he's limping so it is fairly obvious). I don't understand why the women (I am assuming mothers) didn't stop them when they saw they were trying to approach a strange dog.

Yesterday, we were walking along, and came across an older man on a mobility scooter. He made eye contact with the dog, who started furiously wagging his tail and doing his best "no one ever gives me cuddles" face.

The man got off his mobility scooter and came to fuss the dog. I wasn't as firm as I had been with the girls, but said, "oh no, please don't, he's had an operation, he's not very well", but the man carried on to fuss Rocky, and despite my best attempts to hold him down he managed to get really over excited and jump up on his back legs ( thankfully not high, mainly because I was practically hanging around his neck). Not a great thing to do three weeks after a cruciate repair :eek:

Next time, I think I will try something along the lines of "if you continue to touch my dog and cause his £2000 knee to come undone,
i will be coming to you with the repair bill" and see if that discourages people.

Another pet hate of mine is people see a dog, and assume it's ok to feed it.

i am sure Rocky sucks his cheeks in when he sees people eating. I had left him outside a shop once, only for a minute, and came out to find a man feeding him a cornish pasty. "But he looked so hungry" was all he could say. And I was getting cash out of an ATM once with the dog in tow, became aware he was eating something and realised the lady standing in the queue behind me was feeding him gravy bones. "Oh, it's ok, I have a lab too" was her response. :mad: IMO, that doesn't make it ok, dogs might have food intolerances or be on reducing diets etc.

bellaboo86

This is something that grates on me as well. My dog is very friendly but can occasionally become snappy when surprised or when he feels crowded (people leaning over him). He also can not abide being picked up (big dog so not really an issue). He is a rescue dog BTW.
I'm always over the top when new people meet him just so I can cover myself and him with an I told you so!
You would not believe the amount of people that ignore me and the warnings. A friend of mine has a chid and I have told the child not to touch him. The child then asks mum if she can touch the dog and the mum tells her she can as long as she's careful!
Another time when my mum was dog sitting she had a friend round who has 9 dogs of her own. Again mum told her just to be careful. After a glass of wine she decides she wants to look at his teeth. Needless to say he wasn't happy. I wouldn't be happy if a tipsy stranger started poking around in my mouth either.

spacey2012

My Dogs love been cuddled and fussed by children.
And who would want a dog any different.

ineed

I can understand not wanting random strangers over exciting or upsetting your dog. It's a good article, maybe a bit OTT though.

When I was younger some neighbours of mine had a lovely Samoyed that I adored, but I'd always ask if it was ok to pet him. It was ok but it's polite to ask. My dad used to own a rough collie when he first got his own place in the 60s, he said trying to do anything outside was a nightmare the dog was always mobbed by people wanting to cuddle him and the dog found it very stressful. You should always make sure it's ok and not just assume.

Raksha

People are taught to ask the owner, but how many also ask the dog?

ljonski

Hi GR
Your inbox is full so im posting off topic here !
as well as being a great film this film features a femaleGS dog (actor)(with puppies) and a superb Polish director


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04wFf9k1uCg
lj

gettingready

Thanks, got to sort out the inbox....

I know 3 colours

spike241

This is something I'm trying to teach my youngest brother and sister. I go down the beach quite often (photographing the dogs) and sometimes they try to chase some of the dogs to stroke them.
It drives me mad and I can't imagine the dogs enjoy it but I'm getting there.

I might stroke a dog if it comes up to me but if the owner asked me not to then I wouldn't. I can't see why some people can't understand basic requests.