Walking Dogs

[Guest greygirls2]

Just a bit of a rant here. Yesterday I was walking my 3 greys with my daughter in law, her grey and a friend who was walking one of mine. We were just starting to go down the snowmobile trail when we spotted a man coming up with 2 small yappy dogs...a pug and a small mix. I know him & his wife from another park I walk in so I am aware that these dogs are very out of control when walking, barking, lunging, crazy stuff, and he knows it riles my dogs up. The wife usually keeps them on the other side of the raod...she wasn't with him yesterday. So I told everyone to just get way over to the side and we'd just let him and his dogs pass before we continued. I was way over in the shrub area holding my big male and one female over to the side telling then to just stay calm and "never mind" the phrase we use when we want the to ignore something. The guy comes closer to us and intead of getting way over to his side he veers towards us, gets right in front of us with the little terrors pulling on the leash which he has let out to the max.....and then he just stands there! I'm looking like please move on but my daughter in law said it before I could. I could feel the male, jj actually trembling he was getting so excited with these two dogs barking in his face and I'm just telling him to never mind as I held his leash tight. All of a sudden he bolts, I slide on the snow and before I knew what happened I'm on the ground. Thank DoG my dogs are small dog safe but even still they could easily have hurt those two just pawing them because they went right up to them, course then the small dogs are screaming in terror. Thankfully I walk with the leashes wrapped on my wrist so I can't let them go or we would have had multiple complications. In the meantime my daughter in law is yelling at the guy to go...get the dogs out of the way and he's yelling back at her to shut up and control your own dogs! Never once asked me if I was ok and just slowly walked away laughing......... I won't even tell you what my DIL yells after him. You'd think the idiot would stay on the other side when he can see that all of us have stopped and stepped off the trail...honestly I have no clue what he was thinking because he was setting his dogs up to be hurt. I'm pretty sore today.....hurt my knee, pulled something in my neck, twisted my back but I'll live. I am just absolutely livid, even more so today. Any suggestions on how to better handle a situation like this? We just got over Diamond's attack last April so I'm already uncomfortable walking my dogs.....now this.................. I can usually hold mine back with no problem but once the guy just stopped right in front of the dogs they got so overexcited they just completely overpowered me. I mean really....I'm walking 3 60 - 80lb greys..........I'm 5'2" and this guy is walking about 20lbs of dog total.......Are people really this stupid?????

[2ndChance]

Yes people really are.. I'm a firm believer in karma... I can already envision him falling on his rump and not walking for a week..

 

 

btw... kudos to DIL

[Guest KsFrets]

I like to tell the idiots to scram swiftly because it's been a few week since Magnus had eaten a yippy dog.

[Guest FastDogsOwnMe]

Wow, that's really bad- what a jackass! Yes, people are that stupid. It's impossible to believe, but it's true. It never ceases to amaze me. They'd rather kill their small dog just to stick it to us than actually be concerned and share public right of ways. There are people here in my area who'd rather let their dog get killed in the BIG DOG section of the park than go to the small dog section. Not sure if it's pride or just plain idiocy.

[Guest Flysmom]

Unfortunately people are THAT stupid! I don't know what else you could have done to accomodate him and his dogs. He should have asked if you are ok after falling. Why did he just stand there with his dogs? What was he trying to accomplish by this foolish act?

If we encounter small dogs, most of the time off leash, with the owners close by I make sure to tell my boys (very small dog safe) in a loud voice to ignore and that they already had breakfast/dinner.

 

I think that next time I see the wife I would try to talk to her and tell her what happened and how dangerous the situation was for ALL involved!

 

Kudos to your DIL! I think I would have been so shocked that I could not have said anything at that moment!

[DesiRayMom]

Whatever your DIL said..... times 10...to all those people who really are that stupid.

[christinepi]

I completely understand where your DIL was coming from, but I'm not sure is was necessarily helpful. It'll just confirm in this guy's eyes the rightfulness of his actions when dealing with other, in his eyes "crazy", people.

 

But yes, people are often stupid and completely inconsiderate. I wonder whether one tack would have been to turn around immediately once you saw him coming, and walk the other way. People like this won't learn; they thrive on antagonizing others. So since you can't win that battle, it might be best to not having it ever come that far again.

 

I agree that talking to the wife might be a good idea.

 

One more option might be, whenever you see him next, to CALMLY offer to have a conversation w/o the dogs at some other time, indicating you're not out for a fight but are trying to find a workable solution. You could make the whole thing about you're being concerned for his dogs, so he might feel more open to considering better ways; that way, you'd also not give him the easy way out to just shut down because he thinks you're out to attack him. Ultimately, you'll never end up changing him per se, but if you can achieve his at least giving you the physical space you and your dogs need, that's all you really need.

 

I hear you, though! Sometimes people like that can ruin my whole day (or more than one), and yet, we're not going to change them. I have a neighbor who is certifiable (her husband reportedly killed one of their dogs with a shovel when it bit one of their other dogs) and it takes all I've got to not go over there and put arsenic in her well... well, maybe not arsenic, but something REALLY BITTER...

Edited January 1, 2011 by christinepi

[Sambuca]

Call his wife. You said she always crosses the road and she seems considerate. Call and calmly tell her what happened, maybe she can talk sense into him.

[Guest june]

No advice but I'm sorry to hear about your encounter. It seems to me that some people with small dogs just don't have any sense. I hope you heal quickly.

In sympathy,

june

[Guest cendrine]

I agree with the suggestion to call the wife and let her know what happened. Perhaps she might get her husband to change his approach. Alternatively, the letter indicating your concern for his dogs and pointing out that their barking and running up to your dogs might be misinterpreted as aggressive behaviour by your own dogs might enlighten him a little about behavioural dynamics between dogs.

 

What amazes me most is that small dog owners excuse behaviour that would land most large dogs in big trouble.

[Guest Flysmom]

I agree with the suggestion to call the wife and let her know what happened. Perhaps she might get her husband to change his approach. Alternatively, the letter indicating your concern for his dogs and pointing out that their barking and running up to your dogs might be misinterpreted as aggressive behaviour by your own dogs might enlighten him a little about behavioural dynamics between dogs.

 

What amazes me most is that small dog owners excuse behaviour that would land most large dogs in big trouble.

 

[silverfish]

You know what I think? He's envious of your big muscular dogs and maybe a tad embarrassed to be walking two 'toys'. Therefore, he feels the need to show off and let his dogs get in your face and upset everyone, just so he can feel big and superior.

 

The way he made the effort to come and stand close with his dogs at the end of their leads and challenged you to control your dogs and then walked off laughing says it all. Poor guy. Another sad case of testosterone poisoning.

 

So sorry you had to get hurt to make his little ego feel better.

[cleptogrey]

i would scream out,"my dogs will EAT yours... MY DOGS ARE TRAINED TO CATCH SMALL PREY" sounds a bit extreme, but that is what that moron needs to hear!that is if he dares walking near you, it sounds like your DIL opened her mouth and share a few choice words of wisdom that he needed. people like that are jerks, plain and simple.

 

thank god you didn't break anything, try some motrin and soaking in a hot epsom's salts bath- it works.

[Guest june]

i would scream out,"my dogs will EAT yours... MY DOGS ARE TRAINED TO CATCH SMALL PREY"

 

I've done something similar a couple of times when small dogs, off leash, come running up barking and the owner says "its ok they won't hurt you" I reply, "You might want to come get your dog before my dogs eats it!" That usually gets them moving to get their dog!

june

[Guest sandlot13433]

I've done something similar a couple of times when small dogs, off leash, come running up barking and the owner says "its ok they won't hurt you" I reply, "You might want to come get your dog before my dogs eats it!"

 

I often times get the "its ok, my dogs are very nice" comment from people walking their dogs when I try to move out of the way with mine. I usually respond by saying that my dogs are not good with small dogs, and that usually works. However, I have had situations where I pull my dogs way off to the side to let someone with a little dog pass, and they stop and want to chat, asking questions, while my dogs are barking and lunging...I would have thought they would have gotten a clue, but I usually have to tell them to please keep walking because my dogs are getting riled up. With high prey greyhounds, it's more important to me to keep my dogs out of a bad situation and keep the little dogs safe than to worry about offending someone. Although, when people do get offended, I do feel awful...I just have to keep reminding myself that I need to do this for my dogs, so that I don't put them in a bad situation. I am sorry about your experience with this man. He was way out of line in my opinion.

[Guest greygirls2]

All good suggestions. I do intend to speak to the wife the next time I see her, she needs to know that he is endangering her dogs this way. I'm always afraid to yell "my dogs will eat them" for fear of making people think greys are viscious especially out here where there aren't that many around so people don't know how gentle they are. I've had people in the past tell me how they hear that greys are very high strung, don't make good pets, can't be near any other animals etc. All to which I usually educate them on the truth about the greys. I have told people like this guy that they are trained to chase small fluffy white things....as one of his dogs was...when they are stupid enough to let their loose dogs approach mine who are leashed. I had one woman last year let her two standard poodles who were running loose appraoch mine even though I told her to back them off. One was sniffing Diamond's bandaged leg from the previous attack and I could feel her stiffening. I told the woman to get her dogs and she just kept saying "oh, they are very freindly, they're fine" So finally I had to get firm and tell her to get the dogs away because Diamond was about to snap which I would assume no responsibility for and that I'd be glad to call animal control so they could explain what a leash law is and how it is for everyone not just a specific few. needless to say she got miffed, grabbed her dogs and huffed off...so be it! My dog'e safetey if first and foremost to me. I also educate them on the fact that any loose dog is a threat to a dog who is leashed. It just all happened so fast this time and I guess I was actually speechless that he was being so stupid........a rarity for me!.....that I didn't really get a chance to say anything at all. Probably a good thing because what I wanted to say when I finally got up off the ground wouldn't have been nice...... I am however, contemplating a letter written to the editor of our local paper on dog etiquette. Let's hope the New year is better for all.

[Guest Houndstown]

People are that stupid, unfortunately. I would definitely talk to the wife. Maybe she has more sense, but then again she did marry the jerk.

 

I would also consider keeping a few treats with you as a potential distraction when needed. I have one very food motivated hound. She likes to chase small furry things, but if I break out a treat she's confused and torn about which one to try to eat first! That usually gives the other "distraction" (small dog & stupid person) time to move on.

[Walliered]

My neighborhood is full of idiots. Almost everyone lets their dog run loose. I have yelled more than one time and am going to have my say at the next homeowners's meeting. Also called animal control one time (actually 5 times) and he is about a dufus! No help there. I carry mace and will use it. Have also let the idiots know that I will not pay the vet bill for mine or their dog and there will be a lawsuit if I am injured. I also walk my two 85 lb. greys with their muzzle on just for a little more insurance and piece of mind. Not much more I can do.

[Guest NJgrey]

All I can say is, I'm sorry, I know exactly how you feel and, I don't know if this came into play or not, but I hate those long flexi-leashes with a bloody passion. I hated them before I ever had a dog and I hate them 100X as much now. And it's ALWAYS little yappers at the end of them. They fly out to the end of the leash, snarling, yapping, screaming, groaning, making the most bizarre noises you'd ever hear coming out of a dog - all the while the owners do little or nothing about it. Like someone said above, if it was a GSD doing that you can bet your life he'd be in a harness with muzzle on a 4 ft. leash... but just because it's a maltese wearing a bumble-bee pattern jacket with matching fur collar it's all good, be as aggressive and unpleasant as you want.

 

Grr...

[Guest mirinaaronsmom]

This type of thing just gets my goat! It happens to us almost weekly since very few people in my town will leash their dogs and there is no animal control. The police are very selective about which laws they enforce and the leash law is not one of them. I was walking my two greys last weekend and saw someone at the end of the block just standing there. It's always dark when we walk these days and the street light was out on that particular corner. I was trying to figure out what that person was doing, but I figured that I have two large dogs, so I should be OK. Well, we got half way down the block and a little yapper comes racing up to us. My foster is not small dog safe and he went nuts. I tried to cross the street (too late, of course) and told the person that they were going to have a dead dog if they didn't get it away from us. I hate doing that since it makes greys look aggressive and it's always the yapper that is the instigator. I'm also angry with myself for not going a different direction when I saw the person just standing there in the dark, but hindsight is always 20-20. For the life of me, I just cannot understand why people will not keep their dogs on leashes. It's not that difficult.

[krissy]

I've done something similar a couple of times when small dogs, off leash, come running up barking and the owner says "its ok they won't hurt you" I reply, "You might want to come get your dog before my dogs eats it!"

 

I often times get the "its ok, my dogs are very nice" comment from people walking their dogs when I try to move out of the way with mine. I usually respond by saying that my dogs are not good with small dogs, and that usually works. However, I have had situations where I pull my dogs way off to the side to let someone with a little dog pass, and they stop and want to chat, asking questions, while my dogs are barking and lunging...I would have thought they would have gotten a clue, but I usually have to tell them to please keep walking because my dogs are getting riled up. With high prey greyhounds, it's more important to me to keep my dogs out of a bad situation and keep the little dogs safe than to worry about offending someone. Although, when people do get offended, I do feel awful...I just have to keep reminding myself that I need to do this for my dogs, so that I don't put them in a bad situation. I am sorry about your experience with this man. He was way out of line in my opinion.

 

Last week my BF and I went to visit his folks in Sault Ste Marie (Ontario) and we were out walking Summit one night fairly late. We were just taking him out for a quick business break so we were only about a block from the house. We see another couple walking 3 medium-large dogs (a golden, and maybe two standard poodle mixes). Summit has some dog aggression issues and I have been working on him diligently. I ask him to "watch me" when we see other dogs and he has been doing very well. Before I could even reach in my pocket for a treat these 3 dogs come barrelling towards us (I didn't realize originally that they were off leash) and the lady yells "Come here" followed by "why aren't they listening?" as the dogs continue unheeded towards us. She then yells, "They're friendly! They won't hurt him" I could immediately tell that Summit did not like these dogs (I wouldn't be surprised if one or all weren't neutered because that's Summit's big problem... unaltered males) and so since I couldn't keep the dogs away (they were very friendly thank goodness) I just kept him on a short leash and walked him through. The lady is like, "They're friendly" again, and I'm like, "Yeah, but HE'S not." I figure this should be enough to get them to round up their dogs and keep them away from us. But no, instead of getting her dogs under control she tells me, "You need to loosen up on his leash, you're just making it worse". I'm wondering why I would ever take training advice from someone who just said, "Why aren't they listening to me?".

 

So you're not alone. There are lots of idiots out there.

[Guest cwholsin]

It's really annoying when owners think aggressive/ridiculous behavior from their small dogs is 'funny' and 'cute'. If you wouldn't be thinking it was cute if your dog was 75lbs, it's not cute when they're 5!! A dog that bites, is a dog that bites, is a dog that bites. Just because they can't do as much harm as a larger dog doesn't mean it's acceptable behavior!

 

Not too long ago we saw a woman at our dog park laughing about her jack russell snarling and lunging at other dogs. I mean, really?? And then she picks up him and pets him!

 

A dog, no matter what size, should be taught to be well-behaved!