Very annoyed at people with dogs VENT

I make no secret of my love for dogs, especially my own. But we must remember that dogs are animals, and need to be aware of that. I cannot tell you how many times I am walking my dog-a 90 plus pound black lab-and a parent w. a small child sees the dog-the child wants to pet the dog, and the parent does not try to stop them or anything. Now, my dog is well trained, but if I was a mother I would not let my kids go near a dog they did not know, leash or not. If this means I have to walk around, or accross the street from a dog that looks sketchy, I would. Its not about my 'rights' as a pedestrian, its about protecting the child.

It makes me SO nervous when people let their kids walk up to my dog, I always ask, please watch him/her, while the dumbas* parent stands there asking 'is your dog friendly?' I usually say no just so they will stay away. I dont like people coming at my dog even though he is so dopey he would love them to death before anything.

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Posted by julybride444

Most people who walk are used to dogs. And, dogs bark sometimes. That's part of being a dog.

There are plenty of reasons that a dog may bark - an offensive smell or sound (or the smell of a cat), a person that looks threatening, etc etc etc. And, even a properly trained dog may lapse occasionally( and a bark is not life threatening!). You and I know what we're supposed to do but we make mistakes sometimes, don't we?

I'm not a big fan of dogs myself, but suggesting we muzzle them all isn't right either. We don't jail all people b/c some are criminals. Muzzles are not a nice way to treat any animal, and shouldn't be used unless absolutely necessary.

***Very importantly, muzzles can encourage otherwise docile dogs to become more aggressive because they feel that they do not have their defenses available, making them more afraid and defensive (and possibly more likely to jump on and attack people or animals with their claws). They can also create a negative relationship with people, and when the dog is then unmuzzled it can become aggressive.

It's important that when making decisions about animals in our lives or in society, we know the facts; doing otherwise often proves dangerous or cruel.***

P.S.
Friends don't muzzle friends

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I couldn't agree more - and I have a dog - a very gentle, loving and mushy PITBULL! She wouldn't hurt a fly!

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Posted by hmichick


It makes me SO nervous when people let their kids walk up to my dog, I always ask, please watch him/her, while the dumbas* parent stands there asking 'is your dog friendly?' I usually say no just so they will stay away. I dont like people coming at my dog even though he is so dopey he would love them to death before anything.

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This is a really good point. We have had a few parents at my Day Care bring their dogs up with them to the center when they pick up their children. I am sorry but a dog who at home may be perfect eith one child may react totally different to 20 surrounding them. I always tell my kids at work that a dog has teeth and anything with teeth can bite you so you need to be careful

I agree that is very much an 'owner issue'
My dog is a mix breed and I have come to find out that on occasion when you mix these breeds and get a male, you end up with a dog with very poor socialization skills. My dog loves people. But he will violently attempt to attack any creature that comes within 40 feet if it is anything other than human. Knowing this I do walk my dog with a muzzle, cause i do not know if god forbid he should decide to turn and attack a person? I mean he's an animal. And he's a fairly large dog.
And for another thing I usually cross the street if I see people who appear with small children or just seem to have an overall fear of my dog.
But that's just what I feel comfortable with.

Here's my take on the issue. I know many people who owned dogs throughout the years. Some of them have well behaved dogs and some of them were just awful. Most of them were not downright mean, but just poor social behavior. I definitely believe it had to do with the way the owners trained their dogs.

I am sure though, like people dogs have different personalities. Some are very nice and some can be very mean. It is up to the owner to make the right decision of how to take care of the dog. Unfortuntely some of these idiots who mistreat these dogs or don't care about them don't care a whit about changing their behavior. We could make some laws on this but they might only be able to be inforced after someone gets hurt anyhow!