Human behavior

[pelenaka]

Thank God Chaco,you get it!

I've been training dogs for obedience since 1983. Have AKC obedience titles on my dogs. I just detest people who shove themselves on my dog without asking, or shove their dogs on my dog, saying "oh they can touch, they just want to say hi".

No, leave my dog alone ESPECIALLY when I tell you to stop bringing your dog over.

Case in point. I am out on a trail, where you see 1 person in 2 miles. As remote as I can get on a weekday, in Phoenix.

This just actually happened to me 5 days ago. I told this 20 something guy with his dog (it was on a leash). I moved over to the side of a 7 foot wide trail, plenty of room for him to pass. I told him I don't want my dog touching or sniffing his dog. This bastard kept coming at me saying oh they just want to smell & say "hi".

Hey idiot! When I tell you to leave my dog & I alone, I mean it!

I had to take my hiking stick & slam it between the 2 dogs on the ground, his dog backed away. Then he says to me, don't hit my dog. I said, I didnt but I will, if you won't leave me alone. I told him, this is a trail, not a dog park.


Friggin idiots! I hate people like that! That's how dog fights start. If the owner tells you to leave the dog alone, duuuhhhhh.........

DO IT!

My favorite instance since becoming a dog owner again after a 14 year hiatus was a pastor delivering food boxes to my mom's senior housing complex. He went out of his way to come over to the park bench Mom & I were sitting on to ask me if he could pet my dog. Except picture him asking as he starts to both reach out and touch my dog and crouch down to my dog in essence hovering over my dog. At this point I've only owned him a couple of months (pound rescue) so I can't vouch for him (can any owner really vouch 100% for their dog 100% of the time?).
So I ask him," Why ask me when you are already touching my dog"?
Blank stare so I reach out & touch his face then ask him if it's alright if I pet him.

Hubby says my dog should wear a sign that says beware of owner.

[wakapak]

I agree, I hike with my black lab off leash and if he wants to be petted he will approach , if not he will come back to me or just pass,I tried training him but we both lost interest.

He has become the perfect hiking companion, I just need to find better sleeping arrangments when tenting( he likes to sleep real close)

It's a good thing that your dog hasn't experienced any problems with people which led him to become a little reactive and growl at others. We're trying to train Grayson to not go up to every person out there because we are also aware that there are lots of people who may not like dogs, especially on the trail. He is an awesome hiking companion and we want to keep bringing him with us on our adventures.

I guess I also think of it as an analogy like this: would you go up to other people with a kid or baby on the side of the trail and start patting that kid on the head oogling at the cuteness? Sounds ridiculous, but seriously! It's the same thing really....

[wakapak]

My favorite instance since becoming a dog owner again after a 14 year hiatus was a pastor delivering food boxes to my mom's senior housing complex. He went out of his way to come over to the park bench Mom & I were sitting on to ask me if he could pet my dog. Except picture him asking as he starts to both reach out and touch my dog and crouch down to my dog in essence hovering over my dog. At this point I've only owned him a couple of months (pound rescue) so I can't vouch for him (can any owner really vouch 100% for their dog 100% of the time?).
So I ask him," Why ask me when you are already touching my dog"?
Blank stare so I reach out & touch his face then ask him if it's alright if I pet him.

Hubby says my dog should wear a sign that says beware of owner.

LOVE IT!! Best analogy and way to convey it ever!

[Another Kevin]

+1 on the approach sideways, mimic wagging tail, crouch down to the dog's level, after asking permission to approach the animal.

It also helps to disarm the owner. Often it's funny to talk to the owner by pretending to talk to the dog. For a leash-puller: "Oh, you're such a ferocious brute! I bet you can't wait to get over here and lick me to death!" For a growler: "I'll thank you to keep a civil tongue in your head! Where did you learn that kind of language, anyway?" For a cowerer: "I didn't think I was that scary! Really, I don't bite dogs!" For the three little yappy things being walked by a suburban matron: "Oh, you're such a lovely wolf pack!" And so on.

[FarmerChef]

For a leash-puller: "Oh, you're such a ferocious brute! I bet you can't wait to get over here and lick me to death!"

This was what I was trying, in part, to refer to in my earlier post about the dog owners needing to be trained. I see people being walked by their dog all the time. The dog pulls them all over the sidewalk or trail investigating every interesting thing and, very often, person or animal. I let my Husky walk in front and even pull a bit moving forward but she responds to my or my kids commands and is focused on working not investigating since work is a big component of her breed. That's ok too. But when I see a dog pulling their owner from side to side I take my dog off the side of the trail and wait for that dog and owner to pass. Could be fine or could be trouble just waiting to happen. The worst is when we're caught on a narrow piece of trail on a cliff-side or ledge. Then we just move quickly past without stopping to minimize any tension build ups on the parts of the dogs.

and +1 to "we are also aware that there are lots of people who may not like dogs, especially on the trail."

We met an elderly gentlemen on the trail near a road who was deathly afraid of dogs pushing him over and breaking his hip. Luckily there was a broad area as he didn't want us and our dog to be anywhere close to where he was or was going. There are others who have a fear of dogs from negative experiences in the past. I met another hiker who shared just such a story from his childhood. It is a highly considerate thing to not automatically assume that everyone likes or even wants to be anywhere close to your dog.