I just want to vent.

Today after tracking with Cato, I decided to take him to the downtown public fountain where people and children gather for fun. He loves the water and has done very well with frantic screaming playful children, I've done a lot of work with him in this area...(ie: playgrounds, games, etc) he ignores them for the most part although recently (at 5 months and teething like a banshee) he's started barking at strangers when we *first* go out, then he chills.

All the children were playing (probably 10 or so) and Cato and I just sat watching, he did not bark *once* and the children or people ther. I had exercised him for about 20 mins prior, and wanted him to soak in the scene. He was doing well with commands, etc...so after about 5 minutes, we mosied over to the fountain. He was completely ignoring the kids, and there was one little girl who approached and asked if she could pet the dog, as he was in a platz (in the water) I said sure. He did great.

Unfortunately (?) a dog passed by behind us and Cato barked his, yes, loud bark, and so I sat him and then went to sit on the stone wall about 20 feet from the fountain.

The mom of that little girl approached me and told me all the children were very scared of the dog and that I had no business being there. I just said to her that I was socializing the puppy and working on some training. She said to me "that is not training" and then went off about if my dog were to bite one of those kids, and on and on...I then just told her I have my own child and that I'd much rather have someone train their puppy to be around kids and ignore them than to not do so...she walked back to her friends and the kids and talked loud enough for me to hear about how I was not training my dog. !!! I just sat with Cato there in a platz for about 5 more minutes, then we went to the playground area and watched.

I do not want to scare people, (it really makes me sad people live in such fear) but at the same time, I feel it is necessary to expose him to these scenarios. Will he get the same effect if we just stay off in the distance?

Edited by Michele McAtee (07/10/2007 10:58 AM)
Edit reason: did not bark at people

I walk Jenga through a busy park to expose him, and I mostly get ignored. Some mothers look alarmed, but I've never been approached - he's on leash and by my side.

I think as long as he's on lead and being monitored, it should be fine. Going to the park has made Jenga much less interested in kids - before going he used to do a "prey stare" at toddlers, eek!

We've definitely encountered a few frightened parents...one the other day kept yelling at her children to stay away from us, but they kept running towards us. I kept walking away, not wanting Jenga's experiences to involve being rushed from behind by a toddler, but then as it became inevitable that I was going to be chased through the park, I turned around and said, "Don't sneak up on him. If you want to pet him, you have to stand still and hold your hand out so he knows you're friendly. Never come up to a dog from behind." She did as I told, Jenga sniffed and gave a little lick, and it gave the mom time to approach. She looked terrified of him too, but having seen him lick her daughter, she then held out her hand and he licked her and was all wags. It was a wonderful experience for everyone.

If you're going to a park to socialize, expect some worried parents and be prepared to deal with dog-loving kids who don't know dog manners yet.

I just wanted to comment on this.

I can't believe someone would be that rude. I understand caring for your children but thats going a bit too far.

Something happened this morning with my Golden too. When I was walking him a teenager approached us and asked if he could pet him (Kiba was doing great, I asked him to sit and he ACTUALLY ignored the guy). I told him no and tried to explain. We went over to the other side of the street and the guy followed us for a long while. He then tried to call him saying 'Puppy, puppy'. I told him to stop and he tried to run up and grab Kiba. Before I could react, the pup went crazy and tried to chase after the guy. Ah, my little Kiba.

Anyways, the point is that people just don't understand, and at most times have selective hearing. Its so damn annoying, this is the second time something like this has happened to us during our walks.

Wow Nathan, some people are really bold, eh? There was a recent thread full of stories like that (my own included), and some of them just blew me away.

 Quote:

I do not want to scare people, (it really makes me sad people live in such fear) but at the same time, I feel it is necessary to expose him to these scenarios. Will he get the same effect if we just stay off in the distance?

I think they do Michele. I tend to stay far enough away that kids have to go out of theyre way to be close to us and when they want to pet Andy I tell them they have to ask thier parents if it's ok. If the parents come over with the kids and say its ok I let them pet him. Maybe because I know so many people are afraid of Rotts I won't stay around if It's worrying people. I take him to public places all the time but I've always kinda felt that I don't have the right to impose my training on people that don't want him there.

Yep! I couldn't believe what he did but honestly Kiba surprised me more, I hadn't seen any aggression in him, besides the times we were playing. Whats the name of the thread? It would be interesting to read about those kind of experiences as well as find out how you guys handle them....because the nice, polite way doesn't work and the stern, cold look with a 'Back off' seems to make it worse. Dang, maybe I should get a whip and cracking and yelling 'Back beast!' whenever something like that happens.

Nathan, the topic was called "People won't leave dog alone when out"...Here's a link: http://www.leerburg.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/146957/page/0/fpart/1

 Quote: steve strom

 Quote:

I do not want to scare people, (it really makes me sad people live in such fear) but at the same time, I feel it is necessary to expose him to these scenarios. Will he get the same effect if we just stay off in the distance?

I think they do Michele. I tend to stay far enough away that kids have to go out of theyre way to be close to us and when they want to pet Andy I tell them they have to ask thier parents if it's ok. If the parents come over with the kids and say its ok I let them pet him. Maybe because I know so many people are afraid of Rotts I won't stay around if It's worrying people. I take him to public places all the time but I've always kinda felt that I don't have the right to impose my training on people that don't want him there.

I agree with Steve.

It is really sad that people are so afraid of dogs that they have to be rude about it, but, "it is what it is" and we, as handlers, have to deal with that.

I understand ... It is hard to socialize/neutralize our pups when there are people out there with attitudes like this.

On the evening of the 4th, I brought our pup down to the waterfront park with us. There was live music, lots of people, et cetera. A great spot to both spend time with the pup, and expose him to lots of people, smells, sounds, et cetera.

I selected a spot near the band but away from the direction of the speakers, as loud music does bother my pup. While I was putting something in my pockets, I wasn't playing close enough attention to our pup. He took that moment to try to visit the lady that was about 6-8 feet away from us. I corrected him and put him back into a sit. Even so, they wanted me to leave the area. I refused. I appologized for Buddy trying to meet them, and told them that I wouldn't let him do that again. They still insisted I leave the area. I continued to refuse. Public Place and all that.

They got mad and left the area.

My pup acted badly, I corrected him. If I had let him do it without correction, or he had ignored my correction, then ask me to leave.

I had picked a spot that was not too densely populated by observers already ... there were only more crowded spots (& more loud) to move to.

*** What I find interesting, is the better the pup is behaving the more that people want to pet him. *** I found that if I put him into a sit, as people approach, most of them walk by and ignore him, as they don't want "the pup to get in trouble". :-)
But I'll be walking along with the pup in HEEL, and people will reach out to pet him. WTF? I guess my frustration stems from that no one likes a BAD DOG, but when the Dog is behaving, they want to "interrupt" and cause distraction.

Another Rant ... sorry, so long.

Your dog was on leash?