My pup is 4 1/2 months old now and since i got him at 8 weeks he has come along on short trips to as many places with me as possible. At first he was small enough to carry in a store (don't worry I asked permission) not that it matter's with all the purse puppies floating around these days lol. So at first he just observed from my arms and got used to the noises of stores like home depot, but i didn't allow much petting from strangers but they snuck in some anyways .... It's amazing that people will literally lunge at you to molest your pup. Now he is bigger so most stores don't want him walking around but I found that the Bass Pro Shops in my area allows dogs to shop with their owners so that's where we go. Now tell me if i am going about this the right way. Usually someone will approach immediately to come to see him, and he actually knows the word "puppy" and starts wiggling with excitement. So he is not allowed to approach the stranger and I keep him seated at my side. So me and the stranger talk and he observes, no more touching, but I will let him meet people in this way now. Now strangers aren't as exicting and he usually lies down halfway through the conversation and waits to move on. Now should he get the odd pet from a stranger? People are actually shocked when i tell them to please not pet my dog and they will actually come up behind you and touch him..... No wonder there are so many idiots bitten. I don't like the way most people disrespectfully approach other peoples dogs, and don't want him interested in other people as petting machines, but I do want him confident in public places since he will be in that situation a lot and not see people and crowds a threat. Other then that, he is very relaxed at the store and doesn't mind the buggies and walking through crowds, it's just when i stop to talk to someone he is very interested. In your opinion is the way I described above a good way to start? Please let me know how you handled your experiences at this stage.

I guess no one has stumbled upon this thread yet?? I was looking forward to some feedback and advice from you guys. I know this is a boring sort of question, but important to me to find out if there is a better way of approaching this everyday situation. Thanks Terra

Terra,

Let me make sure I understand....He is fine with people, and you practice the "please don't pet my dog" rule, and you want to know how to teach him to stop seeing people as "fun petting" things?

How old is he? He is still pretty young yet as I recall?

I think having him sit at your side is a great thing, but I am not sure I fully understand what you want to do....can you clarify for me?

I just want to know if I am approaching this in the right way, he is approaching 5 months and everything up until now has been positive no pressure, and no formal training has started but he is taken with me for short trips and slowly increasing his exposure to public places, well I'm in the city and it's hard to find a quiet place sometimes unless you drive further out of the city. So is what i'm doing ok? He doesn't seemed stressed at all just a little excitable when he sees me talking to someone so i will have him sit or lay down. Should I have a toy or a treat to distract him if he does get worked up in this situation to avert his attention to me and away from the stranger?

One other thing, and this really goes to everyone.

The easiest way to keep from confusion is to write your posts in paragraphs, rather than one big paragraph.

I get lost in the whole post, and end up misreading things or missing things. And, I know there are a few here, that will not even read a post that is not broke down into paragraphs.

Thanks.

Sorry I'm still learning posting etiquette, and I know i'm not the most articulate person
but I hope to get better in time.

I just read twice through it and I'm afraid I don't quite get your goal yet, either.

Do you want him to be petted or not? Do you want him to sit and then you allow petting? What is your goal?

 Quote: Terra Presotto

Sorry I'm still learning posting etiquette, and I know i'm not the most articulate person
but I hope to get better in time.

Nah....no apology necassary, your doing great. It goes out to a whole lot of people and not just you specifically.

My eyes are not what they used to be....

I am with Connie, what is your end goal?

BTW, your dog gets more handsome as he grows.

Never mind, I just wanted to know how others approached this situation when it presented itself.

I don't want him to be petted, if possible but if someone does touch him I don't want him to be fearful of this either when he grows up. So should some interaction take place?

Also I mentioned in the previous post that i do have him sit down or lay down when I am talking to a stranger.
When his attention is too focused on the stranger, should I have a toy or a treat to distract him to avert his attention to me and away from the stranger?

I guess my goal is to socialize him properly so when he is out with me, which he will be a lot he will be a well behaved dog in public places and desensitized too distractions and focused on me.

Again I was asking others for there advice on this and their experiences with this since i'm sure all with a young dog have had to do some socializing in the past.

Thank you.

BTW i'm not trying to be rude but i can't seem to get my point across so I don't want to push the issue and fustrate people, and it's not a big problem so not to worry.

I don't have experience here, but I did a search and came up with something I thought was pretty useful about teaching the dog to teach their composure: http://www.leerburg.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Board=20&Number=163951&Searchpage=8&Main=16915&Words=Jennifer+Marshal&topic=0&Search=true#Post163951

Great idea, Jennifer! This is something that I am going to try as well! Good luck...