When I am out with my Malinois, hoardes of morons insist on attempting to pet him. I tell them that they can't, but both he and I would prefer that they don't even try.

I'm considering buying a vest or harness that says, "Do Not Pet - Working Dog" or something to that effect. Perhaps it would discourage people from approaching him at all, although I'm dubious that the general public is smart enough to decipher such complex phrases.

Does anyone use such an item with their dogs, and what has been your experience with them? Also, a lot of the stuff I've found so far is pretty cheesey looking. Anyone know where I can find a sharp looking vest or harness for my dog?

Thanks!

Hi Aimee,

I once had the same thought as you, for a slightly different reason though.
I also didn't like what was on the market, so what I did was basically made my own. I didn't make a vest though. I basically made a "slip cover" for my leash that says "DO NOT PET" in those reflective letters like you see on police cars and ermergency vehicles. I found all the materials I need at our local art store and the fabric store.

I also had to make stickers and signs for my vehicles because people kept trying to stick thier hands in my windows to pet my dogs. Good way to lose a hand. I was at the bank one day, watching threw the window. This lady pulls up and sees my dog in the vehicle, she starts baby talking to him (BIG MISTAKE), he just about took her face off, I ran out there as fast as I could and gave him the "out". She wasn't injured too badly but this is the reason for the signs. Since I put the signs up on the widows and the leash, I haven't had one single attempt.

To be quite honest, those signs took a LOT of stress off me because, now I don't have to wonder "is this guy going to try to pet my dog?, How can I explain to him/her I don't think it's a good idea for them to approach my dog?"

Signs=problem solved.
Hope this gives you hope that stupid people can read warning signs,....sometimes....lol

Check out http://www.activedogs.com/default.asp?S=500&A=F&CategoryID=755806&NID=2252376 they have some nice vests with optional ID cards.

I've found that my dogs demeanor prevents all but the really stupid from even approaching me when I have him on leash ( much less trying to pet him ).
Works for me.... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

 Quote:

I've found that my dogs demeanor prevents all but the really stupid from even approaching me when I have him on leash ( much less trying to pet him ).
Works for me.... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

LOL, he's not quite that bad, but he sure as hell doesn't want people touching him.

I think I may try this route. Now I just have to find the perfect vest/harness/pack for him.

If anyone else has input, suggestions, experiences, please keep them coming <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I've been around dogs that had DO NOT PET on the leash, harness, and other areas, My son went to pet the dog and I grabbed my son's hand and said NO you always ASK first I explained it's a working doggie and the words all over the place said DO NOT PET

What happens next? A woman comes up and starts petting the dog, I looked at the owner of the dog and she was ticked. She said uh m'am my dog is not supposed to be petted by people. She got mad and stomped off <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

I can tell you from personal experience, that a vest or sign of some sort will help some. But you have to realize that there is always some idiot that will try to get a "sneak pet" in.

I've actually had people get behind me and come at the dog from behind; I guess in hopes that I wouldnt see them coming in for a pet.

Mostly I find that it is children that pet without asking (I always use the opportunity for education), but there is the occassional "adult" that will latch onto the dog. All I can tell you is you'll still need to be on your guard for the occassional person "out to pet your dog".

I like those vests for training purposes. you can bring your dog into a restaurant and have them in a long down(for example) until your done. It's a good exercise and nobody says anything about having a dog. Maybe a busboy will drop a load of dishes, great distraction. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

http://www.leerburg.com/759.htm

I have this padded harness vest in BLACK with the words "IN TRAINING" on each side and "Working Dog - Do Not Pet" on the top. I have photos of the vest on my GSD if you want me to show you how it looks. It's the best looking vest I could find on the internet and doubles as a harness. My email address is mjs@zee28.com , shoot me an email and I'll send you the photos.

I hate explaining to people that I don't want them to touch my dog. It annoys me that people don't ask, and when they do ask, I just hated saying "no" to that father of a lil 7 year old blonde girl with blue eyes that thinks my doggy's so cute n asked daddy if she could pet him.

I've also trained him to ignore treats unless I give him the OK, you know how pet store check out girls love to give dogs treats without asking, or in some cases, when I'm not even looking. And now when they do ask, it's good for his training for me to tell em "you can try" haha, I think some of em get offended when he won't eat it even after they drop it on the ground for him.

So far only one person has pet my dog since I got the harness for him, and she was assuming that my talking to her gave her automatic permission to do so. I'd say the harness works pretty well, people either assume he's aggressive or that they'll interupt something I'm doing.

 Quote:

I've found that my dogs demeanor prevents all but the really stupid from even approaching me when I have him on leash ( much less trying to pet him ).
Works for me....

So did anyone else piss their pants when he did his figure 8 getting his BH or is that just me <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> Of course they probably was smart and let you walk around them while wearing bite suits <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />