Of course you have the Petsmart employee that WON'T listen:

Tues 0900 at a local Petsmart, very few people in store,

"What a beautiful white shepherd! Can I pet him?"

"No, Max has some social issues that we're trying to work thru"

"Oh all dogs love me" then bends over and tries to pet him"

"CHOMP"


it was a quick mouthing but I hope the employee learned something

i always got evil stares from other employees at the store because i DID NOT rush every dog that came in like they did(usually i was too busy trying to hide my disgust at their weight and leash manners).

i rarely pet customer dogs(unless they were regulars), and i certainly tried to not rub all over new puppies. some of the girls would literally take the puppies FROM the customers, and walk around with them as they shopped, holding their dogs!!! i didn't just because a large percentage of those pups came in the store straight from the local flea market(puppy peddlers), where disease is rampant.

apparently, i was being "cold" and "rude". im like, no, its not my dog, why should i touch it?

Mr. Curbow,

Your message is correct and right on. One of the first things I taught my children was how to meet a new or strange dog, and to not forget that a known dog is not at all predictable.

And Mr. Jones,

I mean really... You got to protect your dog from idiots. Though I do admit to a bit of a quick grin when I read your comments.

As it turns out, I seldom let any one near the front of my dogs, or the back, for that matter, without elaborate preconditioning. A short leash or hand on collar if I am even a bit concerned that some idiot will want to get up close and personal.

When asked if they can interact with the dog I almost always respond with an emphatic, no nonsense, I don't need a new best friend and neither does my dog tone of voice: "I prefer that you do not."

A dog is a dog is a dog. There is no such thing as never. And why in the world would I want my dog to get chummy with an idiot that sticks his/her face in my dog's?

Now, in re the original incident... I agree with Mr. Curbow. Any one who is around dogs knows that the average dog owner thinks all kinds of behavior that is not acceptable is cute. And if asked, Mr. and Mrs. Idiot Owner will almost always tell you how wonderful their little bundle of fur is - and too often they are really just deluding themselves and putting the asker at risk.

I'm not afraid of most dogs but I wouldn't be standing over or kneeling next to a strange mutt without the dog being amply restrained - and me having a plan to exit the immediate area in a heartbeat.

You know, it ain't even the dog, it is the idiot owner(s). It is hard to understand just how much stupid is in the average gene. I know this is so because again, yet again, this very day I missed the nail but got my thumb. Stupid hammer.

I must not be in a very good mood.

Two cents.

Max has retired from public life but we go visit the vet every now and then for treats

 Quote: dennis jones

Of course you have the Petsmart employee that WON'T listen:

Tues 0900 at a local Petsmart, very few people in store,

"What a beautiful white shepherd! Can I pet him?"

Dennis,

Maybe it is Petsmart and White Shepherds but I had the exact same scenario except my Thor would have accepted the petting but I pulled out the old "Did I say "NO" secret hand motion for speak" which is a gem of a tool.

Guy ignores me and moves in with the treat dangling as a bribe, gives the sit command but is overruled by my hand signal to speak. Priceless! Treat still in hand the guy immediately backs up; Thor marker trained with treats puts more into his barking the further the guy retreats; he was working for the reward. Too bad it only lasted a moment before I ended it; but the sheer joy and pleasure I took from that guy's fear bordered on the evil.

Guess I should save my soul and stay out of Petsmart but it really was good stuff

Honestly, if I had just been bitten in the face I would have been very tempted to take the people's information and turn the information over to the county/city. Our county requires that all dog bites to humans be reported. The county then determines if the dog needs to be quarantined for 10 days and a record is made in case it happens again there is a history of the dog on file.

Here is the reason I would seriously consider doing this: (although it's probably too late in your case since they are gone)

1. To protect kids. Although you are an adult and were able to avoid disaster, a little 8 year old (although her parents may be idiots for letting her pet a strange dog) could have suffered a SERIOUS life-changing bite.

2. To give these owners a MAJOR REALITY CHECK! They are completely clueless and maybe if they suffered some consequences they would be more careful.

3. To protect the chow. If this dog continues to get away with this it will most likely escalate, if he bites someone and causes serious injury the dog could face a life of being locked up or even be put down. Maybe if the owners got a reality check they would start fixing the problem and provide a better life for the dog, and ultimately save him from being put down!

 Quote: Al Curbow

Totally your fault. Don't EVER put your face next to a strange dog, now you know. Harnesses are adjustable anyway

ah, no ... when one works in a petstore (which i did for many years), this golden rule very unfortunately must be broken here and there in order for a person to do their job. I have no interest what so ever in saying hello to other people's pooches (my own are the best, anyway ), but there is just no getting around having to handle other people's dogs when working in that environment (can't tell you how many people can't get a harness on their own dog correctly) ... unless you're a slacker.

The trick is to do it intelligently and non-obtrusively, and it reads as though the OP did just that.

 Quote: Al Curbow

Totally your fault. Don't EVER put your face next to a strange dog, now you know. Harnesses are adjustable anyway

Perhaps I didn't explain the scenario clearly. I did NOT put my face near the dog's, #1. Had I been, I would probably have stitches right now, the dog turned 90 degrees to get to me. Harnesses are indeed adjustable, but I was simply taking a chest measurement with a cloth tape, kneeling at her side. She was a furry dog and I'd rather not eyeball it. Besides, customers (and myself) like to know that the product will fit properly. Had I been putting the harness on or picking up her foot or such, I would have been a little more braced for a reaction; but I had owner reassurance and acceptable signals from the animal. I honestly don't think I would handle it differently tomorrow, except for possibly profiling the breed.

Also, as quick as the dog snapped, she snapped back into place. Should the owners of this dog sign up here(I gave them the URL on a business card), I'd wager they'd verify my story 100%. There really isn't another way to have seen it. The most troubling thing to me is that the dog had bitten FACES before and they didn't think enough of it to consider that this might happen. And I'm now curious how one would work on curtailing this behavior. You can't ask a volunteer to go in a strange place and see if the dog bites their face so it can be corrected! There was no growl, tension or hackle raising to to expect escalation, two other people saw the incident and talked to me about it after the dog and owners left. They agreed that this bite was really sudden and explosive.

Sorry, we'll have to agree to disagree. The people have to learn how to put it on anyway so why not just tell them?

Chip, I am probably the ultimate 'can't we all just get along person'.

Without Al's permission, I think another way to put it is that some of us use an abundance of caution when dealing with animals, expecially unknown animals.