What kills me about this is that people see my bloodhound and say,"Oh look at the bloodhound, ain't he cute...." trying to rush him and rub his face and ears.....yikes, I have to step up and tell them, "Just because he looks cute and cuddly does not mean he is" He is social when working but when he is in his crate or on "short" lead, he can be an a**hole. JEEPERS people can be STUPID. Then they see a GSD and ASSUME they are vicious....."Box of Rocks" to them I say. It kills me that people see the dogs "looks" and assume from there on how friendly they are. A friend of mine has a Chihuahua and she is the cutest thing, but I swear we should make her an ankle wrap out of jute because she will tear your a** up if you get to close....hee hee

I'm not a lawyer, but that law in Fla seems to say you must have a sign that includes the word "bad dog"!!!!
wtf? glad I'm not there!

what planet are these legislators from?
who's gonna put a sign up declaring bad dog? I've never ever seen one, either!

this fall, fire them all!

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It's just that some people are as dumb as rocks.

Jeez, how did you handle that? A lot of times I'm like a deer in the headlights...I would be at a loss as to whether someone like that is worthy of a "he's a therapy dog" explanation or just let her go on her dumb merry way w/o spending one nanosecond of your time trying to enlighten her? It's a conundrum for sure!!

She went her dumb merry way, I saved my nanosecond. I stood aside and let her walk away, although I wanted to bite her. I'm not sure what response is effective with people like that. I lost that dog to cancer a while back, she was 14 and it's still hard, especially when I encounter former students who knew and loved my "German police dog". Some people will ask questions and be happily surprised when they hear the wonderful things your dog is doing. Then there are those who know everything and you won't change their mind with "facts".

Cathy, You need to reread my post! I didn't say to post a "Beware of Dog" sign <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> I was told to do so by some of the residents in the town that we live in.

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She went her dumb merry way, I saved my nanosecond. I stood aside and let her walk away, although I wanted to bite her. I'm not sure what response is effective with people like that.

Oh my god, I'm laughing so hard right now.

I totally identify with you, Ruth. Grrrrr...people oughta be worried about ME, not the dogs! <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

PS: Sorry you lost your beloved girl, I'm sure she was a terrific loving dog and I'm glad to read she got 14 years out of her life. We lose them so so fast it seems, that 14 is a blessing. RIP old girl, I hear that Dog Heaven is great. <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

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She went her dumb merry way, I saved my nanosecond. I stood aside and let her walk away, although I wanted to bite her.

I've considered making a vest or shirt that says NO HE DOES NOT BITE (BUT I DO). Would make those long walks amidst curious gropers much more peaceful. As it is I walk my dog in low traffic places at really strange hours to avoid most of them. On the other hand I often spend lots of time talking about dogs with people who approach me and are polite and ask intelligent questions. There are a lot of idiots out there (and rude ones at that) but there are some really nice people too.

I don't mind the GSD stigma at all. If I have to sit somewhere else with my dog, I'd do so. My dog is very obedient and can be taken anywhere, but he is very aloof. I prefer it when people look at him admiringly from a distance without approaching him; it's too much trouble to have to explain to them that NO, he's not a vicious dog, but NO, he doesn't like people petting him. My usual reply to questions "Can I pet him?" is, "I'd prefer if you don't." And I don't even know how to answer the question, "Does he bite?" Err...no...yes? How am I supposed to know? I've never put him in a situation where he would have been able to. I think the best answer usually is, "He's a working dog/in training." People will usually avoid you but still respect you in that case. Still too hard to explain in most cases though. Besides which, I understand that a lot of people just don't like dogs. Maybe they're allergic to them. Most are scared, especially of big breeds. I don't blame them. Good owners don't exactly have a placard saying their dogs ARE well-mannered...and even if their dogs appear to be, what's to say it suddenly won't turn around and do something bad? That's usually how most scenarios like that happen. You know your own dog, but other people don't, and I respect that. A big dog can, after all, do a lot of damage vs. a little dog. I too become a little cautious around a lot of breeds, partly because of bad breeding and training; same as I said before, they're not my dogs, so how am I supposed to know how they act?

In my mind, if I wanted a dog who would happily mingle with strangers and vice versa and not have to worry about it...I wouldn't get a German Shepherd.

It would probably be a different issue if I was the owner of pit bulls...knowing pit bulls are very friendly dogs.

I have to agree with Kristine's post, except for the part of pitbulls being very friendly dogs. I know that pitbulls can be very friendly, I used to pet-sit for some, but it's not a statement I would rely on. Last week there was a pitbull attack here in the Phoenix area, 2 pitbulls severely hurt a horse and killed a donkey. We've all heard of pitbull attacks on animals and people. But being a GSD owner since I was a child, I don't mind the stigma. I actually welcome it. If I'm walking my GSD and someone who has mal-intent is familiar with the stigma, I'm a hell of a lot safer than if my GSD had a stigma that said "I won't hurt you". Same thing when I'm in my home - I want people to know I have a GSD that could seriously hurt them should they try to break in. I like the deterrent to crime factor that a GSD holds.
Regarding signs, I like the one with the GSD picture that says "I can make it to the fence in 2.3 seconds, can you?" <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />