Cannot add to anything others have said you should have left the dog in the car but it is easy to be wiser after the avent and we all make mistakes,
but some parents do not think i cannot call them stupid thats wrong,
We all know the Trollies are just the right height for a child who is running around to catch there face on it,
When i lived in England i was in Tescos supermarket, and three children were chasing each other around the ailse .
Of course i was worried that they may run into the trollie i was pushing so i must have pulled a face, not so much irritation but thinking of their welfare
The Mother must have seen me pull a face and she came up to me and said, 'You were a Child Once' have some patience with the Children
I looked at her and replied
'Madam i was never born a Child' with that remark i walked away
but it made me think

Good story Steve...reads like poetry.

OP: You are here on this board *because* you are a responsible pet owner, right?

You made a mistake, IMO, you were lucky and, moving right a long...carry on. Learn. That's ultimately why we are *all* here.

If you continue to blame others, don't take accountablity, well, this board is not the place for you anyway...having an aggressive dog is a HUGE responsiblity, as you know. Any and all precautions for public safety must be taken, otherwise, it's just giving the "big-dogs" a bad name...

Once again though, congrats on the downstay with distraction. Keep on keepin on!

 Quote: Michele McAtee

OP: You are here on this board *because* you are a responsible pet owner, right?

You made a mistake, IMO, you were lucky and, moving right a long...carry on. Learn. That's ultimately why we are *all* here.

'Zackly.

I suspect that the O.P. IS the responsible-owner type who lost sight of our ultimate responsibility, which is never to put our dogs in a situation where they are at risk (whether it's from another's actions or from our dogs' actions), while being justifiably proud of the dog's training successes.

We don't rely on ANYONE else to do what we think THEY should do.

Those responsible types DO hang around, they DO take responsibility, they DO move on and keep those successes growing....

amen

Kathleen, if you're still here, I'd like to add a thought that hasn't been mentioned. Even a muzzled dog can hurt someone, most especially a child. A muzzled GSD versus a 2 yr old child is no match at all. The child loses. Even a small push from a large dog can knock over a little child. Those floors at those stores are merely linoleum over concrete. Kid falls, hits head on floor, possibly fatal. Lots can happen. I applaud your obvious extra effort to get your GSD to be relatively safe around children. Not many people would have done the extra training you went through. But even with training there's no guarantee that the dog is completely reliable (no matter what a dog is being trained to do or not do), and with children, well you just can't take the chance.

A child has the right of way, at all times, parental supervision or not. If people have dogs that can't be trusted around children, then that's the way it is - don't trust them around children, trained or not. Another factor is your reaction to the child, in front of your dog. It was obvious to your dog you didn't want the kid to come near you (or your dog, it doesn't matter to the dog) and he might have reacted to that. The training did kick in, obviously, but your dog might have reacted by lunging. Another important thing to consider.

I would just keep him out of stores where you can't control the children, whether he's muzzled or not. If parents had control of their children and had their eye on them at all times, some of the horrible things that happen to children wouldn't happen, so it's not something you can ever even reasonably count on. It's never going to be fair to the children to get hurt because their parents lost site of them and didn't protect them.

I believe it's wrong of your trainer to tell you the dog would probably be ok without the muzzle, that's a huge risk factor to a child. He's obviously not taking into account that a dog with a muzzle can still be dangerous.

You're all right and although she is proud of her dog, there was perhaps an error in judgement. I think the point she was tring to make, that I believe most of have complained about is IGNORANT PEOPLE (the other one being LOOSE DOGS).

Not to hijack the post, but just last weekend, I took my pet out of the vehicle at the ice arena, so he could go pee while my son was still getting his gear off.

I wasn't near people ... yet this one couple approached. I put Buddy into a Sit, and they're like "that's okay, we love dogs, we love puppies", so I told him it was okay to see them. They proceed to "WIND HIM UP" (he is still a puppy and it doesn't take much) and then comment that I should bring him to Obedience School.

Now I probably shouldn't have allowed him to go to them, as was my original INSTINCT and he was OBEYING ME. He is trained and every day is still training (reinforcement), sometimes in the same places, sometimes in different places.

My point is ... you CANNOT TRUST ANYONE ... even if they say they know/love dogs, with YOUR DOG. They can create bad situations even with a GOOD DOG. If you have known issues, then you have to be EXTRA CAUTIOUS. And my final point, we all make mistakes!

Hope you stay ... we all have our opinions about EVERYTHING HERE, but is a good group with GREAT INTENTIONS! I have learned so much here!

I cannot thank everyone enough for the sharing of information.

 Quote: Jennifer Mullen

 Quote: Denise Hau

This store has an open door policy in which pets are allowed to come in with customers and everybody knows it when they walk in. I believe people take their own risks because not all dogs are pet or people friendly.

i really have an issue with this. if you have a dog you know to be aggressive, it is your responsibility to ensure it is under control and unable to injure another animal or person. honestly - that is not only responsible ownership, it's also just basic consideration. other people shouldn't be 'taking a risk' that someone is going to be ignorant enough to bring an uncontrolled aggressive animal into a store.

i don't know if that's how you meant it, but i was a little shocked to see this. we need more people stepping up and taking responsibility for their dogs and their dog's actions, not sloughing off responsibility b/c other individuals should have an expectation of risk.

Jennifer and everybody else - I agree with your comments. I was just making a point that if one is going into an environment in which there will be all types of animals who may or may not be sociable, you should be more careful of your actions. A dog, who may not have had a history of being aggressive, may one day snap. That has happened to me before. Therefore I do not make the attempt to touch anybody's dog without permission. Responsible parents should enforce this at home. I do.

Whenever I do go to a pet friendly store, I am very much aware of what is around me and to be cautious. Nobody should trust an animal 100% because they are animals. I am sure to be blasted for this one. lol. Who knows what somebody else's pet is capable of doing? Why take that chance? A two-year-old or any child under the age of 10 should not be wandering around any store without adult supervision. It's an accident waiting to happen. It's common sense.

 Quote: Denise Hau

Nobody should trust an animal 100% because they are animals.

Right. Including our own. And we CERTAINLY cannot trust other people's kids.

Interesting thread here!

I must admit to having some concerns about other people and their kids running up and touching my dog. You can't watch everyone all the time. Teagan has a fanstastic temperament - but she's still a dog, and dogs can bite.

I also don't want many other people touching my dog - the affection should come from her pack. I've recently bought her the 'DO NOT PET' embroidered collar from Leerburg for such outings. It raises a few eyebrows, but adds a little bit of safety.

Now, if Ed just did prong collars that fit children........

 Quote: Connie Sutherland

Right. Including our own. And we CERTAINLY cannot trust other people's kids.

Amen to that!