This is all annecdotal, but the point is that I agree with the posters who say that the dog's temperment is a critical factor in how you let them interact with others. I currently have 3 dogs. They are all pets, and I expect them to interact cheerfully with my family and to tolerate visitors. However, I only allow people outside the family circle to interact with one of them. One barks, and might bite. He is no problem, since he barks, and therefore no-one tries to touch him. He can be very friendly with house guests, and is predictable. He has never been agressive with a family member. One dog does not growl or bark, she justs bites if a stranger tries to touch her. I never allow anyone near her, obviously. Once she accepts a family member, she is completely safe with that person. Third dog is very even-tempered, so I let kids touch him gently, but prefer adults leave him alone. He is not interested in other people, in general. I never let anyone touch him when he has his ball in his mouth.

What do I say if someone wants to touch the biter? To a kid, I say, she is afraid of children, and she might jump on you and scare you. I turn and get away quickly if the kid still comes forward. To adults, I say, do not try and touch her, please. If they say, "all dogs like me", I point out that the last person who said that got bitten. Kids are good about being gentle with the gentle dog, as he is a large GSD, and they are naturally cautious. I got him used to young children when he was a pup by sitting outside a local playground for a while every day.

Amber, I respect the fact you are doing research on dog ownership, more people should do that.

I have pet dogs and I had an AKC ring dog, and I am currently training for the ring again. My ring dogs are 'blondes'.....goldens. I have to work twice as hard to keep the general public away from them! Most of the time I shorten my leash, go in formal heeling, look straight ahead, avoid eye contact with the person and never say a word. I do not feel the need to explain myself to everyone, they probably wouldn't get it anyway.....so why bother?

I do not allow anyone to touch any of my dogs. I do expose them to other people...you can look but do not touch. That to me is as social as they have to be. All of my goldens have been mouthy....the newest one is a land shark.....and they jump. In fact, I train a lot of jumping, it looks flashy to me. These are my dogs, I live with them, and I don't have a problem with this. My dogs live under my rules. I train for what I find desirable and acceptable.

I honestly do not care what the general public thinks. What I have a problem with are the people who think when I dog is on a leash, the belief that this dog is now public property. NO. Years ago, I used to let people touch my dogs, I thought it would be good for my one, she was a bit shy. I was wrong, kids had pounded her head, pulled her ears and tail....all in a split second. This by no means helped her out in the shyness department. No matter what, what it somes down to is your are responsible for your dog's behavior. I never want a lawsuit because my dog nailed someone. Yes, I have been told countless times that I am being 'mean' to my dogs.....they want to play, they want to be petted.....whatever. My former neighbor lost a perfectly good dog because of this....nailed a kid....it isn't going to happen to me.

Personally, I can't stand it when a dog comes out of no where and jumps on me....because the owner thinks it's being friendly or it just wants to be petted. It's just plain rude. Not everyone in the world loves dogs or loves other people's dogs and I feel the need to respect that.

I walk alone at night a lot, do you really think I want an over friendly dog? NO. I hate to sound paranoid, but you never know what some one's true intentions are when you meet up with them. The size of my dogs helps keep people away.

You got tons of really good advice here. But the best being, you have to first get this dog and find out what type of personality he or she has and go from there. Some other advice was to not force anything and stay out of the dog parks....WORDS TO LIVE BY!

I am really glad to see that you are covering all your bases, and seeking as much information as you can, but right now you have to wait and see. I am glad you are here and not at some retail chain.

Everything will work out, do what you think is best.

Deb

If you want people to stay away from your dog just put it in a chow chow costume. Trust me on this.

I've been having real good luck with the capes I bought from Ed. People tend to think they are some sort of working dog and tend to leave them alone.

O.k., my pup is now 6 mo old, and everytime she sees someone new or other than me, she begins to freak out. she jumps and grabs hands with her mouth and just wiggles her tail and just gets all sporadic. My dog isn't a working line, she is a show line. But what is the best way to get her socialized. she has been like this way too long in my oppinion, I haven't gone to parks but once (especially NOT dog parks, That is considered a danger), but there are a lot of people that come over. I read this past thread I don't seem to find the correct answer for me.

What should I do?

Hi Daniel, i looked at your pups pedigree on another thread and my older males father is a wienerau kennel dog also. Here's what worked for me ( learned from the leerburg site ): start doing obedience in a distraction free area, then when you know the dog knows what you want from him/her, start enforcing your commands under mild distractions and work your way up to any distraction. Don't forget that a 6mo old pup is just a goober that's learning from you, so try not to get frustrated, they can't jump up on people and be spastic if they're on a leash, right? Guide the pup into the behaviour you want and you'll end up with a cool dog <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />, good luck,
AL

Al,Our 6mth male is just the opposite of Daniel's <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" /> He sees the people but doesn't really want alot of contact.He's not shy just not really social <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> Is this a warning sign of a potential problem <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" /> The breeder says he needs more, more, more socialization. He is also showline.

Beth, w/out seeing him it's tough to say (disclaimer) but my dog is similar. I'd call him aloof. He sees people, but has no interest. Not fearful, just not interested. Will only interact w/them if he has no choice (if I'm not there). It makes training difficult, but if he's like mine, I have no problem with strangers as far as danger goes. He's stable, just not friendly. He's away for training right now, and is doing much better than when I was around, because he has no choice but to interact w/the trainer, since Mom is not there. You can PM me if you want to talk more and if he sounds similar. Let's not bore the entire board...

Thank you for the help Al!!!

Hi Beth, i can't give you an answer on your dogs temperament, i'm not qualified or experienced enough. When i get confused ( which is often) i call up Will ( sorry for eating up your time Will <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />, and he breaks things down for me, and i'm just starting to "get it" For what it's worth, one of my dogs is super social, one is in the middle and one is not social at all, but i don't care if my dogs are social or not, they're for my enjoyment, not strangers, JMO
AL