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The Endless Amazingness of People. Not in a good way. [message #51129]

Thu, 02 August 2012 20:36

b_twin_1
Messages: 2596
Registered: September 2008
Location: Victoria, Australia

Senior Member
[Moderator]

The Endless Amazingness of People. Not in a good way.

I've got a plan so cunning you could put a tail on it and call it a weasel ~ Blackadder

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Re: The Endless Amazingness of People. Not in a good way. [message #51135 is a reply to message #51129 ]

Thu, 02 August 2012 23:18

Diane in MN
Messages: 2731
Registered: October 2008
Location: Twin Cities, MN, USA

Senior Member

A Great Dane leaps over tall buildings in a single bound!

Thank all the gods and angels, NO. (Danes would be more likely to dig under the building, in my experience.) A Doberman, now, might give that leap a try. Smile

New Arcadia and its environs seem amazingly rich in jerks with dogs. I hope they're actually outnumbered by sensible and considerate dog owners.

_{"The point of books is to have way too many but to always feel you never have enough . . . " Louise Erdrich}

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Re: The Endless Amazingness of People. Not in a good way. [message #51140 is a reply to message #51129 ]

Fri, 03 August 2012 05:06

Mockorange
Messages: 163
Registered: January 2012
Location: England

Senior Member

That owner is really awful, and if I had been the driver stuck behind Pistachio I would have been fuming, but I have to admit that I laughed at the vision conjured up. No doubt I am a very bad person.

Glad to know that Pistachio is less of a menace than he used to be however.

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Re: The Endless Amazingness of People. Not in a good way. [message #51141 is a reply to message #51129 ]

Fri, 03 August 2012 05:55

Catherine
Messages: 196
Registered: July 2012
Location: Windsor, England

Senior Member

I think I just need to quote Thornton Wilder: '98% of the people in this world are fools and the rest of us are in great danger of contamination.' I feel reassured that everyone here seems to be in the 2%. Mr Pistachio and Mr Testosterone are blatantly in the 98%.

The Great Dane comparisons did make me giggle, though.

My guys would love more opportunity to hurtle off lead . . . but I’m not going to risk it

I feel the same. I do let Chloe off-lead as much as I can, but I always do a safety check first, even when we're somewhere we go regularly, because you never know who else is there and causing trouble. I keep extra-alert whenever she's off and if I don't like the look of something in the distance, she goes back on. Her safety comes first, she'll enjoy a walk even if she doesn't get to pelt about a little.

Cath

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Re: The Endless Amazingness of People. Not in a good way. [message #51148 is a reply to message #51129 ]

Fri, 03 August 2012 13:52

Jack_D'Arcy
Messages: 17
Registered: February 2009

Junior Member

Here's a dog etiquette question, since I've never had a dog and I'd like to know. If I'm walking by a dog owner walking their dog, and the dog is radiating friendly interest, is it okay to greet the dog in some way? Dog owners generally keep the dog away, I assume out of politeness, not wanting to let their dog near me without knowing how I feel about it.

But I like dogs. And they (some of them) seem to want to meet people they pass by. Is there a right way to indicate I'm open to the dog coming over, like asking to pet it? Or would that be an unwelcome interruption to the walk? What are people's thoughts?

I never do ask because I always feel like its a strange request. Like asking to hold some stranger's baby, which I would never do.

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Re: The Endless Amazingness of People. Not in a good way. [message #51151 is a reply to message #51129 ]

Fri, 03 August 2012 14:55

AJLR
Messages: 2566
Registered: September 2008
Location: England, UK

Senior Member
[Moderator]

Quote:

He slunk by, pretending we didn’t exist,

This is the dog slinking, is it, not the total jerk of an owner? Smile

Quote:

I think if I was driving a car stuck behind a moseying dog whose owner is doing NOTHING to get it out of the way I might at least have had words to say as I went by the accountable human . . . particularly since I would have had plenty of time to think of those words.

But I don’t think she did. When the track widened out she could get past, and she did.

But she was probably being very British, Robin. Razz

I agree with Diane. You're obviously in a hotbed area for idiot dog owners, unfortunately.

_{"Never let a computer know you're in a hurry."}

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Re: The Endless Amazingness of People. Not in a good way. [message #51153 is a reply to message #51148 ]

Fri, 03 August 2012 17:28

Robin
Messages: 6005
Registered: September 2008
Location: England

Senior Member
[Hellgoddess]

It is NOT a strange request. I would say MOST dog owners are thrilled and delighted if someone expresses interest in their dog(s).

Personally I tend to say something on the order of 'hey cutie' to any dog that expresses a friendly interest in *me*.
(I am assuming a situtation unaccompanied by hellhounds.) I will then say to the human involved something on the order of, Does he/she talk to strangers? I find very often if you simply say something encouraging to the dog the owner will let it come over to you.

It totally depends of course. I am kind of a Dog Slut and if the owner is not against it and the dog's body language is positive I will get down to dog level and see if it WANTS to come to me. Sometimes a shy dog will come to someone at dog level--but that does put you more at risk. But I'm happy for people to fuss over the hellhounds. It's all part of the ongoing SOCIALISATION issue, after all. My main task in these encounters is preventing hellhounds from LEAPING ALL OVER their new best friend.

What do other dog owners say?

Edited to add: eh, I am ALSO assuming a dog you WANT to talk to.

[Updated on: Fri, 03 August 2012 17:31]

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Re: The Endless Amazingness of People. Not in a good way. [message #51154 is a reply to message #51153 ]

Fri, 03 August 2012 17:50

b_twin_1
Messages: 2596
Registered: September 2008
Location: Victoria, Australia

Senior Member
[Moderator]

Robin wrote on Fri, 03 August 2012 17:28

Yeah - pretty much that. Smile

I've got a plan so cunning you could put a tail on it and call it a weasel ~ Blackadder

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Re: The Endless Amazingness of People. Not in a good way. [message #51171 is a reply to message #51153 ]

Sat, 04 August 2012 19:07

Diane in MN
Messages: 2731
Registered: October 2008
Location: Twin Cities, MN, USA

Senior Member

I pretty much always talk to a dog that is looking at me in a friendly way or has started sniffing my shoes or trousers (YES! They smell like DOGS!). The chat with the owner starts after that. I would not pet a dog without asking the owner's permission, but I will offer a hand to sniff. It is absolutely not a strange request to ask someone if you can say hello to their dog. Most people tend to be a little stuck on their dogs and are happy to let strangers appreciate them (and are also pleased that the stranger would ask first).

I don't let my dogs go up to people first because they're big, they slime people's clothes, and one of them at least never met a stranger and gets a little enthusiastic about making new friends. If someone asks to meet them, then they can go say hello.

_{"The point of books is to have way too many but to always feel you never have enough . . . " Louise Erdrich}

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Re: The Endless Amazingness of People. Not in a good way. [message #51175 is a reply to message #51153 ]

Sat, 04 August 2012 19:53

nickithomas
Messages: 44
Registered: December 2011
Location: Speen, Bucks, UK

Member

Robin wrote on Fri, 03 August 2012 22:28

It is NOT a strange request. I would say MOST dog owners are thrilled and delighted if someone expresses interest in their dog(s).

*sigh* And how I wish I was one of them. My thrill on such occasions is of apprehension. My dog is a rescue and even 7 years of love and training has not eradicated her conviction that any stranger met out and about is a potential threat. I indicate this by walking her close to me as far away as possible from anyone walking past, or for groups we stand and wait well out of the way. Most people read this signal but the odd one doesn't, and of course they are shocked/hurt when this pretty looking dog turns into a growling monster when they approach.

My first (and only previous) dog was a complete softie and thought that All Human Beings were Wonderful and Marvellous, and it is still a source of astonished grief to me that this one feels so differently.

We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and all our little lives are rounded by a sleep.

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