ClambakeSkate
Senior Member
- Joined
- Dec 7, 2010
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I got in a shouting match with a stereotypical rich snobby ***** with one of those little muppet-look-a-like dogs this weekend... argh, I hate when people are over protective of their dogs.
So, this is what happened, please tell me how I should have dealt with this, maybe I shouldn't have resorting to screaming at her, but c'est la vie:
My dog is an Australian Shepherd, his name is Hetfield, a herding dog obviously, and he tends to herd dogs when we go to the dog park. He'll bark and kinda nip them on the back of the neck, but he has never attacked a dog or anything else for that matter and he's probably one of the friendliest dogs of the dogs I see regularly at the parks I frequent. Most of the other dog owners know Hetfield and know his tendencies and a lot of them actually look forward to seeing him because he'll get the other dogs running around and playing when they were maybe just standing around and being lazy before. Occasionally, when there is a puppy or a 'delicate flower' of a dog that's obviously been pampered and babied by their owner, he will instinctively sense this sort of weakness and bark them into a corner and just not let up. Mind you, he'll never attack or even nip at them when they're in this standoff, just bark. I'll usually just stand in front of him and have him sit to settle down then he's usually able to carry on playing without any more trouble towards the other dog.
So, one of these delicate flowers comes to the park after I'd been there for about 45 mins already. I was just chatting with one of the other owners who I see regularly and just keeping my eye on my dog as I always do. Hetfield always greets new dogs at the gate and makes sure he gets to sniff them to see if he wants to play with them. So, he decides he wants to play and the little muppet is all for it. The muppet bolts and Hetfield pursues. He caught up to him, kinda nudges him with his nose on the back and they both tumble into the corner. Hetfield starts barking because he thought they were having fun and wanted to start the chase again. The other dog was not really into it so the dog's owner loses her ******* mind and runs toward her dog, scoops it up, and starts cradling it like a little baby. Hetfield still wants to play but he can't play when his playmate is 5 feet in the air so he's barking and jumping. I go over to him to get him to settle down and the lady starts yelling at me.
"You could've stepped in 5 minutes ago! Your dog is crazy!" Mind you, reading the play by play of this event probably takes about 10x longer than the amount of time it actually took, so there is no way it took me 5 mins to get him under control.
I calmly tell her "He just wants to play with your dog, he's harmless."
She comes back with "YOUR DOG WAS ATTACKING MY DOG! HE'S DANGEROUS!"
So I tell the ***** "You're cradling your dog like a baby and carrying him around the dog park, what's wrong with you?!? My dog has never attacked anyone or anything, YOU'RE OUT OF YOUR ******* MIND!"
So she puts her dog in the side of the dog park for small dogs and we both carry on our separate business.
I really just think it's a herding instict thing. I know all dog owners say that their dogs are the sweetest most harmless dogs, but he really is. He knows his limits and with a little bit of exploration he can determine the limits of other dogs very quickly.
I just feel that some dog owners step in too quickly and that gets him riled up more. Kinda like that 'want-what-you-can't-have' type of thing. I love the owners who just let the dogs decide for themselves where their limits are. If you're a dog owner and you know your dog has aggressive tendencies you'll watch him a little closer or not bring him to the dog park at all. I've found this to be very true, especially since I live in a very well-off liberal neighborhood, everyone who has dogs is very dedicated to their well-being.
Was I wrong here?
So, this is what happened, please tell me how I should have dealt with this, maybe I shouldn't have resorting to screaming at her, but c'est la vie:
My dog is an Australian Shepherd, his name is Hetfield, a herding dog obviously, and he tends to herd dogs when we go to the dog park. He'll bark and kinda nip them on the back of the neck, but he has never attacked a dog or anything else for that matter and he's probably one of the friendliest dogs of the dogs I see regularly at the parks I frequent. Most of the other dog owners know Hetfield and know his tendencies and a lot of them actually look forward to seeing him because he'll get the other dogs running around and playing when they were maybe just standing around and being lazy before. Occasionally, when there is a puppy or a 'delicate flower' of a dog that's obviously been pampered and babied by their owner, he will instinctively sense this sort of weakness and bark them into a corner and just not let up. Mind you, he'll never attack or even nip at them when they're in this standoff, just bark. I'll usually just stand in front of him and have him sit to settle down then he's usually able to carry on playing without any more trouble towards the other dog.
So, one of these delicate flowers comes to the park after I'd been there for about 45 mins already. I was just chatting with one of the other owners who I see regularly and just keeping my eye on my dog as I always do. Hetfield always greets new dogs at the gate and makes sure he gets to sniff them to see if he wants to play with them. So, he decides he wants to play and the little muppet is all for it. The muppet bolts and Hetfield pursues. He caught up to him, kinda nudges him with his nose on the back and they both tumble into the corner. Hetfield starts barking because he thought they were having fun and wanted to start the chase again. The other dog was not really into it so the dog's owner loses her ******* mind and runs toward her dog, scoops it up, and starts cradling it like a little baby. Hetfield still wants to play but he can't play when his playmate is 5 feet in the air so he's barking and jumping. I go over to him to get him to settle down and the lady starts yelling at me.
"You could've stepped in 5 minutes ago! Your dog is crazy!" Mind you, reading the play by play of this event probably takes about 10x longer than the amount of time it actually took, so there is no way it took me 5 mins to get him under control.
I calmly tell her "He just wants to play with your dog, he's harmless."
She comes back with "YOUR DOG WAS ATTACKING MY DOG! HE'S DANGEROUS!"
So I tell the ***** "You're cradling your dog like a baby and carrying him around the dog park, what's wrong with you?!? My dog has never attacked anyone or anything, YOU'RE OUT OF YOUR ******* MIND!"
So she puts her dog in the side of the dog park for small dogs and we both carry on our separate business.
I really just think it's a herding instict thing. I know all dog owners say that their dogs are the sweetest most harmless dogs, but he really is. He knows his limits and with a little bit of exploration he can determine the limits of other dogs very quickly.
I just feel that some dog owners step in too quickly and that gets him riled up more. Kinda like that 'want-what-you-can't-have' type of thing. I love the owners who just let the dogs decide for themselves where their limits are. If you're a dog owner and you know your dog has aggressive tendencies you'll watch him a little closer or not bring him to the dog park at all. I've found this to be very true, especially since I live in a very well-off liberal neighborhood, everyone who has dogs is very dedicated to their well-being.
Was I wrong here?