I'm sorry for my existence??

[iradney]

So this morning, I had to perambulate the canine (aka his royal poochiness, aka Hopper). As always, I have him on a short lead as I'm sharing the sidewalk and we shouldn't hog it.

So we're walking along, I've got good tunes on the iPod, Hopper has peed on pretty much every single lamppost we've walked past, when up ahead (about 50 metres) I see a couple with two cute little yorkies.

We're still walking, and I start looking for a space to cross the road, as the yorkies are NOT on a tight lead, and I can see that the couple don't really know how to control their dogs (let them wander all over the sidewalk, tangled leashes etc). My pooch does get excited when other dogs bark at him, and in my experience, some owners do not train little dogs as they do not think they need it.

(Please bear in mind that I said SOME. NOT ALL. I know quite a few marvellous dog owners who'se dogs weigh about 10 pounds and are beautifully trained; and at least one with a large GSD who is poorly trained. No generalizations here, keep moving)

So now I'm about 20 metres away, and I'm waiting for the oncoming car to pass, when this couple cross the road with their pooches. I mentally shrug and carry on, when I notice that the male half of this couple has stopped dead, GLARING in my direction. I think my skin started bubbling.

I ignored it, but I really don't know why I was getting The Stare Of Doom. My dog wasn't barking or misbehaving, I didn't say a word to them...WTF?

He actually did it again when I was closer, and I once again ignored it.

[Squeaksmyalias]

I think what they expected you and his royal poochieness (I love that) to do, was to bow down in their honor then crawl across the street while discussing how beautiful the yorkies were. Or they are used to people making a big show of running across the street to get out of the way he didn't understand why you didn't seem to make the first move. Something silly.
I'm the type when that happens to wave and say how CUTE! the dogs are and act uber friendly. It confuses the heck out of people like that. I do have to agree ignoring works too.

Btw I agree with you about people not thinking they need to train little dogs (or that they don't have to train their big dog, like they come trained already *sigh). I've had someone say flat out. It's a little dog, it's cute, why should I? Then again that same person was bitten badly by the same dog when it decided it ruled the house and she didn't. It's a shame. Any dog has the potential of being a wonderful family pet, it's what you expect from them and teach them that makes them that way. Just like children.

[Seshat]

When we're alone on the footpath, we let our little one roam around and explore - though not into other peoples' yards, just the public spaces.

But she knows and (usually) obeys 'sit' 'stay', and we shorten the lead once someone's close enough that it's time to reassure them the girl's under control. (Which is before they need the space.)

[MoonCat]

I wish the people on my street who have dogs would use leashes. The dogs don't wander, but when they "take the dog for a walk" they don't use any kind of lead! Some of these dogs don't always obey the owners, either. Makes me nervous as I don't want to see any of them get hurt.

I also wish my weasel neighbors would put leashes on their two kids, but that's another story...

[Lace Neil Singer]

When I took my dog for walks (back when I had one!), I'd only put her on the lead when we hit the main road. Due to the fact that I lived in a quiet cul-de-sac with hardly any traffic, I used to let my dog walk off the lead... but at heel. I used to find it amazing how few dog owners seemed to bother teaching their dogs to walk at heel, when it's a very useful thing for a dog to know.

[Seshat]

Vi constantly forgets to stay at heel. It's very, very frustrating. She gets excited or finds a new smell and WHAM she's off.

That and a tendancy to excitement-bark are her only real faults, though. We can live with that. She stays on leash, and she's learning the 'quiet' command.

[terakhan]

Were I to guess, he chose to get offended because you acted to avoid them. As if THEY had done something wrong (they had, really, by not training their yappers).

[BookstoreEscapee]

I used to let Pablo walk on my parents' street without the leash. Only because he never got far enough ahead that I couldn't pick him up if necessary, and he was not an excitable dog and never ran off after other animals. (Really, he couldn't care less about another animal in the vicinity, unless it got too close and then he would growl, and if another animal did start to come close I would pick him up long before it got close enough to make him upset enough to growl. That was rare, anyway, and only actually happened in the park, when he was always on a leash anyway.) He was really more of a meanderer.

[Ben_Who]

I always marvel at how relentlessly trained dogs in urban or suburban environments have to be. Growing up in the toolies, with a ginormous yard and a dog on a lead or a pole, meant that my dog didn't really get much training. Not walking him down a city street means not having to teach him how to heel or carry a pocketful of baggies, we did nothing whatsoever to keep him off the furniture, and he was a barking doorbell. By anyone's standards, he was VERY poorly trained. Once he was housebroken, we were done.

Still, he got on well with all the other dogs in the neighborhood, never once in twenty years bit another living soul, and was owned by the family cats.

He did once chase a cop off our front lawn, though...

If I were to adopt today, I freely admit that I have no idea where to begin. Kudos for anyone who takes the time and trouble to ensure that their dogs are properly trained for urban living, and kudos to towns that have off-leash dog parks and runs. And a squirt-bottle in the face for anyone who lets their dog bark constantly, day and night.

Love, Who?

[BookstoreEscapee]

I always marvel at how relentlessly trained dogs in urban or suburban environments have to be. Growing up in the toolies, with a ginormous yard and a dog on a lead or a pole, meant that my dog didn't really get much training. Not walking him down a city street means not having to teach him how to heel or carry a pocketful of baggies, we did nothing whatsoever to keep him off the furniture, and he was a barking doorbell. By anyone's standards, he was VERY poorly trained. Once he was housebroken, we were done.

That was my dog growing up. She was a mini Schnauzer, and we had a fenced in backyard, so if she went for a walk on the leash it was only because we felt like taking a walk. Usually we just opened the back door when she scratched at it. She was allowed on the furniture (she slept with my mom) and she always barked whenever anyone showed up.

Actually, that was pretty much Pablo, too, except for the housebroken part. Ex didn't do such a good job there, unfortunately. He was better at my parents' house but we still had to keep an eye on him. He didn't bark at the doorbell, either (he didn't care). He mostly only barked at the cats. And if we didn't want him on the furniture we just had to not put him there . (He could get down from most things (except the bed) but he couldn't get up.)