Okay, so this is more of a rant about people behavior, rather than dog behavior. But it affects how mine act, so it goes here!
We have a local farmers' market every week. We actually have two, but dogs are only allowed at the one on Wednesdays. We have taken dogs to this farmers' market for a few weeks now, as socialization.
Last night, we took Cooper and our foster girl Indigo. She's a good dog, but not that good with strange dogs that get in her face. If she's able to keep her distance, and feel out the situation, she seems to do okay.
Last week, there was a family with a young child (perhaps 8-10 years old), walking a poo mix. The dog was about the size of a miniature Poodle. The child was walking the dog on a retractable leash; BAD combination. Mom was about 10 feet behind her on the sidewalk, with many people between them (it was crowded). Kid allowed the poo to get right up to my dogs. Thankfully, I had Manero, and DH had Cooper, and they are both okay with small dogs. But I still said something to kid, explaining that that was not the right way to introduce two strange dogs. I then threw a look to mom, who was appropriately sheepish about it, and apologized, saying she had explained that to kid, too (Then WHY THE H were you not closer to kid?!?!).
Anyway. Last night, same kid, had same poo on same leash. Poo went right up to Indigo. She was BESIDE herself, trying to kill the poo! DH and his sister had Indigo, one by the leash, the other by the collar, but she was so determined, they had trouble. Kid was laughing, apparently thinking Indigo wanted to play. I shot a look to mom again, and she didn't say a word.
Next week, I will say something not-so-nice if this happens again. This is ridiculous! This child is FAR to young to be walking a dog by herself, especially since she has demonstrated that she cannot listen to simple direction! You are cruising to get that dog eaten; do you really want this child to see that? Maybe you should educate yourself, and realize that you are creating a dangerous situation!
Pair that situation with the moron with the Newfie mix. The dog was almost as big as her, and she was a frail old lady. We met them on one side of the street, and she allowed the dog to walk right up to Indigo. It was very poor dog manners, but lady thought, aww, cute, they want to play! Um...no! We explained that when a dog approaches another dog head-on like that, it's very aggressive. She was like "what...?"
Then we met them on the other side of the street. We had met up with friends. The Newfie dragged his owner to us (proving the dog was too big for her!) DH, his sister, AND our friend Sean were trying to control Indigo. DH got between the dog and Indigo, SIL pulled back on the leash with Sean's help. Indigo still almost bit the dog. I was livid, and let the woman know: "CONTROL your dog! DON'T let him approach other dogs rudely!" She was STILL clueless! I might giver her a copy of The Other End of the Leash next week, so she can learn about canine body language!
Why do so many people get dogs when they clearly have no clue how to manage them?!?!
Bookmarks