I was at a pet store buying bird food. I had Ivy with me. I'm sure most of you know that Ivy is extremely leash reactive (along with some other mental/behavioral issues). So, I'm always on my guard to be as responsive as possible, and I've been training her extensively. I take every cautionary step to ensure that I'm promoting a positive image of Ivy and of her representative breed.
So...I'm at the store and this man walks in with a white Mini Poodle. His Poodle is going CRAZY at Ivy. The man was standing in line at the one and only open cashier. Ivy and I stand about 5 feet behind him. And all you can hear is "YAP YAP YAP GROWLGROWL YAP YAP YAP", etc. The poodle was tugging and lunging and screaming at the tops of its lungs. And what was my leash reactive Ivy doing? She was laying quietly in a Down. The man finally picks up his dog and assures another nearby customer, "Oh, she's really friendly!" Arrghhhhhh!!!!
Honestly, I've HAD it with people who seem to think it's perfectly acceptable to leave their little dogs untrained. It's NOT okay and it's not fair. Like my title says: "Size is not directly proportional to training". Just because the dog is small does NOT give it permission to display such abominable behavior! If I cannot let my leash reactive dog explode at every trigger, that man should not have given his little dog free range to aggress. There are no excuses. I don't let my dobermutt aggress and I don't let my Pekingese aggress. My big dog receives the same training I give my little dog. I don't understand this!! A little dog displaying bad behavior is not cute. It's disturbing!
ARGH. Rant over.
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