Is Your Dog Universally Loved?

[king2005]

When I had my old guy, there were VERY few people, who didn't like him. Even the postman loved him! There was a crippled & slight mentally disabled man down the road. He hated dogs ONLY because they were scared of his walking crutches & tended to bark & snarl at him. But Max didn't care, he gently ran up to the man & demanded to be loved. After that the man would come over everyday for months & months & months to play with Max. Max always gave him the ball & the man would toss it only a few feet (that was the best he could do), but Max didn't care, he'd play with the man for a couple of hours. Then we had to get the man a chair, so it would be easier for him to pet & love Max.

Max use to go to the RRC (Rideau Regional Centre, if for mentally dissabled people & suicidal people, with the padded rooms & strapping chairs & helmets) with dad. Max would do his best to befriend all the residents, even the ones trying to hit him & yelling crazy things.

Strangers invited us into their yards & homes to Max could play with their kids, as Max was GREAT around tots & was good for teaching tots how to pet & play with dogs. Many pulled his fur, or private parts, or piled blocks on him. One girl LOVED to chase him around the house, he would go just fast enough that she couldn't get him. Then they would switch & he wwould chase her around the house, just far enough to be behind her.. He would take any object the kids gave him & he would run away trying to get the kids to chase him around the house..

Everyone knew him. I had these people who would park their boats at the same spots year after year to watch Max jump out into the water, make his BIG splash & then obey directions to where the log is (Dad make me special logs so he wouldn't hurt himself on them). Kids would even hop in & splash about with him, however he was able to jump WAY out when they could only jump manybe 5 feet out.

Max would even go to Jim's Garage with dad & he would get lots of loving over there. It was mostly people who were scared of dogs who didn't like him. My aunt is scared of any dog bigger then 5 pounds. However Max was sooo well behaved, she got him nice blankets to lay on outside & said nice things about him & even looked at him through the door (she would NEVER do that for another dog). She even wanted to cook him a steak! But that was a no, so she chopped up a carrot for him, as that was ok.

[.sarah]

I've never met a person that didn't like my dogs. Mandy, Nova, and Buck are usually the favorites though because Luka is sometimes timid around new people (mostly men, which I find odd because she was abused by a woman). Of course at the moment Buck is the current favorite because he is a puppy. When he gets older I'm sure people will fear him because of his color ("Big black dog syndrome" ). Nova is the usual favorite around here because she is just so friendly, too friendly almost (she likes to "hug" people at first greetings ).

All of my family loves the dogs, though nobody in my family has met Luka or Buck yet. My mom's mom really liked our RB Dachshund, Buttons.

[Tollers-n-Dobes]

At the moment, everyone loves Morgan because she's a puppy but I'm sure everyone will fear her when she grows up just like they did with Echo (everyone loved her as a pup too...). Most people are afraid/leary of Winston because he's a Doberman but once they get to know him, they absolutely love him. Almost everyone loves Tango simply because they think she's pretty, most people can't believe how energetic she is though and they quickly get sick of having a ball dropped in their lap constantly...lol. Strangers love her though, I often get a crowd when I take her to play frisbee. They're all amazed at how athletic she is aswell as the fact she rarely misses and always brings it right back to me without having to be asked. I love it, it's great socialization for her because afterwards everyone wants to pet her and some of the kids like to try throwing the frisbee for her a few times. Tia, being a cute little Dachshund is loved by everyone who likes small dogs.

[pitc9]

No
Most everyone is afraid to some extent of both of my pups.
They are very protective of me, the yard and the house. German Shepherds... Go Figure huh?!?
My mother in law is deathly afraid of Buddy, and he knows it.
My father in law.... they love each other SO much! (and to think that Buddy STILL hates my husband!! Go Figure!!! )
My dad used to be intimidated by Buddy but he's gotten better and knows he doesn't have to be afraid of him. My mom was kind of the same as my dad, but not as bad.
Sierra... she's a sneaky one. Anyone that's been in my back yard with her know that you have to watch your butt! She's a butt nipper! But it doesn't hurt at all; she's just being bad.... VERY VERY bad! And she knows it because when you turn around to stop her or tell her "no", she'll stand there and "Woooo" at you.
All of our family members know she's harmless (as long as you're in the house) once you're in the house, she'll curl right up on your lap if you'll let her.
I one thing that keeps people on their toes with my dogs is that they both are hand/head shy and if you make a quick move that they are not expecting it freaks them out and they'll let you know that they didn't like it.
When it comes to strangers, more people are afraid if Sierra because of her black face and crazy looking eyes. Are they nuts??!!? That's what I love about her the most!!!
My sister has kids and keeps bugging me about when I'm going to have kids and "blah blah blah you have those two huge dogs... Buddy's to unpredictable blah blah".... Oh it drives me nuts!! She has no clue!
I know Bud has issues and I take extra measures to ensure everyone's safety. But I also know that he means the world and more to me! I don't know where I would be with out Bud. He is my savior, my love and my life. I know my parents understand it because they've come to realize he's the reason I'm happy. (It sure isn't my marriage that makes me happy )

[Ginger's Mom]

No. Ginger isn't a people dog. She is very timid and takes a wide berth around strangers, so they tend to walk past without taking any real notice. Family think she is a nice girl, but I don't think she holds a very special place in their hearts. However, just because she is not universally loved doesn't mean she isn't loved. She has managed to worm her way into the hearts of several of my neighbors, and it is always a joyous occasion when she sees them.
My RB girl on the other hand was very much a people dog and was universally loved (until she got old - over 11). Many times when I was out walking her people whom I did not know would walk by or drive by and call her by name! She knew and loved everyone. It's funny though I never had to worry about her being stolen, because whenever I had to have someone else walk her for me, I would have at least two people approach me the next day and ask me who was walking Peaches. So if she was ever with someone she didn't belong with my neighbors would have known it.

[wolf_Q]

Ehh that's a hard one...I'd have to say no. Nebo is loved more than anything by ME of course. My parents love him too because they know how much he means to me. The rest of my family, well they say they do, but I don't think they really do that much. My brother says he's allergic to him and he and his wife have a fit about dog hair. My sister said that too, until she got the golden retriever (which I swear sheds worse) and now she's magically no longer allergic. But they'll all at least pet him and pretend they like him when they come over. Everyone gets a kick out of him doing his tricks for them (play dead seems to be the favorite).

As for friends, I think my friend, Michele, (who has the dog Cisco) loves him. I think my other friend, Cassie, likes him personality wise but she's not one for dog hair either and she thinks I'm insane for how much I love dogs. Those are about the only friends I have around here who ever visit my house. When I take him to work he's very well behaved and pretty friendly with everyone, he loves my boss because she always feeds him treats lol. Usually he attracts quite a few people wanting to see the "snow dog."

Nebo is generally afraid of strangers so at other people's houses/strange places they probably don't like him because he usually won't even let people pet him away from home. When strangers come over to our house he's quite friendly and interested in them, though with men most of the time he'll lick their hands but not let them pet him. With woman it usually just takes a treat and he'll be your friend. He's not a snuggle into your lap the first time he meets you kind of dog. Just judging by looks, people either think he's the most gorgeous dog ever or the scariest.

As for PT, he does have a few fans but I don't know if he's "universally loved" on here.