tactful way to handle a problem before I lose my temper

[Kfamr]

This is a very hard situation because the dog may not listen to you or other people because you're not it's owner.

I would talk to the owners about it nicely. Explain the situation and how the dogs been jumping and it's something that needs to be corrected.

[petlover]

Obviously the owner doesn't care about the behavior of his dog, and what might happen if he doesn't teach it some manners. Have you ever been to his house covered in mud? Maybe he just things that the dog is only getting a little bit on you. Like it is nothing that is noticeable.
Perhaps you could get a local animal shelter agent to go to his house and talk to him about maybe taking his dog to obedience classes, or if he can't teach his dog some manners, then to keep it in HIS OWN YARD.

Hope this helps. Keep trying, you will find something out.

[Adge Gibbs]

Sorry for the long delay in getting back to all of you. There was a death in my family and I've been doing what I can to help out.

As far as the issue with the clown at the park, it's just a regular park that dog owners congregate in. Calling the authorities wouldn't do anything but get the rest of us in trouble as well. The situation resolved itself because his dog jumped on me and Seven didn't like it and growled at him and ran towards me. His dog backed off and hid behind the guy and when he said something to me about getting MY dog under control, I lost my cool and completely flipped out on him. I'm not a small guy and I think I really scared him because no one at the park has seen him since.

I don't like getting mad or losing my temper, but people CONSTANTLY ask me to help them train their dogs because Sev is so well trained and behaved so when this goofball said something about my dog's behavior, it really really hit a nerve.

Peace has been restored at the park but if I ever run into a situation like this one again, I will certainly use some of the wonderful suggestions posted here.

Thank all of you.

[Karen]

Sorry to hear about the death in the family, but I am glad to hear the park problem has settled down.

Seven is a stunningly lovely dog, so I am sure that, coupled with his good behavior, attracts a lot of attention!

[Adge Gibbs]

Thank you, Karen. It's been a little rough lately because I'm the one everyone turns to when things are bad, but I'm feeling pretty wiped out myself and am kind of going through the funeral arrangements and the emotions all by myself.

Thank you for the compliment as far as Seven goes. He's a good egg and has been the only thing that has been making me smile the last week or so. He can be goofy when he wants to be so I think he knows I needed cheering up.