Prejudice?

[Karen]

One of my best friends from college, Rob, is afraid of dogs. All dogs. When she was a little girl, she had to walk - every day - past a snarling vicious nightmare of a Doberman on the way home from school. It was everyone's worst stereotype come true. Twice the dog got loose and chased her, once took a chunk out of her jacket before adults intervened. I do not blame her for her fear of dogs. She is a nice, intelligent person, who can understand that all dogs are not that dog, but is still afraid of them. When she came over my parents' house to help me address wedding invitations, we had to block Gracie (Great Dane) out of the room, or Rob just couldn't even sit down to work.

You never know what kind of experiences someone may have that causes their fear.

Just be happy that you know the truth, and have the love of dogs as part of your life!

[wolfsoul]

I can imagine how it will be when I get my catahoula. People often think they look like pit bulls. It's silly because most really don't look like pit bulls, and most pit bulls are very sweet dogs anyways. Plus my dog might have blue or yellow eyes -- alot of people find light coloured eyes to be very intimidating. And then. he might also be a bobtail. Some people think of rotties or dobies when they see bobtails. I'm afraid of dealing with this, but I'm eager to educate.

[Samantha Puppy]

How upsetting... Just remember, it's their loss!!

I can't say I've ever experienced anything like that with Samantha. Usually I get annoyed because people will just run up and start petting her without asking first, which works with Sam because she's so friendly but may not be the case with every dog. I'm always having to ask them to back up and let them know that they need to ask permission to pet her because not all dogs are nice like she is.

[Smilla]

Honestly, I wouldn't get too worked up about it. I know you know that your dog wouldn't hurt anyone, but as Karen said, you never know what sort of experiences a person has had that makes him/her afraid of dogs. I'm sure the man wasn't trying to be rude, just cautious. Personally I prefer it when people approach Lefty carefully, as he's a bit anxious.

I do love pitties, though, and have wondered what kind of reaction to expect if/when I ever own one, as it's such a maligned breed! I suppose I'll be "educating" a lot of people!

[ramanth]

I'm sorry that happened to you. It happens to me and I've just learned to ignore it.

[Corinna]

I have the oppisitte problem. Its ok with the big kids they love people. But Merlin is a bit uncomfortable with non family people I have had to take his walks at night when everyone is infor the night. Of course who could resist theses.

[Corinna]

The big kids (any one wants to hug hubby they are in for a fight)

[senorita02]

Yeah i know how you feel, it happens to me a lot, but that is those peoples problem, too bad they dont get to find out what a sweetie your poochie is.
But then again i will sometimes get a different reaction, we went to the Bark in the Park a while back when we had our other Rott (Bear) and plus we had Face, and some lady came running up to us with her new born baby to pet them! Wow i was shocked i dont know how many people would want to introduce there new born to 2 strangers big Rottweilers, but it was nice to see not everyone acts like all big doggies are viscious!

[cali]

awww but baily has such a sweet face! I have never had a bad reaction from people before, but Happy is almost my largest dog and you would believe her size if told, many flyball people look at her and say she should be a height dog.. lol yah, right, Happy is one of the larger BCs around here! lol we always joke that we should call her a height dog and noby would challege it, most people want to see proof that she is 21" tall and not 17" tall lol in agility people look at her and her jump height and cant figer out why the jumps are so high lol she is also very friendly, if she runs up to someone and they are obviously scared, I call her back, no big deal, some people are scared of dogs. people used to be terrified of Perky though , eveytime people came over we had to lock her up because she can seem rather nasty at times lol those same people all adore her now, and cant miss their perky kisses lol now Ripley... well he can be downright nasty at times, his nick name is "the tazmanian devil" for a reason, however his face is so cute that he could viciously attack someone and they would go "awwwwwww" I have had people look a little nervious when walkin near Misty though, but only because they think her haltie is a muzzle, if she is not wearing the halti people come out of the woodworks to meet her lol

[Summer Magic]

If you think of her as an over protective mom it helps. Some dogs don't like small children and mom can't tell the difference at a glance. the tail wag isn't always a good way to tell if a dog is receptive to children. It can be used by the dog as the start of a stay away warning. Just chalk it up to experience and go on from there. You know your dog, they don"t.

[Kosmo&Cuddles]

I know how you feel, it happends to Kosmo and I often. It's awful that people are that way! Bailey looks like such a loveable cute dog! Try to not let it bother you.

[ChrisH]

Aw, your Bailey is so gorgeous and that is such a lovely picture of her. How I would love for her to greet me with that waggly tail.

As to Bob and kids, I am the opposite, I keep him away from them when we are out, or anywhere come to that. A few reasons why, first is because I don't trust the kids around here not to pull and prod - Bob would not like that. Second, he is just so enthusiastic and would knock them over in his rush to play. And lastly, simply because I know some people prefer to keep their kids away from dogs and I just pre-empt by keeping him out of their way. Sad isn't it.

[Amber]

I'm sorry this happens. But you have to remmeber people just dont trust dogs they don't know. Even though its extremely hurtful in the dog owners eyes, I know what where your comming from.

[bckrazy]

aww, anyone who sees Baily as a scary dog doesn't deserve to love on her! I know I'd definitely be begging you to pet her and give her treats.

You should feel lucky in a way, though.. at least parents just aren't assuming she's fine with their 5 kids jumping all over her! This tends to be the reaction to Gonzo, and it's the sole reason (along with his breeder not socializing him) for his fear of kids. He is great with 1 or 2 kids petting him at a time, and he'll go out of his way to give them kisses, but often it's a whole freakin group of bratty kids... people always ask me "isn't that like the dog from Babe?" or "that's a Collie, right?". "no, he's a Border Collie, and he's very sensitive, and he doesn't appreciate all of your kids and their friends on top of him. He's not a Golden!" ... LOL, I could go on about this forever. I'd much rather parents be more cautious and keep control of their kids... the only time Gonzo is really freaked out is when kids run up behind him. Of course, most parents say to their kids "You should ask first, you know"... by this time the kid has already been petting Gonzo, and if he was going to he would've already bitten them not that he would, of course. I didn't mean to make this so looong... but this is my biggest pet peeve.. I would feel better if people were cautious around my dog

[Twisterdog]

Perhaps they are cautious of her breed. Or, perhaps they are simple cautious of and/or afraid of dogs in general.

I've had people react the same way to my 20 pound friendly terriers. It's hard to say where people are coming from.