only you guys will understand........

[Charlene and Buster Dudley]

I love when people acknowledge Buster, it's an awesome way for him to socialize. HOWEVER, I need to figure out how to tactfully tell some folks to BACK OFF!!!!! when people who don't mean any harm come up to us with their high pitched voices going gaga over the puppy allowing/encouraging jumping and wild behavior I get annoyed. *one of my neighbors was actually bothered and surprised the he peed a bit on her feet. teehehehe : ) though she knows how old Buster is, has a male dog and boasts about her experience with rescues* I work hard to encourage polite doggy manners so how do I let people know it's not ok to pop in send mixed signals and walk away leaving me with a confused hyper puppy?!?!?!?!

[Ellen aka BeauBeau's Mom]

this is what I said (maybe it got removed...I guess it was kinda "bitchy"):

this one really hits home!  we have a lady in our building that everyone has dubbed "the dog whisperer".  She constantly is giving unsolicited advice about everybody's dog.  She even lifted her hand a few weeks ago to my little rescue, and I don't blame her one bit for growling at the dog whisperer and snapping when she thought she was being attacked.  If the dog whisperer lifts her hand to me, I will bite her too! LOL

[Charlene and Buster Dudley]

yeah Sherri, I think I'm going to have to be more upfront too ; (

 

good luck to you!!!!

[Carol Brand]

Since you can't control other people, you have to head them off at the pass.  

 

Take hold of Buster's collar to keep him from jumping up.  If he over powers you, you need to step it up to a collar that will give you more control like prong.  You can also grab the skin on the side of his face between the lips and the ear. Holding on to this area gives you control of the direction of the head and it seems to have a calming effect.  (This is a dog show trick).   Plus, when you are bent over and down in the same space as the dog, it seems to keep people from getting all wildly friendly with your dog.   If people are still getting your dog all jacked up with high voices and rough house petting then you have to be direct and say, "You need to have a calmer presence.  You are getting my puppy jacked up."    

 

 

 

[Charlene and Buster Dudley]

ahhhhh Carol, great advise thank you!!! I walk Buster with a gentler leader head collar but I did allow too much slack.

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

I think there are polite and impolite people everywhere. I live in Canada and still have to deal with crazy obnoxious dog lady in my building, as I described above. But yes, most people do ask first.

[Charlene and Buster Dudley]

maybe I should move to Canada ; ) and oh yes if I had a dollar for everytime a person asked about his breed I could afford another doodle ; )

[Adina P]

Send those rude people over here!  Boca needs more people to approach her on walks so she can practice her 'Stay' more.  When I was training Rosco we had to beat people off with a stick (as you do with Buster), but Boca isn't as teddy bear like and huge as Rosco.

But seriously, it IS annoying when people act that way and I always feel bad for them thinking 'one of these days YOU are gonna get bit as you reach out to pet the wrong dog before you ask permission!  Ultimately, though we CAN NOT control other people so I believe it is my responsibility to train my dogs to respond appropriately even to the high pitched squealy hyper people who want to say hello.  

I do agree with Lorraine that it might help to tell them 'Buster is in training' when they ask to pet him.  Then say 'If you have a minute so we can set up a quick practice run I'd gladly let you pet him'  

[Charlene and Buster Dudley]

I will definitely send the rudies your way ; )  that's really interesting that you have 2 dogs and you had different experiences.  having a dog is teaching me all kinds of lessons and not just puppy care-I will learn to speak up tactfully when face-to-face.

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

I haven't run into this much that I remember as most everyone I've met has asked first, and I put them in a sit first. Maybe thier size is imtimidating to most people? Maybe because they are always in a tight close position next to me and to get to them they would be invading my private space as well?  Not sure. Sometimes I have foreseen an intruder into thier space and have put them in sit and told them "Leave it".   That seems to get the persons attention and redirect them! I think it sends a message that running up to them excitedly may not be a good idea.

[Charlene and Buster Dudley]

you are lucky!  I do like the idea of focusing on my dog giving him commands, that should get a persons attention.

[Dori & Rua]

The dog training company that I use, offers a field trip class during spring/summer/fall.  It is 6 weeks and the class (no more than 6 owner/dog teams) goes to different places each week.  Last week we went to a softball fields where they have at least 4 different games going on at one time.  The purpose is to help socialize and work on various things with distractions.  One of the things it helps us do is to work on appropriate greetings with friendly strangers (so far we haven't encounter any bad people).  We have seen the gammet - babies, toddlers, shy kids, bike riders, joggers, wheel chairs, etc.  It is easy to say "we are working on our polite greeting and Rua must sit before she can gets petted".

[Charlene and Buster Dudley]

that sound like an awesome training program!!