@finlandia The chihuahua sub is full owners laughing at the resource guarding issues and fear-based aggression they caused in their dogs. "Look at my grumpy land shark". 
“You can take your dog to movies and bars. But does he want to go?” On WaPo
- Thread starter joshuawithmartin
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@finlandia For some reason social media keeps feeding me this company that puts dogs on treadmills and this one is ADAMANT that the dog was confident and happy in the end...its body language begged to differ.
@williamsnodo I took both my dogs to work with me until they were reliably housebroken. They always happily line up for our morning walk but when they refused to get off the couch to go to work, I figured they had made their choice
blessings777
New member
@williamsnodo 100%
I have a mildly reactive dog and I'll take her to SOME places that have a lot of outdoor seating spaced out like a brewery during a quiet hour etc but I see dogs all over the place, looking uncomfortable, in places they shouldn't be such as:
-Sporting events
-The crazy busy Venice beach strip (We took our dog to Santa Monica last weekend and that was crowded enough, but the minute we stepped into Venice I turned around. She went from "fine" to "actively miserable" immediately--but I glimpsed plenty of dogs in that madness)
-Concerts and festivals
-Outdoor movie events with thousands of people
-Chinese New Year firecrackers explosions in an alley (I was in SF and saw someone lugging their poor dog through this and was just flabbergasted)
-Dogs tethered to yelling screaming unsober dudes riding shirtless on skateboards and starting fights
Even the chillest dogs probably don't want to be around SO much noise, SO much smell, and SO many people. I just don't get it.
I have a mildly reactive dog and I'll take her to SOME places that have a lot of outdoor seating spaced out like a brewery during a quiet hour etc but I see dogs all over the place, looking uncomfortable, in places they shouldn't be such as:
-Sporting events
-The crazy busy Venice beach strip (We took our dog to Santa Monica last weekend and that was crowded enough, but the minute we stepped into Venice I turned around. She went from "fine" to "actively miserable" immediately--but I glimpsed plenty of dogs in that madness)
-Concerts and festivals
-Outdoor movie events with thousands of people
-Chinese New Year firecrackers explosions in an alley (I was in SF and saw someone lugging their poor dog through this and was just flabbergasted)
-Dogs tethered to yelling screaming unsober dudes riding shirtless on skateboards and starting fights
Even the chillest dogs probably don't want to be around SO much noise, SO much smell, and SO many people. I just don't get it.
@williamsnodo Yeah. Mine is a whore who loves attention, and neighbourhood caffe is just perfect for him. And he will get bored after an hour and that's the time to go back home.
I'd never take him to any kind of fair our outdoor shopping thing because he'd be bored out of his mind and he'd consider every stop to be a crime, because he has a job - that is to sniff everything around him.
I'd never take him to any kind of fair our outdoor shopping thing because he'd be bored out of his mind and he'd consider every stop to be a crime, because he has a job - that is to sniff everything around him.
yhudithagios
New member
@jtwhelch Yes! I take my non-reactive girl to our neighborhood cafe. She LOVES it. We go in, she gets pets and attention, we do tricks for treats while we wait for my coffee, she gets to meet people (which she doesn't get to do when with reactive boy), she often gets a pup cup, then we take it all to go. It's probably 10 minutes total we're in there.
But, I obviously pay attention to her body language, and we keep it short and sweet. It's not a huge overwhelming place. And I would never, ever bring reactive boy there, because it would be his nightmare.
I think owners have been given the message that "all socialization is good," but that's just not true. Taking your clearly stressed dog to the Farmers Market is not giving it a positive social experience. Or seeing a tiny dog at a bar who is just shaking in terror...not cool. You just have to know your dog and what they actually enjoy, and keep paying attention to what they're telling you.
But, I obviously pay attention to her body language, and we keep it short and sweet. It's not a huge overwhelming place. And I would never, ever bring reactive boy there, because it would be his nightmare.
I think owners have been given the message that "all socialization is good," but that's just not true. Taking your clearly stressed dog to the Farmers Market is not giving it a positive social experience. Or seeing a tiny dog at a bar who is just shaking in terror...not cool. You just have to know your dog and what they actually enjoy, and keep paying attention to what they're telling you.
@yhudithagios There's a private kindergarten on our street, and they have an aussie. Beautiful dog, it herds children when they go to the park, perfectly well behaved. It's adorable looking at it in it's element.
But I've seen that dog in a caffe, and while it's well behaving... it's miserable there. And twitchy. And the owners don't even notice. The worst thing is that the caffe in question is two streets away from their home, so taking a detour and leaving the dog there if you are finished with the walk isn't even that much of a problem.
But I've seen that dog in a caffe, and while it's well behaving... it's miserable there. And twitchy. And the owners don't even notice. The worst thing is that the caffe in question is two streets away from their home, so taking a detour and leaving the dog there if you are finished with the walk isn't even that much of a problem.
yhudithagios
New member
@jtwhelch That makes me so sad! Yeah, even with my girl who loves going in, I can't imagine her being happy if we were just hanging out (vs. just running in for a few minutes). She'd get way too antsy and want to be able to visit with everyone/beg for food.
That said, there are other dog "regulars" who seem totally calm when they're in there.
It doesn't surprise me hearing that an Aussie would get twitchy being stuck in a small space and unable to investigate everything going on, lol!
That said, there are other dog "regulars" who seem totally calm when they're in there.
It doesn't surprise me hearing that an Aussie would get twitchy being stuck in a small space and unable to investigate everything going on, lol!
@williamsnodo Yes! It’s actually super clear with this trend of dog spaces that it’s all for the owner. In essence it’s selfishness.
Dogs don’t have any fun at a brewery. What the fk would they even be doing. Drinking? Chatting with their dog pal? Being pet by the 30 strangers which only the most friendly of Goldens would even enjoy? They are brought there solely for the owner to pet them, to feel happy bringing their cuddle buddie, show them off, etc.
I went through this epiphany of my own once my dog turned 2. I was one of the guilty folks who always wanted to bring my dog to brunch, etc, and she actually does fine as she’s not reactive to people at all. But despite not being reactive, I slowly realized she just didn’t like it. She’s bored, she doesn’t want to “down” for 1 hour. If we’re going to a park after, I’ll bring her, but if we are just doing family human stuff after, I’ve learned to finally let go my own ego and just leave her at home.
Dogs don’t have any fun at a brewery. What the fk would they even be doing. Drinking? Chatting with their dog pal? Being pet by the 30 strangers which only the most friendly of Goldens would even enjoy? They are brought there solely for the owner to pet them, to feel happy bringing their cuddle buddie, show them off, etc.
I went through this epiphany of my own once my dog turned 2. I was one of the guilty folks who always wanted to bring my dog to brunch, etc, and she actually does fine as she’s not reactive to people at all. But despite not being reactive, I slowly realized she just didn’t like it. She’s bored, she doesn’t want to “down” for 1 hour. If we’re going to a park after, I’ll bring her, but if we are just doing family human stuff after, I’ve learned to finally let go my own ego and just leave her at home.
kingdomkey
New member
@squareone There’s a brewery I used to go to that had heated concrete floors…whenever I went during extremes of temperatures (winter or summer) it would be filled with napping dogs stretched out for maximum surface exposure
@squareone For my 75lb pittie, being pet by 30 strangers would be THE BEST DAY EVER but he looks intimidating (and frankly is legitimately intimidating when he sees another dog…) so he rarely gets that kind of attention from strangers
alaskanaurora
New member
@squareone You hit a good point about this all being for the owner. I saw this a lot when I had my previous OES. She was a working hospital therapy dog (she had a staff badge and everything) and when people found out this fact they would tell me they wanted to do the same with their dogs. However, their dogs were usually looking pretty stressed just existing in public and just didn’t seem like they’d have an innate love for being manhandled by strangers. Therapy work can be extremely stressful because humans are unpredictable and don’t know how to properly interact with dogs Once I realized it was mostly owners wanting some proof that their dog was objectively a good dog it finally made sense to me.
Even with my current sheepdog I just don’t think we will pursue therapy work because I now actually understand how stressful it can be for the dogs. My girl is very good, gentle, and has good manners overall but she’s just lacking something that makes me think it would be enriching for her.
Even with my current sheepdog I just don’t think we will pursue therapy work because I now actually understand how stressful it can be for the dogs. My girl is very good, gentle, and has good manners overall but she’s just lacking something that makes me think it would be enriching for her.
@alaskanaurora Yes, exactly, it’s this “prove my dog is a good dog, which shows that I’m a good person” almost virtue signaling thing. Which I again was also guilty of, so I feel like I can really speak to that mindset. Like I really wanted to show off my dog as this super obedient dog, super tolerant, good at being handled. And she is! She is all that! Even as a puppy, during training classes she would be used as the “model dog” for the trainer because she is SO responsive to humans (it’s those shepherd genes). And I would be so proud and almost like, purposefully inserting her into situations where her behavior could be shown off?
But I think I had an epiphany as my own human child started to get bigger, started talking. I was like wait…I’m kinda treating my dog like a child pageant star? And I hate parents who do that to their real kids so why am I doing it to my dog?…
And I just totally dropped the whole thing since then.
I’m still in certain forums for dogs and see a lot of this same mindset I had before. I don’t judge since I was in that same space before, and there’s no right or wrong, but it’s just interesting.
But I think I had an epiphany as my own human child started to get bigger, started talking. I was like wait…I’m kinda treating my dog like a child pageant star? And I hate parents who do that to their real kids so why am I doing it to my dog?…
And I just totally dropped the whole thing since then.
I’m still in certain forums for dogs and see a lot of this same mindset I had before. I don’t judge since I was in that same space before, and there’s no right or wrong, but it’s just interesting.