ruoungoaithanhnien
New member
My boyfriend and I often take our dog (1 year old ACD/pit/Rottweiler mix) to the grocery store down the street. One of us waits outside with him and the other runs in and shops. It’s a great opportunity for him to observe people, shopping carts, etc from a distance and he usually does amazingly well. He is leash reactive and has fear based reactivity to strangers (barking, not a bite risk).
I was outside with him today and noticed two men who had been hanging around the entrance and had followed me from one side of the parking lot to the other. I tried to ignore them, but they kept trying to wave and get my attention. One guy approached me and started to give me a really cheesy pick up line, but before he could even get the sentence out my dog immediately let out a few warning barks. I knew his body language wasn’t in a dangerous place, the barks were fairly deep but didn’t have much duration or frequency, and he was really just trying to warn the guy off. So I held the back of his harness and firmly told the man my dog wasn’t friendly and to give us space.
He tried saying he was a dog person and asked me what my dog was so I told him, but my dog let off one or two more barks and he put his hands up and backed away. He didn’t even get within three feet of me, and I felt both completely safe and in control of my dog. As soon as the guy backed away, my dog was back to giving me kisses and sitting super relaxed.
I was glad I had my dog with me and for once was grateful for him barking at a person lol
I was outside with him today and noticed two men who had been hanging around the entrance and had followed me from one side of the parking lot to the other. I tried to ignore them, but they kept trying to wave and get my attention. One guy approached me and started to give me a really cheesy pick up line, but before he could even get the sentence out my dog immediately let out a few warning barks. I knew his body language wasn’t in a dangerous place, the barks were fairly deep but didn’t have much duration or frequency, and he was really just trying to warn the guy off. So I held the back of his harness and firmly told the man my dog wasn’t friendly and to give us space.
He tried saying he was a dog person and asked me what my dog was so I told him, but my dog let off one or two more barks and he put his hands up and backed away. He didn’t even get within three feet of me, and I felt both completely safe and in control of my dog. As soon as the guy backed away, my dog was back to giving me kisses and sitting super relaxed.
I was glad I had my dog with me and for once was grateful for him barking at a person lol