People have zero survival instinct and it’s hurting my dog

@themartinfamily
I think the problem is people are not aware of dog reactivity. To many, it does not exist.
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And for most people it shouldn't be a problem. Because after all, it's the responsibility of the owner to be in control of their dog.

I can't imagine being in the situation OP in and writing a post with a title like this, let alone a post with this attitude in general. A dog is either capable of being around people, or not. If not, that's fine, but it's the owner's responsibility. The dog can't be faulted ...it's a dog.

I hope this doesn't sound too harsh or lack empathy. Public safety first, right? Even for the dogs sake.
 
@namhoang217gv Yea honestly I'm kind of confused by the responses here. OP chastising other people for not taking other routes or going out of their way to avoid OPs dog who seems riled up is such a weird take.
 
@benjammin13 Do you really thing it is both smart and normal to actively ignore all other possible walking routes and instead walk directly toward someone and their dog that are clearly not prepared for a meet and greet?
 
@lia1234 People are dumb but also I think sometimes they do it out of politeness? It’s obviously embarrassing to have an out of control dog and if someone crosses the street to avoid you it’s even more embarrassing. Most people haven’t been bitten by dogs so they probably think they’re being polite by acting like the dog is normal and just walking past it. A lot of people would assume a dangerous dog wouldn’t be brought out in public too.

That’s my thinking anyway. But again, some people are just dumb.
 
@lia1234 A lot would feel bad changing routes because they don’t want to “shame” the other person, so they act like it’s no big deal.

Also personally, I have a 10 year old dog with hip dysplasia and arthritis and I’m not yanking her off her course and causing her pain because someone else has bitten off more than they can chew dog wise.
 
@hiding110268 this post is not at all in the context of single trails or sidewalks, though. perhaps you could think of a better solution than bringing your poor old dog into such a stressful situation (such as simply waiting until the other person can get out of the way?)
 
@lia1234 If she’s happily walking through the park, a field or on a path and there’s a dog flipping out….that’s not on her (or stressful for her, she’s extremely even tempered when it comes to other dogs).

I’m not making her have to wait out the other person when it’s the other person’s challenge to resolve.

If you have an older dog and they’re in moving mode, you don’t try to discourage that drive lol.

Perhaps OP should think of being more empathetic to the general public than thinking everyone who goes near her dog is “dumb”.

Part of owning a reactive dog is helping them learn to cope with a variety of situations and also the owner learning to navigate them as well.

And if OP is struggling this hard with physically containing their dog, it’s not a safe dog for her to own. For herself, the dog or the public.

Edit: I checked OP’s history and the dog in question is 8 pounds and she’s owned him for 2 months and is already this frustrated with the public.

This is a situation easily resolved by her picking him up and walking away to find a spot to help him redirect his anxiety.
 
@namhoang217gv You're right, yet people walking up to dogs of strangers is just beyond rude, even if the dog is the friendliest one on earth.

A simple rule – never pet a dog without owner's permission (unless the dog comes up to you itself). I was reminded this by a woman in a wheelchair who had her service dog. Many kids know how to ask permission to pet. Adults are the ones that forget.
 
@knittedspoons I don't mean to be rude, but people shouldn't have to go out of their way to avoid your dog. You need to train it so that it doesn't react dangerously to people passing by.
 
@knittedspoons I never truly appreciated how oblivious people are until I was at a nice big open park with my dog and he pooped. Asked my dog to sit and stay, got a bag, and as I was reaching down to pick it up, someone stepped in it. My bagged hand was inches away. It was not a crowded park. They just didn't register that myself or my dog were even there, much less that I was bent over and reaching for the ground with a bag around my hand. This was before smartphones. This person was just walking through the park, headphones on, focused on the direction they were heading, with zero situational awareness.

Much more recently I saw a meme about someone taking a large python in a bag on a bus and how nobody even noticed. Sometimes I wish I could just my brain off and be that oblivious. Other times I wonder just how many things I completely miss in my own environment.
 
@knittedspoons Man, I feel like if survival instinct needs to come into play with your dog, maybe your dog shouldn’t be in public spaces without at the bare minimum, a muzzle and redundant leads.
 
@knittedspoons Because of this, I no longer have an issue being blatantly rude to people and telling them “please don’t touch my dog” if they try to approach my nervous hiding chiweenie who loves people but needs to approach strangers at his own pace. I don’t give a fuhh anymore if people give me dirty look or make comments towards me - my job is to protect my boy and that’s what I will always do first.
 
@knittedspoons I'm in the same situation as well... I have a well trained dog, but she's epileptic and has a lot of trauma regarding off leash dogs and people. We have 3 patches on her harness saying "ask to pet," "Give space," and "don't touch me."

People will approach us and pet her without my consent, and when she growls and tries to bite them to leave her alone, it's my fault ?!?!

At this point, people just asked to get bit so they can sue and put my dog down, and it's driving me insane
 
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