@grateful266 I agree with the small dog thing!!!! My Shep is cat reactive due to both of our dying, she adored them so it’s over excitement/stimulation when she sees one and she gets better every time.
My tiny chi on the other hand is dog AND human aggressive and extremely picky on who he likes (2 of my f friends and my step dad). He lunges, growls, barks, bares his teeth and what do I get?
“Omg look how tiny! Can I say hi? I don’t like big dogs though, can you keep that one away so I can hold him?”
Only if you want free cosmetic surgery! Do you like your fingers? /s
@greenviolets 100%. Lots of people think reactivity or even outright aggression in small dogs is adorable. It's bad enough when it's just some stranger on the street, but when it's the actual owner of the small dog in question it's so sad, and so unfair to both that little dog and all the other dogs around that little dog. Good on ya for recognizing aggression in your little and taking action! All of my dogs are big, but at 67lbs my reactive guy somehow still manages to give off little-dog vibes (he's just very compact, like a little block of lead) and so naturally out of all my dogs he's the one people want to walk right up and grab. The cute-but-reactive struggle is real!
@greenviolets I realize this is not a dog but your story reminded me. My first pet was my cat Whisper. Beautiful. One of my best friends was terrified of her and would always make sure she was sitting were she could see her. Whisper was very particular. She loved me. Nobody else. One day she was laying on the end of the sofa in front of the door when a friend came in and started ooh and awwwing over her. I told 3 times do not touch her she will bite you! Guess you know the rest of the story!
@chrismonolo Some people have NO respect for animals and their boundaries. Drives me nuts how they think they’re entitled to other peoples pets somehow!
My youngest who unfortunately was hit by a car hated everyone but myself and my sister, supposedly hated my current boyfriend until he woke up and my cat was laying on him purring himself to sleep cats are so funny
I think it might be useful to mention this is good advice. No leash greets. For off leash meets, go to a field, larger space, where dogs can smell each other from afar, slowly interact if they want to. Slowing walking past. Never on leash in tight spaces, narrow streets or passageways (like stairs).
@that1starfish We bring our dog to the dog park where it has a separate area for single dogs (he is great in the there and we never bring him into the main park). I have never been able to go and enjoy my time with my dog without some know it all telling me how to train my dog and socialise him. Then they asked me at least 3 times do I want to bring him into the dog park.
I’ve had men shove their hand into my dogs face to “sniff me to get to know me” while my dog growls at them. we have a coat that says do not pet and a bright yellow leash with nervous on it!
I’m so sick of strangers thinking they now better!
@joana27 It must be a certain type of people. I remember one time I had just won a horse show class. Beat 7 other women for 1st place. A guy comes up to me and starts telling me everything I did wrong and what I need to do better next time. I'm like WTF? I don't even know you?
@that1starfish A stranger once told me “The problem is with the owner and not with the dog” when my boy reacted agressively to his - also reactive but rat-sized - dog. I needed to hold MY reaction back, I felt infuriated asf
@that1starfish omggg yes!! my partners mum constantly goes on about that’s why my dog reacts and insists on holding his leash on walks. Fries my head, like out of everyone I know MY dog best !!
@that1starfish Yup. My neighbor who has seen my dog at his worst still tries to approach me with his two dogs. It’s been two years of “he probably just wants to say hi to my dogs”. LEAVE ME ALONE.
@that1starfish I stil get disappointed or disapproving looks people when my dog reacts on lead to other dogs , it really get me down. He is the best and obedient dog in the world, does everything you tell him, gun dog training to a reasonable level , 100% recall. Just can’t get over his nervousness around stranger dogs. People only ever see that
@that1starfish I remember kindly asking my neighbor to not let her big ass Berner run up on my dog on leash because, despite them being very good friends, he is traumatized from being attacked two years ago by a dog running up to him off leash. It doesn't end in a fight, but my dog is visibly scared when he runs up to him and I think it's unnecessary stress. She told me I need to socialize my dog more and that I need to take him to dog parks. I was like uhhhh my dog is extremely well socialized (to dogs, not so much to people,,, thanks COVID) and has been since he was 5 weeks old. He goes to daycare with me occasionally and is wonderful with the other dogs.The problem is YOUR DOG, not his socialization skills, and the fact he's traumatized from a brutal dog attack. Some people don't get it.
@that1starfish My dog is reactive due to being raised on the streets where her leg was almost ripped off from a dog fight. Somehow I don’t believe that introducing her to more dogs is going to make her feel better
@that1starfish Yea, right. My dog is reactive because she was raised in shitty circumstances, for years, where she learned to perceive all other dogs as a mortal threat.
Ain't no "just letting her play with other dogs" gonna change that.
@that1starfish The exposure trainer was too scared of her to train her not to be reactive, so - I'm just going to keep her home where she feels safe. She was too old when we got her to reprogram her with desensitization training. It just made her a nervous wreck.
She's mellowed out a lot since then and has a lot more people in her circle of acceptance. She's such an old sweetie.
@that1starfish Ugh
I had a lady yell at me because I go the other way when I see her and her reactive dog that pulls everywhere. She said the same thing.
My dog is the friendliest dog ever to other dogs and humans. He gets plenty of off leash socialisation with both.
He is a frustratrd greeter and reactive because he wants to play with every dog in the world. And I won't let him greet and play on leash. So please stay away from us.
@that1starfish I’ve learned not to put my dog in reactive situations. It’s not benefiting her, me or the other dog at all! She just goes into the fight zone and it’s ultra distressing.
Maybe It is a bit sad.. but for me? Or for her? because she doesn’t seem that depressed about having no dog friends. She only likes me. I’m confident that my dog is a happy dog!
@that1starfish I was on our local field this afternoon, saw a bloke arrive the opposite end and we kinda walked around the outside opposite ways. My dog was running around trying to uproot trees, his was chasing his ball. Both minding our own business. He left then I followed shortly due to school kids. Crossed paths 15 mins later and had a lovely chat about respecting boundaries and not needing to shove our dogs together to “socialise”. Rare thing to happen and I was so happy about it, someone who gets it!
cats are so funny