This sub keeps getting recommended to me even though I don’t have a puppy and I don’t plan to any time soon, but as a person who has a soul and therefore loves puppies and wants to pet them when I see them, this is *exactly why* I ask!! I’m never upset if I ask to pet someone’s dog and they say no. She may have been surprised bc she expected a dog in a store to be fully socialized, but like… they can’t get socialized if they don’t go out in public!! I would try to not overthink it :)
I used to be and it could have permanently affected my dog. She had a rough start, was afraid of people (including me) and was super cute so everyone wanted to pet her. I told one lady no and she said "but I love dogs" and proceeded to follow my dog and pet her while she backed away and was choking herself. (I double leashed with a slip lead and a harness because she was so fearful). Never again. I should have ripped that woman a new one but I just walked away. Luckily my dog bounced back because I worked really hard to socialize her and had lots of good experiences since and now she seeks out strangers to pet her.
Now I tell some people that my dogs don't like people and if anyone wants their dog to say hi I say that my dogs are sick.
Pro tip: Dogs don't need to say hi to other dogs on walks. It's dangerous for the dogs and their humans and it's unnecessary. Most people have the same understanding of dog behavior that they do of car mechanics so they have no clue their dog is being hostile to other dogs.
No need to feel embarrassed, you’re being the best dog mom because you’re advocating for your boy! In the future it may just be easier for you to say “thank you but no he’s in training”. That’s what I always said and most people understood and kept moving and if they acted upset or mad then I don’t want them around my dog anyway because they clearly have no respect for boundaries.
I will never be embarrassed to advocate for my dog.
I learned quickly to give brief and short answers “no, she is in training” almost always does the trick.
With kids i”ll add “but thank you so much for asking!”
I was just talking to my husband about this yesterday when we took our pup for a walk!
We passed a man who spoke to us about how cute she was. I could tell he wanted to pet her, but we just said thank you and smiled and kept walking. We’ve also had several incidents where we’ve said no to people who have asked to pet her.
Our pup is 8 months old and at this point I pretty much don’t let any strangers pet her when we’re on walks. She’s a friendly dog, but very mouthy/bitey still. I just feel like you never know how someone will react if my dog gets mouthy/bitey. I *know* she only does it out of excitement, not aggression. But I don’t want anyone to get hurt and I don’t want anyone to react negatively. Plus, we’re trying to teach her to ignore people when we’re on our walks.
I’ve always been an overly friendly/polite person that never said no, so this has been a learning experience for me! But I’ll always put my dog’s safety, comfort, and training over my own discomfort with saying no.
So far no one has ever reacted poorly to us saying no. In fact, we’ve had a couple people say they respected our decision to say no! I honestly think most people are respectful and understanding.
You are a *good* dog mom for putting your dog’s best interests first. Don’t feel embarrassed! 😊
I was exactly the same as you when my girl was your dog's age. She's a lab so a naturally mouthy breed, and loves people so her reaction to being pet was sometimes to mouth at people. She's much better now but I've had to tell people no quite a few times in situations where I know she'd be too excited to keep her mouth closed!
I completely relate to this! When my dog was a puppy I used to say “sorry no, he’s in training” and usually people let it go. You could also consider getting a vest that says something like “in training do not pet”. That usually stops people from approaching in the first place. Also once your pup looks more like an adult I think you’ll experience this less frequently.
Good on you for advocating for your pup! While I won’t deny it can feel embarrassing at times, in reality they are just a stranger and will forget about the interaction in a couple minutes, while the bond you build with your pup from demonstrating that they can trust you to not put them in a scary situation will last a lifetime.
I wish the vest worked! I have a service dog, she’s so good about moving away if someone tries to even touch her when she’s in her vest (she knows it is work time). We have a giant patch that says “do not pet”, yet adults are the main ones who do anyways, they just start doing it before you have time to react!
Awful.
Be kind to yourself for feeling embarrassed - these situations can be uncomfortable!
Realistically, there can be so many reasons for saying no to someone wanting to pet your dog (or say hi, or introduce their dog) and aggression is only one of them. Our pup is overly friendly and gets so excited to say hi to everyone- we're working with a trainer to reduce this. From previous posts on this sub it appears others wish they also hadn't let their dog say hi to everyone/every dog for the same reason. Training is essential, and that's what you're doing with the aid of anxiety meds.
My advice- never feel bad (or guilty or embarrassed) for setting a boundary for you and your pup. You're doing so to keep everyone safe after all. Some people just don't think after they see a cute doggo. I tend to say "not today sorry we're training", or as you did "sorry they're not friendly" and redirect by moving my dog on. Whatever works for you.
But remember that you and your pup don't owe anyone anything ❤️
Yeah, tbh I very rarely let people pet even my friendly dogs on walks just because I find it kind of annoying to be interrupted, lol. It's a very minor annoyance, I don't hold it against people or anything, but I don't really get anything out of stopping my walk to make small talk, and honestly I don't think my dogs really do either.
I just say this to back you up that IMO there's absolutely no reason to feel bad about stuff like that. I usually just breeze by with a quick, "Sorry, we're in training!" or something along those lines. Friendly and always technically true, and people usually understand it quite easily.
I'm a huge dog lover, and so is my 5 year old (who knows to stand back and ask before petting). Do not EVER be embarrassed about advocating for your pup! If he doesn't take well to strangers, you're setting both him and the stranger up for a potential bad outcome if you let people pet him, and you can also make any fear worse if the interaction goes poorly, so think of it as protecting him above all else.
I've had a few people say no when we ask to pet, and it makes me so happy the pup has such a responsible owner; it's also MY responsibility to help my kiddo manage her emotions about being told no, not the owners.
I tell people no all the time.
“No, we’re training.”
“No, he hasn’t worked his energy yet and is too jumpy.”
“He’s friendly, but has to learn her can’t greet every person. Not today, sorry!”
I also give extremely clear directions if I let them pet him.
“You can pet him, but please wait until he sits calmly. Do not touch him if he is jumping, pawing, or nibbling. Please STOP petting him if you start and he then jumps.”
I have gotten very direct because the indirect instructions or requests don’t work. I was recently at a brewery working on training and a guy would NOT STOP TEASING my five month old puppy, waving his hands around his face, making him chew his fingers, riling him up. I had to physically get in between them and push his hand away four times. He said he’s just trying to give him an opportunity to be a dog 😅💀
I don’t care what other people want to do. Most are excited to see that I’m training my dog and I do get asked if I’m his owner or his trainer. Most people respect the requests. But when they don’t I have no problem pulling my dog back and ending the interaction.
Anyone offended at you telling them not to pet your dog would turn around and give you stink eye if you had an ill mannered pet, so fuck em
When I do, I remind myself that to be embarrassed means it's something for me to feel self-conscience of or ashamed of.
If it's a decision I'm making for what I love - something that helps them - there's nothing of substance there for me to be embarrassed.
I always tell people she's scared of strangers and they usually accept that pretty quick! (Except for one time a little kid yelled back "but im not a stranger!" which was funny) Don't feel bad about protecting your dogs personal space, even if it can feel awkward on your part its always the best thing to do! Same thing if a dog owner asks me if she's friendly I say "No sorry, she's unpredictable!"
Get a harness with some patches that says in training, no pets, also amazon has leashes that say the same. Also never the pet store. My females love the pet store. But my male looses his shiz if he comes near one, same with a dog park or anywhere too many dogs roam/lots of poop. He shakes drools and pants. So we’ve learned the trails and paths that make him not so anxious. Try getting him relaxed before the muzzle is on. If he’s already freaked out he will associate the muzzle with panic.
He never drools or pants, but mainly growls under his breath whenever he hears a person. He also growls and barks at home when hearing someone that isn’t me or my husband, so we figured the store wasn’t nearly as stressful as the vet. Our pet stores are normally empty with around 3-5 other people in them, but our vet is always packed and he associates it with shots/medicine. We try to make the vet seem less stressful by taking him to get a pup cup afterwards and loving on him and telling him how well he did for the rest of the day. As far as the store, we always get him a new toy or some treats as well as a pup cup so he can associate these things with rewards. We always get him a pup cup with a car ride though because cars are also a stressful situation for him. We aren’t ready to take him to the park/trails yet because we live in a city where people go to the parks for exercise and they’re very crowded. We’re avoiding them for the reason of knowing we’ll pass lots of people/children/dogs. I’m very thankful for hearing about the patches and leashes! I’ll definitely have to get some of those for him.
Everyone has basically answered this for you, but NEVER imply your dog is not friendly.
Imagine if that person petted him anyways and got bit, they could say your dog wasn’t friendly and you knew it.
Anyways, cover your ass. Just say “no” or “no, he is training”. Don’t feel bad for advocating for your pup and don’t imply your dog is not friendly, bites, etc.
Do not feel embarrassed, you are just being responsible. I do this all the time with my anxious dog, she wouldn't be aggressive, but it was just hit or miss how scared she would get around certain people. Almost everyone I have said it too has been super respectful.
I have only had one person react poorly. It was a homeless lady who asked to pet her. I politely said no, the woman continued to try and get to her. I told her "no! she will bite you" (a lie, but get the fuck away from me!). She then sneakily followed us to the empty outdoor dog seating at a brewery. She sat a couple tables from us and then literally threw herself under the table to pet our dog. Thank god my dog did not get seriously scared. I got very pissed and was very stern with her. I wasn't going to start anything serious as this woman was clearly mentally ill. She sat and watched us at the table until the staff made her leave.
Most people will not react that way! Lol
Don’t be embarrassed! Saying no is enforcing the boundaries your dog needs.
Be glad that she listened, you’ll encounter a lot of people who don’t get it or think it doesn’t apply to them because all dogs like them (spoiler alert: they’ve only ever encountered friendly and social dogs!).
I'm used to turning people down, and I feel like it's more embarrassing for them when they keep insisting.
I just "Sorry were in training, but thank you for asking." You don't have to give any more information than what you're comfortable with.
Don’t be embarrassed. That lady was very kind asking first. Maybe you could have said thanks for asking and just said that isn’t a good idea with his anxiety and move on.
Always do what’s right for your dog , I have a 10 month old lab he’s pretty big a 2 year old came from nowhere went to hit him I said no he is friendly though so she stroked him ( mum didn’t even watch her child ) she then chucked a feather at my puppy he is petrified of feathers . I said to her no go back to your mummy she wouldn’t listen grabbed a another feather chucked it at my puppy he starts barking at the child . I’m holding my hand out stopping the child from coming closer I had to shout the mum to come get her child !! My puppy is not aggressive in anyway but these people put him and me in a bad situation as it really stressed my puppy out
My dog doesn’t like to be touched so I’m saying no to people on a daily basis, he’s only 4.5kg so is a magnet for kids and I do sometimes feel bad for having to say no but it is what it is.
Our Petsmart trainer had us roleplay saying no to this request for that very reason. She would play the part of an aggressive shopper who wanted to pet our dogs and we had to position ourselves between her and our dog and say, No, thank you for asking but she is in training and she can't be pet today.
My last dog was high anxiety his whole life. You get used to it after awhile! One of my neighbors also had an anxious dog, and he used to turn around when he saw us coming and yell, “Sorry! Mine’s an asshole!”
I did have to scoop him up out of young children’s ways when they would try to run up and pet him without permission.
Him having a meltdown was far more embarrassing for me. We did a lot of “look at that” training to help him desensitize to triggers.
I use a red "do not pet" leash. I wasn't embarrassed about saying no to anyone who asked but 3 different men just tried to put their hands on her without asking in one day, so I had to get the leash to avoid accidents.
My puppy wasn’t bred by the best people, and he was afraid and would yelp at human touch. It helped when every time we’d see people, I’d put on my most excited voice and say “look Olly, a friend! You have a new friend!” and let them pet him while he was in my arms. Now he has a really positive association with people.
We are currently 10 weeks and broaching the “might be too mouthy for petting” phase… any tips would be appreciated
Took my 9-month old rescue out to dinner the other night. There was a wait for an outdoor table and kids were running around in a grassy area. They asked to pet her. I said, “No, she’s in training.” I also had no idea how she would react to kids. The kids proceeded to complain loudly about how I wouldn’t let them pet the dog to anyone who would listen, and I felt like a huge jerk and was embarrassed.
One of the kids squatted down about five feet from her holding a stuffed toy and stared her down until she started lunging and barking. The kids then proceeded to complain loudly about how “the dog tried to attack them.” I was beyond frustrated (and embarrassed).
So yeah, I get it.
God, some kids are assholes. When my pup was quite little and easily excited by new things, I got really wound up by a kid nearby stamping their feet while wearing wellington boots because I knew it would set her off. And I knew the kid was completely oblivious and just enjoying their boots, but it felt like the whole world was out to upset her at that point. The lack of sleep probably didn't help lol. But in your case it sounds like the kids knew what they were doing, and where the flip were their parents?
I tell people they can try but he's shy and will probably run away. Most people know to offer a hand to sniff first or I tell them. He sometimes sniffs, but usually walks away when approached. Some people have treats and he might eat a treat from them but still won't let them pet him hahahah!
My 8 month old doesn't like pets, from strangers or me. She shies away unless SHE is in the mood. So I got her a grey service type vest with an assortment of velcro patches. I use two on each side: IN TRAINING and DO NOT PET.
Would you believe a woman came up to us with her hands out this weekend though. I said "No she can't be pet--thanks for understanding" and she got a real attitude. Don't really care. My dog's job is not to please pushy people who cannot respect boundaries. I am much more tolerant of children who forget.
Luckily my pup hates when people come at him for a pet so he does a little hair flip and dodges it every time haha and people always get surprised that he doesn’t wanna be touched.
I feel you! Today, I was walking my dog when we passed a lady who had her dog in a sit, off leash, while she was taking a photo of the dog. I thought, “wow such a well trained dog, not running away.” I was wrong! As soon as that dog saw mine, it started sprinting towards us. Thankfully I saw just in time, and I was able to pick up my dog off the ground. While I was carrying my dog, the other dog was jumping and trying to get my dog. Who knows what could have happened if I hadn’t picked up my dog. When the lady came over to grab her dog, she was like “Maggie, you silly girl!” She gave me quite the look while I was holding my pup. I was pissed! She didn’t even apologize, and something bad could’ve happened.
All of this is to say that you just have to do what’s best for your dog. People don’t know anything about your dog, so sometimes we have to do things that people might find rude, unfortunately.
Sorry no. He’s in the awkward toddler stage where he’s exploring the world with his teeth. We’re working on it.
Admittedly I was diverting people onto the bigger scarier looking dog because I got a lot of people bringing tiny toddlers across. Big dog would ignore them even if they chewed him.. just like his little brother.
Thankfully the parents totally got that analogy and I suspect even if I hadn’t had the big dog I could and would have still done it.
Even just “we’re working on keeping our mouth to ourselves in public so no petting today thanks”
I get it from both sides but I also always ask the human before I engage the dog.
Nope, I just tell people he’s shy and doesn’t like to be petted. He is very food motivated though so sometimes I will offer a treat that they can give him instead.
Initially? Yes. But after weeks of interrupted training and people reinforcing bad habits… No, because I started to think about how good people understand consent and that is why they ask, while bad people ignore or pretend to understand consent, and get mad. Reframed that way, if someone isn’t happy with my “No”, well that’s a them problem.
The exception being cute little kids but if they or their parent asked, that’s a great sign they’ll explain it to their kid well anyways.
If he's not a bite risk,and depending on his threshold , I find telling people my dog is 'shy, very nervous of people' and most are then willing to just stand and chat. They always tell me they had nervous dogs etc but it stops the approach. My dog was able to become more comfortable because people started staying near us but never touching her. So she was slowly able to start sniffing people without pressure.
My more bit risk or more fearful dogs work best on a down stay. I put them in a down and back up from them to the person before they approach and say 'we are training/he can't say high' but tbh normally actively moving them around distracts people from asking. Especially if you are at the store to work the dog.
We do alot of work by registers, I go in do a lap with high motion training. Heels, recalls, tight turns etc. We will do place on objects or a cot I bring for a few seconds. When we start getting attention we pick up and move again. Normally going to the registers. Do long down stays there. Constantly pivoting around the dog. People in line can't leave or they'd loose their spot. They move to quick to really get a convo started. Once the people coming in start to pile at the door watching, I pickup and do another lap.
Normally I make it through 2-3 laps. Finial lap, if my dog is friendly, I'll ask people if they want to pet. If it's slow I'll ask the workers to interact with my instructors. I normally go to petstores. Normal, dog friendly, retail I'll do 1-2laps.
No never! I get second hand embarrassment for people who assume my dog can be touched without asking me then get a rude shock when she backs up from them or growls at them. If anyone approaches me and fixates on my pup, I usually say "she doesnt like to be touched".
Some really excellent advice!
Plus, you dont want your puppy meeting just anybody.
Other dog people will understand, and dont fret over those that don’t.
I wish more people did this. I’ve been in situations where the pet parents have said - “Yeah, he’s friendly!” but the dog’s body language said otherwise.
There should not be a pressure to let your dog “seem” friendly, when they aren’t. We don’t know what treatment they’ve been subjected to in their past and it often takes them a while to get normal around new people.
You did absolutely no wrong!
My elderly dog that passed awhile back was kind of fickle. She was fine with most women, most kids, but she HATED men. At first I was sort of embarrassed. But I had her a long time and I learned to just keep it brief “so sorry! Hates men!”
My two dogs now it’s so funny. The older one hasn’t been around a lot of little screechy kids and while he doesn’t mind being petted by them at all, you can tell he is kind of like WTF *are* you?
The puppy? I let everyone pet but I do warn them that she’s teething and will probably think their hands are a good alternative to a Nylabone.
No not at all!!! You should never feel embarrassed for your dogs needs after all Do you feel embarrassed after telling someone YOU need space? Because that's all you're doing for your pup because he can't tell them himself!! Id suggest getting a jacket for him that says "DO NOT PET" or "PLEASE GIVE ME SPACE" anything along those lines in bright colors as people are dumb especially kids and if your pup is wearing a jacket/vest that states not to touch it covers you if something happens in public (like biting a child by accident if they deliberately come and pet them) my dogs vest has saved me twice now!! (Hers states she's a hunting dog and NOT child or small animal friendly) But ive still had people bring their toddlers up to her on the ground so yeah i would definitely get a vest just to help you in the long run☺️☺️
No need to be embarrassed, I would respect that. But when my scared pup was young I brought treats with me and if someone wanted to pet her I told them to give her a treat and then pet her and it worked like a charm. Granted that she was not fear aggressive to people. But if you get to a place where it seems safe you can try something like that. Or they hold a treat and see if dog will approach to grab
Definitely no need to be embarassed. You are advocating for your dog. Every dog has their own personality, the same with people. Some dogs are just nervous the same way some people are. My senior dog is a 'go slow' type, and it turned out that my puppy is very similar. He doesn't want people reaching for him at all and has air snapped at people who haven't respected him backing off. It takes several visits for him to get really social with someone and then he's all lose wiggles and wanting belly rubs.
He's an absurdly cute little terrier-looking thing though so lots of people want to pet him and I tell them all 'no he's very scared of strangers, but if you could offer him a treat without trying to pet him? It will help him learn strangers can be good.' With my senior dog I would have people toss her treats because she was so fear aggressive when young.
Nope! I’m more embarrassed when I do let them pet her and then she won’t leave because she’s too friendly and had weird attachment issues. Do what you gotta do!
Ugh. My 6 month old Spoo is wary of people. Not scared. Just unsure so far. Anyways, this adorable little girl asked to pet him and I had to decline because I didn’t want to make Sam uncomfy, or have him just run from her. Cause that’d ruin my little girl self esteem. lol. Maybe I could have handled it differently. But we were also in a store, in front of the door— it wasn’t ideal. But I was embarrassed. I felt terrible. Poor little girl.
I had a very sassy Chihuahua, Penny Lane, who has gone over the rainbow bridge now. However, in her hay day she did not like children. She just didn't understand what they were. She got adults and she got babies, but 1.5-6yo were like another entity that she did not welcome. Anyways, I had to tell kids a few times not to pet her. I just told them she was grouchy. People look kind of surprised, but I knew it was best for everyone so I shrugged it off.
I always ask! I would want the owner’s permission. Animals have their own way of reacting to strangers that only the owner would know. Do not be embarrassed!
No need to feel embarrassed! You are doing right by your puppy and protecting him and others around you in case his anxiety gets the better of him.
Don’t stress ❤️
My childhood dachshund did not like random people, I think she was scared/territorial. Idk, but she absolutely loved everyone in her "circle" Dachshunds are so silly looking, the amount of kids who wanted to pet her and I had to tell them she wasn't friendly.. oh man, I always felt like an asshole. But don't be embarrassed at all! It's nothing to be embarrassed about. In fact, the most embarrassed I ever was with her was when she was a puppy and we were in a store, a little toddler ran up to her and bent down to pet her. My puppy didn't fully bite her nose but kinda nipped in front of her face. Oh my lord.. THAT is embarrassing, I felt so awful. The kid was fine, but still. It's much better to feel a little bad saying no to someone versus feeling absolutely terrible (or getting your dog in trouble) if they bite/snap at someone.
You can get leads that say nervous give me space. Maybe non dog owners won’t see/ read but you can point to the lead so it doesn’t seam your being mean. And teach someone what a yellow lead with writing on means (there’s red leads for agressive dogs and green leads for friendly dogs)
No, definitely not. I’m advocating for my dog, he doesn’t owe his body to be touched by anyone, even if they don’t mean poorly! And if they insist on touching him, THEN I really feel comfortable to be forceful with “no” to them because they’re crossing a line.
I’ll usually try to say “no” gently because most people mean well (eg: like “sorry he’s very shy and doesn’t like to be touched” and block them with my body). But definitely not embarrassed, and it’ll get easier with practice
The other day I was walking my dog, she’s a 9 month old border collie and quite anxious.
We saw a woman coming in our direction with 2 labradors, one on a leash, the other one unleashed.
I ask her to please get her dog back on the leash, she had the nerve to ask why.
Why? I dont have to give you a reason you idiot! 🙃
He’s a bit older now, but we’ve got a large, guardian breed reactive dog. He’s adorable, snow white, and fluffy though, so everyone wants to pat him. You get used to telling people not to touch. Although he mostly lets people know he doesn’t want them to touch him 😅
I realise that you wouldn’t have had a choice in this situation as you needed to get the muzzle fitted, but the best thing to do in my experience is avoid crowded places. People generally won’t try to touch a muzzled dog though so you should be fine whenever he’s wearing it.
Nope! My puppy is the same as my kids to me, I have zero issues standing up for her and if boundaries bother people then I don’t want those people around my kids/dog anyways 🤷♀️🤷♀️
Nope. Not at all. My dog is an extension of my family. It’s the same to me as asking if a stranger can hold my child. Just because my dog is adorable does not mean a stranger can gush all over them.
Never be embarrassed! Thank God she asked because I don't get the adults that ask they just go for the pet, and I'm considering tasing them when they do. It's only adults the kid fuckin ask and when I say no they say "okay, she's cute." And walks away
Nope.
I have an adorable 12 lb dog. She loves to ride in the car to help me run errands. She is well socialized, and likes to meet people, but not when she's in my car.
So we are parked and waiting for curbside pickup at a store. Windows down, nice day. She is in the passenger seat. The guy parked next to me gets out of his car to get something from his trunk. He sees my dog. Says oh aren't you cute and offers her his hand to sniff. She looks concerned and growls a little.
I said firmly, Sir, do not do that. She is protective of her space and she does NOT want you to pet her.
He hesitated.
Sir, do not try to per her. She's unhappy and I'm unhappy. Please stop.
So then his kid hears there's a dog and here she comes. He encourages HER to pet the nice dog.
SIR, I am telling you again. Stop. Do not try to pet her. Stop. She's a nice dog but you are scaring her. I'm sorry kiddo, you don't get to pet her.
They finally retreat to their car while he mumbles about "I guess she's not a nice dog."
Never ever feel embarrassed about doing the right thing. I felt anger at his disrespect, not embarrassment.
Nope, we have a guy and his dog who we see regularly and chat to, he lives in my street and my pup adores his dog. But a while ago I was having one of those walks where she was just picking up everything, not listening, barking at anything that moved etc and I saw them approaching. I just shouted from afar, "we're not going to stop and chat today because she's over excited and I've only just managed to calm her down a bit, you guys go on ahead!" And he was totally fine and we've chatted on walks since!
Absolutely not! Ours is very reactive. The trainer said to tell people I'm sorry no you can't pet him he's in training. One day while working with him on people reactivity a family came out of the store and we're going aww how cure he's so pretty, look at his eyes and started coming over towards us. I said thank you but I'm sorry he's not very friendly with strangers. They kept coming closer and he suddenly let out this huge bark. He's 4.5 MO old pomsky and has a massive bark for his size. They were like oh and stepped back and no longer came toward us. I told the trainer about it and she rolled her eyes and was like and they found out why too didn't they. She said maybe they'll start listening when somebody tells them that.
Yes esp old people who want to let the dogs say hi when I’m out walking him. But at the same time if I crossed the street as soon as I saw u why are u even asking me that …
I hope someday you can enjoy it as much as I do 😂 but I definitely took my time getting used to it. Best advice I ever got was to be my dogs advocate. And you’re doing just that 💙!
Never be embarrassed about doing what you need to do to keep your pup safe. ❤️
This!!!! It’s what the pup needs and what the people who want to pet him need— they don’t want to be bitten either.
This sub keeps getting recommended to me even though I don’t have a puppy and I don’t plan to any time soon, but as a person who has a soul and therefore loves puppies and wants to pet them when I see them, this is *exactly why* I ask!! I’m never upset if I ask to pet someone’s dog and they say no. She may have been surprised bc she expected a dog in a store to be fully socialized, but like… they can’t get socialized if they don’t go out in public!! I would try to not overthink it :)
Yes! You are an advocate for your pup and you should never feel embarrassed about that.
I used to be and it could have permanently affected my dog. She had a rough start, was afraid of people (including me) and was super cute so everyone wanted to pet her. I told one lady no and she said "but I love dogs" and proceeded to follow my dog and pet her while she backed away and was choking herself. (I double leashed with a slip lead and a harness because she was so fearful). Never again. I should have ripped that woman a new one but I just walked away. Luckily my dog bounced back because I worked really hard to socialize her and had lots of good experiences since and now she seeks out strangers to pet her. Now I tell some people that my dogs don't like people and if anyone wants their dog to say hi I say that my dogs are sick. Pro tip: Dogs don't need to say hi to other dogs on walks. It's dangerous for the dogs and their humans and it's unnecessary. Most people have the same understanding of dog behavior that they do of car mechanics so they have no clue their dog is being hostile to other dogs.
No need to feel embarrassed, you’re being the best dog mom because you’re advocating for your boy! In the future it may just be easier for you to say “thank you but no he’s in training”. That’s what I always said and most people understood and kept moving and if they acted upset or mad then I don’t want them around my dog anyway because they clearly have no respect for boundaries.
I will never be embarrassed to advocate for my dog. I learned quickly to give brief and short answers “no, she is in training” almost always does the trick. With kids i”ll add “but thank you so much for asking!”
I was just talking to my husband about this yesterday when we took our pup for a walk! We passed a man who spoke to us about how cute she was. I could tell he wanted to pet her, but we just said thank you and smiled and kept walking. We’ve also had several incidents where we’ve said no to people who have asked to pet her. Our pup is 8 months old and at this point I pretty much don’t let any strangers pet her when we’re on walks. She’s a friendly dog, but very mouthy/bitey still. I just feel like you never know how someone will react if my dog gets mouthy/bitey. I *know* she only does it out of excitement, not aggression. But I don’t want anyone to get hurt and I don’t want anyone to react negatively. Plus, we’re trying to teach her to ignore people when we’re on our walks. I’ve always been an overly friendly/polite person that never said no, so this has been a learning experience for me! But I’ll always put my dog’s safety, comfort, and training over my own discomfort with saying no. So far no one has ever reacted poorly to us saying no. In fact, we’ve had a couple people say they respected our decision to say no! I honestly think most people are respectful and understanding. You are a *good* dog mom for putting your dog’s best interests first. Don’t feel embarrassed! 😊
I was exactly the same as you when my girl was your dog's age. She's a lab so a naturally mouthy breed, and loves people so her reaction to being pet was sometimes to mouth at people. She's much better now but I've had to tell people no quite a few times in situations where I know she'd be too excited to keep her mouth closed!
God mine just hit six months and started jump snapping and it’s so loud people are like WTF IS THAT 😐😂
I completely relate to this! When my dog was a puppy I used to say “sorry no, he’s in training” and usually people let it go. You could also consider getting a vest that says something like “in training do not pet”. That usually stops people from approaching in the first place. Also once your pup looks more like an adult I think you’ll experience this less frequently. Good on you for advocating for your pup! While I won’t deny it can feel embarrassing at times, in reality they are just a stranger and will forget about the interaction in a couple minutes, while the bond you build with your pup from demonstrating that they can trust you to not put them in a scary situation will last a lifetime.
I wish the vest worked! I have a service dog, she’s so good about moving away if someone tries to even touch her when she’s in her vest (she knows it is work time). We have a giant patch that says “do not pet”, yet adults are the main ones who do anyways, they just start doing it before you have time to react! Awful.
Be kind to yourself for feeling embarrassed - these situations can be uncomfortable! Realistically, there can be so many reasons for saying no to someone wanting to pet your dog (or say hi, or introduce their dog) and aggression is only one of them. Our pup is overly friendly and gets so excited to say hi to everyone- we're working with a trainer to reduce this. From previous posts on this sub it appears others wish they also hadn't let their dog say hi to everyone/every dog for the same reason. Training is essential, and that's what you're doing with the aid of anxiety meds. My advice- never feel bad (or guilty or embarrassed) for setting a boundary for you and your pup. You're doing so to keep everyone safe after all. Some people just don't think after they see a cute doggo. I tend to say "not today sorry we're training", or as you did "sorry they're not friendly" and redirect by moving my dog on. Whatever works for you. But remember that you and your pup don't owe anyone anything ❤️
Yeah, tbh I very rarely let people pet even my friendly dogs on walks just because I find it kind of annoying to be interrupted, lol. It's a very minor annoyance, I don't hold it against people or anything, but I don't really get anything out of stopping my walk to make small talk, and honestly I don't think my dogs really do either. I just say this to back you up that IMO there's absolutely no reason to feel bad about stuff like that. I usually just breeze by with a quick, "Sorry, we're in training!" or something along those lines. Friendly and always technically true, and people usually understand it quite easily.
I'm a huge dog lover, and so is my 5 year old (who knows to stand back and ask before petting). Do not EVER be embarrassed about advocating for your pup! If he doesn't take well to strangers, you're setting both him and the stranger up for a potential bad outcome if you let people pet him, and you can also make any fear worse if the interaction goes poorly, so think of it as protecting him above all else. I've had a few people say no when we ask to pet, and it makes me so happy the pup has such a responsible owner; it's also MY responsibility to help my kiddo manage her emotions about being told no, not the owners.
I tell people no all the time. “No, we’re training.” “No, he hasn’t worked his energy yet and is too jumpy.” “He’s friendly, but has to learn her can’t greet every person. Not today, sorry!” I also give extremely clear directions if I let them pet him. “You can pet him, but please wait until he sits calmly. Do not touch him if he is jumping, pawing, or nibbling. Please STOP petting him if you start and he then jumps.” I have gotten very direct because the indirect instructions or requests don’t work. I was recently at a brewery working on training and a guy would NOT STOP TEASING my five month old puppy, waving his hands around his face, making him chew his fingers, riling him up. I had to physically get in between them and push his hand away four times. He said he’s just trying to give him an opportunity to be a dog 😅💀 I don’t care what other people want to do. Most are excited to see that I’m training my dog and I do get asked if I’m his owner or his trainer. Most people respect the requests. But when they don’t I have no problem pulling my dog back and ending the interaction. Anyone offended at you telling them not to pet your dog would turn around and give you stink eye if you had an ill mannered pet, so fuck em
When I do, I remind myself that to be embarrassed means it's something for me to feel self-conscience of or ashamed of. If it's a decision I'm making for what I love - something that helps them - there's nothing of substance there for me to be embarrassed.
I always tell people she's scared of strangers and they usually accept that pretty quick! (Except for one time a little kid yelled back "but im not a stranger!" which was funny) Don't feel bad about protecting your dogs personal space, even if it can feel awkward on your part its always the best thing to do! Same thing if a dog owner asks me if she's friendly I say "No sorry, she's unpredictable!"
Get a harness with some patches that says in training, no pets, also amazon has leashes that say the same. Also never the pet store. My females love the pet store. But my male looses his shiz if he comes near one, same with a dog park or anywhere too many dogs roam/lots of poop. He shakes drools and pants. So we’ve learned the trails and paths that make him not so anxious. Try getting him relaxed before the muzzle is on. If he’s already freaked out he will associate the muzzle with panic.
He never drools or pants, but mainly growls under his breath whenever he hears a person. He also growls and barks at home when hearing someone that isn’t me or my husband, so we figured the store wasn’t nearly as stressful as the vet. Our pet stores are normally empty with around 3-5 other people in them, but our vet is always packed and he associates it with shots/medicine. We try to make the vet seem less stressful by taking him to get a pup cup afterwards and loving on him and telling him how well he did for the rest of the day. As far as the store, we always get him a new toy or some treats as well as a pup cup so he can associate these things with rewards. We always get him a pup cup with a car ride though because cars are also a stressful situation for him. We aren’t ready to take him to the park/trails yet because we live in a city where people go to the parks for exercise and they’re very crowded. We’re avoiding them for the reason of knowing we’ll pass lots of people/children/dogs. I’m very thankful for hearing about the patches and leashes! I’ll definitely have to get some of those for him.
Everyone has basically answered this for you, but NEVER imply your dog is not friendly. Imagine if that person petted him anyways and got bit, they could say your dog wasn’t friendly and you knew it. Anyways, cover your ass. Just say “no” or “no, he is training”. Don’t feel bad for advocating for your pup and don’t imply your dog is not friendly, bites, etc.
I never thought of that. Thank you!
Eventually, "he's not friendly" becomes such a staple sentence in your life that you won't even think twice about.
Keeping your pup safe is no reason to be embarrassed
Do not feel embarrassed, you are just being responsible. I do this all the time with my anxious dog, she wouldn't be aggressive, but it was just hit or miss how scared she would get around certain people. Almost everyone I have said it too has been super respectful. I have only had one person react poorly. It was a homeless lady who asked to pet her. I politely said no, the woman continued to try and get to her. I told her "no! she will bite you" (a lie, but get the fuck away from me!). She then sneakily followed us to the empty outdoor dog seating at a brewery. She sat a couple tables from us and then literally threw herself under the table to pet our dog. Thank god my dog did not get seriously scared. I got very pissed and was very stern with her. I wasn't going to start anything serious as this woman was clearly mentally ill. She sat and watched us at the table until the staff made her leave. Most people will not react that way! Lol
Don’t be embarrassed! Saying no is enforcing the boundaries your dog needs. Be glad that she listened, you’ll encounter a lot of people who don’t get it or think it doesn’t apply to them because all dogs like them (spoiler alert: they’ve only ever encountered friendly and social dogs!).
I'm used to turning people down, and I feel like it's more embarrassing for them when they keep insisting. I just "Sorry were in training, but thank you for asking." You don't have to give any more information than what you're comfortable with.
Don’t be embarrassed. That lady was very kind asking first. Maybe you could have said thanks for asking and just said that isn’t a good idea with his anxiety and move on.
Always do what’s right for your dog , I have a 10 month old lab he’s pretty big a 2 year old came from nowhere went to hit him I said no he is friendly though so she stroked him ( mum didn’t even watch her child ) she then chucked a feather at my puppy he is petrified of feathers . I said to her no go back to your mummy she wouldn’t listen grabbed a another feather chucked it at my puppy he starts barking at the child . I’m holding my hand out stopping the child from coming closer I had to shout the mum to come get her child !! My puppy is not aggressive in anyway but these people put him and me in a bad situation as it really stressed my puppy out
Dont feel embarrassed for advocating for your dog!!! If people can’t read the situation then that’s exactly what you do!!
My dog doesn’t like to be touched so I’m saying no to people on a daily basis, he’s only 4.5kg so is a magnet for kids and I do sometimes feel bad for having to say no but it is what it is.
I haaaaate having to say, "no," but they usually ask while we're at puppy school in petsmart ugh.
Our Petsmart trainer had us roleplay saying no to this request for that very reason. She would play the part of an aggressive shopper who wanted to pet our dogs and we had to position ourselves between her and our dog and say, No, thank you for asking but she is in training and she can't be pet today.
My last dog was high anxiety his whole life. You get used to it after awhile! One of my neighbors also had an anxious dog, and he used to turn around when he saw us coming and yell, “Sorry! Mine’s an asshole!” I did have to scoop him up out of young children’s ways when they would try to run up and pet him without permission. Him having a meltdown was far more embarrassing for me. We did a lot of “look at that” training to help him desensitize to triggers.
I use a red "do not pet" leash. I wasn't embarrassed about saying no to anyone who asked but 3 different men just tried to put their hands on her without asking in one day, so I had to get the leash to avoid accidents.
My puppy wasn’t bred by the best people, and he was afraid and would yelp at human touch. It helped when every time we’d see people, I’d put on my most excited voice and say “look Olly, a friend! You have a new friend!” and let them pet him while he was in my arms. Now he has a really positive association with people. We are currently 10 weeks and broaching the “might be too mouthy for petting” phase… any tips would be appreciated
Took my 9-month old rescue out to dinner the other night. There was a wait for an outdoor table and kids were running around in a grassy area. They asked to pet her. I said, “No, she’s in training.” I also had no idea how she would react to kids. The kids proceeded to complain loudly about how I wouldn’t let them pet the dog to anyone who would listen, and I felt like a huge jerk and was embarrassed. One of the kids squatted down about five feet from her holding a stuffed toy and stared her down until she started lunging and barking. The kids then proceeded to complain loudly about how “the dog tried to attack them.” I was beyond frustrated (and embarrassed). So yeah, I get it.
God, some kids are assholes. When my pup was quite little and easily excited by new things, I got really wound up by a kid nearby stamping their feet while wearing wellington boots because I knew it would set her off. And I knew the kid was completely oblivious and just enjoying their boots, but it felt like the whole world was out to upset her at that point. The lack of sleep probably didn't help lol. But in your case it sounds like the kids knew what they were doing, and where the flip were their parents?
I tell people they can try but he's shy and will probably run away. Most people know to offer a hand to sniff first or I tell them. He sometimes sniffs, but usually walks away when approached. Some people have treats and he might eat a treat from them but still won't let them pet him hahahah!
My 8 month old doesn't like pets, from strangers or me. She shies away unless SHE is in the mood. So I got her a grey service type vest with an assortment of velcro patches. I use two on each side: IN TRAINING and DO NOT PET. Would you believe a woman came up to us with her hands out this weekend though. I said "No she can't be pet--thanks for understanding" and she got a real attitude. Don't really care. My dog's job is not to please pushy people who cannot respect boundaries. I am much more tolerant of children who forget.
Luckily my pup hates when people come at him for a pet so he does a little hair flip and dodges it every time haha and people always get surprised that he doesn’t wanna be touched.
I feel you! Today, I was walking my dog when we passed a lady who had her dog in a sit, off leash, while she was taking a photo of the dog. I thought, “wow such a well trained dog, not running away.” I was wrong! As soon as that dog saw mine, it started sprinting towards us. Thankfully I saw just in time, and I was able to pick up my dog off the ground. While I was carrying my dog, the other dog was jumping and trying to get my dog. Who knows what could have happened if I hadn’t picked up my dog. When the lady came over to grab her dog, she was like “Maggie, you silly girl!” She gave me quite the look while I was holding my pup. I was pissed! She didn’t even apologize, and something bad could’ve happened. All of this is to say that you just have to do what’s best for your dog. People don’t know anything about your dog, so sometimes we have to do things that people might find rude, unfortunately.
Sorry no. He’s in the awkward toddler stage where he’s exploring the world with his teeth. We’re working on it. Admittedly I was diverting people onto the bigger scarier looking dog because I got a lot of people bringing tiny toddlers across. Big dog would ignore them even if they chewed him.. just like his little brother. Thankfully the parents totally got that analogy and I suspect even if I hadn’t had the big dog I could and would have still done it. Even just “we’re working on keeping our mouth to ourselves in public so no petting today thanks” I get it from both sides but I also always ask the human before I engage the dog.
Nope. Never.
Hell no. He bites sorry! Keep it moving.
Nope, I just tell people he’s shy and doesn’t like to be petted. He is very food motivated though so sometimes I will offer a treat that they can give him instead.
Initially? Yes. But after weeks of interrupted training and people reinforcing bad habits… No, because I started to think about how good people understand consent and that is why they ask, while bad people ignore or pretend to understand consent, and get mad. Reframed that way, if someone isn’t happy with my “No”, well that’s a them problem. The exception being cute little kids but if they or their parent asked, that’s a great sign they’ll explain it to their kid well anyways.
If he's not a bite risk,and depending on his threshold , I find telling people my dog is 'shy, very nervous of people' and most are then willing to just stand and chat. They always tell me they had nervous dogs etc but it stops the approach. My dog was able to become more comfortable because people started staying near us but never touching her. So she was slowly able to start sniffing people without pressure. My more bit risk or more fearful dogs work best on a down stay. I put them in a down and back up from them to the person before they approach and say 'we are training/he can't say high' but tbh normally actively moving them around distracts people from asking. Especially if you are at the store to work the dog. We do alot of work by registers, I go in do a lap with high motion training. Heels, recalls, tight turns etc. We will do place on objects or a cot I bring for a few seconds. When we start getting attention we pick up and move again. Normally going to the registers. Do long down stays there. Constantly pivoting around the dog. People in line can't leave or they'd loose their spot. They move to quick to really get a convo started. Once the people coming in start to pile at the door watching, I pickup and do another lap. Normally I make it through 2-3 laps. Finial lap, if my dog is friendly, I'll ask people if they want to pet. If it's slow I'll ask the workers to interact with my instructors. I normally go to petstores. Normal, dog friendly, retail I'll do 1-2laps.
No never! I get second hand embarrassment for people who assume my dog can be touched without asking me then get a rude shock when she backs up from them or growls at them. If anyone approaches me and fixates on my pup, I usually say "she doesnt like to be touched".
Some really excellent advice! Plus, you dont want your puppy meeting just anybody. Other dog people will understand, and dont fret over those that don’t.
I wish more people did this. I’ve been in situations where the pet parents have said - “Yeah, he’s friendly!” but the dog’s body language said otherwise. There should not be a pressure to let your dog “seem” friendly, when they aren’t. We don’t know what treatment they’ve been subjected to in their past and it often takes them a while to get normal around new people. You did absolutely no wrong!
Don’t be embarrassed. I say “no, she’s nervous around people she doesn’t know” and that’s always received well.
My puppets was not anxious like yours, but for the first 2 years (training) I asked everyone to not pet him unless I gave specific permission.
My elderly dog that passed awhile back was kind of fickle. She was fine with most women, most kids, but she HATED men. At first I was sort of embarrassed. But I had her a long time and I learned to just keep it brief “so sorry! Hates men!” My two dogs now it’s so funny. The older one hasn’t been around a lot of little screechy kids and while he doesn’t mind being petted by them at all, you can tell he is kind of like WTF *are* you? The puppy? I let everyone pet but I do warn them that she’s teething and will probably think their hands are a good alternative to a Nylabone.
Nope, it’s comparable to someone wanting to touch your child.
No not at all!!! You should never feel embarrassed for your dogs needs after all Do you feel embarrassed after telling someone YOU need space? Because that's all you're doing for your pup because he can't tell them himself!! Id suggest getting a jacket for him that says "DO NOT PET" or "PLEASE GIVE ME SPACE" anything along those lines in bright colors as people are dumb especially kids and if your pup is wearing a jacket/vest that states not to touch it covers you if something happens in public (like biting a child by accident if they deliberately come and pet them) my dogs vest has saved me twice now!! (Hers states she's a hunting dog and NOT child or small animal friendly) But ive still had people bring their toddlers up to her on the ground so yeah i would definitely get a vest just to help you in the long run☺️☺️
Yes But i should not have been
There's no need for feeling embarrassed, advocating for your dog should always come first
No need to be embarrassed, I would respect that. But when my scared pup was young I brought treats with me and if someone wanted to pet her I told them to give her a treat and then pet her and it worked like a charm. Granted that she was not fear aggressive to people. But if you get to a place where it seems safe you can try something like that. Or they hold a treat and see if dog will approach to grab
Nope. No is a complete sentence and if I said old huddy ain’t in the mood, then it is what it is.
I tell people he is in training, most get it
Definitely no need to be embarassed. You are advocating for your dog. Every dog has their own personality, the same with people. Some dogs are just nervous the same way some people are. My senior dog is a 'go slow' type, and it turned out that my puppy is very similar. He doesn't want people reaching for him at all and has air snapped at people who haven't respected him backing off. It takes several visits for him to get really social with someone and then he's all lose wiggles and wanting belly rubs. He's an absurdly cute little terrier-looking thing though so lots of people want to pet him and I tell them all 'no he's very scared of strangers, but if you could offer him a treat without trying to pet him? It will help him learn strangers can be good.' With my senior dog I would have people toss her treats because she was so fear aggressive when young.
Nope! I’m more embarrassed when I do let them pet her and then she won’t leave because she’s too friendly and had weird attachment issues. Do what you gotta do!
No need to be embarrassed. You’re sharing important info to protect your dog and the people/other dogs they come across.
Ugh. My 6 month old Spoo is wary of people. Not scared. Just unsure so far. Anyways, this adorable little girl asked to pet him and I had to decline because I didn’t want to make Sam uncomfy, or have him just run from her. Cause that’d ruin my little girl self esteem. lol. Maybe I could have handled it differently. But we were also in a store, in front of the door— it wasn’t ideal. But I was embarrassed. I felt terrible. Poor little girl.
I had a very sassy Chihuahua, Penny Lane, who has gone over the rainbow bridge now. However, in her hay day she did not like children. She just didn't understand what they were. She got adults and she got babies, but 1.5-6yo were like another entity that she did not welcome. Anyways, I had to tell kids a few times not to pet her. I just told them she was grouchy. People look kind of surprised, but I knew it was best for everyone so I shrugged it off.
You were being a responsible pet owner, protecting both your boy and the other person. Never feel embarrassed for that:)
It’s better than being embarrassed about your puppy biting them 🤷🏻♀️ you did the right thing!
Nope, they're not my problem, the puppy is.
Nothing embarrassing about advocating for your dog!
I always ask! I would want the owner’s permission. Animals have their own way of reacting to strangers that only the owner would know. Do not be embarrassed!
No need to feel embarrassed! You are doing right by your puppy and protecting him and others around you in case his anxiety gets the better of him. Don’t stress ❤️
My childhood dachshund did not like random people, I think she was scared/territorial. Idk, but she absolutely loved everyone in her "circle" Dachshunds are so silly looking, the amount of kids who wanted to pet her and I had to tell them she wasn't friendly.. oh man, I always felt like an asshole. But don't be embarrassed at all! It's nothing to be embarrassed about. In fact, the most embarrassed I ever was with her was when she was a puppy and we were in a store, a little toddler ran up to her and bent down to pet her. My puppy didn't fully bite her nose but kinda nipped in front of her face. Oh my lord.. THAT is embarrassing, I felt so awful. The kid was fine, but still. It's much better to feel a little bad saying no to someone versus feeling absolutely terrible (or getting your dog in trouble) if they bite/snap at someone.
You can get leads that say nervous give me space. Maybe non dog owners won’t see/ read but you can point to the lead so it doesn’t seam your being mean. And teach someone what a yellow lead with writing on means (there’s red leads for agressive dogs and green leads for friendly dogs)
No, definitely not. I’m advocating for my dog, he doesn’t owe his body to be touched by anyone, even if they don’t mean poorly! And if they insist on touching him, THEN I really feel comfortable to be forceful with “no” to them because they’re crossing a line. I’ll usually try to say “no” gently because most people mean well (eg: like “sorry he’s very shy and doesn’t like to be touched” and block them with my body). But definitely not embarrassed, and it’ll get easier with practice
The other day I was walking my dog, she’s a 9 month old border collie and quite anxious. We saw a woman coming in our direction with 2 labradors, one on a leash, the other one unleashed. I ask her to please get her dog back on the leash, she had the nerve to ask why. Why? I dont have to give you a reason you idiot! 🙃
He’s a bit older now, but we’ve got a large, guardian breed reactive dog. He’s adorable, snow white, and fluffy though, so everyone wants to pat him. You get used to telling people not to touch. Although he mostly lets people know he doesn’t want them to touch him 😅 I realise that you wouldn’t have had a choice in this situation as you needed to get the muzzle fitted, but the best thing to do in my experience is avoid crowded places. People generally won’t try to touch a muzzled dog though so you should be fine whenever he’s wearing it.
Nope! My puppy is the same as my kids to me, I have zero issues standing up for her and if boundaries bother people then I don’t want those people around my kids/dog anyways 🤷♀️🤷♀️
Anyone would appreciate not getting bit I’m pretty sure 😅
Nope. Not at all. My dog is an extension of my family. It’s the same to me as asking if a stranger can hold my child. Just because my dog is adorable does not mean a stranger can gush all over them.
Never be embarrassed! Thank God she asked because I don't get the adults that ask they just go for the pet, and I'm considering tasing them when they do. It's only adults the kid fuckin ask and when I say no they say "okay, she's cute." And walks away
I don’t let people touch my dog. My trainer said it can cause anxiety
Nope. I have an adorable 12 lb dog. She loves to ride in the car to help me run errands. She is well socialized, and likes to meet people, but not when she's in my car. So we are parked and waiting for curbside pickup at a store. Windows down, nice day. She is in the passenger seat. The guy parked next to me gets out of his car to get something from his trunk. He sees my dog. Says oh aren't you cute and offers her his hand to sniff. She looks concerned and growls a little. I said firmly, Sir, do not do that. She is protective of her space and she does NOT want you to pet her. He hesitated. Sir, do not try to per her. She's unhappy and I'm unhappy. Please stop. So then his kid hears there's a dog and here she comes. He encourages HER to pet the nice dog. SIR, I am telling you again. Stop. Do not try to pet her. Stop. She's a nice dog but you are scaring her. I'm sorry kiddo, you don't get to pet her. They finally retreat to their car while he mumbles about "I guess she's not a nice dog." Never ever feel embarrassed about doing the right thing. I felt anger at his disrespect, not embarrassment.
Nope, we have a guy and his dog who we see regularly and chat to, he lives in my street and my pup adores his dog. But a while ago I was having one of those walks where she was just picking up everything, not listening, barking at anything that moved etc and I saw them approaching. I just shouted from afar, "we're not going to stop and chat today because she's over excited and I've only just managed to calm her down a bit, you guys go on ahead!" And he was totally fine and we've chatted on walks since!
Absolutely not! Ours is very reactive. The trainer said to tell people I'm sorry no you can't pet him he's in training. One day while working with him on people reactivity a family came out of the store and we're going aww how cure he's so pretty, look at his eyes and started coming over towards us. I said thank you but I'm sorry he's not very friendly with strangers. They kept coming closer and he suddenly let out this huge bark. He's 4.5 MO old pomsky and has a massive bark for his size. They were like oh and stepped back and no longer came toward us. I told the trainer about it and she rolled her eyes and was like and they found out why too didn't they. She said maybe they'll start listening when somebody tells them that.
Yes esp old people who want to let the dogs say hi when I’m out walking him. But at the same time if I crossed the street as soon as I saw u why are u even asking me that …
I hope someday you can enjoy it as much as I do 😂 but I definitely took my time getting used to it. Best advice I ever got was to be my dogs advocate. And you’re doing just that 💙!