I have posted before about a rescue Rottie x Weimeraner xLab x???? always snapping at Hattie and once catching her face Unfortunately his owner is 'old school' has the poor boy on a chain collar and lead We went out this morning as Hattie turned the corner onto the track she came back quickly looking worried and tucked herself in close to my leg. Who should be there but this dog who initially shows good calming behaviour dropping to the ground, his owner clips him on lead as I do Hattie. Hattie gives off very good calming signals turning her head away from him with no eye contact, owner lets his dog get to the end of the chain into Hattie's face SNAP narrowly missing her, I am trying to keep her by my side but this man kept moving towards her, he then hits the poor dog for something that isn't his fault, the poor boy drops to the ground in between his legs, I can hardly hold back my tears and anger. He lets his dog say "sorry" to Hattie this time no snapping and Hattie is a star and never reacts to his behaviour, so I ask can I treat his dog for his good behaviour that time I stroke him and tell him "good boy" and he licks my hand. This breaks my heart My problem is I meet this man out quite a lot and I have tried without saying anything to show him positive results with positive training. I just don't know what else to do other than tell him outright which I know would go down like a ton of bricks. Hattie and this dog have been off lead together once which I reluctantly agreed to but they had a ball, he kept coming back to me for treats and positive interaction so I know he's not a nasty boy. I really don't want Hattie worried by this dog as she showed she was today. Of course I will keep treating her when we meet him and keep her close. If anyone has any thoughts I would be grateful. Thank you. xx
Oh dear Helen, how heart breaking .Unfortunately, there are none so blind as those who will not see , and no amount of hinting will work , it just falls on deaf ears . I hate confrontation , but I truly think that if I witnessed someone hit a dog , I would have to speak out firmly,even if it made me very unpopular . He might tell you to mind your own business , but less politely, but at least you will know that you have spoken your mind and done all that you can , its horrible and I feel for you x
Sounds pretty awful Helen, poor boy to have the misfortune to have an owner like that. You could speak your mind next time there is an incident, if only to protect Hattie, butdoubt that it will make life for the dog better or his treatment better. Really feel for you as it sounds as id the poor dog is fundamentally a good boy from your experience of him playing with Hattie. Really wish I had a magic wand sometimes and could make situations better for all xx
A very difficult situation Helen . I would probably say something about the hitting and let him know that it's cruel. I would continue to keep rewarding Hattie and make it a positive for her. Sending you big hugs x
It is really horrible, and like you I find it extremely upsetting to see owners correct their dogs like that. I had a similar situation a few days ago. I was walking Casper on lead on a local common. 2 large pointers would not leave him alone, their recall was appalling. Eventually after the 3rd time of one or both coming over, I asked them politely to put their dogs on a lead please, they were fine about it, however, the woman started shouting at one of her dogs. She put the lead on, but started yanking it up by the ears, I was horrified. Casper was distressed by the dog yelping. So I said very loudly to Casper something along the lines of..."don't worry Casper, I am never going to treat you like that, because you love squeezy cheese so much you always come back...." at the same time I was giving him squeezy cheese. It was quite obvious though my remarks were aimed at her. It was less confrontational, however I felt I had said something, maybe you could something similar?
Thanks everyone I appreciate your thoughts. If he were a stranger I would find it easier to say something but he runs the village shop so is well known to me. I have been thinking about it all day and I think what I will do the next time we encounter them is to immediately step in offer Benjamin a treat and a fuss before he has a chance to snap also treating Hattie too, hopefully the owner will then see there is no need to treat him so harshly if his dog doesn't react. If that doesn't work I don't think I will be able to remain quiet so will say something. Does that sound okay? xx Horrible woman with the Pointers Kate, so very distressing x
Oh Helen,all the harder when you come across them a lot....it makes me feel sick seeing dogs roughly handled,their reaction is so heartbreaking and they usually aren't 'bad' dogs just mishandled.On the same walk the other night 2 horrible things happened to us. I saw a House-Maid yanking a golden retriever that was lying down so hard to cross the road,its collar came off over its head,he still didn"t get up.I shouted at her to stop and popped Dexter's lead over one of the railings so I could go over and show her how to lure him up with a treat and praise him.Of course she was looking at me like I was an alien but She took it from me as there is a whole 'cultural' aspect,she would never answer me back and to my shame I probably wouldn't have been as hands on if it had been the actual owner.Then, a bit further on a GR youngster came barrelling towards us having escaped from a garden,there was another housemaid behind me with 2 dogs that are very lead reactive,she picked up stones and started throwing them at the dog!!!!!! Oh lord.....not my favourite situation for Dexter either but it needed dealing with and not with stones!....Dexter was great if we don't count the sapling he pulled out of the ground that i'd looped his lead onto whilst I tried to catch the other dog!
It just makes me want to cry I feel guilty if i speak harshly to my chaps i just don't get it. I might want to strangle the buggers sometimes but I never would. It just amazes me how many times i see it. horrible
You need to say something. He's not seeing your good example. If he won't see and won't respond if you speak to him then I would not let Hattie near that dog. Yes, it's sad how he treats his dog but your first responsibility is to your own dog. What if he let his dog off the leash? Hattie is off, and one on leash and the other leashed sets up misreading impeded body language by both dogs. Several times I've asked if the other dog could go off leash and each time the other dog completely changed his/her demeanor and some would actually play. Your other dog is big and strong though and if he's still not nice it could get ugly and might not be worth the risk. Either someone is visiting my village or someone new has moved in but we have twice now met a Cocker Spaniel in similar circumstances. Where we have met my dog is allowed off leash and sometimes it's not easy to see very far ahead and know who you will meet. "Oh, sorry, sorry, he doesn't like big dogs" said the boy first time as his dog snapped and growled at Oban when they met head on at a corner. Oban backed off and left, uninterested in the dog. But the poor little Cocker was obviously very worried about the whole thing. I asked if he could come off leash but I really am not sure if the boy (young adult?) heard me. A couple of days later I did see him in time and whistled Oban so they wouldn't meet. Unfortunately they were going the same direction we had to go to get home so I had to repeatedly whistle Oban so he would not catch up. The boy is not rough with his Cocker, at least that's good.
I have this issue with a (very pleasant) young man in the park. He has two huge GSDsXMalamutes who are badly behaved and badly trained. He shouts at them and does *CM type nonsense. The dogs intimidate Twiglet. I am glad to say she comes and sits between my feet when they worry her. The dogs then come up to me and jump all over me - good thing I have no fear whatever of dogs! I say 'sit' to them with my usual, kind voice, they do so and I give them a fuss. I then have a chat with the young man. Over time I hope to chat about dog training techniques and an excellent class near us. This one - http://www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/sites/on-track-dog-training-school I don't feel I can do more than this. *Ceasar Milan
I think it's very tricky. If I have some kind of relationship with the person, I usually try to talk them round over time and nudge them in a different direction. If I have no kind of relationship, or the prospects of convincing them gently are pretty much zero, I reckon I've got nothing to lose by just speaking out. Sure, I am almost 100% certain to get told to mind my own business - I was once even threatened by a young man who was hitting his dog and I intervened, luckily my OH was close behind me coming back from parking the car - but I think that they still might mull over what I've said later, in private. Anyway, very tricky indeed....
Thanks for your replies. Julie what a horrible young man, just be careful you never know who you are confronting, difficult I know in those situations. I just don't get nasty treatment and never will I am going to go with my plan showing him what positive training achieves and hopefully he will see there's absolutely no need to hit his dog. Worth a try, I think. Good for you Angela, it sounds like pure ignorance, the owners should walk the dogs not the maids. Mags, that's what I'm hoping for, that the penny will drop. Good for you too. Met up with some friends this morning, one has got a 4 month old Labradoodle - Ted, her trainer (gun dog) told her to scruff the pup if he did something she didn't like such as jumping up and to smack him on the nose then he will stop As a friend I told her not to treat any puppy or dog in that harsh way because she will just make him fearful. I explained about clicker training to train good behaviours so that she ends up with a happy, obedient, positively trained boy. I hope she listened and does. xx
I know what I'd like to do to Ted if he did something I didn't like . Hopefully your friend will think about what you have said, particularly with Hattie and Charlie as great examples of what you can achieve without force/punishment and find a new trainer and disregard Ted's advice
I just thought I would do a little update on this situation. Hattie and I have had a couple of non planned meets with this dog who still starts to stoop and stares at Hattie, I quickly say "hello lovely boy" he now looks immediately to me, I give him a treat and a scratch before he has time to think about lunging, his tail is wagging, he gives a quick sniff, I also give Hattie a treat but she is glued to my leg, so far happy to say no lunges or snaps. His owner let him off lead the other day without any warning, however he was trying in a non threatening way to get Hattie to play but she wasn't having any of it and only stepped away a little looking at him. I think she feels a little unsure of him after all the previous interactions. Maybe a few more "training" sessions for this owner and dog will help. It's tough because where I do meet him is on a narrow track so no place to get any real distance. Does that sound OK? Thanks x
I'm no expert but it sounds as if he's a lot better meeting Hattie and trying to initiate play with her. It's not really surprising if she isn't keen based upon the previous lunges and nips. Hopefully over time she will become more relaxed with him if he continues greeting nicely. I'm sure he's really enjoying his interaction with you, and treats for looking at you and being told he's a good boy - guessing he doesn't get much of that from his owner.
Thanks Rosemary, I really feel he doesn't get too much from his owner so I more than happy to oblige I am hoping a few more meets and Hattie will be happy to play x
