[Zesti_V]

I'll start this by saying I'm definitely not an expert, but it's amazing to me how some people really seem like they don't even try to understand their dogs. There is a woman who lives in our community who I occasionally see walking her two dogs when I'm out with Jessie. I think they are little Shih Tzus or mixes thereof. From a distance they're just happily bouncing along and behaving well on leash. But as soon as the owner sees another dog, she starts saying "Romeo's a good boy" in increasing speed, volume, and pitch. You can almost immediately see Romeo stop and frantically look around for whatever thing it is he's supposed to be ignoring (or defending her from) and then when he finds it he starts feverishly barking and lunging while she continues to literally scream what a good boy he is and is pulling at his leash. I feel sorry for Romeo and his confused little friend dog and generally try changing directions when I'm walking Jessie to avoid passing them by so they can enjoy their walk without being sent into frenzy mode by his owner. I've seen Romeo walking with others in the household and while he does express interest in Jessie, it's a friendly alert bark that is quickly acknowkedged by an easy touch correction and a vocalization along the lines of "Thanks, Romeo I see her" and he just merrily goes along his way.

It must be frustrating to be a dog trainer- thanks for any of you out there trying to help people communicate with their pets!!

 

[lily cd re]

Thanks for that story!. That neighbor does seem deeply cluless. It can be really hard to do pet dog training. People want the trainer to perform a miracle and they never do the homework you give. Or they do the homework wrong, see something they think is better and then decide to do everything on their own. I can't tell you how many people call and describe the horrible problems they have. I go two or three times and they think they have it all figured out, cancel the next appointment and are never heard from again.

 

[Dianaleez]

And she's probably putting all the blame on poor Romeo.

 

[BellasMomZ]

We see dogs on our walks a lot and I say nothing to Bella until she sees the dog and stops to stare. I gently tell her ‘let’s go’ and we keep it moving.
I’m always baffled when other dogs start being frantic when they see her and the owners literally say nothing to the dog, not one word of correction. It is quite frustrating to see and experience.
Some people do their dogs a huge disservice.

 

[Dianaleez]

The dogs in Normie's obedience class have mastered 'leave it!" Saturday we walked past other dogs and used 'leave it' to keep them from stopping - and it worked! And here I thought it was only for tissues. ; )

 

[lily cd re]

Over time leave it has acquired a much broader meaning than just don't eat that thing that just landed on the floor to be more like don't do what ever jackass thing you are thinking of just now (like don't pester the other dog, don't chase that chicken...).

 

[Dianaleez]

Over time leave it has acquired a much broader meaning than just don't eat that thing that just landed on the floor to be more like don't do what ever jackass thing you are thinking of just now (like don't pester the other dog, don't chase that chicken...).

Wish I known that when my kids were young.