Sily question for dog-owners

Do you get offended if someone is scared of your dog (or of dogs in general), or "super cautious" if your dog is nearby..?

just curious.

i wasnt raised with a dog, so it's not second nature to me to just have a dog jump on me (or my kids)

my neighbor has an adorable, friendly, energetic dog, and I had my little guy in my arms and I said to her "please dont be offended that i'm scared"

her dog was VERY excited to be playing and around kids, and she had the dog on a leash, so the dog wanted all the more to be free. super cute dog, playing with the kids, giving her own kids a "paw", they were feeding her cookies, etc.

Im just very cautious around dogs, esp if my kids are near me, and if the dog is loose

silly but relevant childhood memory. our neighbors had a doberman growing up, and we were going to say hello to them (the owners), and they said "dont run or the dog will chase you" well what did we do ?
and this doberman chased us at lightning speed, then chasing only my poor sister as she screamed for us to help, and then she got into a hallway and was able to close herself in.

so im a bit overly cautious, my sister, forget it, traumatized.

what do you guys suggest ?
Im sure dogs can sense the tension.

Re: Sily question for dog-owners

Actually, I totally understand because I didn't grow up with a dog and mom is afraid of most dogs.

When we "meet" neighbors and kids, I position my dog sitting and in between my legs sort of so that I can make sure he doesn't jump up.

Re: Sily question for dog-owners

No, I never get offended if someone is scared of my dog. Not everyone is a dog person, and that is ok. I am deathly allerigic to cats and I steer as clear of them as I can, I cant even visit someone who owns a cat, and I just get freaked if one is close to me.

Dogs like to chase, and my dog is big, but very friendly, and I make sure I supervise him because even though he wants to play with everyone, he can easily hurt a child by knocking him or her down. He did it to a relatives kid, the kid ran, and he chased him and knocked him downface down in the dirt but they knew the dog and it wasnt an issue. My dog just started licking his face all over. So, no I would not get offended.
Dogs can defeinitely sense tension and apprehension. I myself the dog lover that I am would be cautious of a loose large dog I didnt know.

Message edited 9/11/2008 10:03:48 PM.

Re: Sily question for dog-owners

No, and I think it's ridiculous when dog owners do get offended. (This comes from someone who had the sweetest shepherd alive, but still recognized that people might be terrified of her due to her size, etc.)

Dogs aren't for everyone, and I fully respect that. Also, even as a dog lover, I am very cautious and fearful of large dogs I don't know. I love large dogs and intend to get more large dogs in the future -- but I was attacked by a dog once that got out of its neighbors yard. (And I mean "attacked" seriously - I wasn't just bitten once or twice. The dog mauled my leg.)

This has made me a more conscientious dog owner, too. I respect and understand that people may be afraid of my dog. (I don't have one now, but have always had a big dog.) It's also made me very, very conscientious about training. Certain behaviors can be really intimidating, even if the dog is very gentle. It's my job as a responsible dog owner to curb those behaviors and train my dog to be calm and not jump around strangers. (Difficult for many dogs, but it can be done.)

Even still, if someone wanted to cross the street when I was walking my shep, that was fine. I would actually often give plenty of room or walk in the street when people came by. I expected more people to be afraid than to want to run up and hug her even though she was a sweetie.

Dog owners just have to accept and understand that dogs aren't for everyone and some people are afraid. It's not personal. People who are afraid just need to make sure that they are equally respectful and when necessary, voice their fear to dog owners without making assumptions / comments that the dog is mean. (It's totally fine to say, "I'm sorry, I'm just really afraid of dogs." It's another to say "Why on earth would you have such a dangerous dog in this neighborhood?!" (assuming the dog is not in fact dangerous, just a "scary looking" (lol) breed)

We just have to coexist peacefully. No one should be offended if everyone is respectful.

Re: Sily question for dog-owners

Not at all I would never push my dog on anyone people actually usually ask to see my dog lol, she a pit mix and she's very rough with people she likes to jump and gets so excited it's hard to get her to listern and I never have her around young kids if the parents don't mind hte older kids can play ball with her but she's just to nutty

Re: Sily question for dog-owners

Definitely not.
Actually, I prefer that people are a little afraid of her. She's not that big, so I feel more protected if people are a little fearful.
BTW, she does the strangest thing with some people - She will actually lunge at them and growl. It only happens once in a while, but when she does do it I think she scares the cr*p out of people. I'm pretty sure she is just playing cuz her tail is wiggling the whole time - but I prefer not to take any chances.

Re: Sily question for dog-owners

I don't get offended at all because I know that not everyone is a dog person. For that reason, when Cooper is around someone new he's usually held or on a leash... regardless of this, he still gets very excited and wants to say hi and then we explain that he won't bite or lick, he just wants to say hello. We won't let him go until they are comfortable or until he calms down... at the first sight of him getting all jumpy and excited again, we hold onto him.

Some people warm up to him, some don't. Those who don't, I'm not offended, it's just their loss (I kid... sorta )

Message edited 9/12/2008 10:43:10 AM.

Re: Sily question for dog-owners

Thanks for the feedback, guys
I really love dogs and everything about them. I think they're amazing, smart and loving animals, and would LOVE to get my kids a dog (one day, not anytime soon, 3 little boys is enough energy in one house ).
But Im just cautious and would never offend the dog itself they melt my heart right away (most of them )

I had an interview at someone's home office, and to the door came this huge barking dog so she saw me stand back a bit..
well she assured me, the dog would be fine.. well by the end of the interview, the dog had my heart. He just sat there next to us, looking up at me with these puppydog eyes (big baby ) and kept getting up, and giving me both paws. OMGGGG I cant imagine owning a dog, because I swear I teared up, I thought it was just precious.

So that's my stance, if the owner is in the situation, it helps greatly.

Maybe one day i'll be the owner.

Message edited 9/12/2008 11:26:34 AM.

Re: Sily question for dog-owners

No way! I have a pug who is much more aggressive towards guests then my huge black lab, but if anyone shows any fear, I make sure to hold them back or block them upstairs.

Not everyone likes animals of any kind, I completely understand that.

Re: Sily question for dog-owners

I don't get annoyed if someone is scare of my dogs, but I DO get annoyed when people are more afraid of my 6 month old 30 lb rottie mix just because of what he looks like, even when he is sitting next to me on a leash behaving like an angel and they are fine with my monster crazy 45 lb terrier/australian shepard mix who jumps like a luntaic and barks............. that to me is ridiculous.

But, to each their own.....I know there are ignorant people out there and I just have to deal......

Re: Sily question for dog-owners

Our PetSmart training class scared the he$$ out of me. I was told that even if our dog jumps on someone and scratches them, the person could file a complaint and he would be considered a "dangerous dog," and we could potentially lose our house. (Our homeowner's insurance may not cover someone with a "dangerous" dog, so we'd lose our insurance and in NJ we could lose our house without insurance. This could be greatly exaggerated, but it's what we were told).

SOOO ... I actually wish more people would be cautious around dogs. It drives me crazy that parents let their kids run up to my dog. How do they know he's safe? He's never bitten anyone, but he may jump and god forbid he jumps on someone and knocks them over or scratches them and they sue we could have to put him down or lose our house! And worse, he is an animal - what if he did bite someone? I don't see that happening, but you just never know.

I do have a friend that hates dogs in general and won't go near my pup, and it makes me a little sad because I love my dog so much and I know she just loathes him. But I don't get offended, it just makes me sad.

Re: Sily question for dog-owners

Not at all. I'm wary of dogs I don't know. My gandmother is petrified of dogs.

Re: Sily question for dog-owners

I grew up with big dogs and I admit that I am intimidated by strange big dogs, too. I said this before...I know how my dogs were raised. But I don't know how someone else raises their dogs, so until I know the dog, I will be careful and I think I would expect someone to be that way with my dog, too. Not that I currently have a big dog, but we'll save that for another day.