I had the WORST walk today...
 

This is a bit long, but I'm sorry, this is a rant..

I take my walks around 5PM. There will be kids around. Sometimes there will be one or two that will make loud noises, stomp their feet, like scaring the dogs are some kind of game.. :( But I just tell them sharply not to do that.

Well today was one of the "bad day".. one kid was talking really loudly.. He said my Lulu (shihtzu) looks MALNOURISHED.. So I stared at him and just kept on staring. He then asked me what I am feeding my dogs because Lulu looks malnourished. The mother was right there beside him, and she didn't even say anything! Like how he's being so rude and obnoxious. I just walked away, and he called up and said am I deaf? I was like W.T.F. I just kept walking away.

I just cannot believe anyone dare say that about my dogs.. of all the things they can say.. They can say ANYTHING about my dogs' appearances and I wouldn't care a whit. But to say my dogs are MALNOURISHED.. that is like accusing me of abuse, no?

This kid was maybe 10 or 12.. I think kids around that age should have learned better manners, don't you agree? If I said anything to him, I KNOW the mother will jump in and accuse me of being rude, or ask me who am I to try to teach her kid.. Or tell me that it's "JUST a dog" and there's no need to get offended. So I know I couldn't have said anything that will make a difference. I am just so upset. I have had so many incidents with people calling out names to my dogs during walks, but this one just upset me so much.

Tell me, does THIS dog look malnourished?
And the second picture, does she look like a MONKEY?
Does any of my dogs look mistreated in ANY WAY?
Do you think I should put on my iPod during walks?

Also, today there was a guy washing his car.. and when I walked passed with my dogs, he FLICKED WATER at my dogs. I yelled "HEY" and he looked at me like he was really pissed off I yelled at him.. I mean, what did he expect me to do? Shut up?

Everyday there will be an incident of people butting in and saying all kinds of VERY RUDE things about my dogs. EVERY SINGLE DAY. It's been mounting and piling and accumulating in me.. Well today I sort of just reached my limit. My dogs love their walks, but it's not fun for me.. Every day I go out and tell myself, ok, if anyone said anything, don't get mad.. Just don't get mad.. Don't get mad.

Sorry for the rant..

Your dogs look great, and well cared for. You're dealing with some no-class people.

They are both soooo cute!! and no, they both look fine anyone can see you take "very" good care of them;) People are a**holes:mad::mad:

Malnourished??????? I have a hard time not responding.... Maybe a curt...Well I was always taught that if I had nothing nice to say, that I was always told in this instance to say nothing. If a Mother at that point was not prompted (then you certainly know where it originated...), should step in and agree with you.... correction of her child would certainly be warranted!!! I think I would dig out my Ipod... Luckily I have not had to deal with this!:(

I think I would've just told the little boy that he needed to go home and watch Bambi and pay special attention to Thumper. That's all.

Your babies are beautiful and look well taken care of.

Your babies are absolutely adorable!! You need to perfect the 'stink-eye' - I can shut up annoying people with just one look - LOL!

Please Please don't take this the wrong way, because I do believe these people are being rude.
But with that said, I'll tell you what comes to mind. Remember I do not know you, but this is food for thought.

It is POSSIBLE that your demeanor and the expressions on your face are inviting some of this. If these walks are becoming so unpleasant, it COULD be you attracting ( unconciously) negative responses.

Like I said, I could be wrong, but give it some thought. I know that when I get really really negative about something, it becomes worse and snowballs into more often and more negative.

Maybe just maybe that is what is causing this problem. I would not think that way if this was just an isolated occurance, but it happens often with your walks.
Your babies are adorable and OBVIOUSLY well cared for. Possibly in response to that negative child stating that your baby looked malnourished, you could invite him to pet your baby, maybe even pick her up with your help to show him how solid she is under her coat, even though her body is little.
The man with the water..maybe a gentle smile and hello.."good morning" etc.. or just a smile might of prevented his obvious bad manners. Or, maybe you could ask, have I offended you? Or did my dogs do something that upset you?
I'm not suggesting that their bad behavior is ok, but wondering if it is possible your set expressions and that you possible are just 'waiting' for that next negative reaction, might be bringing more to your doorstep?

Just food for thought. Please don't think I'm criticizing, as that is not my intent. I'm only hoping maybe to touch on a idea that might be fixable.

Have you ever read "The Secret" by Rhonda Byrnes? It is the law of nature... that positive will attract positive and negative will attract negative. Give it a read. When we look for the negative we definately will find it. If we only look and visualize positive, we will find that also.

I so want you to enjoy your walks with your precious babies. It is obvious you adore them and take exceptional care of them. Don't let others or our own mind sets destroy that for any of you.

Just food for thought my friend :-)

PS, why I believe this way is for many reasons. But I have never once encountered anyone saying bad things to me or my pups and quite frankly my one gal is not nearly as beautiful as yours. I go on walks and the children flock. Some adults kind of act indifferent to me, which is fine.. I just keep walking. When children ask questions, I stop and show them how to gently pet or hold my babies and tell them things about them. I invite them to ask questions etc.

What I have found most negative in my area is this. I live in a very affluent neighborhood, although I'm just renting an older duplex. But many of the people I encounter are what we would call the "upper crust" of society. They are snobs and rude. I've never quite encountered this before and it has kind of thrown me a bit. But in my mind, I try to feel sorry for them. They may have riches but they quite frankly are not a happy lot on the whole unless your "IN" with their class. I never want to be that type of person.
Wow..I'm pretty wordy today..eh? LOL

Anyways../hugs and good luck. These walks WILL get better:)

Thank you all for the kind words. I just have a hard time getting out of the house lately. Thank you thank you.

EmilyAnn - LOL Thumper?? Lulu does look a bit like that... :D
Hokule'A - I know! I thought I was good at the stink-eye, but apparently not so much. Gotta work in front of the mirror again. ;)

Xaleia - I am not taking it the wrong way. I totally understand what you mean.. Please also know that, there ARE nice people around.. Many times kids will flock when I take my dogs out, even follow us around til I reach my house again.. the neighborhood guards will say nice things.. A family in a car will stop and coo.. One whole household came out of the house to pet my dogs.. I usually give a small smile at anyone and everyone that catches my eyes.. But of course no one who has bad things to say will catch my eyes and smile back, right? I have an 8 year old sister, and 4 young cousins I helped babysit, so I know how kids behave. I do believe that negative invites the negative.. But when I have done nothing, why do they say hurtful things? Basically I have experienced good and bad things in this neighborhood.. ( I just moved here a couple of months ago) But lately it seems that all anyone has to say about my dogs are hurtful things. For every nice thing that happens, there's 2 rude comments. because of all the bad comments, nowadays I just look ahead, walk briskly and try not to attract attention (good or bad) but it's not working very well. The kid that was so rude today.. I was just passing by his house, I didn't even notice him until he threw that comment. I was so taken aback, I could not think of anything to say, I just stared at him. The walks used to be so fun.. Now, not so much.

No I haven't read The Secret.. It's been in my To Be Read pile forever. I think I will take a crack at it.

This almost brought tears to my eyes. I know I cannot sacrifice their daily walks. I just feel so bad lately. Thank you.

Thank you.. I wish this isn't true, but I have a hard time believing it's not true.. I am just so confused... There are so many people with dogs in my neighborhood.. I wonder if they also have to deal with this.

Thank you so much :) There are nice people around.. but it's very hard to find them..

I KNOW!! If they have nothing nice to say, just don't say anything right?? Sigh.. But people here have different mindsets.. I wonder if it's been like this always, or am I just noticing it now. I was studying out of the country for 9 years.. Just got back last year.. and I haven't really settled in..

awwww I hate that you have to deal with this.....

that is just because they are JEALOUS of your beautiful babies! they are so cute, and FAR from malnourished....

just smile, and know that you have it WAY better than them, having these precious babies...
d

I pod sounds like a smart idea:thumbup::thumbup: Even if you don't turn it on, just it's being in your ears will discourage dummies from talking to you:laugh:

Both of your babies are ADORABLE and I bet those saying ugly things are just JEALOUS!

/hugs you. Bless your heart. I think you are an exceptional mommy to your babies. I guess we all just have to accept that some people are just plain ass rude! LOL

Last night I was walking my pup and corkie....as they wrapped around my legs.. ( my 3 month old does NOT have the walk concept but we are trying)..LOL and I encountered a big man coming out of his house. I said... who is walking who here? His response was disdain...and ..I really was not paying any attention with a big frown. Oh WELL... excuse ME! LOL
Then I thought about it.... maybe he was in bad pain( with the look on his face) ( maybe he just lost someone close) etc. So I chose to move on and not let his attitude affect us.

Girl, maybe you will have to start educating some of these arses..eh? I think from your response, you are going to turn this around to where these walks will be fun for both or all of you. And think of all those children who follow you like a pied piper as you teach them..HOW to gently love a small dog. You GO girl!

/hugs

lol..yeah the ipod sounds like a brilliant idea!:p

and i agree...I think it all boils down to plain ol jealousy..they see you walking your beautiful obviously VERY loved babies with pride..and they can't stand it..so they criticise and ridicule in the only way they know how..I have had to suffer this so many times too when out with Pixie..usually some idiot taking the p**s due to her small size..once when out with my hubby, a guy walking past us looked down at her and called her a Rat...I thought my hubby was going to smack him one!:eek: it's just sooo rude! I don't know where these people get off thinking they can just comment like that...like you, i get so angry and end up not enjoying my walk at all and wanting to get myself and my baby back into the safety and comfort of our own home! I very often stick to routes where i know i won't see too many people..which is sad i know but i just want to walk my baby in peace and enjoy it...so i can totally sympathise with you on this one..;)

Xaleia - no, bless you for being honest and giving me advice. I will be the 1st to admit I am not the most sweet tempered person in the world.. and I am impulsive.. and sensitive.. which is why it hurts all the more because I am trying so darned hard to keep things in. I dare not think of myself being an exceptional mommy, any more than anyone of you here. I just know that I love them so much and I try to do my best all the time, and that is all I can do.

I will try smiling at anyone and everyone again.. who knows, even if someone has a bad thing to say, they will be taken aback by the smile and refrain from saying anything.. Oh well, a smile doesn't cost me anything :)

I am sorry about that man.. That sounds so random LOL! I am just upset any of us have to deal with anything like this.

Again, thank you for the advice. And reminding me that kindness will most times beget kindness. I forget that all the time.

Some peoples children! I would have been ready to kick that little boys arse... don't get my wrong, I love kids, but bratty ones that love putting people down I cannot tolerate. Your babies are beautiful, and definitely not malnourished looking. Some people can be real jerks.

I am sorry about how your walks are going. I agree with using an Ipod. I look forward to the walks and I am sure you do too. They just sound jealous

Goodness, if I was still together with my ex-bf.. He would probably hunt them down LOL.. We do not hear the name RAT here, maybe because there ARE rats running around in the neighborhood (this is a 3rd world country after all) and they know the difference.. But MONKEY I have heard.. Mocha gets the worse names.. they say she looks like a mongrel.. 1st of all, I do not like that name.. It sounds like a curse word for a dog. I do not have any problems with mongrels, I have had them before as pets. But they said it in such insulting tones :mad: Just because they are uneducated about dogs, and ignorant about them, does it give them allowances to call Mocha names? Jeebus cripes.

What makes me so angry and upset today is because the boy said it about Lulu. It was obvious that he just wanted to be mean, because how on earth can you think Lulu is malnourished. Look at her coat.. Look at her smiling on her walks.. Look at her walking so briskly during walks.. I don't think a malnourished dogs will enjoy life quite so much.

Thank you for your sympathy girl. I do too look for routes where there are not so many people around, but it's hard because of the time of the day I bring them out to walk. At 5 PM, the sun is JUST nice for a walk. Any other time will be too hot.

Babz girl, you are an exceptional mom to those babies. It fairly glows right here in type. Don't think I'm always smiling and cheerful my own self, because like you, if someone is mean or hateful, my first response is to BITE back and tell em off. I can be a sarcastic biatch if pushed when it comes to my babies or my children. Hell.. to anyone I care about, I become a tigress..claws and all.
But I do know and have experiented a lot with the power of positive thinking and catching others off guard with the smile and the willingness to share information or my babies. I agree with a lot of other posters. Either these people are plain ass ignorant or they are jealous in many cases.

Let me share something with you. I am a very average looking woman and a bit overweight. My best friend Laurie (I call her Lauriebelle..haha) was sharing with me how lots of women she meets are very mean and snide to her. I used to think...wtf ..are you talking about woman? It must be how You are coming off to them, because I'm friends with many of these women and they have NEVER from the first, acted that way.
Well after a while, I would notice from a distance her interaction with the women and found that they DID treat her much differently than they did me. From the very first introduction! What???? Well, here ya go. It really is true. Laurie is a very loving, but very attractive tiny blonde. Gorgeous, built just the way we would all like to be built..LOL ( I secretly hate her too.. haha). But these women were intimated or jealous of her because she was so attractive. Since I'm not any of those things, I was AMAZED to witness that. I treat any person the way I want to be treated when I meet them..no matter size shape color..whatever. People are people. BUT for many women, that is not possible I guess.
So what I'm trying to get at, is that the other posters may have touched on a really valid point as well. These people may have underlying jealousy issues, because your dogs are so well cared for and obviously beautiful.
With the men, they may have had bad experiences with small biting dogs or aggressive small ones, so they instantly are annoyed and say stupid "rat comments" grrrrr. That is where we can educate and show them, that a well behaved little baby, such as yours, can be had and enjoyed. We can't change the minds of all, but who cares? You know damn well in your own heart what treasures you have in them, so maybe feel sorry for the angry rude jerks! lol

You are open to other ideas and possibilities with the struggles you are encountering. I say ..YOU ROCK. Envy is probably pouring out of those poor silly jerks.
Children can be the sweetest and with out training, just like our dogs can be annoying rude little beings that you want to take over your knee and teach some manners!
You'll do fine. Keep those pictures coming. I am going to post a story I wrote recently about a s**t zu I baby sat last Christmas....LOL I loved that dog, but oh boy he drove me to distraction.......haha
Look for my story.............. How not to make money for Christmas! :-)

Everyone, thank you again for all the kind words.. and some funny ones as well ;) Helps me smile a bit.

Xaleia- I pm'd you.

Awwww. I am so sorry that you had to deal with such rude people. I don't even understand that kind of behavior. Your babies are beautiful and look very healthy and well cared for.

I would say to just ignore it and take your pups for the walks they enjoy. I know that is probably easier said than done, though. Would it be possible for you to take a short drive to a park or another neighborhood and walking them there?

Wendi and Tinkerbell

You describe many kind people on your route too, I call them "fans" LOL...focus on them and not on the "others"...happy walking, you and your two PRECIOUS kids.

I think you've gotten tons of great advice.. I just wanted to say how sorry I am that you've had so many negative experiences with your babies!!

and they in NO WAY LOOK MALNOURISHED!!!!

They are perfect...like one of the other posts said..they are probably JEALOUS of your beautiful babies and its easier for them to say nasty things. That's their problem...Definately take the IPOD with!!! That will probably deter ALOT of negativity for you!!!!

I replied Babz my gal pal from across the waters! :-)