The AUDACITY of some dog owners!!

[Suze225]

I guess I should restate that. I would not trust my little dogs around any dogs that were bigger than they are........so that should eliminate only 99.5% of all other dogs.

[kjcmsw]

I had the opposite thought regarding his spanking...that seemed to me he was actually surprised by his dogs' behavior and simply reacted/struck out. He apologized - that's something at least.

[Lovetodream88]

Originally Posted by roseylovestosho

I don't think spanking is a response an owner would give to a dog that is behaving out of the ordinary. His reaction was not one of shock.

Every ones reaction to shock is different really some look shocked others dont it takes a lot to make my dad looked really shocked where as me and my grandma we tend to wear our feelings/emotions exactly on our face.

[Lovetodream88]

Originally Posted by roseylovestosho

I just think that as a dog owner, you are well aware of the temperament of your dogs, how they behave around other dogs etc. If he has even a small amount of doubt about how they are going to react (which in hindsight, he DID hesitate when I asked that question) then he should simply say no I don't think they're used to playing around other dogs. Also, they were barking and fighting each other...whether it was "play" or not, it was pretty clear that they are not gentle by any means. Teddy LOVES playing with big dogs, in fact at doggie day care and when I take him for walks at the lake he prefers approaching larger dogs, getting on his hind legs to reach their faces. I do not think it is a coincidence that Teddy hesitated, in the same way the dog owner hesitated in giving me the "okay." I've had people before tell me flat out "no, sorry my dog plays a little rough," or "my dog isn't well socialized with smaller dogs," etc...I've heard it all, because simply the owner KNOWS their dog. Personally, I think the owner just didn't want to admit that his dogs were not under his control. They were both wearing choke chains, and get corrected through "spanking" which is a clear indication that he does not have full control over his dogs.

In different situations and with different dogs and people the dog can act different and there are cases when an owner might think there dog is good with other dogs when they might not be. Sometimes there are cases when an owner doesn't know. My mom rescued a yorkie and he did great with her two beagle mixes and great with my yorkie Callie. We took him to the dog stores and he never seemed to have a problem and we took him and Callie to a pet expo and he snapped (I say snapped but never saw his teeth mostly was just a bunch of icky noises) at a bigger dog. We never knew this was going to happen but my mom has had him since October and been with him almost all of the time sense then but still did not know that was going to happen he is the most loving dog whos temperament is not aggressive. A lot plays into how a dog is going to react and a lot plays into things we cant always feel or understand. I dont want you to think I am being mean or anything I am glad that you and Teddy are ok and I probably would have been angry if a dog was aggressive toward Callie. I just like to give the benefit of the doubt to some people and look at the other side hoping people will do that for me because someone could and might have come home from the pet expo we took my moms rescue too and said oh my gosh this lady brought some aggressive dog around other dogs and been mad when they didnt know the full story that he really is not an aggressive dog and that he never has done that before.

[concretegurl]

Originally Posted by roseylovestosho

I cannot begin to understand how difficult it must be to train an aggressive dog. Teddy's only issue is that he is stubborn (and smart) so I find it difficult to train him because he is constantly outsmarting me because, well, he's my first dog. I've seen muzzles on dogs and I've never really known how to react to them, mainly because I didn't know what they were used for...but quite frankly if I had an aggressive dog the last thing I'd do is hit them--putting aside whatever ethical concerns anyone might have...an 80lb dog is stronger than I am. Two 80lb dogs were definitely stronger than that person I spoke of in my earlier posts. That can easily turn out in tragedy when one day after the owner has tried supressing the barking/growling through physical force, in my opinion the dogs are just going to snap one day without warning...and then they're going to be put down...

Thanks, I didn't get him based on his history or fully understanding it before I fell for him...I had been looking for a hypoallergenic dog from rescues for quite some time and one of the things I marked was I was interested in a schnorkie-not just a purebred. He was listed as a Yorkie mix and I saw his picture and that was that...

Now I don't want anyone to get detoured from a rescue dog because of me-most are not damaged, special needs or remotely like Scoobers was-I took him knowing he was special needs and that he barely passed the behavioral assessment-but they felt he was young enough that he had a very good chance of rehabilitation-I was well informed of the risks, issues and situation with him. Plus I knew the adoption coordinator from a mutual interest.

Unfortunately I had no idea how to deal with his issues and how to modify behavior or a dog like this, even how to approach the specialty training he needed, and WOW if I knew then what I know now...three trainers and two behaviorists later...not to mention one bitten groomer, and vet tech.

Everything you listed about Teddy is my Princess, and well was step two in Scoobers evolution I'm so lucky Scoobers is such a great dog and not completely damaged from my learning process and curb in his training...not sure anyone should take in a rescue like him without specialty training or being mentally, emotionally or researched enough to know the training isn't the same. Like I said though we went through three trainers before we found one that identified and understood his needs, and two behaviorist before we found the same there too.

Having said that my Scoobers is the most well trained, naughty dog on the planet! He's super social now, with children, other dogs from his two best buds, one a chihuahua and one an America Staff. etc...well he's still terrified of cats and a specific type of person will still cause him to hide behind me a little...

If I contributed to even part of how he is now...anyone could have...it was all a matter of effort.
Lovetodream makes a really important point above also...

[kjcmsw]

Originally Posted by Lovetodream88

In different situations and with different dogs and people the dog can act different and there are cases when an owner might think there dog is good with other dogs when they might not be. Sometimes there are cases when an owner doesn't know. My mom rescued a yorkie and he did great with her two beagle mixes and great with my yorkie Callie. We took him to the dog stores and he never seemed to have a problem and we took him and Callie to a pet expo and he snapped (I say snapped but never saw his teeth mostly was just a bunch of icky noises) at a bigger dog. We never knew this was going to happen but my mom has had him since October and been with him almost all of the time sense then but still did not know that was going to happen he is the most loving dog whos temperament is not aggressive. A lot plays into how a dog is going to react and a lot plays into things we cant always feel or understand. I dont want you to think I am being mean or anything I am glad that you and Teddy are ok and I probably would have been angry if a dog was aggressive toward Callie. I just like to give the benefit of the doubt to some people and look at the other side hoping people will do that for me because someone could and might have come home from the pet expo we took my moms rescue too and said oh my gosh this lady brought some aggressive dog around other dogs and been mad when they didnt know the full story that he really is not an aggressive dog and that he never has done that before.

I think what we can all take away from this is despite our dogs being our 'babies' and the obvious immense love we all here have for them, in the end they are dogs...unpredictable, which is a fact of life. Never assume a dog won't be a dog.