How do you feel about strangers picking up your dog?
 

I had Leo on a walk, and I'm trying to socialize him with different people and dogs. He loves meeting new people, always wiggles his stub. Anyways, I walked past a guy, and he stopped and went "AWW" and I told him he could pet him if he'd like. Leo ran up to him, the guy picked him up, and started speaking German to him, while making kissy faces. I honestly thought it was the funniest/cutest thing ever..Than I thought, what would Leo think of that situation, as a dog? Perhaps over in Germany that's normal? But I've never seen anyone do that before.:rolleyes:

I think it is great for a pup to be exposed to strange situations like that. But under no circumstances are random strangers allowed to pick up my dogs. All they have to do is unhook the leash and run.

:thumbup: or what if they drop your baby:(

I was shocked when he picked him up. His daughter came up and said how cute he was, while her Dad was holding him. The thought crossed my mind for a brief second "omg, what is he doing?" But then he put Leo down, and walked away. I think it's because he was from another country, that it could be normal over there, compared to over here where most people just ask to pet or hold him. But I guess it's good for him to be held and handled by other people, even those who speak German and make kissy faces :grin2:

Who are you telling? My family members have already dropped him. :shocked7q

Nope. Nope. Nope.

This allows me to get ugly. I agree. Ask 1st.

I do not allow strangers to pick my pups up. Petting is ok and I watch them closely. Any movement to pick them up and I have my hands on them.

I actually had a guy quickly grab my Pippi at the dog show about three years ago. He actually started to walk away....I went over to him and told him to give me my pup back and he turned his back to me. I was horrified. The words that I let out of my mouth were not nice and I was in his face...I got her back but I have to say it scared the heck out of me. I take them every year and it is nerve wracking...I am always with one eye on them.

I have heard horror stories of people letting others hold their pups...there was one in a store in Houston a few years ago where the people passed the pup to someone else and out the door they went. She had a huge reward out for the pup but I don't think they ever found him/her. Nightmarish.

I have been thinking and thinking about the part about it being normal in Germany. I lived there 3 years when I was younger and saw very few dogs in that time. It wasn't normal then but it has been a long time ago. I don't let anyone pick mine up without permission and then even adults have to be sitting. I guess I am a little paranoid but they are my babies now :).

The same way I would feel about a stranger picking up my child, if I had one.

I was at a park with both my girls once, sitting on a blanket on the grass.They were leashed. A group of girls walked up and wanted to take pictures. Kind of annoying, but I said yes...until one of them tried to pick Rosie up. I flipped out on her! Really..who do they think they are? Maybe if they sat down and held her in their lap, but not standing up.

Another time I walked into our vet office holding her in my arms and another client came over oohing and ahhing at her size (GRRRRRR...) and then attempted to grab Rosie up out of my arms. I literally slapped her wrist LOL. She's not a plaything...she's an extremely fragile baby and I have a crazy strong sense of protectiveness over her.

Luma, she's usually the one trying to scramble onto someone else's lap or sit at their feet. She loves people. She's about 8 lbs with an athletic build, so I don't worry **as much**. Rosie is so little we can blow her over with a gust of our breath (or maybe our breath stinks?? :D) Either way, you don't pick up someone else's small breed dog unless you're ready to be liable for dropping them and possibly seriously injuring them. I wouldn't risk that with someone else's dog.

Of course, I would never allow a stranger to hold my dogs. It just happened. I'm lucky the guy was only telling him how cute he was, and didn't try to steal him. Its a good thing I took 3yrs of German, and could somewhat understand what they were saying. I guess I didn't expect someone to pick up my dog, without asking. That would be EXTREMELY frightening if someone picked up Zoey or Leo and started to walk away. I would probably scream at the top of my lungs and give the person a piece of my mind. I remember one time, while walking Zoey, a guy pulled up to the sidewalk in his car and asked me where I got her from? Then he asked if she was for sale. I got the creepiest vibe from this guy, and I kept Zoey close to me. I laughed and told him she was not and will never be for sale, which he responded "aw too bad, I'd pay big bucks for her" I will DEFINITELY keep a closer eye on the other persons movements from now on. It is a very scary thought that someone could just take a puppy. Perhaps from now on, I could pick Leo up, and hold him as a stranger pets him. If someone asks to hold him, how should I respond without coming off as "rude"? :)

Oh, I would hate that! I had Zoey on a walk once, and a lady on the other side of the street saw me and her and started taking pictures..I thought it was extremely weird and it annoyed me, but I just smiled, and went about my business. Luckily, she didn't come over and ask to hold her. Zoey is not fond of strangers, and would most likely not go near her to begin with...so I'm lucky with Zoey in that sense. What happened when you slapped that persons wrist at the vet office? I would love to know how to respond to someone who gets too touchy feely and "aww" about my puppy.

Oh, that's so cool you lived in Germany! Maybe it's not normal over there, then. hehe.

Trust me the guy got a HUGE piece of my mind. I was on the verge of attacking him when he tried to keep her away. It was creepy.

I just tell people whatever comes to my mind. Usually I say that while I trust them, I cannot allow it because then everyone else sees and wants to hold them and I cannot trust everyone. Or, I just say that it scares my pups.