Size Does Not Excuse Behaviour!

[hortfurball]

Funny, I brought this up in another thread just a couple of days ago...

i wouldnt reccommend large or big breeds dogs to a first time owner purely because if a big dog gets out of control it is harder to restrain than a small breed dog. without the experience in how to train and handle a dog, size really does matter. ie; an excited chi jumps up on you it doesnt cause that much damage vs an excited rotti jumping up on you.

I think the opposite - that first time owners should be forbidden from owning small dogs so that they realise that a dog is not a walking teddy bear. Too many people use lack of size as an excuse for a completely out of control dog. There are some good small dog owners out there but there are also a lot of small irritating untrained shits. I'm so sick of people thinking it's ok for their small dog to jump up and basically do whatever it pleases because it's 'cute'. Always makes me feel tempted to egg Ella into a state of excitement and try to get her to jump on them and say "Still think it's cute?"

Having a large dog as my first dog really forced me to take responsibility for being a dog owner as I thought, "I can't have a large, out of control dog" so I stepped up. It was a learning curve and I may not have been the perfect owner but we did lots of obedience and I learned a lot about dogs and myself, then came Ella the dynamo - two thirds the size and twenty times the energy - thank dog she wasn't first!!

[MsBex]

I understand your frustration but from the other end of the stick. Cory's supposedly a medium sized dog, but by my own measuring stick he's a small dog, and I only ever go to dog parks now during off-peak times, as I find most larger dog owners don't seem bothered by the fact their dogs are using Cory as a soccer ball (literally being rolled between their legs!)

My conclusion is that rude dogs and owners are everywhere regardless of dog size!

[Lobostar]

So as a future (medium) dog owner, the going advice is carry a stick?

Jeepers don't people take responsibility for their own dog?

Last week I was sitting in Freo next to two ladies who had a pomeranian pup. Gorgeous little thing, but he absolutely launched at any other dog that walked past the cafe, barking and growling. They thought it was hilarious and picked him up every time "scolding" him in a cute, friendly voice.

One to look out for at the dog beach next year for sure...

[cannibalgoldfish]

I dont understand this attitude at all. I have a entire male shiba. I knew before I got him they can be dog aggressive so I take steps. I never let him off lead in public and even whilst walking I keep firm control over him. If I didn't he would be lunging and snapping at other dogs (he would like to, has a god complex) When he was attacked by an off lead dog a while back he was extra responsive and I have been teaching him to sit when he sees another dog and focus on me. So far its working beautifully.

So, owner of a small potentialy agressive dog here and he has never attacked anyones dog. How hard can it be? I mean, I'm an idiot at the best of times but really? Sadly people are stupid and common sense is actually far from being common.

It would be annoying for large dog owners to face constant prejudice about their dogs, purely on size. (plus those owners with bull breeds) so I do feel for you.

[lovemesideways]

After a little dog tried to attack my Lab puppy today I am all for this argument. Though I never blame the dog, its always a stupid owner who thinks its "cute" or funny.

"Oh he thinks hes a big dog! Ha ha"

Wow you won't be laughing when a actual large breed takes offence to being told off, and his small reprimand accidentally kills your SWF.

Terrier cross charged my puppy, who was sniffing the ground. Then moved in to try and bite him. Luckily I was right next to Riddick. Snarled at this little dog which bolted back to its owner. Then stood there glaring at its owner, just waiting for the opportunity to go punch him right in the face. He didn't even seem to have noticed though. If I come across this same dog again and I see any behaviour like that, there will be consequences.

Nobody messes with my dogs and gets away with it, and I really do mean nobody.

[OSoSwift]

Size ( or lack of) NEVER excuses bad behaviour.

Idiot idiot owners who need their butts kicked!

[hortfurball]

So as a future (medium) dog owner, the going advice is carry a stick?

My advice would be don't take your dog to off leash parks as you never know what idiot will be there with their untrained and/or unsocialised dog. Stick to controlled meetings with friends whose dogs are known to be friendly and well adjusted, or DOL meets, because at least you know the DOL crew are informed.

Jeepers don't people take responsibility for their own dog?

Last week I was sitting in Freo next to two ladies who had a pomeranian pup. Gorgeous little thing, but he absolutely launched at any other dog that walked past the cafe, barking and growling. They thought it was hilarious and picked him up every time "scolding" him in a cute, friendly voice.

One to look out for at the dog beach next year for sure...

Think you answered your own question there.

[Crisovar]

The only dog that has ever bitten me hard enough to break the skin was a little maltese-type creature. I saw it for the first time in the middle of the street, looking lost and dirty, so I had my mother pull the car over so I could pop out and check if it would come to me and if it had a tag with the owner's phone number. It came quite readily, but unfortunately with a lot more growling and snapping than I had expected. I wasn't quick enough at standing up (due to my initial shock at the bundle of fluff lunging at me) to avoid a small wound on my hand, and have since learnt that the nasty little creature lives in one of the houses on the street and is an enemy of all living things. It looked dirty, it seems, because when it escapes the owners just don't worry about it for a few days, and wait for the dog to return of its own accord. I can't imagine wanting to live with a dog that would happily engineer an escape from the garden in order to attack a wider variety of people and pets (and it's never seemed very friendly with its owners, either).

It is not a creature, it is a DOG that has idiot owners.

[aussielover]

There was a lady yesterday with a small foxie type thing, who is aggressive. She however, lets it off leash her excuse being "oh he just needs to show the other dogs who is boss" He actually attacked a tiny 8 week old spoodle puppy while we were there poor thing (though i dont't know what it was doing there in the first place at such a young age). The lady walks around with a spray bottle as if this is enough to deter the behaviour.

Aggressive behaviour from any size dog is unacceptable. I don't know how anyone could let their small dog run up to a great dane or any medium/large dog and start attacking- wouldn't you be fearful of your dogs life????

[angelsun]

I agree with what's being said..I have small dogs and do NOT allow them to behave like snots and delinquents!! I am sick of what I call 'trolly' dogs at shows going off when anything on four legs walks past, and yet when one of our big dogs barks or even DOESNT bark, we hear comments about how aggressive or badly behaved they are, complete with the rolled eyes and snarky looks!

It happens almost every weekend....comments about how our dogs will surely bark and carry on all weekend and by the end of that time, it's not our dogs carrying on...but theirs (non stop barking and lunging!)

It's not acceptable for ANY dog to carry on that way, be it at a show or in public....small or large...same thing....and yes, for some reason, the small fluffies seem to be simply picked up and whisked away while the owner laughs or comments about how the behaviour was caused by some big dog at some point......hard to scoop up the adult great dane and do that sort of thing...and what about all the big dogs that have been scared sh*&^ess by some small snarky snappy thing.....apparently there is a double standard here.

ETA: I watched a dog lunge at another at the shows recently....the recipient was a young and clearly unsure dog that was being socilized....after the lunge/bark/snarl..the owner pulled the lunging dog to them and patted them, cooing that it was 'all right' and to 'not be scared that dog was just being friendly' Great reward for bad behaviour to be coddled and patted....clearly the owners had no idea that they were doing everything to continue the bad behaviour!

Edited August 15, 2010 by angelsun

[twodoggies2001]

I understand your frustration but from the other end of the stick. Cory's supposedly a medium sized dog, but by my own measuring stick he's a small dog, and I only ever go to dog parks now during off-peak times, as I find most larger dog owners don't seem bothered by the fact their dogs are using Cory as a soccer ball (literally being rolled between their legs!)

My conclusion is that rude dogs and owners are everywhere regardless of dog size!

I must agree. Not all small dogs are hell bent on attacking the big boys. I have mini schnauzers, and there are times when the big dogs make a pest of themselves and the owners just say that he/she only wants to play. I have never stopped my boys from interacting with the big dogs unless I notice any sort of too rough or aggressive behaviour, and that is from both sides. I agree, it makes no difference what size the dog is, he/she needs to be trained and treated the same way. No excuse whatsoever for size, but there are times on reading some of these type of posts, it's big dogs versus small dogs. We chose to keep the breed that we have and they are all dogs, loved by their keepers.

[FranVT]

I am slowly educating the group of lovely ladies who have small dogs at the park about acceptable small-dog behaviour, bless 'em, they honestly think that it's super cute when their little dogs run up and jump all over on-lead bigger dogs or when they bark / growl at bigger dogs. I was telling them the other day about this incredibly interesting article about how dogs view other dogs jumping all over them - as rude and confronting behaviour - and they all nodded in slowly-dawning agreement so I am getting there. They really are lovely people they have just never thought about their dogs' behaviour that way!

[KumaAkita]

I understand your frustration from the other end of the stick. Cory's supposedly a medium sized dog, but by my own measuring stick he's a small dog, and I only ever go to dog parks now during off-peak times, as I find most larger dog owners don't seem bothered by the fact their dogs are using Cory as a soccer ball (literally being rolled between their legs!)

My conclusion is that rude dogs and owners are everywhere regardless of dog size!

Completely agree... We had an episode at the off-leash park last weekend. Kuma's a hefty Akita but is only nine months old and still a baby. He was being harassed by a couple of older dogs - they were trying to "mount" him. One owner was organizing her life, chatting on her mobile and not watching her dog, and another owner said to us "oh, it's just because he's young" yeah, that's a great excuse... I felt like saying to her, "so if we met for the first time at a party, and I came up and smacked you in the face, that would be acceptable???" it's basically the same thing

Needless to say we left pretty quickly and won't return there in a hurry.

[Nekhbet]

anyone that lets their dog be aggressive and finds it amusing needs a swift kick in the shin.

Then while on the ground writhing, the addition of the comment 'wow, looks like we both have a warped perception on what is funny' may get the point across. Either way, justice is served.

I just carry a stick ( a thin bamboo cane is light and by god it hurts) or the rushing dog gets my boot. I'm not having my dogs attacked for the umpteenth time. I also never go to dog parks, all they do is attract idiots.

[Agility Dogs]

I agree - there is stupidity all around us - not just limited to small or large breed owners. Although, I have to say that large breed owners with aggressive dogs seem to be more aware of the problem.

Dumbest comment of all time was from a small breed owner. As she let her rat mutt run straight into my two BC's unimpressed faces - 'oh, that's why I've got a small dog, at least I can control him'. WTF - I had two strong dogs under control if a little stressed by the fact that a barking and snapping little rat had dragged its owner across the street and into their faces. If my dogs were under control in a similar manner to what hers was she would no longer have that little dog and mine would have been declared dangerous a long time ago.

If that is true of small dogs, I find big dog owners seem to be less aware of when their dogs are 'just playing' and causing other dogs to stress about the situation they find themselves in. Before I knew any better I let a Goldie who 'just wanted to play' jump all over CK and hurt him. It took me two years to get CK to a point where he would let a retriever type dog near him with getting defensive.

I think there are great owners of all types of dog, but there are also idiots - it just seems that the idiots always have different dogs to what you do. Although I do see some people with working breeds who should not be allowed to have them!!

[Monah]

Ive had dogs fom maltese to irish wolfhounds.

The big dog small dog argument should really be the responsible owners/non responsible owners.

I've been on both ends, big dogs lunging when walking my small dogs and small dogs trying to eat my wolfie.

We all need to vent occassionally, me too

I have never used dog parks , ever, and I never will. Recipe for disaster.

'accidents' can happen anywhere, even at training!!!

Really, if a dog park is so traumatic for owners and dogs, it's really easy to fix, dont go there.

[Animal House]

Yes, agreed.

My h/mate has a tiny oldish female dog (looks like a small whippy x chi) and she will snap at my staffy when she feels like it. To the extent she will sometimes grab her on the nose when she walks past.

I tell the dog off in no uncertain terms, and tell my h/mate if she doesn't want her dog ending up in pieces, don't let her do that kind of stuff (to any dog).

My staffy is quite tolerant, but there is only so much she will put up (she is a nervy dog) and it would only take one snap from her to do some real damage.

I don't/won't go to off leash dog parks (not that we have any in my area). An accident waiting to happen at most of them.

There is plenty of land around here where I can let my two off for a run, they both have good recall, but of course, nothing is 100% guaranteed. Like the time where I had my two off lead in a nearby bushy/ hilly paddock. I saw something out of the corner of my eye, and it was a big Grey Roo, must have been grazing there for a while and I only noticed it once it stood up on its hind legs. It was taller than me. Luckily the dogs didn't notice it, and I had them back on their leashes in 2 seconds.

Oops, sorry, went a bit off topic there.

Edited August 15, 2010 by Cazablanca

[baykinz]

It is not a creature, it is a DOG that has idiot owners.

A dog, like all animate beings, falls under the descriptor 'creature'. It is a dog with idiot owners and it is a creature.

[aussielover]

Yes, it does work the other way as well. I have had big dogs bound over to my puppy and try to jump all over her. When I ask the owner to remove the dog, the answer is always "oh he/shes just playing". Erm have you thought about the fact that not everyone wants their dog to play with yours no matter how "friendly" he/she is???

And many of them are NOT approaching in a friendly manner at all- in fact, imo, many of the dogs are displaying quite dominant behaviour- standing over pup, direct eye contact, staring down at pup etc. That is not "playful and friendly" in my view.

I would never let my dog interact with a dog that is on lead.

So really it is not about the size of the dog, but the stupidity of the owner

What annoys me most about the silly owners of both big and small dogs, is that they often don't realise or acknowledge there is a problem, so it is always us responsible people that have to leave the park/area (for the saftey of our own dogs), while their dogs continue to be out of conrtol and terrorize every other dog present. So are reinforcing their behaviour. Even if you give them a lecture about ow dangerously their dog is behaving etc they refuse to see a problem and in the end, its not worth fighting and risking potential harm to your own dog. So they probably just think anyone who doesn't like my dogs behaviour will just leave anyway... so i will continue to let my dog do as it pleases

Edited August 15, 2010 by aussielover

[Danois]

Someone touched on the part that concerns me.

On several ocassions my dog has been trying to get away from the small dog in question and it gets under his feet - now if he steps on it, you're going to end up with an injured dog as he is 60+kg or he'll trip and could break something - then the owner is going to end up with an expensive vet bill.

The other downside - if a large dog decides they've had enough then the result will not be pretty for the small dog.

I am not sure many small dog owners think of the consequence that their dog could be seriously injured as a result of their 'cute' behaviour.