So Mad With Dog Owners

[Robbi]

While we are on the topic of breeds that complement or mesh well together, anyone with Staffords or experience with them want to give their insight into breeds that potentially mix well. Without knowing the personalities/temp of the dogs in question.

I'm not going to be adding to my current pack unless it's my grandmother's whippet, bless him. But just thinking down the road.

Edit spelling

I have a Bull Breed x bitch(desexed) and a male Whippet(desexed) they are the best of friends and Yogi Whippet is very much the boss.

They play well together and love doing zoomies :D

[SparkyTansy]

in my opinion, dogs recognise body language that is like theirs and will gravitate to dogs whose body language mirrors their own. Conformation affects body language.

Some purebred dogs are definitely 'breed snobs' and prefer the company of their own breed. My guess is that's part genetics and part socialisation... after all they spend their first weeks with dogs that look like them.

I agree with those posters who say that their dogs have formed a dislike for breeds based on experience. I also think some dogs will not like breeds they can't 'read' well. Boxers tend to be a case in point - a lot of dogs just don't know what to do with a dog they think is staring at them when that's just how they look.

My point is that dogs don't know breed names. Going back to the earlier post about black staffies you can't say my dog doesn't like black staffies. It would be more accurate to say "My dog doesn't like medium sized short haired dogs who strut with their tails and heads held high" and staffies aren't the only dogs that do this. How do the 'breed snobs' react when they meet cross breed dogs, one of the crosses being their own breed. In a dog's eyes when is a staffy (whippet) not a staffy (whippet)? I think it depends more on body language than anything else and the dog is also picking up on cues from its owner.

it's all well and good saying this, but he doesnt take exception to any other breeds, even those that might display the same type of body language.

He's never met a cross breed of his own breed, so I cna't tell you how he'd react.

[mantis]

yep I am sick of it too!

My little boy got chased by three off lead dogs yesterday.

He saw that it was time to leave the park and began to run home and the three dogs that people had offlead (in an onlead area) chased him. The owners didn't even bother calling them back

I am grateful that he wasn't scared and just knew to stop and be still. But still he said to me that he couldn't tell if they were friendly or not

Also yesterday my daughter was playing with her friend at adiffernt playground and a guy stopped with his dog, took its collar off and told it 'go say hello to those kids over there'!

The dog then proceeded to jump all pver them both and scratched my daughter's stomach doing so!!!

Oh dear a child was jumped upon and scratched by a dog!!!! Gosh, better call an ambulance and contact the media. Sheeesh, really? Is she that much of a princess that it was an issue?

No... this is not on at all. a person SENDS their dog over to a child to say hello without checking first with the parents? WTF is wrong with you and that response? it is NOT acceptable for any dog to run over and jump on anyone, let alone a child.

Exactly, when I read that reply I was, WTF. It's irresponsible owners like that, who cause the non dog lovers to want dogs banned in public.

NO dog has a right to run at a child, or adult for that matter, unless requested by that person. Just like no person should approach a dog, unless given permission from the owner.

[asal]

i for one would never go to an offlead park and let my dog loose if others were there, to do so is to acknowledge i am prepared to risk losing my dog if its attacked, fatal injuries can be inflicted in seconds.

if i do so choose i wont be posting my poor didums was attacked there either. a group of dogs loose is a potential receipe for disaster as well as fun.

its like the surfer who dives into the sea and complains if they hit the bottom and are injoured, that the council is to blame.

or dive into a wave and bang into a shark, i was lucky it was a wobigong who didnt retaliate. even wobigong's can bite, especially at such close quarters as that.

nor do i pretend diddums couldnt do exactly the same to somone elses either.

theres risk assessment and a decision to take or not take such risk.

well there was. now its no one seems to take responsibility for bad outcomes anymore.

[Staffyluv]

While we are on the topic of breeds that complement or mesh well together, anyone with Staffords or experience with them want to give their insight into breeds that potentially mix well. Without knowing the personalities/temp of the dogs in question.

I'm not going to be adding to my current pack unless it's my grandmother's whippet, bless him. But just thinking down the road.

Edit spelling

Our guy gets on with all breeds.. If they can tolerate his exuberance...

He is submissive so if a dog tells him off, he rolls over or runs away..

He seems to know he has to be more gentle with small dogs and pups but can certainly hold his own in the more full on play with the big boys...

He got on particularly well with our foster kelpie cross and our foster ridgie cross.. He used to make a bee line for boxers at the park (I think he thinks they are all like his big mate who really rumbles with him)... He seems to love other staffs as well... We don't go to offlead parks at the moment due to a training issue..

Our ridgie cross foster girl was probably the one he got on best with.. Even at 4 months old she had it all over him...

[aussielover]

My dog is very good with other dogs and will generally respond to the other dogs body language rather than breed eg. she'll happily play with a friendly playful kelpie but is wary and submissive to a very similar looking one showing different body language (such as one very focussed on the toy/ball or a reactive one).

She does seem to have a certain love for retrievers and always gets very excited to see another lab or GR. So I think dogs so recognize their own breed.

[Henrietta]

Thank you Robbi and Melzawelza for your input. And Ososwift, I read your post after I posted my question - thank you as well!

[Issy]

Aren't dogs colourblind? They can only detect very few colours.