persephone Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 Goofy Don almost bit someone who was trying to get to know him . The person was drunk ...female ... the person got frustrated when Don didn't respond to "come" ...and expressed views on our NOT using a lot of the 'formal' dog words- we don't talk a lot to our dogs generally , and use whistles / slang to the dogs. I gave the person a few cat bikkies to hold - so their hand would smell nice . these were thrown away - treats shouldn't be necessary .... LOTS of talking to Don ..then lying down - when poor Don really freaked and climbed on my shoulders!! ( he was on a LONG , long line ) etc, etc ..... in the end , we left that person to it ...Don & I moved. he growled, barked , and snapped once when the person continued to move her hand close , after me telling her to stay still !!!!! we don't drink ..or have many occasions when the dogs meet folks who are drunk - so this was Don's first ..and not a good one. While I do not mind at all having a dog who will get between me & a drunk person - esp young male ( like my deerhound Kieran, used to ) I am not keen on having a fearful shoulder climber ..and felt awful putting Don thru it .... family politics made it really hard to just up & go ... Don is normally a little aloof - but loves people ..and is such a gentle goof - this morning he was playing chasey with a bone! - letting the others grab it & hang on ..and having a wonderful time ... *sigh* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdierikx Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 Dogs are so much smarter than most people... *sigh* I would have told the drunk to stay the eff away from my dog, and be darned with the consequences. Please give Don an extra smooch from me, OK? T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bjelkier Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 Can't say my dogs have ever reacyed differently to someone being drunk. However if someone had acted strange like that peraon did, they would have backed away quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest donatella Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 I think mine are used to it because of me but if someone was in their face as a drunk stranger Lucy would give a nip/snap to say don't touch me and Bon would just lick them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebanne Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 I don't deal with drunks so I wouldn't expect my dogs too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cannibalgoldfish Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 I would have told the drunk to stay the eff away from my dog, and be darned with the consequences. Same, but more diplomatically. Drunk people act weird and smell weird to a dog, I can understand why the dog wouldn't want to go near them. If someone is too drunk to listen to what you tell them about approaching your dog (commands, the cat food advice)then get them the hell away from your dog! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pjrt Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 I don't deal with drunks so I wouldn't expect my dogs too. Ditto. I have no time for boozy folks, so my dog never has to deal with it either. sorry you & Don were in that position. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Crazy Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 I really don't feel comfortable in the company of heavily intoxicated people. I especially don't like them around my dogs. I remove them pronto. Usually I will just excuse myself & we high tail it home. They are always usually loud, erratic & very unpredictable. It puts my dogs,especially Stella who is especially sensitive,on edge. Even if the drunk people aren't trying to engage them. I am rarely around intoxicated people either thankfully Perse. It occasionally happens while caravaning. Dogs are so perceptive. I usually get a wet nose nudging my leg. That will be Stella she always nudges me to get my attention. Take me home mum LOL. Give gorgeous Don a cuddle for me. Very uncomfortable situation for him. Stupid drunk woman... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vehs Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 I remember in the middle of the day walking around our local shops and D got very spooked, protective and wary from a drunk/drugged person stumbling and wandering around. He also acted similar another time when an elderly person was shuffling along. Your 'friend' is an idiot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HazyWal Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 Not everyone that likes a drink is a drunk O.o I drink but I'm not a falling over forget to feed my dogs put them in danger kind of drinker. If Don was not happy I wouldn't have even offered cat biscuits, I would've told them to leave the dog alone or leave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkySoaringMagpie Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 I think it's unpredictability that they are wary of. My dogs will go on high alert if another dog is near by where the owner has no effective control over the dog and the dog is acting out - whether on lead or off. Likewise with drunks, if they are moving unpredictably or upsetting other humans in the room the dogs will pick up on it. Sounds like this was the case here. But if they are just a snoozy drunk, the dogs are likely to not be bothered at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Rusty Bucket Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 Some humans are idiots, drunk or sober. I don't like to reward demanding behaviour from my dog. I don't reward it from humans, if I can avoid it, either. A critique of my training methods which do involve treats - would go down like a lead ballon because the old school stuff the drunk person was talking about - doesn't work with my dog. Tho she would only respond to cue words from other people if the other people actually "retrains" them. Ie she has to know that "come" from someone else means good things. And demanding drunk lady would not be able to achieve that. So I avoid letting my dog meet people like that. It doesn't end well. I do try to pay attention to what people are around - mostly it's people frightened of dogs, rather than drunk people, and keep my dog away from them. Scared the crap out of a mum and child today trying to get off the beach at the Semaphore kite festival. They had sat in the path of the only way off the beach near the jetty. They would have been fine if they'd stayed where they were but OMG DOG!!! RUN... Fortunately for me - evil hound ignored them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Crazy Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 Not everyone that likes a drink is a drunk O.o I drink but I'm not a falling over forget to feed my dogs put them in danger kind of drinker. If Don was not happy I wouldn't have even offered cat biscuits, I would've told them to leave the dog alone or leave. I'm hearing you Hazy. I enjoy a drink. Indulge regularly but sensibly. Cheer's GF ???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dame Aussie Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 (edited) We rarely have intoxicated people around our dogs but on the rare occasion we do they still don't act like that! Our friends even when having a few beers are always respectful around the dogs. In a situation like that I'd remove the dog from the situation asap. I would imagine Lili at least would get a bit worried in that kind of situation. Not sure about Mo as he's much more laid back. Edited April 5, 2015 by Dame Aussie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristineX Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 I dont usually have a lot of people around here, drunk or otherwise. Normally Duke and Kate are all over people (yes, maybe a little out of control), but the night our drunk (beligerant) neighbour came around (okay, yes, Duke did kill his cat, but it was in our backyard, bit a sleeping Kate and shredded my hand!), I had a dog in a perfect sit on either side of me, in full leg contact - and they sat there while I dealt with the neighbour. Completely their choice to do so too. I was ever so pleased when that neighbour moved out...... Duke has also been known to be unappreciative of aggressive, high on drugs loud people - apparently they flip on his protective "shred the threat" switch. And Mum's often drunk neighbour had Duke in perpetual protective fence-running mode (only along the shared fenceline). Which promptly stopped when the guy moved out. So yes, behaviour certainly does change (Duke more so than Kate) around chemically impaired persons. These days, I take note and appropriate action, depending on circumstances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted April 5, 2015 Author Share Posted April 5, 2015 Thanks. If the situation was different - I would have not even stayed - *family pressure* I was "this far" from saying you WILL get bitten if you push - and then Don might, too ! Oh - I was also asked NOT to tell her what to do - SHE could see that Don was just so excited to be on an outing , he was beside himself ...... the 'what ifs ' ... had I known she'd been drinking all afternoon I certainly wouldn't have fronted up - let alone take goofy dog with. It's hard here , with not a regular flow of people - sometimes we go a couple of weeks with just me & the animals ..Don & Trouble & I all live pretty insulated /isolated lives .....our social skills can be lacking:( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdierikx Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 Chalk it up to experience now perse... now you know that Don is sensitive to drunk and obnoxious people, and you can help him avoid those situations in the future. Did you give him my smoochies? T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirislin Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 My dogs dont get to see drunk people. I would be wary of the drunks and try to keep my dogs away. On the couple of occasions I recall here the drunks got aggressive, once with my horse who tried to nip him (probably because Rowdy the horse sensed something was not right) and another time a woman who got rough with one of my whippets. Pisspots begone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YippeeGirl Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 My dogs are suspicious of anyone acting out of the ordinary. I personally do not like drinking or being around people that are drunk/drinking. However, some of my family members do drink more than I think is sensible, and when they get loud/obnoxious I find the dogs tend to just ignore them. I think the reaction would definitely be different if it was a stranger though. Not too long ago I was walking one of the dogs and we came across a man with no shoes on, who I think was either suffering from mental illness or was drunk/on drugs. He was very erratic in his behaviour and was walking oddly and mumbling/shouting. The dog I was walking did not like the look of him, and we gave him a wide berth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbedWire Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 I remember in the middle of the day walking around our local shops and D got very spooked, protective and wary from a drunk/drugged person stumbling and wandering around. He also acted similar another time when an elderly person was shuffling along. Your 'friend' is an idiot. As an elderly person it bothers me that some dogs don't like the elderly. I don't shuffle, not yet, but some older people can't help it. Perhaps as part of socializing our dogs we should get them used to children, old people, and drunks. However I do think that dogs do take cues from their owners though and if their owner is not comfortable around drunks the dogs will sense it and react accordingly. That being said I don't leave my dogs with children because they are not used to them, so maybe I should be practicing what I am preaching. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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