# The Ugly.



## Waffle Iron (Apr 3, 2012)

So this morning something completely unexpected and unprecedented occurred: Rogan went after a lady on our walk, grabbed her coat, and yanked her backwards. 

Lanee, Rogan, and I were on a narrow, snow covered sidewalk on our morning walk. We pass dozens of people normally with no issues; both GSD's normally only taking passing notice of people and move along. We were walking along an empty stretch of path with no other animals, people, cars, airplanes, wind, nothing...no triggers, distractions, stress inducers, etc. Along comes a younger lady walking toward us. As we go to pass, about 5 feet apart, Rogan to my right, the lady to my left, Rogan shoots right across, grabs onto her coat on the back of the lady, and yanks her backward. 

I immediately disengaged Rogan from her. She was startled, as was I. I asked if she was okay and if she needed medical attention, and she adamantly declined and we continued on her way.

I'm shaken up by this. Rogan has never shown one iota of aggression. He's the diplomat of the family. He loves people, loves attention, has a very goofy, bubbly personality 24/7. I have absolutely no clue why this happened. I've put a call out to my trainer to discuss the issue, but I'd be open to any feedback anyone here might have. Thanks!


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

Could he have just wanted to play tug with her coat and not be showing aggression at all?


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## Waffle Iron (Apr 3, 2012)

Perhaps. He wasn't barking, growling, no hackles raised, no indication of any hostility. Just BAM, went after the coat. He grabbed the bottom portion (it was a parka).


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## Debanneball (Aug 28, 2014)

Was she 'power walking'.. Fast, moving her arms? Maybe he thought you were in danger... Sorry this happened. Deb


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## Waffle Iron (Apr 3, 2012)

Debanneball said:


> Was she 'power walking'.. Fast, moving her arms? Maybe he thought you were in danger... Sorry this happened. Deb


No, just walking ordinarily. There was a lot of snow and ice so it's not easy to move around here very quickly on foot.


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## JeanKBBMMMAAN (May 11, 2005)

How old is he? I see b.2014?


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## middleofnowhere (Dec 20, 2000)

I suspect that the movement of the coat attracted him (sorta like a flirt pole perhaps) and this was just play. But now you know when you are passing people, you might want to move off the trail a bit & put them (dogs not people) in a sit while the people pass.


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## dogma13 (Mar 8, 2014)

Could have been that raspy sound of a nylon outer layer on the parka rubbing that attracted a play tug?


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## Stonevintage (Aug 26, 2014)

Is there a chance Rogan was sniffing around and not paying attention and then bam, there was the lady in close proximity to you? Did he see her coming? Could have been just a knee jerk reaction if he did not see her until she was within your "personal space".

My pup gets suprised because she gets so engrossed in something and does not pay attention.


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## Waffle Iron (Apr 3, 2012)

To difficult to quote everyone to reply, so I'll do it like so:

JeanKBB: He was born last February. Almost a year old!

Middleofnowhere: Yes, I'm avoiding folks period from now on.

Dogma13: It might have been, but we've passed people like this before with no issues. 

Stonevintage: No, Rogan was looking straight ahead, same with Lanee. They saw her coming.


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## Kyleigh (Oct 16, 2012)

Waffle Iron .. DON'T PANIC ... and DO NOT avoid people from now on ... 

Honestly, I cracked up laughing when I read this ... 

In all seriousness, no, it's not really that funny (especially because the woman likely peed herself) ... but look at it from your dog's perspective ... hmm, funny noise, flappy stuff, moving around (trigger to play), I'm gonna grab that and see what happens ... BAM ... he's got it in his mouth ... and then BAM you're on him, and he's like OOPS ... not a toy

You mention he's goofy, bubbly, etc. Think of this as just a goofy thing he did ... My friend has a male GSD who is a total goof - he's just a great big nutbar. We were out walking, the dogs are off leash running around having fun, and this cross country skier comes towards us (about 100 feet in front of us). We call both dogs to us, put them in a sit and wait for the person to pass us. The guy stopped, we chatted for a couple of minutes - both dogs were lying in the snow, just chilling, waiting to be released so they could play again. Guy starts to leave and BAM my friend's dog grabs one of the skis and just reams it backwards. Guy goes flying A** over tea kettle, the dog's trying to kill the ski and we're trying to get him to drop his NEW FAVOURITE toy ... took about 10 seconds. 

Buddy gets up - he is CRACKING UP LAUGHING ... his ski has bite marks, scratches all over it and he's still laughing away ... 

Yes, we were lucky, he was a great guy, loves dogs and didn't get upset ... We've seen lots of cross country skiers, and her dog has never shown an interest in them before. 

Now, when we see them, she puts the leash on him, just in case ... 

Take it as your dog being a HUGE GOOF, it's a learning experience, and move forward ... the only way he'll learn not to do it again, is if he's in that situation and you train him NOT to ... avoidance isn't the answer!!!

Good luck!


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## Waffle Iron (Apr 3, 2012)

Kyleigh said:


> Waffle Iron .. DON'T PANIC ... and DO NOT avoid people from now on ...
> 
> Honestly, I cracked up laughing when I read this ...
> 
> ...


+1 for best reply to this thread.

That was great. Yeah that lends perspective to it I suppose.


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## dogma13 (Mar 8, 2014)

Kyleigh,great story!Lol


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## Anubis_Star (Jul 25, 2012)

Wait to make any panic decisions before you actually contact your trainer, someone who knows your dog and can evaluate him properly.

That being said, just avoiding people is a horrible idea. This is where basic obedience in busy areas are most important. He needs to learn no matter what the situation, obedience and focus to you and to ignore other people. Because who wants a dog you can't even walk down the street in fear someone else will walk by?

I love to train on college campuses because there are a lot of busy, fast moving people but everyone has somewhere to be so no one bothering you and your dog.


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## scarfish (Apr 9, 2013)

when i walk both dogs sometime i walk them on opposite sides of me sometimes on the same side. but whenever we pass a person, i always move them to the same side and put the dogs on the oppisite side of the passer by and move the dogs onto the grass, either the curb strip or someone's lawn. if someone has a fence and there's a lot of trees or telephone poles on the curb strip of grass i'll even move into the street while the person passes. i also fully choke up on their lead so i'm holding the leash where it meets their collars. 

i do have one dog very aloof with strangers but has never shown an interest walking past people. i mainly do this to make people feel safe walking past my dogs. some people are terrified of big dogs and i don't want anybody to feel uncomfortable walking past me. if they see i'm making it impossible for the dogs to get to them, they might feel a little better.


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

Waffle Iron said:


> To difficult to quote everyone to reply, so I'll do it like so:
> 
> JeanKBB: He was born last February. Almost a year old!
> 
> ...


OH MY GOSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Worst thing EVER is to avoid people!!!! ACK!!!

I love love love love love when my pups do unexpected things when out and about!

Why?

Cause it's a TRAINING OPPORTUNITY for me!!! Something I need to puzzle out and work thru!

This is a PERFECT place to go into the weekly dog classes where you and your dog are known and trusted. In a safe place, and talk to your trainer to set up the EXACT situation to work thru with your pup!

Work thru... NOT avoid!

Truthfully, this is a mix of all the vital 'socialization' experiences we need to CONSTANTLY expose our pups too... mixed with our guidance and training to get them used to all the 'weird and new' (to them) things that are actually normal and part of the wacky world we live in!











My goal is to prepare my dogs to be able to go thru a weekend of


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## Waffle Iron (Apr 3, 2012)

thanks for the videos. On our walk today we didn't avoid anyone, but I kept a greater distance. Rogan didn't show any interest in anyone aside from seeing who was there then moving on. I praised that reaction.


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