# Who pets your dog? --Leerburg



## lauren43 (Jun 14, 2014)

Can someone explain this to me?
I read the whole article. I do understand where this concept comes from but I feel it's a bit extreme.

I don't believe getting pets from strangers will make my dog any more interested in strangers. I whole heartily believe that a dog that loves everyone can be perfectly engaged with their owner and work just fine.

That being said if my pup looks uncomfortable when someone approaches, I'll happily say no. And I totally do not think dog dog greetings are ever ok with unknown dogs..

Can someone lay this out for me? I planned on doing the 100 people socialization with my girl. Whether or not she actually interacts with that many ppl, she sure as heck will see that many different people within those first two months I bring her home.


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## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

The point is that the dog should only get attention and affection from you and if everyone that comes up to the dog gives her a pet, she'll pay attention to others instead of you. In his opinion, the dog should be uninterested in everyone else. I wish I hadn't forced my dog into accepting pets from strangers. He was giving me clear signs but I didn't realize it at the time. I was taking the AKC Star Puppy class and was told that 'socializing' meant my dog had to be petted by everyone. If I had it to do over again, I would do more of the Leerburg way


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

I'm stuck in the middle I guess. I wanted them to get socialized with kids and be able to accept a child approaching in any way, which is exactly what I got. I never said no to many adults, but I did find adults were more afraid of them. Most adults that wanted to pet them had a GSD at some point and liked the breed. My female got more aloof as she got older. Starting at about 7 months she didn't pay any attention to people, she doesn't even look at them. My male is more social but can still take it or leave it. Both adore kids. I was more interested in noises and stuff like that. We walked past landscapers working, construction workers, fire trucks and firemen putting out a fire, etc. we went to the park and climbed on the equipment. I even asked a police officer in uniform with radio going to pet my female, she liked him As a result I got two GSD's that love kids, don't bother with people, never bark in the car or in the yard when they hear or see stuff and aren't afraid of loud noises or commotion. Recently I took both of them to an event, they had to wait in the car while I signed them up. There were GSD's everywhere, all of them going nuts in the cars as people and dogs walked by, but mine were as quiet as can be. They were looking at these other dogs like they were crazy.


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## gsdsar (May 21, 2002)

I socialize. But that does not mean letting everyone pet my dog. But if my dog is cool with it, then I don't mind if they do. Have never ended up with a dog that preferred others to me. Just ended up with dogs that were comfortable in any situation I put them. 

I think if you are worried a dog will like other peoples pets more than yours, then you need to work on your relationship with your dog. I train, I feed, I play, I cuddle, I explore, I expose, I live with my dog. If that is not enough for my dog to choose working with and for me, then I have failed. 


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## sehrgutcsg (Feb 7, 2014)

Leerburg, This largest puppy mill in the United States of America with 271 litters. Sorry, but I don't follow Leerburg trends...

SGCSG


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## Audie1 (May 31, 2014)

gsdsar said:


> I train, I feed, I play, I cuddle, I explore, I expose, I live with my dog. If that is not enough for my dog to choose working with and for me, then I have failed. Sent from Petguide.com Free App


Awesome. Very well stated


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## G-burg (Nov 10, 2002)

> I train, I feed, I play, I cuddle, I explore, I expose, I live with my dog. If that is not enough for my dog to choose working with and for me, then I have failed.


 Pretty much sums it up!


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## Baillif (Jun 26, 2013)

The main reasons I would adopt an attitude like this is because people can approach a young puppy with a high and very inappropriate energy that a puppy could find terrifying. Ever wonder why a dog became fear reactive of strangers? Usually it's because someone approached them like an idiot. Some might just get submissive urination or something like that, and the ones with solid temperaments probably won't care at all. 

Other behavior issues creep up when people invite puppies to jump up on them and then reinforce it with affection. Cute while they are small. Not so cute when they are 90 pounds plus.

Now if you're lucky like me and you work at a place where people know how to approach and handle dogs then it's not that big a deal. As long as people know the ground rules and don't pet frantically or invite dogs to jump or scream puppy while leaning over them with outstretched arms then you don't really need to adopt the leerburg attitude. However, if you're surrounded by idiots you might want to think about either 1. Making the ground rules clear for people before they handle the puppy, or 2 do the leerburg thing and just tell em to get lost.


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

gsdsar said:


> I socialize. But that does not mean letting everyone pet my dog. But if my dog is cool with it, then I don't mind if they do. Have never ended up with a dog that preferred others to me. Just ended up with dogs that were comfortable in any situation I put them.
> 
> I think if you are worried a dog will like other peoples pets more than yours, then you need to work on your relationship with your dog. I train, I feed, I play, I cuddle, I explore, I expose, I live with my dog. If that is not enough for my dog to choose working with and for me, then I have failed.
> 
> ...


Pretty much this. I've never had shy puppies, so forcing them to submit to being petted by strangers was NOT an issue! If people wanted to meet my puppy and my puppy was interested in meeting them, I had no problem with that. I've also never had dogs that were more interested in other people than us. 

Keefer is probably the most social dog we've ever had, he's extremely affectionate and loves getting attention from anyone and everyone. My husband takes him to visit my MIL at her assisted living facility every Sunday when I'm at flyball practice with Halo, and he has many fans among the old folks. :wub: But I am totally the center of his universe, he lives and breathes for me. Wherever I am in the house, he's right there. If I get up and leave a room, he's right behind me. 

I took Halo lots of places when she was a puppy, and she got to meet tons of people from an early age. She's less interested in other people now than when she was a puppy but she's still fairly social, she just doesn't seek attention from strangers the way Keef does. But when we're doing flyball she's completely focused on me, and I'm not even her favorite person! That would be Tom - she's a total daddy's girl. The nice thing about all that exposure to other people is that when we were taking flyball classes and now at practice, she's perfectly comfortable being handled by other people. I can hand her off to anyone to restrain for recalls, and when I hurt my back at a tournament in May and couldn't race her myself one of my teammates took over and raced her for me.


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## dogfaeries (Feb 22, 2010)

Baillif said:


> Now if you're lucky like me and you work at a place where people know how to approach and handle dogs then it's not that big a deal.



I groom, and I have always taken my puppies to work with me. Quite a few customers want to see the new puppy, and I've always let them. My puppies have always been eager to say hello, and it's a pretty controlled environment.

My dogs have also been going to dog shows since they were puppies. It is a very chaotic, noisy environment - dogs barking non-stop, people running, crowds to navigate, people pulling dollies piled high with crates, wheelchairs, scooters, children. It's a lot to take in, but my puppies have always had a blast at shows. Kids all want to pet the German Shepherd puppy, and have been well-behaved (both kids and puppy). 

When Carly was a puppy, we had quite a few young kids riding their bicycles up and down my street. I ran out there one time with Carly, just so she could see the bicycles. The kids were were curious about her and came up with their bikes and petted her. It was a great learning experience.

Consequently, my dogs seem to really love children, and have the GSD aloofness with adults. Works for me.


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## dogfaeries (Feb 22, 2010)

Cassidy's Mom said:


> The nice thing about all that exposure to other people is that when we were taking flyball classes and now at practice, she's perfectly comfortable being handled by other people. I can hand her off to anyone to restrain for recalls, and when I hurt my back at a tournament in May and couldn't race her myself one of my teammates took over and raced her for me.


This!! 
I can do the same thing with my dogs, which is really handy at a dog show. Plenty of times I've handed off one of the girls to a complete stranger (to them) to go back in the ring. They don't skip a beat. They know what to do in the ring, and they don't seem to care who's at the other end of the leash.


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## lauren43 (Jun 14, 2014)

I guess this is the feedback I'm looking for. I have no problem making ground rules for strangers.

And I consider myself a pretty good judge of dog behavior. If my pup is showing signs she's uncomfortable then I will happily turn people away. I think that is key. If you have a puppy that wants to greet ppl I can't see an issue with it but if you have a dog cowering behind you, your simply not helping them by forcing socialization on them.

I plan to enroll in agility and flyball with my girl, even if it's too early for her to participate I want her used to the craziness from a young age. I want her to be able to go anywhere without her being overwhelmed. And I plan on taking her places where ppl frequent but dogs generally don't and if ppl can follow my guidelines they can pet her otherwise forget it..


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## Steve Strom (Oct 26, 2013)

lauren43 said:


> I guess this is the feedback I'm looking for. I have no problem making ground rules for strangers.
> 
> And I consider myself a pretty good judge of dog behavior. If my pup is showing signs she's uncomfortable then I will happily turn people away. I think that is key. If you have a puppy that wants to greet ppl I can't see an issue with it but if you have a dog cowering behind you, your simply not helping them by forcing socialization on them.
> 
> ...


 You already have it right, I think Lauren. I have two right now. One will tolerate contact, but he doesn't look for it. I usually just tell people we're working on something. The other one loves contact and attention. I don't think I've told anyone they can't pet him. Your judgement will be good.


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## abakerrr (Aug 8, 2008)

Fwiw, my current dog is super ultra social but since I don't let total strangers touch me, i wouldn't subject my dog to a total stranger touching her. People don't need to touch my dog unless they know her.

I socialize my dogs by putting them in a variety of different settings/ scenarios with the common denominator being positive engagement with me. In time, everything else (people, places, things) simply becomes an afterthought. Just wallpaper on the wall.


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## lauren43 (Jun 14, 2014)

I just think the whole thing takes the fun out of having a dog. No one can touch your dog. He also says he doesn't have anyone but himself engage the dog within his own household. He only pets when they've earned it and blah blah blah.

I can get on board with some of it. And I think he does make some good points. But I have dogs because I enjoy their company, not to have them at my beck and call every moment of everyday. 


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## lalachka (Aug 13, 2013)

Stosh said:


> The point is that the dog should only get attention and affection from you and if everyone that comes up to the dog gives her a pet, she'll pay attention to others instead of you. In his opinion, the dog should be uninterested in everyone else. I wish I hadn't forced my dog into accepting pets from strangers. He was giving me clear signs but I didn't realize it at the time. I was taking the AKC Star Puppy class and was told that 'socializing' meant my dog had to be petted by everyone. If I had it to do over again, I would do more of the Leerburg way


Me too. Everything I did with my dog was wrong.


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## Chip18 (Jan 11, 2014)

lauren43 said:


> if you have a dog cowering behind you, your simply not helping them by forcing socialization on them.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 That's any interesting spin??










Leerburgh has "some" solutions that seem to be a bit extreme... dogs and babies/kids strikes me as one and Lou Castle has some "issues" with Leerburghs' work with E collars but that aside, with "Who Pets my Puppy or Dog" Ed Frawley has it nailed!

If you don't have a dog "with people issues" then no harm is done. Meet and greet till the fur is rubbed off your dog by folks. 

If you do have a dog with "people issues" then letting folks pet him and "guessing" he's OK??? Good lucky with that, my guy shwoed me early on that he was not a big people person...fine with me.

He doesn't have to like anyone but he does did to know how to behave around people. That's what I taught with this approach and that is what he does!

When I did allow someone to pet him, I turned and looked at him because I knew what he looked like when he was doing fine and I steeped aside and allowed him to be greeted he was fine..did not really care but no issues.

Other dogs the vet office and kids..no issues. 

For me the "Who pets' thing is a no brainier. It's how I will train all my dogs going forward. 

It's really no different than training a service dog. A service dog that wants to meet and greet everyone he sees is not of much value.

A family pet that thinks everyone is his friend, is very likely to walk or drive off with a friendly stranger, if not well trained! 

My Boxer would have been like that but for "oops can't leave the yard!'" My GSD yeah he's not walking off with anyone save me and my wife. 

And cowering behind?? You can call it cowering, I call it discipline. I protect my dog if a dog charges us I tell my dog to stay..I take point, I'm dealing with the attacker, "not" my dog and the problem dog!

So 'Who pets" has been Dog tested and dog approved by me and Rocky, case in point:

http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/aggression-good-bad-ugly/399905-what-would-my-dog-do.html

He did just fine!


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## lauren43 (Jun 14, 2014)

I don't think you read what I wrote correctly. If you have a dog that is not comfortable with attention from everyone then following Leerburgs' protocol is probably the way to go.

By cowering I simply meant a fearful dog.

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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

The only reasons I don't let strangers pet my puppies are 1) I'm actually in a hurry and can't stop and 2) I need the puppy to learn that not every person is going to stop and interact, lots of people are afraid of dogs (even puppies) or just do not like them. I like my puppies to be receptive to interaction and be social, but let me call the shots and not always be pulling to go over and greet a new person.


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## lauren43 (Jun 14, 2014)

Liesje said:


> The only reasons I don't let strangers pet my puppies are 1) I'm actually in a hurry and can't stop and 2) I need the puppy to learn that not every person is going to stop and interact, lots of people are afraid of dogs (even puppies) or just do not like them. I like my puppies to be receptive to interaction and be social, but let me call the shots and not always be pulling to go over and greet a new person.



Exactly!



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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

I did not read the article. I hear too much about leerburg and don't think they are my thing. 

I let people pet my puppies, but I reserve the right to refuse. 

1. People including children must ask first. If they do not ask then they do not pet. 

2. If I think that the pup has had enough today, I just say no. I may offend someone, but I don't own them, and I am not responsible for them, and I do not have to live with them for the next 14 years. 

3. If someone has their hands full, several kids, etc, No. 

4. If there is a bunch of kids, or if I don't feel that the kids look capable of following simple instructions, I say no. 

Most of the time, I let people pet the puppy, and they are all into me. In fact, they are if anything too attached to me. Letting strangers pet them has caused no conflict of interest from the dogs' point of view. They know who is master of the food barrels.


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## volcano (Jan 14, 2013)

I specifically asked for a dog who loved all people, from a litter of Czech lines. I got what I wanted. Funny thing is I walked her in home depot last week, and got approached by a saleslady trying to sell me an air conditioner. Apache barked that lady away after I told her no. Shes never done that before but I guess shes maturing.


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## Athena'sMom (Jan 9, 2014)

I am usually 100% okay with kids petting my shepherds if they ASK first. All the kids in my neighborhood know Athena and Sinister. But last night I had a 13 year old girl just walk into my yard with and screamed, oh I love your dogs. Scared the crap out of me I jumped out of shock and Sinister went on alert and barked at the girl. It is never okay with me when someone does not respect me or my dogs. Sinister is a 80lb 7 1/2 month old. he is still young and is still in training. I regret now letting all the kids get comfortable with my dogs because there are those kids who do not respect boundaries. It is a give and take. My dogs love people whom are welcomed in our home or are invited to pet on a walk. But kids especially do not know how to properly approach dogs.


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## Nikitta (Nov 10, 2011)

Maybe she just knew the air conditioner lady was selling a crappy air conditioner. LOL Most people don't approach my dogs to pet them but Xerxes loves children and had a blast at the nursing home when I took him.


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## Longfisher (Feb 28, 2013)

*Malleability*

The remarkable thing about GSDs is that they're so malleable and can be trained to be as social with humans as you like them to be.

For me, my dog was intended to protect my tiny, Chinese-American wife as we've had some problems with racists here in Texas. So, we didn't socialize him at all until her was older.

True to form, the puppy and then adolescent dog (He's now 18 months plus) plainly didn't like people for the first year. He was suspicious and reactive. And, that's just how we wanted him to be.

Over time, we trained him to not react on his own by having him sit, lay down and stepping on the leash and repeating the world "easy". Over time he came to know that meant that I believed the person didn't represent a threat.

But at the same time we taught him commands to alert and to bark and we tried to teach him to show his teeth (no luck, really). Now, he knows he needs to take our lead about people before he reacts.

Just the way we want him.

LF


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