# Unwanted or needed dog training advice



## glowingtoadfly (Feb 28, 2014)

Please put your stories of times you were struggling with your dog and were given advice by a well meaning stranger who enraged you here.


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## Pax8 (Apr 8, 2014)

When Kaiju was 3 months old and we were working on leash manners. Pretty good, but he pulled occasionally: "Have you heard of a prong collar? That's what you're supposed to train German Shepherds with so they don't get aggressive."

When working on Kaiju's puppy mouthing: "Every time he bites you, you should grab his tongue and not let go until he cries." Also: "Press his tongue against his teeth until it bleeds a little bit."

When working on Kaiju's urge to chew the leash: "You should just pick him up off the ground by the leash every time he bites it."

After Kaiju was neutered and had to wear the cone of shame: "I can't believe you're going to make him wear that horrible thing. I've heard cayenne pepper can make them stop chewing things. Maybe you should just rub some on him to discourage the chewing." (On his STITCHES?!)

While working on Kaiju's excitement/barkiness towards other dogs on leash: "You should spray him in the face with a 50/50 mix of water and apple cider vinegar so he knows you mean business."

When I was working with my DA/PA dog Atlas on remaining calm in the presence of his triggers: "There's really no hope for him. If you want to feel better, you should just put him to sleep."

When I was actively walking away from a woman and her child at the park with Atlas: "You need to let people pet him so he can get better! How is he going to get better if you don't let anyone touch him?" (She was trying to get me to let her child pet my dog with a BITE HISTORY which I clearly told her about. Apparently the muzzle makes it okay?)

Also about Atlas: "You need to be more of a leader to him. If all you do is give him treats, you're never going to get anywhere with him. If you hold him down when there are people around, he'll know you're in control."

They irritated me because they made the assumption that I knew nothing or based their theories off of untrue stereotypes of different training methods. Or their suggestions were just bonkers. The conversations would have gone much more smoothly if they had started out with maybe "What have you done so far?"


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## ZoeD1217 (Feb 7, 2014)

Well I had my kids 8 yr old friend tell me he could train our puppy for me if I'd like last night  





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## glowingtoadfly (Feb 28, 2014)

LOL I give him ten minutes. Zoe sounds like a punk!


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## glowingtoadfly (Feb 28, 2014)

Pax, I have been there. A random woman with a dopey lab just told me to watch the dog whisperer when Grim was reacting. During a reaction. With the crazy disciple eyes. I cried.


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## ZoeD1217 (Feb 7, 2014)

glowingtoadfly said:


> LOL I give him ten minutes. Zoe sounds like a punk!


We don't get tons of visitors so she has terrible greeting skills. She jumps. So anyway I have her on the leash for the initial greeting and I'm having to hold her back while she jumps... And he's telling me his dog jumps too and he just puts his knee up *he's demonstrating* and all I can think is Zoe must be bigger than his dog bc his knee would surely fall in the dip well under her chest and she'd have her big arse feet all over his little face! I told him maybe another time. Ha! 

The jumping is definitely something we need to work on with little visitors. 

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## simba405 (Mar 14, 2013)

ZoeD1217 said:


> We don't get tons of visitors so she has terrible greeting skills. She jumps. So anyway I have her on the leash for the initial greeting and I'm having to hold her back while she jumps... And he's telling me his dog jumps too and he just puts his knee up *he's demonstrating* and all I can think is Zoe must be bigger than his dog bc his knee would surely fall in the dip well under her chest and she'd have her big arse feet all over his little face! I told him maybe another time. Ha!
> 
> The jumping is definitely something we need to work on with little visitors.
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


Why would that enrage you? He's offering you advice on something that you don't know how to fix. You should try it. It works. Makes jumping up uncomfortable. Why would a dog do something uncomfortable?


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## ZoeD1217 (Feb 7, 2014)

simba405 said:


> Why would that enrage you? He's offering you advice on something that you don't know how to fix. You should try it. It works. Makes jumping up uncomfortable. Why would a dog do something uncomfortable?


I was kidding....I apologize if that went over your head

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## simba405 (Mar 14, 2013)

Sure didn't sound like you were kidding. Sounds like a real problem you have. Maybe I'm mistaken?


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## ZoeD1217 (Feb 7, 2014)

simba405 said:


> Sure didn't sound like you were kidding. Sounds like a real problem you have. Maybe I'm mistaken?


It is a real problem. I'm kidding in that I'm not actually enraged...
The knee up isn't new advice. It may work if an adult is doing it. It won't help a child if she's jumping though. 
I'm not blind to the fact we have a problem. I was simply making conversation on this thread. Carry on. 

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## glowingtoadfly (Feb 28, 2014)

People don't have to be enraged to post on this thread. I was just blowing off some steam.


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## glowingtoadfly (Feb 28, 2014)

Skadi and Grim do a lot of excited jumping. Skadi has learned not to make contact so she will jump in the air and lick your face without touching. Ninja brat!


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## Pax8 (Apr 8, 2014)

glowingtoadfly said:


> Skadi and Grim do a lot of excited jumping. Skadi has learned not to make contact so she will jump in the air and lick your face without touching. Ninja brat!


Haha, Kaiju will stand upright on his back legs and just sort of hang out there until you pet him. It's kind of awkward to have a 60 pound dog stand up like a human and start staring intensely at you.


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## glowingtoadfly (Feb 28, 2014)

I wish people did not feel that dogs were in the public domain by default.


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## Rocket (May 3, 2014)

I had an ex-girlfriend tell me that GSD's were known to turn on their owners and attack.. she went on to tell me that chief was not well trained (true, he's trained just not as well as I would like), when I called her out on her dog that's a little terrorist she said, "a 9lbs dog that isn't trained isn't big enough to cause problems"..... that dog runs away all the time, and tries to start fights at the dog park and she thinks it's everyone else's dog that's the problem....... and she wondered why I didn't like to go to the dog park with her... and even funnier she wondered why I left her.. haha.


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## lalachka (Aug 13, 2013)

I have lots of solicited dumb advice but here's one unsolicited 

My dog has really bad SA outside. Like if my daughter and I are both out together and one of us walks away or comes back from walking away he will scream really loud. 

So I come out of the post office and he screams. Some lady comes up

-why is he crying
-has problems when I walk away
-ohh. Nice dog (looks him over and notices the prong). That's a bad collar. He's screaming because he's in pain
-no, he's not. He always does this when we separate
-yeah, that's a bad collar. He's in pain
-no, he's not, otherwise he'd be screaming non stop from the time I put it on and until I take it off
-he's in pain
-thanks for sharing

And I walked away. My daughter thought I was rude because the lady was older. I'm very respectful towards everyone, especially elders. But if someone doesn't want to hear me and insists on judging - then I feel I can be rude. 


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## lalachka (Aug 13, 2013)

glowingtoadfly said:


> Pax, I have been there. A random woman with a dopey lab just told me to watch the dog whisperer when Grim was reacting. During a reaction. With the crazy disciple eyes. I cried.



It's amazing that people suggest a tv show to learn dog training. 


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## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

a few years ago I was sitting in the vet's waiting room with Masi..Masi is not a fan of my vet by any means, but she minds her own business and has no issues in the waiting room.

I was alone, this woman came out of a room , paying her bill, turned around and said 'pretty gsd",,I said "thank you"..she asked if she could pet her..I said "thanks but no, she's not a big fan of the vet, and I'd like to keep her stress free as possible".

The woman decided I needed a lecture on 'how to socialize/train german shepherds"..The techs behind the counter were rolling their eyes and shaking their heads..

I finally said, "do you have a degree in dog training?"..she replied "well no but I have had dogs"...BIG FREAKIN DEAL lady..(I didnt say that ...I DID say, "well when you get a degree in dog training and have some titles, like maybe obedience on your dogs, let me know"...by then I was moving into an exam room...

I don't throw out unsolicited advice unless I'm asked, or it's warranted, as in, if some mangy mutt is trying to attack mine


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## Gwenhwyfair (Jul 27, 2010)

Therein lies the problem. A topic that has gotten me wrangled up in many a long discussion on this site.

I'm thinking of getting a t shirt that states "Get your own dog". 






glowingtoadfly said:


> I wish people did not feel that dogs were in the public domain by default.


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## Thewretched (Jan 1, 2014)

But why not? They have a friendly lab at home, all dogs are friendly right? They can pet any one they want! Just like their dog charging yours is "friendly"


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## Gwenhwyfair (Jul 27, 2010)

Stop it you trouble maker... 





Thewretched said:


> But why not? They have a friendly lab at home, all dogs are friendly right? They can pet any one they want! Just like their dog charging yours is "friendly"
> 
> 
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## middleofnowhere (Dec 20, 2000)

My 4 + yo really barks at horses. (Including mine - she barks at the fence, and the horse comes up so she'll bark more -- they have a thing going on.) I was down at the fairgrounds, we'd finished a track and a fellow driving two horses was waiting to come in. 

I put her in a sit & she was barking at his horses - quitting intermittently when I told her to quit but not maintaining "quit" 

He snottily said that he trained dogs too. I wanted to say "And I suppose you do marriage and family counciling as well?" or really what I wanted to say was something about him and the horse he rode in on.... Instead, I just let it go.


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

I was at a Chili Cook-off when Hondo was about two or so. It was close to the house and I was there specifically for him. We were sitting under a tree in the evening. He was fully into his ignore mode when a man walked up. 

Man: How old is he?
Me: Two
Man: Does he still have his nuts. 
Me: All two of them. 
Man: You realize that you have to bred him at least twice a year or he'll become aggressive and will bite. 
Me: Really. 
Man: I'm serious. I have two females at home. I won't charge you much to come by and use them. 
Me: I appreciate the offer, but I'll pass. 
The man walked away. 

Hondo: Wait! Let me go! Let me go! (Ok, I made that part up.)


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

Pax8 said:


> When Kaiju was 3 months old and we were working on leash manners. Pretty good, but he pulled occasionally: "Have you heard of a prong collar? That's what you're supposed to train German Shepherds with so they don't get aggressive."
> 
> When working on Kaiju's puppy mouthing: "Every time he bites you, you should grab his tongue and not let go until he cries." Also: "Press his tongue against his teeth until it bleeds a little bit."
> 
> ...


OMG, where do you live that you meet so many critics? In all my life I have never had that many comments. And that's not because I haven't had my struggles with dogs...
In the past, when walking my Italian Greyhound,someone asked me, "Are you feeding that dog?" I asked him if he was interested in the answer and he walked away.


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## Pax8 (Apr 8, 2014)

wolfy dog said:


> OMG, where do you live that you meet so many critics? In all my life I have never had that many comments. And that's not because I haven't had my struggles with dogs...


Lol, Dallas, where it seems like everyone thinks they know more than the plebeian masses.


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## Ellimaybel (Mar 16, 2014)

Conversation between my mother and me.

Me: I've been hearing great things about coconut oil. After doing research for 2 days, asking multiple pet owners, and my vet, I've decided to start feeding Gunther coconut oil.
Mom: That sounds risky, why would you do that?
Me: It helps with his coat and also has health benefits. "Listing health benefits"
Mom: I don't know, you should ask your vet.
Me: I did mom, that was part of the research I told you I did.
Mom: Well you should ask your uncle, he's had police dogs his whole life.
Me: What does having police dogs have to do with anything?
Mom: They are large dogs like Gunther.
Me: Well like I said, I've done a lot of research. I know what I'm doing.
Mom: Well I still think you should ask a vet and your uncle.

This is how every conversation with my mother goes about my dog. My uncle is my go to guy on dog stuff though.


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## glowingtoadfly (Feb 28, 2014)

These are making me feel better!


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## megansha (Feb 20, 2014)

I had Pearl with me at a restaurant patio. A drunk girl came up and immediately got in her face and was all over her. I told the girl to stop, that Pearl needs to sit before being petted, and that she should have asked before petting a strange dog. "Oh she's just a puppy, give her a break!" Then went on to tell me that her collar was too tight, it wasn't, Pearl was pulling on the leash at that point to get away from the girl. I had paid my bill already, thankfully, and told the girl that her "advice" was not warranted nor correct, and left. Ugh so frustrating!


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## Steve Strom (Oct 26, 2013)

I don't let any of it bother me. The usual stuff about tugging makes them dominant. I rarely make them walk next to me, so their going to be dominant. Thanks Cesar. I usually will just agree with them.

The only one I can remember irritating me was a vet tech that was lecturing me and asking me dumb questions after I wouldn't let her take my dog in for a heartworm test. She asked me if I hunted with my German Shepherd? Turns out she was just trying to give me a speech on neutering him. I was a little less then polite to her.


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## Nikitta (Nov 10, 2011)

I hear you. I get all this advice because THEY used to own a GSD. GUESS WHAT??? I'm on my 6th and 7th GSD. I THINK I know the breed a little better then you who owned this GSD back when you were a kid.


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## lalachka (Aug 13, 2013)

Steve Strom said:


> I don't let any of it bother me. The usual stuff about tugging makes them dominant. I rarely make them walk next to me, so their going to be dominant. Thanks Cesar. I usually will just agree with them.
> 
> The only one I can remember irritating me was a vet tech that was lecturing me and asking me dumb questions after I wouldn't let her take my dog in for a heartworm test. She asked me if I hunted with my German Shepherd? Turns out she was just trying to give me a speech on neutering him. I was a little less then polite to her.



I didn't get the connection between HW and neutering lecture. Can you tell the story in full? I'm interested


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## scout172 (Sep 14, 2013)

middleofnowhere said:


> My 4 + yo really barks at horses. (Including mine - she barks at the fence, and the horse comes up so she'll bark more -- they have a thing going on.) I was down at the fairgrounds, we'd finished a track and a fellow driving two horses was waiting to come in.
> 
> I put her in a sit & she was barking at his horses - quitting intermittently when I told her to quit but not maintaining "quit"
> 
> He snottily said that he trained dogs too. I wanted to say "And I suppose you do marriage and family counciling as well?" or really what I wanted to say was something about him and the horse he rode in on.... Instead, I just let it go.



Hahah funny story


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## EileensZoe (Jun 16, 2014)

I was just recently informed that if Zoe's ears (she is 8.5 weeks old) don't go up by 16 weeks, I will need to have them DUCT TAPED.


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## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

I honestly don't even remember. :crazy:

I do remember being told on this forum that my GSD would not remain dog friendly and that as he got older he would be less tolerant of other dogs.

He's 5 years old and he is the perfect dog to introduce to other dogs. He loves all dogs of all shapes, sizes, colors and genders. He is EXTREMELY social, a lot more than me.


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## Liz&Anna (Oct 29, 2013)

When Anna was a puppy she was crazy reactive to other dogs and people barking to the point of screaming, lunging and snapping at them (I have completely changed her behavior and she has turned out to be quite perfect) - any way, I was shopping at petsmart and Anna was 9 weeks old, doing her thing (stupid annoying REALLY LOUD BARK AT EVERYTHING) and a petsmart trainer comes up to me and literally grabs her leash and walks away with her pulling her and yanking her, he tells me I should be avoiding people and dogs, that when I see another dog I need to turn around and walk the other way, he also informed me that I need to not use her name..... I was kind of angry, he has probably NEVER worked with a dog like her in his life, and I responded "please tell me how running from every dog and person I see is going to teach her to trust them??" We actually had an argument in the middle of the store. 


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## angierose (Apr 20, 2009)

Aside from the trainer who told me I needed to yank more on the choke chain with my super soft dog, I don't take offense to well-meaning advice. I have several times had people appear annoyed with me when I don't allow their children to manhandle either of my dogs...I thought a "No, thank you" seemed polite enough but apparently not.

When Kaylee was very very small, I did receive fun advice from some strangers. I was told by one fellow that I needed to feed her lots of sugar and bread so she'd grow up strong. Another lady told me that "when" I hit the dog, I should avoid the hips because they were sensitive. And several people have made sure that we know the age when GSDs turn on their owners. It seems to be around two years. Oh, and when training, I need to use a very deep gruff voice because these dogs don't respect women.


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## glowingtoadfly (Feb 28, 2014)

Liz & Anna, now I don't feel so bad for the reactivity issues we are working through now...


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## Liz&Anna (Oct 29, 2013)

glowingtoadfly said:


> Liz & Anna, now I don't feel so bad for the reactivity issues we are working through now...


How old is your dog? Don't feel bad at all, when I brought Anna home for like the first few weeks it was so bad I was considering returning her to the breeder....I have never in my life seen a puppy behave the way she did, and I'm no stranger when it comes to dog behavior and body language, I've been working with dogs for years now, I know the difference between fear, and dominance/aggression, now that she's older I feel like it was just her extremely high drive, misdirected. I never ever though it would be possible for her to have the life I planned, but it goes to show what hard work will do. She has basically zero reaction to any one or anything now and is possibly the smartest dog I know 


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## glowingtoadfly (Feb 28, 2014)

Grim is almost 1. We have had him since seven months old.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

glowingtoadfly said:


> I wish people did not feel that dogs were in the public domain by default.



I don't have an issue with unsolicited advice. People are just trying to help. Annoying? Yes. But I smile and move on.

It's those people that think they need to give my dogs commands that send me over the edge. 

Shut UP! Do I tell your kids to Sit and Down? Or to be good? NO! BTW...it's not my dog that is aggressive. It's Me.


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## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

Jax08 said:


> I don't have an issue with unsolicited advice. People are just trying to help. Annoying? Yes. But I smile and move on.
> 
> It's those people that think they need to give my dogs commands that send me over the edge.
> 
> Shut UP! Do I tell your kids to Sit and Down? Or to be good? NO! BTW...it's not my dog that is aggressive. It's Me.


:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

LOL!

"BTW...it's not my dog that is aggressive. It's Me."

Me too!


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## Liz&Anna (Oct 29, 2013)

glowingtoadfly said:


> Grim is almost 1. We have had him since seven months old.


He's young, you have plenty of time  


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## martemchik (Nov 23, 2010)

See if I give you anymore advice...


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

martemchik said:


> See if I give you anymore advice...


Give all the advice you want. Just do NOT say the word "Sit"!


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## martemchik (Nov 23, 2010)

Actually when it comes to OP's dog, I usually just walk up, take him out of his crate and walk away without letting my intentions be known. Last time I took him behind the barn and just beat him senseless until he listened. Hopefully this week he'll remember that lesson.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

martemchik said:


> Actually when it comes to OP's dog, I usually just walk up, take him out of his crate and walk away without letting my intentions be known. Last time I took him behind the barn and just beat him senseless until he listened. Hopefully this week he'll remember that lesson.



That's always the best plan!


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## Liz&Anna (Oct 29, 2013)

martemchik said:


> Actually when it comes to OP's dog, I usually just walk up, take him out of his crate and walk away without letting my intentions be known. Last time I took him behind the barn and just beat him senseless until he listened. Hopefully this week he'll remember that lesson.


OMFG !! Hahahahahahahahhaha


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## glowingtoadfly (Feb 28, 2014)

Next time, please take Skadi behind the barn instead. She's the sassy one.


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## martemchik (Nov 23, 2010)

She might bite back though, I don't really want to put myself in harms way. I pick on the weak.


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## glowingtoadfly (Feb 28, 2014)

Heeeeere we go...You beat my dog, then you call him weak? Them's fightin words Max. I don't think Rooney and Skadi can go on any more dates!


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## martemchik (Nov 23, 2010)

You setting up a dog fight? Poor decision on your part...


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## glowingtoadfly (Feb 28, 2014)

Skadi could take Toula. Rooney vs Grim wouldn't be a fair fight.


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## A girl and her dog (Jan 25, 2014)

Rocket said:


> I had an ex-girlfriend tell me that GSD's were known to turn on their owners and attack.. she went on to tell me that chief was not well trained (true, he's trained just not as well as I would like), when I called her out on her dog that's a little terrorist she said, "a 9lbs dog that isn't trained isn't big enough to cause problems"..... that dog runs away all the time, and tries to start fights at the dog park and she thinks it's everyone else's dog that's the problem....... and she wondered why I didn't like to go to the dog park with her... and even funnier she wondered why I left her.. haha.


Sounds like you dodged two bullets there! One human and one K9. I too have a 9lb little guy. I think it is absolutely ridiculous that some people think they don't need to train their little dogs b/c they're too small to cause any harm. Small dogs are even more important to train b/c of their high propensity to be aggressive, not realizing that the bigger dog can EAT them if they wanted to. They often give the wrong signals to larger dogs and start fights that way. 

I cannot stand a yippy, bratty little dog. I make it my mission to train my small dog just as I would (and do) train a large dog. The same rules apply, the same manners are warranted. No jumping on people, couch/chair/bed/laps only if invited and they must get down when asked, no barging the door and certainly NO going out of the door without explicit permission.... no excessive barking, no babying or coddling for being small, no special privileges for being small. I don't even like family members to favor or dote on my little dog too much... you get the idea.

An untrained small dog is a real danger to itself. That's really the bottom line.


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## A girl and her dog (Jan 25, 2014)

Here's my rant - not necessarily training advice problems, but dumb things people do.

I had an argument with a petco worker b/c I got in between her and my dog when she went to pet him. I had the two dogs in the cart (keeps them from having accidents, and allows for more control when I have to actually look at something) and she came up to us, not saying anything to me at all, and starts going for my dog. I was p!ssed!! But all I said was "whoa, hang on, you should ask first, I'm not sure how he'll react..." Well, she got seriously offended and gave me some back talk to which I defended my position. We went back and forth a couple of times before I just turned away. I still can't believe she actually argued this with me.

I don't like it when people come up and just go for the dog, not unlike a toddler with zero impulse control would do, without even asking or acknowledging my presence. This isn't the first time an employee at this location has done something stupid like this. My little dog almost bit two employees for doing basically the same thing; one was the trainer! She should have known better and no longer works there. What is it with these employees that makes them think they are all the dog whisperer and know everything? 

Other members of my household (I'm an adult, living with my mother and stepfather) cannot understand, even in plain English, what to do about the dogs jumping on them when they come in the door. Biggest impediment to our training! Next would be guests/family members that come in and start giving my dogs commands and yelling at them. If they would just shut up, I could get them under control. If anyone would even bother to tell me they were coming, I could handle the situation before hand. 

One thing that irks me is those who are living solely reactively and not proactively. Especially with pets.


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## martemchik (Nov 23, 2010)

Although I 100% agree with you that people need to ask before petting a dog…the fact is, when you bring your dog somewhere “special” where they are actually getting special treatment and being allowed into a place where they usually wouldn’t be…you’re kind of telling the world around you that your dog is safe and stable. If I see a dog at an outdoor patio restaurant, a pet store, or a busy street fair of some sort…my assumption is that the dog is safe in all situations.

I’ll admit, I rarely, if ever don’t get asked. I don’t remember if I’ve ever ran into someone that hasn’t asked. I know I’ve been to street fairs where people would walk by, my dog would stick his nose out a little towards them (picking up a smell) and they’d reach out and while walking by give him a pet on the head. The way I look at it, most people don’t know that they should ask. And bringing your dog to a place like that, is a borderline advertisement that you have a good dog and you want him around you and other people. I just think that’s how people see those situations.

What I have seen, is that if I’m actively training, and the dog is clearly engaged with me. People tend to watch and not interrupt until I’m either done or they get tired of waiting.


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## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

My step dad is a know-it-all, he knows everything, at least he thinks he does.

He knows more about being a girl than I do. He knows more about wearing high heels than I do. He knows more about having periods than I do.

Anyways, even though he has never owned a PB GSD or a Dalmatian, he knows more about both breeds than I do and he especially knows more about my dogs than I do. He always tells me his opinions on why they do this or that, he tells me what I should and shouldn't do with them and how I should and shouldn't train them.


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