# Dog park rant



## Melissa98409 (Jun 17, 2013)

I adopted Jericho when he was 3 months old and he was emaciated, sick and a total mess (I've told his story before). We've worked hard to get him to where he is now. He's 13 months old, 70 pounds, and 28 inches tall. He's totally normal and healthy. 

There was a woman with a GSD at the dog park this weekend who is the same age as Jericho, but was a show line GSD (as far as I could tell) who is clearly more familiar with the couch than the dog park or any other form of exercise. What she said about Jericho just worked my last nerve. 

This woman had the nerve to say that Jericho looked like he was unhealthy and needed to put on some weight and whispered to her friend that he must be sick. Now, I am a classy person, and instead of saying "Oh ya, well at least my dog isn't huffing and puffing while he's running circles around your fatty, fatty, 2x4 dog". I took the opportunity to say that GSD's, like people, come in all shapes and sizes and each one has their own body type. Jericho is health and active. Just like a normal 13 month old should be. 

Oh and...my GSD is prettier than your GSD. ha ha ha, just kidding. I didn't say that. They are all beautiful in my eyes. But errr! People kill me.


----------



## scarfish (Apr 9, 2013)

ignorant people are annoying. last time at the vet's office some ignorant lady with a cat in the waiting room looked at our year old female that's on the small side at 60lbs said, "oh my god, your dog is so skinny". it was kinda rude the way she said it. she's a working line and not very tall. while seeing the vet, he said for her size, she's a lot more of a healthy weight than the average dog he sees. we wanted to let the lady know what he said while we were on our way out but she wasn't in the waiting room anymore.

julie our OMG so skinny dog is on the left.


----------



## Gretchen (Jan 20, 2011)

I would be angry too, and I know I shouldn't let it bother me, but I'm still working on that. I used to feel like I had to respond to people when they made comments like that, but now I don't say anything and it freaks them out, they are expecting a response. People have been rude for thousands of years and it appears this won't be changing any time soon.


----------



## SuperG (May 11, 2013)

*"fatty, fatty, 2x4 dog"


*Okay...that brought me back a few years and made me laugh....thanks.

I'd be a liar to say that dog snobs don't get my dander up at times as well.....

I do know how I communicate with other people with dogs and I am much the same as you...they're all good looking and worthy ( mostly )....it's just some owners are really hung up on themselves about their dogs....they somewhat convince themselves they are "better" because of the aesthetics or conformation of their dog....and are quick to critique other dogs even in earshot of the owners.....anyway...ego can get the better of all of us....one way or another at times.

I certainly do appreciate and enjoy seeing a wonderful specimen of most all breeds, they are beautiful creatures. However, I have found a well trained dog to be more worthy than a "show dog" exemplifying the breed standard....of course a dog having both qualities is crazy nice. this is all my personal preference. The owners of well trained obedient dogs seem to have a different air about them....or so it seems per my conversations with them over the years at the dog park....not so quick to do the, on the spot critic about your dog's appearance in a negative fashion..etc.

Anyway, people are people ..and we are used to all types....but dogs are great and even though there some less than desirable ones out there....there is a higher percentage of good dogs than good humans. So, in one ear and out the other when it comes to "dog snobs"....tis what your dog does.

SuperG


----------



## Melissa98409 (Jun 17, 2013)

scarfish said:


> ignorant people are annoying. last time at the vet's office some ignorant lady with a cat in the waiting room looked at our year old female that's on the small side at 60lbs said, "oh my god, your dog is so skinny". it was kinda rude the way she said it. she's a working line and not very tall. while seeing the vet, he said for her size, she's a lot more of a healthy weight than the average dog he sees. we wanted to let the lady know what he said while we were on our way out but she wasn't in the waiting room anymore.
> 
> julie our OMG so skinny dog is on the left.


No kidding! I would have asked the doc for that in writing so I could hand it to the know it all in the lobby. LOL 
Your Julie looks just like Jericho (body wise). I understand that the WL GSD's are not as common, or people don't have their image in their heads when they think of a GSD, but still...ask questions...knowledge is power. LOL


----------



## Melissa98409 (Jun 17, 2013)

SuperG said:


> *"fatty, fatty, 2x4 dog"
> 
> 
> *Okay...that brought me back a few years and made me laugh....thanks.
> ...


 Dog snob....yes...that's a perfect description.


----------



## K9POPPY (Mar 6, 2014)

There are a lot of fools in this world- let that roll away- you know your dog, and your dog is probably far better off than hers in many ways. Just love your dog and you'll be a happy person. Bob


----------



## nezzz (Jan 20, 2013)

Melissa98409 said:


> I adopted Jericho when he was 3 months old and he was emaciated, sick and a total mess (I've told his story before). We've worked hard to get him to where he is now. He's 13 months old, 70 pounds, and 28 inches tall. He's totally normal and healthy.
> 
> There was a woman with a GSD at the dog park this weekend who is the same age as Jericho, but was a show line GSD (as far as I could tell) who is clearly more familiar with the couch than the dog park or any other form of exercise. What she said about Jericho just worked my last nerve.
> 
> ...


Is your dog a sable? As far as I know the white undercoat of the dog can accentuate the contours of the dog and with working line dogs being so streamlined, you can sometimes see the shadows of ribs underneath and when people see ribs they think African kids and thin.

That said, I think she is just ignorant. But that whispering to a friend would really tick me off.


----------



## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

My male was to heavy for my liking and I put him on a diet, what a difference when he runs. If that owner could see the difference in their dog at a lower weight they would have a different opinion.


----------



## misslesleedavis1 (Dec 5, 2013)

I recently went to a dog park, it was an open area and you could walk thru the dog park to the forests, I did not have my dog lol but it was the closest entrance to the actual forest part from the direction we were in. I was almost taken out by what looked to ba a cane corso, she was wearing her uber sexy pink collar and she threw herself on her back and was the friendliest thing ever. Strolling uo behind her though was a great big mastiff mix? I say mix because he had the body of a mastiff and the head of a A bulldog, with his balls dragging behind him. I always thought to be in the park dogs must be fixed. 

Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

I usually get comments about how large my GSD is but a couple of times people have told me that he is really small for being a male and that they had GSDs larger than mine................. my GSD is over the breed standard at 28.5 inches at the shoulders, what the heck, you didn't have a GSD, you must have had a freaking pony! 

I once had someone argue with me that GSDs didn't come in all black and that my dog is a mix and that I should inform the AKC because they made a mistake letting me register him as a purebred. 

I have had comments that my GSD is skinny as well, he is 85 pounds and he looks perfect to me, he eats 4 cups of Wellness Core a day when the feeding guidelines say I really should be feeding 3-3.5 cups. The people that usually tell me this have fat dogs that do not get nearly enough exercise.


----------



## Shade (Feb 20, 2012)

Most dogs nowadays are obese, seeing a healthy trim dog sadly isn't common anymore


----------



## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

Shade said:


> Most dogs nowadays are obese, seeing a healthy trim dog sadly isn't common anymore


Exactly!

My friend has a Min Pin and a ACD mix, both dogs are overweight.

The Min Pin is probably 6 pounds overweight and that is a lot for a little dog. The ACD mix is probably 15 pounds overweight.


----------



## ana lucy hernandez (Mar 14, 2013)

LaRen616 said:


> I usually get comments about how large my GSD is but a couple of times people have told me that he is really small for being a male and that they had GSDs larger than mine................. my GSD is over the breed standard at 28.5 inches at the shoulders, what the heck, you didn't have a GSD, you must have had a freaking pony!
> 
> I once had someone argue with me that GSDs didn't come in all black and that my dog is a mix and that I should inform the AKC because they made a mistake letting me register him as a purebred.
> 
> I have had comments that my GSD is skinny as well, he is 85 pounds and he looks perfect to me, he eats 4 cups of Wellness Core a day when the feeding guidelines say I really should be feeding 3-3.5 cups. The people that usually tell me this have fat dogs that do not get nearly enough exercise.


My Wendy, who is 8 yrs. old weighs in between 88 - 90 lbs. She is huge for a girl, taller than the breed standard. But she is a German, GSD, not an American GSD. People can be so rude.


----------



## ana lucy hernandez (Mar 14, 2013)

*People can be so ignorant!!*

Maybe it's because Wendy is a "natural" super alpha, no one has ever said anything about her other than: He's big!! And I laugh and say, "Thanks! She knows it!" She did add pounds over the winter, but we're jogging more and she's down to her 88-89 pounds!!


----------



## Bridget (Apr 5, 2004)

Sounds like you handled the whole thing well. When Heidi was quite young, a lady at the dogpark said she looked "dysplastic." I didn't even know that was a word, but I was outraged. A few months later she was diagnosed with HD.


----------



## SuperG (May 11, 2013)

*"But she is a German, GSD, not an American GSD."*

AKC standards ..... The ideal height of a male dog is 63 cms/25 inches, while a female dog should be somewhat smaller: around 58 cm/23 inches. The acceptable deviation in either direction is 2.5 cm/1 inch.

German bred SV standards...general height parameters are as follows: Males are to be 60-65 cm (23.6 to 25.6 inches), while bitches are 55-60 cm (21.6 to 23.6 inches) in height. 

Both are essentially the same regardless of ASL or WGSL.

Let's just simply be honest about the GSD....The breed is so popular that it has become a victim of over breeding...the bastardization of the GSD breed is as bad as any dog...similar to Golden Retrievers, Labrador Retrievers, etc...We all see GSDs of numerous sizes, shapes,coats and colors...the "norm" is variance not conformity unlike other breeds which haven't had the crap bred out of them. When you go to the dog park and see a Rough coated Collie or an Irish setter, you know exactly what you are looking at...no guessing involved.

Personally, I am a devotee of GSDs because of what they offer between their ears not their looks and have accepted the fact that the breed's aesthetic characteristics are widely varied...and this is of no consequence to me..

SuperG


----------



## Gwenhwyfair (Jul 27, 2010)

Ugghhh...speaking of obese dogs.

I was out earlier this morning, hatch open on the SUV, sitting on the bumper with Ilda crated. I was waiting for a track to age a bit, enjoying the morning.

A lady with a lab pulls up right next to me, no problem, I love dogs and smiled at the sweet happy lab looking at me through the window.

The lady gives me a look as well, but didn't smile. She gets out of her car, doesn't say hi and I just let her be too. Then she gets her lab out, OMG he was SO fat. She has on a flexi and he's pulling right to me. She locks the flexi and he's now dragging her towards me. He gets within a foot or so of me (happy friendly fat lab) and I told the lady "Don't let him get to close". Now I didn't raise my voice but it may have sounded short because he was not under control and was getting really close, I just didn't want to interact with the lab at that moment or get close to Ilda at that moment. I like my space when I'm getting ready to work, sort of settle the mind and visualize what we are going to do.

Anyhoo the lady snaps back at me "I wasn't going to let him" (untrue he was pulling her so much she was having difficulty closing her car door).

So I said "O.K. but you're using a flexi.....and I didn't want him too close to my dog" to explain why my concern. She repeated that she wasn't going to let her dog do that, walked off and I didn't say another word. I just quietly sat. 

Then after walking about 15 - 20 paces she abruptly turns and starts walking towards our cars. I was wondering if she was going to get in argument with me over this? She just glares at me as she marches back up the slight incline, then turns to her car.

So I told her "M'am you don't have to leave I didn't mean anything bad, I'm not going to follow you or anything". Granted I wasn't using my friendliest tone of voice but I was not raising my voice or using a sarcastic tone either.

She snapped something back at me that I didn't understand and you know, at that point I just couldn't help myself and I said to her "And put your dog on a diet he is way too fat".

She jumped in her car and squealed her tires out of the parking lot. She was a middle aged lady, not much younger then me and squealing her tires out of a parking lot. :crazy:

I really don't ever want to make anyone feel bad, I really don't and I sort a feel bad I made the comment about her dog being too fat. 

I bet she's telling folks what a mean person I was too....but really that dog was SO fat I did feel sorry for it.


----------



## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

Gwenhwyfair said:


> I really don't ever want to make anyone feel bad, I really don't and I sort a feel bad I made the comment about her dog being too fat.
> 
> I bet she's telling folks what a mean person I was too....but really that dog was SO fat I did feel sorry for it.


I have told my friend a million times that her dogs are overweight and that carrying all of that weight will eventually take a toll on her dogs' health. She would ignore my warnings and would tell me "they are both rescues and I don't want to deny them treats, I want them to be spoiled and loved." Her Min Pin is between 11-13 years old and is about 6 pounds overweight and she has random moments where it sounds like she has trouble breathing, she told me it's due to her being older. Finally the Vet told my friend that both of her dogs are overweight and now she believes it! HOWEVER, they are both still fat because she refuses to do anything about it. 

She is one of the people that tells me that both of my dogs are skinny and that I should feed them more.

I think that people with fat dogs think that their dogs are healthy and that it's better to be on the heavier side than on the thin side.


----------



## Chip18 (Jan 11, 2014)

Well I had an interesting exchange at Petco the other week. My guy is a WL OS GSD. 125 lbs, and his food intake is closely monitored he is just big!

The Petco employee had a GSD growing up she said nice looking dog..what's he weight, I said 125lbs, she said really?? Why so small!!

She said she had a GSD and he was taller and weighted 150?? I said really I asked if she had pictures and she said yes. Dog certainly looked like a GSD, I said it must have been a King Shepherd? She said no he was a GSD.

I let it go but..a 150 lb GSD?? I was kinda stunned, never thought I would hear someone say my boy was small??


----------



## Pax8 (Apr 8, 2014)

Chip18 said:


> Well I had an interesting exchange at Petco the other week. My guy is a WL OS GSD. 125 lbs, and his food intake is closely monitored he is just big!
> 
> The Petco employee had a GSD growing up she said nice looking dog..what's he weight, I said 125lbs, she said really?? Why so small!!
> 
> ...


Yeah, I've found the general view seems to be that GSD's are supposed to be Dane sized. I still laugh when someone tries to guess the age of my 60 pound, almost year old pup. He's definitely young, but I have people guessing three and four months. When I tell them he's nearly a year, they freak out and go on about how he's still got a hundred pounds of growing to do. I would hope not!


----------



## Gwenhwyfair (Jul 27, 2010)

Maybe so. To me that seems so counter-intuitive though. 

Still, that's the first time I've ever said anything and I wouldn't have if the lady (who was pretty overweight herself btw) hadn't over reacted and been snippy with me.

Come to think of it and this is just purely my anecdotal observations a lot of times seems people who are obese also have obese dogs.....



LaRen616 said:


> I have told my friend a million times that her dogs are overweight and that carrying all of that weight will eventually take a toll on her dogs' health. She would ignore my warnings and would tell me "they are both rescues and I don't want to deny them treats, I want them to be spoiled and loved." Her Min Pin is between 11-13 years old and is about 6 pounds overweight and she has random moments where it sounds like she has trouble breathing, she told me it's due to her being older. Finally the Vet told my friend that both of her dogs are overweight and now she believes it! HOWEVER, they are both still fat because she refuses to do anything about it.
> 
> She is one of the people that tells me that both of my dogs are skinny and that I should feed them more.
> 
> I think that people with fat dogs think that their dogs are healthy and that it's better to be on the heavier side than on the thin side.


----------



## martemchik (Nov 23, 2010)

German dogs tend to be smaller than their American counterparts. German (show) dogs are many times within the standard height wise, but are bulkier/wider. American (show) dogs are taller and skinnier. I’ve yet to meet a WL female that’s bigger than 80 lbs…all the ones I train with are at most 70.

I know a lot of people that have trouble not feeding their pets. I’ve seen some really bad labs and they belong to a close friend of mine so I don’t say anything. They kind of know, but the mom is really bad when it comes to “puppy eyes” and keeps feeding the dog. I get really upset when I go there because the dog clearly has a problem even getting up to do something.

I've been at a dog park when a person told my 2.5 year old male (a while back) that one day he'll be as big as a GSD standing next to him. That dog was easily 32 inches at the withers and at 3 years old already struggling with HD. The lady that owned him knew that my dog was within standard and actually corrected the one that didn't know...but that lady purposely goes to a breeder that breeds those types of large dogs.


----------



## Chip18 (Jan 11, 2014)

Fat Labs and Pugs seem to show up the most frequently on TV shows I've noticed?


----------



## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

Gwenhwyfair said:


> Come to think of it and this is just purely my anecdotal observations a lot of times seems people who are obese also have obese dogs.....


LOL. I am overweight by 35 pounds but my dogs are thin and in shape.


----------



## sehrgutcsg (Feb 7, 2014)

The nerve of some people make me laugh.. I don't get mad. About 2 months ago I was walking Isabella, very young, I don't know the time frame born, 12-25-13. As, I walked around a blind corner was a girl with a dog totally out of control. She was on bended knee trying to control the dog, Bella, just looked on and was curious. Well the word's I spoke first were; "Would you like to cross the street, I will wait." I always' wait on small dogs, babies with Bella on sit command. She said something to the effect after I told her that her training was not working as the dog persisted to be unruling, she repied; Oh' you have a new dog so you don't know anything anyway.. I laughed and we went about our business..

If I was bothered by opinions, I would be frail, and nervous all the time..

"Go back to Europe lady !"


----------



## Gwenhwyfair (Jul 27, 2010)

LaRen616 said:


> LOL. I am overweight by 35 pounds but my dogs are thin and in shape.



I've never had a problem with weight in that I could drop 10 pounds in a blink of an eye if I cut back a bit on sweets and carbs. Now it's more of a struggle and I am doing more portion control then ever. So it's not easy, I understand.

Your dogs do look great too! One thing I do often is compliment people who have fit healthy dogs.


----------



## huntergreen (Jun 28, 2012)

i have two fit dogs and one pudgy dog. all treated the same, or so i thought, seems number 1 daughter has a favorite and loves to give extra treats. lol.


----------

