my Rose isn't even near as big as your sts, newfs, pyrs, etc and we still get remarks as well! the remarks i hear the most are about how much she eats and poops. i feel like asking if there's some sort of sensus going on that i don't know about that has to do with what goes in and out of a dog!
but what bugs me the most is when comments come from friends and family. before Rosie, i've always had smaller dogs. these dogs did the same things that Rosie does when company comes over - wag tails, get excited, a little bit of jumping (followed by 'no!' and 'sit!' usually putting an end to it), dancing about, wanting their attention. these same people never complained when the smaller dogs did it, but now that there's a bigger dog doing it, people act like its the worst thing ever. i hear about her slobber, her breath, her big paws (lol), her big wagging tail - you name it! i have one friend who refuses to come over unless i put the dogs out! and i have actually heard from two different family members that my dogs are 'running the house.' i couldn't believe hearing this! i would never be that rude to criticize another person about their pets OR how they're running their house. and this came from people i like too! so it really hurt! it made me feel so bad that i started to get pretty flenchy when people came over, holding Rosie back, hovering over her. it wasn't until my 75-YR-OLD grandmother was like 'honey, she's fine. don't worry about me! she just wants to be friends. let her go, i'll pet her head, then she'll forget about me and we'll all be fine.' after that, i felt like - TO HECK with people! if my old grandma can handle Rosie, then they certainly can too! funny thing too is, Rosie is far more trained than my smaller dogs ever were and so she actually listens when i call her down. i think people are just prejudiced when it comes to big dogs.
and you guys are absolutely right about size making people forget their manners and say whatever they want, because it actually used to happen to me as a parent! my son was a BIG ol baby, i mean just HUGE. his father is 6 ft 4, i'm 5 ft 8, and neither one of our families would be considered small people. so he was just a BIG kid! it didn't come from eating - in fact, he had a lot of problems keeping formula down and didn't eat as much as other smaller babies i have cared for. still, practically EVERYTIME we would go anywhere, i would hear from complete strangers, 'oo! what are you feedin that kid???" and just crazy stuff like 'look at them hamhock legs! i wana take a bite outta them hamhocks!" (
)(please don't eat my kid!) plus i couldn't count how many people would just ASSURE me that my son was goiing to be a linebacker! i HATED these comments, and it got so i almost hated taking him anywhere. today my son is 11 yrs old, 5ft 2, and weighs 135 lbs. except for a bit of a childhood belly left over, he's not fat at all, and most of that is just broad muscle. no, he never became a linebacker - instead he's an artist and a skateboarder. and do we hear any comments? no, but then again he has red spiked hair and wears punk clothes and combat boots. so maybe if you all just put your fur kids in spiked collars and chains, then nobody will bother you with anymore remarks!
