Comments on walks, parks, etc-pet peeves

[GoofyNewfie]

Okay, dish 'em out!

I've definitely got a few

1. Nasty looks when it seems I didn't clean up after poop when I couldn't. This was especially bad when Diesel had diarrhea for 4 days--you know those poops that you could only get rid of with a hose? Unfortunately, I don't have a 4 km hose that I drag around on walks.

2. On the subject of poop, this has only happened a few times, but false accusations of poop--when it's another dogs and you take the blame for it.

3. "He's gonna be SOOO big!"

I've mentioned this one before: I get this at least once a day. At least. And the worst, is that most times, it doesn't sound like an exclamation, it sounds like a statement designed to inform. No s**t he's gonna be big, sherlock!

4. Unwarranted advice. I don't need it, or ask for it. You know those wonderful statements that start with "you should..." that usually come out of the blue? I'm good, I'm connected, if I need help I go on this website called "big paws only" where I can start threads if I've got concerns.  (thank goodness for all of you, by the way!)

5. Unwarranted BAD advice  This is my favorite one, once again from a stranger that stopped me in the street: "You know, don't let your dog die too early, feed him good. You should be giving him eggs, bread and bacon ev-ery-daaayy. Hmm-hmm!" (Goes with knowing look + nodding)

6. Random criticism, usually goes with or is a disguise for a #5 offense. "Your dog is skinny, how come he doesn't swim yet, you're too hard on him" (usually said by people who exclaim on what a well behaved dog he is).

7. Over-excited small voices that exclaim and fuss over my dog about how darn cute he is while staring at him and tapping their knees, then get freaked out because he wants to jump up on them... but THEN tell you it's okay when you try to correct him. Um, I think I can be the judge of what's "okay", thank you!

Lol, I needed this vent

[Berner_Mom]

My peeves are as follows:

1. "OMG he's going to be sooooo big!"

2. Criticsm on my puppy's behavior. This doesn't happen much anymore since Tucker is bigger now, but when he was still little and a fluff ball, people would tower over him, "OMG what a cute puppy! What a cute puppy! Aren't you a cute puppy! Whose a cute puppy!" and accoste him from all angles, and then get mad that he jumped up at them, super excited, licking and nipping as 3 month old puppies do, and then they'd say "Well, he's certainly not very well behaved. You should put him in obedience school, he has terrible manners and that's dangerous."

Of course he's not well behaved, he's three months old! We've had him a week! He's a puppy!!

Oh, I also got the comments indirectly, people would talk to Tucker and say stuff like "you are so excited, so jumpy and full of energy- obviously your mom isn't walking you enough! You need to tell her she needs to walk you at least twice a day!!"

And I'd reply with "excuse me, but he gets walked a minimum of 4 times a day, plus play time in the backyard. I think his excersice is just fine." and then they'd say (to Tucker) "Ooooh, you are getting walked way too much! No wonder you are so skinny! Are they feeding you enough? I don' t think so!"

AAAAAAAAH!

And one of my favorites was when I was walking Tucker down our street, he was heeling perfectly, loose leash and all, and this guy standing on his porch having a smoke, whistled at Tucker, who broke his perfectly heeling/loose leash walking to drag me up the lawn to this guys porch, at which the guy said "oh ho ho...I think you've got your hands full. Whose walking who? You better get him in obedience school!"

and I said "no, I just better not walk him down streets where morons live anymore." and got Tucker the heck away!

Some people.

[Newly Newfed]

I love the people who feel the need to inform me of how big Sierra is going to be too.

Typical scenario:
Moron:  What kind of dog is that?
Me:  A Newfoundland
Moron: Oh!  You know how big they get right?  Are you sure you want a dog that big?
Me: Yes, I'm well aware of how big they get.  The size is one of the main reasons I chose her and yes, I'm quite sure I want a dog that big.  But thanks for your concern *insert sarcasm* 

And when she was a puppy - "She's awful small for a Newf".  My response started to be to explain politely and then I got sick of being polite and I started responding "Well of course she's small, she's still a puppy.  She still has growing to do.  You weren't born full grown either."
When I still get the comment, I usually give the web address to the AKC or Newfoundland Club of America and tell them to read the breed standard because she is actually slightly taller than the average height for a female.

Then her drooling. 
Me: Be careful, she drools, here is a towel.  (I always carry one)
Moron:  Oh It's ok, I don't mind.
Then a second later...
Moron:  Eww, she slobbered on me!  How disgusting!  How do you live with that?
Hey, I offered the towel...

And my personal favorite:

Because she doesn't have her shaggy coat right now, everyone thinks she's an oversized Lab.
Moron:  What a beautiful Lab!
Me: Actually she's not a Lab, she's a Newfoundland.
Moron: I know a Lab when I see one, I've been breeding champion Labs for years.
Me:  I don't know what kind of Labs you are breeding, but if they look like my dog, then you are not breeding any Lab recognized by the AKC.  I know what kind of dog I have, and she's a Newfoundland.
Moron walks away shaking his head because apparently, I am stupid and crazy to be calling my "Lab" a Newf.

And this drives me nuts:  I was was walking Sierra through a dog park and some woman (with a little fluff ball type of dog) ran up to her child and yanked him away from me and Sierra.  We were a good 10 feet away.

Me: Excuse me maam, Is there a reason why you pulled your child away from my dog?
Crazy woman: Well look at the size of your dog!
Me:  but did she make any type of aggressive or threatening movement?  I'd like to know so I can stop that kind of behaviour.
Crazy Woman: No she didn't but she's huge and I'm just protecting my son.
Me:  Just because she's big doesn't mean she bites.
Crazy woman:  Well, small dogs don't bite!
Me: Is that why your dog is snarling at me and mine is wagging her tail?

I never used to be rude to people and defending my dog has really changed me!   

[Ursa]

You are all SO right!

I was kidding with a friend that I'm going to start charging a dollar for rescue every time someone says "That's gonna be a BIG dog".  Really?  You think? 

My personal favorite is the man who argued with us that Fargo is a St Bernard not a Newf cause Newfs don't come in black and white.  What?   

[lins_saving_grace]

stupid comments,  they are what they are.  the nod and uh huh are realy all they are worth.  any smart person would know by nodding and saying uh huh is a condensending response and a silent way of saying "shut the * * * * up, you moron!" 
seems we've all signed up for being targets of stupid comments the day we brought home our big pups. 
Having gotten an "aggressive" breed, i don't get too many comments or curious visitors.  People tend to see us and run or cross the street.  Maybe a rottie just screams "I don't want to hear your stupid opinion."  A rott isn't for the weak at heart, that's for sure.
But I am at the top of the list for being blamed for miscellaneous piles of poo that someone else left behind.   I think the mean little dogs around here have learned to immitate big dog poo in a mass conspiracy to make the neighborhood rottie look bad. 
Maybe next time you get a stupid comment, you should extend a poo bag (full of poo mind you) and say "Please drop your opinion in here with the rest of the BS.  I'm only going to throw it away anyway."

[ZooCrew]

LOLOL......... .these are all great.  Let me contribute.

When we still lived in Ca, we used to walk on the sidewalks above the beach every day.  Really nice area, I liked walking there.  When Gunther was still a pretty young pup, probably about 4 or 5 months old, he stopped for a pee.

When he was done, we started to walk away.  An elderly couple stopped me and the lady asked if I needed a bag.  I was like, "no, he only peed, he didn't poop".  She said, "yes he did, I saw him".  I replied, "you're happy to go over and check where he was, you won't find any poo. And beside, I carry my own bags, thank you very much."  And I walked off to her open mouthed disgust.  I think her husband was a bit embarrassed... ......lol.

I don't get the "do you know how big they will get" comment but pretty much every day, if someone says something, they will say, "got a saddle for that horse?".  I am really sick of the saddle comments.  If I take him to an event, I am pretty much guaranteed to hear it at least a dozen times.

Recently at the dog park, I had a guy solicit me for Nigel's services...... ...lol.  he wanted him to breed with his female rattie.  I was like...ummmm.. ...no thank you.

I also had a lady get freaked out at me once.  She had 2 pugs she brought in, and my guys all went over to say hello.  All was fine and dandy.  One of her dogs was of great interest to Nigel and he started to mount her.  I went over to get him and the lady said, "oh that's alright, they're all fixed right?"

To which I replied, "the 2 bigger ones are, but the 2 smaller ones are not"

She then flipped her lid.  "do you know how unhealthy that is for them?"

I said, "they are show dogs, I cannot show them if they are fixed"

I don't think she heard me (or maybe she didn't care) b/c she then said, "there is so much overpopulation in the world.  I work in rescue so I see it all the time."

i was just like, whatever lady and walked off.  had to keep Nigel on leash until she left though.  Made me wonder if her dog was fixed.  Sheesh, just b/c I have 2 intact dogs doesn't mean I plan on breeding them.

But I've heard it all, from people who dislike large dogs, to people who dislike small dogs.  And lots of people who are just plain ignorant.  

[ZooCrew]

Which also reminds me..........

I love it when people pull their small dogs away from Guntehr replying...... ."oh that dog will eat you".  And Nigel and Posey are standing right there.

Helloooooo.... .....I have 2 small dogs.  If he really wanted to eat small dogs, I would be down to 2 a long time ago........... lol.

[Binky]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who gets these comments.  My new fave is about Sophie...
"What kind of dog is that- a Shepard/Mastiff mix?"
"No, she's a Leonberger."
Look of disbeleif "REALLY?  I have never heard of that and I know all the dogs breeds..."
"You're right, I actually made that up on spot to trick you."
Or about Binky- she's not a purebred Pyr b/c she's too small, she must be part Border Collie!  Several people have said this to me.  So irritating-please don't tell me what kind of dog I have!
I have to say that I don't mind the "that dog will eat you comments." I actually say it to Chicklet all the time about our dogs and others!  I say it more as an "insult" to her b/c she is annoying about yapping at dogs, than as an insult to the big dog.

[Viking Lady]

I guess I don't really have a pet peeve about dog parks or walks. But there is something that drives me nuts. There are several people in my family who have made the statement when seeing another Pyr (live or in a picture)"Wow look how white that one is!" Grrrrrr.... I always have a dirty dog!

[jesday]

I guess I don't really have a pet peeve about dog parks or walks. But there is something that drives me nuts. There are several people in my family who have made the statement when seeing another Pyr (live or in a picture)"Wow look how white that one is!" Grrrrrr.... I always have a dirty dog!

Awww, Luki's not a dirty dog! He is quite handsome.

Ask Greta.

[jesday]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who gets these comments.  My new fave is about Sophie...
"What kind of dog is that- a Shepard/Mastiff mix?"
"No, she's a Leonberger."
Look of disbeleif "REALLY?  I have never heard of that and I know all the dogs breeds..."
"You're right, I actually made that up on spot to trick you."
Or about Binky- she's not a purebred Pyr b/c she's too small, she must be part Border Collie!  Several people have said this to me.  So irritating-please don't tell me what kind of dog I have!
I have to say that I don't mind the "that dog will eat you comments." I actually say it to Chicklet all the time about our dogs and others!  I say it more as an "insult" to her b/c she is annoying about yapping at dogs, than as an insult to the big dog.

I don't get too irritated when people don't know what kind of dogs I have. I'm a bit surprised how many have never heard of a Newfoundland. It was quite amusing one time however, when a self professed dog groomer came up to me to tell me what beautiful Bermese Mountain dogs I had.

[Teamshredit]

"People tend to see us and run or cross the street."

Hahaha! I can relate...a few times I've been nervously asked, "That's a BIG dog, will he bite me?"
And I usually respond with, "If I have no reason to be afraid of you, then you have no reason to be afraid of him." One guy kept his distance after I said that(guilty conscience maybe?)
 
I don't live in the best neighborhood so I don't mind one bit. 

[lins_saving_grace]

"People tend to see us and run or cross the street."

Hahaha! I can relate...a few times I've been nervously asked, "That's a BIG dog, will he bite me?"
And I usually respond with, "If I have no reason to be afraid of you, then you have no reason to be afraid of him." One guy kept his distance after I said that(guilty conscience maybe?)
 
I don't live in the best neighborhood so I don't mind one bit. 

I've played with people like that too.  People with little dogs who hurry by me and Grace mummble things like "don't get too close, you're just a biscuit to him."  usually get a smart remark back from me (not only for calling Grace a him, but for being rude like that).  I shoot back with "no, she already ate the poodle down the road." or "she only likes sweet biscuits."

[Teamshredit]

"People tend to see us and run or cross the street."

Hahaha! I can relate...a few times I've been nervously asked, "That's a BIG dog, will he bite me?"
And I usually respond with, "If I have no reason to be afraid of you, then you have no reason to be afraid of him." One guy kept his distance after I said that(guilty conscience maybe?)
 
I don't live in the best neighborhood so I don't mind one bit. 

I've played with people like that too.  People with little dogs who hurry by me and Grace mummble things like "don't get too close, you're just a biscuit to him."  usually get a smart remark back from me (not only for calling Grace a him, but for being rude like that).  I shoot back with "no, she already ate the poodle down the road." or "she only likes sweet biscuits."

Don't you love it when they scoop them up in a panic?

[lins_saving_grace]

that is the best part.  it always works out pretty good since Grace usually has something hanging out of her mouth.  she picks up so much stuff on walks that whatever's in there looks like it could be a mangled poodle.