good dog/ignorant person

[Knucklesmom]

My 18 year old son was walking our 8 1/2 month old neutered male Rottweiler puppy yesterday morning. As he sometimes does, he let Knuckles off the leash for the last 1/2 block on the way home. Knuckles will stay by his side. He noticed a woman on the other side of the street watching him with 2 children with her. He put Knuckles back on his lead. Then she yelled, "You better keep that leash on him! If I ever see that dog off the leash, I'm calling the police!" She pushed the 2 kids back in the house. (They were waiting on the porch for the school bus to come.) My son didn't say a word, just came on home. Now, the ironic thing is, the two kids were her next door neighbor's kids, and they love Knuckles! (Mom and dad leave early for work, so the neighbor gets the kids on the bus.) Even their dad told me once that it was such a shame people think Rotties are bad, because they are such good dogs! My son said that ruined his whole day, just thinking about it. My advice to him was to keep working with Knuckles and make sure everyone gets to know him. He is his own best ambassador, and there are plenty of people who believe Rottweilers are naturally "mean" dogs, We live in a small town, and Knuckles has been to the local street dance and parades, so the police and everyone in town has seen him. Any ideas on how to get people (especially adults) to accept him? Kids seem to have no fear, and when we introduce him to people, we always have him sit and "say hello" (offer a paw) and even do his "Would you rather be a live cat or a dead dog" trick.

[Judi W]

One thing to do is keep him on leash when off his own property. People who are uncomfortable with dogs are much reassured when the see a responsible owner on one end of the leash. There is then no reason for a worried person to be yelling or the possibility of a dog taking off after a cat or rabbit or even to say hello to a favorite person.

[babydungeon]

i agree, keep your dog on lead to protect your dog not everyone else. it is a shame that rotts have a bad rep but i would agree with the crazy woman. i don't care what the breed, a responsible dog owner will keep their dog on a lead when not on their own property, that goes for unfenced areas of your property as well. i don't like it any more than you do but it's safer for you and your dog to keep him on lead. -kevin

[Knucklesmom]

Point taken: I never let him off lead, and now my son won't either (and I have told him not to before - he doesn't obey very well!Bad teenager, bad, bad!). Nevertheless, how are some ways to present this breed, or even this dog, in particular, that will put people at ease? I always have him heel, try to make a "show" of having him sit when someone passes - even on the other side of the street, have him do his little tricks. Honestly, people cross to the other side of the street to avoid passing US on the sidewalk! He isn't all THAT scary looking, (and neither am I)! I do shower! Knuckles has had a bath! He's the most laid-back dog, especially for a big pup, I have ever had! Knuckles is better behaved than the wild things out there on those extendible leashes. (Not to mention the "midnight bombers" who are running at night! ) But, are there any other tips out there to show that your dog is friendly?

[babydungeon]

you are already doing it. sitting him for people and training him is enough in my book. it's not my responsibility to make sure everyone knows he is a "good" dog. it will take time but people will realize soon enough. i got back from walking dungeon just a few minutes ago. on our walk a school bus stopped in front of us and kids got out. i kept walking toward them but about 15 feet away i put him at a sit-stay. nobody said anything to me but i'm sure the kids appreciated it and i know the bus driver saw me do this so now she knows that he's trained and not out to attack and lunge at people. you don't have to run to strangers and prove yourself and your dog, small actions will do. i mind my own business and people see that i clean up after him and eventually they will get the idea that the rottie that's being walked more than any other breed or dog for that matter is behaved, loved, and well taken care of. every once in a while somebody has come up to me and asked about him, because they have seen me walk him sooooo many times. it pays off in the end. keep doing what you're already doing and you'll see...-kevin

[KatMc]

It does sound like you are doing everything right, just keep on doing it and hopefully neighbors like that will feel foolish next time they mouth off.

But...."Would you rather be a live cat or a dead dog" I'd love to see!

Kathy

[ILoveRotts]

Unfortunately, no matter what you do you cannot change some people's minds.

We left next door 2 a crazy guy for 3 years. Never once did our dogs show any aggression or get into any kind of trouble. But he was never convinced that they were not vicious. Even though he had seen them playing with the neighborhood kids.

Just keep up the good work & ignore the idiots!

I agree though - keep you dog on a leash when walking. It does frustrate me however when I see tons of dogs walking off leash - but if I did that - the police would be there in a second. But who said life was fair!

[bliss7373]

I feel your pain....i don't even do off-leash obedience work in my neighborhood because several neighbors are convinced my (very well behaved) Sofi will eat them. Yet, it is perfectly ok for the neighbours' manic Labrador and Golden to run around off leash, ignore recalls, bark at my dog like idiots and generally do things that would get Sofi in a LOT of trouble......sigh. I had a neighbor call in a complaint to the police because she said my dog appeared vicious and was foaming at the mouth......we just came back from a jog...on leash, of course. The dog and I were BOTH drooling and panting at bit, but neither of us were foaming! Needless to say, the police officer thought it was all very funny.

On the other hand...if I see an off-leash dog, I'm not very happy either. I've seen a FEW exceptions, but not many. Unfortunately, there just aren't that many really well behaved dogs. At least not where I live!

[moondog]

While I agree there are far too many ridiculous people in the world, I have to excuse the ones who are very uncomfortable with unleashed dogs.

When I was a kid (can't remember how old exactly), my dad had a big male Weimaraner. He was a great family dog and other than his interest in cat chasing, there was nothing about him that you could pick on. He was tolerant of a house full of kids, well-behaved and in spite of his large size, very gentle. That is, until the day that he was let off his leash only one house away from ours to "have a little freedom" those last few yards on the way home from a walk with my older brother. Unfortunately, the neighbor across the street happened to walk out his door into his front yard with his little dog at the same time. Well, the little dog caught Toby's eye and he bolted for the dog like a bat out of hell. The man saw him charging, scooped his little dog up in his arms and without a moment's hesitation, Toby took a flying leap with his TEETH at the dog in the man's arms and tore that poor man's chest open, rupturing an artery (he recovered). I had been playing out in front of our house and saw the whole thing as it happened and it traumatized me, I'll tell you. I was pretty young and I can't remember what happened to the little dog, but I can still see the blood like it was yesterday. Scared me to death.

All that happened in the blink of an eye less than 30 feet from our front door. The only thing that could have prevented it was a leash, because once that dog took off there was no stopping him.

I will never complain about someone who complains because a dog is not on a leash, no matter how they say it. Sometimes the rudeness is an expression of fear and I, for one, can't tell them they have nothing to be afraid of. Maybe they do.

[poohbearsmom]

Wow. I guess that could leave a mental scar or seven.... :(

This is exactly why I try to remain "above reproach" with my dogs in public. As nice as they are, I have to be honest with myself. They are NOT 100% proofed with distractions, and there is always that "what if" in the back of my head. I could not live with
myself if an incident arose because of my irresponsibility.

One never knows what experiences someone else has had in life, so this is why I respect others feelings and rights, especially over my dog's "freedom". I've posted on this before, so no sense in getting redundant. If I want my dog off lead, it's in my fenced in backyard, the safety of my home, or on the training field. I do owe my fellow humans respect and peace of mind.

e

[Knucklesmom]

My beef wasn't about not having Knuckles on a leash! I talked to this woman Friday night as we were walking Knuckles. The short story is that "she knew someone who had "one of THOSE dogs who bit someone" - her problem is with the ENTIRE BREED, which is totally unfair. Now add to this the fact that there is is neighbor who lives across the street from her who has a Husky mix who is always running around in the unfenced front of their house and the neighbors on either side- NOT EVER on a leash or any kind of lead. Why does she not call the police about this dog? Does it not have the same potential to be "mean"? I know there are plenty of people who are prejudiced against the Rottweiler breed, but I at least expect a fairly intelligent person (she is a teacher) to be fair about ALL dogs! She even said that "You never know about those dogs - they can turn on you any time." I responded that Knuckles will never be "mean" - he doesn't have the temperment and he is one of the most loving animals I have ever had. This self-proclaimed expert really got on my nerves! (Did I mention my husband taught their girls how to get Knuckles to "sit" and do "down" on an earlier walk?)

I was given another Yorkie (4 1/2 lbs.) a few years back by a friend who just didn't have time for her. (The original owners bought her for an elderly woman, who wound up dying of cancer, so they gave her to my friend, who was her nurse.) I was going to give her to my mom, but she bit my mom the first time I took her over. In fact, she was full of anger. Once we got her socialized and loved her, she was the sweetest little dog you could hope to find. Whenever we took her anywhere, she got a lot of attention, especially from little kids. I never had any worry that she would bite anyone. It was more likely she would roll over on her back for a little belly rub!

I just don't believe that there is an underlying "mean" streak in all Rottweilers - or any breed, for that matter. I did a lot of reading to do away with my own uneasiness about having a Rottie in the house before I allowed my son to get Knuckles. No bad dogs, just ignorant people!

[Judi W]

It might be that she has exagerated fears about the breed. Seeing one that is out in the neighborhood without a leash is not going to make her feel more secure about it.

Whenever any of us get a little too confident about how good our dogs are and how well trained that we can ignore the leash law, as Carol Lea Benjamin said in one of her books "think squirrel":D