Judging based on dog breed/owners ‘vibe’

[JudgeyMcJudgeFace]

I met a woman on my morning run who had a Mali. I didn’t really think anything of it at first as when it was clear the dog was (a) still very young and (b) very friendly, I had no issue letting my dog say hi. But the woman was so thankful - she said no one ever lets him greet their dog (I assume because of his breed) and usually avoids him!

It got me thinking, there are definitely some breeds I do avoid (XL Bullies) and sometimes I do swerve other breeds - not because I have anything against the dog breed itself, but because the owner is clearly one of those (those people who enjoy having a vicious dog - and you can spot them a mile away).

So, I guess what I am asking is this; do you judge dogs based on their breed or do you avoid dogs based on their owners appearance/mannerisms/vibe. Or is it a combination of both?

Outside of XL Bullies and Cane Corso, I judge based off the ‘vibe’ from the owner - typically it does tend to be particular dog breeds that the people I avoid own, which tbh seems a shame, but I guess that’s why they ‘fail’ the vibe check? I’ve never been wrong when I have chosen to avoid a dog and owner - I guess my spidey sense is well honed.

Just curious as to if I’m BU to judge people (and their dogs) based off my gut and their vibe and if others do the same.

We have two entire Staff/bully crosses near us, and their owners are both, on the face of it, not the sort of people I’d want to cosy up to.

Its transpired that both dogs are both friendly and placid, and one in particular couldn’t be less interested in other dogs. And the other dog’s owner, despite looking a bit like someone you’d avoid. Is actually really nice.

If anything it’s made me realise that you really can’t judge a book by its cover.

Staffy owners have changed, probably as loads went into rescue. And the previous owners moved on to XL bullies.

You used to find they were owned by a bloke who thought he was hard, walked it once in a blue moon and left all the rest of the care to his girlfriend who hadn't wanted the dog and was scared of it.

It really annoys me that older, less mobile people chose young/certain breeds. I know of a similar situation with a red setter. They are begging for child free homes for old, retired greyhounds, or older dogs, there's no excuse.

I met a seemingly OK woman at dog training, but she was petite and brought her dog reactive Rhodesian Ridgeback. She had more at home.she didn't have a hope of hanging onto him. Yes, definitely thought she was an idiot. You can have any dog, why choose one that overpowers you?

Neck tattoos!!!

There are so many inaccuracies in this post.

If you aren't a strong personality and prepared to put in the work, don't get a big intelligent dog that needs discipline and both mental and physical exercise.

TBH it the same with horses. Too many sweet women who think a ton of horse is 'their baby' and are shocked when the horse bullies them.

So what you're saying is I shouldn't have my three working dogs because I'm a wheelchair user?

Some dogs I stay away from as my dog has had bad experiences with them when she was younger. I know which ones that are usually ok to say hello to, namely other spaniels and golden retrievers.

Some dogs I stay away from as the owners have them on extending leads and don't reel them in. The amount I've had to ask and sometimes then shout for them to shorten their leads! I've almost ended up in a river with one.

I stay away from other owners if they aren't paying attention to them ie on their phone, whether on a lead or not.

I did see an off lead dog go for an on lead dog in part of our walk, so we stayed where we were for a bit to allow them to move on. Unfortunately we bumped into them further on the walk, so I tried to walk swiftly in the opposite direction. Owners shouts about how friendly his dog is so I said what I'd seen and he said it was the other dog who started it and I was against his dog as it was a staffy, I just said I wasn't and walked away. He continued shouting but I just ignored him. I was a bit nervous just in case his dog followed us but it didn't.

Now we stay well away from most dogs as mine is walked on a fixed longline as she has lost most of her hearing and has cataracts developing so is losing her sight :(

I met a lovely Cane Corso the other week. We thought it was a puppy but apparently it was 2, so it was definitely some sort of cross breed as it wasn't normal Cane Corso size. His owner was what you'd call a proper scally, but the dog was very well behaved. He brought him round the pub to say hello to everyone.

The people near me who own those breeds (in a 'naice' area of the UK) are all pretty awful owners.

One slaps his Doberman across the face whenever it lunges at another dog. He also yanks it back using the lead until the dog chokes. He's been doing it since the dog was a puppy and just wanted to say 'hi'. Now the dog is an aggressive, nervous, wreck. Another one deliberately let's it lunge to the end of the lead snarling and snapping at approaching dogs - sometimes he takes a few steps forward as though he's 'lost control' and laughs.

People like that never get cockerpoos or retrievers or Shih tzu's - they get the dogs that make them look hard. The point is, unfortunately, particular people are attracted to particular breeds of dogs.

Such as?

I read the dog's body language and facial expression. Those are my cues as to whether I would stop and greet another dog; and whether I would want it to be in close proximity to my dog. I don't listen to what the owner is saying about how "friendly" their dog is. Having said that, I would keep a safe distance from XL Bullies, Cane Corso and anything resembling a Pitbull Terrier and do a u-turn if my dog was with me. I know it's unfair to tar them all with the same brush but my dog's safety comes first.

A few years ago there was a campaign with the message that staffies are softies – think it was supposed to encourage people to adopt them from shelters, but I did wonder if it was really to stop them being status dogs.

How do you know you’ve never been wrong?!

(It could be true – just wondering how you might determine that?!)

I don’t avoid based on vibe, just dog type.

Anything that looks similar to an XL Bully. Probably would avoid Alsatians too, which might be unfair, but I grew up in the 90s when we were constantly warned about them and I guess it stuck…!

A GSD really hard to train - who's been telling you that?! GSDs excel at obedience training, they're extremely bright and completely owner/family focused and they want to please. Yes, a young, bright, adolescent male GSD will go through a challenging phase and this is completely normal but if you remain calm and firm you'll win; or get a female GSD for a quieter life! The thing you have to watch GSDs for is they are naturally suspicious of strangers and can be quite reactive if someone say comes onto your property without warning, so socialisation and obedience classes from puppy classes upwards are essential. They also like company and don't like to be left for longer than a few hours. In terms of the family - and especially the children in the family - they are extremely loyal. I've kept GSDs amongst other breeds, my family have kept GSDs, they're fantastic dogs. When my male cousin and I were kids, (we're the same age), we used to head out to the woods to play in a remote area and my aunt and uncle used to say "take Kim with you." My late uncle used to say "we always knew you'd be safe if Kim was with you." And he was right, because Kim never left our sides. Honestly, if you like the breed, go for it!

I judge based on the owners, but more in terms of how closely they are watching their dog/responding to it's body language/in control etc.

The guy with the Italian mastiff walking to heel and checking how it's interacting my with one of mine is fine imo, but the woman with the super cute cocker shouting "don't worry he's friendly" is who I'll swerve.

If I'm on my own then I'm not too bothered, unless the owner is drunk/high or clearly has no control.

If I'm with my 3 dogs who have a combined age of 43, combined weight of 24Ibs and between them suffer from heart failure, blindness, deafness, arthritis, dementia and anxiety?
Damn, yes... I'm as judgemental as hell! My lot are too frail to take any chances.

From experience, it is the small yappy dogs that cause more of an issue. I pass them and their owner, and more often than not, their owner picks them up and walks off apologising because their dog was yapping and lunging at mine.
I have a greyhound, and she is weary of pugs etc because they don't really have a proper snout, whereas hers is long. I assume, in her head, they don't seem like dogs.
One time, a lady walked past with her pug, and said it was friendly. Said pug walked under my dog (which would freak her out anyway), and then leapt up and tried to bite her throat! Owner was shocked, and quickly summoned her dog and scuttled off. We have also had the same with another small dog, but that owner did say they didn't like greyhounds.
So, if I see a smaller dog and I am out with mine, I try to keep a distance.

There is a dog friendly cafe in the middle of our local park, and an older gent came in to order drinks to have outside. His wife was outside with their two dogs. Staff said they were welcome to come in, but he declined. There was a dog already inside, and this chap said his JRT was a terror and would misbehave if he saw another dog. I had a peek outside. Their other dog? An XL bully. Had a muzzle on, and was beautifully behaved. The lady owner was getting her to sit and give a paw for treats.

We adopted our bulldog from a rescue that literally rescued her from a market in China where she was going to be sold for food.

I'm lucky I have a miniature English Bull who loooooves other dogs because he was well socialised. Most regular dog walkers in the park have known him. Since he was 4 months old, so he gets a round of applause if he walks further than his usual loop. New dog owners tend to do a wide berth, sometimes that's because he's always on the lead (eats shit, only way without a muzzle I can stop the little get) so they think he's not friendly, telling them works, sometimes it's because they have a preconceived notion about this type of dog, they get ignored (my dog gets told he's a good boy and not everyone is allowed to play chase)

Not the topic if this thread and I do apologise.
@Ponoka7 I admire Afghan Hounds and think they are an incredible breed, utterly fascinating and a bit mysterious at the same time. And of course they look stunning.
To my knowledge, it is impossible to train them in the traditional sense with re-call being practically non-existent. Was this true in your experience? Could you ever walk your dog off the lead in the woods, in fields, at the seaside, in parks? I imagine the lure of squirrels, rabbits, even deer and small dogs would be irresistible to an Afghan Hound. In a different way that it would manifest in a Labrador for example. But at the same time the Afghan hound needs to unfurl and run free to get that sense of accomplishment. How did you navigate giving the dog what it needed as a pet (I'm making the assumption it was a pet).
I'd love to have Afghan Hounds but I resolved to do so in a future life if I get to live in a manor with extensive grounds, acres and acres of well fenced land and a live-in dog groomer.

I thought that was the point of scary looking dogs, that their owners want to be judged as tough or some shit

The prey drive is too strong for recall to be reliable. That was my point, my German Sheperds were completely under control, the hound not at all. To allow off lead I had to take my Afghan and at one time a reactive rescue GS, really late at night to early morning. Luckily I was on nights, so on my next night off, I would be awake. My DD's were older and loved to brush her and clean her teeth. So it cut down on the work. I took the dog when a relative died. I wouldn't get one or particularly recommend them, unless you want a dog that is your life. Unfortunately Chris Amoo (I'm from Liverpool) winning crufts in 1987, caused a spate of them getting popular and like dalmatians, they aren't family pets.

As a general rule, we only avoid barky dogs. Even my more dominant dog turns into a wet blanket and hides behind my legs to avoid them!

The only person I have ever explicitly told my dogs to avoid was an awful girl from school. However, we do try to keep out of the way of the lady with the poodle, who holds everyone hostage for 15 minutes while regaling them with tales of her dog's dietary requirements.

I have dogs of working breeds, so you'd have thought that we would be on most people's To Be Avoided list, as there is a lot of anti-Collie sentiment about. I don't mind as, personally, I like a nice, peaceful walk. Unfortunately, DDog1 is blessed with classic Collie looks, an award-winning smile and a lovely personality, so a lot of people like to chat to us!