Randomly insulted in village about my dog's 'behaviour'

[madbatarse]

I should preface this by saying we live in a fairly small village in South West - so this behaviour probably goes with the territory to a degree. We have 14 mth old dog who is still quite puppy like & boisterous: very sociable & wants to make friends with everyone. Twice now the same person/couple have shouted at me across the street that my dog is out of control, a disgrace & I should not be walking her through the village roads. My dog is always on a lead & has never gone anywhere near them.....it is totally unprovoked, random insults. First it was the husband on his own & then the couple together. I am a responsible dog owner & realise not everyone wants a dog coming up to them (or a lead or otherwise) so I always restrain & control her to not be nuisance - except for her 'regulars' (most everyone else) who make a point of coming over to talk to her. I walk her on my own during the day & now feel intimidated (& frankly a bit scared) about encountering these people again. Should I just change my routine &/or try to ignore them or AINBU having a go back next time he/they have a crack & tell them what I think of their unprovoked insulting rudeness? Thx ppl

Maybe they're sisters...? Yes, very boisterous at this age but they do calm down!

"Fuck off and mind your own business" would be my response here.

They are clearly dickheads.
Your dog is none of their business

Just wave and wish them a good morning/afternoon.

Your dog is a very large breed and I can see how at 14 months and still boisterous, he may make them anxious. Perhaps that is the issue.

All you can do is continue to keep your dog under control. Remain polite, ignore their rudeness which may be based in fear, and eventually they will realise your dog does not pose a threat.

They are big and just the size can be intimidating, especially when they pull on the lead. They do become a real handful during adolescence; at this stage they aren't exactly the gentle giants that they become later. As pups they have no concept of their size.

There are a few possibilities:

They are mean spirited people

They have had bad experiences with other dogs in the past so are over reacting

Your dog is more out of control than you realise because you are accustomed to her behaviour

There is another dog that’s out of control who they are confusing her with (is this possible?)

Others who your dog normally greets find her a nuisance, but they are too polite / shy to say so to your face, so they have complained about her behind your back to others in the village and this couple have made it their mission to tell you in an obnoxious manner

If you live in a small village, you will keep bumping into these people unfortunately, so you will probably need to get to the bottom of it somehow. I don’t envy you that, but good luck. You’ve had some reasonable suggestions.

That's it then - giant dog, still "boisterous" - my idea of a nightmare to meet when I am out on a walk. So many dog owners seem unable to understand other people's concerns, How do you deal with the giant boisterous dog when you encounter a child, OP? i am sure you love him but do you understand how intimidating this would be for almost anyone else?

Depends on what your dog is actually doing. What do you mean by 'boisterous'?

It doesn’t really matter what your dog is doing as long as it isn’t barking incessantly in the same place, and as long as he is being restrained enough so they can pass by on the pavement without your dog coming anywhere near them. I do hope he is always on a short lead in public? Your dog does sound totally untrained.

OP I completely sympathise - no advice but the couple sound a bit unhinged - I wonder if other people/dog owners have the same problem with them.

We have a working cocker spaniel puppy (she’s 10 months now - a rescue who spent much of her life caged before us) and she’s very excited but barky when she sees other dogs. I know it’s not aggression due to her body behaviour and she is getting better (slightly) - she just wants to play

Thankfully, there are now lots of people who have seen her regularly and I often pipe up when I’m running or walking with her that “I’m sorry - she’s just excited but barky!” And I’d say 9 out of 10 people are fine, smile and wave at us having seen or encountered us before and also seeing that she is indeed just a bit of a bonkers puppy - but we have had the odd person look at both her and me with utter disgust - even some who have had their own dogs barking and aggressively snarling at mine - and it does get to me, probably how you are feeling

You can’t win them all!

I told the cocker lady yesterday "she's just an overgrown puppy" and she snarled back "it's the overgrown bit that bothers me" , so I would say that yes, it is purely a size issue. My girl didn't make a sound and I kept her at least 10 feet away from the other dog.

You only have to read some of the replies here to see that people judge big dogs more harshly. And that they have no understanding of adolescent behaviour which is the same in all dogs, regardless of size.

They don't meet; these people shout from across the road

Ahhh, if me and Milo were there I'd have had your back! 😂 No one picks on my princess Brie!

Assuming the dog was restrained and not barking like a maniac for 20 minutes straight, I’d be telling them to mind their own fucking business. Why are village people always so arsey and in each others business?

I recon it's the size. People seem to think it's fine to have a little out of control dog yapping and jumping though which really annoys me. I've only ever been bitten by little dogs and both time the owner denied it even though I had a hole in trousers!
I much prefer big dogs, it's much eaiser to understand there body language!

I’m a large breed owner. They take longer to mature than smaller breeds. You seem to swiftly avoid answering what your dog is actually doing to elicit this reaction. What does ‘boisterous’ look like Op? What does not behaving like she would in the show ring look like? Pulling towards them trying to cross to were they are? Lunging, barking and flapping around on the end of the lead? To me that’s just young large breeds but to other people it might look out of control and be intimidating. There will be something you need to work on here so try to identify what that is and it will make walks far more pleasant.

People like you shouldn't have dogs.

People like you should read the thread before posting. Or don’t reply full stop.

WTF?

I think you have had enough Internet for today.

God I adore giants. I have three big ‘uns. They all go through the excitable teen phase and the joy with giants is they rapidly slow down and calm their jets with maturity.

These people clearly have an issue with your dog’s size. You’re never allowing the dog to rush to anyone and she’s always on the lead. Just wave cheerily with a ‘morning!’ Plus some ludicrous pleasantry. You’re not doing anything wrong.

I think if I saw something bred to fight bears and wolves, weighing 6+ stone and wanting to bounce up at people 'because she's a puppy' might make me feel quite annoyed. Especially as it's coincidentally a normal weight for an XL bully bitch of the same age.

Bet most posters were imagining some little fluffy thing.

Thank you @CrownPointSouth 😘

@GreenCandleWax Not OP but same breed. This breed is very good with children, but we would put our hand through the collar anyway to ensure the dog doesn't try to jump.

@Findra A dog being boisterous during adolescence does not mean it is untrained.

@PrincessofWells There is no justification whatsoever for your comment.

@madbatarse Sorry for hijacking your thread but some of these responses are very unjust.

lol. Do enjoy your little odd little thrill from loads of posters thinking you’re a nut job and saying so, won’t you? #cheapthrillsfortrolls101