Introverted dog owners

[MsFrancis]

Are you out there?

I live in a small but busy city with various parks, greens etc. There are lot of dogs and dog owners here.

We are now at a point where getting a dog has become a real possibility. DH grew up with dogs, I had a cat so not quite sure yet what it will be like having a family dog.

I work from home 3 days a week so the dog will never be left alone.

Now my big question, will people want to chat to me / us all the time when walking our dog? I can do chit chat but don't want to have to speak to strangers and semi strangers constantly when walking our dog.

What are other people's experiences? Do you have to e very sociable to survive the dog walk?

I think you can be as sociable or not as you want to be.

I keep to myself as I want my dog to focus on me and not other dogs so you just need a standard response if someone suggests you walk with them and their dog(s).

I have never spoken to so many random people in the last 6 years as I have in the last 6 weeks. Nowhere is safe - Elfpup attracts a huge amount of attention from dog owners and non dog owners alike. Yes he's heartbreakingly cute and clearly a puppy but I hadn't reckoned on this level of attention.

As a classic INTJ I find it quite stressful to be honest. I always walk alone so it's just a few minutes chit chat with people I pass but I would be much happier to be ignored - it would also help immensely with his training. Trying to teach a pup to jump up is not helped by well meaning strangers who want to make a fuss of him and actively encourage the jumping behaviour.

I live in a large village so I can't be actually anti social and ignore everyone. I try and get away with as few pleasantries as possible but it isn't easy.

Yup in my experience over the last 3 months a puppy will attract a lot of attention and conversation. I don't mind it myself as I have to say it has been one of the surprising upsides of having a dog. I have met a lot of really nice people and monkeypup has a few regular dogs he loves to have a good chase around with.

If you want to avoid talking to people then avoid popular dog walking routes/times. I rarely do walks around the streets on lead but when I do I find those are the walks we rarely get spoken to.

Pick where you walk carefully. I often go to the local park, at the time I go it's dead quiet and I would be unlucky to meet one other dog walker. However when I take dogs to the forest it's usually a sole jogger I see who ignores me. Happy days. So yeah pick time and place carefully although the advantage of woods walking is the ability to go off down a different track as soon as you see someone coming.
OH likes all the talky shite so he goes out at different times. Bless him

It depends on where you walk and also I think on the dog. Some dogs attract attention and comments (pugs, st Bernard’s etc) and others not so much (mongrels) I have a golden retriever and the most I ever get when walking him is “oh what a lovely dog” and very occasionally, “what age is he? is it a boy or a girl?” I’m an introvert and sometimes when I am just not in the mood for chitchat I just keep my eyes low and avoid eye contact. People can tell when you are open to chat and when you aren’t.

DDog2 gets a huge amount of attention, and we really can be stopped very frequently by people who want to talk about him. Though I'm an introvert, I like talking about the dogs.
But if you don't want to talk, put some earphones in, or look busy and people won't talk

As a PP said, depends where and when you walk. I have a dog and because he’s not great with other dogs and I don’t like small talk, we walk early and round streets etc that people generally don’t walk. We maybe bump into 1 dog if we’re unlucky.

Get a plug ugly one.

Don't get a wolfhound.
You will get stopped all the time!
Yes to choosing where you walk carefully.
And most people only want to talk about the dogs and I find that easy to do.

I had a holiday recently with friends with a cute new puppy, and so many dog owners stopped for chit chat. I disliked it, although not necessarily just because I always dislike chit chat: it pissed me off that dog owners who rarely return my smiles or say anything when have been walking without a dog (I like local walks alone or with a friend) were all matey, just because was with a dog!

I never knew what it was like until I dog-sat for someone.. it was a jackauwawa(sp?) and it took ages to finish our walk as so many people stopped to stroke him. Had no idea this went on!

Definitely don't get a puppy. Any puppy is cute. Small dogs are even worse. I am just now able to walk in town without every.single.person we come across squeeing and wanting to pet my now 10 month old jack russell. I guess she's past the super cute phase lol. Or it might just be that training is finally starting to produce results as she used to try to go up to everyone for kisses and cuddles (obviously as a massive introvert I had to end up with the most extrovert dog ever).
We do still get stopped several times each walk by other dog walkers or just people who think she's cute (she is!). Most are surprised that she is rather well behaved and friendly for a jrt.
Maybe you should get a "scary" breed like a pitbull or a rottie (both are super cute and cuddly looking as puppies though).
Whatever you do, don't get a fashionable breed like a pug or a frenchie....

Get a plug ugly one

Don't get a pug though, people (especially kids) think they're adorable. Ours gets loads of attention, although I have to admit he is super cute.

If you get a puppy,you might be very grateful for the opportunities for socialisation. I live about a mile outside of a village populated with dogs and found both dogs and owners tolerant of my mad puppy in our local park, being interested in her development etc. We pop down once or twice a week. Also found owners with reactive dogs who don’t want to socialise...another good learning curve for me and pup! You will soon find what suits you and your dog...for us it is a mix of solitary field and woods walks with village recreation field and lanes walks and the once a week favourite at the country park plus an apple orchard where we can meet nobody one week and several dogs the next. If you always put your dog on lead when seeing a dog 9n lead then you normally pass by without much comment, off lead I am guided by my dog...if she seems unhappy we move on smartish. If she meets and greets and owner grunts at me I call her on, sometimes it is straight into full on play normally with another young dog. Other owner usually delighted, we chat about dog related things, say how nice to meet you and probably will never meet again. Varying the walks is key!

Also my puppy quite literally drove me to tears in the early weeks so I was glad of any opportunity for an experienced dog owner to tell me it gets better!!

Wolfie we saw a wolfhound on our walk a few weeks ago DS2 was awestruck and is so desperate to see him again but we haven't got lucky yet. They are magnificent looking hounds!

Get a german shepherd or two and nobody will ever speak to you or your dog again

I'm not very sociable, and neither is my dog (because he's a bird-brained rabbit obsessed Spaniel and is oblivious to anything else up to and including me throwing bits of liver at his head to try and get his attention). I use that to my advantage by giving people a big smile and saying 'Sorry! He's just so excited by the ducks!' as he tows me past at high speed.

Sometimes I walk him in a headcollar until I can't take the embarrassment of him walking along dragging his face on the ground any more and I find lots of people mistake it for a muzzle and stay away!

Monkey.
Here's one for him!

Get an English Bull Terrier!! Mine is a rescue and so objectionable that most people stay clear! . . . or you can have her if you like . . . (joke)

Thing is OP if you get a puppy you will need to socialise it with other dogs on a regular bases for the rest of its life if you want a well mannered dog. Socialising it is hugely important!

I couldn’t think of anything more awkward than having my dog run around with another dog whilst I’m stood in silence with someone next to me not really saying a word

What about puppy classes? You’ll have to speak and demonstrate training there

Puppies attract a lot of attention so be prepared for that

Honestly I’d say if you really don’t want to speak to people don’t get a dog. Personally I love meeting Other dog walkers (but dislike people in other circumstances haha)

I agree with PP, don't get a dog if you don't want to speak to people.
Of course you don't have to have long chats, just a smile and a Hello is enough.
It helps to keep the communication channels open, you might have to apologise for your dog if it's barky or too bouncy, or speak to owner if there's aggro with another dog.
My lab once got stuck in mud by a river and I was grateful for the help given by friendly dog walkers. It would have been very awkward if I'd studiously ignored them in the past.

Thank you all. You have confirmed what I suspected. I am wondering if I should try and go on a few walks with my neighbour and her two gorgeous Jack Russels to see what it may be like. I agree also that perhaps dog walking will help me get out of my shell so to speak.

Thing is if you are introverted it really isn't the same as beings stood in the middle of a room full of strangers at a party or hanging around the school gates feeling awkward and not wanting to make conversation (I would rather stick needles in my eyes than be in either of those situations as I can be pretty introverted myself at times.)

Conversations about dogs are EASY to have and you can make them as brief or as long as you want. I get a lot of enjoyment out of watching my puppy hare around with other dogs it's lovely to watch and often you just stand watching your dogs play and laugh at them you don't have to make deep and meaningful conversation.

I wish socialising at toddler groups could have been this painless!

Oh and Wolfie your dog is a stunner!!

I'm an introvert and I partly got a puppy to help me meet more people. I've joined a local whippet facebook group and made real life friends. I've also met some great people at training classes. It's my kind of socialising and I get extra exercise and fresh air as well