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The doghouse

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Original poster

Rudest things said about your dog?

61 replies

AvocadosBeforeMortgages · 04/05/2019 19:49

Attended a family party today. The host (we're very close) adores DDog and very much wanted him to come - and he behaved pretty much impeccably. Another guest is known to dislike dogs. I had stage whispered comments all afternoon

"oh, why did they bring that thing with them, I thought they'd have left it at home"
"I don't think dogs should be where food is, it's not hygienic"
Calling DDog "it" not "he"
"Oh, it's a Jack Russell, that's why it's nasty"
"Our bags have been on the floor, we'll have to disinfect them when we get home"
"Why did he just shake? He probably has fleas"
"I don't like it when people have dogs but don't train them" (cue me demonstrating a variety of complicated tricks DDog can perform)
The guest was also mortally offended when DDog asked her for a game of fetch by giving her his favourite toy Hmm

I've spent all bloody day biting my lip Angry and if there had been one more comment I would have said something. Anyone else had people be incredibly rude about their DDog?

OP posts:
MsAdorabelleDearheartVonLipwig · 04/05/2019 22:42

I once overheard a pompous lady tell her friend to watch out for the mutt. I said ‘my dog is from a very distinguished bloodline and has more breeding than you do’ and walked on. Grin

WhileLottaLottie · 04/05/2019 23:10

@ MsAdorabelleDearheartVonLipwig
‘my dog is from a very distinguished bloodline and has more breeding than you do’ and walked on

LEGEND!!! my God I nearly wet myself!

JoyceDivision · 04/05/2019 23:18

"Is that a dog or a pig?"

Ummmm....

LittleCandle · 04/05/2019 23:19

We did have one jumped up little moo friend of DD1's say 'that's not much of a dug' when meeting DDog1 when he was a pup. Ironically, she went on to have one of the same breed a few years later.

Loads of people say Dpup2 is sweet, but we have to point out that they don't know him and looks can be deceiving. He is a kleptomaniac, rootles in the garden regularly and, being a terrier, spends a lot of time with his paws over his ears singing 'la la la, can't hear you'. He's also going through the toddler stage...

YetAnotherNameChanged · 04/05/2019 23:25

Family member "So do you think you might start training him soon?

About a dog who competed in agility, was nicknamed 'demo dog' at obedience training, and knew a dozen or so 'tricks'.

sweetkitty · 04/05/2019 23:39

More funny than annoying “do you gel her hair up like that in the morning?” she’s a Rhodesian Ridgeback so has a line of hair running the opposite way didn’t her back.

“Eww she’s quite bald” to which I replied she didn’t heed much hair chasing lions on the African plains.

My neighbour said they were a vicious breed as she knew what they were bred for. This was before her border terrier launched itself at my dog when she was young and took a chunk out her back.

MsAdorabelleDearheartVonLipwig · 05/05/2019 00:20

@WhileLottaLottie

It’s true I swear! I was quite impressed with myself though, I never usually think of anything to say in those situations and that one stuck with me. Grin

BiteyShark · 05/05/2019 05:57

A dog trainer said 'well what do you expect buying a spaniel' in a not very nice way Hmm. Never went back to that class again.

agirlhasnonameX · 05/05/2019 12:24

@Hels1987 how could anyone call your little Ddog ugly Sadhe is absolutely adorable I want to eat him up 😍

pigsDOfly · 05/05/2019 17:29

With my small, 6.5kilo, hairy dog I've had all the, 'it's not a real dog', remarks.

Walking pass a bunch of, roughly 15 year old, school kids once one girl yelled at me 'get that ugly ratty thing away from me', dog was nowhere near her and hadn't even looked in her direction. I'm afraid my reply was rather childish, but it shut her up; incidentally, dog looks nothing like a rat, unless rats have suddenly become very large and extremely hairy.

We've had some lovely compliments though. One remark that made me smile was 'ooh look a mini Lassie' said by a young man also walking along with a bunch of friends; I smiled at him.

troppibambini · 05/05/2019 17:39

Loads of comments about our English bull terrier and how ugly she is.
Kids have asked "what's wrong with it's face"
She's been called a pig dog
What is that? In a disgusted voice
Will it eat me? From a little child, she promptly rolled over for a belly rub with her tongue dangling out look like the totally softy she is, I told him "only if you don't tickle her belly!" He thought she was fabulous after that.

BlueMerchant · 05/05/2019 17:48

We often get stopped on walks by dog lovers(obviously) who say our pup is extremely handsome. My friend who has dogs if her own was sitting looking at him one day and agreed he is a beauty. Pup then suddenly jumped up for a fuss off her and proceeded to flap him away and call him a skinny ugly rat.

How two-faced.
Mil and fil are also apparently dog lovers but always call our pup 'it'. Other family members' dogs are referred to as he or she or they use their name- but not ours. He is 'it'. (We think they are jealous as we much prefer him to them.)

Maneandfeathers · 05/05/2019 19:03

I have German shepherds.

People are generally horrible about them. They scoop up small dogs and cross the road.
I’ve been asked why I want ‘those sort’ and also had them mistaken for other GSD who have behaved badly.
I never allow them to interact with other dogs because they are big and rough and I don’t want them blamed for hurting someone’s dog.

On the other hand I also have had lots of lovely comments.
My favourite was a little boy who excitedly screamed look mummy a wolf as my all black boy ran through the woods past him Grin

PositivelyPeach · 05/05/2019 19:13

Walking in the very busy local park. Both small dogs on short leads.

One mum shouts out to her small son, "watch that doggy doesn't steal your scooter" 😂

1 - WTF!? They struggle to walk in a straight line some days so I'm sure scooting is above their capabilities.
2 - I know dogs aren't for everyone, but surely vilifying them needlessly to your children isn't going to be beneficial in any way?

Doublethesarcasm · 05/05/2019 19:20

@maneandfeathers what is it about people and German shepherds? Mine is soft as anything, he thinks he's the size of a spaniel and is scared of his own shadow.

Original poster
AvocadosBeforeMortgages · 05/05/2019 19:27

I tend to stick my little dog on a lead and walk away when we see a GSD. Some owners look rather offended.

What they don't realise is that this little dog doesn't like GSDs and will stand 2m away from them barking - so I'm doing it out of consideration for the GSD!

OP posts:
Maneandfeathers · 05/05/2019 19:37

@doublethesarcasm mine are both as soft as muck. They can be walked by my 3yo DS and are the best pair of dogs.
They would however be useless in a burglary and wouldn’t save me from danger Grin

I totally understand why people are wary of them. Mine are very rough together and play with each other ‘shep style’ which tends to involve lots of rearing, growling and ragging each other around by the neck ruffles. It’s all play though and they have 0 interest in other dogs or humans but people generally look horrified so I tend to keep them on a lead most of the time to avoid the death stares Blush

Doublethesarcasm · 05/05/2019 19:45

@avocadoes I totally get that and mine is popped on lead when there is another on lead dog around. I've also worked hard desensitising him as he was reactive to other dogs after being bitten.

@maneandfeathers mine plays like that too. He has his own set of "friends". Today he met all sorts of dogs on and off lead and behaved impeccably.
I have two also but think they'd let people in and then not let them leave!!
What annoys me is people who see you have an on lead dog, leave theirs offlead, let it run at your dog and then look shocked when you either have to say something or your quiet on lead dog suddenly goes loco due to screaming off lead mutt.

Nesssie · 05/05/2019 21:37

At a trial session for doggy day care ‘I don’t think he’s the right fit’ - doesn’t sound awful but it really really upset me! I was so offended and sad for him Sad

babyblackbird · 07/05/2019 16:52

From a potential dog sitter , over the phone when she heard my 11 month lab was still in tact, " I can't be dealing with a hormonal mess". He's the most laid back , easy going dog and has never tried to hump a thing and is still intact and when faced with a very flirty bitch in heat actually ran away !

Mouldiwarp1 · 07/05/2019 17:01

Used to take our dog to the pub at the weekend from when he was tiny. Two blokes in there chatting one day said “How could such a cute puppy turn into such a weird looking dog?” I asked if either of them had looked in the mirror recently.

GetOffTheRoof · 07/05/2019 17:24

We're thinking of making a sign up for our dog that says "yes I'm beautiful", "I'm a husky, collie, greyhound, malamute cross" and "I'm friendly" because she's leggy and people recoil when they see she's as fast as a greyhound.

Otherwise, she gets called lots of names - usually by us.

The worst thing anyone has said is "that dog should be kept muzzled" when she barked back (highly unusual) at a little terrier who was apparently ready to rip her throat out.

I have taken to slightly losing my rag with the owners of dogs that are barking and are not being corrected at all and pointing out that if my dog behaved like that, I'd be accused of having an aggressive dog. I hate that small dogs seem to be allowed to behave they way, but they are still dogs and can still be trained out of being reactive.

helloswellow · 07/05/2019 17:32

We have a Husky/German Shepherd Cross. She's a big white fluffy ball of love and happiness. Whenever we take her out without fail parents will pull their kids away from her and talk about the dog biting or just the usual stay away from dogs talk. Without a doubt the most negative/confusing thing said about her was from a mother of a child about 3/4 who screaming in their pram and the mother said 'if you don't stop screaming that wolf will eat you. Do you want it to kill you? Do you?'

But there is one young boy on our street who insists that out dog is really a cat no matter how much his parents say otherwise and gives her the biggest fusses but always asks first. So it makes living near all the dog dislikers easier.

Original poster
AvocadosBeforeMortgages · 07/05/2019 19:07

I have taken to slightly losing my rag with the owners of dogs that are barking and are not being corrected at all and pointing out that if my dog behaved like that, I'd be accused of having an aggressive dog. I hate that small dogs seem to be allowed to behave they way, but they are still dogs and can still be trained out of being reactive.

For what it's worth, when a reactive dog is kicking off like that it's not in a state to learn as it's very very stressed. There's not much to be done apart from gaining distance from the trigger and allowing the dog to calm down. The learning can take place when they can see the trigger but are far enough away to not feel threatened enough to kick off, and can be given many high value treats so that, over time, they learn to associate the scary thing with nice treats appearing.

(I'm the owner of a largely reformed twatty terrier who relapses periodically)

OP posts:
GetOffTheRoof · 08/05/2019 00:36

Totally agree with you ref the reactive dog methods, but all require positive action. The type of owners I'm thinking of are the ones who dither and laugh about little dogs who "have small man syndrome" as they always seem to say, and just stand there, idly staring while their dog is highly stressed and very aggressive towards my docile idiot who is not even looking at them.