Other peoples' dogs are like other peoples' business: stay out of it unless you are invited to participate or you witness abuse. That being said, there are people who seem to get cute dogs in order to attract comment. Aren't there items for the dog to wear which let people know that a dog is in training? Using something like that gives you an out when shutting down unwanted attention, Anon.

Your dog 'expressed zero interest' and was 'annoyed'?

I think your puppy is broken sir.

Raise a good doggie and pick up his poop.

All these trolls that love tearing anons apart! I hate it when people unknowingly train my dog bad behavior (like a barista who once called my dog until he jumped up and put his two front paws on the counter). Way to stick up for your pups good behavior!

I wish someone would train owners to keep their slobbering, hair shedding, parasite infested dogs out of places like coffee shops.

And also out of the corridors of the apartment I just moved in to. I can hardly enter or leave an elevator or walk around a hallway corner without some Baskerville-sized hound yanking its owner along on a leash as it lunges at me.

@2, @4, training clothing or ribbons would stop a few, but not nearly all.

Always ask, "may I pet your dog?" It will, at the very least, keep you from getting bit.

I had not heard of the yellow ribbon thing.

#12, Where are the dogs in the coffee shops? Ask the commenter above with the barista problem.

My apartment is quite new, I moved in before the dogs did.

Don't get me started on assault dogs - Dobermans, Pit Bulls, Rottweilers and such. People don't need weapons like these. We should require permits and deep background checks on the dog and potential owner before acquiring such dangerous animals. And don't forget to close the Dog Show Loophole.

In fact, why does a city dweller (aside from a blind person) need a dog? Dogs are to pull sleds for seal hunting Inuits and to help shepherds protect and manage their flocks.

I Anon, could you please share your dog-training expertise with my oldest sister? She has stubbornly chosen to remain clueless for well over four decades, and consequently, her canines---anywhere from 1 to 10 at a time--- are slobbering, noisy, crotch-sniffing, leg-humping imbeciles that know no boundaries, living by her repeatedly poor example (she's one of those so-called "dog-lovers" who just lets her animal clumsily bang its way into your house, run up and jump all over you, and then if you DARE complain, get a lecture about how "you just don't love dogs"!).

I like dogs just fine, provided they're well-behaved, calm, reasonably friendly enough and don't attempt to rip my arms and legs off. There are quite a few truly good dogs in my neighborhood. Even more honestly, I'm grateful to live in a cat-friendly apartment building that doesn't allow dogs.

Look, "anon", if you don't want people fawning over your fucking puppy, don't parade it around in public. Seriously, kiss my ass.

@18. What is it about "public" that denotes "free access" for you? Think about the logical extensions of that argument......where does it get you?

I get that in the internet world of instant access and free flowing information that privacy is rapidly being eroded away and we are having less and less ability to claim anything as personal space, but is the burden really on the person being invaded upon to not be impolite or rude?? Is this the world you wanna live in, where we have the ability to invade anyone's personal space in any way we please because the burden is the recipient eager than the person making the violation?

That's kind of a busted argument, the "well don't go out in public" crap. We should have the ability to be out in public in whatever way we want and have a right to defend our personal space and have the ability to grant access to it on our own terms, cute puppies and all.

LOL, while I agree that it is frustrating when strangers insist on teaching your dog bad manners, I have a suspicion that he would have been nicer if the "ooh, a puppy" person was more attractive.

@19 - You're a "douche". You strut around in public and get bent out of shape when people notice your precious schnauzer, and because you are a selfish entitled 20-something (with a Mac Book, yes?) you think everyone else must bend to YOUR Triple Venti Sugar free, Non fat, No foam, extra caramel, with whip caramel macchiato, 2 packs of raw sugar and a stir stick on the side view of reality.

@21 - Oh and here we go with the typical "let me stereotype an entire age group to attempt to make a point".

People demand that dogs be well-trained, yet don't like it when the owner wants to train their dog in the best way they can/know how to? Just back the fuck up, and respect the owner's wishes. Is that so hard? Of course it is...

I don't know if Anon in a man or woman but definitely a bitch.

Some people love puppies. Those same people love dogs. They are not your enemy. Your enemy is the person who hates you for having that dog because they fear/hate dogs.

You are acting like a dick.

What, nobody thinks the dogie could benefit from a nice bowl of Cocaine and Malt Liquor!?!

I anon could have used a more tactful and polite way of getting the stranger to calm down other than saying "calm down."

As for the stranger,they should try not to go around telling other strangers to "fuck off," as that might be considered uncouth and abusive.

But just a note to I anon. I don't know how old you are, but there's this thing that happen as people age, where the threshold for the cuteness of cute animals lowers, and you find yourself acting like an idiot when you see a puppy. It's gross, but it happens.

Sitting here with my cats learning a lot about dogs. So glad my cats don't give a fuck about strangers. And they truly don't give a fuck. Not because they were trained to look as if they don't give a fuck, but because it truly comes from their hearts.

Ahh @27...That was lovely. Seriously.

@14: Calling dogs weapons? Obvious troll is obvious. Now get back under your bridge.

People demand that dogs be well-trained, yet don't like it when the owner wants to train their dog in the best way they can/know how to? Just back the fuck up, and respect the owner's wishes. Is that so hard? Of course it is...

@22, maybe if you own a dog that needs a "perimeter", you shouldn't live in the city? What the fuck gives you the right to expose me to your vicious and / or entitled animal? Do you own the fucking sidewalk? No? Then why do you act like it? If you own a dog that you don’t want to interact with other people, don’t take it out on the street.

Kinky Ana said:

What, nobody thinks the dogie could benefit from a nice bowl of Cocaine and Malt Liquor!?!

Ana, I think the ANON and her entitled supporters could use a nice pile of COCAINE and a few dozen 40's of MALT LIQUOR, because seriously, they need to extract their heads from their asses.

This thread is worthless without input from The Pet Lady.

@30 - You're making a lot of assumptions. Both about the behavior of dogs/puppies, and where anon was during the incident. You sound like one of those people whose afraid of anything that isn't afraid of you. Its okay, i have hope for your confidence. Drag your ass to wikipedia or a children's book on dogs and enlighten yourself before your vomit your uninformed crapola all over the interwebz.

@33, I've owned a few dogs. But I lived out in the country, where is were any dog owners but ankle-biter dog owners should live. People who own big dogs in the city are abusing their animals, and abusing their neighbors. Take your Doberman turds and shuve 'em up your ass.

I like dogs--my dog, your dog, at least if your dog isn't biting me. (Puppy mouthing is fine.) I try to ask calmly and politely before I pet someone else's critter. Here's the thing, though. If you're training your dog in your back yard, I assume you'd like me to leave you alone. If you've got your dog out in the big world, I assume that you're trying to teach the dog something about that big world: the nice jogger is not a snack, toddlers are not for biting, silly people who say OOH A PUPPY! are rarely dangerous. That's part of your dog's education, too. You can't always control the world your dog will encounter, so you might want to focus more on teaching your dog and less on persuading other people to act the way you'd like them to act.

Also, check out the folks earlier in this thread who hate dogs and can't stand to see them in the city. The OOH A PUPPY! people like your dog. They're the ones who vote in favor of dog parks, let people have pets in the rentals they own, are happy to see a vet join the neighborhood, probably let well-mannered dogs into their stores. Are you sure you want to alienate them?

I judge people on the streets by the behavior of their dogs.

Sure, some people need to learn how to behave around animals, but these "annoying" people are all part of training your dog, because they are part of the world in which your dog will always live.

@18 where the goddamn hell are we supposed to walk our dogs if not in public? I have no intentions of letting mine shit in the house. Maybe we could come over and she could take a dump on your rug, since you've decreed that anybody in public must submit to unwanted attention from strangers.

I need a sign for my dog that says "I HATE YOU." She's a lovable doofus with people she knows but strangers she hates, pretty much unequivocally. I've had so many people lean down and yell OH MY GOD FLUFFY DOGGY and then get pissy when she barks at them. You bark at her, she barks at you.

A quick and harmless butt sniff is usually all it takes to tell if someone will be ok around your dog. You see this happening around Green Lake all the time.

I would not touch another person's dog (or any other pet) without permission anymore than I would touch their child. Seriously, folks, look with your eyes not with your hands. It's called being civilized.

Ditto 35 & 37- the reason dogs are asocial is because owners DID NOT take them out into the wide world of people and other dogs while they were puppies. A dog kept isolated from other dogs and people is a problem waiting to happen. But if you take your dog out, do train him. The lunging nonsense seen by so many on this thread is just piss-poor training on the owner's part.

1) Someone expresses enthusiasm about your dog and is still good-natured about it when your dog jumps on them.
2) This causes you to be a fucking asshole and tell a friendly stranger they need to calm down, because you have a stupid idea that everyone else in the world is obligated to help you train your dog.

You could have saved yourself a lot of butthurt if you just said, "no, I'd prefer you didn't -- I'm trying to train him" instead of getting pissy about their friendliness ruining everything.

I have a pomeranian, who's extremely shy due to his history before I adopted him at about 4. He's my first little dog, and I cannot believe the shit people think is appropriate with small dogs/dogs they mistake for puppies.

I'm all for socializing him (he's come a long way from hiding under the bed all day) but pushing a dog too hard is asking for trouble. If I say no to a request to pet him the answer is no and I don't need to explain why. If you really want my dog to submissive-pee all over you then fine, but I'm sure as hell not cleaning it up and I won't apologizing either. Except to my dog maybe, poor adorable bastard.

"a puppy who expressed zero interest in you and who was annoyed by your excited, frantic, weak energy."

So essentially you bought a misbred and antisocial pet and you're training them to be even more antisocial. Grats, I'm sure everybody's going to enjoy it growling and snarling as it gets older /larger.

@43 I rescued my dog, I didn't get the opportunity to socialize her as a puppy. Most people I know adopt rescues. I have done my best to undo the damage from her former life, but please keep in mind that rehabilitating an adult dog is hard, and not every dog owner raised their dog from puppyhood.

My dog had a hard life and, as a result, is wary of strangers. We should not be judged harshly for the consequences of someone else's bad behavior.

I'm in the process of training two pups and it CAN be annoying when you are trying to teach your dog basic manners like not jumping up on people and the stranger petting him will contradict you and say "no, it's okay, I like it!" I mean sure, it's not a big deal when its just a wee puppy, but one day the puppy will be a very large, very heavy dog and his friendly jump-up will be interpreted as an act of aggression.

So even though anon is being a dick about it, I get where he is coming from. Everyone feels entitled to tell you how your dog should behave even when you have done the research and they have not. And these are usually the people who think puppies and small breeds should be allowed to get away with murder because they're "So cute!"

No one is really stupid but every person is truly ignorant....!!

i have two enormous and enthusiastic dogs. not the most well-mannered, and i'll be the first to admit that's my fault. they're never aggressive in a snappy barky growly way, but they would/do barrel up to people if they get the chance, which i know is a form of aggression (but of the friendly variety). i can certainly see why that would piss people off, and on the occasions that it's happened, i have fallen all over myself to apologize, (but i haven't had it happen yet where someone got mad about it). i am an exceedingly polite dog person, i always move to the side when anyone's coming my way, shorten the leash, scoop, etc. but together they outweigh me and outmuscle me, so things can occasionally get exciting. but continued exposure to stimuli and teaching/training opportunities are essential to curbing this behavior! it is simply not going to happen indoors or alone in the yard.

i'm not saying everyone should love my dogs like i do. i'm saying that dogs, much like children, leaf blowers, construction, traffic, sirens, waiting in line, etc are all part of the world that we share, and people should be a little more willing to accept that some of these dogs are behavioral works-in-progress, and just get on with their day instead of flipping out about it. if nobody got bitten, knocked down, had their outfit damaged, coffee spilled, what have you, then just let the dog owner do their thing and move on with your life. especially if you can see that the person is trying. and if they're not trying, definitely call them out and tell them that they should control their dog.

as for the reinforcing of bad behaviors, YES it happens and it SUCKS. i'm doing my damnedest to teach my dogs "NOT OK!!" when they barrel up to someone or put their paws on them and 9 times out of 10 i'll get an "oh no, i don't mind! they're aduhhhhrable!" and they love all over them WHILE they're actively doing the bad thing. it does make it very hard to get ahead with training, and while i agree it's important to not be a dick, these people need to be firmly told to stop undoing the lessons you're trying to teach.

@18 asks, apparently annoyed and puzzled, "where the goddamn hell are we supposed to walk our dogs if not in public?"

How about with the flock on your sheep ranch in Idaho, or in front of your sled in the Yukon Territory? Perhaps in a just-harvested South Dakota cornfield during pheasant season?

@52: I'd rather have her shit on your rug, thx.

I think the important thing for us to recognize is how put upon poor IAnon is by this monster that was friendly to his dog. He or she was put in a situation which was not 100% to his or her liking, and someone must be blamed.

Some people don't realize that when you're training a dog, you must be absolutely rigid in your enforcement of the rules or the dog is ruined. Even a single interaction could completely negate all the training and turn the dog into a BAD DOG. This is why most people never ever allow a dog in training to come into contact with any other people. IAnon decided to risk having a little faith in his fellow humans and this fellow human let him down by not recognizing his or her duty to follow IAnon's training methods. For shame, him or her. For shame.

IAnon's not-so-subtle implication in the penultimate sentence that the dog is actually better than this lousy excuse for a disciplinarian is spot on. IAnon's dog, or at least the outrage that can be generated by trivial interactions with it, is truly the most important thing here.

I don't stick my hands in front of any dog's face. I often will say something to the dog in passing. People bring their dogs to walk on the trails around the campus where I work. The people and the dogs are usually friendly.

Dogs who express curiosity and come up to me, I'll talk to them first. If everyone is just passing by, there might be a nod from the owner and the dog is usually loping along, happy. They just continue on their way.

To me if you are an anxious owner worried about how strangers are interacting with your dog (and who are trying to be friendly) then you are going to have an anxious dog who will be afraid of strangers because it displeases you.

#35 and 44 nailed it. Exactamundo.

talk about first world problems....

@18
Anon never said that he/she doesn't like his/her puppy getting attention.

Training a puppy outside and in public is essential to it being socialized and not a freak-out nervous mess when it's older. So unless you like getting jumped on, barked at or otherwise antagonized by random animals on the street, I kindly suggest you kiss your own ass and figure out how to pull some sense out of it (as you clearly don't have any in your head).

Here's a tip,there are 3 other members of my family who walk our dog around the neighborhood and trails; do not say "hey fido, hey fido" because you've seen him before with my sister and met him, etc. Acknowledge me first and ask to interact with him again rather than treating my like some automated dog walking machine to be ignored.

Also don't reach down and pet my dog as we are walking past you on a narrow trail, he can be nervous at times and could snap at you as he suddenly sees a stranger make a lunge towards his head. Common sense.

Dog parks are a haven for your pet, they can be socialized and learn to interact with dogs and even to ignore them and listen to you.

@12: The thing about the service animal rule is that employees aren't allowed to ask whether it's really a service animal or not fo fear of getting sued, so they can't enforce the rule. It's unfortunate, but true.

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Kind Regards,

Elayne Taylor
Dog Training Tips