Shouted at today!

[Rebecca]

Right near the end of our walk up the Sidlaw hills today Murphy decides to jump up a stranger and left a cracking muddy footprint on his jacket.  I got seriously shouted at with things like "you bl**dy dog owners with out of control dogs off the lead", etc etc.  We've been working very hard on his "off" (and resorted to training discs which have helped immensely) but sometimes he just forgets (and as it happened, I didn't have the discs with me and was distracted with the other dog when it happened).  Oh dear.  Well, I suppose it had to happen sometime, but why oh why didn't he jump up one of the nicer people we met on our walk today (6 in total), instead of this gentlemen who obviously doesn't like dogs.  Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to offer to pay for his jacket to be dry cleaned (if indeed that's what it needed) because he was too busy shouting at me :-( 

Just thought I'd share.  Not going to let it ruin my day, although it did shake me up a bit.  Looks like I could do with some less public walks though... since they put up Forestry Commission signs at this particular walk it has turned into Picadilly Circus.

[Louise Perry]

Someone elses small dog peed all over my smart long coat and boots today and I but all could laugh, if it makes you feel better!

[Ossian]

it really narks me that the little dogs get away with blue murder. If that had been one of my setters there would have been a row about it. Mind you would have had pretty wet boots!!

[Louise Perry]

Yes exactly my point. My walking coat is covered in muddy paw prints below waist level , so definitely not setters! But for some reason the owners of the offending dogs think it is cute! Personally the little dogs on springs are beginning to test my good nature. I am lucky as Reuben is not a jumper but does go to say hello to people and interrupt joggers. So I am working hard on telling him to "leave" but it is so hard when most people say " I don't mind" and then fuss him. I need Reuben to wear a big sign saying 'in training, please ignore me'

[Louise Perry]

Second to this I need another sign saying "sorry if I p...ed you off, but 8 months old and in training"

[Angela Roberts]

love this comment but for mine I would have to put ...8 YEARS old and in training. I'm lucky to have loads of land to exercise mine on so they don't go out in public places much and yes they are dreadful for jumping up when people come to the house

[Elizabeth Ball]

I have exactly this problem too when you are desperately trying to get their wiggly bums to stay on the floor and you see that front paw raising in excitement and you know it is about to be followed by the second paw and a launch from the rear so you issue a sharp "no" and the other person looks at you like you've lost your mind and says "oh no it's alright she's only a puppy", stroke, stroke, stroke. Then you have to politely defend the fact she won't be a puppy forever and we are trying to learn doggy manners. I have been known to ask people to wait for her to calm down before rewarding her with attention but I absolutely cannot seem to get her to focus on me instead regardless of whatever treat I may have with me (even roast chicken - her fave) All suggestions gratefully received.

There is one guy we see most days walking his dog and he has jokingly nicknamed Bella "the hooligan" and shouts it out when he sees us coming and I feel a little bit defensive because he's the one who gets her all excited and pogo-ing around when but a minute before she has been walking nicely on her lead. Then I have the nightmare of getting her to calm down after our paths have crossed and refocus on not pulling me around. I know he means well but my heart does sink a little when I hear "here comes the hooligan".

My parents were here at the weekend unintentionally trying to undo all my good work and when I explained to them that we all had to be consistent with the jumping thing (and not blow raspberries on her head) I heard my mum muttering something about Doggy Bootcamp which made me smile.

I had a good one this week when I took Bella into Tring town to try and get her more street savvy (that's another story) and a 2/3 year old came running towards us with dummy in mouth and Bella promptly sat down. The toddler then wrapped her arms around Bella's neck (they were about the same height) and gave her a big cuddle, my heart was in my mouth for that split second as we don't have any children and Bella hasn't met that many and it all happened before I could stage an intervention, and Bella just sat there and took it with a waggy tail. She didn't try to steal the dummy, jump or anything. I was so proud. When the toddlers mummy caught up she said "sorry about that, we have a black lab and she thinks all dogs like cuddles" I thought she was insane because we all know that not all dogs like cuddles!

I won't get started on the crimes small dogs get away with.......

[Marion Kroes]

Hi Elizabeth, I had a good lauch this morning when I was reading your comment. I could see it right before my eyes. And also that little child. You know: the caracter of an Irish Setter is GENTLE to children, thats the reason we took a setter 34 years ago before we got children. And of course not any dog is a nice dog. But when such happened, hope the setter will have their original caracter. A nice dog won't hurt children if they don't hurt them. You know all the people they have met when they were a puppy they still remember when they are older. They NEVER forget. Good things and bad things. Thank you for a good start in the morning. With kind regards from Holland, Marion

[Elizabeth Ball]

I was fairly confident that Bella wouldn't jump or nibble the little girl - I was more worried about her stealing the dummy and there being tears and tantrums..... after all Bella firmly believes that anything that goes towards the mouth must be for eating.

[Linda Baldry]

Hi Rebecca, don't know if it will help but if you have been using the training discs another tip is to get a small plastic bottle and half fill it with pebbles - I use this with my dogs to stop any unwanted behaviour and one shake of the bottle gets their attention straight away and distracts them from jumping up, I often lob it at them to land just beside them if they are away from me and again it usually works, Good Luck with the training, regards Linda.

[Marion Kroes]

Linda had a good idea. I did remember we just had a bundle of old keys, binding together, they are mostly scared of the noise. If you rattle with the bundle it can be enough. If not, indeed throw it next to him/her. Good Luck! Oh, by the way, our Guinness jumped also when he was young but now he is a well behaved dog (now he is nine years old, ha ha). It takes time but this bevaviour will not last for ever. Marion

[danielle rowles]

Elizabeth, that was a lovely story that brought a smile to my face, and it also reminded me of a story of my eldest (not that she acts it) Elise when she was still a youngster!
Me and my husband had been walking her in a nice field that was next to a little play area, there were no children around at the time and the field was away from the play bit and was fenced in but there was an entrance bit. Anyway, Elise suddenly decided to have a longer run and of she went, faster than we could run after her!! Some kids had started playing a she could hear them, we caught up with her a couple of mins later, my panic had been that she would jump up and knock some poor kid over etc etc. This didn't happen and she was in fact lying down, flat on her back, legs in the air, surrounded my 6 young kids all on the floor with her and giving her a good belly rub!!
All my dogs know not to jump up at people when out on walks, but sometimes people dont help the situation and it happens by accident, most of the time they ignore people when out walking, either that or they go running up towards them and then when they get close they swerve and run a different way! I do always worry about the jumping up in case they hurt someone, but my worries are always fasle as they dont do it.

I'm another one that can't stand little dogs, ankle biters!! I always think to myself "if you want a dog, get a proper dog, not something that is smaller than my cat!" And as for owners not clearing up after their dog, that drives me nuts, I think every coat I own has doggy bags in it and the amount of times I've put my jeans in the washer and then found dogs bags in the machine when I empty it!! It drives me mad, I now find myself spending alot of time out on walks looking down at the floor to make sure I dont step in anything! Sue, you not a "sad old cow" your simply like most of us being a responsible dog owner, don't people realise a) how disgusting dog poo on the path is and b) it can make people blind!

[Elizabeth Ball]

I love the idea of your dogs ignoring people when you are out on a walk, I dream of such things. Bella sees it as her mission to meet and greet everyone who should cross her path and is most peturbed when someone chooses not to say hello. Bella is yet to fully grasp that not everyone is a dog person or perhaps has somewhere they need to get to and can't be delayed by big brown eyes and a waggy tail. She is very good in that she knows to approach and put her bum on the ground, but I find that sometimes my walks take longer than they should when she spies a person maybe 50-100 metres behind us and she decides to sit down and wait for them to catch us up whilst I valiantly try to drag or lure her off in another direction.

Agree completely with the disgustingness of dog poo being left behind and I fail to comprehend why any owner would think it was OK to walk away. I accept no-one likes picking it up but it is the price we pay for having a dog in our life. We mostly go walkies in rural areas (as that is where I live) and it can be a good hike between poo-bins which was a challenge when Bella was little and thought that a filled poo-bag was something to be jumped and grabbed at! Glad those days are over.