Masking Poor Dog Behaviour? - Page 2

"I just was not born with the capability of understanding dog behavior and training....Maybe some folks are..I am a work in progress...: )"

I like the "work in progress" part....that's what I am (my dogs too, I suppose).  For me, the hardest part with regard to the original post is when someone doesn't appear to be making any effort to correct/prevent the behavior.  Meanwhile, I'm trying to wrangle my two and I'm just really wishing someone would scoop up their 7 lb dog (to keep him/her from jumping up in front of my dogs) and be on their way so I can be on mine.  What's worse is when a dog has escaped the backyard and there's no one aware that he/she is out and tormenting me...er..my dogs, lol. 

Truthfully, I just don't want anyone to get hurt...to include my dogs and/or anyone else's.
 

The other owners do it because they are clueless.   I was walking my dog past a westie that suddenly jumped up and started barking at me and my dog.  As the dog was barking at me, the owner was telling me how her dog doesn't mean it and is really very funny.

My 2 favorite reactions by an owner to their dog barking/growling/lunging at me and my dog is, 1) holding the leash tight and taunt (best way to comminucate the owner's stress to the dog) and 2) the owner reaching down to pat the dog, thereby encouraging the dog to bark.

How about a nice firm "quiet" followed by a hard tug on the leash or several tugs on the leash when the dog barks?

I don't want to come across wrong but the majority (not each and everyone) of those dog owners don't know dogs. Or reading the dog, theirs or the one advancing. There was a thread a while back where I questioned a owner who stated when she went down this street and that street and this street that all these dogs were approaching her, aggressive etc., etc. I questioned if you know these dogs are along the route you have chosen then why take that route? Her belief was she should be able to go wherever she wanted! True to an extent....... But why would you knowingly contribute to a possible altercation between dogs? You won't be able to break up the fight unless you know enough and then what happens where there are multiple dogs?

For me or my dogs, depending on the situation, I would definitely tell the other dogs owner what is unacceptable/tolerated. I rarely get into these situations due to my dogs being service dogs or in training to become service dogs. They're too valuable to let another dog/stupid owner actions or lack of, possibly harm them.      

In most part it is the owners that need to go to a training school not there dogs so much, most do not have a clue as to how to handle a dog in any situation, IT' is no big deal getting dogs to move around other dogs and people without problems,
My Two i can walk through 20 such dogs and they will hardly give any other dog a glance, they will walk on as if they are not even there. We train at the club after working them 2 and 3 dogs on the field together with handlers, we start off in a line spread out on the field some yards apart. 
We walk up the field and tell the dogs to down walk on 50 paces turn to face the dogs.
 Another Guy walks between the dogs laying down, then one handler calls his dog to him and that dog runs up the field and sits in front of the handler then told to heel the other two dogs stay put, Then another Guy calls his dog to him leaving one laying down finally that dog is called, things like that is good fun and of course part of BOP these exercises train good manners into an animal and if it does good then well that is well worth doing.
Steve1

That isn't behavior most of us would tolerate in our dogs but then we know our dogs.  Yes some people are clueless.  I have been walking mine through hiking trails, or on a trip in town and if I pay attention to the approaching dogs, if it is obvious the dog can bark, etc but can't get to me or my dog I just keep walking my guys ignore it or they will glance at it to me as if to say "what is his problem".  If it is a dog that the owner does not have under control, and I'm not sure if it could or could not possibly be a problem, I walk mine off the path and put the in a platz next to me.  That normally causes the other owner to become very embarassed.  There was one guy that thought it was funny to let his aggressive dog torment the other walkers and their dogs, I removed mine and put them in a platz, the dog started growling at me.  I would have ignored him but he just stood there letting his dog lunge at the end of his leash some terrier mix  and growl, bark and snap at me with a smile on his face as I had seen him do to others.  So I released mine from the platz to a stand and told him he had 2 options he could take his dog and start walking or I could drop my leash and it was anybodies bet wether my dog grabbed the dog or him.  He decided to keep walking. 

As some of the other people said, the owners really are dissing their own dogs.......and some owners just don't know what to do, or they're embarrassed about their dogs behavior.  So some of the things they say are more so from being nervous or embarrassed.  I run along that every day pretty much.  A woman with a Schnauzer named Tinkerbell always runs towards the road barking at my dogs...... Well, the owner yells at her dog..... TINKBERBELL!!! GET COME HERE!!! Tinkerbell....those dogs would make a snack out of you.   There is also an older man who.....I honestly don't mind it from him.  He is in an electric wheel chair and he has a really small dog.  He tries so hard to make his dog stop barking (the dog doesn't go out in the street) and will make it go back to the house.

 Typically though in our neighborhood, dogs are loose and run the streets while their owners aren't home.  There are also a couple of packs of dogs that roam the streets each day as well, and there are many dogs that will try to approach you in the streets here (Typically approaching the dogs, not me).  Our neighborhood will help you to learn how to read dogs fast, and even control dogs that do not belong to you to keep them from attacking or even approaching. It can be something as simple as standing there, allowing the other dogs to sniff from a distance.....and since my dogs are controlled, after the other dogs smell from a distance, and see we're no threat then they go back and lay down.....Doing that has helped with quite a few houses we pass, the dogs will only glance now, see it's us, and lay back down.   There are some houses where the dogs will come out in the road barking at you.  Some dogs are extremely fearful to the point that if you just continue walking they will wait to target you from your back side. (fear biters)   Knowing how to read them, and when to make what move, and when to move on has helped to where I can walk past them without problems anymore other than just barking from them.  

There have been a couple of aggressive dogs who would attack if you weren't forceful and very forward towards them.  To be honest some of the "Cesar" approaches have helped tremendously in controlling other dogs, more so the energy/body language, etc.  I never yell or anything, but learning how to read dogs over the years of seeing all of them in the neighborhood (And working with many dogs in general),  and added some of those methods into it, has helped considering almost no one here controls their dogs.  We have a few people in our neighborhood that are scared to even walk their dogs.  One of them has a 90 lb Giant Schnauzer, both whom I'll be helping train soon.   Most people don't walk as far as I do, so they don't see all of the dogs that I see.  It's annoying, frustrating, but it has helped me train my dogs extremely well.  I'd almost rather have it like this, than a boring walk with nothing going on.  I've told some of the people before that their dogs behavior is not acceptable......many don't care,  some claim they do, but nothing is ever done. There is however, one house that is just....odd.... They have a goat that is usually standing in the driveway, they have a monkey (you can hear it inside), they have a Great Dane, a Husky, a Boxer, and three cats......Interesting house.  And then one house has a dog who is usually sitting in the chair every morning on the porch.  I need to take a video camera with me on a walk one day, video tape my walk through the "zoo" as I call it sometimes.

A monkey??

Yeah..... a monkey.....they tried to get all of these "cool" animals for what reason I don't know.   Those people are absolutely nuts.   They also asked me recently if I wanted their Husky because it kept escaping every day.  

I have to admit the thought of having a little monkey is fun, however they don't stay little, and the last thing I need is a pet that can go on top of the fridge and throw poop at the dogs when they annoy it.  I'm now done derailing the thread sorry.