Dog owners
~E~
I don't hate dogs, but I sure do hate some dog owners. I don't think it's a great leap to realize that if you own a dog, it's up to you to train the dog to be a safe and reasonably calm member of society.
I'm tired of the stupid terriers next door that start yipping away at me the moment I step out my door. I'm tired of the way the owners either ignore it or helplessly yell at the dog to be quiet. I've never seen them try to actually train the dogs to STFU.
I'm tired of the huge devil dog that lives behind me. It barks ferociously and lunges at the fence every time I go outside. I chatted with the owners one day and told them that I had been attacked by a dog when I was a kid, that their dog scared me, and could we work together to get the dog to stop freaking out on us? I thought that would be a nice way to go about it and would not make them defensive. They seemed agreeable, but have now avoided me for the last two years and the dog still does what it's been doing. They told me it was just protecting it's territory. Guess what? I don't give a shit. The dog can protect it's territory if I'm trying to, oh, climb over its fence or break into its house, but if I'm hanging out clothes in my own backyard the dog needs to back the hell off.
I'm just really sick of fenced in dogs going crazy every time someone walks by. Don't the owners get sick of the barking? Also, people, keep your dogs leashed. I don't care if your dog will supposedly stay in your yard, all I care about is that when I'm taking a walk it scares the hell out of me to see a dog running at me, barking or not. *I* don't know your dog. I don't know if your dog is hoping to rip my throat out or get a belly rub. I shouldn't have to make that distinction. Within city limits your dog should be leashed or fenced at all times. Also, if your dog is coming at me barking, don't tell me that "oh, he's just a big baby. He won't hurt you". OBVIOUSLY your dog is making people uncomfortable. Own that. Call your dog back to you, or come and take it's collar and lead it away from me.
Your dog, to me, is not the most adorable creature EVAR. Really. I get that you love your dog but that doesn't mean I have to like it, or want to pet it, or have to tolerate it's bad behavior. If you're going to own a pet that means taking responsibility for socializing and training the animal so it can be happy and can get along in the world. A big reason I don't have a dog is that I don't have the time or energy to do that.
When I was ten or so I was at the beach in a bikini, out on a spit of land by myself. People could easily see me. A black lab was swimming around and came up to me, then started lunging at me. I freaked out but had the presence of mind to keep shoving my bunched up towel in his mouth every time he came at me. Not one single person came to help. Finally the dog just wandered off and I walked back to the beach. I was covered neck to feet in angry red welts and scratches. A guy who apparently had watched the whole thing said "playing with your dog, eh?" as I walked by. I said yeah, as the tears were coursing down my cheeks. Fucker, he probably got off on it.
I made it back to where my mom was sitting, she took one look at me and grabbed me and ran to the shelter house. Animal control was called and I was taken to the doctor to be swabbed down with antiseptics. They got the dog, it didn't have rabies, so I thankfully avoided those lovely shots.
So yeah, I'm not too keen on loose dogs.
I don't hate dogs, but I sure do hate some dog owners. I don't think it's a great leap to realize that if you own a dog, it's up to you to train the dog to be a safe and reasonably calm member of society.
I'm tired of the stupid terriers next door that start yipping away at me the moment I step out my door. I'm tired of the way the owners either ignore it or helplessly yell at the dog to be quiet. I've never seen them try to actually train the dogs to STFU.
I'm tired of the huge devil dog that lives behind me. It barks ferociously and lunges at the fence every time I go outside. I chatted with the owners one day and told them that I had been attacked by a dog when I was a kid, that their dog scared me, and could we work together to get the dog to stop freaking out on us? I thought that would be a nice way to go about it and would not make them defensive. They seemed agreeable, but have now avoided me for the last two years and the dog still does what it's been doing. They told me it was just protecting it's territory. Guess what? I don't give a shit. The dog can protect it's territory if I'm trying to, oh, climb over its fence or break into its house, but if I'm hanging out clothes in my own backyard the dog needs to back the hell off.
I'm just really sick of fenced in dogs going crazy every time someone walks by. Don't the owners get sick of the barking? Also, people, keep your dogs leashed. I don't care if your dog will supposedly stay in your yard, all I care about is that when I'm taking a walk it scares the hell out of me to see a dog running at me, barking or not. *I* don't know your dog. I don't know if your dog is hoping to rip my throat out or get a belly rub. I shouldn't have to make that distinction. Within city limits your dog should be leashed or fenced at all times. Also, if your dog is coming at me barking, don't tell me that "oh, he's just a big baby. He won't hurt you". OBVIOUSLY your dog is making people uncomfortable. Own that. Call your dog back to you, or come and take it's collar and lead it away from me.
Your dog, to me, is not the most adorable creature EVAR. Really. I get that you love your dog but that doesn't mean I have to like it, or want to pet it, or have to tolerate it's bad behavior. If you're going to own a pet that means taking responsibility for socializing and training the animal so it can be happy and can get along in the world. A big reason I don't have a dog is that I don't have the time or energy to do that.
When I was ten or so I was at the beach in a bikini, out on a spit of land by myself. People could easily see me. A black lab was swimming around and came up to me, then started lunging at me. I freaked out but had the presence of mind to keep shoving my bunched up towel in his mouth every time he came at me. Not one single person came to help. Finally the dog just wandered off and I walked back to the beach. I was covered neck to feet in angry red welts and scratches. A guy who apparently had watched the whole thing said "playing with your dog, eh?" as I walked by. I said yeah, as the tears were coursing down my cheeks. Fucker, he probably got off on it.
I made it back to where my mom was sitting, she took one look at me and grabbed me and ran to the shelter house. Animal control was called and I was taken to the doctor to be swabbed down with antiseptics. They got the dog, it didn't have rabies, so I thankfully avoided those lovely shots.
So yeah, I'm not too keen on loose dogs.
Comments
And I wholeheartedly agree with this post. Pet ownership is a weird thing to begin with and if you're going to invest in that, you need to really invest and not allow your pet to be a nuisance or a danger. In my opinion.
Other than that he was nice though.
I honestly believe you could go outside WITH your dog each time it goes out and train it not to bark. That though takes time and a huge majority of dog owners just want the fun puppy to play with. They don't want to work at it.