Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Sky and Lyla on October 4, 2009 at 10:36am

I think that dogs have a better intuition than we do! (Although you were of course right for still correcting them. Unfortunately, Animal Control probably wouldn't buy the "but it was their highly tuned intuition" excuse if they bit someone.) I remember one time when Sky was about 6 months old we met a guy in my apartment complex who creeped me out just the slightest bit. And Sky, who was (and still is) normally the dog to get so excited to meet new people and want everyone to pet him, sat down and growled. I felt much safer knowing that he would give me a warning that, hey, something's not right with this person!

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Avyon on October 4, 2009 at 11:04am

yea it was so surprising to me because they're usually people lovers. Charlie goes to the point of trying to crawl into strangers laps sometimes lol.

Isn't it weird how they can sense these things sometimes though?

and yea - they've never snapped at a person before which was really shocking to me. Im unsure what would have happened if I didn't call them back.. but thats also a reminder to make sure you have full control of your pets at all times. I dunno what I would have told animal control lol. "It was his hat... they hated his hat *nods* bad colors they chose for that design.."

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by DR, Nala & Simon on October 4, 2009 at 11:17am

"No pizza, no love".

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on October 4, 2009 at 11:29am

Wynn picks out people (very few) he doesn't like and though he has never snapped he's barked and growled...I trust Wynn's judgement. You were right to correct them! Wynn is always good with people except for those few!!!!

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Deanna on October 4, 2009 at 11:32am

Avvon, believe it or not, your last statement is a very true one -- the hat! It's not just the color, but the "duck bill" (Don't they wear ball caps for hats?) that they don't like. With winter time coming on fast here, I'm almost dreading our walks in the park with my furchildren as Topaz absolutely hates hoods, hoodies, umbrellas, etc. She doesn't bark and snap, but runs with her "stub" close to her body in total terror in the opposite direction.

Second, if the guy didn't squat down to their level, but instead was bending over from a standing position to pet your babies was/is an intimidating and sometimes threatening stance from the dogs' eyes and perspective. If this was a relatively young person, my guess is that they haven't had enough experiences in life to know this.

Third, be careful in your own environment/surroundings and pay attention to "strangers" around you by how your babies react -- which I know you're already aware of from your description of their demeanor with people. But also remember that companies don't send out their own employees to do the "flyer" things. Many times they hire a sort of "day labor" type crew that contracts with these companies to do this flyer solicitation, and they are only given the minimal clothing/attire to
"identify" the purpose for them being on the property. Their surface task at hand is legitimate, but sometimes their underlying intentions are not -- just a thought and a hint. I don't want to scare you -- but after an experience like this many years ago -- without dogs to protect me -- a week later, there were 3 break-ins on the complex. I was fortunate and wasn't one of them because I was home at the time the flyers were being distributed, made eye contact with the person, and, like you, actually spoke to them face to face.

I very much agree with Sky and Lyla, dogs do have much better intuition than we do -- they sense, see, hear, smell what we can't.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Avyon on October 4, 2009 at 11:48am

yea I was thinking it was the hat too but then I remembered a lot of my friends wear them. He did mention that he had dogs and they probably smelled them but his reaction just didnt seam right for a dog owner.

Especially in this neighborhood I agree with your statement. I'm actually pretty paranoid when it comes to strangers around here. While it's rare to be home a lone Im one of those people who lock their door haha. This is actually very different then when we lived in VT where everything was unlocked all the time. A very different atmosphere.The boyfriend walks them at night (what a good boy :)) and I walk them in the morning.

It was true that he didn't get down to their level as well which I also noticed. A lot of people don't do this and usually its ok. They just sorta skitter away and then people crouch down with the usual "tsk tsk tsk here puppy".

The outsourcing does seem correct too. He was a very older man which surprised me but didn't at the same time because of the economy. I've seen older people take up more part time highschool type jobs around here more then usual. I guess I'm just too friendly for my own good sometimes.

• ▶ Reply