[nagdu] the public and dog breeds

Julie J. julielj at neb.rr.com
Thu Jun 25 19:17:15 UTC 2015


Valerie wrote:
*In short, some people in the public are not that bright.*

Oh my goodness yes!  I had a Beagle, a horrible and aggressive Beagle, when 
I was in high school.  He was accused of being a pit bull fairly frequently. 
He was your classic tri color Beagle, but some people are going to think and 
say and react in totally off the wall ways.

I've had people ask if Monty is a pit bull.  He's a lab and Boxer mix and 
his head shape is just about as far from a bit bull as you can get.  I've 
also been asked if he is a Great Dane and other random breeds. I don't get 
why people don't leave off the random guessing and just ask what breed the 
dog is.  It would avoid a lot of looking stupid.

Oh, and I had someone tell me they had a lab at home that looked just like 
Jetta.  She's my Doberman.  Never a dull moment!

Julie
Courage to Dare: A Blind Woman's Quest to Train her Own Guide Dog is now 
available! Get the book here:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00QXZSMOC
-----Original Message----- 
From: Valerie Gibson via nagdu
Sent: Thursday, June 25, 2015 1:55 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Cc: Valerie Gibson
Subject: Re: [nagdu] the public and dog breeds

Hello,

I can understand the thing about the compliments.  When I'm out with my 
friend, who has a lab guide dog, my akita receives the bulk of the 
compliments, and then my friend's dog receives compliments on her behavior.

Because people's first sense is visual, they complement Zion on his coat 
color.  Having never seen color, it is difficult for me to truly get it, but 
people stop mid conversation to look over and tell me, "He's beautiful."  If 
we do stop and talk, they will then notice my friend's dog because she's 
more calm, not to say my dog is crazy hyper, but he's still got that puppy 
energy about him.

In regards to dog breeds, I will sometimes get comments on how friendly he 
is for an akita.   I don't get them often because most people that we 
encounter are not familiar with the breed.

This is for the person who said they jokingly wished they had a pit bull so 
that the public would give them some peace.

Just because you have a dog who is more  prone to aggression doesn't mean 
people will leave you in peace.  People will make the mistake, no matter 
what the breed, that your dog is friendly because it is a service dog.  The 
people who do make this mistake, I try to correct.  I don't want the public 
thinking that service dogs can be threatening, but nor do i want the public 
thinking that a dog wouldn't hurt them because he's a service dog.

Here's an example.  I was talking to a passer-by while  on the way back to 
my apartment.  As we were talking, a guy comes up and starts talking to my 
dog.  To my surprise, Zion started backing away from this guy, who proceeded 
to keep walking toward my dog.  Before i could say anything, the lady told 
the man that he was making the dog uncomfortable and he needed to stop 
approaching the dog.

The man said, "oh he's friendly. he's got a harness on."

The lady and i tried to explain to the man that, though he is a working dog, 
he is an akita first, and while service dogs are trained to be socialable, 
it is a very dangerous assumption to make, especially if you know what this 
breed was bred for, as the man did.

I firmly believe that dogs are what they are raised to be, but I also don't 
ignore breeds.

For the person who said they wished they had a pit bull, though it was 
joking, I don't think the public, in general, would think, "oh, it's a pit 
bull. let's leave it alone."

For those of us who have met really good pits, I would know that the pit 
bull might be friendly, but I'd never assume the dog is friendly.

I know this borders on the fact that the man should not have tried to pet my 
dog anyway, but i think a little extra caution is needed when you're 
approaching a dog who you know was bred for hunting and protection work, and 
when the dog is making obvious signs of not wanting to go near you.

In short, some people in the public are not that bright.




> On Jun 24, 2015, at 10:39 PM, Raven Tolliver via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> 
> wrote:
>
> As someone who plans on sticking to goldens, I suspect I'll always be
> flooded by the public. The compliments, comments, and questions are
> never-ending. Most of the time, I just ignore it, or politely thank
> them for compliments on how beautiful my dog is or how well-behaved he
> is. He usually keeps to himself, but people still get curious, chatty,
> and handzy. I think the amount of attention your dog attracts has more
> to do with curiosity and ignorance than the dog's behavior.
>
> The people who are fearful of dogs are fearful no matter what, in my
> experience. Some people just see a huge dog, and are afraid regardless
> of breed. One time, I was playing with the Golden Guy at a park. I
> took him down a slide, and at the bottom, I lost the leash. He took
> off to say hello to a Dachshund. The poor dog owners were frightened
> by this, so they left with their dog. I don't blame them. They knew
> nothing about my dog.
>
> About dogs being mistaken for female. I think many people assume
> lighter colored dogs are girls. My dog is truly golden; he's pretty
> blonde. So many people think he's a girl. Also, he has a small head
> for a male golden. It's proportionate, yes. But compared to other male
> goldens, his head is smaller, so I think that has something to do with
> it, too.
> -- 
> Raven
> Founder of 1AM Editing & Research
> www.1am-editing.com
>
> You are valuable because of your potential, not because of what you
> have or what you do.
>
> Naturally-reared guide dogs
> https://groups.google.com/d/forum/nrguidedogs
>
> On 6/24/15, Lisa via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> Hi Dan, that's really funny! :D
>> Yesterday, even the vet said "She" at first. There must be something 
>> about
>> Taylor but I don't know what it is.
>>
>> Lisa
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Dan Weiner via nagdu" <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>> To: "'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'"
>> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>> Cc: "Dan Weiner" <dcwein at dcwein.cnc.net>
>> Sent: Wednesday, June 24, 2015 2:28 PM
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] the public and dog breeds
>>
>>
>>> Or what about the bizarre conversation I had the other day:
>>> "Is he a girl dog?"
>>> Dan: "he's a boy yes"
>>>
>>> "she's so beautiful."
>>>
>>> You've gotta' smile at that one--lol
>>>
>>> Dan W. and the Parker hound
>>>
>>> dcwein at dcwein.cnc.net
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Lisa via 
>>> nagdu
>>> Sent: Wednesday, June 24, 2015 8:09 AM
>>> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
>>> Cc: Lisa
>>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] the public and dog breeds
>>>
>>> Hi Pam and all,
>>>
>>> I often wish (jokingly of course) I had a pitbull or another breed 
>>> that's
>>> sadly seen by the public as dangerous. So they would let me and my dog
>>> have
>>> our peace.
>>> I have a lab whose face looks, according to many sighted people 
>>> including
>>>
>>> my
>>> guide dog trainer, like a puppy's face. Additionally, he's so friendly
>>> and
>>> wagging his tail all the time. Almost every member of the public wants 
>>> to
>>> say hi to him and says: "She's still young, isn't she?" So apart from 
>>> the
>>> fact that he'll be 4 in November, really everybody thinks he's a female.
>>> A
>>> female puppy with a heart full of joy. I sometimes hate the public. ;-)
>>>
>>> Lisa
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: "Pam via nagdu" <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>>> To: <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>>> Cc: "Pam" <pamyoung80 at gmail.com>
>>> Sent: Monday, June 22, 2015 11:17 AM
>>> Subject: [nagdu] the public and dog breeds
>>>
>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> hi all. just going back to something which was discussed on another
>>>> thread
>>>> about the public's interaction with guide dogs. just curious if any of 
>>>> u
>>>> think it depends on the breed of dog u have and the amount of attention
>>>> the dog gets from the public? i have a couple of friends that went from
>>>> having lab/retriever crosses to shepherd/retrievers and they have both
>>>> said people pretty much stay away from them now they have
>>>> shepherd/retrievers. that they seem to b more wary of them. i also have
>>>> a
>>>> friend that has a golden/doodle and she is constantly being stopped by
>>>> people. so i'm interested to hear your thoughts on this " :) Sent from
>>>> my
>>>> iPhone
>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>
>>
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>
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