VENTING!!! Anyone else get frustrated when people act afraid of Boxers?

[boxerma]

Ok, this is getting to be quite annoying to me and I just had to hear other's experiences. We live in a very trendy town and are within walking distance to a downtown type area that is very dog friendly. EVERYONE has a dog, although mostly golden retrievers. Actually it is like a contest to see who can have the most well mannered, best groomed, most obidient dog. It's like they have their dogs more for show than for pleasure.

Well, I have to say that most of the reactions to my Bingo boy are positive and people love him and think he 's cute and will come right up to him. AND THEN THERE ARE THE OTHER ONES. I am soooooo sick of hearing, "it's a pit bull", or watching people white knuckle their leashes and cross the street for fear of Bingo attacking them I guess. I have had people who use those choke collars with the pointy things on them that dig into thier necks be afriad of my Bingo!!!!!! My boy only has a harness on and they are the ones freaking out! Actually, I this past weekend there was a couple that was walking down the sidewalk and my husband Bingo and I were sitting on the bench drinking coffee. They had two HUGE sheepdog like dogs with those collars on them and they saw Bingo, froze , and looked for a way around him! Bingo was just staring at them. They both freaked like they had never seen a dog before, then the man, didn't know where to go to get away from my ferocious dog (even tho there were plenty of places, we were sitting on the edge of a sidewalk on a bench!) , and ended up sneaking up on all of us, including Bingo , from behind, to get back on the sidewalk!!!! Bingo started barking because he felt threatened and THEY looked at us like Bingo was the one out of control when they were the ones that snuck up on Bingo from behind with their bigger dog!!!!!!! I tell you I almost went and gave the man a piece of my mind.

Sorry to make this so long, but I am so sick of walking with him and people acting like they have never seen a dog before. I have even had women tell me to get out of their way when I was already standing way out of everyone's way! What is up with that. My solution has been to just totally ignore everyone and be in our own little world with Bingo, but then I'll miss the people who want to see him and dogs who do want to meet him. Does anyone have a good way to ignore these stupid people???????

 

[dpasto]

I just take it in stride. My neighbor and her Golden (about 6 months after we moved in) was attacked by two GS dogs from up the street. After that she was VERY afraid of our dogs and just the sound of them playing in their own back yard upset her (she though they were fighting). It has now been over a year and a half and she actually stepped foot in our back yard with the dogs out. I could tell by the way she petted them she was still a little leery but it was a big step.

When we use to walk Bridget down Main Street Ellicott City in the historical area we would get the same reaction from the tourist. Most of the locals knew Bridget and us and loved her to pieces. Just blame it on their ignorance of the breed and try not to let it bother you. If people ask to meet your dog be more then willing to inform them about the gentleness / friendliness of the boxer. More often than not when someone does stop to ask me about one of dogs they say "I have heard they are very good with children" and then are amazed about how lovable they act towards them.

 

[hrb]

Last weekend I took Jackson to my husband's work and when my husband was getting out of the truck the dog went ahead of him and went into the store (dogs are allowed). There was a lady and man (using the term loosely) in there who had 2 kids that they picked up and were screaming for Mike to get the dog away. GIVE ME A BREAK. He is 3 months old and weighs 23 pounds. It isn't like he is 100 pounds and vicious. I can understand wanting to protect your children but it is people like that who make their kids terrified of any dog.

What a joke. I can just imagine these kids when they go to school. I am sure the mother will be there following them around making sure they never get hurt. Get a life. He is just a pup and would NEVER, EVER hurt anyone.

 

[Sohshee'smom]

Girl I know exactly what you mean and I get so mad about it also. This last Saturday I took Sohshee to Pet Smart. Some people were very friendly to her but then there were the "others". You have to remember that Sohshee is only 16 weeks old and only weights 20lbs. This one little boy came up to Sohshee and petted her...then he followed us around for like 20 mins trying to play with her...then she got so excited (like ANY puppy would do) and jumped on him. Well she scratched his leg (barely) and he started crying. (he was around 10 years old) Well his mom said "get away from that dog, PIT BULLS are evil mean dogs" and I said "she is NOT a pit bull, she is a Boxer" and she had the nerve to say "same thing". I said "control your child and know where he is and what he is doing and he won't get hurt". I was so mad. Then this other MAN came up to her and said is that a "pit bull" and I said "NO, she is a boxer" and he said "aren't you worried about having her around your small children?" granted he was walking some "foo foo" dog...I said statisticly (sp) your dog is much more likely to bite my child then my boxer is. ARGHHHHH I know your frustration! I just don't know what to do about it! :confused:

 

[boxerma]

URRGGGGGGGGGG! Wow Heather! That is what I mean, people who act irrationally and also those who are doing something wrong, like letting their child run around wild, then accuse YOU of doing something wrong. What to do about these people! And that pit bull thing, I guess we could just say "educate yourself before you judge others", hey that's good! I feel sorry for pit bull owners who have to go through worse than we do. I feel like they are putting pit bulls down too, and I don't like that either. wow! I can take some things in stride, it's just the ones who feel they must tell me their feelings, or act totally irrational. I also don't understand why people instill total fear of dogs in their children. They are going to go to friends houses that have dogs and if they are afraid of them then it just makes it worse. Why not tell them to act cautious and ALWAYS ask if you can pet a dog and supervise them and do it FIRST before your child does. There are much scarier things in life than dogs. I guess the only thing I can think of is to "go to school" on these people as examples of what I don't want to act like that. I can't imagine what they do around disabled people or someone different from them. I just wish I had quick , intelligent responses but I never seem to think of any until they walk away!

 

[tedjax]

I am not believing how rude some of these people are. I haven't had too much of a problem when walking Indy and Beauty. Most of the people in my neighborhood have large dogs - labs, goldens, collies, etc. However, there is one lady who walks two jack russells in the morning and Indy HATES these dogs. As soon as they see him they jump on each other and start barking - this sends Indy into orbit and then he starts pulling on the leash, etc. The lady is very nice and realizes that her dogs start it, but it's embarrassing. Also, most people will change sides when they see us coming. The funny thing is, Indy is a big baby, but he is huge - about 105 lbs. He loves to play and is friendly to people. Beauty is overweight but is on the small side and peopl hardly give her a second glance when walking.....their mistake! She's a major guard dog and will eat you up if threatened!!!! Indy would scream and run away if anyone threatened me or him!!!

If you are afraid of dogs, DON'T go to PetsMart....I love to see all the different kinds of breeds at PetsMart....there are usually pit bulls, bulldogs, german shepards and one of the trainers always has his mastiff (6 months old and ADORABLE) and sometimes there are boxers - mostly puppies. I've never been afraid of animals, but we've always had a boxer. I was also bitten pretty bad as a small child by a jack russell. He took several bits out of my face...Just chalk it up to people being ignorant.

 

[Tulsa-Dan]

See my post on the same subject here:

http://www.boxerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=12189&highlight=FRUSTRATED


I took the dogs to PetsMart on Sat., and a woman came up to me and said "will your dogs attack my dog?" I just looked at her, unbelievingly. Why in the world would I bring dogs who would attack other dogs into a pet store where I knew there were other dogs around? Of course, I said, "No, they are very well socialized and love other dogs and people." I wish I had said, "Yes, I bring them here to kill and eat other dogs."

And they say dogs are dumb. I'd say people are WAY dumber than dogs!!!!!

 

[Bailey and Riley's Mom]

So Mad!!

This one takes the cake for me:

I had little Riley in town walking around and this woman comes up to me and get this, says "Oh, you are one of those dogs they are killing because you are mean" All the while Riley is licking her and just wanting to give as many kisses as possible. Some people are so ignorent.

 

[Linda]

It's just ignorance

I have to admit one of my attractions to boxers is their intimidating look. So when people behave that way, I have to remind myself that that is part of having a boxer.

But try having a big white boxer with short cropped ears and see what comments you get! :rolleyes:

I don't expect everyone to know what breed my dogs are, but they should understand how stupid it sounds when they act like they do. A simple, "what breed is your dog?" comes across so much better than, "is that a pitbull?"

Last fall we were camping and a little girl and her mom were walking past our campsite. Bailey was just over a year old. She saw the little girl (probably 3 or 4) and stretched to the end of her lead and wiggled and tried to greet the girl. This darling little blonde girl looked at Bailey, waved her arms, and yelled, "get away from me, you bad dog!!" The mother looked over and said, "stay away from that dog." Geeesh!

 

[scotts]

As proud boxer owners, we must educate those who are unaware or frightened of boxers. These folks don't realize how fantastic our boxers are.
When Shelby and I are out in town and we encounter situations similar to the one's you are facing, I come out and tell people how friendly Shelby is and let them know it would be ok for them to approach/pet her.
Some approach, some do not. For those who do not, at least I know I tried to help them confront their own fears.

Hah- If they only knew what they are missing!! Boxers are the best!!!!!!!!!!!