Strange post, I know! Maybe I have too much time on my hands... but I am constantly frustrated by other dog owners around me. Maybe it is because I live in a small community where everyone knows everyone's business. I don't know, but am I the only one that feels this way? Am I unreasonable? I appreciate not everyone will do things the same way as I do, but for example: walking puppy's far to much, letting them off the lead responsibly, leaving them alone for far too long, then wondering why they have seperation anxiety, stating they gave their dog a 'good hiding' for 'stealing food' etc etc.

I have now been banned by my husband from talking about dogs at dinner parties, as I cannto keep myopinions to myself, and he says for me it is akin to discussing politics or religion.

please someone tell me I am not the only one?! :-)

you are not the only one!!!

Hi Jackson you are not alone , I live in the suberb of a large city and see some ridiculous dog owners antics , I think we forget sometimes that dogs to us are special loved creatures who are part of our lives ,to others they are a nuisance having to take for a walk ,feed and god forbid 'train'.

I confess I too am a dog bore!!

no you are not the only one.

You're definitely not the only one, in fact, I'll go as far as to say it's not only other dog owners that irritate me, but other people in general - with some exceptions of course!!! :-D

But then I can be a grumpy old mare at times :-)

Claire

Not in glorious isolation at all jackson - some folks treat their dogs very roughly or have little interest in what they're doing or having them off lead on busy roads etc. 

My youngster has just turned a year - according to two middle aged ladies who have both got golden oldies of their own he's now of an age where a 'good hiding' will let him know who's boss ..................... beggars belief but they mean it, and with the 'best of intentions' too!   These are otherwise very pleasant, good natured, educated women with what appear to be hearts of gold and genuine love for their own dogs :( 

It seems some old wives tales live on and I think there are still a lot of folks that have grown up with the family dog having it's nose rubbed in toilet accidents and being chased with a rolled up newspaper :( 

Gotta keep trying to educate but it's not easy keeping cool in those circumstances!

you defaintly are not the only one.

I'm the same

No youre not the only one..... Im constantly amazed by some owners who have their dogs running wild off leads while they stand gossiping in a group with their friends.

Out of politeness I always call by dogs back to my side and put them back on their leads if I see unleashed dogs approaching ...just till I figure out their temprement and how they are with my dogs.

The number of times dogs off leads have charged at me and their owners have shouted from a distance..."its ok He/she wont bite" only to find me having to drag them off my dogs and then be followed by said dogs till the owners have dragged themselves away from their gossip to come rescue me.

thing is ...they look at me like its my fault and tutting because they have had to cut short their interesting conversation.

Maddens me that

You are not alone but  dogs are a bit like children. There is an unwritten rule that you cant outright say what you think if a child/dog is rude,badly behaved or  you think the owners/parents arent doing wht you think they should do.

Peoples perceptions vary as to what is allowed or acceptable, and rightly or wrongly it is up to them

Another 'frustrated at other dog owners' from me. Just to name a few things: Being told that because I own a Weim, I will need to pin her down and show her who's boss as they are tough dogs to crack (I told this guy he shouldn't be allowed to have such a beautiful dog and walked off)- The overweight lab who is only 1 year old and can barely walk a quarter mile- The lady who brings her bitch in season into a park full of dogs and wonders why people get mad at her- The neighbour who owns a boxer staff cross and leaves him tied up in the back yard 24/7 (he has now been rescued)- HOWEVER, I have also made some fantastic friends whilst out with Storm, who treat their dogs with respect and kindness and TBH they almost make up for all the idiots out there who are allowed to own a dog. 

> I have now been banned by my husband from talking about dogs at dinner parties, as I cannto keep myopinions to myself, and he says for me it is akin to discussing politics or religion.

Yes it's a bit like criticising the way some people bring up their children - not the done thing!!  It's soooo hard to resist when they happily tell you they've "just taken a 10 month old puppy on a 18 mile run and she's still not tired"

I have to say though, there have been some dinner parties when I'd rather sit with the dogs than the guests - much better table manners and better educated opinion :) 

> I have to say though, there have been some dinner parties when I'd rather sit with the dogs than the guests - much better table manners and better educated opinion

Me too :-)

Jackson you certainly are not alone....

and stormy84 i have made some fantastic doggie friends as well thankfully ;-)

In my previous job I was banned from talking about dogs! lol

So when I started this job just over a year I made a point of trying not to talk about the dogs, sometimes though I just can't keep my trap shut!

>> I have to say though, there have been some dinner parties when I'd rather sit with the dogs than the guests - much better table manners and better educated opinion

me too.. give me my dogs anyday. apart from a few very good friends but funnily enough most of them have the same breed of dogs as myself so the conversations usually end up with dog talk!

Going back to the main point there seems to be so many irresponsible dog owners that i have to bite my tongue on occassions.. the main thing that does make me angry is when i meet another dog off the lead with their owners nowhere to be seen, then 20 seconds later the owners dawdle up! this worries me as if its a strange dog you don't know the temperament and if all my 3 are with me and on the lead then it can get a bit scary.

All people are very very different in what they think is the right way to do this or that so if we believe we have the right to be critical of the way someone else brings up their dog or their kids then we are admitting ourselves to be 'wrong' in the eyes of anyone who differes from ourselves.

A teacher recently was describing an older teen pupil who came to her school late, badly dressed and without having eaten breackfast. In her eyes totally neglected. I told her it sounds like my son. What this lady views as neglect I view as a part of the process of becomming independant. My kids are now provided with the opportunity to get breakfast wash and iron their clothing and get to school on time because they need to learn to do these things for themselves. I don't see it as neglect in fact it is harder then if when I did do it all for my kids. But to some folk it is neglect. Who knows which way is right or wrong and the world isn't going to come to a sudden end just because we are all different.

Yes at times people can go too far and might need some 'help',  but on the whole ( imo ) you've got to live and let live and trust people to muddle along and work things out for themselves, or we will all end up tied up in restrictive knots.

As far as dogs and kids go I don't thnk it is about getting it 'right' all the time, but in fixing things when/if they do go all pear shaped and saying sorry, and accepting appologies when they are offererd and with a little give and take things normally work out okay. But as far as being irrtating there is nothing worse then someone who sticks their nose in where it's not wanted so it's best to only offer advice when people ask for it and people seem to accept advice when they are given open ideas and options.

Oh yes definitely! I have friends who don't groom their Cavaliers often enough. I have other friends who insist on feeding their Cavaliers own brand 'Greyhound mix' and refuse to see how skinny one of them is! I see people in the park scared to let their Shih Tzus off the lead but they refuse to either go to training or at least use an extending lead. And don't get me starting on my grooming clients with untrained unbrushed dogs, I've been moaning about them in another thread! But wouldn't it be dull if we were all the same and all perfect, lol! As long as there's no serious neglect or cruelty (and even the skinny Cav is putting a little weight on now I'm going on about him every week and telling her to feed him more) there's not much I can do!

Do I need to say that you arent alone? 

I hate other dog owners when they are so dense!  Or the owners that get dogs, then give them away, then get another!  Or the owners that leave a short coated breed outside all day long in the winter, and let them bark up a storm. Or the owners that breed their dogs at 6 months of age!  Oh yes, dog owners sometimes annoy me. 

Me and Hubby at a dinner party and the talk turned to " Oh you've got King Charles haven't you? Isn't it awful that they deliberatly breed them so their brains wont fit" .....................***???***
" My daughter, she's terribly clever, she's is in her 4th year of Vet Medicine and when she qualifies she's not going to treat pedigree dogs..it's against her principles - they're all a disaster."

.........and I'm getting more and more wound up but Hubby is giving me daggers (and sharp ones too)...every fibre of his being is willing me to at least get to the desert before letting rip.... but I couldn't help my self ...honestly.

" well"  says I, " she's not that clever then ...she's gonna be the only poor vet in England."

And basically the evening fizzled to an end with no one saying much after that. Ah well.........

I am the same :-( but i have also made some cracking dog walking friends.... :-)

Oh Tooolz!  ROFL.  Your poor hubby :-)  I'm not allowed out of the house now lol (too gobby).  Ignorance really is a sin though.

I have to confess, when it's really dark and cold (as it is up here) I generally let the dogs out into the garden for the toilet.  Well, nothing more embarrassing than standing in your own dogs poo!!!

Hehe, my vet doesn't make any money off me I'm glad to say.

I am a dog bore to,I could talk dogs all night if we are out socialising ,and I get the look from my OH,but I say to him its no more boring than you talking about you classic car,

Im always talking about our dogs at home and when im out, my son and hubby say to me...have you got nothing else to talk about except dogs...i say...NO.

> Im always talking about our dogs at home and when im out, my son and hubby say to me...have you got nothing else to talk about except dogs...i say...NO.

that sounds just like me! :-) everyone gets so sick of me going on and on! oh well...like i care!

I am the same, I just don't understand some people & how they can be in charge of a dog!

My BF doesn't ask me questions about my dogs anymore, one question usually turns into a great big speech about dogs, I was so chuffed we got a VHC out of 11 the other weekend i was waving my place card eveywhere but he just said "is THAT all you got? AND you didn't win?" WELL that just got me going even more lol

> Im always talking about our dogs at home and when im out, my son and hubby say to me...have you got nothing else to talk about except dogs...i say..No.

LOL my hubby is always saying this to me!!  lol :-)

My family, friends and colleagues are just the same towards me as well.
It got the point at work that they took me into the office and asked if i was serious about doing to job i was doing and wouldn't working for the Rscpa be more appropriate for me.. I've had to keep quiet at work now, but i don't see how talking about my passion is so bad. Others do, just because its to do with football or another sport its acceptable??

suejaw- totally agree with that! Why are the idiots at work allowed to go on and on and on and ON about football all freaking day- then others who have interests like our dogs get singled out!!? Used to drive me crazy- thankfully I have escaped and now spend all day with the dog! ha ha

A little while back I was out with my young 2 and meet a young lad delivering the free gazette and I heard his dog yelp. I didn't see him do anything but kept my eye on him and then seen him kick his dog! I was so shocked by this that ended up shouting at him not to kick his dog or I would report him. 

>I'm always talking about our dogs

Yes same here. I also talk about dogs at dog club, one I've seen in the street, in the news and on TV! I have a reputation for being the "dog lady" at work (better than a bag lady i spose?). People come and ask me all sorts.

My husband often asks me if I get bored talking about, looking at reading about or watching dogs (duh - does he ever get bored of watching Top Gear etc? No).

My daughter is 3 and already displaying a healthy interest in dogs and I promise I've not encouraged her.;-)

Currently I've found the best way to bamboozle dog showing people I know & shut them up is to talk about cat shows & classification..................;-)

That may work on a lot of people Christine, but i too love cats and would love to learn more about cat showing. Sorry// I do love cats, not sure i would have time to show cats as well as dogs..

>" well"  says I, " she's not that clever then ...she's gonna be the only poor vet in England."

ROFL

You is very restrained my dear :-D   (I'm not allowed out in perlite company ;) )

>Currently I've found the best way to bamboozle dog showing people I know & shut them up is to talk about cat shows & >classification..................;-)

LOL
That's very mean of you -you KNOW we don't have Champions classes in dogs or Grand Champions - or Premiers, or Grand Premiers!  And what about the varieties classes?    And it's soo much easier if you don't have to run around a ring....  :-D
Have to say I loved showing the cats, especially if there was a balcony :-D