Do people want to interact with your dog?

[Catsi]

Not all that often. But then yesterday it happened twice. Abby is very cute. She is usually the one people approach. Unfortunately she isn't very comfortable with strangers, whereas Grace adores people and wants to interact with everyone. So I normally just say something along the lines of 'Abby is shy and not comfortable with strangers, but Grace would love to say hi.' Diversion.

I don't mind it really, but yesterday there was family who came out of nowhere when I was getting them out of the car. No biggie, but they caught me by surprise. They were gushing over Abby. We had a chat and I explained that Abby wasn't comfortable with strangers, but Gracie is a tart. She is 12 and greying so got talking about old dogs and how special they are.

The second time, a child came out of nowhere and I picked Abby up for safety's sake and told him that he could say hello to Grace if he wanted. He gave her a quick pat and ran back to his dad. In retrospect, I probably should've asked him to get his dad's permission, but I was too busy making sure Abby was not feeling threatened and the child didn't get in harm's way.

It's actually handy having Grace around. Thankfully she loves the attention. But 99% of the time, people want to interact with Abby. She is small and cute and a light colour. Grace is a stafford (they are very common here) and black brindle and not particularly striking in any way. Most people are not interested in her.

 

[iriskai]

All the time. ZOMG Skinny dogszzz!!!

It's funny to see which dog attracts the attention depending on the situation. At dog related events, it's usually Mimi. She's more outgoing and a social butterfly, as well as a nice example of her breed. With John Q Public? Usually Ezra, "because he has cool skin".

I don't mind it except I wish people would not get so offended when Mia has no interest in them. I try to get them to pet Summer. It makes Summer's day to get loved on by people. A lot do end up ignoring Mia in favor of Summer, who is really cute and hams it up. but some seem determined to make Mia behave the same way. It never works.

On walks, I keep a brisk pace so we rarely get stopped. At pet stores though? All the time. I blame Summer because she's always acting like a floozie and melts anytime anyone smiles at her.

I think you're me with Papillons. Ezra doesn't give two licks about most people he doesn't know, he'll let people pet him if they're close or come to him, but is perfectly content ignoring them. Mimi, on the other hand, is the floozie. LOVES attention, but she's more 'boring' colored for most people compared to Ezra's brindle.

And all interactions go the same way. Either they ask if they're papillons or ask if they're chis or poms or cavs. Then they ask if they're related. Then ask how old they are and everyone makes a comment about how shocked they are that Summer is almost 10. If they know what papillons are, there's a comment about how they're smart. Especially after westminster this year. I didn't watch groups but apparently that was said during the toy group. I've been asked 4 times about it since westminster aired.

Hah. Same. Only substitute Italian greyhound, Greyhound, deer, giant Chihuahua etc. Also add an "are you breeding them together?" comment when they notice Ezra's junk (because at this point he's usually turned back to me). I actually has someone tell me to breed them just once at least because they'd definitely take a puppy. Yeah. No. Thanks.

 

[elegy]

I feel you on the fluffy merleness.
If there was a big black dog suit I would put him in it.

yup yup yup. i do think part of our problem is that merle dogs are somewhat unusual. and he's flashy. so even though he is completely ignoring people who are talking to him (most of the time), they still want to interact with him.

i had a cashier at the grocery store yesterday practically run up to me to ask if she could pet my dog. um, no? and then the guy in front of me in line got offended when i told him he could not pet steve. dogs love him. he has a special way with dogs. i said and steve loves people, but he's working right now and needs to pay attention to me. the guy would not STOP.

SO ANNOYING.

 

[Elrohwen]

When Watson was a puppy, I felt like every person we passed was compelled to pet him. Spaniel puppies are pretty darn cute!

He doesn't get as much attention as an adult, but he does get quite a bit. Our usual walking place is a public trail, and most people just go about their day and don't stop us. However, when we go other places, lots of people ask to pet him. He stares at people trying to make eye contact, and once they look at him he turns all wiggly and ridiculous, so I think he draws people in. People are always polite and ask to pet him, so I don't mind.

We went on vacation to Bar Harbor last year, which is very dog friendly, and we got stopped on the street by every 4th or 5th person sometimes. Lots of people also reached out to pet him without asking, which was kind of annoying (but he liked it and I'm non-confrontational with strangers, so I didn't say anything).


ETA: I rarely approach other dogs in public, though I may say something to the owner about the dog being pretty, etc. Now that I have Watson, I'm even less interested in approaching people with dogs because he can be obnoxious and I'd rather not bother them. It's not like he would just sit politely and let me pet another dog.

 

[Sekah]

Cohen is indifferent to 90% of people, and for the most part people ignore her. I'll sometimes have other dog-savvy-ish folks comment on her when we're out -- normally about her focus on me -- but that's about it.

Mega is an attention magnet. Which is unfortunate because she abhors attention. Kids especially. (She abhors kids for this reason too.) If people approach I'll often try to push Cohen in between the stranger and Mega, but they're not normally interested in the indifferent big dog.

So normally when I'm out with the dogs and we're approaching strangers my attention shifts straight to my dogs to make sure they're in line and not being dicks. My focus on the dogs and not on the strangers is normally a pretty clear signal that we're not up for saying hi.

I absolutely will not approach another dog/handler in public.

I remember drawing huge crowds with my first family Aussie as a pup. He was a self merle with blue eyes. It was 15+ years ago and Aussies weren't nearly as popular then in my area as they are now. He was fuzzy, round and friendly. It was insane. We'd literally be standing in the middle of a circle of people just looking at him.

 

[Snark]

We don't go out in public a lot, and most people don't pay attention to Mick and Murph but Riley's brindle coat seems to be a magnet. Luckily, not too many people want to pet him, which is fine with both of us since he's wary of strangers and tends to duck incoming hands. Mostly I get comments about the brindle, how well-behaved he is and then asked if he's got pit bull in him.

 

[RBark]

My favorite memory with Kobe is when a little girl ran up to him, gave him a big bear hug without stopping running, then looked up at me and asked if he was a wolf.

Kiddo.... if you ever see a wolf, do the opposite of what you just did. :lol-sign:

That said, giant fluffy white bouncy ball of a dog? Yeah, people stop me constantly. Heck, people have stopped in the middle of high traffic streets to ask me questions about him, nearly causing car accidents. It's rather nuts.

And there are always people asking if he's a wolf hybrid, which always makes me chuckle. Yes, sure, this wiggly butt bouncy oversized ball of fluffy joy is a vicious predator. He wouldn't know what to do with a squirrel if he caught one, and he has caught one before.

At the dog park, the entire park gravitates toward him in hopes they can see if his coat is really as soft and fluffy as it looks. They don't want to be obvious about approaching him, but they try to inch in his direction and touch him as he passes by. lol

 

[noludoru]

A little too frequently for my comfort. We were stopped on walks every other day or so until I started going off the sidewalk and saying "sorry, he's not friendly!"

It's uncomfortable when we're stopped by someone, especially when I'm alone with him or far from home. I once had what was obviously a younger crowd of gang members stop me to talk about my "pit bull" and ask if he could be petted. Middie rushed over and was like OF COURSE I CAN BE PETTED.

I usually put headphones in and avoid people unless we're just out and about doing nothing in particular. When we're exercising, I have headphones in and avoid eye contact.

 

[AmandaNola]

What I hate most is when people try and pet her when she's sitting between my legs or I'm holding her in my arms. Personal space, people! She needs a collar that says "look but don't touch". She is my dog, and that's so obvious around other people. She glares at them and ignores them.

 

[Beanie]

Yes. Especially if I have the entire hoard out. Each one attracts attention for various reasons (except Pepper, she tries her best NOT to attract attention and she's fairly good at it.) but the clan together, whoo boy. People cannot help themselves from wanting to interact with the posse of shelties.

I don't really mind about people wanting to approach them, but I do care about how children approach and about how People With A Dog approach.


I don't usually approach other people and dogs. If I'm at PetSmart by myself, I get approached to help pat a dog who's in training... and puppies. People want me to pet their puppies. OF COURSE I WILL PET YOUR PUPPY.

 

[Red.Apricot]

Constantly. Most of the time she doesn't want to say hi, and most of the time I tell people no.

 

[OhHappyDogs]

Yes, people love my dog Krystal, and she loves them. Children particularly love her and always want to pet her. I always make them ask their parents so I can be sure it's ok. Then I sit on the ground, and "manage" the children petting her. That way I can make sure they have a good experience. Of course kids who live with dogs don't need to be managed

Adults adore her as well. I think she's meant to provide happiness and joy to all. Sometimes I think I'm her attendant!

 

[SpaceMutt]

People interacted with Astro so much when he was a puppy that I actually had to budget 15-20 extra minutes into every walk for it. My roommate didn't believe me until she accompanied me on a walk and almost every single person that was out in their yard ran up to say hi and ask if they could pet Astro. We joked that he's a Brooklyn celebrity, but he...actually kinda is. People now know him by name, run across the street to love up on him, etc.

It was insane. One time, we walked past a yard sale and the family running it gave Astro a stuffed toy from the sale - they wouldn't let me pay for it. Then the father or brother went inside and grabbed actual BACON and came out to give some to Astro. I've also got a group of missionaries in my neighborhood who croon "Astro, we love yoooooou!" and hug/pet him if they see him. I think the biggest fans, though, are the Russian immigrant ladies who live in my building. They speak basically 2-3% English, if that, but they've learned "Nice dog! He is very nice! I love him!" and "I love you, puppy!" (my dog gets told "I love you" by way more people than I ever have...).

I like it, to be honest. Now he's more grown and sometimes new people who didn't fall in love with him when he was a pup, will actually cross the street to avoid him, yank away their children, or do ridiculous swoops off the sidewalk to get away from the dog politely walking off on the path...

To be honest, I don't like having withdrawn tendencies, and Puppy Astro forced me out of it. I loved getting to meet everyone in my neighborhood over a common object of affection. I feel so much more connected to the area than I probably would have without him.

I do ask to pet people's dogs now, too. I always ask, never just reach out and pet, but there's no such thing as an 'I'm alone and am not going to interact' walk in the middle of Brooklyn, so everyone always grins and tells me their dog would love that, or if the dog is shy or aloof, they still smile and tell me apologetically that they'd prefer I don't, and I tell them no harm done, I'm not offended, etc. It's always a very pleasant interaction, everyone thanks everyone else for asking.

 

[Assamiea]

I get stopped all the time. Baxter is a blatant attention *****, but people seem to want to interact more with Rocky who really doesn't want their attention.

When we meet people Baxter will go right up to them and lean into their legs wanting them to scratch him. Rocky sits as far away from people as he can and turns his back to them to ignore him. You'd think people would want to interact with the dog that is asking for their attention, but no they always want the one who wants nothing to do with them.

I usually just tell people that Rocky is old, grumpy and hard of hearing so he doesn't enjoy interacting with people he doesn't know. That's usually enough to get them to switch their attention to Baxter.

 

[Cali Mae]

All the time! Whether it is an older man or a little girl, nearly everyone wants to come say hi. Cali eats the attention right up and rolls over on their feet as they give her a tummy rub. She has no shame when it comes to asking for attention.

Moses gets attention as well, but not nearly as much. I think most people find him endearing due to his age and his antics. He doesn't enjoy attention from strangers to the same extent Cali does, but he'll happily take some loving from someone he knows.

 

[Dogdragoness]

No they don't interact and I don't want them to, of they try i tell them to by lost, I am not a petting zoo, I don't owe the public anything

 

[Oko]

Yes, oh yes. Everyone loves Wesley's looks. And Feist is a wiggle worm love muffin.

 

[Whisper]

Personal space, people! She needs a collar that says "look but don't touch".

Gah, I wish it were that simple! Millie's vest had two of these on her vest, one on each side:

And people still didn't get the hint.

 

[DJEtzel]

Usually people are more interested in petting Frag, Sir, or Patton- the scarier breeds, and don't care so much for Fluffy Recon. No idea why!

Of course, those are the ones that could care less and people get offended when I tell them that the dogs really just don't care/aren't interested.

 

[StillandSilent]

People bug Gambit a lot, but that's easing off due to his perma-bitchface.

Gimmick was ignored.as a puppy. I think it was because he looked like a generic bc mix. Now he's obviouly a whippet, and no one can get over how pretty he is