Do people want to interact with your dog?

[Torch]

Henry gets a lot of attention. He's sweet and has the perma-puppy face. Rhys got tons of attention when he was very small, but now that he's full grown with cropped ears people are very cautious. Couple that with any sort of eye contact turning him into a wiggle machine, I could see how someone not dog-savvy could misinterpret that.

Which breaks his heart because he wants all the loves from all the peoples. He cries at the receptionists at the vet's office when they go back behind the counter after loving on him. I'm talking full on eye contact, puppy face whimpers. I often joke that I socialized him too well.

 

[PWCorgi]

That's ridiculous, because Dodger is THE BEST. He's my favorite! (Don't tell Dex )

This is super sad, but when someone stops us to say hi, it's only at Dex and rarely does anyone acknowledge Dodger.

"ooh can I pet your dog?"
"Sure, this is Dex, this is Dodger"
"He's so pretty (in reference to Dex), what kind of dog is he"
(Still only petting Dex as poor Dodger tries to weasel his way in)
"She's an Aussie mix, and this one is a Lab"
"I've never seen a dog that looks like this/colored like this/whatever/etc"
(at this point Dodger has be given at least a few pets because he's pretty persistent, and sometimes he even gets a "hello")

It's just heartbreaking. I know Dodger isn't flashy, and I expect to be stopped since Dex is.. but COME ON people.. share the love.

This mainly happens when I'm in Chicago (grew up there, family is there, etc). I don't know why it's specifically there and not as much here in the Twin Cities but apparently Linds you need to visit the city more so people get over the merle dog thing.

 

[PWCorgi]

People always want to interact with Frodo, and I always tell them no.

People often want to interact with Siri, I tell them "you can try!" because I know she will just completely ignore them and go about her business.

 

[GingerKid]

Depends if he's barking (due to reactivity) or not.

A lot of people at the park or on the off-leash walking trails will try to pet him. He's happy to walk up to people and sniff them, but he doesn't like strangers reaching over his head. Alternately, I use leaning forward with my arms out as a play signal, so sometimes when people reach out to pet him, he takes off because to him that means a game of chase.

Around the neighborhood, it is mostly kids who are interested. I mean, he is white and fluffy and not too big so that he's scary and not too small that they can accidentally hurt him. I've been amazed so far too... even the unsupervised kids have asked me before petting him.

 

[DJEtzel]

People always want to interact with Frodo, and I always tell them no.

People often want to interact with Siri, I tell them "you can try!" because I know she will just completely ignore them and go about her business.

Lol Patton is JUST like Siri...

I'm like, "Err, sure... You might have to go to him, he won't really move to you."

Haha

 

[Laurelin]

This is how Summer attempts interactions. Except.... with real people. lol

creepy by Summer_Papillon, on Flickr

 

[Sit Stay]

Both Quinn and Ned seem to garner a lot of attention. Both are very approachable looking, will make eye contact and wag their tails at people, and lots of people think Quinn is really pretty. Ned seems to especially get a lot of attention, since most people still recognize that he's still young, plus he is so friendly. He is a total guy magnet LOL. Last visit to TSC I was stopped by 5 people in a short visit, most of them guys! One even kneeled down, let Ned climb up in his lap and lick his face. Ned is a total attention *****, whereas Quinn is excited to meet people, but much more subdued about it and will usually want to move on after a couple of minutes (unless she really likes the person!).

 

[JacksonsMom]

Every time I go in public with Jackson and my friends two little Yorkies, Nala and Bandit, every one literally ignores Jackson. They may give a "oh is that one the mom/dad?" because they think the others are puppies and can't believe they're full grown, LOL. It's kind of sad, but honestly Jackson is completely happy for every one to ignore him. He does really like kids though.

 

[Dogdragoness]

I had someone reach into my car and try to pet Nola yesterday. Needless to say, I flipped.

Geeze WTF is wrong with people??? Can someone tell me?

 

[Ozfozz]

When we lived in the city, we were approached a lot. Rigby looks like a puppy to some people with her crazy ears. And Cobain....well just look at him.

Cobain and Rigby would be walked on a splitter, not pulling, and totally ignoring other dogs and people. I've found well behaved dogs tend to gain more attention as well.

Neither of them are overly happy about people approaching. Rigby is fearful of strangers - especially when they reach over her head.
Cobain just couldn't be bothered. "You're not in my inner circle and you don't have treats....why are you touching me?" seems to be his thought process, which of course comes with his annoyed look, which garners "Ohh he's so scared and timid. I must pet him more"

I've learned to walk straight and make no eye contact. Sure it's rude, but typically when I'm walking the dogs on the leash I'm short for time anyways (leisurely walks are taken off leash at our parks)

 

[Zhucca]

Yes and No...

At the park he gets a lot of pets, but he solicits it all the time. When I take him out on walks most people walk on by, but on the train there is a lot of people interested in petting him and asking questions. He gets the "walk-by" pats too. People will just stroke his head as they walk past on the train. I guess he gets a decent amount of attention, especially being a more common breed.

Personally I don't really care if people pet my dog without asking, but I have a dog with zero people reactivity. I do always put some +R when people do ask though - "Yes, of course. Thank you for asking me first."

 

[Sekah]

which garners "Ohh he's so scared and timid. I must pet him more"

This. It's fairly often that I tell people, "No, she's not scared. Just indifferent."

 

[Beanie]

Neither of them are overly happy about people approaching. Rigby is fearful of strangers - especially when they reach over her head.
Cobain just couldn't be bothered. "You're not in my inner circle and you don't have treats....why are you touching me?" seems to be his thought process, which of course comes with his annoyed look, which garners "Ohh he's so scared and timid. I must pet him more"

LOL I've gotten that with Payton. Some cashier at PetSmart like got on the floor and tried to get in his face and he was like "WTF? Who are you?" and gave her this look of disdain and she was like "OH HE'S SHY!" No, he's not shy, but he thinks you're kinda rude.

 

[Whisper]

Cobain just couldn't be bothered. "You're not in my inner circle and you don't have treats....why are you touching me?" seems to be his thought process, which of course comes with his annoyed look, which garners "Ohh he's so scared and timid. I must pet him more"

Seriously, what IS that? People have done that with both my dogs, especially Fable. All signs point towards "step back, not interested" but rather the crazies decide they need to be "comforted" by being baby talked and squeezed.

 

[Dogdragoness]

I usually ask them if hey would like it if a total stranger just came up and hugged and kissed them, to which they usually are like "no" then I answer with "then why the **** would you think a dog would like it???"

 

[maxfox426]

Yes, though for the most part we've been lucky to have thoughtful people that ask before getting up in his business. Not that Morgan minds at all, it's just nice for me when people think before they act.

To tell the truth, Morgan probably would prefer they just immediately start petting him, as opposed to waiting those annoying few seconds while they ask me first. LOL

 

[Dex]

That's ridiculous, because Dodger is THE BEST. He's my favorite! (Don't tell Dex )

Awww <3 He's seriously one of kind

 

[AmberD]

LOL I've gotten that with Payton. Some cashier at PetSmart like got on the floor and tried to get in his face and he was like "WTF? Who are you?" and gave her this look of disdain and she was like "OH HE'S SHY!" No, he's not shy, but he thinks you're kinda rude.

I'm amazed by how many people just do not grasp that dogs can find people and animals RUDE. Some people look horrified when I generalize that my dog doesn't like children... I didn't say he wants to eat them, but they're generally rude, and he doesn't appreciate it. Also, when we went to meet a potential foster dog, who strained at her leash and reared on her hind legs to get to his face, and he growled (no snarling, lunging, raised hackles), I was asked if he was dog aggressive and if he got along with my other dog. This after I explained in great detail via email that my dog was very dog tolerant and not very reactive, but he Does.Not.Like.Rude.Dogs. Sigh.

 

[TinyDragon]

All the time! And 99% of the time it's people who think there's nothing wrong with just touching a dog without permission. Axel loves people and it makes me happy. What makes me unhappy though is people who touch his head/ muzzle while passing by or while we're on the train as well as people who start whistle or make other distracting noises to get his attention. He is full of energy and unfortunately doesn't know how to disregard strangers. He will get all excited as soon as someone shows him attention or speaks directly at him. Most of the time people will immediately come up and I'm rarely prepared for it so Axel jumps on them and it all ends up with "Oh it's ok I love dogs/ I have a dog"

 

[Dogdragoness]

All the time! And 99% of the time it's people who think there's nothing wrong with just touching a dog without permission. Axel loves people and it makes me happy. What makes me unhappy though is people who touch his head/ muzzle while passing by or while we're on the train as well as people who start whistle or make other distracting noises to get his attention. He is full of energy and unfortunately doesn't know how to disregard strangers. He will get all excited as soon as someone shows him attention or speaks directly at him. Most of the time people will immediately come up and I'm rarely prepared for it so Axel jumps on them and it all ends up with "Oh it's ok I love dogs/ I have a dog"

Yeah ... People can be so rude sometimes

I was in line behind some asshole at walmart, there was a service dog in the next lane (someone in a wheelchair) they kept smooching and whistling and patting their legs. I finally told them that he is a service dog and to leave him alone. And I asked them if they could read ... Since it clearly said on the dogs vest "don't pet me I'm working" :/