Have you ever been prejudiced because of your dogs behaviour?

[Specsy]

So I was speaking to a person from my Rottweiler club the other day(she just comes to watch, she doesn't have a dog), and I mentioned that in the next 4-5 years or more I would like to get a proper show/working prospect Rottweiler. It was just a throw in to the topic we were on (she was mentioning that Leo has great food drive and he should work but he isn't registered so it would be useless because I am not breeding(umm working him regardless, sorry?). Anyway as soon as I mentioned this she went like :yikes: and said "Not while Bella is alive you shouldn't, she would kill a puppy". Now I understand where she is coming from, she has seen Bella's dog aggression at the club, but honestly Bella was around an 8week old Boston Terrier pup in December and yes she was watching over it really scarily (psychopathic almost), but she calmed down after the first 2 days and things were normal from there. It even got to a stage where the boston puppy was biting Bella and pulling her throat skin in all directions and Bella just sat there, accepting it (I think I have a video of it somewhere on my phone or moms phone, will post if I find).

It's really upsetting to see how Bella gets viewed because she truly is a sweet heart if you're not a certain skin colour and if you're not a dog. I mean elderly people especially like her around because Bella is such putty in peoples hands. It's weird because I have actually had people at the same club ask me what mix Bella is because they would love to have a dog just like her (Bella isn't a mix she is just TINY all her litter mates are normal to large sized Rotties).

So have any of you ever been prejudiced by breeders/rescues/other people, because of what your dog showed in certain situations? Or worse yet been turned down by said people because you had a "bad case" dog? I know A LOT of rescues and some (very few) breeders require that they meet your dog and have your dog interact with the prospect dog before they will let it go to you, I can see a million things that could go wrong in a meeting like that with Bella but it's really not a fair representation of who she is at home.

 

[Romy]

It pretty normal for dogs to behave differently in different circumstances. Plenty of dogs are leash/barrier aggressive with other dogs, but do fine off leash. Many of those would likely be fine in a multi dog household if properly introduced.

I'd just tell her that Bella's behavior is situational, and that she's gotten along fine with puppies in a home situation.

 

[*blackrose]

I would never be able to adopt a dog that a shelter insisted on having greet "the entire family" (aka, take my dogs to the shelter for a meet and greet) before adoption. Rose takes days to weeks to be comfortable around another dog, and Chloe takes multiple at-home-safe-introductions (and walks together) before she stops being a bitch and wants to play.

That being said, she loves puppies both in public and at home so if I was adopting a puppy it might be okay doing just one meet and great...but no way for an adult dog.

 

[Specsy]

I actually volunteer at a rescue that prefers it if people brought along their children and/or existing dogs to meet the dog to be adopted but doesn't INSIST on it. Some of the places here in SA are a little anally retentive about who they accept to adopt their dogs, I doubt I would ever be allowed to adopt not only because of my crazy dog, but also because I don't have a million meter high fence and I have open ponds that are a "drowning" hazard (about calf deep water lol) and there's barbed wire fences at the place we are moving to at a height dogs can get injured in and this and that and the other. I don't know, I just don't over think things.

People fail to realise that dogs are intelligent.

 

[lizzybeth727]

As a professional trainer, people judge me on my dogs ALL THE TIME. And I understand it, it's reasonable to expect your trainer to have a really good dog. But that's why I can't have a breed that's DA/HA or anything close.

The problem with a lot of trainers, is that they want a "project dog," a difficult dog that has a lot of training challenges for the trainer to fix. Or rescues have difficult dogs that "must go to a dog-savy home!" and trainers can't resist. But when their clients see those dogs having problems, they don't care about mitigating circumstances, they just see that the trainer can't train her own dog.

 

[HayleyMarie]

(((((HUGS)))))

I can see how that can be frustrating. With my current living situation I don't think I could rescue a dog from a shelter, considering we have no fencing.

And Emme the Bouve is DA towards strange dogs. At home she is a puddle of soup towards my dog. I would never be able to take her to the SPCA for a meet and greet, because she probably would want eat the other dog.

At home I think it would be different. She might be leary at first but I am pretty sure she would get over herself and adjust with a new dog in the home. after proper meet and greet.

Alot of people will not understand why your dog is the way she is, and think its some fault of her, buts its not.

All in all you know your dog. You love her and know her inside and out.

 

[GenericHumanoid]

Duke is DA because that is just how he is. He was around other dogs but he just turned out to have aggressive tendencies on top of the fact that when he was a puppy he was almost attacked by another dog. It's complicated introducing him to other dogs. He only has one friend now, a little doxie. This causes him to automatically like small doxie-shaped dogs but that is about it. He really seems to dislike very excitable dogs. I don't know how he is around puppies but I think after a good introduction he could be alright.

When I was in 4H we had to bench our dogs so people could see them, it was hot and the dogs were there for 5 hours a day for a week. Occasionally people would bring the wrong direction and go by Duke's bench causing him to growl or bark.He was manageable but it looked really bad to non-dog people. I was once asked who I had stolen my ribbons from because there was no way my dog could be have won anything. It's really sad when people will dismiss all the work I put into him because he doesn't like other dogs.

 

[CharlieDog]

As a professional trainer, people judge me on my dogs ALL THE TIME. And I understand it, it's reasonable to expect your trainer to have a really good dog. But that's why I can't have a breed that's DA/HA or anything close.

The problem with a lot of trainers, is that they want a "project dog," a difficult dog that has a lot of training challenges for the trainer to fix. Or rescues have difficult dogs that "must go to a dog-savy home!" and trainers can't resist. But when their clients see those dogs having problems, they don't care about mitigating circumstances, they just see that the trainer can't train her own dog.

Totally this. Enzo is a bit of a nut, but shes overall a good dog. Ozzy is DR/DA and people see that WAY more than they see what Enzo can do. :/ It's very frustrating, because I AM a capable dog trainer, but I'm not afraid to admit that Ozzy's problems are beyond my scope of ability.

 

[Sush]

I think there are very valid reasons why rescues and shelters want to do the "meet and greet" before adoption.

The primary concern is finding the right home for the dog being adopted and although there is an adjustment period needed for animals and new siblings, if there is initial aggression shown at the introduction chances are it's going to get worse once inside the home.

Having worked in the industry I can say that before we did the imandatory introductions, our rate of dog return was exponentially higher than it is now due to dogs not getting along.

I definitely know what it's like for people to pass judgement upon one meeting, heck I have a Chihuahua, haha enough said It's that first impression that everyone makes but like she said above, only you know your dog inside and out and love them for all their strenghts and weeknesses.

 

[Dekka]

Really? IME it is worse in new encounters. Take Dekka for example. She wants to eat all new dogs. But she is really quite good with dogs she knows. She doesnt' eat Sierra (nilly's dog), Smudge or Cider (maf's dogs). She is decent once she gets relaxed. Most dogs I have had are like that, can't think of any that get worse as they get more comfortable.

Also that negates management. We crate and rotate. Some people look at it likes its horrible, but all of the dog's hop in their crates when its time. And in nice weather some will be playing in the yard whilst others are loose in the house. No one is neglected, and we have a few combo's that can't go out together. Crate and rotate in a good home is better than being an only dog and getting ignored most of the time.

ETA IME people who are willing to take the time to crate and rotate are also those who are more likely to do things to inrich their dog's lives. Vs those who get a dog as an accessory (pat it on the head a few times of day and maybe walk it around the block). I know which life I would rather lead.

 

[Specsy]

I am really relieved to see that I am not in this alone.

Lizzybeth, I have had to stop taking Bella to training on some days because my club really feels I have potential and the trainers there want to take me under their wings and start showing me the ropes of being a trainer. I was incredibly hesitant at first because I know that people have seen how Bella carries on, but it seems the trainers themselves have somehow seen that I have really tried my best in socialising Bella etc when she was a pup (and older, we stopped the moment she started showing aggression and posed a threat to other dogs) and that she just doesn't like dogs and that isn't my fault. The problem is that other people there, their actual clients are seeing Bella and thinking "She's a terrible person, look at her dog". I feel like this is something I can never take on. Not because I can't cope with training, because in all honesty I learn things incredibly fast, I have been in the dog world for a grand total of 1 year and I have learnt SOOOO much compared to other people in that amount of time, the reason I feel I can't take this on is because I myself haven't had success in training decent civil dogs.

ETA: @GenericHumanoid, Bella has her CGC and I have been told, not asked, that I paid of the judge because there's no way Bella could ever have passed a CGC. I have pics to prove we did the test and she DID NOT react to the other dog, I don't know how we did it but we did. I suppose we got lucky because Bella actually LIKED the dog that we worked with in the CGC

 

[RD]

That's kind of rude of her to say. Apparently she's never heard of crates.

As a trainer I'm also judged based on my dog's behavior. Not much I can really do but admit that at the moment, "curing" her and teaching her to love other dogs is far beyond my ability as a trainer. I explain that I work on controlling the threshold and encouraging immense impulse control, but that the most I'm able to do is teach her to pretend other dogs don't exist. I get weird looks and people get all snooty and ask me why I can't teach her to play with their dog.

Someday I might find a magic book or seminar that'll teach me something I never thought of trying with her, and maybe then she'll be a perfect dog. Until then you work with what you've got! That's all you can do with Bella too.

 

[lizzybeth727]

the reason I feel I can't take this on is because I myself haven't had success in training decent civil dogs.

Oh yeah, I understand that.

If it's something you truely want to persue, you could always get experience working at a shelter or rescue, doing training sessions with the dogs you get to interract with. It might be very rewarding for you to see that you CAN get good results with your training. As a trainer, it's extremely valuable to work with a variety of different breeds and types of dogs, as well.

 

[RD]

Oh yeah, I understand that.

If it's something you truely want to persue, you could always get experience working at a shelter or rescue, doing training sessions with the dogs you get to interract with. It might be very rewarding for you to see that you CAN get good results with your training. As a trainer, it's extremely valuable to work with a variety of different breeds and types of dogs, as well.

THIS!!!

Training in a shelter environment with a dog that's a complete stranger to me is a bigger challenge and makes me really think about how to get through to dogs. It's also really rewarding because you often see such a drastic change in a dog with just a little bit of manners training.

 

[Fran101]

Having a toy dog basically excuses you from all training like discrimination (as far as I've seen) because people just EXPECT your dog a be a snarling beast.
if they aren't.. its shocking
if they are.. its funny.

which is its own kind of discrimination in its own right. but thus.. that sucks! and you shouldn't be bothered by people who want to judge you because of that, YOU KNOW your dog and you know you do all you can for her

I must admit though.. I would hesitate to go to a trainer that has an out of control dog..
not that I think that having an ill behaved dog makes you a bad trainer.. It just wouldn't be the best of calling cards and I probably wouldn't pick him/her over a trainer with a really well trained dog.

 

[Specsy]

Oh yeah, I understand that.

If it's something you truely want to persue, you could always get experience working at a shelter or rescue, doing training sessions with the dogs you get to interract with. It might be very rewarding for you to see that you CAN get good results with your training. As a trainer, it's extremely valuable to work with a variety of different breeds and types of dogs, as well.

I do this on a voluntary basis already, I have taught about 8 dogs to sit, and down, in correct OB show position and I have taught stay to about 3dogs. I have taught heel to 4(OB show position). I did these all in a period of 4 weekends, with the same dogs all the time, now one needs to realise that these dogs see different people EVERY single day, however when I worked with them they did remember what I taught them, I wouldn't say they are bomb proof or close to it though, because I just don't see them that often and I can't expect others to work with them and I cannot go there more often as it is about 1 hour drive away. I have a problem with teaching OB show position for heels but general "sloppy" heels are not as difficult but I think this is because a lot of the dogs I worked with already had some sort of heeling ability. I have to admit though the dogs I trained were pretty well tempered so it was mostly them. (About 3 or 4 of them were border collie mixes, the others we mostly mixes of who knows whats, one of them was a Rottie cross). Whether I am good or not, I don't know, I try though, it tends to make dogs more adoptable if they know the basics, and I prefer teaching the show position rather than normal work because it's what I teach my dogs and I am more comfy with it.

 

[lizzybeth727]

I I have to admit though the dogs I trained were pretty well tempered so it was mostly them. (About 3 or 4 of them were border collie mixes, the others we mostly mixes of who knows whats, one of them was a Rottie cross).

Sounds like you're doing a great job! How awesome of you to drive so far and help some dogs become more adoptable!

Maybe next time you go, pick out a dog that you wouldn't typically choose to train, a stretch for your skills. When I first started training, dachshunds and JRTs/rat terriers were the most difficult breeds for me, and I learned a lot of training tricks that to this day I don't need with any other breed but these.

 

[SpringerLover]

I've actually had really good experiences with breeders regarding Bailey and bringing a new puppy home. They all realize that it would not go well if we introduced them right away and know I have a plan in place if I ever do bring a puppy home while she's alive. I would think rescues could be placated with something similar.

 

[Specsy]

Sounds like you're doing a great job! How awesome of you to drive so far and help some dogs become more adoptable!

Maybe next time you go, pick out a dog that you wouldn't typically choose to train, a stretch for your skills. When I first started training, dachshunds and JRTs/rat terriers were the most difficult breeds for me, and I learned a lot of training tricks that to this day I don't need with any other breed but these.

It is incredibly difficult to choose 1 dog or a dog I actually want, I was really just lucky that I got to work with the same dogs more than once. The system the rescue centre works on is the following: If you are a volunteer you are allowed to take as many dogs out for a walk (one at a time) as you want, you are allowed to train/play/brush/interact how you want with this dog for however long. The "problem" is that once you are done you take the dog back to it's pen and you have to peg a tag on the pen saying the dog has been walked for the day and shouldn't be walked again, instead you should walk a dog who hasn't yet had a turn. To me, it's a great system, so not only the cute dogs get inter acted with. Every one gets a chance. I must say the handful that I have worked with so far haven't been all that beautiful and a few of them look really intimidating, this is why I think I consistently got to work with them. I am going there this Saturday again. We shall see how this goes.