So Upset/Angry/Frustrated at some people....

i was up at my horses field yesterday with a couple of friends. we had the horse out his field faffing about with him, as one does.... the dogs were happily playing about in the road ( back street, no cars, so is safe!!!! ) with us, a couple of dog walkers passed us and rocky ran over to greet the dogs as he does.... One man approached with a wee jack russel puppy rocky and tara bounced over to say hello, the man instantly lifted his pup up at that point, rocky jumped up on the man to try and sniff the pup, now i know rocky was naughty jumping up and we are working on him not jumping on people.... but it is a work in progress.... anyway as he jumped up on the man he very aggresivly smacked rocky in the rib cage...

i was standing in front of the man about to take rockys collar and move him so the man could pass when he done this to my 5 month old rocky puppy. i was least impressed and did raise my voice a bit ( making sure not to be abusive or swear) but i asked the man what exactly he thought he was doing... he told my that my dog was attacking his 12 week ol;d puppy. i stated that rocky is a puppy himself and was by no means attacking the pup he wanted to greet it. i also pointed out if rocky was in any way aggressive he would either be on leash, in the car or muzzled. they man huffed and puffed and told me to take my animal to a training class and that a good smack will do him no harm!!!! he stormed past, put his wee pup down and told her she ok and they walked on.


now this has upset me a lot and made me feel quite anxious about letting rocky socialise with new dogs. am i in the wrong because rocky jumped on the man, which as iv said is a work in progress and i know he shouldn't be jumping on people.... or was the man in wrong for his behaviour???? part of me cant help but wonder if he only hit rocky because he is a staffy?????? i dont think im right to assume that as i dont know but cant help but wonder

thankfully it was like water of a ducks back to rocky who resumed trying to eat horse poo, run in muddy puddles and generally play about as a pup should....

i have a 16 week jrt puppy and i would love your dog to come and say hello the more the better, i only pick her up when some of the bigger dogs become too much. sadly the one that will miss out in this situation is his puppy who may well become scared of other dogs, it is cruel of him to hit your dog nasty man. give rocky a big hug xxxx

I am afraid that in the current climate which as you know is very anti bull breeds, the onus is on you as an owner of an SBT to ensure that your dog is an ambassador for the breed and thus change some people's prejudices.

I am afraid YOU put your dog at risk by not using a lead and preventing this unacceptable behaviour.

If the shoe was on the other foot, and I allowed my GSD to gallop over to you, jump all over you and your puppy, how happy would you be? Would you not feel threatened?

Everybody has the right to remain unmolested by other people and dogs.

You may say his reaction was over the top, but look at the picture from HIS point of view, he is not equipped with a crystal ball, he does not know if your dog has a good temperament or not, all he can see are FACTS, ie a dog that has come over to him uninvited.

Replace man with car.

If your dog had been run over, whose fault would it be?

SBT or not, if you lived here in Cyprus, and your dog 'jumped up' at a 'local' or one of their kids, even if a puppy, it would get KICKED TO KINGDOM COME. They start the 'kicking move' before the dog even reaches them.

Therefore, those of us who love our dogs, behave accordingly because we know this. It's easy to scream and shout at them KICK MY DOG AND I WILL KICK YOU! But much better to make sure my dog is never in a situation where they will jump up at strangers.

I am sorry your dog got smacked. But could have been worse.

*I am talking about experience with a sweet darling cavalier who wouldn't dream of jumping up at anyone and just might pass by them and nowadays a well trained min pin who 'cowers down' for strange dogs and people and STILL I have to be on the constant lookout for their 'body language as she gets near them.

My dog is my priority. Therefore I want her to behave in such a way that she won't SUFFER.

thank you for rockys hug debster, he enjoyed it very much!!!!!


and i do agree with you smokey bear, i know i shouldn't have allowed rocky to jump on the man,and i should have been more aware of the situation. i got upset and frustrated as he wasn't showing any sign at all of threatening behaviour and was speaking to the puppy fine until the man lifted it. also again it wasnt like i left rocky to carry on jumping on the man, i was hot on his heels to remove him from the situation....

i appreciate that if my pup was being molested by another dog i would be unsure but i cant say ever in my life would i find it acceptable to hit somebody else's dog..... this si the bit that upset me... if you had a puppy smokey bear and another puppy came to say his would you smack the other puppy if it wasnt showing sign of aggression. i amn't disputing that i was wrong but i am however wondering

did i over react to the situation?????

and again if it was a car not a man it would be my fault as i wasnt being responsible, but thank god that isnt the case....

It was basically an accident, nothing more or nothing less. Your dog shouldn't have jumped up but we live in the real world here and these things happen sometimes. Equally, the man should NOT have smacked him -- totally uncalled for.

What I have learnt is that a lot of average dog owners are pretty ignorant about dog behaviour. I've been accused several times in the past in the past with both my Lab and Slovak of them being "aggressive" and that they have "attacked" another dog. Quite laughable considering they are the most dog-friendly dogs imaginable who have never so much as curled a lip. Some dog owners do not seem to be able to distinguish between play and aggression. So, don't take the "aggressive" bit personally -- some people are a bit dim.

Just be a bit more careful in the future if you come across dogs on leads or very small dogs. No harm done to Rocky hopefully.

Oh, and I don't have much sympathy for dog owners who pick up their dogs when other dogs are around and are surprised when they get jumped at.

He was probably just worried about his own 'puppy'. I must say I admire your sentiments here ...

I cannot say that! When my dog's life is being threatened, there is no limit to what I would do to the dog threatening it!

I agree and as for not picking a small dog or puppy up if the owner thought it was being threatened THAT is dim!

I woudl not have much sympathy if the owner of a small dog or puppy just let it stand there when a huge dog was beetling over to it whether I was a spectator or the owner of said dog!

It is basic common sense!

I don't kick dogs (unless they ARE actually threatening my dogs) because I do not have to.

However many of us have had SO many out of control dogs mugging our own well behaved ones, that sometimes YOUR dog may be the one that is the straw that breaks the camel's back.

I find it wise to look at situations from ALL perspectives and think about how it looks from another point of view.

Everyone makes mistakes, but we have to be honest with ourselves and realise that WE have made them and not blame others for our lack of care.

If your puppy had ran up to me and my dogs, whilst they were on lead, I wouldn't be happy as my two both get VERY reactive if a dog approaches them if they're on lead, and I'm trying to get them out of the habit, but it's hard if dogs run up.

I don't think the man was right in kicking/striking your dog, but he may not know a fat lot about whether a dog is friendly or not from their body language. I personally hate dogs jumping up me, but at the same time, I wouldn't be picking up my dog.