I See Stoopid Pet Parents...

Now that I'm working almost full time in a good sized pet store I so very many people with ill behaved pups, ill behaved owners actually. Today had two examples-one customer reached out to pet the small dog in another woman's arms...the little beast snapped and the owner just clucked her tongue " Awe bad little Pepper"...big dog or little dog if your dog does something obnoxious you apologize.
Customer number two came in to find out about training for his Corso/Mastiff mix. If you don't know breeds, picture Callie at over a hundred pounds...and this was a puppy. Instead of a collar this dog had a length of chain wrapped around his neck with a leash attached. This didn't appear to be poverty on the part of the owner, this was stupidity.
There are many very strong secure collars out there. I hope the trainer insists on one.
Felt so bad for this pup. Every dog that came in the store this dog would bellow loud enough to scare the dead. People were cowering from walking near him. Poor guy...an owner who has more dog than he can handle and the dog feels the blame. Of course I saw Callie hiding in there. I walked right up to the dog and he went into full body wag then stood against my chest and wiggled and licked for all he was worth...almost knocked me over, but such a happeee boy.
Hope the trainer teaches the owner better.

I frequent these places with my Nigredo, and you're right, there are some horrid dog owners in there. One lady had some kind of fat, way overexcited dog that kept jumping up at people. She didn't even try to stop him/her.

Another was letting her dog pick up random rawhide etc from all the tubs, and then just taking them and putting them back. Ew, don't do that... make him stop taking the treats or hurry up and pick one and leave the isle.

Then there are barking dogs, dogs that snark at employees or other dogs, pee all over etc. Normally, these dogs only come in ones or twos at a time, but they can disrupt a nice visit and my Nigredo would never act naughty.

I've encountered one lady whose dog kept pulling etc. and I was there just kinda looking at her, with my calm and wonderfully behaved Nigredo, and she was clearly embarrassed and said the dog just got excited in those places. I nodded and said sure, don't they all. But in my head I'm thinking... Nah, lady... that dog pulls you everywhere he goes.

Wasn't me was it? No obviously not. Seriously though pulling is one thing I haven't been able to stop Poppy doing. Tried the various tips; stopping, turning round. Few places forward, two paces back, looking daft, holding a treat in my hand and so on. So Poppy would have been the one pulling in the pet store. I do know why she pulls though, she is excited to be leaving the house for her walk and seeing she is only on the lead for a few minutes before I can let her off (relief) it's not so bad. I would like to stop her pulling though but after her run in the park or beach and back on the lead before heading home she's much better. Unless she spies a cat or squirrel then we're off again!

The laws here in Hungary are different .. no dogs allowed in shops or public buildings. If say, I need to buy a new collar for one of my dogs and am not sure about the fit, pet shops are happy for you to buy it on a sale or return basis. Many hotels allow dogs but if you want a meal or a drink when your dog(s) is/are with you you can only do so if there's an outside terrace. Doesn't bother me at all as my two are quite happy to stay at home, or in the car when I go shopping and when we've stayed in a hotel they stay in the bedroom when we have a meal.

Dogs are ONLY allowed in certain buildings or under certain circumstances here.

#1 Therapy dogs or whatnot are allowed into hospitals, nursing homes, orphanages, etc. with permission from management after a valid license is shown or the dog passes a temperament test (the latter is often sufficient for employee pets). Dogs must be current on all vaccines.

#2 Registered assistance dogs are allowed in all public places with the proper equipment and licenses. This excludes restaurants in some cases.

#3 Leashed dogs are allowed in two pet stores, Petco and Petsmart, where employees reserve the right to eject any dog if they deem it necessary.

Aside from vet offices and outdoor locations, with the exclusion of registered service dogs, indoor public settings such as grocery stores, bars, restaurants, etc. are strictly off limits for dogs. Only VERY rare and specific hotels will allow dogs. None I've been in or even seen will allow it. Dogs are also banned from all public transportation, except service dogs.

excuse me but did the person have the chi owners permission to pat her dog! ?
I have a chi and if anyone tries to stroke her without my permission I would tell them where to go .
The dog isnt a little beast , its as dog that doesnt like being stroked and probably felt trapped it its owner's arms with no escape.

Why bring snappy little monsters into the pet store? If a big dog snapped like that, you'd be thrown out at the VERY least. It's common courtesy to ask before petting, but I'm of the mindset that if a dog is in the pet store, that he won't bite. The snarky dogs bother me. When I had to fit Jade for a muzzle, I put a temporary bandanna muzzle on her right before we entered the store. I think snarky or bitey dogs don't really belong in the pet store.

Dogs are to be leashed and on the floor. When these rules are broken and the dog rides in the cart or is carried around the store, I see a few things.

#1 Owner doesn't trust other dogs
#2 Owner doesn't trust their dog
#3 (rare) Owner is pompous and simply doesn't want their dog on the gross floors

All spell a dog who probably doesn't belong in the pet store IMO.

Agree with you MJ, its best not to take a dog that will snap into a pet store. Its not fair to the people or the dog.

We dont seem to get many dogs coming into our local pets at home and they dont cause problems, we have three pets at home in my area. I used to take Pip with me but he used to mark whioch was embarressing !

I hate the stuoid owners who let their dogs frighten the small pets like rabbits though why PAH have the bunnies an piggies on the floor with glass sides is beyond me .

Sorry if I sound grumpy today , I'm not well so i'm not my usual sweet self.

You sound fine and I agree with you. Love walking around the pole with the nice yellow puddle around it. I always try and flag down an employee. Even though my dude doesn't mark, it's not the fact that dogs mark that truly bothers me, because that will happen, it's that owners just walk off as if they're outside and it's FINE for the dog to pee there. GET AN EMPLOYEE or something! Petsmart here keeps the ferrets etc. in glass enclosures, too. They're nearly always cowering into the little thingies, I think just the sight of all the dogs scare them.