ok, so dervel, are u saying that if u were standing in the lift and were in the way of someone gettin out and u didnt notice and lets say they asked you rather rudely to get out of the way, would u not be upset?

I dont think this politeness stops at just dogs, people should be polite, it doesnt cost anything, and no matter what the situation, i dont think theres an excuse. Its called manners!
no one has a right to be rude to u about ur kids if u have any, so its no different to dogs.

if someone is scared of dogs, they generally dont go close enough to make a remark! some people are just ignorant

Noradrenaline is released in a mammal's brain to promote a 'fight or flight' mechanism. Rudeness is neither of those things.

As Dani says, she had the option to walk away from the dog - either she wasn't looking where she was going, in which case a fractured hip is bound to occur sooner or later, or she was deliberately provoking an otherwise avoidable situation.

Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former (Einstein).


Becs

That is xactly my point - her reaction to my dog and me reassuring her that he was good with people - only to be met with her rudeness - surely that was me promoting that my dog was good ??

dani

Oh you work with dogs do you Dervil!!!
All animals can be a dangerous and unpredictable if not handled correctly
Come to think of it that can apply to some humans too ...

Methinks someone has stumbled onto the wrong type of Forum ...

The collie "eye" is a bred-in trait, supposedly because it dominates sheep. Other dogs often misinterpret it as a predatory threat, even other collies! In confrontational situations, even people stare at each other ferociously as a threat, so it's not all that surprising that dogs understand it as a threat, too!

Both my BCs have blue eyes (seen as white by other dogs), so the "eye" looks even more like an intense threat. I remember well an incident with my Kali looking over the road at another BC ("Yorick" ) and a consequent flurry of angry barking that could be heard all over the town!

Yep, Dani, some folk can be mega-rude at the drop of a hat. If it's any comfort, just think what nasty, wrinkly, mean little souls they have. No happy Heaven afterlife for them

Snorri

Noradrenaline is just one of a cocktail of chemicals released into the brain, this causes the flight of fight mechanism, it is a sub-response below normal conscious behaviour, it promotes a resposive behaviour that the animal has little control over.

Think back to the times in your life that you were under stress, real stress, you may remember you had little control, in these situations people often say things like "I cant think straight" the reality is that they can not think properly on a conscious level.

Old woman> Dog> Stress>Response.

Question is was she aware?

anyone here with medical training,? fear overides manners in humans as in dogs. Why do you think so many owners get bitten when dogs are fighting?
Dervel

Yep, that would be me. :smt039

Edited to say: references and qualifications available on request.

pmsl @becs

Need to get Pickles one of these, he lost his necklace last christmas!